KUBATANA MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2022
AFR I LABS
Tell us about your background and experience before becoming AfriLabs Board Chair? I started my entrepreneurial journey and projects in Egypt. I led 130 students at the French University in Egypt to work on 13 different projects across the country, winning the Enactus National Cup three times in a row from 2007 to 2009, and the Enactus World Cup in 2009 in Berlin and in 2010 in Los Angeles. Since 2010, I have co-founded four different hubs. Currently, I lead the Diaspora Meta Lab that supports VR/ XR technology for African and Middle Eastern Diaspora in Europe. I also lead the liaison between the EU and Africa in a HUbiquitous project funded by the EU, which aims to support building IoT Infrastructure in 25 African Hubs across the continent. How does it feel to be AfriLabs Board Chair? What does it mean to you? Being the Board Chair is one of my favourite positions. I first encountered AfriLabs during the 2016 Annual Gathering in Ghana. We then hosted the same event in Egypt the following year, and I was elected in 2019 as Board Secretary. Today, leading the AfriLabs network and foundation is a great honour and experience. It allows me to see the full potential of the ecosystem, co-create more opportunities with our board members and community, deal with regional and critical stakeholders, and try to solve common ecosystem challenges. What are your ambitions for the AfriLabs community and secretariat? The AfriLabs vision has been developed, and co-created by the member hubs and the Board. We want to create a thriving innovation economy in Africa through the power of our community. Our secretariat needs to be strengthened, our community needs to be invested in, our operations decentralised, our capacity-building programs need to be enhanced, and our matching fund needs to be increased. We will also need to find innovative ways to raise funds, support regional networks, develop entrepreneurial and innovative clusters, and create bridges with the African diaspora in Europe and America.
What has been your experience so far as AfriLabs Board Chair? Any notable challenges, lessons, milestones etc? It’s the Board’s responsibility that the entity moves in the right direction and respects the general strategy and governance set by the General Assembly. Running non-private entities like AfriLabs has unique challenges. It requires more effort from all of us to create innovative ways to be agile, faster, efficient, and result-oriented like a startup.
MEET AFRILABS NEW BOARD CHAIR MOETAZ
THE AFRILABS VISION HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AND CO-CREATED BY THE MEMBER HUBS AND THE BOARD. WE WANT TO CREATE A THRIVING INNOVATION ECONOMY IN AFRICA THROUGH THE POWER OF OUR COMMUNITY.
HELMY AN INTERVIEW WITH MOETAZ HELMY, CHAIR, AFRILABS
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