Telecom
Stakeholders in ICT Across West Africa Pledge to Deepen Internet Penetration in the Region
UNESCO and the African ICT Foundation have jointly organised a knowledge sharing session on how to mainstream Internet Universality and ROAM principles (Rights, Openness, Access and Multi-stakeholder approach).
The session, which was held on the occasion of the West African Internet Governance Forum 2021, focused on how to encourage more countries to use ROAM-X indicators for improving national Internet development and digital policies in West Africa.
The session was moderated by Dr Kossi Amessinou, Regional Director, West Africa, African ICT Foundation, who underlined the main objective to engage an extended partnership with the Internet community of West Africa by mobilizing them to participate in Dynamic Coalition and provide the necessary tools to conduct national assessments in all ECOWAS countries.
Our work on Internet Universality seeks to identify and close digital divides, foster digital inclusion, protect rights including freedom of expression, access to information and privacy, as well as to contribute to strengthening resilience and development.
In her opening remarks, Marielza Oliveira, UNESCO’s Director for Partnerships and Operational Programme Monitoring in the Communications and Information Sector, stated: “Our work on Internet Universality seeks to identify and close digital divides, foster digital inclusion, protect rights including freedom of expression, access to information, privacy, and contribute to strengthening resilience and development”.
Tony Ojobo, President of the African ICT Foundation commended the collaboration with UNESCO and highlighted the need to carry out periodic evaluations in African countries to enable the improvement of national Internet governance.
The ROAM principles and indicators go beyond the traditional rational of physical access. They contribute to comprehensively advancing digital inclusion, focusing on multiple dimensions of human rights, open Internet, quality of access and inclusive multi-stakeholder governance for building resilient West Africa and achieving SDGs.
Dorothy Gordon, Chair of UNESCO’ Information for All Programme, reaffirmed the need for strong advocacy from national and regional stakeholders to implement the national assessment of IUIs across the West-African countries.
She further called for more engagement from civil society to represent vulnerable and marginalized groups, such as disabled people, women or the youth.
Professor Alain Kiyindou pointed out that the ROAM-X indicators assessment in countries like Benin and Niger offers tremendous opportunities to push forward the development of Internet in West Africa.
This framework empowers national stakeholders to gain a better understanding of their digital landscape and engage in the digital transformation and inclusion process.
Representing Development House, Kafui Aheto introduced the initial findings of the ongoing national assessment of ROAM-X indicators in Ghana. He highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholderism in guiding the overall assessment process and building policy development in Ghana.
ROAM-X indicators assessments have been progressing in 28 countries, including the following African countries: Benin, Senegal, Kenya, Ghana, Niger, Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cabo Verde, Burkina Faso.
All participants agreed on the importance for African countries to mainstream ROAM principles and the urgent need to expand advocacy, capacity-building, resource mobilization and multistakeholder partnerships to scale up national assessment projects across the region.
UNESCO encourages all countries in the West-African subregion to continue using the ROAM framework and join the Dynamic Coalition on Internet Universality Indicators and join the Dynamic Coalition on Internet Universality Indicators (IUIs) to bring Internet forward in the region. (IUIs) to bring Internet forward in the region.
Spacecoin, US-based, has announced the signing of recent agreements with local authorities and operators to launch satellite connectivity pilot projects in Africa.
The initiatives, focused on Kenya and Nigeria, aim to serve areas where terrestrial networks remain limited or unavailable.
n Kenya, Spacecoin has obtained a transmission license from the Communications Authority, allowing it to test satellite-based solutions for connectivity and Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas with limited internet access.
According to the Kenyan regulator, internet penetration remains below 50% of the population, despite mobile penetration exceeding 130%.
In parallel, the company is continuing operations in Nigeria under an existing license issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This authorization supports initiatives aimed at delivering affordable broadband connectivity to isolated and underserved communities.
Spacecoin’s approach is based on a decentralized satellite network using nanosatellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Combined with blockchain-based protocols, this architecture is intended to offer more flexible and cost-effective connectivity services than traditional networks, while also enabling the integration of IoT solutions for a range of uses, from smart agriculture to infrastructure monitoring.
These projects are part of a broader strategy to help narrow Africa’s digital divide, where a significant share of the population still lacks access to reliable internet services.
Satellite technology is increasingly viewed as a complement to terrestrial infrastructure, particularly in hard-to-reach areas where deployment costs and geographic constraints remain high.
Beyond Africa, Spacecoin is also running pilot projects in Asia, working with local partners to test the viability of its model across different regulatory and geographic environments.
According to the company’s management, growing interest from regulators reflects a shift toward solutions capable of reaching populations that have long been excluded from internet access.
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, today announces the appointment of Khaled Salah, 37 years old, as Vice President of Africa.
Khaled Salah
In this new role, he will be responsible for about 30 employees to ensure the successful implementation of AVEVA’s growth strategy. Khaled Salah will report directly to Jesus Hernandez, SVP of the EMEA region.
A 15-years + career across different industries and domains
With a MBA in management from the Warwick business school, UK, and a master’s degree in engineering from Ain Shams university in Egypt, Khaled Salah is an active advocate for driving sustainable progress in the industrial sector. With Sustainability in mind, Khaled is keen on making a positive business impact, while fostering progress for people and the planet.
He started his career at Schneider Electric, in 2013 in the global supply chain and evolved through various roles such as Europe procurement and supply chain strategy Manager, and Global Commercial strategy Director for the industrial automation business. Khaled Salah has developed a strategic understanding of all those fields.
After 12 years in Schneider Electric, Khaled joined AVEVA in 2022 to lead AVEVA and Schneider Electric global strategic partnership, across all industries managing a team of 30 people.
He has led the introduction of new AVEVA software solutions to initiate and develop significant growth areas across all Schneider Electric verticals.
Ambitious plans for AVEVA in Africa
In addition to his current role as AVEVA and Schneider Electric partnership Vice-President, Khaled now takes over the management of AVEVA’s activities in Africa.
Jesus Hernandez, SVP of the EMEA region says: “Africa is a strategic region for AVEVA. In this major industrial market, customers, world leaders in the fields of Energy, Metal & Mining, Chemicals, 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.
“Khaled Salah’s qualities of leadership in a global environment will benefit his team spread across 12 countries including Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.”
Motivated by the prospect of capitalizing on the talent of his team to strengthen AVEVA’s presence in Africa in the years to come, Khaled Salah says: “Helping my team realize their professional potential is close to my heart.
“We will work together to support and accelerate the digital transformation of industries in Africa, in particular through CONNECT, our industrial intelligence platform, with the support of our ecosystem of partners. »
A Google-Ipsos report reveals Nigerians topping global AI usage at 88%, surpassing the 62% worldwide average, with sharp rises in education and business applications.
“Our Life with AI: Helpfulness in the hands of more people” shows 93% of Nigerians using AI for learning complex topics versus 74% globally, 91% for work assistance, and 80% for new ventures—nearly double the 42% global rate.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, stated: “Nigerians are creatively using AI to unlock opportunities for learning, growth, and economic empowerment, shaping their future with technology.”
Key findings highlight 91% viewing AI positively for learning access, 95% expecting benefits for students and educators, and strong optimism—80% excited versus 20% concerned, compared to global 53%-46% split. Frequent users show 90% excitement
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