There’s one week to go until East Africa Com kicks off in the Silicon Savannah, with over 600 attendees expected to descend upon Nairobi for the 14th annual event. Joining them will be over 50 expert speakers and 20 solutions-focused exhibitors from the telecommunications media and technology sectors, making East Africa Com the leading strategic event for executives working in the region.
Taking place between the 17 – 18 May 2017 at the Radisson Blu, Upper Hill, Nairobi, this year’s East Africa Com will be focussing on the transformational impact of digital communication on lives in business, in not only the telecommunications industry but also in East Africa’s burgeoning digital television sector.
Day 1 of the event sees a selection of Africa’s leading mobile network operators address delegates in two separate keynote addresses on bridging the connectivity divide in East Africa and beyond. Safaricom’s Corporate Affairs Director Steve Chege will be speaking on: ‘The socioeconomic benefits of NBN and the key rollout strategies in Eastern Africa’ while Christian De Faria, Airtel’s Executive Chairman will be discussing how policymakers and regulators can create an enabling environment for operators to improve connectivity to underserved segments of the population.
Joining Chege and De Faria will be Telkom Kenya’s CEO Aldo Mareuse who’s presentation on how mobile network operator strategies are evolving to meet the demands of a shifting digital landscape, will be kicking off the Creating East Africa’s Connected Society stream, also on day 1.
It is not only the major MNO’s who’ll be attendance at this year’s event, though – day 1 will also see presentations and panel discussions from research analysts and experts at Ovum, Data Networks, UROS Group and Calix who will be speaking a range of topics from SDN and NFV deployments, infrastructure sharing and investment opportunities to name but a few.
Last year saw the establishment of the first ever Digital Broadcasting stream at East Africa Com and due to the high levels of interest and success, is back for its second year. This year, East Africa Com welcomes General Manger for Digital at Bamba TV Danny Mucira, Senior Manager for TV and Media Content Catherine Wanjiku Njari and Kana Television’s Co-Founder and Managing Director Elias Schulze amongst others, who will be debating and analysing the digital migration, OTT TV models, as well as leveraging new and disruptive technologies in the space.
A not-to-be-missed panel discussion on: ‘Examining IoT’s practical applications to stimulating markets and the central role of the MNO’ will conclude day 1, featuring leading minds in both African technology and communications. Sizing up the IoT opportunities for telcos will be Safricom’s Head of Strategy Ken Okwero, Maurtius Telecom’s Claire Papponeau, Internet Society’s Antony Otieno, the GSMA’s Angela Wamola and Ovum’s Research Analyst Danson Njue.
Day 2 of East Africa Com will be deep diving into ICT strategy within telecommunications with a live interview with Safaricom CTO Thibaud Rerolle on: Developing a winning ICT strategy and successfully navigating digital disruption. Complementing this session will be the CIO Forum on digital transformation with the CIO of the Co-Operative Bank of Kenya Charles Washika, the General Manager of Network Projects at Airtel Tanzania Barnabas Bwali, the CIO of Harambee Sacco Martin Omidio, DHL Suplly Chain’s IT Director Alia Alonga and the Founder and CEO of Project Dimensions James Muritu.
The East African SME ecosystem will be drawn into sharp focus at this year’s event with a panel discussion on how large corporations are supporting ICT4D goal and creating opportunities for SMEs in tech, with ICT4D expert Nixon Gecheo, MTN’s Product Business Manager Steve Kirenga and Safaricom’s Head of Wholesale and Roaming Wangeci Kanjama.
Mobile finance and commerce in East Africa has become a world leader in financial inclusion and East Africa Com will be discussion on creating an ecosystem of financial empowerment through mobile money and digital banking with the founder of Airpesa Segeni Ng’ethe, Verdant Capital’s Managing Director Higenbottam and Founder and CEO of Abacus Joel Macharia.
Some of the major disruptive forces within technology, both in Africa and abroad will be taking to the stage on the second day of the event discussing everything from driving access to mobile health services with the Head of Hello Doctor, Dr Michael Mol, the future of urban mobility with Uber’s General Manager, Loic Amado and developing a Pan-African culture of entrepreneurship and innovation with the Co-Founder of BRCK, Philip Walton.
With all this on the cards, let’s not forget that the event also provides a multitude of opportunities to meet and forge meaningful business relationships through our networking sessions, private meeting opportunities, poolside networking drinks and extensive solutions-focused exhibition.
There’s still time to purchase your delegate pass to East Africa Com here. If you ‘re a regional operator or regulator, you can attend the event for free, sign up here. If you can’t be there in person follow all the discussion and breaking news on Connecting Africa and our social media channels using the hashtag #EastAfricaCom.
