A two-day summit to shape up the future of Africa’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry will begin in Lagos on Wednesday.
African communications ministers led by Nigeria’s Communications Minister, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, and his Ghanaian counter, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, will raise and review industry development issues as they affect Africa with their Indian counterpart, Shri Manoj Sinha.
Coming under the stem of strengthening Indo-African relations essentially to move the African ICT industry to greater heights with the theme ‘Digital Dreams of Developing Nations’, experts including local and international pundits will brainstorm on roadmap.
According to the organisers, a key highlight of the event will be an ICT Ministers’ Roundtable Meeting scheduled for September 6, on the guiding theme ‘Digital Vision of the Developing Nations,” a platform for ministers to present and share the ICT visions of their countries over the next five years thereby showcasing partnership opportunities that such vision would bring to the industry at large for the two regions. With lots of opportunities for SMEs, the event will also showcase the best of the telecom and IT industry from Africa and India.
Key presentation will be made by the Director-General, of the Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC), organizers of the event, Shri Rajesk Kumar Bhatnagar, on the present and future ICT plans over short, medium and long term periods in India.
He noted that “Digital Transformation is the need of the time for all the developing world and nations in Africa and India can share their experiences on embracing digital technologies, digital competencies, digital literacy for re-inventing lives and changes covering all aspects of human society in the respective nations”.
Besides, other topics for the conference will range from training, regulation in telecom sector, Convergence of IT and Telecom, e-Health, e-Governance, e-education, e-finance, infrastructure, new technologies, standardisation, spectrum auction & optimisation, licensing, evolving needs of consumers, service providers, among others.
Business Hilights recalls that India’s giant strides in ICTs are globally recognised as a shiny example for all developing economies to emulate, hence, this event being organized by the TEPC in conjunction with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) of India offers the African continent a huge opportunity to learn and adopt new strategies for technology growths.
Nigerian team of government officials already confirmed for attendance include newly appointed Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Communications, Alhaji Abdulaziz M. Abdullahi, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar G. Danbatta, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Managing Directors of Galaxy Backbone, Mr. Yusuf Kazaure and Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited, Mrs. Abimbola Alale, as well as the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Aliyu Abubakar Aziz are top on the list of speakers and dignitaries for the event.
Key industry associations in Nigeria, including the Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) as well as the Computers and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (CAPDAN), have thrown their weight behind the event with full participation. Also on the list are the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
The organisers, TEPC, is working in conjunction with the National Association of Software and Service Companies, (NASSCOM), which is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT-BPM industries in India. The TEPC stated that the vision of a knowledge based society “is built on an edifice where IT and Telecommunications merge,” adding that “rapid technological convergence has already established a symbiotic relationship between the development strategies of IT and telecommunications. IT flourishes on the telecom-network and in turn permits modern day telecommunications to use sophisticated IT-software.”
The Council says as Africa is among the fastest growing markets worldwide, improving macroeconomic indicators, conducive business environment, larger, younger and more affluent population, rising middle class – all are strong indicators of not only a source of capital but also of job creation, skills development, technology transfer, infrastructure development, responsible governance and most of all – sustained growth that eventually will lead to transformation of African economies!”
