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Dr Sumarie Roodt

Senior Lecturer, Information Systems and Chairperson of the Silicon Cape Initiative

Sumarie is deeply passionate about the transformational power of technology and entrepreneurship to affect positive change in terms of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) both in South Africa and Africa. She is a Research Associate at the Centre for Information Technology and National Development in Africa (CITANDA). A National Research Foundation (NRF) rated researcher, she also serves on the NRF panel for Physics, Astronomy, Mathematics and ICT. Outside of UCT, Sumarie is a Director and Co-Chairperson of the Silicon Cape Initiative, Africa’s largest, most established and most productive technology innovation network from an emerging market perspective. Sumarie is also a Research Associate at the Sustainability Institute where she conducts advisory work on how Africa can harness technology entrepreneurship to drive the digitisation of the continent for the betterment of all. Additionally, she serves on the BRICS working group on Science, Technology and Innovation Driven Entrepreneurship and has contributed to South Africa’s Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (PC4IR). Sumarie has a dual specialisation in Psychology where she explores the relationship between technology and psychology. She regularly delivers keynote speeches, presents on panels and is interviewed on media channels where she advocates for using technology to transform Africa into a global leader of innovation.