Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 27 | Page 7

NEWS Nokia collaborates with Egypt’s MCIT to boost technology innovation N okia is collaborating with a number of organisations to provide training to local talent in Egypt. Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) have been signed aimed at supporting the Egyptian Government’s efforts to use new technology approaches for enhancing economic growth. development internships to give talented Egyptians opportunities to gain first-hand job experience. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said: “We are committed to our vision of developing Egypt as a prominent global ICT player. We are confident that the agreements signed with Nokia will be extremely beneficial for the country’s youth and help us in developing competencies in the emerging technologies. Such collaborations with technology leaders will enable us to propel our efforts to foster talent for the new technologies.” Nokia and Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT)’s have signed two MoUs to provide local skill-building and employment opportunities to support the country’s Digital Transformation efforts. As part of the MoU, Nokia and the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), MCIT’s sector development and innovation arm, will jointly conduct a yearly innovation competition hackathon with Nokia Bell Labs. Nokia will also provide software ///////////////// Demand for VSAT satellite services is growing in Africa T hanks to the arrival of HTS (high- throughput satellite) in Africa, the demand for VSAT satellite services is on the increase and remains critical to unlocking connectivity on the continent where over 70% still remain unconnected. This sentiment was also evident at the Mobile World Congress 2019 where Intelsat made clear that delivering on the promise of 5G would be depend heavily on the provision of satellite networks. “Once thought destined to be obsolete as mobile and fibre networks were ever increasing penetration in Africa, HTS satellite services are proving they can deliver on today’s customer expectations for high speed affordable connectivity in areas where even mobile networks do not reach,” said Michèle Scanlon, Managing Director, iWayAfrica (Wholesale VSAT Division). www.intelligentcio.com She notes that as elsewhere in the world, Africa is seeing a greater reliance on Internet connectivity as governments strive to enable new digital economies and the many associated economic benefits. “Every 10% increase in broadband penetration can trigger a 1.38% increase in a country’s GDP, and every 1% increase in broadband connectivity can generate a 5% increase in job creation,” said Scanlon. “Clearly, the wider the prevalence of broadband, the higher the probability for improved economies, and satellite is definitely key to widening the reach of broadband access in Africa.” INTELLIGENTCIO 7