One of our goals for Tech4Africa is to make it an open community for sharing, discussing and promoting the Web, mobile and emerging technologies in Africa.
Although all of us want to listen to the enriching insights and experiences Clay Shirky and other thinkers and entrepreneurs like Erik Hersman have to offer, we know that there are many others out there who are thinking or doing, and which should be highlighted.
So, when looking at the ways we can make Tech4Africa a space for interaction way beyond the conference itself, we decided to give the opportunity to any person in the technology industry in Africa to speak for themselves and show what they think or do to their peers.
We call it Expose Tech4Africa, which is going to start off as a section in the conference’s website, and it will work like this:
Who can participate:
- Anyone building a product using web, mobile or emerging technology, in Africa – profile your product.
- Anyone offering services, in web, mobile or emerging technologies, in Africa – profile your company.
- Anyone looking for funding for their product – tell people why they should fund you.
- Anyone with something to say about tech in Africa – everyone has an opinion, make yours heard.
- Anyone that wants to profile themselves, their skills, their passions, and what they’re working on – find collaborators, get hired, find new projects, meet new people.
How to participate:
- Record a 5 minute max video or podcast showcasing your product, service, start-up, or your thoughts on any Tech4Africa related topic of your expertise.
- Send us an email to “hello@t4a” with a little intro about yourself, and what your post is about. Also, include your contact details.
- We’ll either send you FTP details to upload, or ask you for the file location to download.
- We will then post the video in the Tech4Africa community page on our website, in a post on our blog, and in the Tech4Africa channel in Zoopy.
- We’ll then Tweet and Blog about it for you.
- We’ll leave the rest to the magic of social interaction.
Helpful tips:
- Have an opinion, be provocative, say something worth listening to.
- Keep your points succinct, to the point, and try not to waffle.
- Do it somewhere quiet, so background noise doesn’t get in the way. Try not to shake the video either.
- Audacity is great for recording audio, and is free.
- Record video with your phone, Skype or any other default video recorder, then upload. Your video does not need to be studio quality.
- Get some friends to have a look / listen before you send.
We encourage you to take this opportunity to make yourself be heard and share your knowledge or experiences. We’re excited about this idea and we hope it can trigger more conversation among all those working in the African tech industry.
Over to you 😉