Telecom
Stakeholders at PMI Africa Conference Call for Collaboration, Inclusion and Diversity to Boost a Sustainable Future for Africa
Experts and stakeholders in the project management ecosystem have said that diversity, inclusion and collaboration are some of Africa’s leading catalysts for economic growth.
L-R: Paul Omugbe, President, PMI Nigeria Chapter; George Asamani, Managing Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Project Management Institute (PMI) and Joe Cahill, Chief Customer Officer (CCO), Project Management Institute (PMI) at the 7th annual PMI Africa Conference in Lagos.
This was the highlight of the first day of the 2022 Project Management Institute (PMI) Africa Conference currently being held in Lagos. Connecting ideas, peoples and projects.” The three-day event will include roundtable dialogues, exhibition visits, networking opportunities and panellists’ sessions where front-burner issues and challenges in project management will be discussed.
George Asamani, MD, Sub Saharan Africa, PMI, who opened the conference, said, “Countries, companies and communities who succeed do so by applying the practice of project management.
“In the new normal, when the resources are stretched, project management becomes even more critical to maximise return on investment and deliver results.”
The conference is hosted annually by Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s leading association for project professionals, which gave insights into delivering exceptional projects for business transformation and Africa’s development.
Founder of SHEngineers, and senior civil engineer, Innocentia Mahlangu, emphasised the need for organisations to reform their workplace policies to reflect diversity and inclusivity during her closing keynote talk.
In her address themed, ‘Boosting the role of women in Africa’s project economy’, she remarked that, like many technical professions, project management still remains male-dominated. Citing an article she co-authored in Financial Times, she said, “by 2030, there will be a global demand for about 25 million project professionals.”
Reflecting the sentiments of UN Women, she pointed out that gender equality is one of the best ways of solving some of these 21st-century challenges.
“Women are not only more affected by these problems, but they have ideas and leadership to solve them. Gender discrimination which is still prevalent, not only holds too many women back but also the world. Inclusion is not only a human resource or company policy issue.
“It’s an opportunity for new ideas and leadership styles to emerge and solve our current challenges to make the world a better place.”
“There are conscious biases and stereotypes which may hamper opportunities for women to take up careers in the project economy. Diverse teams and inclusive environments produce positive results. We must reflect the people we deliver projects for,’’ she said.
While speaking on the theme “Achieving Organizational Strategic Objectives Through Project Portfolio Management (PPM),” Taopheek Babayeju, CEO iCentra identified bad execution as a leading cause of failure of many organisations and projects.
“At the project level, all you try to do is to do the work right. Ensure that timelines are followed, and the costs are controlled. At the portfolio level, what organisations do to succeed is to do the right work by selecting their priorities.
“This is where organisations fail. No organisation has infinite resources. You are always struggling with what is right; what is going to align with the strategic objectives of that organisation,’’ he observed.
During his talk, President, PMI Nigeria Chapter and Business Director, Astridia Global, Paul Omugbe, pointed out agility’s role in a dynamic and volatile work environment.
He said, “As a project manager, you have to be able to deal with the changes both outside and within the project that you are working on. You have to be able to adapt to change in your environment.”
While mulling the ways of transforming challenges into opportunities, Ella Naiman, Partner, Empower, who is also the Co-founder of Generation Empower and President PMI Tanzania Chapter, observed that the current world of work is complex and diverse. For her, organisations need to be more inclusive, acquire people skills and manage varied perspectives.
“To have a diverse team means more innovation and creativity, setting the stage for many more interesting changes.
“However, the challenge on the flip side is that we have these different perspectives that sometimes can cause tension. In terms of my experience, it is really about understanding and hearing different views, adapting and learning how to integrate.”
Experts at the conference agreed that the government has a role to play in collaboration. If a private company is successful in its project, it will improve the country’s economy.
Hence, the government should be inclusive in the process of making legislation by adopting a collaborative approach with the stakeholders, including the community where projects are domiciled.
In addition, the panellists pointed out that influencing government policy, personal development, and citizen education are great goals toward a better project economy in Africa.
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.
Police Says Victims Enable Cyber Attacks Out of Ignorance
Bank Accuses Magistrate, Lawyer of Using Fake Order to Steal N3.5m from Account
FG Launches NERD to Combat Certificate Fraud
NCDC Issues Public Advisory on Cerebrospinal Meningitis
Goodnews Naija Launches ‘Building in Nigeria’ Series on Entrepreneurs, Real Sector Builders
Dr. Cairo Ojougboh Foundation Bolsters Nigeria’s Education Drive with ₦2.7m Student Support
Kaspersky Brings more Transparency to Threat Detection with New Hunt Hub
PwC Reveals AI Scaling Gap Slows Africa’s Digital Transformation
Kaspersky Discovers New Phishing Campaign Exploiting Google Tasks Notifications to Steal Corporate Credentials
esentry 2025 Report Shows Healthcare, Financial Services and Telecoms as Staging Grounds for Increased Cyberattacks in Africa
E-Financial3 days agoNigeria’s VAT Jumps 34%, CIT Soars 48% to ₦14trn in 9M’25 – NBS
Telecom3 days agoFG Approves GIS-enabled Digital Postcode to Tackle Logistics Gaps, Boost E-commerce
E-Business3 days agoFirm Enhances its Security Awareness Platform with SCORM and PDF Support
E-Financial3 days agoBinance Cuts Illicit Activity Exposure by 96%, Leads Global Crypto Compliance Push
E-Financial2 days agoSenate Targets Fintech Overreach, Vows Ponzi Crackdown After ₦1.3trn CBEX Scam
E-Financial3 days agoNAICOM Signs MoU with BPP to Deepen Insurance Compliance in Public Procurement
Telecom3 days agoGSMA, African Operators, Others to Launch Low-cost 4G Devices
General News2 days agoFCCPC Bans Lagos ‘No Refund’ Policy, Vows Fines and Shutdowns for Traders