5 top sessions & what you'll learn from them at North Africa Com 2022

North Africa Com, the leading technology and telecommunications conference in the region will return on 19 & 20 July.

The two-day event will explore how disruptive technology, burgeoning investment, and the COVID-19 pandemic are driving a renewed urgency for accelerated innovation and digital transformation.

We’ll look at how the region’s telcos are evolving to keep pace with changing markets and customer demands, and how green ICT, smartphone affordability and robust broadband penetration are key to unlocking connectivity for the unconnected.

Here are five of the top sessions on this year's agenda you won't want to miss.

1. Keynote Panel: Regulatory Foundations for A Digital Economy

Thriving economies are underpinned by good regulatory frameworks. In North Africa, governments across the region are pursuing rapid digitisation in response both to the effects of Covid-19 and long term trends of urbanisation and population growth. But they are facing implementation challenges such as an inadequate governance structure to achieve the desired change. To be effective, governments and regulatory bodies need to redesign the way they regulate the region’s growing digital economy, from focussing on single industries to large organisations spanning multiple sectors.

In this session, senior policymakers will provide insight on what is to come and what governments in the North African region (and beyond) are doing to gain an advantage. What policies are needed to establish an enabling ecosystem and environment to accelerate digitisation?

2. Accelerating Fintech innovation to enable inclusive growth

In this panel, our experts will discuss:

• Mobile money accessibility:?Mobile money is still in its early stages across North Africa but has been implemented to create a more accessible service for consumers. How are consumers using this service? Has it led to a move a way from the cash society?
• Covid-19 recovery:?What role can mobile money play in helping countries in North Africa recover from the economic turmoil exacerbated by covid-19? What are remaining barriers?
• Policy:??What are some of the key factors that have enabled an increase in e-wallet usage and e-transactions across North Africa? Exploring steps taken by Central Egypt Bank to wave fees for e-wallets and the impact is has had.

3. The North African Telcos of Tomorrow – Strategies for 2022 and Beyond

In this session, our experts will unpack:

• Developing strategy that integrates new technology while scaling digital services to keep pace with changing consumer trends and enhance connectivity
• Network expansion and modernisation to facilitate growing demand for mobile data: building infrastructure for incoming 5G networks, using surplus 4G capacity with a gradual phase out of 2G and 3G services
• Are strategies evolving differently vs the rest of the continent? What can be learned from other African service provider ecosystems
• How are operators seeking to diversify their services? What are the key revenue growth opportunities for telcos in North Africa??

4. Closing the Gender Gap in North Africa’s Digital and Tech Roles

Join this panel discussion to learn:

• Strategies to overcome the cultural mentality of rural areas in North Africa to females in technology
• How to identify the skills that need to be included in primary, secondary and tertiary curriculums to increase female exposure to core tech skills
• Understand the importance of partnerships between public bodies and private businesses in addressing the contributing factors to the gender gap and how we can overcome them to empower more women to consider tech

5. Broadband Networks in North Africa: Accelerating High-Speed Internet Access and Close the Digital Divide

Experts on this panel will discuss:

• The importance of broadband for economic growth and social development
• The current state of fixed and mobile broadband networks and constraining factors for broadband development in North Africa
• The key challenges of broadband infrastructure deployment and development of competition in terms of international and regional connectivity, national backbone, and access networks (fixed and mobile)
• Recommendations to accelerate the development of broadband infrastructure

Want to learn more? Head over to the website to check out the full agenda, list of speakers, and register for your free event pass!