The Microsoft-driven TechEd conference this week in South Africa focuses on the roles of mobile and cloud in the tech space as a driver of African economy and investments.
HumanIPO reported earlier this week on reports showing the positive impact of technology on African economy, echoing the opinions of international investors at the African Venture Capital Association (AVCA) conference in Cape Town last week.
Mteto Nyati, managing director (MD) at Microsoft South Africa, was optimistic about the growth of opportunities in Africa as a potential global competitor in his keynote speech at the conference yesterday, as reported by News24.
“By improving technology skills, broadening access to the internet [and] putting smart devices in the hands of people, we are looking to create and inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs,” Nyati said.
Mobile is deemed a key approach in the African market, Nyati said, adding its perspective on it as an opportunity of reinvention for Microsoft.
“For us at Microsoft, it is important that we extend this notion of device and services, not just across South Africa, but across the African continent, as well,” he continued.
On the cloud side the computing giant believes services such as Windows Azure Infrastructure Services (IaaS) can aid in increasing time effectiveness and affordability by transferring apps to the cloud platform.
According to Clifford de Wit, developer platform head at Microsoft South Africa, this service is “a significant step” in the company’s cloud computing strategy.
De Wit said strong growth in South Africa’s market place is motivated by heightened understanding of the service’s benefits, reported Bandwidth Blog.
The TechEd Conference is currently underway in Durban, with its final day tomorrow (Friday) since its start on Tuesday, April 16.
