ACCELERATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION - African Technology Show 2019 | Inaugural Technology Report
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ACCELERATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
African Technology Show 2019 | Inaugural Technology Report
MIE Events DMCC, African Technology Show (AFTS), Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 2019
Published by MIE Events DMCC / African Technology Show Research Division Organized by Events DMCC
Executive Summary
• This report examines the achievements and • With African countries having joined China’s Belt and
potentials of several African countries in relation to Road Initiative (BRI), exchange of tech trade and
disruptive products and solutions emerged through know-how increased significantly between the
the FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, which continent and China across various sectors like
includes robots, drones, artificial intelligence, agriculture, education, healthcare, industrial
autonomous vehicles, E-learning, immersive production and security.
technology, augmented reality Internet of things (IOT).
• As China aims to realise BRI by mobilizing
• Once regarded the “trouble child” of the world 1+ trillion dollars for infrastructure investments, the
economy, Africa advances all digital fronts, driven by New Silk Road will be built through highways, bridges,
ample economic growth, a young, tech-savvy roads, railroads, ports and airports, but also through
population and the implications of the fourth industrial a digital Silk Road, by connecting the more than 70
revolution which knows no national boundaries. countries through common networks and applications
used across these countries (e. g. Tencent’s instant
• South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, messaging service WeChat).
Ethiopia and Nigeria have emerged as the most
advanced countries in relation to artificial intelligence • Scores of African governments have issued laws to
(AI), e-commerce, robotics, immersive technology, regulate the production and use of drones, also known
augmented reality, drones, autonomous vehicles, as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) which limits their
financial technology (FinTech), Information and use for private individuals and prevents the misuse of
communications technology (ICT) and internet of the same.
things (IoT) and the willingness to transform.
• In spite of the increase in digital trends on the
• Leading tech companies from East and West like continent, more roadblocks (of technological and
Huawei, Apple, ZTE, Cisco or Microsoft have identified regulatory nature) have to be removed so that the
Africa as a market with high growth potential based continent can contribute to the fourth industrial
on population growth (Africa’s total Current population revolution globally, in particular in relation to
stands at 1.22 billion people). self-driving cars.
Accelerating Digital Transformation
Inargural Event in Morocco, December 16 - 18 2019
Foire Internationale De Casablanca
CONTENT
1. E-Africa today............................................................................................................................01
a. Mobile and Smartphone penetration .......................................................................................01
b. Internet accessibility..................................................................................................................................02
2. Trends...............................................................................................................................................03
a. Robotics ..................................................................................................................................................................03
b. Drones & Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) ..................................................................04
c. AI-frica ......................................................................................................................................................................05
d. Augmented Reality......................................................................................................................................05
e. Driverless/Autonomous cars ...........................................................................................................06
3. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................07
About MIE Groups ...................................................................................................................08
About CHINA TRADE WEEK ........................................................................................08
About AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY SHOW ..........................................................08
About Digital Morocco 2020 / Plan Maroc Numeric 2020 .......08
1 | AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT www.africantechshow.com
E-Africa today
Mobile and Smartphone penetration
While ICT growth rates are impressive, Africa has phone subscriber penetration of 65 percent by 2020,
ample room for improvement when it comes to mobile below the global average of 72 percent, according to
penetration, internet penetration and digital education. GSMA Intelligence. The figures speak for the potential
ITWebAfrica.com quoted a report by Pew Research the continent still bears in order to reach mobile phone
Centre stating that Sub-Saharan Africa's smartphone penetration levels similar to other emerging regions,
penetration stood at 33 percent in 2018. This level was not to talk about Japan, Australia, Europe and North
significantly higher than the 15 percent recorded in America. At least 43 of Africa's 55 countries
2014, “and market analysts predict this will double by (78 percent) had commercial 4G services on offer by
2025”, the report said (see Chart “Internet the end of 2018, according to a report by Connecting
Penetration in Africa (percent of population)” Africa which cited data provided by GlobalData. While
below). This is according to research by the Pew 4G is all about speed, 5G comes into play to enable the
Research Centre, conducted in Kenya (nicknamed: Internet of Things, the connected world that will
Silicon Savannah), Tanzania, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana penetrate all levels of our lives. Consequently,
and South Africa. "South Africa (59 percent) is the only advanced African countries witness fierce competition
country in the region where at least half the popula- between smartphone providers Huawei, Apple,
tion is online," the report stated. North Africa (together Samsung or Xiaomi.
with the Middle East), is expected to reach a mobile
Africa: Internet Penetration
90.00%
(%-age of population)
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
http://www.itwebafrica.com/mobilex/320-south-africa/244990-sub-saharan-africas-smartphone-penetration-at-33 | https://www.internetworldstats.
com/stats1.htm | http://www.connectingafrica.com/author.asp?section_id=530&doc_id=745452 | https://www.itnewsafrica.com/2018/08/securi-
ty-the-key-to-africas-mobile-fintech-revolution/ | https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46055595www.africantechshow.com AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT | 2
"Much of Africa has leapfrogged the desktop PC era.”
BBC Technology news report, Nov. 3, 2018
Internet Accessibility technology to certify shipments of coffee “to meet
growing demand from consumers for more
According to Internet World Stats, African internet information about where products have come from”,
penetration stood in 2018 at 35.2 percent, compared to Forbes Africa reported.
54.4 percent in the rest of the world.
Blockchain in Africa
Kenya has the highest internet penetration
(85 percent), while Eritrea has the lowest (1.4 percent). Blockchain technology is solving many issues around
the world that traditional banking and financing
It is interesting to note that Tunisia’s spread of the solutions have not been unable to solve.
internet (67.7 percent) is higher than in South Africa Globally, around a third of the population does not have
(53.7 percent). access to a bank account (World Bank, June 2018.
Ethiopia, home of the biggest airline in the continent, In Africa, some areas have scarce access to banking
has one of the lowest internet penetration rates systems and financial services. But with the internet
globally (15.3 percent). spreading in both urban and rural areas, mobile
technologies allow for easy access to services that
Morocco is one the more advanced African countries used to be inaccessible.
in relation to ICT and FinTech. Back in June 2018, Blockchain and coins of great variation, allow for
Casablanca Finance City agreed with Frankfurt, the transparency and decentralization and gives power
financial Mecca of Germany, to jointly develop the back to the individual in a way that empowers the
FinTech sector. In 2016, Casablanca Finance City had financial growth like never before.
outstripped Johannesburg and Mauritius to become And due to Africa's open embrace of the blockchain
the leading financial center in Africa as it topped the technology, several African nations are now leaping
continent’s ranking established by the Global ahead of the first world, where both commercial and
Financial Centers Index, the North Africa Post reported governmental players have had a more reserved
then. Casablanca, located at the Atlantic coast is the approach to incorporating blockchain technology as a
business metropolis of the kingdom. first mover.
Blockchain also improves matters in other areas than
Internet accessibility is the condition for Africa to bank financial: such as energy and power infrastructure
on disruptive solutions like the Internet of Things (IoT) across the African continent.
or blockchain. A great deal of work must, however, be done to
implement the many solutions correctly, in order to
Example: Ugandan company “Carico Café truly empower the people of Africa through
Connoisseur” has started using blockchain decentralized financial options.
Definitions of Blockchain:
Blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions
that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything
of value.
- Don & Alex Tapscott, authors Blockchain Revolution (2016)
http://www.connectingafrica.com/author.asp?section_id=530&doc_id=745452 | https://www.itnewsafrica.com/2018/08/security-the-key-to-af-
ricas-mobile-fintech-revolution/ | https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46055595 | https://www.forbesafrica.com/agriculture/2019/01/24/ugan-
dan-firm-uses-blockchain-to-trace-coffee-from-farms-to-stores/ | https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-blockchain-technology/3 | AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT www.africantechshow.com
The 10 most valuable Telecom embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The rise in
the use of drones is seen in agriculture and industries
Brands in Africa to monitor fields and factories, respectively. Robots
are developed and used in science and education A
26-year-old Nigerian, credited for building the world’s
MTN (South Africa) first gaming robot, Silas Adekunle, has become the
highest paid in the field of robotic engineering
Safricom (Kenya) executive in the world.
Maroc Telecom (Morocco)
Attractive areas in relation to robotics :
Glo Mobile (Nigeria)
Industrial production
Sonatel (Senegal) Call centres
Telkom (South Africa) Government services
Retail
Cell C (South Africa) Translation
Paralegal
Inwi (Morocco)
Travel
Telecom (Egypt) Accounting
Manufacturing
Blue Label Telecom (South Africa)
Sources: Moguldom, BusinessTech, Fin24, Techcentral.
Trends
Robotics
A lively scene of start-ups developing robots, artificial
intelligence and immersive reality has been emerging
on the continent. “Although still in its infancy, with
under 60,000 imports a year, the robotics industry in
Africa is developing rapidly”, CNN reported. The report
found that “In some parts of the continent, robots are
mining, controlling traffic and even fighting deadly
diseases". However, the flip side of the coin is that
Africa’s labour market has to renew itself, too. The
report went on to say that automation, the precursor of
robotics, has already replaced many jobs in the
following industries: retail, education, manufacturing,
accounting, tourism and government services. A 2016
study published by the World Bank, has found that “Africa is the ‘youngest’ continent. A ‘third
more than “half of jobs in parts of Africa are at risk of wave’ of development in sub-Saharan Africa
automation with Ethiopia leading the highest is coming.”
proportion globally at 85 percent”.
- Bill Gates, Microsoft founder &
Like many fast growing African economies, public and philanthropist
private entities on the continent have taken steps to
https://www.forbesafrica.com/agriculture/2019/01/24/ugandan-firm-uses-blockchain-to-trace-coffee-from-farms-to-stores/ | https://blockgeeks.com/
guides/what-is-blockchain-technology/ | https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/africa/robots-in-africa/index.html# | https://guardian.ng/technolo-
gy/26-year-old-nigerian-highest-paid-robotics-engineer-in-the-world/ | https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/africa/robots-in-africa/index.htmlwww.africantechshow.com AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT | 4
With under 60,000 imports a year, the robotics industry in Africa is
developing rapidly.
- Source: CNN
Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for an RPAS Letter of Approval (RLA),” according to
drone-traveller.com.
According to techcrunch.com, “a drone revolution is While Arab governments were eager to increase the
coming to sub-Saharan Africa”. The report, published spread of drones once their usage in the retail sector
in H2 2018, also found out that the continent lags became affordable and popular after 2010, restriction
behind other regions. “Africa’s commercial drone have been set shortly after the Arab turmoil as rebel
history is largely compressed to a handful of projects groups in Syria, Yemen and Libya started using drones
and countries within the last 5-7 years.” for terror attacks.
The Republic of Rwanda extended its leadership role Consequently, many countries in Africa have
on drone policy when it adopted in early 2018 implemented laws to regulate the usage of drones, and
performance-based regulations for all they used UAVs successfully to monitor and upgrade
drones—claiming to be the first country in the world the work processes in various sectors.
to do so. At the end of January 2019, UAE producer Examples:
Zipline, a California-based UAE start-up, posted on - Morocco uses UAVs for monitoring soil erosion
LinkedIn that it was recruiting mechanical, electrical, in the countryside.
and aerospace engineers in Rwanda to join the firm’s - Tunisia uses UAVs for agricultural work. “Eight
flight operations team. pilots have successfully passed their drone flight
Rwanda’s lead is not a coincidence as the Central training in Tunisia following a two-week intensive
African mini state advances all e-fronts. On Nov. 1st training period organized by the Ministry of Agriculture
2018, China's e-commerce giant Alibaba and the of Tunisia, the African Development Bank and Busan
government of Rwanda launched Alibaba's Electronic Techno Park,” New Business Ethiopia reported on
World Trade Platform (eWTP), which makes Rwanda December 17 2018.
the first African country that launches this platform, - In Ethiopia, the drone law does not allow users
Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. to fly a drone higher than 100 meters. The landlocked
Since February 2018, in Namibia, all drones must be East African country sees a rising number of
registered. “Different requirements are depending on domestically developed drones and UAVs produced
the purpose of your flights. Private users must apply by to carry medical supplies.
https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/africa/robots-in-africa/index.html# | https://guardian.ng/technology/26-year-old-nigerian-highest-paid-robot-
ics-engineer-in-the-world/ | https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/africa/robots-in-africa/index.html | https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/africa
robots-in-africa/index.html | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235916895_Unmanned_Aerial_Vehicle_UAV_for_Monitoring_Soil_Erosion_in_
Morocco5 | AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT www.africantechshow.com
Since November 2018, Kenyan filmmakers are allowed
to use drones, UAS Vision (an independent global “We had to start transforming the basis of
forum for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems community) our economy from subsidies to knowledge
announced on its website, citing Information in order to unleash entrepreneurship and
Communication Technology Cabinet Secretary Joe innovation. We had to bring the
Mucheru. government out of the business of
business and focus instead on creating a
conclusive enabling environment and a
About 26% of the African level playing field for private enterprises.”
countries have UAV regulations in place.
- Source: FAO - Paul Kagame, President of the Republic
of Rwanda,Key Note delivered at the World
Government Summit in Dubai,
AI-frica February 2019
In relation to Artificial Intelligence which is poised to
modify the way goods and services are generated Augmented Reality
across all industries, the Fourth Industrial Revolution
disrupts traditional value chains and creates new ways Augmented reality describes a technology which
of the design and delivery process. enables a human to operate on an object remotely
As it is often the case in technology, “South Africa is through a device like smart glasses.
the continental leader in AI,” wrote tech journalist Tom Examples:
Jackson, author at DisruptAfrica.com. According to
Jackson, “Investment firm Ethos, a leading South - Germany’s Siemens AG has developed AR
African fund manager with 34-years of experience googles for engineers who can examine pipelines from
investing across various industry segments in the inside without entering them in order to examine new
country, just launched a $40 million fund to identify and running pipelines to spot damages or irregularities
and invest in start-ups that the company believes will on the inner surface.
benefit enormously from AI, specifically algorithmic
decision-making.” - Science Daily reported on Jan. 31st 2018, that
Nevertheless, emerging African markets do not have “In a series of procedures carried out by a team at
to hide behind high-tech hubs in Johannesburg and Imperial College London at St Mary's Hospital,
Cape Town. researchers have shown for the first time how
Ethiopia is home of iCog Labs. Based out of Addis surgeons can use Microsoft HoloLens headsets while
Ababa, iCog Labs is one of the biggest AI outsourcing operating on patients undergoing reconstructive lower
companies in Africa . Even war-torn Somalia held its limb surgery.”
first technology conference in Mogadishu at the end of
2018, NewAfrican reported in its December issue. - South China Morning Post reported on Feb.
23 2019 about a surgeon in China who performed the
world’s first remote operation using '5G Surgery' on
animal, removing its liver, thru controlling robotic arms
Google opened its first in a location 30 miles away.
The operation was made possible by using a low
Africa AI research center latency of 0.1 seconds, the lower the latency, the more
responsive the robot
in Accra, Ghana’s capital. The efficient use of AR, is an international
phenomenon. The first pan-African Augmented
Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) hackathon took place
Source: Quartz in April 2018 when ICT cracks of seven African
countries participated at the challenge. A hackathon is
a fast-track event in which ICT programmers develop
https://newbusinessethiopia.com/tunisia-to-use-drone-for-agricultural-development/ | https://www.uasvision.com/2018/11/26/kenyan-filmmakers-al-
lowed-to-use-drones/ | http://www.fao.org/e-agriculture/news/drones-horizon-transforming-africa%E2%80%99s-agriculture | http://www.africanews.
com/2018/09/05/ethiopia-aims-to-become-africa-s-artificial-intelligence-ai-giant// https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235916895_Unmanned_
Aerial_Vehicle_UAV_for_Monitoring_Soil_Erosion_in_Moroccowww.africantechshow.com AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT | 6
software solutions or hardware solutions to achieve a
defined objective designed by the organiser. The list Pan-African Payments company,
of the aforementioned supporters is eye-catching. This Cellulant, has built Africa’s first
hackathon was initiated by Judith Okonkwo, the Augmented Reality (AR) powered try-on
founder of Imisi 3D, Nigeria’s first AR/VR Creation Lab, experiences in Facebook Messenger.
and it was supported by Facebook along with Kenyan brand Huddah Cosmetics, has
sponsors including GitHub. Leading social media been selected as the first social commerce
platform Facebook’s role line-up gives proof that Africa merchant on Mula to launch the platform.
is in the cross-hair of western ICT-heavyweights.
In Kenya, entrepreneur Brian Afande and his Driverless/Autonomous cars
companion Michael Ilako, founded “a virtual reality firm
in 2015 and are training young people interested in the Although many African states do not possess a proper
field for free”, Mediamax reported on May 28 2018. road system there is some form of emergence of
autonomous cars.
According to H. E. Omar Al Olama, the United Arab As Africa’s domestic vehicle industry can hardly
Emirates Minister of Artificial Intelligence, AR can help compete with their counterparts from China, Japan,
fighting diseases in Africa as it allows surgeons to India, Europe and the U. S. (with the exception of South
advice on treatments and operations from remote African military vehicles), the continent will remain
areas. At the second United Nations World Data dependent on innovative self-driving solutions from
Forum held in Dubai in October in 2018, Al Olama abroad for the foreseeable future.
stated that unlike other deadly diseases, “tuberculosis In August 2018, Toyota said it will invest U$500 million
is preventable, treatable and curable”, the minister told in Uber Technologies “to jointly work on developing
Xinhua. self-driving cars”, wrote Egypt Today.
The challenge of tackling the disease, he added, is that Predictions are relatively dull for the continent.
some patients do not show the symptoms of Tanzania might use self-driving cars by 2027. And three
tuberculosis and so the threat can be more serious self-driving rovers – Mana Minnie and SherpaTT –
than expected, and "here AI comes into play." were already tested in the desert of Morocco – but not
to be used later by tourists who try to save the costs for
Minister Al Olama said his office is developing an hiring a driver but to examine if they would work well in
a Mars-like environment. Videos circulating on social
media showing a self-driving car on the streets of
“There are signs that artificial intelligence Lagos, Nigeria, were fake recordings, as it came to
has a bright future in Africa, but light.
businesses and industries need to
embrace the technology in order to make According to Chinese-British lender ICBC Standard
that happen.” Bank, London, the ascent of driverless cars (most of
them will be electric cars) has already triggered a rise
- Tom Jackson, Author Disrupt Africa in demand for metals used in electric cars. These
metals are cobalt, nickel, lithium and manganese.
Ironically, these metals are mostly sourced from Africa.
algorithmic solution that can be used in the detection Namibia, Congo, South Africa, Zimbabwe
and diagnosis of tuberculosis from chest x-rays. However, back in 2014, Ford Motor’s Executive
Chairman Bill Ford told journalists in Dubai, that
"X-Ray images can be sent by electronic means like “autonomous cars will work at first along modern
the Internet or online applications and once developed, roads, equipped with sensors which help the computer
the algorithmic solution will be open to any nation to to steer the car safely. However, in remote areas such
use in the fight against tuberculosis," said Al Olama, mountainous roads, desert roads or in an environment
according to Xinhua. According to Al Olama, where snow storms are common, these vehicles might
"10 million new cases of tuberculosis are recorded not be able to move forward.”
worldwide every year, while 2 million people die yearly Ford’s prediction is in line with an article published five
because of the disease." years later, by the Wall Street Journal, titled
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180131085837.htm | Via twitter: @scmpnews | https://medium.com/vr-first/vr-first-supports-af-
ricas-largest-augmented-and-virtual-reality-event-f33397799677 | http://www.mediamaxnetwork.co.ke/438877/local-techpreneurs-bring-virtual-reali-
ty-to-kenya/7 | AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT www.africantechshow.com
“Driverless Cars Tap the Brakes After Years of Hype”. crash, theverge.com reported on Mar. 19 2018.
The report from Jan. 17 2019, stated that “Developers One assessment by Innovation Group South Africa is
take a more cautious, low-key approach in testing and noteworthy. According to the group’s 2016 Automotive
talking about autonomous vehicles after Uber crash.” Future Now Report, Africa is the globe’s ‘last market’.
In March 2018, an autonomous vehicle by taxi-ride “It’s where small businesses can grow, and with such
hailing giant Uber crashed while travelling at 40 miles unlimited expansion, there is more than enough room
per hour. The police report indicated that the car for facilitative policy and business that will allow
showed no signs of slowing down before heading into driverless cars to roam the streets.”
a pedestrian who died from her injuries caused by the
National Department of Transport told MyBroadband that the operation of self-driving cars
on public roads is not allowed in South Africa.
Source: MyBroadBand.com
Conclusion
Like in relation to economic development and the Casablanca, Morocco, parallel to the fourth edition of
distribution of resources, Africa is a fragmented China Trade Week (CTW) Morocco.
continent when it comes to the fourth industrial The first African Tech Show will bring together 145
revolution. exhibitors and 5,000+ professional visitors.
The research and developments of robots, drones,
artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, digital
learning, immersive technology and augmented reality
may be advanced in some countries. ICT products are
not only shipped to Africa, but also assembled there,
e. g. the single parts of Tecno Mobile Smartphone
series (by Hong Kong-based Transsion Holdings) are
produced in Mainland China, but they are assembled
in Ethiopia by local workers.
The need and opportunity for an African Technology
Show has never been greater. Therefore, MIE Groups
is launching the inaugural African Tech Show
(#africantechshow #AFTS19) on 16 -18 December in
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-10/22/c_137550429.htm | http://www.dalafm.co.ke/to-launch-africas-first-augmented-reality-ar-experi-
ence-on-messenger/business-news/ | http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/56737/Toyota-to-invest-500M-in-Uber-for-self-driving-cars | https://
phys.org/news/2019-02-self-driving-rovers-explore-moroccan-mars.html | https://www.joburg.co.za/does-the-self-driving-car-have-a-future-in-south-
africa/ | https://mybroadband.co.za/news/motoring/257325-self-driving-cars-are-not-allowed-on-south-african-roads.htmlwww.africantechshow.com AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT | 8
About MIE Events DMCC About African Technology Show
The successful industry leading China Trade Week Accelerating Digital Transformation
(CTW) Portfolio connects local businesses with the The African Technology Show is a global business to
most innovative Chinese firms, manufacturers, ICT business platform showcasing the premier solutions
providers and stakeholders. In support of China’s Belt and technologies that drives the fourth industrial
and Road Initiative (BRI), CTW organizer MIE Events revolution and the global digital transformation.
DMCC, Dubai, provides a comprehensive framework The themes of the 2019 show and conference are:
for organising and managing multi-national
economic development and trade platforms. We have Smart cities
been organising CTW platforms since 2012 in the Industry 4.0
Middle East and Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, FinTech
Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, UAE and Morocco. The Consumer products
continuous support and commitment of public and
private institutions for CTW, ensures that very best of
Chinese Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Innovation and About Digital Morocco 2020 /
ICT sectors are represented throughout the CTW Plan Maroc Numeric 2020
Portfolio. MIE Events DMCC is a 20-year-old
organisation and is part of Shanghai-based MIE African Technology Show is set in motion to support
Groups, a Business to Government Consultancy, which and accelerate the ongoing digital transformation
operates 8 offices across China with the International throughout the African continent.
Head Quarters based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
In 2019, CTW will be expanding the portfolio and take The processes are focusing on different parts of the
it to the next level through expanding to Saudi Arabia, transformation in different countries and African
Rwanda and Algeria. MIE Groups global aim is to Technology Show will be paying special attention to
become the leading market intelligence platform in the ongoing efforts in the nations where the show is
relation to BRI and China Global Trade. launched.
About CHINA TRADE WEEK In December 2019 Casablanca, Morocco will be
hosting the inaugural African Technology Show and for
The successful industry leading China Trade Week that reason, we are aligning the national strategy
(CTW) Portfolio connects local businesses with the Digital Morocco 2020 which targets:
most innovative Chinese firms, manufacturers, ICT
providers and stakeholders. In support of China’s Belt Accelerate the digital transformation of Morocco;
and Road Initiative (BRI), CTW organizer MIE Events Strengthen Morocco's place as a regional digital hub;
DMCC, Dubai, provides a comprehensive framework Raise the eco-systemic barriers, addressing, in
for organising and managing multi-national economic particular, the problem of governance and digital skills.
development and trade platforms. The further objectives of the national digital strategy
We have been organising CTW platforms since 2012 in is to reduce the digital access gap by 50% as well as
the Middle East and Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, 50% of online administrative procedures, give 20% of
Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, UAE and Morocco. The SMEs equipped and connected to the Internet.
continuous support and commitment of public and The vision is to create 60,000 IT-related jobs & train
private institutions for CTW, ensures that very best of more than 15,000 IT professionals, and thus support
Chinese manufacturing, Infrastructure, Innovation and 5 to 10% annual growth in the ICT sector in Morocco
ICT sectors are represented throughout the CTW
Portfolio. MIE Events DMCC is a 20-year-old Goal: Make Morocco the no 1 digital hub
organisation and is part of Shanghai-based MIE in French-speaking Africa and no 2 digital
Groups, a Business to Government Consultancy, which hub in Africa;
operates 8 offices across China with the International
Head Quarters based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Plan Maroc Numeric 2020 is set in motion by
Morocco's Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Investment
In 2019, CTW will be expanding the portfolio and take and Digital Economy
it to the next level through expanding to Saudi Arabia,
Rwanda and Algeria. MIE Groups global aim is to
become the leading market intelligence platform in
relation to BRI and China Global Trade.GÉRARD AL - FIL
Marketing & Communication Manager
gerard.alfil@mie.ae
Tel: +971 50 276 8203
ANNE MARIE THODSEN
Project Manager
mary.thodsen@mie.ae
Tel: +971 55 15 16 143
www.AfricanTechShow.com
@AfricanTechShow
#AcceleratingDigitalTransformation
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of MIE Events. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views
of those parties quoted in the report or its members. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation
of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the MIE Events concerning the
legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers.
© MIE EVENTS DMCC 2019
MIE EVENTS DMCC | JBC 5, Cluster W, Jumeirah Lake Tower, P. O. Box 41866, Dubai (UAE)
#AFTS19
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