I had the privilege to attend GITEX Africa, happening for the first time on the continent, hosted in Marrakesh, Morocco.
For more than four decades, the global technology extravaganza, originating from the Middle East, has served as an exceptional physical and digital platform, facilitating connections, highlighting innovations, and stimulating future thinking across various technology themes.
This first edition covered consumer technology, artificial intelligence, cloud and Internet of things, digital cities and e-government, telecom and network infrastructure, cybersecurity, digital payments, and startups.
To unlock the advantages of a near-homogenous market in Africa, we must actively pursue common grounds for policymaking and regulation.
Effective regulation will help mitigate risks by establishing regional standards, promoting collaboration between public and private sectors, and ensuring accountability.
It was good to hear that active conversations are happening to reduce friction affecting the movement of products, services, and human resources.
It calls for bold leadership across borders to break down perceived and actual barriers of geopolitical nature.
Start-ups
Innovation can come from freshly minted companies or even those regarded as incumbent. The startup is a mindset.
There is no shortage of teams applying themselves to the many problems and other opportunities across the continent.
There is lots of replication with nuanced differences to accommodate culture and localisms. We will see consolidations as those that achieve escape velocity from one country explore new markets.
Several governments actively positioned their startups as solution providers. This strategy should pay off even with single-digit successes.
International development agencies are heavily active in Africa. I have mixed feelings about this. Interpretation is divergent.
Partnerships shone through— as it was clear, many had anchor partners that could be instrumental to early traction and eventual scale-up.
I believe we have the potential to create for the world, especially in consumer tech.
Cybersecurity
As the continent digitises, the risks that come as part of the transformation are now widely acknowledged. Across the entire gamut of themes, none remains untouched by the need for cyber resilience.
We must protect vital infrastructure, ensure smooth business operations, foster secure organisations, and even safeguard the integrity of entire nations.
Overall, a fantastic three days packed with insightful panels, fireside chats, keynotes, presentations, and pitches.
It was impossible to attend everything of interest or close all meetings desired. It was a rich depiction of Africa’s vibrant essence, capturing the diversity in its people and abundant possibilities. I look forward to the next edition.
