In collaboration with Huawei Technologies Middle East, SAMENA Council’s SAMENA Accelerator on Digital Economy will be held on November 25th, one week after the much-anticipated 1st Accelerator on Fiber deployment takes place on November 19th, with Policy-makers and Regulators taking active part in showcasing their respective administrations’ preparedness for advancing digitization.
Given its advocacy messages that have consistently focused on enabling and incentivizing regional broadband development to help in “building digital economies”, SAMENA Council deems it imperative to convene industry stakeholders once again to define implementable steps for driving digital-led economic growth within the region, and to bring both predictability and sustainability to the expanding digital ecosystem.
The November 25th SAMENA Accelerator on “Accelerating a Sustainable Digital Economy” will drive inspiration from and build on the key messages and decisions expressed in the Declaration of the G20 Digital Economy Ministers Meeting of July 2020, and has the primary objective of focusing specifically on expediting the expansion of the necessary ICT infrastructure, which requires updating existing legal, technical systems, and making policies to suit the digital space; incentivizing investment and fostering innovative ecosystem growth; emphasizing on the need to align national ICT visions with national economic visions as much as possible; defining steps to achieve strategic coordination of multiple stakeholders; making the Digital Economy measureable; integrating the region; and creating economies of scale for infrastructure investments.
As a result, key initiatives are expected to be defined on November 25th, which can be adopted to accelerate progress on digital development in a digitally-inclusive manner, thus providing regional Policymakers and Regulatory Authorities the confidence that the Private sector is fully ready to play its part in fulfilling the global goal of Universal Digital Access and in furthering the Connect 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda of the United Nations.
Bocar BA, CEO and Board Member of SAMENA Council, has stated that “We are thrilled to seek the involvement of the region’s Policymakers, Regulators, and the Private Sector in the Digital Economy SAMENA Accelerator. I personally look forward to witnessing a very good, outcome-oriented discussion on November 25th, in what will be preceded by an equally productive discussion on November 19th concerning the proliferation of Fiber infrastructure, which is a necessary conduit for the Digital Economy.”
Like the SAMENA Accelerator on Fiber Deployment on November 19th, the SAMENA Accelerator on November 25th carries a multifaceted aim of presenting a strong case for accelerating the SA-ME-NA region’s Digital Economy in a sustainable manner, and which necessitates taking expedited and astute policy and regulatory enablement steps.
SAMENA Council believes, with proper policy and regulatory mechanisms in place, healthy competition in building ICT infrastructure can help drive investment and innovation; both of which are essential, among other factors, to ensuring a sustainable Digital Economy.
Participation in the SAMENA Accelerator on Digital Economy can be requested at the following link: https://www.samenacouncil.org/accelerator-digital-economy-2020/
