MIKLAH Events & Conferences of 2024 – See Where & What We Did!
- Vicent Nemeyimana
- March 26, 2025
- Uncategorized
Miklah Events and conferences happen almost every day and everywhere, for events and conferences are one of our core strategies of reaching out to individuals and institutions and empowering them with our sustainability message. It is also an opportunity to learn, share, and make long-lasting connections. In this brief article, I will highlight all the events and conferences that MIKLAH (or a representative from Miklah) participated in for the whole year of 2024. This is the first article of its kind, and we plan to do this every year.
Miklah Events & Conferences 2024
Yes, let us dig into it. Below is the list of all the events and conferences that Miklah (or a staff member from Miklah) participated in for the whole year of 2024. Some of them are recurring, implying you could plan to be part of them in 2025. We are open to sharing our experience and guidance if you wanna be part of any of the following Miklah Events.
Wait! The text ‘Miklah Events’ does not necessarily mean we organized, owned, or funded the events; it simply means we were part of it! Where we did more than just attend or participate, it will be in the details. Thank you.
1. Uganda – European Union (EU) Business Forum
Miklah Events 2024 kicked off with our full participation in the Uganda-European Union (EU) Business Forum (UEUBF), which was held from 5th to 7th March 2024 at Speke Resort Convention Center, Munyonyo, Kampala, Uganda (this center has 3 websites, all great: here, here, and here). The UEUBF is a highly attended business-focused conference that brings together Ugandan businesses and the European Union to discuss and forge areas of alliance for sustainable socioeconomic growth. Attendees and delegates are usually from both the Government and private sector from both sides. Youth attended in large numbers. In 2024, more than 1500 delegates were on site, 800+ companies participated from Uganda, and more than 190 businesses from Europe were part of the forum.
This conference inspired us to look out for more, discuss partnerships without fear, and have eyes in high places, even the European Union. From their official website, it seems UEUBF happens every 2 years, for I can see reports of 2020 but not 2021, 2022 but not 2023, and reports of 2024 but not 2025. Do you wanna know more? Visit the official Uganda-European Union Business Forum website and read the UEUBF 2024 report here. Thank you.
2. African Diaspora Investment Symposium – ADIS24
This is one of the best MIKLAH events of 2024. The African Diaspora Investment Symposium 2024 (ADIS24) explored pathways through which the Diaspora (Africans living in the United States and elsewhere) could invest back in the countries in Africa. It happened in San Jose, California, USA – Silicon Valley, between 20th and 22nd March 2024. It is organized by the African Diaspora Network, a non-profit entity that focuses on bringing together all Africans in the diaspora and organizing them for a bigger investment impact in their home countries.
Winning the fully-funded spot was not easy, for it was highly competitive. However, by God’s grace, we won the spot and off we flew high and attended the 3-day event with swag!
This conference opened us to a wider network of entrepreneurs across the US, Africa, and everywhere! During the conference, I (Vicent Nemeyimana, Nemvicx) scored the opportunity to visit the Google campus and experience what it feels like to be at Google, the world’s leader in the internet, searches, and ads. Wait! Google is a leader in almost everything now, from AI to smartphones to communications and everything in between! I wrote about this special experience in a different article here: Vicent (Nemvicx, or MIKLAH) at Google! I also peeked at NASA, Facebook, and other giants in the Silicon Valley.
Hundreds of powerful people, including politicians, investors, scholars, activists, and journalists, attended the symposium. I met amazing entrepreneurs from Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya. We had a good time. ADIS has been happening since 2016, and many young entrepreneurs have benefited from their pitch competitions (see here, here, and here) and powerful investment networks. ADIS24 was super successful. Read the whole ADIS24 report here, and have a glimpse of what we experienced.
I personally connected with a few investors and other achievers and I am yet to reap from any of my investments.
It is important to remind us that I attended on behalf of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni network, and this opportunity would not have been possible without their support. Who are they? What is the Mandela Washington Fellowship? By the way, MWF is the most prestigious fellowship that I know about, for now. So, look into it, try your luck this year. In other words, you have two things to look out for, ADIS and MWF, for they are indeed different.
3. Induction of Miklah’s 3rd Cohort of Volunteers – 80 of them!
I think this event happened a little bit earlier, around February 17th, 2024. This was a one-day event that involved bringing together all the volunteers who were going to work with us for six months, inspiring them with successful stories of our past volunteers, and getting ready for their work with us here at MIKLAH.
This event was successful, for about 15 of the volunteers physically attended, and we had a lot of fun. Our past volunteers, Menya Julius, Immaculate, Jovia Nakato (who was still with us, following her win of the 2023 UNDP Youth4Climate for Miklah project, ShareLand Uganda), and Provia Katushabe, talked to us.
Miklah Volunteers Program is a 6-month volunteering program whereby Miklah welcomes youth volunteers from across all walks of life, and works with them as they learn and support our work. We have been doing this since 2020, and our 4th cohort is already getting started. Along the way, we have made mistakes, some successes, and, yeah, still pushing. In 2024, we took in about 80 volunteers, 12 of whom were to physically appear at our office, and the rest would work online.
As we prepare to welcome in our 2025 volunteers, we are glad to say that most of our volunteers succeed after here. Why and How? Because we give them support for their next endeavors, including a volunteer completion certificate, good recommendations when they need it, and we are sure they will refer to us during their applications for those other opportunities. So, we are at least a small part or contribution to their successful journeys.
We have narrated their stories at various times. Menya Julius got inspired to lead other social startups (Hope4Life and Women Crusade for Development) and he has done great things since then. He has gone to Iceland to take a short 5-month course on gender and reproductive health. Provia Katushabe grew strongly into a business-corporate woman. She got married, has kids, and all that families come with! She works with Uganda Microfinance Support Center, overseeing Uganda Government financial investments in cooperatives. Atuhaire Immaculate now works with the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Jovia Nakato, following her glorious days in Italy, Kenya, and elsewhere that Miklah sent her, pushed herself for further studies (Master’s in climate change at Makerere University), managed to visit Romania for further studies and research, and she now heads YES Global Initiative – Uganda Chapter. We are yet to see more great things from our volunteers.
Do you wanna volunteer with us? Just wait for a call! In order not to miss the call when it finally lands, subscribe to our mailing list or join our Miklah WhatsApp Group. Thank you.
