Tech festival focuses on Africa’s digital future
During the event, digital thought-leaders shared their insights into the most important topics in African technology, telecommunications and innovation.
CAPE TOWN, November 23 (ANA) – The Africa Tech Festival is the largest tech and digital connectivity conference and exhibition in Africa, attracting a global audience of digital infrastructure and emerging technology leaders.
This year it took place virtually for the first time in two decades, from November 9–12. While the Covid-19 pandemic has altered many organisations’ plans for 2020, the organisers of the Africa Tech Festival decided to forge ahead with the four-day virtual conference due to its past successes.
According to the organisation, they had more than 12,000 registered attendees.
“At the beginning of the year, we had, of course, planned for our 23rd physical event on the ground in Cape Town. Covid-19 changed that, and we were faced with many unknowns, including a sense of timing as to when to make the final decision to go fully virtual,” said event director Tom Cuthell.
During the event, digital thought-leaders shared their insights into the most important topics in African technology, telecommunications and innovation.
According to Africa.com, delegates discussed a comprehensive move to multi-platforms, especially during a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has forced people to think out of the ordinary.
Delegates underlined that the move to online for all businesses, including media and content, required that organisations address declining revenue streams and replace them with new ways to generate revenue. They also observed how going digital had reduced the reliance on labour, but highlighted the need to improve the skills of existing manpower, writes Africa.com.
The event featured speakers such Siya Kolisi from the Kolisi Foundation, South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub and Orange Middle East and Africa CEO Alioune Ndiaye.
Delegates discussed what Africa can expect in the next 10 years, bearing in mind the challenges of 2020, including rising unemployment, a contraction of GDP and ensuing recessions.
Delegates noted that Covid-19 had also lowered foreign direct investment across Africa, meaning that investment from within the continent was going to need to grow.
Despite this, organisers said that the pandemic had accelerated the importance for the continent to dive into digital and its rapid adoption.
Connecting the next billion people dominated the majority of the dialogue over the four days, from infrastructure roll-out, to skills, education and the tools needed to enable digital empowerment.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher