Speakers
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Akhona DamaneCo-founder, Chair, SANBAMr. Akhona Damane has over 20 years of work experience spanning in ICT, Geo-Spatial Systems, Knowledge Management & Innovation, Climate Change and environmental advocacy, and government policies. He holds a 4-year degree in Computer Science, and is currently studying towards a Masters degree. He recently led the government-funded National R&D and Innovation Roadmap implementation between 2017 and 2021 during which he created partnership relationships with African & EU country-partners, universities, multinationals, startup incubators, NGO, etc. He is the co-founder and the current chair of the South African National Blockchain Alliance (SANBA) [
]. He chaired the committee for the South Africa’s Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (CAIR) [
]. Mr Damane is a member of the World Economic Forum’s affiliate Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in South Africa (C4IR-SA) [
]. Akhona also co-founded a Non-Profit Organisation called Innovation Culture for Community Upliftment (or ICCUP), that seeks to train and empower women, youth and people with disabilities (living in rural and peri-urban areas) with skills that include social innovation, entrepreneurship, digital literacy, climate technologies, etc. -
Bara GreplovaMembership Manager, Academic & Governmental Relations INATBA
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Iordanis PapoutsoglouAssociate Researcher, EUBOF
Mr. Iordanis Papoutsoglou is an Associate Researcher in the research centre based in Greece, CEntre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH). His educational background includes two master degrees; in business administration and another master in data science. Since joining CERTH in 2020, he has worked for ASSIST-IoT and SHOW projects and actively supports European Blockchain Observatory & Forum activities. His research interests are relevant to the blockchain, data analysis, distributed ledgers, and Internet Of Things.
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Kristina LillienekeFounder, Blackbird Law
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Nena DokuzovHead of Project Group for New Economy and Blockchain Technologies, Government of Slovenia
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Nokubalela MchunuBlockchain Researcher, Government of South Africa
Blockchain Start-Ups, Innovation Hubs and SMMEs in European Countries
This workshop is organised by the Governmental Advisory Body of INATBA and its work stream on Blockchain Policies & Innovation Ecosystems, which seeks to identify the needs of policy makers (with a focus on the Africa region) in the developing of national Blockchain policies that provides an enabling environment for the growth of local innovation ecosystems, while providing an appropriate regulatory framework that provides protection to citizens in terms of data protection and privacy.
This workshop is focused on blockchain start-ups, innovation hubs and SMMEs in European countries. The idea is to look at landscape of start-ups, innovation hub and SMMEs, their establishment, growth, areas of works within the EU.
AGENDA
Opening: Bara Greplova
Introduction: Akhona Damane, South African Blockchain Alliance (SANBA)
European blockchain start-up ecosystem overview: Iordanis Papoutsoglou (EUBOF)
European government role in the blockchain ecosystem: Nena Dokuzov (Government of Slovenia)
EU Digital Identity European Ecosystem regulation and blockchain: Kristina Lilllieneke (Blackbird Law)
Discussion: Questions & Answers from the floor: Moderator: Bara Greplova
Conclusion and next steps: Balela Mchunu, Department of Communications & Digital Technologies, South Africa
Please register for the workshop here.
