This event will take a critical look at digital innovation in Africa, and how new technologies have played a major role in recent social and economic advances on the continent.
Approaching this discussion with an initial marco-lens will be panelist Hervé Berville, member of the French National Assembly, who is actively working on the reform and modernisation of France's aid strategy. Hervé will be joined by Chandni Hinari, Manager of a Fab Lab Makerspace and Innovation Hub at the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda and Delphine Pedeboy, Senior Partnerships Manager at DImagi, a social tech company created in 2002 out of MIT and Harvard. With notable expertise in tech spaces of education and health, panelists will provide a holistic analysis of digital tools furthering development in Africa.
Speakers
Hervé Berville (@HerveBerville) is a member of the French National Assembly since 2017. In 2018, he authored a report for President Macron on the modernisation of French foreign aid policy. He was then designated Rapporteur for the new French development bill voted at the Parliament in February 2021. Prior to that, Hervé worked as an economist at the French AFD in Mozambique and as a program manager for the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies in Kenya.
Chandni Hirani is the Manager of a Fab Lab Makerspace and Innovation Hub at the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda where she has also been a faculty in Entrepreneurship and International Business & Trade. She has worked on education projects across the African continent including in Lagos, Nigeria. Chandni founded and ran a solar energy social enterprise in Kenya which brought income generating solar products to enterprising rural communities. Chandni also works with LSE Generate on their Accelerator. She is active in digital economy and circular economy activities across the African continent. Chandni has a BEng in Civil Engineering from the University of Manchester and an MSc in Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship from LSE.
Delphine Pedeboy is Senior Partnerships Manager at DImagi, a social tech company created in 2002 out of MIT and Harvard. Dimagi focuses on bringing innovative data collection solutions to frontline workers in developing countries, in the health, agriculture, and education sectors. Dimagi has worked on 2000+ projects in over 80 countries. Delphine has a keen interest in developing the eHealth sector in francophone countries. Recently resettled in France, she is running the French office of DImagi and hoping to create valuable partnerships with French and francophone NGOs across the francophone world. Delphine spent 8 years in Sub Saharan Africa working in health, education and micro-finance. She graduated with a MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy from the LSE in 2013. Her thesis focused on international aid agenda and neo-colonialism in Malawi.
This event will be live-streamed via Zoom, to register please visit here.
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