Afri-Tech: Africa's first internet and digital marketing

Friday, 20 May 2011 10:56  |  James Barton

Africa's first internet and digital marketing event, Afri-Tech, is expected to bring world-class marketing gurus from United Kingdom, the United States of America, Asia and Africa. The event is set to take place in Nairobi, Kenya.

According to the chief executive officer of Afri-Tech, the firm behind the Summit, Bernard Sanganza all the speakers have confirmed participation for the meeting likely to be graced by Kenya's President, Mwai Kibaki. The event is expected to last four days from June 15-18.

"We are just waiting for the big day in Nairobi as marketing gurus converge to discuss the way forward on digital marketing," Mr Sanganza said. The chief executive officer said the realisation of “Africa's dream” is finally coming to fruition, with significant support already confirmed from leading corporate firms in Africa, the Government of Kenya as well as universities. While the works involved have been hectic and bureaucratic, marketing experts argue that the conference will significantly shape the future of products and services sales globally.

“The development will see firms learn from marketing experts around the world. This will obviously impact positively on companies' output," Mr Ital Chando, the firm's head of marketing said. Only three weeks ago, Afri-Tech hosted a curtain-raiser event at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre that was well attended by industry leaders across East Africa.

Catherine Ngahu, the chairman of the Kenya ICT Board, lauded the June meeting, arguing that Africa can only come out of the perennial problems of poverty when the continent embraces modern technology. "This was a well thought-out meeting for digital marketing. Indeed through such a platform, firms can reach millions of clients within the touch of a button. ICT board is ready to host Afri-Tech, and provide all the support it will need," Ms Ngahu said.

In the past two years, Kenya has attracted key foreign investors, who consider the country business-friendly. Today, the country hosts the African headquarters of global firms such as Google, Samsung as well as Nokia. Confirmed attendees for the event include a number of Government parastatals in East Africa, along with representatives from universities and the corporate sector.

Moreover, the team spearheading the meeting led by Mr Chando and chief operating officer, Chris Sanganza, are already in Kenya to prepare the firm for the conference. "After the June conference, focus will be shifting to Southern Africa as well as West Africa where similar activities have been planned," the CEO said.

The four-day exhibition and conference will provide the attendees with a mass of new knowledge and new contacts. It is projected to feature more than 150 leading minds from the local market, most of whom are brand advertisers, traditional and interactive agencies, portals, on-line publishers and technology providers.

According to Mr Sanganza, marketing executives from brand organisations, agencies, publishers and solution providers "attend our events in order to stay on top of the most important content, network with industry leaders. The conference will also provide understanding on how firms can work with the latest technology and media. Our events truly answer the needs and wants of those passionate about digital media.”

Statistics show that Afri-Tech is Africa's first and most established Internet and Digital Media institution. Marketing experts say the June summit is timely, especially at this time when the continent is fast embracing technology. Key subjects of discussion include the future innovations in Internet and Digital. This, the Afri-Tech President says, will focus on the latest technology, what the future holds for investors and what one should look out for in the ever changing communications landscape. "More interesting will be the building of brands through a digital platform. Here, experts will take a look at the agency's role traditionally companies built brands in the offline world through television and print media. But today some of the most well known brands, Google, Facebook, Skype all originated online. How can agencies help organisations build a successful online brand, and are they currently equipped well enough to do so?"

According to McKinsey Quarterly survey, companies that make the deep strategic and operational shifts required to become effective digital marketers can become more agile, more productive, and accelerate revenue growth. "Since the dawn of the Internet, marketers have regarded it as a vast laboratory, launching experiment after experiment to crack the code that generates sales and customer loyalty. Not surprisingly, most have failed. Consumers adopted digital technology as they themselves saw fit, in the process fundamentally altering the way they make purchasing decisions," the study found.

More info:

• www.afri-tech.com

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