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Rise of the Robots as Saudi Arabia Underscores Global Data and AI Aspirations with Deepfest Debut at LEAP23

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LEAP23

Japanese roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro and his robot twin, Geminoid HI-1, wow DeepFest audience with futurist vision of “human-robot symbiotic society”

RIYADH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, February 8, 2023/APO Group/ — 

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enhanced its game-changer status in the global data and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors with the opening instalment of DeepFest – a new co-located event held in partnership with the Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) – on the side-lines of LEAP23 (www.OneGiantLEAP.com), the world’s most visionary tech event.

The inaugural DeepFest has gathered drivers of the global AI ecosystem to unveil multi-sector initiatives in a three-day thought-leadership conference with sector-specific tracks, trainings, live-demos, and startup pitches.

Complemented by a dedicated exhibition featuring companies transforming the world we live and work in, the DeepFest conference program – themed AI Beyond Imagination – homes in on AI implementation in areas such as clean tech, the Metaverse, women in technology, and more – including robotics.

Robots and avatars take centre-stage in future vision of human-robot symbiotic society

By 2050, we want to realise a society in which people are free from the constraints of the body, brain, space, and time

Amid the assembled pool of change-makers, big tech pioneers, data scientists, innovators, enterprises, academia, startups, and innovative business entrepreneurs, famed roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro delivered an inspired session titled Avatar and the Future Society.

Ishiguro, the director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory – part of the Department of Systems Innovation in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Japan’s Osaka University – has been pioneering advancement in humanlike robotics since 1997. The 59-year-old has also been creating eerily realistic androids for over 15 years, including Geminoid HI-1 – the roboticist’s own virtual twin, who joined him on stage at DeepFest.

Having spent his career dissecting the nature of what it means to be human, Ishiguro outlined how advances in robotics and avatars are narrowing the separation between human and humanoid.

“By 2050, we want to realise a society in which people are free from the constraints of the body, brain, space, and time. The technology is being developed already; with our automated robotic tech, we can create avatars that anyone can use easily. I believe we can create avatars that will allow anyone – from children to the elderly, and everyone in between – to play an active role in society. With avatars, I believe we can change the world. We can choose to work, study, and socialise with real-life robotic or computer graphic (CG) avatars. Many companies in Japan are already using CG avatars for customer service – not in place of humans, but with humans controlling their own avatars. In Japan, we have an aging population problem, and we need to find solutions that allow people to work – this can be solved by using avatars and advanced robotic technology,” said Ishiguro.

Other sessions in the day one DeepFest agenda included Neural-Symbolic AI Driving Progress Toward Artificial General Intelligence with Dr. Benjamin Goertzel, CEO of the SingulaityNET Foundation; Generative AI Revolution with Leonid Zhukov, Director of Boston Consulting Group’s Global AI Institute; How Technology is Inspiring the Future Workforce with Beverly Rider, CCO of Tonomous and CEO Tonomous VentureStudio, and more.

For more information on LEAP23 please visit https://www.OneGiantLEAP.com. For more information on the DeepFest conference, please visit www.DeepFest.com

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of LEAP.

Business

Canada–Africa Financing Forum to Convene Investors and Decision-Makers in Cape Town – May 14, 2026

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Ateau Zola

This timely Forum comes on the heels of commitments announced by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, deepening Canada–Africa commercial ties and expanding investment partnerships

TORONTO, Canada, April 29, 2026/APO Group/ –The Canada–Africa Chamber of Business (https://CanadaAfrica.ca) will convene investors, financiers, policymakers, and industry leaders in Cape Town on May 14, 2026 for the Canada–Africa Financing Forum—a high-level platform focused on unlocking capital and accelerating deal flow across African markets.

Registration is open (http://apo-opa.co/4vZN6oV)

This timely Forum comes on the heels of commitments announced by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, deepening Canada–Africa commercial ties and expanding investment partnerships. The program connects leaders from venture capital, private equity, and institutional investors to examine where capital is moving—and where the next opportunities lie—supported by Canadian project partners with proven capacity to deliver on-the-ground.

Delegates will engage directly with finance and investment decision-makers, following the program opening, featuring messages from President Cyril Ramaphosa and Prime Minister Mark Carney, in addition to high-level Ministerial representation.

This Forum is about capital deployment, not just conversation

“This Forum is about capital deployment, not just conversation,” said Garreth Bloor, President of the Canada–Africa Chamber of Business. “We are convening investors, institutions, and project leaders who are actively shaping transactions across Africa—and connecting them directly with Canadian partners who are ready to work together.”

The Canada–Africa Financing Forum reflects the Chamber’s role as a privately financed, market-led platform advancing Canada-Africa trade and investment through world-class networking and information-sharing events.

Why Attend

  • Direct access to active dealmakers and capital allocators
  • Insights into where capital is being deployed and key players delivering major projects
  • Opportunities to build partnerships across Canada and African markets
  • Participation in a curated, high-level environment focused on execution

Secure Your Place

Space is limited and demand is strong.

Apply to secure your place (http://apo-opa.co/4vXb9oz)

Read More and View the Program (http://apo-opa.co/4vZN6oV)

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business.

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ORUN and 1xBET Partner to Support a Dynamic Creative Africa

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MIR Holding

During the MASA 2026 edition, held from April 11 to 18, 2026, ORUN and 1xBET implemented the We Champion Talent program, an initiative aimed at promoting African talent and advancing the development of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs)

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, April 28, 2026/APO Group/ –As part of the Innovation Village co-organized with MASA at the Palais de la Culture in Abidjan from April 14 to 18, ORUN (https://ORUN.Africa) announces the rollout of its partnership with 1xBET to support a creative Africa that is structuring itself, professionalizing, and scaling across the continent.

We aim to demonstrate that it is possible to support African talent, narratives, and creative ecosystems over the long term, with ambition and consistency

Designed as a space of convergence between heritage, innovation, and knowledge transmission, the Innovation Village features scenography crafted by Ivorian artisans, a program of panels and masterclasses on creative industries, an immersive experience produced by Orun Studios, and a major institutional highlight on April 17. Its narrative platform is built around three pillars: memory, structure, and transmission. The initiative aims to position cultural and creative industries as an economic driver for the continent.

“The Innovation Village was conceived as an act of construction. By partnering with organizations such as 1xBET, we aim to demonstrate that it is possible to support African talent, narratives, and creative ecosystems over the long term, with ambition and consistency,” said Habyba Thiero, CEO of Africa Currency Network and President of ORUN.

This vision aligns with ORUN’s broader ambition to produce, structure, and internationalize African creative industries through events, content, and strategic partnerships.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of ORUN, part of African Currency Network (ACN).

 

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MIR Holding Reaffirms Its Commitment to African Creative Industries Alongside ORUN at Marché des Arts du Spectacle Africain d’Abidjan (MASA) 2026

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MIR Holding

More than event support, this partnership reflects a commitment to backing platforms capable of structuring value chains, increasing the visibility of talent, and fostering the emergence of strong African creative infrastructures

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, April 28, 2026/APO Group/ –On the occasion of MASA 2026, held from April 11 to 18 in Abidjan, MIR Holding (https://MIRHolding.odoo.com) reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the growth of African creative industries by partnering with ORUN as part of the Innovation Village, hosted at the Palais de la Culture in Abidjan. This presence reflects a clear intention to support the scaling of cultural and creative industries so they can fully contribute to job creation and value generation across the continent.

 

Co-organized by ORUN and MASA, the Innovation Village brought together over several days scenography designed by Ivorian artisans, a program of panels and masterclasses dedicated to creative industries, an immersive experience produced by Orun Studios, and a key institutional highlight on April 17.

At MIR Holding, we believe that Africa’s future will also be shaped by its ability to structure its narratives, its talent, and its creative value chains

Built around three pillars — memory, structure, and transmission — the initiative carried a renewed ambition for culture: positioning it as a concrete lever for economic structuring and African projection.

By supporting this initiative, MIR Holding aligns with a broader dynamic aimed at strengthening connections between creation, entrepreneurship, content, youth, and growth ecosystems. More than event support, this partnership reflects a commitment to backing platforms capable of structuring value chains, increasing the visibility of talent, and fostering the emergence of strong African creative infrastructures. MIR Holding stands among the main partners of the Village, alongside Africa Currency Network and other stakeholders engaged in this vision.

“With ORUN, we are not only seeking to make culture visible. We aim to help provide it with a framework, a reach, and a trajectory. What is at stake here is the continent’s ability to better transform its creative energy into sustainable value, real opportunities, and influence,” said Habyba Thiero, CEO of Africa Currency Network and President of ORUN.

Mouhamed Dieng, President of MIR Holding, added: “Supporting Africa’s creative industries is not about backing a secondary sector. It is about investing in one of the continent’s most powerful spaces for storytelling, youth, innovation, and competitiveness. At MIR Holding, we believe that Africa’s future will also be shaped by its ability to structure its narratives, its talent, and its creative value chains.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of MIR Holding.

 

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