ITW Africa Agenda

Start your day with a morning of inspiration at our dedicated Women-in-Tech Africa forum. This empowering event will feature leading female voices in the industry sharing their stories and experiences, overcoming challenges and driving dynamic change in an otherwise static sector.  

Learn about impactful initiatives promoting diversity, equity and representation, and engage in a workshop focused on building essential career skills to support your professional growth. 

Chairs opening remarks 

My Journey 

Hear from 3 senior women in the African telecom sector share their experience and journey through Africa's digital industry. 

Panel discussion | Accelerating diversity in the workplace 

• Addressing barriers to entry and career advancement 

• What is needed to develop skills and build a pipeline of talent? 

• Creating policies and cultures that support diversity 

Upskilling workshop 

In 2024, multiple submarine cuts led to significant disruption across multiple countries and sent the industry spiralling. Since then, further cable cuts, new threats, geopolitical tensions and an overwhelmed supply chain has put pressure on the resiliency and sustainability of the sector. This 90-minute workshop gathers leading voices and industry experts to discuss the next steps in shoring up resiliency and redundancy, planning the next wave of subsea cable expansion and assessing subsea supply chain resiliency. 

Chairs remarks & opening presentation 

Fireside chat  

Open-format discussion 

• What lessons have been learnt from the subsea cuts over the past 24 months? 

• Understanding emerging threats to subsea cable infrastructure; concerns and mitigations 

• Addressing the growing pressures on Africa’s subsea supply chain and maintenance fleet 

Ensuring access to reliable, cost effective and green power is essential to supporting the rollout of digital infrastructure across the African continent. Addressing this trilemma, ITW & Datacloud Africa hosts an afternoon of energy and ESG focused discussions, bringing together leaders and decision makers to discuss grid and policy challenges, managing growing load pressures, tackling ESG goals and exploring alternative solutions and new innovations. 

Opening presentation | The state of Africa’s grid infrastructure: Where will the power come from? 

Discussion 1 | Grid and policy challenges 

Discussion 2 | Managing future power growth forecasts

Discussion 3 | Tackling stakeholder carbon reduction targets 

Discussion 4 | Exploring best practice for renewable energy and efficiency solutions 

Driven by mass digitalisation and macro growth factors, the African cloud sector is poised for record expansion and hyperscalers are racing to meet demand. But how prepared are infrastructure companies, service providers and policymakers, and what form will hyperscale footprint take across the continent? 

• How are data and digital consumption trends shaping demand for cloud services and infrastructure? 

• What impact is aggressive expansion in the European and US markets having on capital allocation into Africa? 

• Ensuring access to clean and sustainable power to meet future demand for hyperscale-ready infrastructure 

Africa’s datacentre market is evolving rapidly, facing the enormous challenge of bringing together long-term infrastructure development with the short-term dynamism of Africa. Hear from C-level leadership to explore what this shifting landscape means for datacentre expansion, consolidation and growth to shape Africa’s digital future.  

• How has Africa’s datacentre industry changed in the last 12 months since Datacloud Africa 2024? 

• Where are the opportunities to grow service offerings beyond equipment hosting? 

• Regional variations in demand for data centre deployments and the move to spoke markets 

• Will we see an increase in M&A activity over the next 5 years?  

The global data centre industry is riding high on the global wave of hype and activity around the adoption of artificial intelligence. The US market has seen much of this action, with an emerging question of what role the rest of the world will play. This panel dives into this frenzy to understand what AI really means for Africa, how ready the continent is, and separating fact from fiction. 

• Understanding demand for AI services, key drivers and use-applications 

• Regional variations in AI-driven demand and implications for data centre expansion 

• How are data centres addressing power and cooling requirements for AI-heavy workloads? 

• How will future demand for AI services on the continent shape localisation of infrastructure? 

Whether driven by customer demand, investor expectations, operational costs or impending policy, building sustainable and efficient data centres has become critical to meeting the expectations of customers; both local and international. This panel explores the innovative strategies and solutions being implemented to ensure the next generation of African data centres meet required operational standards - and modernising those already built.

• Exploring modular datacentre design approaches to sustainably scale operations 

• What impact are reporting and ESG requirements having on real investment into alternative energy generation 

• How can AI-driven tools be utilised for energy efficiency, cooling systems and predictive maintenance?

A robust and diverse local internet ecosystem is vital for enhancing connectivity and driving economic growth. But many African markets still face the challenge of small internet ecosystems that struggle to grow on their own. What role do datacentres have to play in supporting interconnection, and support the growth of localised internet ecosystems? 

• How are datacentres supporting the growth of IXPs to localise interconnect and reduce costs? 

• Fostering collaboration between ISPs, CDNs and data centres 

• Strategies to promote local cloud solutions and encourage enterprise in the digital economy 

Satellite adoption is rapidly driving connectivity in Africa. Competitive prices on direct-to-device connectivity, meeting rural coverage goals and diversifying resiliency routes are all accelerating demand for non-terrestrial services. How will this evolving dynamic drive both cooperation and competition, from strategies, commercial and regulatory angles? 

• Opportunities for collaboration between satellite operators and local stakeholders to accelerate affordable access to connectivity 

• Does direct-to-device pose a threat to carriers and network providers? 

• Regulatory and spectrum allocation challenges for satellite operators 

The expansion of data centre and fibre deployments, subsea cabling and emergence of new non-terrestrial solutions is creating an ever-expanding range of tools and innovations network providers can utilise to reach end-users. This panel explores how leadership from across Africa’s connectivity industry are navigating this increasingly complex ecosystem, and how to adapt to a new age of holistic coverage. 

• Balancing infrastructure investments with regional needs to address diverse connectivity demands 

• The role of non-terrestrial solutions in complementing traditional infrastructure 

• How can telcos, data centre operators and satellite providers collaborate to ensure seamless coverage? 

• What strategies are being employed to ensure accessibility and affordability? 

Africa is widely acknowledged as the continent of untapped potential; A growing population, rapid economic and social development, and quick adoption of digital services. How are some of the leading global players looking at opportunities in Africa compared to growth in their home markets? 

• Where do international carriers see growth opportunities in Africa? 

• How are international carriers balancing investment needs in home markets? 

• What best practice learnt in other regions can be applied to the continent, and what are the biggest unique hurdles? 

ITW Africa opens day three to university students and young industry professionals, bringing together the industry leaders of the current and those of the future. 

Senior leaders and industry experts are invited to help communicate the opportunities, required skillsets and career development goals working in Africa’s explosive connectivity ecosystem. 

Despite enormous growth in infrastructure and services, Africa still faces a vast and widening connectivity gap, with around 800mn people lacking access to internet. This workshop brings together rural infrastructure providers, investors, funds and government organisations to address challenges and opportunities in expanding digital connectivity access to the most remove parts of the continent. 

Opening remarks and presentation 

Fireside chat 

Open discussion 

• How regulatory coverage and digital access strategies are driving expansion of rural infrastructure 

• Public and development finance initiatives 

• What role does private capital have to play? 

Join industry leaders and innovations to explore the transformative potential of emerging technologies including 5G, AI and IoT, their advancements and real-world applications, to understand how they are reshaping Africa’s digital landscape. 

Opening statement & presentation 

Fireside chat 

Open discussion 

• Understanding the latest advancements and applications of emerging technologies 

• Identifying opportunities and strategies for implementation 

• Security challenges and considerations 

• Exploring infrastructure, service and policy barriers to further adoption 

Africa holds immense potential for an explosion in digital communication, but the path to a competitive and highly active business messaging ecosystem is fraught with challenges; regulatory frameworks, pricing issues, and lack of industry cooperation. What steps need to be taken to ensure that business messaging thrives on the continent?  

• Have messaging costs in Africa become unsustainable? 

• What impact is this having on the adoption of new messaging channels? 

• How must regulators and policymakers react to ensure the ecosystem remains healthy? 

• How are changing customer needs pushing demand for new platforms and services? 

• How is CPaaS driving innovation in the customer experience? 

• The adoption of RCS; opportunities, challenges, and its impact on the market 

• Does the adoption of chatapps and in-house brand verification platforms pose a risk to traditional channels? 

• How is CPaaS driving innovation in the customer experience? 

• Examples of industries adopting CPaaS and its role in improving operational efficiency 

• Exploring barriers to adoption 

• Predictions for market growth and evolving competitive landscape 

• How can messaging platforms and aggregators protect against increased risk to communication channels? 

• Exploring new and emerging ransomware, DDoS and insider threats  

• Closing the gap in cybersecurity resourcing and mitigating risks through regulation and compliance 

• Best practice for data governance and privacy