May 2022: Bridging the Connectivity Gap
Date: May 18, 2022 8:00am-9:15am PST

Context

Over the last two years, African Diaspora Network has engaged individuals from over 57 countries, with an increased reach on the continent through our virtual convenings. This month, join us as we bring together our network in celebration of Africa Day for a global community conversation.

With the rise of digital globalization comes the challenge of connectivity. Africa continues to lag behind in infrastructure, including electricity, energy, and transportation, which poses a significant challenge to the continent’s economic development. According to a 2020 report by McKinsey & Company, about 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity and comprise over ⅔ of the global population without power. Moreover, Africa faces an infrastructure paradox – infrastructure investments have been increasing, but not enough money is being spent as 80% of infrastructure projects fail at the feasibility and business-plan stage.

Your voice matters. This session invites you to an interactive discussion addressing opportunities to advance connectivity and infrastructure in Africa. Participate in breakout rooms and connect with leaders from NGOs, academia, government, and corporations within the ADN community to discuss the gap and what the Silicon Valley Ecosystem and the Diaspora can do to mitigate the challenges.

Questions

Moderator

Abbey Omokhodion, CFO for Intel PSG, Programmable Solutions Group

Context Setter

Philip Thigo, Data Innovation Strategist in Nairobi, Kenya

Bios

Abbey Omokhodion

Abbey Omokhodion (Moderator)

CFO for Intel PSG, Programmable Solutions Group

Abbey Omokhodion runs a multi-billion dollar portfolio of P&Ls within the Internet of Things division at Intel, partnering with operations leaders to drive strategy, grow the business profitably, scale solutions, and activate new markets.
Philip Thigo

Philip Thigo (Context Setter)

Data Innovation Strategist in Nairobi, Kenya

Philip Thigo is a Technology, data & public policy expert. He is the Senior Director for Africa for the Thunderbird School for Global Management, a Technical Advisor at the Presidency on Data and Open Government and Senior Consultant for UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa. Apolitical recognized him as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in digital government in 2018. He is currently a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Futures Councils on Global Public Goods for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Join our YouTube Channel 
www.youtube.com/c/AfricanDiasporanetwork