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With the 40th edition of GITEX less than six days away, one of the globe’s top three technology and business events is holding out as the only live event in 2020, hosting an array of conferences with exhibitions focusing in tech innovations and reinforcing post pandemic recovery. GITEX Technology Week holds 6-10 December.
One of the key highlights of GITEX 2020 is the African Investment Forum (AIF) featuring some of the world’s leading technology and investment experts as well as top government decision makers from the continent.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy is co-hosting the AIF with the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), organisers of GITEX.
The 2020 GITEX Africa Investment Forum is one-day program that will cover key tech trends across industries with representation from all regions across Africa. A new generation of entrepreneurs, investors and government leaders are making the most of technology to continue bringing economic growth and prosperity. More and more investors are beginning to see countries across Africa as growth markets where innovation and technology create solutions to legacy challenges, notes the DWTC.
Pantami, Osiakwan, Abdullahi, Canidio, Wanjiku, Seyfried, Ayoola lead talks at AIF
The GITEX 2020 AIF is featuring panels that include: ‘Kings of Africa – Unleashing the Power of Innovation for Business Opportunities and Economic Growth’ with Eric Osiakwan, Managing Partner, Chanzo Capital. The sesssion with Lare Ayoola, CEO, IoT Africa Networks, will provide insights into succeeding in Africa, sourcing investment opportunities, securing the right joint venture partners to navigating the regulatory landscape with tax systems, import duties and currency restrictions.
The AIF is expected to open with CEO Connect: Africa Business Briefing & Networking to be moderated by William Skidmore, Editor, Gulf Africa Review. The 2-hour CEO Connect breakfast features a series of sector briefings and roundtable discussions between CEOs from African companies alongside companies currently active in the African market or looking to enter.
Startup entrepreneurship and Nigeria’s increasing shift to digital economy
Africa’s most populous country of over 200 million will be anchoring Nigeria and Africa Business Focus: Startup Entrepreneurship and Digital Economy with presentations and onstage discussion specifically on Nigeria’s increasing shift to digital economy as it opens new flanks of investment opportunities across sectors; and generally, on ICT investment and development in Africa.
Lead presentation is expected from the country’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, and supportive remarks by the Director General/CEO, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi. The session is also featuring panelists consisting of representatives from government and the private sector.
The session on Raising Living Standards with Solar Power, Fintech and Blockchain is looking at disruptive start-ups driving innovation from banking and finance to providing electricity in every corner of Africa. Panelist include: Andrea Canidio, Fellow, Stone Research Center, INSEAD; Yariv Cohen, Founder & CEO, Ignite; Charity Wanjiku COO and Cofounder, Strauss Energy; and Mark Taylor, Director, SAECC.
The 2020 edition of the AIF also has Christina Seyfried, Yale University, to lead talks on The Future of the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa expected to offer different perspectives on trade and investment from Chinese stakeholders and the long-term impact on African economies.
FIVE Key Features of GITEX 2020
- Truly international tech showcase featuring the best of the best business innovation solutions and first time launches from 60+ countries including Japan, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Brazil, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, Romania and India, to name a few
- From Automation & AI, 5G breakthroughs, Cloud & Edge platforms, Cybersecurity to FinTech, GITEX is the best destination to source technologies that can maximise your business operations across a spectrum of sectors
- Huawei, Lenovo, Avaya, Honeywell, NetApp, Symantec, Kaspersky, just some of the thousands of enterprises showcasing their innovation firepower
- For the first time ever, this is your chance to visit 5 tech shows coming together to shape the region’s biggest cross-sector shows: GITEX Tech Week + GITEX Future Stars + GISEC + Future Blockchain Summit + Marketing Mania
- Attend 70+ hours of free content highlighting Africa Investment Forum and Security X-Labs, listen to the best cybersecurity companies and world’s most wanted hackers live on stage alongside marketing industry focused workshops
