Page 15 - SAMENA Trends - September-October 2020

SAMENA COUNCIL ACTIVITY SAMENA TRENDS

The SAMENA Accelerator on Fiber to help accelerate the Digital Economy. believes, with proper policy and regulatory
Deployment on November 19th thus As a part of this aim, the Fiber policy mechanisms in place, healthy competition
carries a multifaceted aim of presenting roundtable will communicate Fiber-optic in building ICT infrastructure can help
a strong case for accelerating Fiber- GPON/FTTH infrastructure expansion drive investment and innovation, and it
based networks in the SA-ME-NA region and encourage cross-stakeholder and must exist at all levels, from regulatory
and to fine-tune focus on cybersecurity, cross-industry participation in capacity- enablement, to investment, to wholesale,
network efficiency and resilience, and building opportunities. SAMENA Council to retail.
Participation in the SAMENA Accelerator on Fiber deployment can be requested at the following link:
https://www.samenacouncil.org/accelerator-fiber-2020/

Accelerating the Region's Digital Economy to be the Focus of the 2nd
"SAMENA Accelerator" on November 25th

In collaboration with Huawei Technologies Middle East, SAMENA national ICT visions with national economic visions as much
Council's SAMENA Accelerator on Digital Economy will be held as possible; defining steps to achieve strategic coordination of
on November 25th, one week after the much-anticipated 1st multiple stakeholders; making the Digital Economy measureable;
Accelerator on Fiber deployment takes place on November integrating the region; and creating economies of scale for
19th, with Policy-makers and Regulators taking active part in infrastructure investments.
showcasing their respective administrations' preparedness for
advancing digitization. As a result, key initiatives are expected to be defined on November
25th, which can be adopted to accelerate progress on digital
Given its advocacy messages that have consistently focused on development in a digitally-inclusive manner, thus providing
enabling and incentivizing regional broadband development to regional Policymakers and Regulatory Authorities the confidence
help in “building digital economies”, SAMENA Council deems it that the Private sector is fully ready to play its part in fulfilling
imperative to convene industry stakeholders once again to define the global goal of Universal Digital Access and in furthering the
implementable steps for driving digital-led economic growth Connect 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda of the United
within the region, and to bring both predictability and sustainability Nations.
to the expanding digital ecosystem.
Bocar BA, CEO and Board Member of SAMENA Council, has
stated that "We are thrilled to seek the involvement of the
region's Policymakers, Regulators, and the Private Sector in the
Digital Economy SAMENA Accelerator. I personally look forward
to witnessing a very good, outcome-oriented discussion on
November 25th, in what will be preceded by an equally productive
discussion on November 19th concerning the proliferation of
Fiber infrastructure, which is a necessary conduit for the Digital
Economy."

Like the SAMENA Accelerator on Fiber Deployment on November
19th, the SAMENA Accelerator on November 25th carries a
multifaceted aim of presenting a strong case for accelerating
the SA-ME-NA region's Digital Economy in a sustainable manner,
The November 25th SAMENA Accelerator on "Accelerating a and which necessitates taking expedited and astute policy and
Sustainable Digital Economy" will drive inspiration from and build regulatory enablement steps.
on the key messages and decisions expressed in the Declaration
of the G20 Digital Economy Ministers Meeting of July 2020, and SAMENA Council believes, with proper policy and regulatory
has the primary objective of focusing specifically on expediting mechanisms in place, healthy competition in building ICT
the expansion of the necessary ICT infrastructure, which requires infrastructure can help drive investment and innovation; both of
updating existing legal, technical systems, and making policies which are essential, among other factors, to ensuring a sustainable
to suit the digital space; incentivizing investment and fostering Digital Economy.
innovative ecosystem growth; emphasizing on the need to align

Participation in the SAMENA Accelerator on Digital Economy can be requested at the following link:
https://www.samenacouncil.org/accelerator-digital-economy-2020/

15 SEP-OCT 2020