TNJ has established a collaborative relationship with The Creative Tribe (www.thecreativetribe.org), a media, arts and technical collective in Jinja, the “adrenaline” capital of Uganda and of East Africa as a whole. The relationship was announced by Executive Editor Rosalind McLymont at TNJ’s 22nd Annual 40 Under Forty Achievement Awards, held Oct. 25 at the Crowne Plaza Times Square hotel in New York City.
TNJ will work with Ugandan collective to create opportunities for innovative projects, digital and in-person knowledge exchanges and meet-ups, cultural programs, and support initiatives that bring together TNJ’s network of professionals and entrepreneurs, and the members and wider audience of The Creative Tribe. At the same time, The Creative Tribe will make its expert services available to the TNJ network, including graphic design, app development, website design and management, and social media campaigns.
Support initiatives will be geared toward enhancing The Creative Tribe’s Music, Art and Technology Hub (M.A.T.H.), which is scheduled to be formally launched in December. Support will include financial, equipment, and/or other in-kind contributions, as well as participation by TNJ family members, including honoree alumni, in digital and on-site events, and as volunteers at M.A.T.H.
“TNJ’s collaboration with The Creative Tribe marks our longstanding commitments to building relationships that foster economic opportunities between Africa and its Diaspora, and to promoting technological innovation in Africa and its Diaspora communities. We look forward to bringing the TNJ family together with these visionary young people in Uganda,” says Aziz Gueye Adetimirin, TNJ’s founder and publisher.
Since 2017, TNJ has published two editions of its exclusive “Tech Guide” to U.S.-based founders, funders, and events. In 2010, TNJ partnered with Heifer Foundation and the Bank of New York Mellon the Africa Strictly Business Forum on Cleantech, and in 2015, co-sponsored the Conference on Digital Currency in African Development, held at Bank of New York Mellon’s headquarters in New York City.
More recently, Senior Editor Sergie Willoughby organized and moderated a panel titled “Accessing Venture Capital” at the National Urban League’s 2018 annual TechConnect Summit to provide information for startups to scale up their businesses. Willoughby also spearheaded a standing-room-only tech event, titled “The Art of the VC” at the Microsoft Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, in partnership with Metallic Ventures.
The Creative Tribe currently connects with approximately 150 to 200 young people monthly across various programs ranging from education, entertainment, and technology.
“We are honored to have The Network Journal family join us in our mission to conceptualize and execute innovative ideas that will add value to our communities. We look forward to welcoming many of you in person to Jinja on the shores of the famous Lake Victoria and the home of the source of the Nile River,” says Anthony Thompson, founder and creative director of The Creative Tribe.
According to the GSM Association, a trade body for mobile operators worldwide, technology ecosystems across Africa have witnessed incredible growth over the past few years. A July 2019 joint report by the association’s Ecosystem Accelerator program and
Briter Bridges identified 618 active tech hubs across the continent, up from 442 identified in the 2018 report and from 314 in 2016. Moreover, the 2019 report says, “several non-capital cities are emerging as new, sophisticated cradles of innovation.”
