Agenda

Honorable Paula INGABIRE is a Rwandan technology enthusiast currently serving as the Minister of ICT and Innovation in the Government of Rwanda. Prior to her appointment as Minister, she served as Head of the ICT Business Development Department at the Rwanda Development Board, where she led the implementation of National ICT programs, notably public services digitization, and coordinator of the Kigali Innovation City, a project designed to nurture and strengthen a Pan-African Innovation eco-system. She coordinated the creation of Smart Africa, an initiative that seeks to leverage broadband infrastructure as a driver for Africa’s socio- economic growth.

She is a graduate of MIT's School of Engineering in System Design and Management. She is a keen advocate of the role of innovation and emerging technologies towards Africa's prosperity. 

Minister Paula was named by Apolitical (2019) among the Top 20 of the World’s 100 most influential people in digital government. She serves on the Global Council of the World Summit Award Board of Directors, World Economic Forum Board of Trustees, and Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Global Network Advisory Board, among others. She was recently recognized as a shaper under the 100 Most Influential People in AI by TIME Magazine.

Crystal Rugege is currently the Managing Director of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Rwanda, where she’s leading Rwanda’s efforts to design and pilot governance frameworks to advance technology’s benefit to society.

Crystal RUGEGE is the Founding Director of Strategy at CMU Mellon, where she joined Carnegie Mellon University in 2009, charged with the task of establishing the first Carnegie Mellon location in Africa. In this capacity, she co-authored the white paper, which served as the framework for a 10-year partnership between CMU and the Government of Rwanda, one of the most significant public-private partnerships impacting higher education in Africa today, and one of the most successful international engagements of CMU.

From its inception in 2012, Crystal has led the business operations and driven the strategic vision for CMU-Africa. Under her leadership, the university has raised more than $12 million dollars, which has enabled the expansion of the program, making it more accessible to Africa’s brightest young people.

Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon University, Crystal worked at IBM’s Silicon Valley Lab for seven years. As a software engineer, she developed business intelligence solutions for banking and retail institutions.

Crystal is a non-executive director on the board of I&M Bank Rwanda. She serves on Andela’s Global Advisory Council and is the vice chair of the board of directors for kLab. She also sits on Rwanda’s National Steering Committee for the World Economic Forum Internet for All initiative. She received the 2017 Inspirational Leadership Award from CMU’s College of Engineering and the 2018 Women in STEM Leadership Award from the Next Einstein Forum.

Hoda Baraka is the Advisor to the Minister of Communications and Information Technology for Technology Talent Development. She is also the National AI Strategy Lead, Acting Director of the Egyptian Center for Responsible AI (ECRAI), and a Professor of Computer Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.

With over 40 years of experience, Baraka is a seasoned consultant in digital transformation, advising both public and private sector organizations. She currently leads several national capacity-building programs under the Digital Egypt Generations umbrella, including Digital Egypt Builders Initiative (DEBI) and Digital Egypt Pioneers Initiative (DEPI).

As Acting Director of ECRAI, Baraka spearheads the National AI Strategy. In this role, she contributes to the development and oversight of the strategy and governance framework, ensuring the responsible, safe, and ethical deployment of AI technologies across Egypt.

Baraka previously served as First Deputy ICT Minister from 2006 to 2013. Between 2002 and 2013, she was also the National Director of Egypt’s ICT Trust Fund, established to advance the use of ICT for sustainable development.

In recognition of her contributions to advancing education through technology, she was awarded the UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICT in Education. She also served as a member of the Technical Advisory Group on Capacity Development under the UNESCO–WEF Partnership for Education, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Technology and Education.

John Kamara, by heart, is a Tech Entrepreneur with over 20 successful years of experience working in new market acquisitions across various technology verticals in Europe, America, Asia, and Africa.

John is one of Africa’s leading experts on how businesses can leverage key technology trends, instantly transform organizations, and drive competitive advantage for impact in industries including finance, agriculture, health, education, gaming, and start-up enterprises.

John Kamara is a uniquely Pan-African, renowned business leader, successful entrepreneur, investor, consultant, beloved mentor, and distinguished speaker holding multiple roles typically including:

Founder and Global Chief Executive Officer, Adanian Labs Founder – AI Centre of Excellence
CEO – Cortex Africa (Leading Artificial Intelligence Company in Africa)
Director Nonexecutive – Machine Intelligence Institute of Africa
Director for Strategy – Data-Driven Innovation Center under the CREATES Center of Excellence at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology
Chevalier (Knight) Ordre des Arts et des Technologies – Crypto Chain University
Director for Growth – Global Gaming Africa
Founder – Afrimart (eCommerce) | Afya Rekod (Health Tech) Investor – eCobba (Fintech) | Twaa (Mentoring & Learning) | PhermaAgri (AgriTech)

John is actively involved and significantly invested in current technologies, focusing on IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence), Blockchain, and Crowdfunding. Having worked in market growth leadership roles for global technology companies at Google, Sun Microsystems, eir Ireland, Digicel, BMC Software, and others, John is committed to identifying technology challenges as a critical role in catapulting Africa into the Fourth Industrial Revolution while generating a critical mass impact. He has tremendously excited audiences in many countries and continents as he shared insights in various global stages like Al Expo Africa, Al, For Good Global Summit, Bio2019, ICE London, Abuja Blockchain & Al Roundtable, Malta Blockchain Summit and Africa Fintech Summit to name just a few John’s current foci is how smart technologies can be leveraged in resolving some of the most prominent and pertinent socio-economic challenges in Africa; you said it various players can play a role through the empowerment of present structures and systems to build holistic sustainable ecosystems in problem solving.

Robert Kainamura is the Chief Executive Officer of QT Holdings Ltd., one of Rwanda's
leading technology companies driving digital transformation and innovation across Africa.
He has extensive experience leading technology enterprises, software engineering, and digital
solutions, and public-private partnerships that accelerate digital transformation.
Throughout his career, he has worked closely with governments, development partners,
and the private sector to deliver innovative technology solutions that support economic
growth and public sector modernization.

Megan Roberts is the Positioning and Engagement Manager in the Digital, AI, and
Innovation Hub of the United Nations Development Programme. She previously served as
the director of policy planning at the United Nations Foundation, where she led its policy
work on the future of multilateral cooperation and digital and emerging technologies. While
at UNF she was also an associate technology policy fellow with the Tony Blair Institute for
Global Change, where her research focused on the growing gap between advances in digital
technologies and multilateral policy responses.
Roberts has also held positions with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, where
she served as interim managing director of the Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative,
and the Council on Foreign Relations, where she was the Associate Director for the
International Institutions and Global Governance program. She has managed technical
election assistance programs in Southeast Asia for the International Foundation for
Electoral Systems and headed up the flagship publication on global peace operations from
New York University’s Center on International Cooperation.