Highlights from the African Law and Tech Network Summit
On March 13 - 15th, 2024, the Center for Law and Innovation (CLI), in collaboration with the ICT Chamber and Hackapath, hosted the African Law and Tech Network Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. The event was held at Norrsken House, the largest startup hub and co-working space in Africa and home to entrepreneurs, VCs, accelerators, and corporates. As the Network’s new home, CLI gathered an array of actors working at the intersection of law, policy, and technology to discuss critical issues around AI use and regulation in Africa, intercontinental digital trade, data protection, blockchain technology, sexual and gender-based violence, factors determining success in start-up ecosystems and investment across the continent, among other timely thematic areas.
The Summit opened with keynote addresses from Certa Foundation’s Executive Director and Founder, Florida Kasabinga, and Hon. Justice Dr Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Right off the bat, the tone was set as the Justice Minister prompted the lawyers in the audience to reorient their position by asking, “We have been asking the wrong questions. We should be asking, how will technology and innovation help us to have more access to justice?’”. This sentiment continued in the Fireside Chat between CLI’s Director Isobel Acquah and Hon. Minister of ICT, Paula Ingabire. Minister Paula Ingabire was sure to emphasize Rwanda’s journey as a country and the role of technology in facilitating access to justice on account of the way the legal system was set up with a strong foundation and how technology continues to raise the standards of the rule of law. This is the strength of an organized system, she said, “when technology does not find an organized system, it only creates chaos”.
One of the takeaways from the pan-African gathering of lawyers, start-ups, technologists, and investors was the significance of collaboration and policy harmonization that facilitates data protection and data sovereignty without compromising productive data flows and intercontinental digital trade under the AfCFTA. The legal frameworks across the continent must be sufficient to reap the benefits of the AfCFTA, such that startups and technology development can easily move information across borders. While the strides made by the Rwandan Government on the national AI policy, data protection, and ample start-up ecosystem support were commended by summit attendees, it also opened subsequent discussions from Nigerian-head quartered law firm (and strategic partner) ALP NG & Co, the Rwandan National Cyber Security Authority, the Center for the 4th Industrial Revolution, Katapult Africa, Equity Bank, and the Rwanda Development Board on the state of these practices across Africa especially concerning digital trade, data protection and flows and investment.
Naturally, AI was also front and center throughout the summit – from the launch of CLI’s State of AI Regulation in Africa Report by the Center of Law and Innovation and Tech Hive to the panel on ‘Leveraging AI’ as well as the conversation hosted by strategic partner Npontu Technologies, Ghana around use cases for enabling cross-continent collaboration and economic growth.
The summit also highlighted key considerations for investing in tech, specifically addressing concerns around IP, capacity building, and infrastructure. Panel discussions and masterclasses gave insight into how technologies such as blockchain and regulatory sandboxes offer an array of examples and shared use cases that could address some key issues on the continent.
Day 3 of the Summit, dedicated to the startup community and powered by ICT Chamber and the Rwanda Development Board, focused on providing startups access to branding, legal, compliance, and financing experts during the Bouquet Experience and later Deal Room.
The audience and the speakers agreed that regular communication and dialogue within the ALT Network was needed to stay ahead of legal developments, emerging technology trends, and regulations across the continent. Building on this strong legal foundation, there is room to rethink the responsibility of lawyers to position themselves at the forefront of technological innovation while maintaining a key focus on justice and ethics for all Rwandan and African citizens.