Telecom
AVEVA Underscores Critical Role of Digitalization to Fast-track Industrial Decarbonization
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, will demonstrate at COP28 how leveraging data in a connected industrial economy can accelerate the path towards a sustainable future.
AVEVA is a gold sponsor of the International Chamber of Commerce pavilion within the Blue Zone of the United Nations Conference of the Parties, in Dubai, UAE, with the aspiration of building bridges between developed economies and the global south.
AVEVA’s leaders will highlight how digital solutions can minimize CO² emissions of existing industrial infrastructure while maximizing efficiency across the value chain and delivering measurable cost savings that can be reinvested in clean technologies.
AVEVA’s delegation at COP28 will be led by CEO Caspar Herzberg along with Lisa Wee, Head of Global Sustainability; Harpreet Gulati, Senior Vice President, Head of PI System Business; Evgeny Fedotov, Senior Vice President, EMEA; and Nayef Bou Chaaya, Vice President MEA.
Caspar Herzberg, CEO of AVEVA, said: “The world must dramatically cut waste. The industrial sector accounts for a quarter of global emissions. Every day, our customers prove that digitalization enables industrial companies to drive measurable carbon reductions, including for traditionally energy-intensive industries.
“At AVEVA, our ambition is to accelerate low-carbon innovation, and to drive circularity and efficiency across the value chain.
“We want the software we create to transform how industries are designed and how they operate, to accelerate climate action and reduce inequalities. Forging partnerships with businesses, governments and civil society leaders here at COP is critical to build forward-thinking, collective solutions that accelerate climate action, worldwide.”
Evgeny Fedotov, Senior Vice President, EMEA, at AVEVA, added: “Collaboration is essential to driving efficient global value chains – collective action is also essential to drive decarbonization. This is why we want to be part of the conversation at COP28 to advance necessary and inclusive climate progress by building bridges across international communities.
“As a driving force toward a more sustainable world, COP28 is a milestone moment for the world to take stock of its progress on the Paris Agreement. We are eager to engage with world leaders, governments, and our technology peers, to drive insightful discussions on how together, we can accelerate the transition to a sustainable future.”
Nayef Bou Chaaya, Vice President MEA at AVEVA, said: “While AVEVA helps industrial customers optimize their existing processes and operations, we drive innovation, opening up new industry frontiers, that leverage emerging green technologies.
“Our software empowers teams with connected insights so that they can make the best decisions at speed, ensuring the resilience and efficiency that in turn drive sustainable success.
“The positive impact our solutions bring to customers is our single biggest opportunity to make a difference in the world.”
Lisa Wee, Head of Global Sustainability at AVEVA said: “At AVEVA we want to lead by example in the fight against climate change. We have already cut our scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 93% and we are actively working to reduce the environmental impacts of our value chain.
“We have made significant progress in delivering solutions that are low carbon by design and have in-built capabilities to enable industries to decarbonize, drive circularity and adapt to the impacts of global warming.”
“Exchanging insights and forging partnerships with forward-thinking businesses, governments and civil society leaders is critical to finding solutions that increase the scale and scope of climate action across the globe.
“COP28 is an ideal forum to have these discussions, given the breadth of stakeholders convened alongside key national and international policymakers capable of actively contributing to our collective endeavor for decarbonization.”
Harpreet Gulati, Senior Vice President, and Head of PI System Business at AVEVA, said: “Harnessing the potential of green hydrogen could avoid up to 80 gigatons of cumulative CO² emissions by 2050, contributing to as much as 20% of total abatement required to drive the net-zero economy.
The hydrogen sector will require a new transportation, distribution, and regulatory approach to operate successfully as an alternative fuel. Combining this with the latest digital twin and AI-enhanced capabilities, industries can discover new paths to drive efficiency and decarbonize.”
During COP28, AVEVA executives will participate in various panels aimed at defining a clearer roadmap to a better future through digitalization.
Federal government has unveiled an ambitious plan to deploy 7,000 telecommunications towers across the country, with 80 per cent allocated to Northern Nigeria to address the region’s acute connectivity deficit.
The federal executive council had already approved the 7,000 towers project by March 2025 to support digital transformation and 5G rollout, with formal rollout scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The project’s first tower will be installed next week in a rural Abuja community of 5,000, where insecurity compounds connectivity challenges.
Unlike conventional masts, these towers will double as digital hubs, providing internet to schools, hospitals, and local government offices.
“Most of these clusters are in the North. That’s the reality. There are a few clusters in the South-West, you know, that are not connected, but the bulk of the clusters are in the North, Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, told TVC recently.
He continued, “So, almost 80% of these towers will be going towards filling that gap in the North. The rest will now patch up where we have left off.
“Unlike traditional telecom masts, they will deliver internet to local schools, hospitals, and government offices, maximising their impact. Wherever we put them, we use the same infrastructure to serve the community.”
Tijani highlighted a collaborative model where mobile network operators will connect to the towers’ cables, reducing redundancy and optimising resources.
Nigeria’s digital landscape remains uneven.
As of January 2025, 128.3 million Nigerians, 54.3 per cent of the population, lack internet access, ranking the country fourth globally for unconnected populations.
Broadband penetration stands at 48 per cent, with over 50 per cent of Nigerians living there, facing significant barriers, including unreliable electricity and low digital literacy.
Progress has been made, with the number of people in unserved and underserved areas falling from 36.8 million in 2013 to 23 million in early 2025, yet the connectivity gap remains a formidable challenge.
The 7,000-tower initiative, distinct from the separate Project 774, forms part of a broader strategy that includes satellite technology, such as Starlink, and fibre-optic cables, which Tijani described as the backbone of reliable connectivity in advanced markets.
The government’s focus on the North reflects the region’s disproportionate share of unconnected communities, while the project’s design aims to address both digital and security challenges.
Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, CEO of Digital Realty, West Africa’s leading interconnected data center facility, has been recognized for his outstanding contributions to Nigeria’s digital economy and the broader African ICT landscape.
L-R: Mr. Ken Nwogbo, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of CommunicationsWeek Media, Editor Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, CEO of Digital Realty and Dr. Muhammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) at the 2025 Africa’s Beacon of ICT (ABoICT) Merit and Leadership Awards, organized by Communications Week media.
At a ceremony in Lagos, Nnamani was named among the Top 50 Most Valuable Personalities in Nigeria’s Digital Economy by KnowHow Media.
According to the organizers, this recognition reflects his unwavering commitment to innovation within Africa’s tech ecosystem.
Segun Oruame, Vice-Chairman of KnowHow Media, emphasized Nnamani’s significant impact on Nigeria’s ICT landscape, highlighting his role in advancing the country’s digital economy.
Adding to his accolades, Nnamani was also honored with the ICT Growth Impact Award in Data Centre Infrastructure at Africa’s Beacon of ICT (ABoICT) Merit and Leadership Awards, hosted by Nigeria Communications Week.
This award acknowledges his instrumental role in developing telecom and ICT infrastructure across multiple African nations, including Ghana, Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Kenya, Uganda, and Angola.
Expressing gratitude for the recognitions, Nnamani dedicated the awards to his team at Digital Realty, acknowledging their continuous support.
He reaffirmed his commitment to fostering industry growth and driving innovation across Africa.
Telecom
SBTS Group CEO Evelyn Lewis Named Among Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Leaders for Youth-Focused Tech Initiatives
Evelyn A. Lewis, CEO of SBTS Group, has been named one of Nigeria’s “50 Most Valuable Personalities in the Digital Economy” by IT Edge News.Africa, recognizing his visionary leadership in digital transformation, innovation, and youth empowerment.
Presented during the “Nigeria: State of the Digital Economy 2025” colloquium and awards ceremony in Lagos, the recognition highlights Lewis’s role in shaping Nigeria’s digital future. The high-profile event, organized by Knowhow Media (publishers of IT Edge News.Africa), brought together top policymakers, digital innovators, and ecosystem enablers across public and private sectors.
At the center of Lewis’s recognition is his commitment to building Africa’s digital economy through skills and job creation. Under his leadership, SBTS Group—in collaboration with the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI)—is implementing an ambitious plan to:
- Train 5 million Nigerian youths
- Create 50,000 digital jobs by 2030
This initiative aligns with Nigeria’s National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) and the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program.
SBTS Group’s proprietary Intelligent Capacity Building Model (ICBM), developed under Lewis’s leadership, is at the core of this effort. The model closes the gap between digital training and employment, offering career-focused tracks in:
- Cybersecurity
- Software Development
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
- Digital Entrepreneurship
ICBM is currently being rolled out across DBI campuses nationwide, forming a scalable framework for skills development.
SBTS and DBI will kick off the next phase of their national rollout with new training and BPO centres in Abuja and Enugu, scheduled for launch in June 2025. These centers are expected to create over 5,000 jobs in their first phase, acting as blueprints for replicable, sustainable digital employment hubs nationwide.
Beyond training, SBTS has also built a national unified digital learning and registration platform for DBI. The system integrates national identity tools such as NIN and BVN, supports student sponsorships, facilitates enterprise partnerships, and enables career tracking—laying a foundation for a data-driven, transparent digital skills ecosystem.
“This award reaffirms our commitment to building Africa’s digital economy from within,” said Evelyn Lewis. “At SBTS Group, we believe that human capital is Africa’s greatest asset. By empowering our youth, we’re investing in a future where Africa leads in innovation and competitiveness.”
The 50 Most Valuable Personalities (50MVPs) initiative annually celebrates visionary leaders accelerating Nigeria’s digital transformation. The 2025 edition recognized contributors across tech, governance, and entrepreneurship under the theme:
“Accelerating Nigeria’s Digital Transformation: Insights on Challenges and Emerging Opportunities.”
Other 2025 honourees include:
- Obadare Peter Adewale, CVO, Digital Encode
- Nentawe Yilwatda, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs & Poverty Reduction
- Ayọ̀wándé Àdalémọ, CEO, Wave5Wireless
- Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Executive, West Africa & Morocco – Africa Data Centres (ADC)
- Ike Nnamani, CEO, Digital Realty
- Daser David, President/CEO, Digital Bridge Institute
- Suleiman Isah, Commissioner for Communications Technology & Digital Economy
- Shuaibu Kabir Bello, CEO, KMDC
- Olawole Owoeye, Co-founder, Cedarview Communications
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