With 42 years of events in the Middle East under its belt, Gitex Global is expanding into Africa.
The inaugural Gitex Africa will take place from 31 May to 2 June 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco, the first overseas venture for Gitex Global.
Gitex Africa is launched in partnership with the Digital Development Agency (ADD), a strategic public entity leading the Moroccan government’s digital transformation agenda under the authority of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform.
At the show’s official announcement and signing ceremony today, Mohammed Drissi Melyani, general director of the Digital Development Agency, said: “We are honoured to organize this event in a continent which is seeing great dynamic, economic and social growth in many fields.
“Morocco is playing a crucial role to assist and support the development of Africa under the leadership of His Majesty The King Mohamed VI and to link it economically to the rest of the world. We are deeply engaged to contribute to the success of this first edition of Gitex Africa and will work very hard to make it exceptional for us all.”
Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of Kaoun International and executive vice-president of Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of GITEX, added: “The time for Africa is now. Against a stuttering world tech market, Africa has risen and punched well above its weight recently, with big tech investments rocketing and start-ups funding recording the best year ever in 2021 at six times over the global average.
“It takes a lot to build and sustain an outstanding tech event. Gitex has a global following of communities that trust the brand’s motivation in discovering new tech geographies and marketplaces for greater empowerment and knowledge sharing in the new generation economies.
“The Digital Development Agency Morocco is committed to accelerating wide scale digital transformation of its society and the tech modernisation of the wider African continent. The unified commitment from the stakeholders embodied in Gitex Africa shall amplify the African tech opportunities and bring to forth the world’s next biggest digital economy.”
With tech-friendly policies in a continent that is now far more accessible, African investment is rocketing. Analysts predict the tech market is on track to scale from $115-billion to $712-billion by 2050, while growth in start-up funding is six times higher than anywhere else. In only six years, Africa went from zero to seven unicorns, with four all born last year.
African talent development is also at its fastest. Global tech titans Microsoft and Google are already setting up billion-dollar innovation and talent hubs in Africa, while the number of people with internet access has grown to 522,8-million, or 40% of the African population.
Meanwhile, a youthful populace coupled with Africa’s rapid urbanisation is accelerating digital economic growth, with 70% of the Sub-Saharan African population under 30 years of age and 45% of Africans set to live in cities by 2025.
At the confluence of Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East, Morocco is well-positioned to transform into a regional business hub by leveraging its geographically strategic location, political stability, and world-class infrastructure.
Morocco is Africa’s fifth-largest economy, the second biggest African investor in sub-Saharan Africa, and the largest African investor in West Africa, while it also sits third of all African countries in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index.
Foreign investment in Morocco is rising, particularly in export sectors like manufacturing, through favourable macroeconomic policies, trade liberalisation, investment incentives, and structural reforms. New Moroccan national strategies emphasise value-added industries such as renewables, automotive, aerospace, textile, pharmaceuticals, outsourcing, and agro-food.