The Lawyers Hub will hold its 4th edition of the Africa Law Tech Festival 2023 from 11 – 12 July 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya under the theme “Digital Trade.” The festival comes after the pre-festivals that were hosted in Cape Town in March and in Paris & Brussels in May 2023.
Linda Bonyo, the CEO of Lawyers Hub, invited policymakers, lawyers in Tech, Civil Society Organisations working on digital rights and accessibility, startups, and tech companies to attend and partner with Lawyers Hub, to streamline the Digital Trade landscape in Africa.
The Africa Law Tech Festival is an annual conference designed to appeal to a wide array of players in the legal & tech space through a multifaceted approach to conferencing. It has had great success over the past years hosting over 2,000 attendees from 40 countries across Africa and bringing together over 7,500 law and tech professionals.
The festival brings together like-minded individuals to lead idea-focused conversations and further innovation around technology and the law. These events have played a key role in facilitating new tech innovations and informing policy-making in Africa. The Africa Digital Rights Concert, which is a part of the festival has also reimagined the communication of digital rights concerns such as privacy online.
Other activities that will be held at the festival other than the African Digital Rights Concert include panel discussions on Africa Law Tech, workshops & masterclasses (Africa Digital Policy Institute), hackathons (Africa Policy Hackathon), and startup alley (Africa Startup Law Accelerator).
Lawyers Hub will also hold a gala dinner after the festival for its Africa Law & Tech Awards — to celebrate remarkable achievements and innovative strides in the realm of digital trade within Africa. These awards recognize individuals, organizations, and technologies that have demonstrated excellence in promoting cross-border transactions, enhancing e-commerce platforms, improving digital public infrastructure, and driving the adoption of digital solutions in government agencies.
The categories of the awards are;
- Cross-Border Payment Solution of the Year: This award recognizes the payment solution that has demonstrated excellence and innovation in facilitating secure and efficient cross-border transactions within Africa.
- African E-commerce Platform of the Year: This award recognizes the e-commerce platform that has excelled in providing a user-friendly, secure, and impactful online marketplace for buying and selling goods and services within Africa.
- Civil Society & AfCFTA Award: This award acknowledges the outstanding contributions of a civil society organization in supporting the implementation and advancement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. The recipient will have demonstrated efforts in fostering awareness, advocacy, capacity-building, or research related to the AfCFTA’s objectives, such as promoting inclusive trade, sustainable development, or social impact.
- Digital Public Infrastructure Awards: This award recognizes the government or organization that has established and maintained a robust digital infrastructure that enables seamless digital services to citizens and businesses — this includes components such as reliable connectivity, secure data management, digital identity solutions, and platforms for delivering public services efficiently and transparently.
- Government Agency (e-Gov Awards): This award acknowledges a government agency that has successfully implemented innovative digital initiatives to enhance public service delivery, efficiency, and citizen engagement.
- Telco of the Year Awards: This award recognizes the telecommunications company that has excelled in providing exceptional connectivity, communication services, and innovative digital solutions to individuals, businesses, and communities across Africa.
- Bar Association Award: This award acknowledges the bar association or legal professional organization that has demonstrated outstanding commitment to advancing the legal profession and promoting legal reforms that foster a conducive environment for digital trade in Africa.
Lawyers Hub has also launched two reports; a Report on the State of Legal Tech in Africa and a Report on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Judicial Systems in Africa, driving the theme of the 2023 Africa Law Tech Festival 2023 which is — “Digital Trade.”
The Report on the State of Legal Tech in Africa scans the adoption of technology by key stakeholders in the legal sector in Africa, while the Report on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Judicial Systems in Africa evaluates the uptake of artificial intelligence in select countries in Africa’s legal system. The objective is to identify the current status, challenges, and prospects.
The Chief Justice of Rwanda, Dr. Faustin Ntezilyayo acknowledged that as the use of artificial intelligence is expected to increase gradually, it is time for Africa’s Judicial Systems to participate by employing wide use of artificial intelligence and investing more in the industry.
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