Light Reading and KNect365 launch Connecting Africa community

Connecting Africa will provide news coverage and analysis of the forces that are shaping digital Africa and will chart the latest developments, examining their potential to enable pivotal socioeconomic development.

The community will be the online portal that provides year-round coverage of a market that meets at the upcoming annual AfricaCom event in Cape Town, as well as at the regional events, Nigeria Com, East Africa Com and West Africa Com.

Connecting Africa will span all relevant topics and issues, including: mobile money; mobile content; broadband connectivity; digital inclusion; the role of OTT content and applications; the role of 4G and road to 5G; cloud, virtualisation, big data and other enterprise ICT developments; IoT and the development of smart cities; the startup community, and much more.

Leading the editorial coverage on Connecting Africa is Community Managing Editor Amy Turner, who will be supported by Light Reading's Editor-in-Chief Ray Le Maistre and News Editor Iain Morris.

"Many markets in Africa have made significant progress towards becoming a digital society, supported by enhanced international connectivity and greater investments in fixed and mobile connectivity, and have led the way in developing innovative mobile finance services," says Le Maistre. "This is a great time to be launching a dedicated online community that tracks the many different communications developments that are impacting individuals, businesses and whole nations."

"Like the region and sectors it serves, AfricaCom and its respective regional events have gone through a massive transformation this year, cementing their position at the forefront of the most dynamic markets and trends in the world," says Turner.

"The launch of Connecting Africa will see, for the first time, an online community serving both delegates of the KNect365 African portfolio of events, and the wider tech and telco community. This will facilitate a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the sector and the opportunities such insight can afford. In a telco sector worth more than $65 billion by 2018, Connecting Africa is undoubtedly the community for the architects of Africa's digital future."

AfricaCom's week-long festival of events takes place at the CTICC (Cape Town International Convention Centre), Cape Town, South Africa, November 14-18, 2016.