Digital transformation drives cooperation between African countries, says Moroccan Govt

Marrakech|| Aziz Akhannouch, Head of Government of the Kingdom of Morocco, has highlighted the role of tech and innovation to promote important alliances for the future of Africa.

“Digital transformation is not just a technological ‘luxury,’ but an essential driver for strengthening cooperation between African countries. It offers concrete solutions to the challenges facing the continent, stimulates sustainable development, and creates a favorable environment for deepening integration between African countries,” Akhannouch said at the ongoing GITEX AFRICA 2024 holding in Marrakech, Morocco.

GITEX AFRICA 2024 is addressing Africa’s digital opportunities and economic growth with an extensive three-day programme bringing together some of the most influential tech experts, pioneering innovators, policy-makers, government leaders, and investors.

Speaking further at the continent’s largest and most verified tech and start-up event, Akhannouch said, “Adopting and promoting this transformation is therefore of utmost importance to realize Africa’s full potential in the 21st century. In this regard, the GITEX AFRICA exhibition constitutes a privileged platform to discuss the main catalysts enabling the African continent to position itself as a consumer and producer of digital technologies”.

Akhannouch presided over the opening ceremony of the show running until May 31, welcoming over 1,400 exhibiting tech enterprises and start-ups, 350-plus leading investors, more than 600 conference speakers, and 100 government entities, while convening tens of thousands of attendees from 130-plus countries.

Akhannouch joined the main stage of the event with dignitaries and ministers from across Africa and the world at the inauguration ceremony, including Ghita Mezzour, Minister of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform; Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director General of Digital Dubai Authority; Chakib Alj, the President of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM); Sidi Mohammed Drissi Melyani, General Director of the Moroccan Digital Development Agency; Lacina Kone, CEO of Smart Africa; and Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International, GITEX AFRICA Morocco’s organiser.

Sharing a similar sentiment, the Director General of Digital Dubai Authority, Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, said: “The Kingdom of Morocco and the UAE have chosen the path of the digital revolution and formulated their choices based on the interest of the human being within the framework of sustainable development. Based on the digital transformation process we, in Dubai, have implemented since the turn of the millennium, we view the Moroccan experience with admiration and appreciation, especially in the field of strengthening regional and international cooperation and building bridges to replace narrow borders”.

“This confirms that the world today has become a small village and that the battle for sustainable development is our battle. Individual achievements, no matter how successful they may be, remain incomplete if they do not belong to all as the world today is interconnected in a way never seen before,” added Al Mansoori.

For her part, Ghita Mezzour, Minister of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, emphasized the outstanding growth in the number of startups in Morocco and Africa, hundreds of them exhibiting at GITEX AFRICA Morocco 2024: “Over the past year we’ve seen the rise of many start-ups in Morocco and Africa overall, and I’m proud to see many of them represented here today. And that’s no surprise since a lot has happened in the world of technology since last year.”

She also mentioned the importance of AI tech in Africa to transform the region’s economy and address the continent’s challenges: “I will let you imagine how our economies and lives will look like in the next few years. Sustaining the growth of Africa as a technology and AI powerhouse is key to the continent’s industrialization and growth and for job creation in a continent whose population will double by 2050. 50 percent of Africans will be under 25-year-old by then.”

Sidi Mohammed Drissi Melyani, Director General of the Digital Development Agency highlighted the importance of private and public sectors to accelerate digital transformation, saying: “The organization of the second edition of the GITEX AFRICA Morocco by our country is a valuable opportunity to recognise the considerable efforts made by all digital development actors, whether they are from ministerial sectors, public organisations, or private sector entities. This technological revolution, in which all ecosystems with their various specialties are actively participating, demonstrates how greatly our country values the integration of technology and digitalisation into the services offered.”