The digital forum brought together African CIOs, start-ups and technology firms around the theme “The challenges of artificial intelligence, cyber security and collaborative solutions: threats or opportunities for our organisations and businesses.”
At the opening of this 1st edition of Africa CIO Tech Days, to be held in Abidjan from 13 to 14 June 2024, Jean-Claude Sigui, President of the Côte d’Ivoire Club of Information Systems Directors (Club DSI), set out the stakes of these days focused on technological innovation.
“Far from being coincidental, this theme reflects the need to address new productivity and security issues in an increasingly connected environment, with the emergence of new technologies and threats,” he said.
The President of the Côte d’Ivoire CIO Club, Jean-Claude Sigui, argued that “at a time when cyberthreats are multiplying and becoming more complex, it is imperative to develop robust strategies to protect our data and infrastructures.”
He also pointed out that collaborative solutions are revolutionising the way we work, promoting greater efficiency and better communication. They pave the way for collective innovation and responsiveness to the challenges of our time.
Narcisse Ekissi, Director of Cabinet, representing the Ivorian Minister for Digital Transition and Digitalisation, welcomed the digital forum as an opportunity for professionals to exchange ideas and also to disseminate innovative technologies in the digital economy sector.
“While it is true that these technological advances represent extraordinary opportunities for our society, they also raise major challenges in terms of security, ethics, regulation and digital skills,” he stressed.
Mauritius, the guest of honour and one of the continent’s top performers in technological innovation, shared its experience of digital transformation, which has boosted the productivity of its economy.
Pratina Sewpal, representing Mauritius, noted that her country, with its tradition of openness and innovation, has been able to turn its challenges into opportunities through substantial investment and the establishment of technology clusters.
The Mauritius delegation includes experts in digital transformation and company representatives. Information systems directors from Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali and Congo are also present at this meeting.
Gilles Thierry-Beugre, Director General of the ‘Agence Nationale du Service Universel des Telecommunications-TIC’ (ANSUT), said that “as digital players, we need to get to grips with these technologies quickly and not let them pass us by.”
He indicated that he was campaigning for the construction, together, of a totally “secure” solution based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), which would increase the productivity of the public administration in Côte d’Ivoire.
AP/fss/as/APA