Africa Focus: Reasons African Technology Businesses should be at GITEX 2013 in Dubai.

 

 

 

 

Africa as part of the emerging continents of the world shows key developmental and economic potentials. This has placed the continent in a strategic position as the next viable market for investors and businesses around the world. How well we bargain with these growing opportunities determines will determine how relevant African nations will be in the next ten years.

Each day the mobile revolution sweeping across Africa is indeed generating several global interests and relevance. Am happy this is actually fueling technology entrepreneurship among the African Youths , creating a whole new set of digital entrepreneurs despite daunting challenges especially lack of funding for businesses and infrastructural deficiencies. This positive news out of Africa is a major focus I will be speaking on at the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation Forum and also at the Nigeria National Software Conference.

It is however not surprising that the GITEX 2013 – a leading Technology conference and exhibition among the Middle East, Africa and the Southern Asia holding from October 20-24 in Dubai, has one of its key features as Africa Focus where African businesses, Government and Stakeholders in the Technology and Innovation ecosystem will have great opportunity to be recognized.

GITEX welcomes trade delegations, exhibitors and speakers from key African countries including: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia, Kenya and more. African companies are enabled to network with other companies from all over the MEASA region and increase their business performance and company image outside of Africa. An ideal way to increase business performance and company image is to utilize these contacts and build relationships with other IT professionals visiting the GITEX exhibition.

Visitors to GITEX will be able to see first-hand what the latest products straight out of Africa have to offer. They will be able to meet with other IT professionals from the African region and discuss potential business opportunities.

Riding on that and as we look at the various global technology trends that will be discussed at GITEX 2013, It becomes imperative for government, businesses and stakeholders in the region to align strategically with key representations to explore these opportunities as this will serve as a gateway to international business coalition for African businesses.

Here are some reasons to participate at GITEX 2013.

The statistics around the event:

–GITEX which started in 1981 is the leading technology conference and exhibition among the Middle East, Africa and the southern Asia (MEASA) region.

-25,000+ visitors attended the event from Africa, over 20,000 C-Level visitors attended the event last year.

-139,530 trade visitors from 144 countries, 3,576 companies exhibited from 54 countries.

-1,500 delegates attending the 6 industry focused summits, workshops, conferences, and panel debates. 92% of the exhibitors met their ROI expectations

– Over 80% of the top ICT brands worldwide participated.

-The event attendees, exhibitors are from 12 dedicated sectors: Card technology, Business solutions, Cloud services, Digital marketing, Consumer Technology, Network and security, Software, Hardware, Mobile app and content world, Governments, SME Zone and Gulfcomm

-GITEX offers high level networking opportunity for businesses and attendees from Africa.

The Venue of the Event:

GITEX 2013 is hosted in Dubai (one of the wealthiest cities of the world and a great tourist attraction) at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). The Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) is firmly established as the largest and most sought after events venue in the Middle East region.

The Cloud Confex and Cloud Training:

This is the region’s largest Integrated Cloud Exhibition and Conference. Cloud has finally moved beyond the hype and has now become more mainstream within the business environment. One by one, the bottlenecks to cloud adoption are slowly being eliminated. 2013 is seeing a significant increase in global adoption, and there is now not a sector or organisation that has not engaged in the cloud services opportunity. The organizers’ says that Cloud Confex returns for the 4th year and will move beyond answering the “when” and “why” of the cloud adoption process, now irrelevant questions, and will focus on “how” enterprises can truly capitalise on the cloud’s transformational potential. There will also be a two –day special training of participants on Enterprise Cloud Governance. Am sure this offers great opportunity for Africa businesses, government and organizations.

The Big Data Conference

In matters relating to big data, one clear challenge for Africa is how we can manage and explore the opportunities around the explosion in unstructured data coming from the mobile revolution, increased adoption of social commerce and the mobile web. Big Data Summit at GITEX was designed to help CIOs prepare for this data deluge, arm their organisations with technology, systems and processes to optimize information for strategic insight, and turn big data from a big problem into a big business opportunity. The technology to harness Big Data has already come of age, but businesses are still grappling with how to operationalize it. GITEX Big Data Conference provides attendees with invaluable and real-life examples on how to turn Big Data into a true corporate asset, and more importantly, to use it to stay in business.

The Smart Sessions

This is one of the interesting features am looking forward to, a dedicated theatre designed to give attendees the knowledge they need on the latest and hottest trends and technologies. New and innovative solutions, products or services will be given the opportunity to showcase at the Smart Sessions. Panel Debates, Discussions and Interactive Presentations will be promoted through the extensive pre-event and onsite marketing campaign, ensuring that participants gain fantastic exposure and reach I.T. industry professionals across MEASA.

Digital Strategies Forum

Digital engagement is among the most significant factors driving business today: pushing the boundaries of traditional businesses, changing the way enterprises are managed, and the way competition happens. Businesses in every industry, even those that operate exclusively in the B2B market, are under pressure to change. At the heart of this digital revolution is the empowered consumer, and enterprises now need to work harder to earn their place in this new world. Digital Strategies Forum will examine how mobile, social networks, big data, and emerging customer touch points are changing the way enterprises and brands engage with customers, and will provide attendees with a roadmap on how best to exploit revenue opportunities opened up by the digital revolution.

Young Innovators Competition at GITEX-The Student Lab:

GITEX also has something for the young Innovators who are students of Universities from the region under the Student Lab. Student Lab is a  competition to recognise and promote the brightest and most innovative ICT students across the globe. Students are invited to showcase their tech ideas to ICT leaders at GITEX and the best among them will emerge as winners. Am glad to see students from Africa participate.

For additional information, participation or general inquires visit GITEX 2013 official website.