African leaders throng Glo stand at Kigali forum

GLOBACOM’S stand at the just-concluded Africa Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, was the cynosure of all eyes as scores of chief executives of multinational companies visited to seek the operator’s connectivity solutions to drive their businesses.

Conference host, Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, had kicked off the enquiries at a meeting with Globacom Executive Vice Chairman, Mrs. Bella Disu. Their deliberation centred on areas of bilateral collaboration between Rwanda and Globacom.

Notable among those who visited the Globacom stand were Group CEO of Togo-based Ecobank, Ade Adeyemi; Chairman, KPMG Africa, Kunle Elebute; Group CEO of Ark Hudson, Ugo Ikpeazu, and Head of Business, Mara Phone, James Kasugi.

Others were MTN Chairman, Cameroon, Colin Mukete; CEO, Credit Registry, Jameelah Sharrieff; CEO, Sodeico, Congo Democratic Republic, Djo Falanga and Director-General of Azur, Gabon, Jean Obambi.

The business executives held discussions on internet connectivity, mobile money solutions, Wide Area Connectivity (WAN), credit check for postpaid subscribers, and bundled mobile solutions for government establishments.

At the digital economy session, Mrs. Disu canvassed the need for governments across Africa to create the enabling environment for telecommunication companies to connect cities and rural communities to the internet. She said this would help operators adopt digital solutions that would keep Africa abreast of global trends.

She said: “The world is experiencing rapid digital transformation, and because we live in an exponential world, it’s no longer a question of ‘do I have to innovate’, we must innovate.

“So, telecom operators will spearhead this innovation. First, we provide the infrastructure, the network, the platforms and connectivity for digital transformation to occur, and the resulting effect is big data, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and internet of things which connects everything to everybody. So businesses must run on new business models to stay in business.”