Telecom
ITU Telecom World 2015 to Focus on Supporting ICT SMEs, Start-ups
ITU Telecom World 2015, the global ICT innovation event for SMEs, corporates and governments opened yesterday in Budapest.
The event kicked off with a spectacular Opening Ceremony, in the presence of H.E Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao, and a host of other distinguished high-level participants spanning government, industry and representatives of many global SMEs and start-ups.
The event will comprise over 230 exhibitors, sponsors and partners from over 40 countries, with the Forum and Leadership Summit including 200 speakers and 44 panel sessions, workshops and sponsored sessions.
Over 250 leaders – split evenly between the public and private sectors – from 88 countries across the globe will take part in the week’s proceedings.
The event’s Young Innovators Competition will also celebrate 6 winning young social technopreneurs, selected from a total of 493 entries from 74 countries.
Some 100 accredited international media are expected onsite at Budapest’s HUNGEXPO to cover the event.
Launching the ceremony and acknowledging the critical role which SMEs and start-ups play within the ICT ecosystem and how this forms the cornerstone of a new and exciting direction for ITU and ITU Telecom, ITU’s Zhao stressed his personal commitment “to ensuring we implement this new focus in response to the needs of the countries, industry and national and international socio-economic development.”
Expanding on this vision he added “We wish to reform ITU Telecom to create such an international platform where we can share knowledge, exchange ideas, best practice, and inspiration, and facilitate networking and partnerships with SMEs.”
Addressing a packed auditorium, Hungary’s Prime Minister H.E Viktor Orbán spoke of past and present Hungarian innovators, and outlined plans for Digital Hungary, noting that “Hungary can be as proud of its role in the ICT sector today as it was in the past. We have grounds to be proud of the fact that the digital economy of Hungary is one of the fastest developing in the EU.”
Speaking via video message, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon encouraged government and technology industry leaders gathered in Budapest to “foster greater innovation and entrepreneurship in the ICT sector, especially among small and medium sized business.” He urged participants to “consider what more you can do to ensure universal connectivity, close the digital divide, open doors to knowledge and ensure the full participation of women and girls in the ever growing digital economy in support of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.”
Kerstin Günther, Managing Director of Deutsche Telekom’s Pan-Net and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Magyar Telekom, said “I think it is a powerful message and feedback for Hungary and the whole region that ITU brought its jubilee world conference to Budapest.
The future is present in Hungary, and Hungary is a hub of the European ICT industry right now.” Echoing a core theme of the event, she also noted that “Digital Hungary will be a real European success story that may serve as a role model for any country in the world also as a blueprint of how government and industry work together.”
Marina von Neumann Whitman, daughter of the late John von Neumann, a founding figure of computing, told participants via a video message that “All of the ingenuity that characterized my father continues to be found in Hungarian citizens of the 21st century, and the best way today to exploit this creativity is through promoting the use of ICTs.”
The Opening Ceremony marked the start of an action-packed few days of high-level debate, dialogue between long-established business, SMEs and governments, showcasing and networking.
ITU Telecom World is an Exhibition for digital solutions, a Forum for sharing knowledge and a Networking hub for governments, industry – from established players to SMEs to start-ups – and academia. Its aim is to help ideas go further, faster and to promote the innovative, transformative ICT-enabled solutions that will make the world better, sooner.
Through an interactive programme of debates, the Forum will tackle central issues affecting the ICT ecosystem today, opening with a top-level Leadership Summit on accelerating digital innovation for social impact. Discussions comprise panel debates, workshops, high-level round tables and keynotes.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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