First GSMA Connected Women Africa Conference Launched; MTN Announced as Mobile 360-Africa Platinum Sponsor

London: The GSMA today provided further details on the Mobile 360 Series-Africa conference, which will take place 5-7 November at the Clock Tower Conference Centre in Cape Town. The GSMA announced the addition of several senior-level executives to the conference programme, as well as MTN as the Platinum Sponsor for the event. The GSMA also announced that it will be holding its Connected Women Africa Conference in conjunction with Mobile 360-Africa to explore how the industry can accelerate the female mobile economy.

“At Mobile 360-Africa we will see players from across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries converging to discuss the unprecedented opportunity that mobile provides to improve and enhance social and economic development in the region,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. “Additionally the GSMA’s Connected Women Africa Conference will provide an important platform to highlight the socio-economic benefits of greater inclusion of women in the mobile industry.”

At Mobile 360-Africa, CEOs and senior executives from leading mobile companies and players throughout the digital ecosystem will address the most pressing trends and issues in mobile through a series of keynote presentations, thought-provoking interviews and interactive panel sessions.  Additional speakers confirmed to present at Mobile 360-Africa include:

• Daniel Jaeger, Vice President Africa, Alcatel-Lucent
• John Garrity, Policy Advisor, Global Technology Policy, Cisco
• Yaron Assabi, CEO, Digital Solutions Group
• Moustapha Mamy Diaby, Director General, Post and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, Guinea
• Zahir Khoja, Vice President Global Channels, MasterCard
• Alpesh Patel, Founder & Group CEO, Mi-Group International
• Peter Panait Løjmand, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations, Opera Software
• Elisabeth Medou Badang, Chief Executive Officer, Orange Cameroun
• Gustav Praekelt, Founder, Praekelt Group
• Patrick Kabagema, Board Member and Chairman of ICT Chamber, Private Sector Federation of Rwanda
• Levi Goertz, COO, VOTO Mobile
• Klenam Koku Fiadzoe, Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer, Yougora Limited

A full list of speakers can be found at: www.mobile360series.com/africa/#speakers.

First Connected Women Event in Africa

Co-located alongside Mobile 360-Africa, the GSMA’s Connected Women Africa Conference will explore how the industry can accelerate the female digital economy. Discussions will draw upon the initiatives undertaken through the GSMA’s Connected Women programme and will examine how to bring significant socio-economic opportunities and benefits enabled by the mobile ecosystem to all women globally. Bringing in high-level speakers from across the global mobile ecosystem, the event will showcase industry leadership, facilitate further discussion and build networks for future development.

The GSMA recently announced that the Connected Women programme has been accepted as a Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action and the GSMA and its partners are working together to accelerate growth of the female digital economy, having already reached 10 million women through existing initiatives. The Connected Women programme aims to deliver research, technical assistance, advocacy case studies, best practices and toolkits to further address the digital skills and connectivity gender gaps to enable women to meet their full potential as consumers and employees. For more information visit: www.gsma.com/connectedwomen.

Mobile 360-Africa Registration Now Open
Registration for Mobile 360-Africa is now open; individuals wishing to attend should visit www.mobile360series.com/africa /#registration.

Mobile 360 Series
The GSMA’s Mobile 360 Series-Africa is the third in a series of four regional industry-focused events held in major cities across the world. For information on the Mobile 360 Series, including sponsorship opportunities at the African event in Cape Town specifically, please visit www.mobile360series.com/africa.

Follow developments and updates on Mobile 360-Africa (#mobile360) on Twitter @GSMA and on Facebook www.facebook.com/Mobile360Series.

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About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries and territories, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

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