The inaugural Africa Digital Forum (ADF), oraganised by AIDEC Consultancies International Limited, is set to come off in Accra on Wednesday, 25 August 2021.
Dubbed the ‘Accra Edition’, the Forum which has as its theme, ‘The Digital Challenge: Africa’s Opportunity Under AfCFTA’, will see key stakeholders in policy, regulation, industry, and academia converge to deliberate on the necessity, challenges, and opportunities of digitalization in fulfilling the potential presented by the continent-wide free trade area.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into effect on January 1, 2021, provides market access to 1.2 billion people and a gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.5 trillion, across all 55 member states of the African Union.
Speaking ahead of the Forum, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AIDEC Consultancies International Limited, Mr. Ambrose Yennah stated that Accra was chosen as the destination for the maiden edition as it currently serves as home to the AfCFTA Secretariat.
“This gathering of regulators, academics and businesspeople; from Club 100 companies to budding Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and even Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) will ensure that the most pertinent issues confronting all stakeholders would be discussed and solutions proffered,” he explained.
Continuing, he said: “We are quite concerned about applying digitalization to ensure that goods and services meet the prerequisite standards, particularly for the anglophone and francophone markets – which represent the biggest on the continent – as well as other markets.”
On a similar tangent, the Chairman of the Board at AIDEC Consultancies International Limited, Prof. Robert Yennah stated that the Forum would serve as a platform for regulators to sensitize players in their respective spaces on the matters of policy. It will also provide indigenous institutions that focus on digital solutions for businesses, a ready platform to showcase their products and services.
“We have been able to pool together some of the best indigenous human resources in the area of ICT, who are able to provide solutions to big multinational corporations, as well as small businesses who are struggling to part of the digital world.”
The hybrid event will see the Secretary-General of AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene; Minister for Communication and Digitalization, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) Richard Okyere-Fosu; renowned scientist and ‘Africa’s father of the internet’, Prof. Nii Narku Quaynor; the Mayor of Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah; the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Prof. Alex Dodoo; and the Dean of the University of Ghana Business School, Prof. Justice Bawole speak on subjects such as developing smart cities, cross border trade protocols, standardization and skill development, amongst others.
The Africa Digital Forum (ADF) Accra Edition
The Africa Digital Forum (ADF), Accra Edition is the maiden platform that seeks to bring key stakeholders in policy, regulation, industry, and academia converge to deliberate on the necessity, challenges, and opportunities of digitalization in fulfilling the potential presented by the continent-wide free trade area. The Accra Edition will be held under the theme: ‘The Digital Challenge: Africa’s Opportunity Under AfCFTA’,
This gathering of regulators, academics and businesspeople; from Club 100 companies to budding Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and even Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) will ensure that the most pertinent issues confronting all stakeholders would be discussed and solutions proffered.
AIDEC Consultancies International Ltd
AIDEC Consultancies International Ltd is a Ghanaian company, a limited liability company with shares. Incorporated in 2004 with a track record of 17 years, it is a 100% Ghanaian owned subsidiary of AIDEC Holdings Ltd located at AIDEC Plaza, East Legon, Accra, Ghana.
AIDEC Consultancies International Ltd is a general management consulting firm within the AIDEC Group and include a Digital Solutions and Excellence Center (AIDEC Digital). As a consulting firm, we help businesses and public sector institutions to craft their management strategies and find their digital compass.
Experts and Consultants at the Center advise and support clients to craft and implement digital transformation strategies so they can stay relevant and competitive in a world that is digitally transforming. The Center has modern digital solutions for governments.
Through public-private sector collaboration, we support information sharing, communications and learning within and across public, private and third sectors. Over the last 17 years, our firms strength has been in the quality of our assignment delivery; we have provided quality and excellent services to several organizations.
Our professional staff are from different professional and academic backgrounds and we engage them as teams with skills-set appropriate to specific assignments. We work with our clients to assess their needs and design appropriate solutions to address their specific challenges. Our approach engages the Management of our clients in discussions, and feedback is a continuous process to ensure the results we deliver are to the satisfaction of our clients.
