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ACCELERATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION African Technology Show 2019 | Inaugural Technology Report Organized by Events DMCC www.africantechshow.com MIE Events DMCC, African Technology Show (AFTS), Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 2019 Published by MIE Events DMCC / African Technology Show Research Division

ACCELERATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION...A lively scene of start-ups developing robots, artificial intelligence and immersive reality has been emerging on the continent. “Although still

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ACCELERATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONAfrican Technology Show 2019 | Inaugural Technology Report

Organized by Events DMCC

www.africantechshow.com

MIE Events DMCC, African Technology Show (AFTS), Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 2019Published by MIE Events DMCC / African Technology Show Research Division

Executive Summary

• This report examines the achievements and potentials of several African countries in relation to disruptive products and solutions emerged through the FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, which includes robots, drones, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, E-learning, immersive technology, augmented reality Internet of things (IOT).

• Once regarded the “trouble child” of the world economy, Africa advances all digital fronts, driven by ample economic growth, a young, tech-savvy population and the implications of the fourth industrial revolution which knows no national boundaries.

• South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria have emerged as the most advanced countries in relation to artificial intelligence (AI), e-commerce, robotics, immersive technology, augmented reality, drones, autonomous vehicles,financial technology (FinTech), Information and communications technology (ICT) and internet ofthings (IoT) and the willingness to transform.

• Leading tech companies from East and West like Huawei, Apple, ZTE, Cisco or Microsoft have identified Africa as a market with high growth potential based on population growth (Africa’s total Current population stands at 1.22 billion people).

• With African countries having joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), exchange of tech trade and know-how increased significantly between the continent and China across various sectors like agriculture, education, healthcare, industrial production and security.

• As China aims to realise BRI by mobilizing 1+ trillion dollars for infrastructure investments, the New Silk Road will be built through highways, bridges, roads, railroads, ports and airports, but also through a digital Silk Road, by connecting the more than 70 countries through common networks and applications used across these countries (e. g. Tencent’s instant messaging service WeChat).

• Scores of African governments have issued laws to regulate the production and use of drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) which limits their use for private individuals and prevents the misuse of the same.

• In spite of the increase in digital trends on the continent, more roadblocks (of technological and regulatory nature) have to be removed so that the continent can contribute to the fourth industrial revolution globally, in particular in relation toself-driving cars.

Accelerating Digital Transformation

Inargural Event in Morocco, December 16 - 18 2019Foire Internationale De Casablanca

1. E-Africa today

a. Mobile and Smartphone penetration

b. Internet accessibility

2. Trends

a. Robotics

b. Drones & Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)

c. AI-frica

d. Augmented Reality

e. Driverless/Autonomous cars

3. ConclusionAbout MIE Groups About CHINA TRADE WEEKAbout AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY SHOWAbout Digital Morocco 2020 / Plan Maroc Numeric 2020

CONTENT

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E-Africa today

Mobile and Smartphone penetration

While ICT growth rates are impressive, Africa hasample room for improvement when it comes to mobile penetration, internet penetration and digital education. ITWebAfrica.com quoted a report by Pew Research Centre stating that Sub-Saharan Africa's smartphone penetration stood at 33 percent in 2018. This level was significantly higher than the 15 percent recorded in 2014, “and market analysts predict this will double by 2025”, the report said (see Chart “Internet Penetration in Africa (percent of population)” below). This is according to research by the Pew Research Centre, conducted in Kenya (nicknamed: Silicon Savannah), Tanzania, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. "South Africa (59 percent) is the only country in the region where at least half the popula-tion is online," the report stated. North Africa (together with the Middle East), is expected to reach a mobile

phone subscriber penetration of 65 percent by 2020, below the global average of 72 percent, according to GSMA Intelligence. The figures speak for the potential the continent still bears in order to reach mobile phone penetration levels similar to other emerging regions, not to talk about Japan, Australia, Europe and North America. At least 43 of Africa's 55 countries(78 percent) had commercial 4G services on offer by the end of 2018, according to a report by Connecting Africa which cited data provided by GlobalData. While 4G is all about speed, 5G comes into play to enable the Internet of Things, the connected world that will penetrate all levels of our lives. Consequently, advanced African countries witness fierce competition between smartphone providers Huawei, Apple, Samsung or Xiaomi.

http://www.itwebafrica.com/mobilex/320-south-africa/244990-sub-saharan-africas-smartphone-penetration-at-33 | https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats1.htm | http://www.connectingafrica.com/author.asp?section_id=530&doc_id=745452 | https://www.itnewsafrica.com/2018/08/securi-

ty-the-key-to-africas-mobile-fintech-revolution/ | https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46055595

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

Africa: Internet Penetration(%-age of population)

| AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT www.africantechshow.com1

Definitions of Blockchain:

Blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.

- Don & Alex Tapscott, authors Blockchain Revolution (2016)

http://www.connectingafrica.com/author.asp?section_id=530&doc_id=745452 | https://www.itnewsafrica.com/2018/08/security-the-key-to-af-ricas-mobile-fintech-revolution/ | https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46055595 | https://www.forbesafrica.com/agriculture/2019/01/24/ugan-dan-firm-uses-blockchain-to-trace-coffee-from-farms-to-stores/ | https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-blockchain-technology/

Internet Accessibility According to Internet World Stats, African internet penetration stood in 2018 at 35.2 percent, compared to 54.4 percent in the rest of the world.

Kenya has the highest internet penetration (85 percent), while Eritrea has the lowest (1.4 percent).

It is interesting to note that Tunisia’s spread of the internet (67.7 percent) is higher than in South Africa (53.7 percent).

Ethiopia, home of the biggest airline in the continent, has one of the lowest internet penetration rates globally (15.3 percent).

Morocco is one the more advanced African countries in relation to ICT and FinTech. Back in June 2018, Casablanca Finance City agreed with Frankfurt, thefinancial Mecca of Germany, to jointly develop the FinTech sector. In 2016, Casablanca Finance City had outstripped Johannesburg and Mauritius to become the leading financial center in Africa as it topped the continent’s ranking established by the Global Financial Centers Index, the North Africa Post reported then. Casablanca, located at the Atlantic coast is the business metropolis of the kingdom.

Internet accessibility is the condition for Africa to bank on disruptive solutions like the Internet of Things (IoT) or blockchain.

Example: Ugandan company “Carico Café Connoisseur” has started using blockchain

Blockchain in Africa

Blockchain technology is solving many issues around the world that traditional banking and financing solutions have not been unable to solve. Globally, around a third of the population does not have access to a bank account (World Bank, June 2018.

In Africa, some areas have scarce access to banking systems and financial services. But with the internet spreading in both urban and rural areas, mobile technologies allow for easy access to services that used to be inaccessible.Blockchain and coins of great variation, allow for transparency and decentralization and gives power back to the individual in a way that empowers the financial growth like never before. And due to Africa's open embrace of the blockchain technology, several African nations are now leaping ahead of the first world, where both commercial and governmental players have had a more reserved approach to incorporating blockchain technology as a first mover.Blockchain also improves matters in other areas than financial: such as energy and power infrastructure across the African continent. A great deal of work must, however, be done to implement the many solutions correctly, in order to truly empower the people of Africa through decentralized financial options.

technology to certify shipments of coffee “to meet growing demand from consumers for more information about where products have come from”, Forbes Africa reported.

"Much of Africa has leapfrogged the desktop PC era.” BBC Technology news report, Nov. 3, 2018

AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT |www.africantechshow.com 2

The 10 most valuable Telecom Brands in Africa

MTN (South Africa)

Safricom (Kenya)

Maroc Telecom (Morocco)

Glo Mobile (Nigeria)

Sonatel (Senegal)

Telkom (South Africa)

Cell C (South Africa)

Inwi (Morocco)

Telecom (Egypt)

Blue Label Telecom (South Africa)

Sources: Moguldom, BusinessTech, Fin24, Techcentral.

“Africa is the ‘youngest’ continent. A ‘third wave’ of development in sub-Saharan Africa is coming.”

- Bill Gates, Microsoft founder &philanthropist

TrendsRobotics

A lively scene of start-ups developing robots, artificial intelligence and immersive reality has been emerging on the continent. “Although still in its infancy, with under 60,000 imports a year, the robotics industry in Africa is developing rapidly”, CNN reported. The report found that “In some parts of the continent, robots are mining, controlling traffic and even fighting deadly diseases". However, the flip side of the coin is that Africa’s labour market has to renew itself, too. The report went on to say that automation, the precursor of robotics, has already replaced many jobs in the following industries: retail, education, manufacturing, accounting, tourism and government services. A 2016 study published by the World Bank, has found that more than “half of jobs in parts of Africa are at risk of automation with Ethiopia leading the highest proportion globally at 85 percent”.

Like many fast growing African economies, public and private entities on the continent have taken steps to

embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The rise in the use of drones is seen in agriculture and industries to monitor fields and factories, respectively. Robots are developed and used in science and education A 26-year-old Nigerian, credited for building the world’s first gaming robot, Silas Adekunle, has become the highest paid in the field of robotic engineering executive in the world.

Attractive areas in relation to robotics :

Industrial productionCall centresGovernment services RetailTranslationParalegalTravelAccountingManufacturing

https://www.forbesafrica.com/agriculture/2019/01/24/ugandan-firm-uses-blockchain-to-trace-coffee-from-farms-to-stores/ | https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-blockchain-technology/ | https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/africa/robots-in-africa/index.html# | https://guardian.ng/technolo-

gy/26-year-old-nigerian-highest-paid-robotics-engineer-in-the-world/ | https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/africa/robots-in-africa/index.html

| AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT www.africantechshow.com3

Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)

According to techcrunch.com, “a drone revolution is coming to sub-Saharan Africa”. The report, published in H2 2018, also found out that the continent lags behind other regions. “Africa’s commercial drone history is largely compressed to a handful of projects and countries within the last 5-7 years.” The Republic of Rwanda extended its leadership role on drone policy when it adopted in early 2018 performance-based regulations for all drones—claiming to be the first country in the world to do so. At the end of January 2019, UAE producer Zipline, a California-based UAE start-up, posted on LinkedIn that it was recruiting mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineers in Rwanda to join the firm’s flight operations team.Rwanda’s lead is not a coincidence as the Central African mini state advances all e-fronts. On Nov. 1st 2018, China's e-commerce giant Alibaba and the government of Rwanda launched Alibaba's Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), which makes Rwanda the first African country that launches this platform, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. Since February 2018, in Namibia, all drones must be registered. “Different requirements are depending on the purpose of your flights. Private users must apply

https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/africa/robots-in-africa/index.html# | https://guardian.ng/technology/26-year-old-nigerian-highest-paid-robot-ics-engineer-in-the-world/ | https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/africa/robots-in-africa/index.html | https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/22/africa robots-in-africa/index.html | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235916895_Unmanned_Aerial_Vehicle_UAV_for_Monitoring_Soil_Erosion_in_Morocco

With under 60,000 imports a year, the robotics industry in Africa isdeveloping rapidly.

- Source: CNN

for an RPAS Letter of Approval (RLA),” according to drone-traveller.com.While Arab governments were eager to increase the spread of drones once their usage in the retail sector became affordable and popular after 2010, restriction have been set shortly after the Arab turmoil as rebel groups in Syria, Yemen and Libya started using drones for terror attacks. Consequently, many countries in Africa have implemented laws to regulate the usage of drones, and they used UAVs successfully to monitor and upgrade the work processes in various sectors. Examples: - Morocco uses UAVs for monitoring soil erosion in the countryside. - Tunisia uses UAVs for agricultural work. “Eight pilots have successfully passed their drone flight training in Tunisia following a two-week intensive training period organized by the Ministry of Agriculture of Tunisia, the African Development Bank and Busan Techno Park,” New Business Ethiopia reported on December 17 2018. - In Ethiopia, the drone law does not allow users to fly a drone higher than 100 meters. The landlocked East African country sees a rising number of domestically developed drones and UAVs produced by to carry medical supplies.

AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT |www.africantechshow.com 4

Since November 2018, Kenyan filmmakers are allowed to use drones, UAS Vision (an independent global forum for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems community) announced on its website, citing Information Communication Technology Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru.

About 26% of the African countries have UAV regulations in place.

- Source: FAO

Google opened its first Africa AI research center in Accra, Ghana’s capital.

Source: Quartz

“We had to start transforming the basis of our economy from subsidies to knowledge in order to unleash entrepreneurship and innovation. We had to bring the government out of the business ofbusiness and focus instead on creating a conclusive enabling environment and a level playing field for private enterprises.”

- Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda,Key Note delivered at the World

Government Summit in Dubai,February 2019AI-frica

In relation to Artificial Intelligence which is poised to modify the way goods and services are generated across all industries, the Fourth Industrial Revolution disrupts traditional value chains and creates new ways of the design and delivery process. As it is often the case in technology, “South Africa is the continental leader in AI,” wrote tech journalist Tom Jackson, author at DisruptAfrica.com. According to Jackson, “Investment firm Ethos, a leading South African fund manager with 34-years of experience investing across various industry segments in the country, just launched a $40 million fund to identify and invest in start-ups that the company believes will benefit enormously from AI, specifically algorithmic decision-making.”Nevertheless, emerging African markets do not have to hide behind high-tech hubs in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Ethiopia is home of iCog Labs. Based out of Addis Ababa, iCog Labs is one of the biggest AI outsourcing companies in Africa . Even war-torn Somalia held its first technology conference in Mogadishu at the end of 2018, NewAfrican reported in its December issue.

Augmented Reality Augmented reality describes a technology which enables a human to operate on an object remotely through a device like smart glasses.Examples:

- Germany’s Siemens AG has developed AR googles for engineers who can examine pipelines from inside without entering them in order to examine new and running pipelines to spot damages or irregularities on the inner surface.

- Science Daily reported on Jan. 31st 2018, that “In a series of procedures carried out by a team at Imperial College London at St Mary's Hospital, researchers have shown for the first time how surgeons can use Microsoft HoloLens headsets while operating on patients undergoing reconstructive lower limb surgery.”

- South China Morning Post reported on Feb. 23 2019 about a surgeon in China who performed the world’s first remote operation using '5G Surgery' on animal, removing its liver, thru controlling robotic arms in a location 30 miles away. The operation was made possible by using a low latency of 0.1 seconds, the lower the latency, the more responsive the robot

The efficient use of AR, is an international phenomenon. The first pan-African Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) hackathon took place in April 2018 when ICT cracks of seven African countries participated at the challenge. A hackathon is a fast-track event in which ICT programmers develop

https://newbusinessethiopia.com/tunisia-to-use-drone-for-agricultural-development/ | https://www.uasvision.com/2018/11/26/kenyan-filmmakers-al-lowed-to-use-drones/ | http://www.fao.org/e-agriculture/news/drones-horizon-transforming-africa%E2%80%99s-agriculture | http://www.africanews.com/2018/09/05/ethiopia-aims-to-become-africa-s-artificial-intelligence-ai-giant// https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235916895_Unmanned_

Aerial_Vehicle_UAV_for_Monitoring_Soil_Erosion_in_Morocco

| AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT www.africantechshow.com5

“There are signs that artificial intelligence has a bright future in Africa, but businesses and industries need to embrace the technology in order to make that happen.”

- Tom Jackson, Author Disrupt Africa

Driverless/Autonomous cars Although many African states do not possess a proper road system there is some form of emergence of autonomous cars. As Africa’s domestic vehicle industry can hardly compete with their counterparts from China, Japan, India, Europe and the U. S. (with the exception of South African military vehicles), the continent will remain dependent on innovative self-driving solutions from abroad for the foreseeable future. In August 2018, Toyota said it will invest U$500 million in Uber Technologies “to jointly work on developing self-driving cars”, wrote Egypt Today. Predictions are relatively dull for the continent. Tanzania might use self-driving cars by 2027. And three self-driving rovers – Mana Minnie and SherpaTT – were already tested in the desert of Morocco – but not to be used later by tourists who try to save the costs for hiring a driver but to examine if they would work well in a Mars-like environment. Videos circulating on social media showing a self-driving car on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, were fake recordings, as it came to light.

According to Chinese-British lender ICBC Standard Bank, London, the ascent of driverless cars (most of them will be electric cars) has already triggered a rise in demand for metals used in electric cars. These metals are cobalt, nickel, lithium and manganese. Ironically, these metals are mostly sourced from Africa. Namibia, Congo, South Africa, Zimbabwe However, back in 2014, Ford Motor’s Executive Chairman Bill Ford told journalists in Dubai, that “autonomous cars will work at first along modern roads, equipped with sensors which help the computer to steer the car safely. However, in remote areas such mountainous roads, desert roads or in an environment where snow storms are common, these vehicles might not be able to move forward.” Ford’s prediction is in line with an article published five years later, by the Wall Street Journal, titled

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180131085837.htm | Via twitter: @scmpnews | https://medium.com/vr-first/vr-first-supports-af-ricas-largest-augmented-and-virtual-reality-event-f33397799677 | http://www.mediamaxnetwork.co.ke/438877/local-techpreneurs-bring-virtual-reali-ty-to-kenya/

software solutions or hardware solutions to achieve a defined objective designed by the organiser. The list of the aforementioned supporters is eye-catching. This hackathon was initiated by Judith Okonkwo, the founder of Imisi 3D, Nigeria’s first AR/VR Creation Lab, and it was supported by Facebook along with sponsors including GitHub. Leading social media platform Facebook’s role line-up gives proof that Africa is in the cross-hair of western ICT-heavyweights.

In Kenya, entrepreneur Brian Afande and his companion Michael Ilako, founded “a virtual reality firm in 2015 and are training young people interested in the field for free”, Mediamax reported on May 28 2018.

According to H. E. Omar Al Olama, the United Arab Emirates Minister of Artificial Intelligence, AR can help fighting diseases in Africa as it allows surgeons to advice on treatments and operations from remote areas. At the second United Nations World Data Forum held in Dubai in October in 2018, Al Olama stated that unlike other deadly diseases, “tuberculosis is preventable, treatable and curable”, the minister told Xinhua.The challenge of tackling the disease, he added, is that some patients do not show the symptoms of tuberculosis and so the threat can be more serious than expected, and "here AI comes into play."

Minister Al Olama said his office is developing an

Pan-African Payments company, Cellulant, has built Africa’s first Augmented Reality (AR) powered try-on experiences in Facebook Messenger. Kenyan brand Huddah Cosmetics, has been selected as the first social commerce merchant on Mula to launch the platform.

algorithmic solution that can be used in the detection and diagnosis of tuberculosis from chest x-rays.

"X-Ray images can be sent by electronic means like the Internet or online applications and once developed, the algorithmic solution will be open to any nation to use in the fight against tuberculosis," said Al Olama, according to Xinhua. According to Al Olama, "10 million new cases of tuberculosis are recorded worldwide every year, while 2 million people die yearly because of the disease."

AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT |www.africantechshow.com 6

“Driverless Cars Tap the Brakes After Years of Hype”. The report from Jan. 17 2019, stated that “Developers take a more cautious, low-key approach in testing and talking about autonomous vehicles after Uber crash.” In March 2018, an autonomous vehicle by taxi-ride hailing giant Uber crashed while travelling at 40 miles per hour. The police report indicated that the car showed no signs of slowing down before heading into a pedestrian who died from her injuries caused by the

crash, theverge.com reported on Mar. 19 2018. One assessment by Innovation Group South Africa is noteworthy. According to the group’s 2016 Automotive Future Now Report, Africa is the globe’s ‘last market’. “It’s where small businesses can grow, and with such unlimited expansion, there is more than enough room for facilitative policy and business that will allow driverless cars to roam the streets.”

National Department of Transport told MyBroadband that the operation of self-driving cars on public roads is not allowed in South Africa.

Source: MyBroadBand.com

Conclusion Like in relation to economic development and the distribution of resources, Africa is a fragmented continent when it comes to the fourth industrial revolution. The research and developments of robots, drones, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, digital learning, immersive technology and augmented reality may be advanced in some countries. ICT products are not only shipped to Africa, but also assembled there,e. g. the single parts of Tecno Mobile Smartphone series (by Hong Kong-based Transsion Holdings) are produced in Mainland China, but they are assembled in Ethiopia by local workers. The need and opportunity for an African Technology Show has never been greater. Therefore, MIE Groups is launching the inaugural African Tech Show (#africantechshow #AFTS19) on 16 -18 December in

Casablanca, Morocco, parallel to the fourth edition of China Trade Week (CTW) Morocco. The first African Tech Show will bring together 145 exhibitors and 5,000+ professional visitors.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-10/22/c_137550429.htm | http://www.dalafm.co.ke/to-launch-africas-first-augmented-reality-ar-experi-ence-on-messenger/business-news/ | http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/56737/Toyota-to-invest-500M-in-Uber-for-self-driving-cars | https://

phys.org/news/2019-02-self-driving-rovers-explore-moroccan-mars.html | https://www.joburg.co.za/does-the-self-driving-car-have-a-future-in-south-africa/ | https://mybroadband.co.za/news/motoring/257325-self-driving-cars-are-not-allowed-on-south-african-roads.html

| AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT www.africantechshow.com7

About MIE Events DMCC

The successful industry leading China Trade Week (CTW) Portfolio connects local businesses with the most innovative Chinese firms, manufacturers, ICT providers and stakeholders. In support of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), CTW organizer MIE Events DMCC, Dubai, provides a comprehensive framework for organising and managing multi-national economic development and trade platforms. We have been organising CTW platforms since 2012 in the Middle East and Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, UAE and Morocco. The continuous support and commitment of public and private institutions for CTW, ensures that very best of Chinese Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Innovation and ICT sectors are represented throughout the CTW Portfolio. MIE Events DMCC is a 20-year-old organisation and is part of Shanghai-based MIE Groups, a Business to Government Consultancy, which operates 8 offices across China with the International Head Quarters based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In 2019, CTW will be expanding the portfolio and take it to the next level through expanding to Saudi Arabia, Rwanda and Algeria. MIE Groups global aim is to become the leading market intelligence platform in relation to BRI and China Global Trade.

About Digital Morocco 2020 / Plan Maroc Numeric 2020

African Technology Show is set in motion to support and accelerate the ongoing digital transformation throughout the African continent.

The processes are focusing on different parts of the transformation in different countries and African Technology Show will be paying special attention to the ongoing efforts in the nations where the show is launched.

In December 2019 Casablanca, Morocco will be hosting the inaugural African Technology Show and for that reason, we are aligning the national strategy Digital Morocco 2020 which targets:

Accelerate the digital transformation of Morocco;Strengthen Morocco's place as a regional digital hub;Raise the eco-systemic barriers, addressing, in particular, the problem of governance and digital skills.The further objectives of the national digital strategy is to reduce the digital access gap by 50% as well as 50% of online administrative procedures, give 20% of SMEs equipped and connected to the Internet. The vision is to create 60,000 IT-related jobs & train more than 15,000 IT professionals, and thus support 5 to 10% annual growth in the ICT sector in Morocco

Goal: Make Morocco the no 1 digital hub in French-speaking Africa and no 2 digital hub in Africa;

The Plan Maroc Numeric 2020 is set in motion by Morocco's Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Investment and Digital Economy

About CHINA TRADE WEEK

The successful industry leading China Trade Week (CTW) Portfolio connects local businesses with the most innovative Chinese firms, manufacturers, ICT providers and stakeholders. In support of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), CTW organizer MIE Events DMCC, Dubai, provides a comprehensive framework for organising and managing multi-national economic development and trade platforms.We have been organising CTW platforms since 2012 in the Middle East and Africa, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, UAE and Morocco. The continuous support and commitment of public and private institutions for CTW, ensures that very best of Chinese manufacturing, Infrastructure, Innovation and ICT sectors are represented throughout the CTW Portfolio. MIE Events DMCC is a 20-year-old organisation and is part of Shanghai-based MIE Groups, a Business to Government Consultancy, which operates 8 offices across China with the International Head Quarters based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In 2019, CTW will be expanding the portfolio and take it to the next level through expanding to Saudi Arabia, Rwanda and Algeria. MIE Groups global aim is to become the leading market intelligence platform inrelation to BRI and China Global Trade.

About African Technology Show

Accelerating Digital TransformationThe African Technology Show is a global business to business platform showcasing the premier solutions and technologies that drives the fourth industrial revolution and the global digital transformation. The themes of the 2019 show and conference are:

Smart citiesIndustry 4.0FinTechConsumer products

AFTS 2019 INAUGURAL REPORT |www.africantechshow.com 8

DisclaimerThe opinions expressed in this publication are those of MIE Events. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of those parties quoted in the report or its members. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the MIE Events concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers.© MIE EVENTS DMCC 2019

MIE EVENTS DMCC | JBC 5, Cluster W, Jumeirah Lake Tower, P. O. Box 41866, Dubai (UAE)

ANNE MARIE THODSENProject [email protected] Tel: +971 55 15 16 143 www.AfricanTechShow.com @AfricanTechShow #AcceleratingDigitalTransformation

GÉRARD AL - FILMarketing & Communication [email protected] Tel: +971 50 276 8203

#AFTS19@AfricanTechShow