It is within the framework of the Goma Serena Hotel that the Preparatory Forum for the Kivu Innovation Saloon (SIK 2023 edition) was held this Friday, May 12, 2023, scheduled for next November in the city of Goma.
Afroagripreneurs Network participated in the Kivu Innovation Saloon under the patronage of the Governorate of North Kivu. Several players in the ecosystem took part in its meetings focused on digital transformation. Mr Paluku Mathe, CEO of Afroagripreneurs Network, said.
The activity was marked mainly by exchanges around the impact of innovative projects in the succession of local entrepreneurship, presentations of innovative projects; as well as the awarding of certificates to the various winners of the competitions organized on this occasion.
During the exchanges, the entrepreneurs raised several issues relating to the obstacles that hinder innovation in the region, including IT tools, access to electricity, access to special devices, and many others.
Assessing the activity, Joël Tembo Vwira, Director of Kivu Entrepreneurs , organizational structure of SIK-2023; ensures that this Forum has achieved its objective which was “to mark the way for the Grand Salon to be held in November”.
“We are satisfied at the end of this day and we can say that our objectives have been achieved, because we expected 200 participants, we had more; all the partners were present, we saw the presence of the provincial authority,… so for us it is a great satisfaction,” he said.
Our expectations vis-à-vis young entrepreneurs, he emphasizes, is that they remain committed to the entrepreneurial process, that they do not give up because “entrepreneurship is a necessary step for the development socio-economic.
Booths were also visible around the conference room at this forum; where several products made in Goma were presented and sold, some from the clothing sector, others from the photography, digital, processing of agri-food products, books, etc., to name but a few.