Project Description
Transforming South Africa’s Digital Future
Business leaders have a pivotal role to play in advancing digital transformation beyond simple connectivity. This crucial topic was opened for discussion at the Business Day Dialogues, Connect Africa where Dr. Ayotunde Coker, CEO of Open Access Data Centres (OADC) and Chairperson of influential industry group, the Africa Data Centres Association, lead the conversation.
Audience members joined insightful discussions, connected with industry pioneers, decision-makers and innovators, understanding the latest trends and advancements in IXPs, data centres and connectivity infrastructure and discovered more about the impact of broadband penetration on GDP growth, among other things.
Dr Ayotunde Coker
CEO
Open Access Data Centres
Dr Ayotunde Coker
Before joining OADC as Chief Executive Officer, Dr Coker led Rack Centre to becoming a household name in Nigeria and a leading brand in Africa, with global recognition and numerous prestigious international awards.
Throughout a distinguished international career as a technology and business leader, Dr Coker has held senior positions in finance, energy, management consulting and U.K. Government. His achievements have been recognised by numerous awards, including the Distinguished Manufacturing Alumni Award (Cranfield Institute of Technology) 2020, and in the same year, he was recognised as one of the Global Top 30 Edge Computing Leaders by Data Economy Magazine. He holds an MSc from Cranfield Institute of Technology and a PhD (Honoris Causa) from ESCAE University.
Dr Sayuri Moodliar
ESG Director
Open Access Data Centres
Dr Sayuri Moodliar
Dr Sayuri Moodliar is the ESG Director at Open Access Data Centres and heads up the sustainability function for the WIOCC Group. She has been a corporate lawyer for over twenty-five years, specialising in infrastructure project finance and, more recently, in sustainability. Sayuri has extensive experience in both consulting and management roles within multinational corporations operating in Sub-Saharan Africa and globally.
Bronwyn Williams
Futurist
Economist and Business Trends Analyst
Bronwyn Williams
Economics (University of London), Foresight (University of Manchester), and Future Studies (University of Stellenbosch). She is currently completing a Masters in Applied Economics from the University of Bath.
Today, as a partner at Flux Trends, Bronwyn’s research focuses on how macro socio-economic trends and emerging technologies will impact businesses, industries, and nations in the near and long term future. Part economist, part strategist, Bronwyn’s particular areas of expertise includes fintech trends, alternative economic models, and sustainable future design.
Bronwyn’s clients include Top 40 JSE listed companies, The South African Reserve Bank, African government departments, and global business leaders. She also guest lectures for leading business schools, such as Duke, GIBS, UCT, and the University of Johannesburg. Bronwyn is also the co-author of The Future Starts Now, published by Bloomsbury UK, and a well- known media commentator on future trends and economic trajectories for network channels including CNBC Africa and ENCA News. She is also a member of the Association of Professional Futurists.
Juanita Clark
CEO
Digital Council Africa
Juanita Clark
Juanita Clark is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Council Africa, a not for profit industry association head quartered in South Africa.
The Digital Council is an independent association that acts a bridge and connector between government, the technology industry, and stakeholders across Africa.
It seeks to establish an efficient telecommunications environment through the development of best practises, standards policies and guidelines.
The Digital Council believes that digital technologies will bring about widespread disruption and will with it unlock new opportunities for rapid economic growth, innovation, job creation and access to services.
The Digital Council encourages African governments to embrace the extraordinary possibilities that the digital era has for Africa and believe that the digital economy will enhance the quality of life for African citizens and allow Africa to remain competitive in the global market.
The Digital Council mission is to help public and private sector to work together to deliver on the expectations of an inclusive gigabit society where all Africans have access to digital services through participation of the digital eco-system stack.
She founded the organisation in 2010 after realising the need for grass roots awareness and education with regards to the role of fibre optic broadband networks in the telecommunications industry. The organisation has since grown to include other infrastructure technologies including towers and datacentres.
In doing her work she has travelled and addressed audiences across the world, advocating for an inclusive digital economy that considers methodologies that includes mechanisms to ensure that marginalised communities are given equal access to digital services. Her interviews and opinion pieces have been widely published. As a thought leader she has been interviewed on international television and radio.
A high performing and deeply committed leader she played a pivotal role in steering and establishing the fibre industry in South Africa as we know it today and she continues to play a leading advocacy role for the rights of women and young people in the digital economy.