Tewоdros Seble: “I Would Like to Leave Moscow With Specific Areas for Further Work”

The forum will bring together representatives of technology companies, investors, and experts from different countries to discuss the exchange of experience in the digital economy, cybersecurity, and software development, as well as opportunities for joint pilot projects and long-term partnerships.

On the eve of the forum, Thevоdros Seble, CEO and founder of Riftronix Technologies PLC (Ethiopia), told IT Russia what experience he hopes to gain from the event and why he values informal conversations just as much as the official program.

– When I received the invitation to attend the II Global Digital Forum in Moscow, my first thought wasn't about any agreements on the table or the panels on the agenda; it was about the conversations I haven't had yet. As a representative of Riftronix Technologies PLC, based in Addis Ababa, I've seen firsthand the opportunities and challenges emerging across East Africa's digital economy. What I'm looking for in Moscow is a chance to compare notes: to sit with a technology ecosystem that has developed its own solutions and capabilities, and see what applies to where we are.

East Africa's tech sector is defined by momentum; rapid mobile penetration, a young developer base, and enterprises racing to modernize, often without the mature local infrastructure to lean on that more established markets take for granted. Russia's IT sector has built deep expertise in cyber resilience, enterprise-grade platforms, and software engineering at scale. I don't expect a one-way transfer of expertise from that comparison; I expect to sit across from engineers and founders, talk through the challenges our markets actually face, and figure out together which solutions might adapt to East African realities and which ones won't.

I'm also curious, honestly, about the meetings I can't predict. Forums like this tend to produce their most valuable moments in the sidelines, a conversation at a coffee break, an introduction someone makes almost as an afterthought. I expect at least one of those unplanned exchanges to matter more than anything on the printed schedule.

The formal piece of my visit is real and I don't want to undersell it: I look forward to discussing a possible framework for cooperation with ITRussia.media around analytical content exchange and joint coverage between our regions. Whether or not that takes the shape of a signed agreement during this visit, I see the conversation itself as a starting point. What I actually expect from it is more basic: that journalists, investors, and developers in both regions gain a clearer, more direct understanding of developments, opportunities, and challenges in each other's technology markets.

If I'm honest about what would make this trip a success, it's not a signature on a document. It's leaving Moscow with a handful of concrete threads to pull on; a company willing to pilot something in Addis Ababa, an engineer willing to advise remotely, a journalist willing to keep the conversation going after the forum ends, a relationship that outlasts the event itself. Everything else, including any ceremony, is in service of that.