What will attract investors to our businesses, venture capitalists to our entrepreneurs, and employers to our workers? How can we make growth last and sustain change? How can we best help young people to transform their talent into skills and their skills into success? How can we preserve and adapt traditional African knowledge for the future?

To provide answers to these and many other questions, a host of African and international experts will be in Abidjan, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire, 23-25 October, for eLearning Africa. The annual pan-African event has earned a reputation as the Continent’s leading edTech conference and exhibition.

Confirmed keynote speakers will include Professor Ndri Therese Assie-Lumumba, the President of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies, and Chairperson of African and Diaspora Education at Cornell University; Efosa Ojomo, author, researcher and economic development expert, who is a senior research fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation; and Jef Staes, one of the world’s leading authorities on learning processes and innovative organisations, whose inspirational insights are derived from more than 25 years’ experience as a training manager and corporate learning officer.

Rebecca Stromeyer, the founder and organiser of eLearning Africa, recently announced, "This year’s eLearning Africa will be very practical. We will be looking at how we can make the most of African talent and how we can turn African skills into success. We had a successful call for papers, which resulted in some very interesting proposals. We are currently reviewing them, and we will then publish the full programme online. Some of the world’s leading experts will be participating in the conference, along with investors, entrepreneurs, and political leaders, so it will be a great opportunity to discuss the role of education, training, and technology in equipping Africans with the skills they need to succeed in the future."

Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), added, "Making sure that our people have got the skills they need to compete is vital for the future of the whole African continent. The pace of change is going to get faster and faster. If we want to make a reality of the African Union’s 2063 vision of a ‘transformed continent,’ we have got to put the systems, structures, and solutions we need in place now. We also need to look carefully at what investors expect from Africa’s workforce and how we can make African labour markets attractive to potential employers. The discussions ministers and investors have at this year’s eLA are an important part of planning for the future."

A Ministerial Round Table will be held on the opening day of the conference. It will be attended by education, technology, and communication ministers from all over Africa. Their discussions will focus on the importance of learning, training, skills, and investment to helping Africans to make the most of plans for an African Common Free Trade Area.

eLearning Africa is always accompanied by an international exhibition of products, services, solutions, and courses. The organisers are confidently predicting that this year’s exhibition will be the biggest in the event’s history, and companies and organisations from all over the world will take part.

"The exhibition is a good sign of the interest outside investors are taking in Africa," said Rebecca Stromeyer. "I have seen the exhibition grow, and this year there is definitely real excitement about opportunities in Africa’s edTech sector. It is a rapidly growing market that could soon be the biggest in the world, and some of the best-known names in global education and technology will be taking part."