eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
Zimbabwean companies, municipalities and entrepreneurs are expected to tap into the wealth of knowledge from global experts on implementation of smart cities concept at the African Smart Cities Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa next month.
The summit is Africa’s only dedicated conference that explores how smart cities can deliver a quality life and enable economic growth through Internet of Things (IoT), technology and creative thinking.
“Providing African solutions for Africa’s cities, this high-profile conference will tackle Africa’s readiness to fully adopt smart methodologies for implementation to current infrastructure,” said Global Renaissance Investment (GRI) Chief Executive Officer Ngoni Dzirutwe, one of the organisers of the event.
Dzirutwe noted that attendees at the 6th African Smart Cities Summit running from June 26 to 30, will witness how Africa can create cities that are far more efficient, resilient, and environmentally friendly, considering local needs, through the use of smarter and interoperable techniques, technologies, and ideas.
“Smart Cities have become a buzzword in recent times, with many people associating them solely with high-tech innovations. However, a true Smart City is one that utilises technology in a smart way to enhance the delivery of services to citizens and address local challenges,” he said.
“There are various sessions at the summit that will showcase the benefits of this approach and provide insights into how rural and urban municipalities can start thinking beyond technology to become smarter in their use of technology.”
The latest development comes at a time when several African cities are implementing technology and data-driven solutions in an attempt to alleviate the problems derived from the drastic increase in urbanisation and overpopulation.
Some smart cities that are currently being developed in Africa include Modderfontein New City in Johannesburg, South Africa, Kigali Innovation City in Rwanda and Konza City in Kenya.
At the global level, the smart city concept is based on the use of various technologies to promote public safety, as well as to make a city’s operations and service delivery more efficient.
Dzirutwe noted that Zimbabwe, which formally launched its smart city blueprint “The Zimbabwe Smart Sustainable Cities Initiative” in March 2018, is set working on establishing two smart cities in Melfort and in Mt Hampden.
However, smart cities face several challenges such as financing obstacles, misunderstandings between local authorities and developers as well as the exclusion of the poor,” he said.
“Finding the right funding structure can be make or break for a smart city. Because the amount of public money available is generally limited, financing models that combine international development organizations with institutional investors are growing in popularity.”
Dzirutwe added that it was imperative for locals in the property sector and running municipalities to attend the conference and learn best smart cities practices from leaders in the industry.
