SingularityU South Africa brings together leading exponential technology thought leaders from around the world to address education, energy, poverty, prosperity, and water
SingularityU South Africa is proud to announce that the SingularityU South Africa Summit 2019 will take place at the Kyalami Grand Prix and Conference Centre, in Johannesburg on 16 and 17 October 2019. Now in its third year, and promising to be exponentially bigger than previous years, this future-focussed event will take Singularity’s mission to use new technologies to help solve the global challenges further, by placing a specific focus on future proofing Africa.
Thought leaders and innovators from across the world will present a forward thinking approach to unlocking the potential that Africa holds. Topics that will be addressed are designed to bring the most pressing issues facing the continent to the fore, including education, energy, poverty, prosperity and water. This summit intends to equip the leaders of today and tomorrow with the thinking and knowledge needed, to use technology to help pioneer a better future for all Africans.
“As part of our mission to future proof Africa, we are focussing on the most pressing problems and the technologies that can help address these. Innovation holds the key to the exponential solutions that can solve our education, energy, poverty & water challenges” said Mic Mann, co-CEO of SingularityU South Africa.
At a launch event held in the economic hub of Johannesburg, the first six speakers that will take to the stage at this year’s summit were announced.
They include Sivan Ya’ari, the driving force behind InnoAfrica, which has supplied over 1 million people in rural areas in Africa with clean drinking water, using solar power, after identifying the need for a more sustainable energy solution. Award winning scientist and futurist Ramen Naam, who has authored several books including The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet, which looks at the environmental and natural resource challenges of climate change, energy, food and water, will address the scientific and technological innovation needed to solve the energy challenges faced by Africa.
Andres De Leon, the COO of Hyperloop Transportation, who are pioneering the full scale passenger capsule, will share how boundless thinking has enabled the future of mobility to include this remarkable transport solution.
CEO and chief researcher at Next Bio Sciences, South African SingularityU Faculty member Kim Hullett, will share how advances in stem cell and genetic research are unlocking solutions to medical challenges around the world. SingularityU Canada robotics specialist faculty, Suzanne Gildert (pHD), who co-founded Sanctuary AI, with a mission to build synthetic humans, will discuss how we will have robots that will look like us and assist in the future will help us be more human. Coming in from the Nordic faculty of SingularityU, Kris Øostergaard will present an innovative perspective on transforming legacy organisations by embracing a new innovation framework and the exponential effects that this can yield. More speakers will be announced in due course.
The SingularityU South Africa Summit is hosted in collaboration with The Development Bank of Southern Africa, Global Partner Deloitte, and Strategic partners MTN and Absa. The Summit will showcase how technology can be used to solve the various global challenges. It aims to address the most pressing issues facing Africa, by hosting global thought leaders in the areas most in need of attention on the continent. Attention is also being paid to bringing a youth component into this visionary event, details of which will be announced at a later stage.
“We believe we have the ability to unlock the potential lying in the African continent and lead the way in the fourth industrial revolution” added Shayne Mann, co-CEO of SingularityU South Africa.
The third annual SingularityU South Africa Summit will focus on creating a collaborative and more economically-inclusive future, whereby partnerships and deals can be conceptualised and developed across the continent. Networking opportunities will allow attendees to connect with SingularityU faculty members and alumni. Exhibitors will present breakthrough ideas and investment opportunities that will run alongside the summit.