Gitex Africa: Tech giants, startups and SMEs gather in Morocco

The first edition of Gitex Africa was launched in Marrakech on Wednesday (May 31st). Operators in the sectors of technology and innovation came together in Morocco to exchange views on the digital economy.

900 companies and 250 lecturers from 95 countries are taking part in the exhibition.

Although the digital economy is booming in Africa, a dissemination of technologies is needed to accelerate the development of infrastructures and generate inclusive growth.

"One of the objectives of this meeting is to take full advantage of digital opportunities and develop a digital economy", the CEO of the Digital Development Agency said.  "We need to invest in skills development to accelerate innovation and growth in Africa. Moreover, more than 250 investors are expected to discuss ways of fully exploiting the potential of this sector".

This major event offers international technology giants a unique opportunity to tap into the digital ecosystem. Tech Startups and innovative SMEs can also take advantage of the opportunities offered by an ever-growing digital economy.

Unleasing digital technology

"Huawei's participation today at Gitex Africa revolves around the theme of "Unleashing digital technology for a new Africa", the vice president of the Cloud & AI Africa - Huawei said.

"This theme can be broken down into three pillars. Firstly, "digital infrastructure"; the second is "new values": how to create value for government services on the Internet. And the third pillar is "a new business model": in other words, how to support the ecosystem of skills and start-ups," Mounir Soussi ended.

"Attending gives us the opportunity to get out of the office, meet potential customers and future partners, and to talk about our projects. ACCEL Technologies is based in Senegal but it is intended to offer solutions even outside of Senegal, the company's Sales and Marketing Director Armand Sylla said.

Gitex Africa can already be considered as the continent's biggest technology show. It will become an annual event just like its big brother the gulf information technology exhibition or Gitex in Dubai.