ICT Indaba - connecting Africa to the world

Cape Town is the official host city to the inaugural ICT Indaba taking place next week, 4-7 June 2012, at the Cape Town Convention Centre.

Frost & Sullivan is proud to be the preferred research partner to the event, which will see high-profile ministers and delegates from across Africa, Europe, Asia and South America descend on the city for what has been described as the most important event on the African business calendar this year.

The South African government, in partnership with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), will be hosting the event with the vision of repositioning the country, and the continent at large, as a beacon of ICT excellence and achievement. Delivering the keynote address will be our very own President of the Republic of South Africa, Jacob Zuma.

"With the endorsement of the ITU, the ICT Indaba will be a powerful platform for the positioning of the ICT sector, not only in South Africa, but also across the rest of the continent,” states Frost & Sullivan's Head of Information and Communication Technologies Unit, Chantel Lindeman. “The programme is focused on bringing together market leaders and industry experts from Africa, as well as from other countries such as India and Brazil, which have faced similar connectivity challenges.”

Alex Ntoko, Head of Strategy at the ITU, will highlight the developments, and discuss the challenges and constraints of international connectivity, as well as funding and investment in broadband and African infrastructure for telecommunications.

The primary goal of the event will be to optimally and appropriately use technology to increase the performance of six key sectors of African economies, namely trade - business and enterprise, infrastructure, extractive industries, health, education and agri-business.

“The desired outcomes of the Indaba will assist companies in becoming more aware of best practices applied to overcoming challenges within the African region," notes Lindeman.

Other interesting discussion points will include a ministerial presentation on: “A vision for a digital Africa”, “Nigeria: African policy best practice to set up a cashless economy through ICT”, “How technology will shape Africa and our world within the next 15-20 years”, and “The Chinese Model: Advancing rural development through ICTs”.

For more information on the event, please visit www.ictindaba.com/2012 or kindly contact Sheryl M Manchisi at +27 (0) 11 656 3613 or +27 (0) 82 786 8908.