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Management World Africa 2010

Management World Africa Roundup

Thoughts from the Conference Chair
Our second Management World Africa event has been a resounding success for those attending. Two strong days of presentations addressing the key issues that are facing the African communications market were really well received by the audience of over 150 professionals who attended the event.

The attendees came with the purpose of learning and contributing and the level of interaction in the panel sessions and the Q&A sessions was a standout feature of the event. While the focus was on African issues, much of the conference talked about more general global communications issues and related them to the specific challenges of the African continent. The majority of delegates were from the various African markets, but there was also a good attendance from Asia and Europe. The level of cross-investment between the multiple global markets meant that the global perspective was continually being brought into play.

Some of the topics addressed by the presenters included - saturating markets with far less organic growth opportunity than in previous years; a major need for efficiency improvements; a strong interest in improving customer experience; and a strong interest in some of the newer topics such as Cloud and WiMax/LTE. Indeed it was pointed out on more than one occasion that although Africa could learn much from the other major markets it also had a lot to offer the rest of the world. In particular, some of the sophisticated presentations I saw covering the effective management of customer experience could well act as best practice case studies for the global industry.

There is also a strong awareness of the challenges of over-the-top services and a desire to find ways to monetize increasing bandwidth use. This wasn't as big a challenge in the past as the international bandwidth from Africa to the rest of the world was quite limited. But with the recent significant increase in available international bandwidth, the monetization of it has become a hot issue.

There is no doubt that this event will grow in years to come if the comments and feedback are anything to go by. Alot of the presentations stressed how important it was for African operators to become more involved with the TMF initiatives and contribute via their own unique experiences. We look forward to a larger and even more vibrant event in 2011.

Martin Creaner
President

[Open Quote]I found the organization of the conference absolutely flawless. The topics presented were very relevant and topical in the industry, and the chairman ensured that the golden thread of thoughts was maintained and developed through the sessions.[Close Quote]
– Erich Roberts, Chief Officer, Dromedare

[Open Quote]This event was highly effective for important for telecom executives who wish to understand the latest trends and learn from the experiences with other attendees.[Close Quote]
– Mohammed Sheikh, Director of Strategy, Zain Africa
[Open Quote]The conference was well organized, and professionally run; I was able to gain some useful information from the presentations. [Close Quote]
– Stephen Waller, Engineer, Telkom SA


[Open Quote]Management World Africa 2010 was a great opportunity for me to engage with international and regional industry experts in both a very personal and professional manner.[Close Quote]
– Nazar Sahal, IT Director, Expresso Telecom

[Open Quote]I both attended the Management World Africa conference sessions and training sessions held in Johannesburg, and in my opinion it was one of the most worthwhile events that I’ve attended in a long time. I have gained a new respect for the TMForum and its role in the telecommunications industry.[Close Quote]
– Chris Botha, Engineer, Telkom SA