African CEOs Show Keen Interest in Glo’s Digital Solutions

Hamid  Ayodeji

Several chief executives of multinational companies were at Globacom’s stand at the just-concluded Africa CEO Forum to seek the operator’s connectivity solutions to drive their business growth.

Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, whose country hosted the conference, had kicked off the enquiries at a meeting with Globacom Executive Vice Chairman, Mrs. Bella Disu. He discussed areas of

collaboration between Rwanda and Globacom.

Among those at Globacom’s stand to hold discussions with the company’s officials were Group Chief Executive Officer of Togo-based Ecobank, Ade Adeyemi; Chairman, KPMG Africa, Kunle Elebute; Group Chief Executive Officer of Ark Hudson, Ugo Ikpeazu, and Head of Business, Mara Phone, James Kasugi.

Others were Chairman of MTN, Cameroon, Colin Mukete; Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria’s Rack Centre, Tunde Coker; Chief Executive Officer, Credit Registry, Jameelah Sharrieff; Chief Executive Officer of Sodeico of Congo Democratic Republic, Djo Falanga; Director General of Azur of Gabon, Jean Obambi, and Allen Emiowei of Bayelsa State Investment Promotion Agency, Nigeria.

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 the continent to create a sustainable environment for telecommunication companies to connect cities and rural communities to the internet. She said this would help operators adopt digital solutions that would make Africa catch up with global trends.

“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,” Mrs. Disu stated.

She emphasised the need for increased internet access by making reference to the World Bank report which showed that 10 per cent increase in internet access directly correlates to 1.8 per cent growth in the gross domestic product (GDP).