Souhail Haddaji du Vice President Program Management (former VP Product Development)

Souhail Haddaji, Vice President, Product Development at Du, has some highly insightful views on digital transformation and customer-centricity throughout the Middle East. Ahead of his speaking session at the upcoming Middle East Com Telco & ICT Leadership Summit he gives us his thoughts on the future of the digital industry.

 
How would you qualify the impact of the digital disruption?

I would say it is a matter of survival because, as with every industrial revolution, firms which adapt to changing economic and societal conditions grow and prosper. Others which fail to do so merely survive or, in extreme cases, simply cease to exist.

The profound societal and economic changes induced by digitization of our connected lives are of similar magnitude, and therefore they will probably trigger an impact of comparable scale on people, firms and societies in general.

Talking about telcos specifically, they are today at a crossroads for several reasons:

• OTTs are threating telcos’ traditional value chain positioning (Ovum estimated this impact to be – $ 386 billion between 2012 and 2018) 
• The age of the customer: Empowered by technology, with instant access to any information they need and supported by their social network, customers have taken the lead in the buyer-seller relationship. Customers today know better than their service providers about their products, reputation, latest competition’s offers and promotions. In the past decade, telcos built highly effective customer acquisition machines. But, the implications induced by the age of customer and market maturity, require telcos to shift gear towards customer centricity by putting customers at heart of the organization.
• Core services maturity: Mobile voice, SMS and fixed broadband markets have matured and competition has increased severely, leading to margin squeeze and pressure on the income statement.
• Inadequacy of IT capabilities for the digital age: Telcos built highly effective acquisition machines based on complex and often siloed IT systems, to manage various customer-facing and back-office functions (CRM, billing, fulfillment, assurance…etc.). The problem is that these systems, often integrated in complex ways, are not optimized to meet digital challenges, such as personalization, real-time customer responses and omnichannel capabilities.

How are other industries dealing with digital disruption?

At the end of 2014, we completed research with INSEAD regarding customer-centricity and the impact of digital disruption in the banking industry. It revealed that a few years ago, banks’ boards started to raise some fundamental questions that need to be addressed by CXOs in response to the coming digital disruption:

• Should they redirect investment into new independent digital ventures, or should they keep allocating resources to old business as well? 
• How to move organizations from siloed product-centric structures to customer-centric ones?
• With increasing ROCE pressure from shareholders, what are the next generation of productivity improvements for product portfolios, sales channels and contact centers?
• Is the branch obsolete in an omnichannel world? How to shift retail network focus from transactional business to a more customer advisory value creation role?
• What CIO vision is required to support the digital ambition? What are the consequences for legacy systems? What transformational paths should be followed?
• What is the appropriate organizational model to support the digital journey? What is the appropriate governance model to steer the digital transformation and ensure adequacy between resource allocation and business value throughput?

Telcos need to fundamentally rethink their strategic assumptions in a similar way, in order to handle the potent dynamics blurring the boundaries of their industry.

They need to address, simultaneously and in coherence, two transformational challenges: the customer centricity and the digital imperatives. Addressing one without the other will result in an incomplete organization, partially equipped to deal with the strategic imperatives brought by the digital disruption.

From where should telcos start this journey to become digital operators?

For telcos to navigate through this turbulent and stormy weather, they have to focus on the right compass…their customers! They represent their strongest competitive advantage and greatest challenge at the same time.

Telcos need to develop a healthy obsession with their customers: deeply understanding their needs, their aspirations, what interactions frustrate them most and what delights them. Only when armed with these insights can they build customer-centric propositions, delivered through consistent and omnichannel-enabled customer experience. Two dimensions should form the pinnacle of telcos’ customers centricity: customer intimacy and customer experience excellence. 

Read the full interview with Souhail here.

To find out more about Middle East Com Telco & ICT Leadership Summit, or to register, visit the website: www.comworldseries.com/me 

This academic research paper by Souhail Haddaji was originally published by TMForum and MIT on 8^th June 2015

Join Start-Ups, Investors, Incubators, Entrepreneurs & Operators at the Ericsson AHUB

Calling all tech start-ups, incubators, entrepreneurs, investors, operators and developers... AfricaCom 2015 brings you its latest invitation only, grassroots, community driven feature, the Ericsson AHUB, the destination for Africa's leading tech entrepreneur, developer, venture capital, operator and vendor communities.

In partnership with Africa's leading incubators, accelerators, and innovation hubs, the Ericsson AHUB will showcase talent, facilitate partnerships and encourage investment and innovation, in a sector which has an abundance of ICT tech skills, but little industry support.

See why our partners are involved in the Ericsson AHUB

In a slick setting, alongside AfricaCom at the CTICC in Cape Town, you will:

• Gain insights from presentations on how to be a successful tech innovator in Africa
• Learn from incubator case studies
• Hear panel discussions focussed on funding models and how to build a business case to gain finance
• Understand how incubators, accelerators, venture builders and co-working areas support start-ups

As well as gaining invaluable insight into how technology innovation is being developed, funded and nurtured in Africa, you will also be able to:

• Join pre-arranged 1-to-1 meetings with entrepreneurs and potential investors
• Be involved with pitch to win funding
• Mix with the African start-up and investor scene
• Join the pre-arranged speed networking service to plug you into the tech ecosystem

The Ericsson AHUB will attract hundreds of key players from the tech start-up community. Make sure you are one of them by applying for a place at this unique get together! 

We look forward to seeing you in Cape Town!

Kind regards,

The Ericsson AHUB Team

Time for long-term strategic thinking!

Time for long-term strategic thinking! The move to digital is shaping Africa’s economy, enabling it to become a world leader in tech and service innovation. This year the Vision for Africa keynotes are looking at the future of digital Africa, from technology evolution to new services, investment, business transformation and sustainable strategies. In a bid to compare and contrast differing visions, industry heavyweights will swap ideas with market shakers and up-and-coming innovators. The objective: to give you the most forward-thinking perspectives on the potential of digital Africa, so you can seize the opportunities in the world’s most exciting market.  YOUR KEYNOTE LINE-UP THIS YEAR INCLUDES: Christian de Faria CEO Airtel Africa OPERATOR Luke Mckend Country Director, SA Google OTT Elisabeth Medou CEO Orange Cameroun OPERATOR Bright Simons President mPedigree ENTREPRENEUR Nina Triantis Global Head Telecoms & Media Standard Bank BANK Ime Archibong Director of Product Partnerships Facebook OTT Diego Camberos General Manager Tigo Senegal OPERATOR Suraya Hamdulay Executive Head: Group Sustainability Vodacom OPERATOR

Day 1 - Tuesday 17th November Innovating for Africa's Digital Future   8.50 Welcome by Informa Telecoms & Media 9.00 Innovation Leadership Panel: How to support a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in digital Africa? Building an African way of promoting innovation: what best practice can be learnt from the Silicon Valley and other entrepreneur cultures and how to adapt them to local culture and needs? Operators & Innovation: Is a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship possible in a large historic company? What should relations between operators and tech start-ups look like? How to support the start-up ecosystem in Africa? Examining the role of incubator hub, investors and other stakeholders Moderator: Larry Madowo, Technology Editor & Anchor, NTV Kenya Panellists: Dr Jackie Chimhanzi, Senior Strategist, Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Christian de Faria, CEO, Airtel Africa Markku Mäkeläinen, Director, Global Operator Partnerships, Facebook Marc Rennard, EVP Africa Middle East & Asia, Orange Group Bright Simons, President, mPedigree   9.30 What does Digital Africa mean? Technology evolution for a connected world Fredrik Jejdling, President of Sub Saharan Africa Ericsson 9.50 Vision for Digital Africa panel: How will new technology transform Africa? What new technologies will have the biggest impact on African consumers and enterprises in the years to come? How will new technologies affect the telecoms, media & ICT ecosystem? How can operators use technology for competitive advantage? Moderator: Abe Wakama, Founder &MD, IT News Africa Panellists: Paolo Campoli,  Head of MEA Global SP Sales and SP CTO, EMEA, Cisco Jose Henriques, CEO, Movicel, Angola Luke Mckend, Country Director, South Africa, Google Elisabeth Medou, CEO, Orange Cameroun 10.20 What will Africa’s path towards 5G look like? Li Peng, President of Eastern and Southern Africa, Huawei   Day 2 – Wednesday 18th November New Digital Models   9.00 From hardware to software: a shift in how operators can view their networks Paolo Campoli,  Head of Middle East & Africa Global SP Sales and SP CTO, EMEA, Cisco 9.20 Services, data and the digital transition: How is LTE changing the digital landscape? Assessing the state of LTE rollout in Africa: how have the models worked and what level of coverage is needed? Solving the spectrum issue: what is available and what remains to be done for telcos to access sufficient spectrum for LTE? How will LTE access change digital service offerings: data, content, broadcasting Moderator: Alex B. Dadson, Managing Director, Blue Management Group Panellists: Tony Dolton, CEO, Unitel, Angola Miguel Geraldes, CEO, MTC, Namibia Jannie Van Zyl, Executive Head: Innovation, Vodacom 9.50 Future-proofing networks & services for the digital economy Willem Hendrickx, President for Europe, Middle-East & Africa, Alcatel-Lucent   10.10 Transforming operators’ models to succeed in the digital economy The big debate: should operators focus on being providers of connectivity or of digital services? Exploring new revenue streams outside core services (IoT, enterprise services, financial services etc.): what services are most promising and how can operators make the shift successfully? Assessing triple play opportunities: what does it mean for African markets? Evolving partnerships for the new digital economy: finding a sustainable win-win situation with content, OTT and other partners Panellists; Asif Aziz, Group Marketing Director, Expresso Telecom Group Richard Bell,  Chief Executive Officer, East Africa Capital Partners, and Vice Chairman, Wananchi Group Arnauld Blondet, Innovation director for AMEA,  Orange Group Diego Camberos , General Manager, Tigo Senegal Dr. Harry Gombachika, Chief Executive Officer, Malawi Telecommunications Limited Farhad Khan, Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Africa   Day 3 – Thursday 19th November Sustaining Profitability   9.00 Ministerial Keynote: Supporting growth in the telecommunications, media and ICT industry 9.20 Investment, consolidation and profitability: Changing the continent’s telecom landscape Investing in telcos: what are operators’ investment priorities and what are investors looking for? Addressing the need for consolidation in African markets: which markets, how to make it work? Funding ICT infrastructure: what are the pros and cons of the various investment models? Moderator: Siki Mgabadeli, Radio & TV Financial Journalist Panellists: Mike Peo, Head: Infrastructure, Energy, Telecoms, Nedbank Limited Christophe Soulet, Executive Operations Director, Airtel Africa Aniko Szigetvari, Head, Africa & Latin America TMT Group, International Finance Corporation Nina Triantis, Global Head Telecoms & Media, Standard Bank Keith Webb, Investment Banking Infrastructure Finance, Rand Merchant Bank 9.50 Communications with a difference: services for sustainable growth in the community Speaker to be announced soon   10.10 Targeting underserved communities: strategies to deliver digital communications across Africa Examining which segments are still underserved: geographic segments (e.g. rural areas), customer segments (e.g. women) Is there a commercial case to address low-end market & underserved customers with specific services? How to build CSR strategies with a view to sustainable commercial objective? What handsets and devices will help target new segments? Moderator: Spiwe Chireka, Independent Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT) Consultant Panellists: Ime Archibong, Director of Product Partnerships, Facebook Patrick Benon, CEO, Orange Botswana John Bernard, Global Marketing Director, Mozilla Aboubakar Haman, Legal & Regulatory Director Atlantique Telecom Suraya Hamdulay, Executive Head: Group Sustainability, Vodacom

www.comworldseries.com/africa

Mobile gaming in Africa can skyrocket if telcos offer cheap data and fast connection speeds, says gamer Pippa Tshabalala

Digital services are a big deal at this year’s AfricaCom: innovation, new revenue streams, mobile money and digital entertainment feature heavily on the programme. In the spotlight today is the new panel looking specifically at mobile gaming .

To lead the discussion, we’ve invited Pippa Tshabalala, a South African gamer and writer who will quiz a group of experts from gaming specialists as diverse as QCF Design, Make Games South Africa, Fuzzy Logic, Afroes and Google Play. We ask Pippa for her views on the mobile gaming market in Africa.

What is your background and how did you become interested in the gaming market?

I've been active in the more public sphere of the gaming market since 2008 when I began presenting a show called PlayR and then later The Verge, both of them on Vuzu on DStv, but I've been a gamer my entire life and before becoming involved in television I was teaching a Masters level course on video game theory at Wits University. Although I'm not currently presenting (The Verge ended in 2012), I'm still active in the local industry. I write and have written for a number of brands and publications over the years.

What makes South Africa’s gaming industry exciting and how does it compare with other regions? South Africa and indeed Africa in general is quite unique because we have a very vibrant indie game industry with a big focus on mobile gaming. I think due to the proliferation of mobile devices in Africa, there is a real need for good quality mobile games that speak to an African audience although that is certainly not the only area in which we excel. There are a number of local developers who are producing award winning games that are being picked up for distribution on platforms like PS4 and Xbox One as well as PC and mobile. In terms of comparison to other regions, we have no large AAA studios producing games, but I don't see this as a bad thing - it gives us a real opportunity to innovate and develop unique content.

Which gaming companies should we watch in the coming years?
Definitely Free Lives, the creators of Bro Force. The Brotherhood is also producing incredibly interesting work in the form of Stasis. Thoopid is also one to watch, especially in the mobile development arena - they're responsible for the hugely successful Snailboy on iPhone. New companies are appearing all the time as game development becomes an increasingly viable career option - I think we should always be on the lookout for good content.

What role can telecom operators play in the development of a successful gaming industry in Africa?

I think the real issue for many people is data. While the prices certainly have come down in recent years, being able to connect to the internet to play against friends when you're not on a WiFi network can get quite expensive. More and more games incorporate multiplayer, and ideally cheap or free data would be a real boon to the gaming sector. Telecom operators need to offer increasingly competitive packages to accommodate this. Gaming for many people is still a luxury because to download a large game is simply not possible unless you're on WiFi.

What do you think will be this year’s most game-changing development in Africa’s digital entertainment sector?

I'd like to link this to my above point and say that I hope to see a decrease in cost and an increase in connection speeds - we still lag behind a large portion of the world significantly when it comes to these two points. If both of these things happen then I think you'll really see the use of mobile phones in the entertainment sector skyrocket. Already with the current connection speeds and data charges, consumer spending on mobile gaming is expected to grow to R1.5 billion by the time we reach 2018 - imagine if we had access to cheap data and fast connection speeds?

What are your expectations of the mobile gaming debate at AfricaCom this year?

I certainly think it's going to be interesting! Everyone has very different opinions not only about what is needed in the gaming sector, but they also come from very different backgrounds within it. Everyone bases their arguments on their experiences within the industry, and understandably those have all been unique. I think we'll all go away with some thought provoking insights that hopefully we can use to further the industry in Africa.

The mobile gaming panel will take place during the Digital Entertainment stream on Tuesday 17^th November at AfricaCom. To view the whole programme click here.

Top 10 reasons to attend AfricaCom 2015

AfricaCom 2015

Register Enquire about Speaking Enquire about Sponsorship

With just a few months until AfricaCom opens its doors, now is the perfect time to start planning your trip so you can make the most of your time in Cape Town. Here are our top 10 reasons to attend AfricaCom this year: 1 This year’s conference programme is bigger and better than ever, covering the industry's hottest topics including mobile money and m-commerce, new revenue streams, cost efficient operators and SDN & network virtialisation - download the brochure 2 AfricaCom 2015 will see a line up with 63% brand new speakers, including never before heard speakers representing the likes of UBER, Expresso, Fuzzy Logic, Deezer, ITA and the Angel Hub. View the full speaker list. 3 Everyone who's anyone attends AfricaCom - previous attendees include Airtel, MTN, Etisalat, Safaricom, Orange, Vodacom, and more. Register today to make sure you don't miss out! 4 AfricaCom provides unrivaled networking opportunities before, during and after the event,through our networking app, 15+ exclusive networking hours, speed networking sessions and our one-to-one meeting service. Find out more. 5 Source the latest technologies and solutions on the market from 375+ exhibitors including the likes of Huawei, Intelsat, Airtel, Alcatel-Lucent, Vodacom, ACE, Liquid Telecom and Cisco. View the full exhibitor list. 6 Apps World Africa, LTE Africa, TV Connect Africa and VSAT Africa are all co-located at AfricaCom, providing you with even more content, speakers, exhibitors and attendees to meet and network with! 7 AfricaCom is the VIP destination, attracting senior level decision making attendees through our exclusive, invitation-only features including The Village, the AfricaCom 100 Leadership Summit, and the CIO Forum. 8 Experience our brand new features and community events including the Ericsson AHUB, SDN & Network Virtualisation PoC Zone, and the free to attend AfricaCom Masterclasses. 9 Celebrate innovation across digital Africa at the AfricaCom Awards, everyone's favourite part of AfricaCom! Taking place at the end of Day Two, this year sees 14 different categories, recognising digital leaders from across the industry. Find out more. 10 Cape Town! If you’re planning to stay a few days to enjoy all the Cape has to offer, get started: those wine-tasting tours, shark-diving experiences and villas in Camps Bay won’t book themselves… New Speakers Confirmed: Strive Masiyiwa CEO EcoNet Dr Miriam Altman Head of Strategy Telkom Mark BennettDirector EMEA Google Play Herman Singh Group Chief Digital Officer MTN Verone Mankou CEO and Founder VMK Sunil Geness, President Information Technology Association South Africa Alina VinogradovaPartnerships and Business Development Lead VC4Africa Adrian Walker Pricing Director Africa Millicom Bayan Monadjem Chief Technical Officer Airtel Africa Seaparo PhalaChief Information Officer Department of Arts and Culture Plus: senior representatives of Orange, Airtel, MTN, Vodacom, Millicom, Econet Wireless, Facebook, Safaricom, Etisalat, Twitter, Uganda Telecom, Cell C, Unitel, Movicel, MTC, Zamtel and more. Want to join the speaker line up? Get in touch! To find out more and to see what's in store for AfricaCom 2015, download the brochure! Best wishes, The AfricaCom team

www.comworldseries.com/africa

The AfricaCom 2015 brochure is now available to download!

AfricaCom, Africa's premier communications congress and exhibition returns to Cape Town on 17-19th November for its biggest and best year yet.

Download your copy of the brochure now and be the first to find out what's on offer:

• View the full conference agenda with 90+ hours of content
• See our exciting speaker line-up with 63% new speakers
• Experience 25+ dedicated networking hours
• The Ericsson AHUB - New for 2015!
• The prestigious AfricaCom Awards, celebrating digital Africa
• 375+ industry leading exhibitors
• SDN Proof of Concept Zone - New for 2015!
• The CIO Forum - New for 2015!
• The Village - a luxury networking space

Registration is now open!
We have a number of different passes available to you, including delegate passes, free passes for regional operators and regulators, free passes to the CIO Forum or free exhibition passes - available to all.

To find out more about AfricaCom, download the brochure!

Interview with AfricaCom Keynote speaker Moussa Thiemoko Dao, Director Orange Money, Orange Cameroun

We interview AfricaCom speaker Moussa Thiemoko Dao, Director Orange Money, Orange Cameroun ahead of the event to get his insights on the future of mobile money in Africa and the challenges being faced by the market.

Moussa will be speaking on Tuesday 17th November at 15:00 on the Central African experience with   special focus on Cameroon - how do banks benefit from Mobile Money integration? and on Wednesday 18th November at 14:20 in a panel discussion on the future of International remittance. 

To find out more and to download the draft agenda, visit our website.

What is the future looking like for mobile money in Central Africa and Cameroon?

The future for mobile money is bright in all aspects in Central Africa and in Cameroon in particular: The market is increasingly getting exposed to the service (including in the very remote areas), government is enforcing the use of mobile money in a growing number of operations, partnerships between the major stakeholders are increasing, overarching financial institutions (World Bank; IMF;…) are giving more attention to the current challenges,…In short, the development of mobile money in the region is key for the all the major stakeholders, including the users who constantly make suggestions on how to expand the knowledge and usage of the services within their communities.

In a recent publication, reference was made to Sub Saharan Africa as the laboratory for mobile money development. The term laboratory says it all and Central Africa is not an exception to it . Indeed, it took some vision and a definite boldness (from the Central Bank of Kenya; from the operators; from the partners;…) to establish mobile money in the usages in Kenya and make it a success story. Tanzania is developing the service in the same fashion. In Cameroon and in the Central Africa region, we are coming to terms with certain factors which have been slowing down the development of the service. This will get boosted under the impulsion of the operators, the Central bank, the partners and of course the users.

What would you say are the main challenges that mobile financial services in Africa need to overcome in the short to mid-term?

In my view, the 1st challenge is to secure a wide and optimal accessibility to the service through various supports and levers. The more accessible the service is, the more exposed populations are to its features. The combination of these two fosters confidence.

The 2nd challenge in the continent is a regulatory one. At times, we may have the impression that the rules are not levelled by the Central Banks for the participants in the same geography. In some instances, banks are favoured, in some others, launching new services get very constraining,…

The 3rd one is on the involvement of the government. We have seen across the continent some very interesting initiatives (Tax payment in Cameroon; School fees in Cote d’Ivoire; prepaid electricity in Botswana)...In all financial services, the involvement of government is a key success factor.

Overall, it is also key to note that informal financial transactions have always existed as an answer to unreliable or insufficient financial systems. Mobile money is actually an opportunity for all stakeholders to safely channel money; protect the users; develop the SME’s,… simply put, mobile money is key to unlock the benefits of financial inclusion.

How effective have Orange been towards solving real issues around rural unbanked populations in Africa?

We have been launching interesting initiatives to secure the accessibility of this service across our footprints. A certain number of them have been very effective into boosting the adoption of the service. Such trend have given us the confidence of public authorities (Cameroun, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali,…) to handle the transactions towards the rural unbanked populations (social welfare; school fees; tax payment;…)
It is a constant exercise into our ambition to keep leading the mobile money business in our footprint.

How are interoperability and international remittance assisting Orange on it’s journey?

International remittance has proven to be a very good enabler. The corridor Mali-Senegal-Cote d’Ivoire has shown very interesting results. International remittance is an important lever which we keep exploring to better serve our customers.

How do you feel regulators should foster innovation in the mobile payment space? Is there too much flexibility or too much regulation at present?

Regulation is key to the success of mobile money. It is interesting to note that we have been observing along the years how regulators have position mobile money (surely according to the local configurations and financial system set up) to enable the activity and trigger the relevant innovations: In some geographies mobile money has been set up as a clear enabler of financial inclusion through flexible configurations and direct interactions with the regulators (East Africa). In some others, it has either been set up as a strict extension of the commercial banks (Central Africa) or, on the contrary, as a complete and independent business unit in charge of developing the service with a direct relationship with the Central Bank (West Africa). It is therefore challenging to draw a global conclusion at the continent level.

However, we have noticed that places where mobile money is more developed are where regulation does not precede innovation and where there is an open ecosystem which allows interactions all the way to the regulator (Central Bank in most cases). In parallel, a code of conduct has been signed by the mobile money providers in the telecommunication industry. It is the commitment we all take to ensure that we define and abide by a standard of mobile money business. This shows that we acknowledge the level of professionalism which we, providers, must put in the execution of the initiatives. In the light of this, it will be helpful that regulators constantly aim at favouring conducive environments through flexible set ups which will enable direct interactions with the banks and the Central Banks. Such set up will help include mobile money as a complete suite of primary financial services in their respective geographies. It will also help to reduce the challenges of industry related interpretation of the regulation in such an innovative space. We like to think that this evolution is worth the effort in regards with the objective to provide primary means of payment to people with no (or limited) access to basic means of financial payments, a population estimated at 80% of the Sub Saharan Africa.


To find out more about AfricaCom, or to register your interest, visit our website: www.comworldseries.com/africa