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Global ICT stakeholders will be gathering at GITEX 2019 in Dubai from October 06-10, 2019 to share trends in technology and peep into the future of the industry.
More than 200, 000 trade visitors are expected from over 145 countries for the five days GITEX Technology Week where Nigeria will be showcasing its ICT investment potential at the Nigerian Country Pavilion and the Nigerian Startup Pavilion.
The country will also be co-hosting the GITEX ‘Africa Investment Forum (AIF)’ on 9th October 2019 inside the Dubai World Trade Centre anchored by the country’s IT clearinghouse, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
The AIF shares Africa’s inspiring growth curves and challenges as the continent grapples with diverse development themes. It will feature speakers and an audience from across the continent.
This year, the Forum features testimonial sessions of top government decision makers including Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, and major businesses and economic players on why Nigeria is a go-to place for investment; why challenges are increasingly becoming opportunities; and how government’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ policy is increasingly improving the economic climate, particularly the ICT sector.
Nigeria has the largest market for ICT on the continent, and maintains the lead as Africa’s largest economy. The Session offers firsthand investment information on the increasing opportunities in industry verticals covering Education; Cybersecurity; eGovernment, Startups; Retail; Energy; Healthcare; and Fintech, and AgroTech.
Also, the AIF is offering an interactive and pitch session for Nigerian Startups with focused discussions on what to know about Nigeria’s tech startup ecosystem. Nigeria remains the top funding hub for tech startups in Africa with about $334.5M invested as at January 2019 according to a report by AppsAfrica. By sheer size of equity investment deals, Nigeria drew more venture capital in 2018 than its Southern African and East African counterparts; and has sustained that trend in 2019.
Discussants will focus on why venture capitalists and angel investors should be looking at Africa’s largest economy for startup funding.
The GITEX 2019 Technology Week holds with the theme: ‘Synergising the Mind and Technology Economy’. It will feature thousands of hours of conferences, forums, tech talks and meetings on various sectors including Future Mobility, Artificial Intelligence, Smart Cities, 5G, Gitex and Lifestyle Tech.
