Adebayo Shittu
As new technologies and innovations emerge and become ubiquitous and
demanding, African communications ministers led by Nigeria’s Communications
Minister, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, and his Ghanaian counter, Mrs. Ursula
Owusu-Ekuful, will file out this September 6 and 7 in Nigeria with their
Indian counterpart, Shri Manoj Sinha in a determined effort to fashion the
future of Africa’s Information and Communications Technology industry.
The occasion is the Indo-Africa ICT Expo & Summit 2017, a two-day forum
designed under the auspices of strengthening Indo-African relations
essentially to move the African ICT industry to greater heights with the
theme ‘Digital Dreams of Developing Nations’.
As explained by Shri Rajesk Kumar Bhatnagar the Director-General, of the
Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC), a body set
up by the Indian Government, which is organising the event, the programme
presents African ICT experts a unique opportunity to present and review
their nations’ ICT plans over short, medium and long term periods.
“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,” Shri Bhatnagar noted.
Other topics for the conference also 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.
India’s giant strides in ICTs are globally recognised as a shiny example for
all developing economies to emulate, hence, this event being organised 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.
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).
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.
ATCON President, Engr. Olusola Teniola, ITAN President, Mr. Tayo Adeniyi,
ALTON Chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, among others, have so far been listed
to speak at the event. From India, the speakers include Mr. Shyamal Ghosh,
Chairman of TEPC, Sanjay Nayak, Chief Executive Officer and Managing
Director at Tejas Networks, Mr. M. Soundarakumar, Director, Centre for
Development of Telematics, Bangalore, Shivendra Singh, Vice President and
Head of Global Trade Development at NASSCOM, and Mr. Rajesh Tuli, Managing
Director of Coral Telecom which is the leading Indian communication
solutions provider with significant focus on the defence and next generation
communications space.
Other speakers on the Indian delegation are Mr. Rajesh K. Pathak, Director
Telecom Centre of Excellence (TCOE) who is also Deputy Director General
(International Cooperation) at Department of Telecommunications, as well as
Mr. Rakesh K. Bhatnagar, the Director-General of the TEPC, who comes with
long standing experience in telecom regulation having been advisor to the
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), among his many areas of
expertise.
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!”
