Core77

Now this would be an event worth seeing.

It was only last October that we first reported proposals of hosting a Maker Faire-type event that would bring together the considerable home-grown technological developments of sub-Saharan Africa. In the six months since, organizers have not only decided it was a goal worth pursuing, they've also set a date and location, obtained permission from Make Magazine to ally themselves with the established Maker Faire brand, and assembled an impressive team to make it happen, including Emeka Okafor, director of TED Africa, and Eric Hersman, founder of Afrigadget.

Like previous Maker Faires in the US and Europe, Maker Faire Africa would serve as a showcase for independently developed technologies, hacks and projects from amateur and small-scale makers. Unlike those events, the Ghana Faire will serve as a chance for many of the attendees to meet in person for the first time, and exchange ideas that have been regionally confined until now. Given the broad array of locally appropriate solutions we've seen over the past couple of years on Afrigadget and elsewhere, getting these guys together in a single place could be genuinely revolutionary, especially if vendors able to support their activities with improved resources are included.

Time does seem a bit rushed for an undertaking so ambitious, so any readers interested in publicizing, sponsoring or attending what's sure to be an unprecedented and fascinating few days are encouraged to visit the official Maker Faire Africa site to learn more. For the merely curious, profiles of African makers who'll be attending the Faire are up there as well.