India continues its commitment for the development of ICT sector in Africa with the 2nd Edition of the Indo-Africa ICT Expo in N

India’s Telecom Export Promotion Council (TEPC), in conjunction with NASSCOM & ICT Authority of Kenya embarked on the 2nd edition of the Indo-Africa ICT Expo at KICC, Nairobi. This event is supported by Government of India and Government of Kenya as well. The event was inaugurated by the India’s Minister of Communications Shri Manoj Sinha and Minister of ICT Cabinet Secretary Mr. Joe Mucheru. The event is aimed at enhancing cooperation between African countries and India in the area of ICT technology. The event also saw attendance of various senior Government officials from neighboring countries and included South Sudan’s Deputy Minister of ICT & Postal Services, Mr. Akol Paul Kordit with a big delegation,Uganda’s Principal Secretary, ICT, Dr Jimmy Pat Saamanya, and Malawi’s Secretary of ICT and Civic Education, Mr Justin AdackK Saidi. The event also saw participation from business leaders from India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, Israel, South Sudan, Rwanda, Mauritius and Commonwealth Telecom Organization.

Inaugurating this event, Minister of Communications from India stated “I strongly believe that India has a vast experience in setting up of ICT infrastructure and the experience can be leveraged by Government as well as private sector in African Nations. To explore synergies on the ground, I have with me about 100 ICT companies from India participating in this event that will facilitate growth of business opportunities in our nations.”

Shri Sinha stressed on the fact that India as a country has conditions similar to those in the African Nations and also has special ties with East African countries. Together India sees many opportunities for cooperation and transfer of expertise in the areas of setting ICT infrastructure, solutions and application development, skill development and innovation that can be leveraged by the Governments as well as private sector in the continent and India is keen to find ways to increase the business between India and Africa in ICT sector.

Mr Joe Mucheru called upon Kenyan businesses to tap into the huge reservoir of knowledge among their Indian counterparts and develop technology based solutions for the Kenyan, African and even the global market. He also noted that there are numerous opportunities for partnerships between both public and private sectors of Kenya and India. He further stated that India and Africa continue to witness exponential growth in the telecommunication and information technology segments. It is thus essential to evaluate the areas where the two regions can cooperate so as to further enhance the lives of our people through technology.