MIT LEGATUM CENTER LAUNCHES OPEN MIC AFRICA @MIT SERIES ON AFRICA’S DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURS AND TECHNOLOGY
Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 19, 2019 — The Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT Legatum Center) announced Open Mic Africa @MIT 2019: Conversations on Africa’s rising innovation sector (OMA@MIT) a campus series featuring tech entrepreneurs from the continent.
The interactive, five-part program runs from February to May and will draw on guest CEOs, founders, and industry leads to delve into core facets of Africa’s innovation landscape. Topics will include supply chain logistics, startup VC funding, financial inclusion, and African e-commerce on and off the continent.
The series provides MIT students and community members with opportunities to engage with entrepreneurs who are leading Africa’s innovation revolution. Each 90-minute session opens with a look at key trends, hurdles, and opportunities in African tech, setting the stage for an in-depth moderated discussion with the guest. To connect innovation in Africa with work being done at MIT, selected MIT students and researchers then have a chance to share a snapshot of their current work (contact Julia Turnbull at jturnbul@mit.edu to apply for an OMA@MIT slot).
OMA@MIT will also feature a session at MIT’s 2019 Africa Innovate Conference in April. Visit https://www.mitafrica.com/. Co-producing the series are MIT Legatum acting director Megan Mitchell, faculty advisor Anjali Sastry and The Next Africa author and TechCrunch contributing writer Jake Bright, who joins Legatum as an Innovation Lead for spring term 2019.
This year’s OMA@MIT kicks off on February 26 @ 5:30 PM in the Morris & Sophie Chang Building, Room 164 (E52-164), 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA. RSVP here. The first session will focus on solving Africa’s connectivity equation and the potential of African startups featuring Oswald Jumira, Head of Innovation Partnerships at Liquid Telecom.
