The Scramble for Africa’s last mile is intensifying as connectivity spreads across the continent.

Home to around a fifth of the world’s population, the continent’s riches in oil and natural resources have made it one of the hottest targets for foreign direct investment, and the rollout of next gen technology and telecommunications connectivity is going to spark the continent to life, by offering its people a cutting edge way of living, learning and doing business. 

Africa has traditionally been seen as unpredictable and largely reliant on archaic, legacy systems for investors but, latest generation technology is making it possible for rapid first-world development across Africa.  This is backed by first-world telecommunications and data capacity – that will enable the continent to push for a greater slice of the global data centre pie in particular. As with all things tech, once one piece of the puzzle slides into place it creates the space for so much to follow, with AI, smart cities, fintech and the Internet of Things (IoT) forming an incredible package-deal to power progress on the continent. 

IoT and connectivity is the new gold that is driving plans for Africa’s economic and social rise, with the prospect of future smart cities enabling greater collaborations and efficiencies, while safety in mining, for example, will unlock massive increases in profitability for mining operations along with the social benefits of extracting minerals with massively reduced risks to human life.

Connecting these dots for this expansion across Africa, with the economic and social revolutions that will follow, will be one of the hottest topics at this year’s AfricaCom event. 

It’s also estimated that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) business value on the continent is set to break the $45bn barrier by 2025, which makes it imperative to understand and plan for this incredible growth that will allow the continent to increase its ability to compete with products and services provided by the Western power.

The AI Summit at AfricaCom 2019 serves as the world’s number one B2B AI event, as it connects tech leaders from around the globe and end-user pioneers, who will share their insights and experiences about how AI can (or should) be harnessed to address the most urgent challenges that face the people of Africa, as well as the economies of each region.

The telecommunications world will be drawn to the conference’s IoT World Summit to soak up the stories and case studies that will be shared by enterprises particularly around three key industries for Africa – mining, agricultural and healthcare. Improving efficiencies in a business context, as well as making giant strides in terms of safety, health and well-being, promises to change the life experience for Africans across the continent. 

However, two of the major drivers of the digital revolution are data and payments, and FinTech Africa will reveal best practice opportunities to the challenge of delivering cutting-edge financial services to the previously unbanked and fuelling the growth of Africa’s digital economy.

Data Centres Africa will dig into the massive market potential for Africa, with South Africa forming a virtual hub for the continent.  Other hot topics include the importance of getting an organisation’s data centre under control, as well as how public-private partnerships can help turn ideas into action.

AfricaCom is going to open the door for understanding the hidden layer beneath the challenges and opportunities that Africa holds, as well as discovering how to collaborate with African companies, communities and governments to work towards a better future for all on the continent. 

The IoT World Africa, Data Centres Africa, Fintech Africa and the AI Summit Cape Town all form part of AfricaCom, which will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 12-14 November 2019.

Registration is open for delegates and media who are ready to stay on trend with cutting edge insights from the industry leaders who make things happen on the continent. Diarise now the talks and presentations you can’t afford to miss out on and get ready to take your place at AfricaCom 2019 at the CTICC on Wednesday 13 November 2019. 

Photo: Pixabay