By 
Immediate past president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olusola Teniola, is leading Africa Digital Economy Forum (ADEF), a new effort at ensuring the continent’s active participation in the global digital economy.
ADEF is a non-profit initiative geared towards the realisation of full digitization of Africa’s economies and launched.
The forum is opened to local, international individuals and organizations that play in the digital technology space, state and non-state, C-level executives in the digital sector.
The ADEF draws outstanding support from across the continent and will drive digitization across Africa through four channels, namely Intelligence, Advocacy, Campaigning and Fundraising.
Via Intelligence, ADEF will promote and conduct strategic research in areas of Digital Economy as they reflect its overall goal and vision for the African continent. The ADEF will carry out research to positively and sustainably impact the largest number of people; and to influence the adoption and scale-up of high-impact, cost-effective programs and policies in Digital Economy settings.
Through Advocacy, ADEF will work with other stakeholders to advocate for right policies, causes and actions on issues pertaining to the promotion of digital economy across the continent in line with our mission and vision.
ADEF will also conduct a variety of campaigning or awareness efforts designed around its programmes and objectives on achieving sustainable and beneficial digital economy in Africa. Campaign will involve physical, real live events, real life or virtual symposia, workshops, letters to government officials, press releases, email or social media campaigns.
Lastly, ADEF will work with other stakeholders to advocate for right policies, causes and actions on issues pertaining promotion of digital economy across the continent in line with our mission and vision.
According to ADEF’s President, Mr. Teniola Olusola, African countries are making transitions to becoming technology-enabled economies. .
“Africa is at the verge of new unfettered opportunities leveraging technology and innovation – fully capitalizing on the expected boom in the digital economy. There are inherent opportunities for digital economy in such common policy drives as the Continental Free Trade Area and the World Bank-supported African Union’s ‘moonshot’ project (designed to ensure high-speed connectivity across the entire continent).” He said.
To fully tap into these opportunities, the (DEF believes the continent must rework its policy and regulatory frameworks to provide the required sustainable environment for new ICT investment that will enhance connectivity, create innovative enterprises, provide digital skills, and generally improve the lives of over 1.5 billion Africans,” the president explained.
The Founding CEO, Mr. Akin Naphtal, added that the ADEF is the common platform for technology and service providers focusing on the transformative powers of Africa’s steadily growing and booming digital economy.
According to Co-founder, Olusegun Oruame, “Africa’s ability to leapfrog and be part of 4IR rests on the digital economy. ADEF provides a networking and advocacy platform to engage and collaborate with other stakeholders including governments, private sector, academia, national and international bodies, etc. ADEF offers that critical mass of knowledge to promote frameworks to maximize the potential dividends of a thriving digital economy beneficial to all Africans.”
With a mission statement that talks about a commitment to the expansion of connectivity, access to affordable data, promotion of innovation and full digitization of African nations’ economies as the basis for development and a vision statement of leveraging media to expand opportunities in digital economy for Africans, ADEF is focused on the full realization of digitization of Africa’s economies. All stakeholders in the ICT space are welcome to be a part of this initiative.
Further details about membership, and the forum itself can be found on: https://theadef.org/
