Abuja – Over 50 Ministers of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) from African countries are expected to attend the Innovation Africa Digital (IAD) Summit 2016 in Abuja from April 19 to April 20.
This information is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by Mr Frankly Ginger-Eke, the Manager Stakeholders Management of Galaxy Backbone Ltd.
The statement said that Galaxy Backbone Ltd. and the Government of Nigeria in partnership with Extensia of U.K. would be hosting the Innovation Africa Digital (IAD) Summit.
It said that the summit was a demonstration of Nigeria’s commitment to ensure a truly pan-African summit, of which the Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu had sent out letters of invitation to over 50 Ministers of ICT from different African nations.
It said that attendees at the summit would include Ministers of ICT, Heads of Regulatory Authorities, CEOs from telecoms service providers and High Throughput Computer (HTC) on ICT end users from across Africa.
Others expected at the summit according to him, are a select number of solution providers, vendors, consultants and investors who can support key business requirements.
“IAD, a flagship summit is now in its 14th year and has received the approval of the Federal Ministry of Communications,’’ it said.
The statement said that the IAD Summit focuses on Africa’s growth and development by taking full advantage of the huge investments in ICT connectivity and innovation.
“The summit brings diverse stakeholders ranging from government agencies and departments, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs),
telephone companies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), financial institutions, retailers and other customer facing service providers.
“To deliberate and develop strategies that leverage ICT innovations for economic development,’’ he said.
The statement quoted Mr Yusuf Kazaure, the Managing Director /CEO, Galaxy Backbone Ltd. as saying that the key benefit of hosting the 2016 edition “is that Nigeria being the most connected country on the African continent, the IAD Summit in Abuja will publicly demonstrate the importance of ICT as a central pillar to Nigeria’s socio-economic development.’’
Kazaure said that the summit would provide valuable opportunity to demonstrate Nigeria’s role as a regional leader and role-model for other African nations.
“IAD Summit 2016 with the theme: Harnessing Africa’s Digital Growth’ will assess how ICT can support national and regional development objectives, engagement strategies, operational efficiency and Quality of Service (QoS) improvements,’’ he said. (NAN)