Telecom
NCC, ZOHO, ADC, Inq., OADC, Others Sponsor AfriTECH 3.0, ATAEx Awards

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Zoho Nigeria, Digital Encode Limited, Inq.Digital, Notion Technologies limited have thrown their weight behind the third edition of the Africa Tech Alliance Forum (AfriTECH 3.0) to be held on 8th of November 2023 at the Providence Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos,
Themed: “Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS) in Emerging Economy”, AfriTECH 3.0 is also supported by Comercio Limited, Open Access Data Centres (OADC), Datasixth Security Consulting, PalmPay, Reliance Infosystem, Digital Realty, ActivEdge Technologies, Africa Data Centres (ADC), WTES, ESET and host of others.
Hosted by TechCastle Foundation in collaboration with Techeconomy and partners, AfriTECH 3.0 is a unique engagement platform for global thought leaders, regulators, and other stakeholders to discuss and collaborate on contemporary strategies for accelerating technology ecosystem in the African continent and globally.
Speaking ahead of the Forum next week, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, co-convener of AfriTECH, reiterated that today, the boundary between hardware and software is blurring. Software is infiltrating more and more technology products that used to function only by mechanical rules and analog signals.
“Different models of driverless cars are navigating themselves with sensors and software. This trend is not stopping. Hardware-based technology companies often find themselves falling behind their innovative software counterparts in identifying new value for customers.
“In more dramatic cases categories of hardware technology got replaced by software. No one still buys radio or CD players anymore.
Thus, software is threatening to replace hardware-based networking. The “commoditization trap” for hardware seems impossible to escape without a product strategy backed by software innovation hence over 70% of the world economy has become services, and this percentage continues to grow worldwide.
As of 2020 the United States produced 79% of its GDP in services. Majority of the companies in Africa are strategizing to compete primarily on a service basis.
This approach referred to as Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS), which is the rising future for technology sectors, will be discussed at AfriTECH 3.0.
Programmes expected at AfriTECH 3.0 include keynotes by Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) & Dr. Ayotunde Coker, CEO, Open Access Data Centre (OADC), goodwill messages by industry stakeholders, fireside chat, commercial presentations/product launch and media sessions.
The prestigious Africa Tech Alliance Excellence (ATAEx) Awards will be conferred on individuals and organisations that have distinguished themselves in Africa by leveraging technology to enrich the lives of the people.
“Other key topics to be explored include TaaS-driven last mile solutions, leveraging big data and artificial intelligence, inclusive product innovation, Driving ‘TaaS’ Model through infrastructure deployment, leveraging subscription model to survive tough economic times, cloud computing, omnichannel communications for improved CX, Consumer protection, fraud and data privacy, etc”, Peter Oluka, the co-convener of AfriTECH, said.
“The past editions of AfriTECH were well attended by C-Suite executives, investors, innovators, senior government officials from within and outside the Continent. With over 1,500 participants and feedback on the events overwhelmingly positive, the 2023 edition is much anticipated.
As Media partners, The Guardian Newspaper (Nigeria), Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, RaveNewsOnline.com, ITPulse.com.ng, ITNews Nigeria, Swift Reporters, TechBuild.Africa, TechTrends.Africa, BusinessMetricsng.com, BusinessRemarks, DigitalTimesng.com, ITRealms.com.ng, GrassRoots.ng, TechTv, TechLifeWithUgo, DigiVation Network; TechnologyMirror, TechandBiz News; APNews, CyberEra, have demonstrated their support towards AfriTECH 3.0 actualization.
AfriTECH 3.0 is also backed by leading industry associations such as the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS); Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ATLTON); Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON); Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN); InnovationBed Africa; Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), amongst others.
“Overall, AfriTECH 3.0 promises to be an insightful and engaging platform for networking with a vibrant and globally diverse community and an eclectic mix of offerings to enrich participants’ in-person and/or virtual experience”, Oluka added.
Telecom
Telcos Plan Zero Tariff in Some Regions with Low Opex

Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) is planning to encourage geo-political regions that grants zero charges for ‘Right of Way’ approvals as well not implementing arbitrary charges on telecommunications base stations in their regions with zero tariff.
Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON disclosed this to Nigeria CommunincationsWeek against the backdrop of incessant closure of base stations in some states.
He said that operators believe that the way out of this arbitrary charges and high cost of RoW approvals is regional tariffs.
“Operators are advocating for a regional tariff which means that geographical regions of Nigeria where cost of doing business for telecommunications operators is extremely high will attract high tariff compared to regions where there is low operating cost.
“Our advocacy of regional tariff is not based on a particular state but on regions. As at today there are regions where we have zero cost of “Right of Way” and low cost of doing business. Tariffs should reflect on operating environment. This means that national rate plan should consider high and low cost of doing business.
“If this is implemented, in a long run we could witness some regions having zero tariff because operational cost in such regions are friendly to operators,” he said.
It would be recalled that Kogi State recently shut down some operators’ base stations on account of local levies which raises the call for discriminatory tariff among geographical locations.
Telecom
AVEVA Appoints Sébastien Ory as EMEA VP Partners & Channels

AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software driving digital transformation and sustainability in industries, today announces the appointment of Sébastien Ory, 48, as EMEA VP in charge of the partner and distributor network. VP of AVEVA Southern Europe since 2022 and President of AVEVA France since 2023, Sébastien now replaces Karine Calvet while remaining President of AVEVA France.

Sébastien Ory as EMEA VP Partners & Channels, AVEVA
In this new role, he will oversee the relationships with the various stakeholders involved in the distribution of AVEVA software and will have direct responsibility for more than forty employees spread across the EMEA region. Sébastien Ory will report directly to Jesus Hernandez, the new SVP of the EMEA region, who replaces Evgeny Fedotov, now CCO of RIB.
More than 18-year career in the industry
A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris and the Institut National de l’Aéronautique (ISAE-SupAero) in Toulouse, Sebastien Ory is an active advocate for driving sustainable progress in the industrial sector.
He began his career at France Telecom as a sales manager where he stayed for 4 years before giving a more industrial dimension to his career.
With fifteen years of experience in the industrial automation industry, Sebastien Ory has developed a strategic understanding of this field. After 10 years in Schneider Electric’s industrial automation business, he led the global industrial software business development team for Schneider Electric Software from 2015 to 2018, with a particular focus on the water, power generation, mining and food industries. During these 3 years, the introduction of new software solutions will allow Schneider Electric Software to initiate and develop significant growth areas.
7 years at AVEVA
In 2018, Sébastien joined AVEVA as Vice President of the Southeast Asia region, leading a team of 200 talents in charge of delivering cloud-based industrial analytics and AI software. In addition to the growing developing the teams he leads from the Singapore headquarters, part of his energy is devoted to establishing direct engagement with leaders of major groups in the region such as Petronas, Pertamina, PTT, Wilmar and Olam, to stimulate their digital transformation initiatives.
In 2022, he took over the leadership of AVEVA’s activities in Southern Europe, a major industrial market for the company, whose customers, world leaders in the fields of Energy, Chemicals, Agri-food, Pharmaceuticals and Water, are looking for AVEVA’s expertise to accelerate and drive their digital transformation and sustainability strategies, as well as their energy transition projects. The changes he brings to the organization of the sales team are bearing fruit and allow AVEVA to acquire new customers while consolidating key accounts. As Sebastien transitions to the role of VP EMEA Partners & Channels, Dominique Bazin becomes the new Vice President of AVEVA Southern Europe.
EMEA VP Partners & Channels: a highly strategic position within AVEVA
Sébastien now holds the position of Vice President in charge of the Partners and Channels for AVEVA in Europe, Middle East and Africa, a major market for the company. His main mission is to design and implement a strategy for the growth of indirect sales, through a network of partners and strong alliances with Digital Services Companies (DSCs), AI platform providers and independent software vendors (ISVs) whose solutions are compatible with the CONNECT platform.
Telecom
FCCPC Warns Meta: Quitting Nigeria Won’t Erase Legal Liabilities

Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has hit back at Meta Platforms Inc, warning the tech giant that its threat to exit Nigeria will not erase its legal responsibilities or liabilities under the Nigerian law.
Meta said earlier today, May 3, that it “may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures.”
Meta’s warning came after it lost a legal bid last week to overturn a ₦220 million fine imposed by the FCCPC for violations of data protection and consumer rights laws.
Reacting to Meta’s threat, FCCPC, in a statement on Saturday, May 3, described Meta’s statement as “a calculated” move aimed at “inducing negative public reaction and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.”
FCCPC said that Meta threatening to leave Nigeria does not absolve the company of liabilities for the outcome of a judicial process.
“These infringements included denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation, discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies,” FCCPC wrote on X.
“Interestingly, Meta had been fined for similar breaches in Texas ($1.5b) and only recently was asked to pay $1.3 Billion for violating E.U. Data Privacy Rules.
Elsewhere in India, South Korea, France and Australia, Meta had faced varying penalties for similar breaches. But Meta never resorted to the blackmail of threatening to exit those countries. They obeyed.”
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