October 17, 2018

Can we #FutureProofAfrica?

On October 15 and 16 the SingularityU South Africa Summit was held at the Kyalami Convention Centre. While that is probably the least exciting intro for anything you have read today, if you aren’t familiar with Singularity University the first thing you read when you land on their website is

Preparing Global Leaders & Organizations for the Future – Explore the opportunities and implications of exponential technologies and connect to a global ecosystem that is shaping the future and solving the world’s most urgent problems.

With that in mind you can get a grip on what SUSA was about – using technology to exponentially solve challenges that face the country and continent. From education to AI to blockchain to energy, there was something for everyone. Several of our partners and friends were in attendance, including Charles Savage from EasyEquities and Kyle Dodds from Cognition.Online.

Over two days there were 36 different sessions to attend, some key takeaways which have summarised below.

  • People love an exponential graph – if your presentation is missing something it is probably one of those
  • Software, software, software
  • Africa has the most potential to leapfrog other areas of the world – by 2034 the continent will have the largest working population in the world
  • On that note Nigeria is predicted to be the 3rd largest country in the world by 2050
  • Smart tractors are changing the face of farming
  • Education on the continent is the key for progress
  • In order for it to be effective there are some amazing people and initiatives that are tackling the problem differently. Have a look at
  • Blockchain is a real opportunity to fight corruption in land ownership and improve logistics
  • People are beginning to manufacture in space
  • This is the worst any tech is ever going to be. So things like VR, AI and whatever else, while “primitive” today are gaining ground at a rapid rate.

And finally, when you do something out of pure joy you can accomplish seemingly impossible things like Richard Browning shows below in his quest to #TakeOnGravity.