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PwC, Rack Centre to Chart New Course for Africa’s Digital Revolution
Emma Okonji
PwC, a professional services firm and Rack Centre, West Africa’s Carrier Neutral Tier III Data Centre, have collaborated to explore how Africa could leverage the digital revolution in a second webinar series on Africa, titled: ‘The Next Digital Frontier’, with focus on digital infrastructure as a key enabler for growth.
With Africa accelerating towards an inevitable digital future, the webinar, which is slated to hold September 16, 2021, will discuss new ways on how to realise the opportunities for growth and developments across macroeconomic levers through deliberate investments in digital infrastructure that is connected in the future.
World Bank Insights note that digital innovation is creating unprecedented opportunities for Africa to grow its economy, create jobs and transform people’s lives, offering a chance to unlock new pathways for rapid economic growth, innovation, and access to services that would have been unimaginable only a decade ago.The webinar is expected to tap into the African opportunities through its critically digital innovation conversations.
Chairman and Founder of Convergence Partners, a globally respected investment management firm focused on Technology, Media, and the Telecoms sector in Africa, Mr. Andile Ngcaba, is the keynote speaker and will give a pan Africa overview.
As in the previous series, the webinar is attracting technology and business leaders as speakers, including the Group CEO of CSquared, Mr. Lanre Kolade, who manages an African centred technology company that provides broadband-enabling infrastructure throughout Africa; CEO of AFR-IX telecom, a global Internet Service Provider, Mr. Norman Albi; Chief Regulatory Officer of Bandwidth and Cloud Services Group (BCS), Susan Mulikita; CEO of Rack Centre, Dr. Ayotunde Coker, and Partner and West Africa Technology Leader for PwC Nigeria, Femi Osinubi. It will be moderated by PwC South Africa Partner & Africa Technology, Media & Telecommunications Leader, Elmo Hildebrand.
According to Coker, the forthcoming webinar would build on the success recorded in the previous one. “The population in African is predominantly youth, and technologically savvy, so planning has to consider this strategic demography dividend. Besides, the rate of Internet penetration is expanding among the general populace, digital startups are springing up, so there is a growing need to develop and position digital Infrastructure, sharpen skills, and nurture entrepreneurship in the digital space.
“Rack Centre and PwC considering our leading roles in our areas of specialisation, believe we can broaden the conversation and chart a course forward as Africa takes its rightful place in the development of digital Infrastructure.”
Osinubi said: “Technology and digitisation is a major part of PwC’s new strategy known as The New Equation. Through the disruption of the past 12 months, organisations have had to transform their digital capabilities – from getting their people to work remotely to moving sales and services online. This means that organisations must continue to embed the changes made and progress the transformations. Infrastructure therefore, will play a major role in this evolution.
“Our collaboration with Rack Centre provides a platform to discuss these changes and the implications for business and society ultimately leading to sustainable outcomes – a key component of PwC’s New Equation. The New Equation is about a future that is human-led and tech-powered. It’s about how human ingenuity combines with technology innovation and experience to deliver faster, more intelligent and better outcomes while building trust and ensuring quality across the value chain. “