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BT at major African forum
Wednesday May 14th 2008. Posted: 15:38
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Paul Excell said the forum in Cairo was an effective platform getting key BT messages across
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BT’s transformation journey into a leading global networked IT services company has been highlighted at a major conference attended by representatives of leading African and global companies, as well as policy makers, ministers, regulators and the media.
Paul Excell, customer innovation and group technology officer in the BT Group chief technology office, was a keynote speaker at the three-day ITU Telecom Africa 2008 forum in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on the opening day on Monday (12 May). Paul said ITU secretary-general Dr Hamadoun Touré was delighted that BT had accepted his personal invitation to speak on creating a global innovation eco-system to drive economic growth, sustainability and inclusion for all. “There were more than 5,OOO registered participants - including 200 ministers and other VIPs from 93 countries and 200 accredited media - so this was a highly cost-effective way of getting our regional, global innovation and thought leadership messages to a large and influential audience,” said Paul. He said during the four hours he spent at the event, he was able to make several significant corporate officer business contacts for follow up and renew some important regional relationships. In his address to the forum, Paul spoke about BT web services and software as a service vision and the company’s transformation into a global networked IT services company in 170 countries. He highlighted BT's information communication technology vision and proposals for a sustainable, better world and the latest technology and innovation opportunities from BT. Paul said the business opportunities and inclusion challenges offered in Africa were borne out by some key facts that emerged during the forum. They included the fact that mobile penetration in Africa has risen from just two per cent in 2000 to 32 per cent in 2006-07, with 60 million new mobile subscribers last year. In 2006, Africa accounted for five per cent of world internet users compared with the world average of 17 per cent. Only three per cent of Africans had a fixed connection and only five per cent of web content is in Arabic. As well as serving the needs of African companies and global companies looking to do business in the region, BT is working with the International Telecommunications Union and industry partners on ways of increasing internet access and inclusion - in a sustainable, green way. As part of its global corporate social responsibility programme, BT is also working with Unicef on Inspiring Young Minds - a schools inclusion programme in South Africa.
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Last updated:
11:55