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April 20, 2002

Africa Technology Forum to Hold Second Annual Networking Event
Event to Include Major Announcements on Recent Africa Technology Forum Achievements and Upcoming Projects

The Africa Technology Forum, a non-profit organization designed to promote technology in Africa and foster African entrepreneurship, will be hosting its second annual networking event, entitled 'Financing Technology in Africa', on Thursday, April 25, 2002. This event will be held at the WorldSpace headquarters, one of the Forum’s founding companies, located on 2400 N Street, NW, Washington, DC, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

  he featured guest speaker for the evening will be Papa Ndiaye, a Director with the Emerging Markets African Fund on secondment from MIDROC-BVI, a core investor in the Fund. Mr. Ndiaye currently serves as Special Advisor for Economic and Financial Affairs to the President of the Republic of Senegal and as Chairman of the Senegalese Presidential Economic & Financial Advisory Council.

"We will be announcing several key accomplishments at this event," said Samuel Suraphel, Forum board member and co-founder. "The Africa Technology Forum has come a long way this past year. Rather than simply bridging the technology gap, our goal now is to travel beyond the digital divide and put Africa at the forefront of the technological revolution. As a result, the Forum has changed its moniker from ‘Bridging the Digital Divide’ to ‘Beyond the Digital Divide’ to reflect the more ambitious vision of the Forum."

  One of the steps towards this new goal is the creation of the African Center for Technology Innovation and Ventures (ACTIV). The center will provide: a laboratory environment for Africans to develop and test new technology especially developed for the African market; a space and a forum for African and non-Africans to showcase new technologies; training and seminars on new technologies; tutoring for youth in science and math using the latest tools in education (e-learning, interactive learning); and an incubator for innovative technology entrepreneurs.

Also to be announced at Thursday’s 'Financing Technology in Africa' event is the establishment of the Africa Technology Index (ATI), a system that ranks African countries on their technology-enabling environments. The Forum, in association with Columbia University Business School students, will base the index on objective criteria that are currently under development.

"We expect that it will take at least a year before the first index results are released," said Maixent Lavodrama, one of the Technology Forum coordinators. "This index essentially means that each African country will be competing against each other on a technological level, something that has never been done before. It will be interesting to see if the perceptions match the reality in terms of which countries rank the highest."

Examples of the criteria that will be used to evaluate these countries are: relative teledensity; current technology laws and regulations and the application of these laws; the extent of collaboration between the public sector and the technology private sector; and the number of cyber cafes available for public use in those countries.

The third announcement to be made at the April 25, 2002, 'Financing Technology in Africa' networking event is the creation of the Business Initiative for Technology and Society Africa project (BITS Africa). Developed in collaboration with the World Economic Forum’s Global Leaders of Tomorrow (GLT), the BITS Africa program is a mentorship initiative for young entrepreneurs, especially women, who are starting a technology business. Among the criteria of selection for entrepreneurs are: they must be African-based; preferably female; must own a technology company; and must be engaged in initiatives that will have a social impact.  A Global Leader for Tomorrow (GLT) will mentor the selected applicants and provide guidance and expertise to help grow their business.

These announcements are just a small example of the Africa Technology Forum’s accomplishments to date. Since its last networking session in March, 2001, the Forum has already completed the first leg of its information campaign in Africa, spearheaded by Rebecca Enonchong, chairman of the Africa Technology Forum as well as CEO of Bethesda-based AppsTech®.

Admission to the event is free those registering before the deadline of April 20, 2002. After this date, there will be a $5 fee. To register online, visit www.africatechforum.org/events.html, or send an email to events@africatechforum.org. Those wishing to register via phone can call (301) 664-8475.

About the Africa Technology Forum
The Africa Technology Forum is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting technology entrepreneurship in Africa, serving as a platform for high-tech companies of African origin or for companies with interests in Africa to discuss issues of common interest and network. For more information on the Africa Technology Forum and its current initiatives, please visit our site at http://www.africatechforum.org/