The three-day event provides a platform for African startups and businesses to showcase their ideas and products to a worldwide audience, attracting investors seeking promising tech ventures in Africa.

Speaking to IGIHE, Nigerian investor Uchenna Ugbor termed his experience at the second edition of Gitex Africa as “very good”.

Delegates follow proceedings at the second edition of Gitex Africa expo in Marrakesh, Morocco.

The founder of Ark Technologies Group attended the first edition of Gitex Africa, which made its debut on the continent in Morocco on May 31, 2023. He stated that he was able to invest in several projects and looks forward to a similar experience this year.

“I can’t count the number of stands I have visited. This is my second time. I was here last year and it’s not a disappointment at all. By and large, the event is very good, it has a lot to offer. I have quite a number of suppliers that are here. I have come all the way from Nigeria. Last year I met a couple of guys that I invested in their projects,” Ugbor stated.

According to Ugbor, the African continent has made great strides in innovation, and such efforts deserve applause.

“Given where we are coming from as Africans, I would [African startups] are impressive,” he commented. “The [business] is sustainable because 20 or 30 years ago, we weren’t at this stage, and we cannot compare ourselves with Europeans. It has to be a special case for people like Africans, who are a bit late entrants.”

Isaac Odongo, the CEO of Organic Route, was also upbeat about his experience in Morocco, where his company is showcasing their hybrid technology used to extend the shelf life of dried fruits and vegetables such as bananas.

Extolling the benefits of technology in the 21st century, Odongo said, “We also use tech to reach our customers and manage our finances."

Liberia’s Minister for Posts and Telecommunications, Sekou Kromah, affirmed that such events offer fertile ground for policymakers to network and make better decisions in their roles.

“I am very happy to be here. It’s very exciting. This event normally helps us as policymakers to network and make sound decisions in terms of telecommunications and ICT,” the minister explained.

MOHE BioTech (Suisse), a company involved in the development of rapid diagnostic tests and an application that allows for quick health assessments and data collection in remote areas, told IGIHE that they had received "some pretty good feedback" from the participants.

"We created a platform that allows its users to know their health status whenever, wherever they are, anytime, while you just have the platform. If you are feeling sick, basically, instead of going all the way to the doctor to be diagnosed, you can do it yourself," Marc Okambawa, the company’s marketing executive, said.

Okambawa added that their rapid test device can detect up to 12 diseases at a time, and thereafter the results are picked up by a medical practitioner who reaches out to the patient for further medical action.

Also present at the Morocco expo is Africa Smart Health, a company that offers a centralized platform for patients and doctors to keep their medical data. The platform can be accessed from any part of the world.

A user simply sets up a profile, enters all their medical conditions such as allergies, and shares them with their preferred medical professional to write a prescription. For doctors, there is a profile dubbed digital PA where they can manage all appointments and use AI to write medical reports very quickly using prefilled keywords.

The company works with local authorities to get relevant approvals for managing data such as doctor’s records. They also ask for consent from users during registration.

Additional reporting by Christelle Butoyi