BrazilDeloitte announced as sponsor for IoT forum Africa 2018
Global professional services firm Deloitte will be among the primary sponsors of this year’s Internet of Things (IOT) Forum Africa. The conference will take place in Johannesburg over the 14th and the 15th of March this year, when global leaders in the IoT sphere will congregate to exchange ideas and trends.
Innovation in the IoT sphere has been driving growth in the technology sector across global economies. In essence, this particular domain of technological advancement deals with embedding day-to-day objects, from home and office appliances to vehicles and jet engines, with electronics, including advanced sensors and software, and connecting them to the internet.
The IoT phenomenon has become so influential on a global scale, that nearly 30 billion devices are expected to be connected worldwide by as early as 2020. This number will continue to grow as the digital market around the world continues to expand, particularly in the developing world.
In Africa, the number of mobile internet connections is expected to surpass 1 billion by 2022, which immediately creates a market for IoT applications. However, technological advancement has been slow to percolate across Africa, even in the largest economies such as Nigeria and South Africa.
In Nigeria, for instance, despite the presence of 92 million regular internet users, there is minimal application of digital tools to banking transactions. Moreover, this is not for the want of Fintech advancement in the country, as banks have established their online facilities there.
The problem is merely one of awareness and outreach, to ensure that the potential market is making full use of the available technology. To develop solutions to problems of this nature, and a range of others, particularly in the IoT sphere, executives across Africa organise the IoT Forum Africa (IoTFA) on an annual basis.
Primarily a platform for the discussion of ideas and the presentation of the latest developments in IoT, the forum is divided into industry tracks, where executives can focus on the innovation within their specific sector. Industry tracks include manufacturing, energy, finance, transportation, retail, and mining.
Speakers at the conference feature thought leaders, practitioners, and industry heads who hold expertise on the global trends in IoT. This year, speakers include Reshaad Sha, the CEO of IoT network provider SqwidNet; George Kalebaila, who is the Director for Telecoms and IoT for the region of Africa at global market intelligence firm IDC, and a number of other respected experts.
The event is sponsored by a range of firms, who are categorised based on their levels of contribution. For example, Sqwidnet is the sole diamond sponsor of the event, while ERP expert SAP – which has recently expanded its presence in West Africa – is the sole platinum sponsor of the event.
Big Four professional services firm Deloitte, meanwhile, made the third category of gold sponsors, alongside four other firms. The firm has been restructuring in Africa recently, and will be hoping to capitalise on the growing IoT market on the continent.
