*** Share your thoughts on #EastAfricaCom @allaboutcom ***
East Africa Com 2013 Day 2: Affordable & relevant services are needed to drive growth in East Africa’s telecoms market!
After a first day where networks were at the centre of most discussions, the second day of East Africa Com looked in more details at services.
The day started with an interview of Jose Henriques, VP data and online at Airtel Africa, who highlighted the importance of affordability of data services, both in terms of data pricing and of devices. He was followed by John Naranka, who gave the point of view of an OTT player: Kenya-based social network Whive.
The sessions covered the services that are most likely to impact data growth in the region: content, mobile money, e-health, TV, mobile marketing and apps. Some keywords were repeatedly mentioned when discussing how to make services successful: affordability, user-friendliness and simplicity. Betty Mwangi-Thuo from Safaricom (who gave an update on the ever successful mpesa) also highlighted the importance of partnerships to ensure the success of services.
The topic of e-health was covered by a presentation from a representative of Ogra Foundation, the event’s charity partner, which works with and for vulnerable communities in Kenya to improve and promote health.
The event ended with the AppGig, a new session dedicated to developing, promoting and monetising apps for East Africa. A lively panel discussion covered both technical and commercial issues. The audience had a chance to share their favourite apps for the region, ranging from traffic news to education and health.
East Africa Com was once again a great showcase for the innovation and entrepreneurship to be found in the region. Next year’s event (to take place in Nairobi on 20-21 May 2014) will again focus on how to make networks more reliable and affordable in order to provide relevant services for the region’s users.
Until then, the next events in the Com World Series will look at networks and infrastructure developments in West Africa (Connecting West Africa, 11-12 June, Senegal), Digital services (Digital Services Africa, 25-26 June, South Africa) and trends in Africa’s largest digital market (NigeriaCom, 17-18 September).
We look forward to seeing you next year at East Africa Com 2014.
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Thanks for tweeting and using the hash tag #EastAfricaCom @allaboutcom
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The East Africa Com team received a record breaking 500+ tweets over the course of the two days, which surpassed last year’s tweet record by 68%. Plus, the hash tag #EastAfricaCom was trending on Twitter today as a key topic in Kenya.
We look forward to reading your tweets next year!
You can still tweet about your experience this year using #EastAfricaCom @allaboutcom on twitter!
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What our attendees said about this year's show:
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“Overall conference was well organised, excellent networking and good contacts with my operator customers in the region with some hot leads generated”
Regional Account Director, SAP UK Limited
“Well organised event & excellent contacts made. Speed Networking sessions were great! Propose that you keep doing them again!”
Regional Director – Africa, iBasis
“We had very good two day at East Africa Com and made valuable contacts during networking with new & exciting partners”
VP Sales, Ekinops France
“Great event! It is our first time at East Africa Com and it was a good opportunity to interact with more players in the region as well as our clients. The speed networking was a valuable session in which we got to sell ourselves to potential clients”
Commercial Officer, ComzAfrica Kenya
“Informa put on a great networking event presenting valuable opportunities to explore business relationships.”
Cyrus Sang, Executive Director, Jamii Telecom Ltd, Kenya
“Good show and productive targeted meetings with East-African operators – will definitely take part again.”
Philippe Llau, Director Line of Business Data & Telecom, Eutelsat France
“It has been a pleasure attending East Africa Com and participating as a panellist, hearing and sharing views from other regional players.”
Betty Mwangi-Thuo, General Manager, Financial Services, Safaricom
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Thank you to all the Sponsors of East Africa Com 2013
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Comza * Eutelsat * Liquid Telecom * KDN * Simbanet
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See You Next Year!
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To get involved early for the 2014 show,
please visit our website: http://eaafrica.comworldseries.com/
East Africa Com 2014
20-21 May 2014
Safari Park Hotel
Nairobi, Kenya
***Join us for day 2 *** Share your thoughts on #EastAfricaCom @allaboutcom
The 9th annual East Africa Com opened in Nairobi today with great debates showcasing the dynamism of the region’s market. Senior executives from the telecoms, media and ICT sector from the whole region were in attendance to define strategies for a changing market as well as to network with their peers and to do business.
The keynote session offered a great overview of the key trends, challenges and opportunities facing stakeholders in the digital market. A debate on the evolution of the ecosystem saw Michael Ghossein, CEO of Orange Kenya and Joseph Mucheru, Sub-Saharan Africa Ambassador at Google lock horns on the subject of partnerships and revenue sharing between operators and OTT players.
Richard Bell, CEO of triple player Wananchi showcased the diversity of the opportunities in the new digital ecosystem. He summed up the enthusiasm of many in the audience by saying: “The reason we’re all here at this event and the reason why East Africa is so exciting is because East Africa is all about innovation, change and growth”.
The other main subject of the day was broadband and connectivity, whether from mobile or fibre/satellite developments. The sessions included contributions from MTN Business Kenya, Airtel, Canar Telecom Sudan, PCCW/Gateway, Eutelsat and more. The conference in the afternoon broke into two sessions, one looking further into connectivity themes and another one looking at Customer Experience Management with in particular a presentation from Safaricom.
Meanwhile the adjacent exhibition was all about networking and business meetings. Over 25 exhibitors showcased their products and solutions for the market. A Speed Networking session took place during the morning coffee break, bringing together 20+ VIP guests from the region’s leading operators to meet solutions providers and vendors. The day ended with a poolside networking drinks reception sponsored by Liquid Telecom – a great place to unwind after a busy day!
“It is clear from the debates both in the conference and in the networking breaks that the East Africa region is a great hub for business in Africa” says Julie Rey, Research Director at organisers Informa Telecoms & Media; “We are proud to organise East Africa Com as the region’s annual forum to encourage debate and business deals in this dynamic environment”.
The second day of East Africa Com will include sessions on data strategies, digital services, mobile money, mobile marketing and the AppGig for developers.
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Make sure to join us for Day 2
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There is an outstanding speaker line-up for day 2 of the event as well -
make sure to join us tomorrow!
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Timings:
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Registration Day 2: 08:30am
Conference Day 2: 09:00am - 15:30pm
APPGIG at East Africa Com
Conference Day 2: 14:00am - 15:10pm
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What are your thoughts on this year's East Africa Com?
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The East Africa Com team received a record breaking 300+ tweets within the first 4 hours of the conference, which surpassed last year’s tweet record by 50%. Plus, the hash tag #EastAfricaCom was trending on Twitter today as a key topic in Kenya.
So don't forget to tweet about your experience using #EastAfricaCom
@allaboutcom on twitter!
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Feedback about Day 1 on Twitter:
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"People are discussing major business deals at #EastAfricaCom"
Robert Alai, Blogger, Techmtaa
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Sponsors of East Africa Com
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Comza
Eutelsat
Liquid Telecom
KDN
Simbanet
Join us tomorrow at the Safari Park, Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya!
The East Africa Com Team
