Mobile services & social media expert joins the programme of West & Central Africa Com

The 2012 West & Central Africa Com conference, taking place in Dakar, Senegal on 13-14 June, will include a strong focus on content and apps for the region. In particular, social media will feature strongly as a major trend for the region.
Sharing his expertise on the subject, Serigne Barro will be a keynote panellist at the event. Serigne is General Manager of People Input and a pioneer of web and mobile services in Africa's French speaking region.
Serigne started his career in France as a web strategy consultant before going back to Senegal to foud the country's first web agency. In 2005 he made a strategic shift to mobile services as a response to the new market trend of mobile phones as the most popular electronic tool in Africa. He recently conducted a study on trends in social media in the region and best practice for companies interested in benefiting from the opportunities they create.
At West & Central Africa com, Serigne will join representatives of operators, content providers, device manufacturers, vendors, regulators and more to discuss the trends and opportunities in the region's dynamic telecoms, media and ICT market.
For more information or to submit a speaking proposal, please contact Julie Rey on julie.rey@informa.com

Eurasia Com 2012 Agenda is now Confirmed – Download your copy & register for your FREE or discounted pass today!

Informa Telecoms & Media are proud to announce the final programme for the 8th Annual Eurasia Com in Turkey. With brand new stakeholders within the digital landscape including content brands, OTT service providers, media professionals and more, brand new agenda topics and new networking opportunities, this is an event you cannot afford to miss!

Be the first to see the Eurasia Com conference agenda - download the brochure for full speaker line up and full conference programme. Learn from the insights of 25+ Operator CxO speakers at the helm of Eurasian digital world, including:

• Ekrem Yener, Chief International Expansion Officer, Turkcell
• Dmitriy Kromsky, Head of the CIS business unit, VimpelCom Ltd, Russia
• Abduvali Vakhabov, CEO, Perfectum Mobile, Uzbekistan
• Jayhun Mollazade, CEO, AzQTel, Azerbaijan
• Yurij Komardin, CTO, KyivStar, Ukraine
• Alexander Provotorov, president, Rostelecom, Russia
• Dmitrij Shughliashvili, CIO, Caucasus Online, Georgia
• William Kanaan, Head of New Business Development - Middle East & North Africa, Google

Click here to download conference agenda to see full speaker list

The dynamic digital world brings you a whole new choice of fresh topics to learn from:

• Reinventing Communications – Strategies for a Changing Market – NEW
• Bringing Convergence to Life – NEW
• Broadband Strategies: Mobile Broadband, FTTx and NGA - NEW
• Enterprise & Cloud Services - NEW
• Special Focus Day: Leading VAS Innovation in Eurasia – NEW
• Content & Apps – Delivering Attractive Services – NEW
• Mobile Money - NEW
• Mobile Marketing
• Focus on the Consumer: Loyalty & Churn – NEW

Register today for your free or discounted pass!

For more information, please visit www.comworldseries.com/eurasia

Cloud Africa organisers the Com World Series announce the CIO of Sameer Africa Ltd is to present at Cloud Africa

Cloud Africa organisers - the Com World Series - are pleased to announce that the CIO of Sameer Africa Ltd is to present at Cloud Africa, taking place in Johannesburg on the 23-24 May 2012.

This large Kenyan-based manufacturer has complex ICT systems that are benefiting from cloud services, and the CIO Shishir Saraf will share their business model for cloud with the audience at Cloud Africa 2012.

Shishir talked to the Com World Series about his company's experience of cloud in Africa and commented that ''there is an increasing awareness of cloud computing and with better internet connections, this can be converted to a reality as the demand to be always connected to the office is rising.''

You can see the rest of that interview here.

Cloud Africa is a new launch event from the Com World Series – organisers of AfricaCom, the continent’s leading telecoms, media & ICT conference & exhibition. This conference-led event, with co-located exhibition, is the premier meeting place for those looking to join the Cloud movement in Africa.

The 2 day program is led by the industry, for the industry - and the exhibition will attract global players displaying world-class solutions. No other event can be relied upon to attract the diverse Cloud ecosystem with such quality learning & networking, a one-stop shop for seeing the future of cloud in Africa and forming all important business partnerships. The event will include…

• Keynotes from the largest players in the industry
• Case studies from businesses already succeeding with Cloud
• Roundtables for peer to peer learning
• Interactive panel discussions between industry thought leaders
• Market overviews from top analysts
• Networking opportunities; B2B speed networking, interactive roundtables, evening networking drinks, etc.

…All to ensure that key issues affecting your business, the hottest topics & your partnership needs are addressed in the most comprehensive way.

Verone Mankou, "Africa's Steve Jobs", to discuss the first African tablet at West & Central Africa Com

Vérone Mankou has been one of the most talked-about entrepreneurs in West & Central Africa since he announced the launch of Way-C, the first tablet computer conceived and designed in Africa for emerging markets consumers.
Aged only 25, Vérone is CEO of VMK, a Congolese app developing company, who took on the likes of Apple, Samsung and RIM by developing the first African tablet. He is confident in his product's ability to rival the iPad and the Galaxy Tab, at a much more affordable price. No wonder he's been compared to Steve Jobs in the African press!
Vérone is also ICT Advisor for Congo's Ministry of Post, Telecommunications and ICT, and is part of theICT componant of the CAB (Central Africa Backbone) Project of the World Bank.
Vérone will be speaking at West & Central Africa Com, to take place in Dakar, Senegal on 13th and 14th June 2012. He will give an update on the Way-C project, share his ideas on device strategies for the region, and hopefully give inspiration to the 700+ telecoms and ICT professionals from the region attendong the event.

Safaricom CEO at Cloud Africa event 23 - 24 May

The Cloud Africa event is taking off - taking place in Johannesburg on the 23-24 May - the CEO of Safaricom, Mr Bob Collymore, has confirmed that Safaricom will be supporting the event in a big way.

Safaricom are not only on the advisory board for the event (alongside Microsoft, Ericsson, HP, ITM and Ovum Business) but now the CEO, Bob Collymore, plans to present about the Kenyan giant's cloud strategy at the event in May.

This is the first Cloud Africa event, and follows the same great formula as other Com World Series events - like AfricaCom, the 6,000+ attendee show in Cape Town each year. The conference will include contributions from the continent's leading operators, cloud players and the rest of the digital ecosystem.

Google to speak at West & Central Africa Com 2012

Google was the first company to confirm their participation as speakers at the 2012 West & Central Africa Com. The event will take place on 13-14 June in Dakar, Senegal, and will look at the new business models, partnerships, services and technologies in the region's market.
As in previous years, the conference will include contributions from the region's leading operators. In addition in 2012, new players will share their views on innovative ways of doing business and reaching customers in the region's telecoms, media and ICT sector.
Lola Masha, New Business Development Manager for West Africa at Google, will join the event to discuss the opportunities in cloud computing services in the region. She is responsible for driving strategic partnerships, exploring new ventures and investment opportunities for Google across the region. She engages closely with mobile telecommunications players, content owners and organizations whose business model aligns well with Google's objectives.
Her contribution will bring a new perspective, and should encourage debates.

More speakers added to the EurasiaCom 2012 programme: Google, Nokia, Telekom Serbia

The programme for the EurasiaCom 2012 event is nearly finalised, and it promises to be even bigger and better than in previous years!
The Eurasia region (from Eastern Europe to the Caspian and Central Asia), has become a leading force for emerging markets. Some of the most dynamic companies and most innovative services are to be seen in the region, seizing the new opportunities in today's converging, digital market.
EurasiaCom 2012 is the best place to discover these new trends and discuss how to generate long-term revenues for the whole sector: operators, ISPs, OTT providers, social media players, investors, broadcasters, apps developers, cloud computing providers etc.
The programme will include representatives of the major companies present in the market. In addition to keynote speakers from Vimpelcom, Turkcell, Turk Telekom and more, and the following speakers have confirmed their participation this week:
- William Kanaan, Head of New Business Development - Middle East & North Africa, Google
- Sasa Lekovic, CTO, Telekom Srbija
- Salih Ozka, Head of EDX team, Nokia Turkey
Keep an eye out for the full programme, to be published soon!

Gameloft confirmed to speak at North Africa Com 2012, representing a content provider's perspective

Sébastien Givry of mobile games publisher Gameloft has confirmed his participation as speaker at North Africa Com, the annual telecoms, media & ICT event taking place in Tunis on 13-14 May 2012.
Sébastien's presentation will look at global trends in mobile content and multimedia consumption, the specificities of the mobile content market in North Africa, and the mobile gaming market.
Gameloft is the #2 world developer of mobile games with published revenues of €141 million in 2010, expanding its activities in all electronically distributed formats as IPTV and consoles. Through its partnerships and distribution channels, Gameloft is serving its game to over 3 billion consumers.
As Sales Director, Sébastien is in charge of developing Gameloft’s presence and overall turnover in 31 countries. Over the past 7 years Sebastien has been with Gameloft, he has gained an expertise in mobile content from the distribution of Gameloft’s games through various channels, the implementation of in-house turn-key eCommerce solutions, and the promotion of games through social networks and more traditional channels. Sebastien is also involved in the implementation of Gameloft’s IPTV gaming solutions as well as partnerships with manufacturers in the Region.

North Africa Com 2012 programme being confirmed - Get involved!

The North Africa region is experiencing exceptional socio-economic change. As the world is going through a digital revolution, now is a great time to look at the new opportunities and challenges affecting all players in the telecoms, media and ICT sector in the region.

The 8th North Africa Com conference and exhibition will take place in Tunis on 15-16 May 2012. The event will bring together companies from the whole digital ecosystem (operators, OTT players, content providers, regulators, investors, vendors etc.) to discuss all the key trends affecting the market.

The following themes have been pre-selected to be part of the programme:
- How Telcos Are Adapting to a New Digital Environment
- Making Sense of the New Digital Ecosystem: Traditional Telcos, Alternative Service Providers, New Media, Disruptive Players
- Content & Apps: Innovative Applications and New Solutions to Increase Revenues
- Mobile Broadband & LTE Developments
- Smartphone Strategies to Encourage Data Usage and Increase Revenues
- Evolving Regulations to Facilitate Greater Market Development
- Delivering Excellence in Customer Experience Management

As the programme is being developed, now is you chance to send suggestions for topics and speaking proposals. Please contact Julie Rey on julie.rey@informa.com for more information.

OTT PROVIDERS DEFINE THE FUTURE OF THE COMMUNICATIONS LANDSCAPE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Last week’s Middle East Telco World Summit in Dubai was a buzzy affair with over 1,400 executives drawn from the entire Middle Eastern telecoms ecosystem in attendance.

Reflecting the changing landscape of the telecoms industry, the keynote panel discussion questioned “How are OTT Providers Disrupting the Operator Business Model?”. CEOs and Vice Presidents from operators and OTT providers debated the next step in competition or collaboration to maximise the potential of OTT service provision for all parties.

A packed conference room heard the views of Google’s Vice President Emerging Markets , Mohammad Gawdat, Ahmed Nassef, VP and Managing Director Middle East Yahoo!, Osman Sultan, CEO, du, Nawras’ CEO Ross Cormack, Khalifa Al-Fora SVP Technology and Network Strategy, Etisalat, Medhat Amer, CIO Mobily , Andrew Hanna, CCO VIVA Bahrain, Jigar Budhdev, General Manager MENA, Nimbuzz and Areeba Areeba’s CEO Ayman Irshaid.

Delegates were invited to join the launch of a report by the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. . With the growth of the mobile tech industry comes opportunity. It makes social & economic sense to include women and the report, prepared by the Foundation in collaboration with STC, provides an in-depth study on the opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the mobile industry report provided an in-depth study of the opportunities available.


The 2nd day focus on LTE highlighted the region’s recent commercial launches. Case studies from Etisalat, du and STC demonstrated the reality of LTE, the impact on the consumer experience and the challenges and opportunities that remain for the operator.


The country focus sessions enabled delegates to gain a deeper understanding of the highlighted markets. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and Pakistan/Afghanistan were examined in detail with keynote presentations and panel discussions drawing out the successes and opportunities in each market.

The summit concluded, as it opened, with a panel discussion on OTT – this debate asking “Should OTT Players Pay for their Data?” With representation from the vendor, operator and OTT communities the lively discussion was a fitting end to a conference that demonstrated the need for operators to adapt to the changing communications world.