Internet Development Conference 2025

Day 1: 21 January 2025

All times are in EAT (UTC+3:00)
8:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Opening Session

H.E. Dr. Belete Molla, Minister, Ministry of Innovation and Technology of FDRE
Dr. Asrat Mulatu, President, Internet Society Ethiopia Chapter
Mr. Demos Kyriacou, Deputy CEO & Chief Operating Officer, Wingu Africa
Dr. Emmanuel C. Manasseh, Acting Regional Director, ITU Regional Office - Africa
Eng. Balcha Reba, Director General, Ethiopian Communications Authority
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Coffee Break and Photograph Session

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Digital Strategies: Hopes and Accomplishments

Moderator:
Dr. Dawit Bekele, Regional Vice President - Africa, Internet Society

Speakers:
Ms. Mihret Woodmatas, Senior ICT Expert, African Union Commission
Dr. Abiyot Bayou, Senior Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Innovation and Technology of FDRE
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM

Lunch Break

2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Regulations to Connect the Unconnected (Parallel Sessions - Main Conference Room)

Moderator:

Robel Kitaba, Network Engineering Expert

Speakers:

Ms. Mavis Maunganidze, Programme Officer, ITU Regional Office- Africa
Mr. Million Hailemichael, Deputy Director General Ethiopian Communications Authority
Mr. Barrack Otieno, Chairman, Association of Community Networks in Kenya
Mr. Joshua Mpairwe, member, Internet Society Uganda chapter
Mr. Rhian Duarte, Senior Manager for Public Affairs for Abrint - Brazilian Association of Internet Service Providers
Erkan Satik - Director of Cloud Ecosystem & Alliances, Wingu Africa
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Digitization of the Financial Sector in Ethiopia (Parallel Sessions - Breakout Room)

Moderator:
Dr. Beakal Gizachew, Assistant Professor, Addis Ababa University

Speakers:
Mr. Solomon Damtew, Payment and Settlement Director, National Bank of Ethiopia
Mr. Melka Girma, COO, Shega Media
Mr. Beza Mamo, Director, Payment Application, EthSwitch
Samrawit Fikru, CEO, Hybrid Designs PLC
Mr. Seyoum Damtew Director Information system security, CBE

Day 2: 22 January 2025

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Internet Infrastructure Development

Moderator
Dr. Ephrem Teshale, Chief Technology Officer, Zergaw Cloud Service Provider

Speakers:
Mr. Ghislain Nkeramugaba , IXP Development Expert, Internet Society
Mr. Freddy Mrema, Group Director, Enterprise Sales and Marketing, Wingu Africa
Mr. Barrack Otieno, Chairman, Association of Community Networks in Kenya
Dr. Carlos Rey-Moreno, Co-founder, Zenzeleni Networks
Tigest Damtie, CEO, Cloud 251

10:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Coffee Break

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Internet Resilience and Regional Integration


Moderator:
Mr. Kebadu Belachew, Cloud Engineer, Fannie Mae

Speakers:
Ben Ryall, Edge Strategy Manager, Meta
Dr. Amreesh Phoker, Internet Measurement and Data Expert, Internet Society
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM

Lunch Break

2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Bringing Africa’s Connectivity to The Next Level (Parallel Session - Main Conference Room)


Moderator:
Ms Mashingo Jack, Government Digital Transformation Advisory, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Speakers:
Mr. Steve Song, Senior Director, Infrastructure Mapping and Development, Internet Society
Mr. Dan York, Senior Advisor, Internet Society
Mr. David Belson Head of Data Insight, Cloudflare
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Internet in Education in Ethiopia (Parallel Session - Breakout Room)


Moderator:
Dr Fekade Getahun, Ministry of Innovation and Technology

Speakers:
Dr. Muluneh Atinef, ICT and Digital Education, MoE Project Coordinator, eLearning for Strengthening Higher education (eSHE)
Mr. Mulugeta Assefa, Managing Director, BRDGE
Mr. Yehalem Abebe, Executive Director, Partners in Education Ethiopia
Prof. Meoli Kashorda, Executive Director, KENET

Day 3: 23 January 2025

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM

Changing People's Lives Using the Internet


Moderator:
Mr. Yilikal Abate, President ICT-ET

Speaker:
Chris Locke, Managing Director, Internet Society Foundation
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Reporting

Reporting of previous day sessions and discussions
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Coffee Break

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Closing


Dr. Dawit Bekele, Regional VP Africa, Internet Society
H.E. Dr. Yeshurun Alemayehu, State Minister, Ministry of Innovation and Technology, FDRE
Eng. Balcha Reba, Director General, Ethiopian Communications Authority
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Networking Lunch

Day 4: 24 January 2025

8:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Ethiopia Peering Day: Peering Roadshow

The agenda was developed by the following Internet Development Conference Program committee members:

Asrat Mulatu (Ph.D), Associate Professor, Dep't of ECE, AASTU, President, Internet Society Ethiopia Chapter

Ben Ryall, Edge Strategy Manager, Meta

Dawit Bekele, Regional Vice President-Africa, Internet Society

Jean Baptiste Millogo, Director, Internet Technology and Development, Internet Society

Nadiya Mehammed Hussen, Senior Technical Support and Communication Specialist, Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Ethiopia

Mesay Tekalign, Senior Program Manager, Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)

Teshome Worku, Senior Director, Wingu Africa Group, CEO, ADDIX Internet eXchange

Henok Sisay, Contract Tech Support for Internet Society

Date and Time

Tuesday 21 January 2025 –

Thursday 23 January 2025

Location

Skylight Hotel

Airport Rd, Addis Ababa 1755, Ethiopia