Theme: Digital Revolution: Opportunity or Threat to Africa?

Date: Nov.16-19, 2011.

Venue: Zanzibar,Tanzania.

The arrival of three submarine cables to Africa in the past year has not only quadrupled data speeds and cut prices by 90%, but also improved internet connectivity on the continent. This combined with the rapidly changing mobile landscape in Africa is revolutionary. The total African mobile subscriber base is expected to reach 561 million (53.5%) by 2012. Some mobile operators are rolling out national fibre-optic backbone networks and are entering new service sectors under converged licensing regimes.

What does the digital revolution portend for Africa? Is it a threat? Is it an opportunity?

IREN invites you to join other delegates in discussing this important theme during The 9th Africa Resource Bank Meeting on November 16-19, 2011 in Zanzibar.

Participants interested in attending this forum are asked to send their letters of interest and a brief bio of themselves to zaina@irenkenya.com and cc to mailto:events@irenkenya.com.

Participants willing to make presentations should send their presentations to zaina@irenkenya.com  and cc to events@irenkenya.com. The presentations should cover aspects of the digital revolution in any of the areas below:

• Governance
• Economy
• Security
• Health
• Agriculture
• Education
• Environment

Founded in 2001, Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) has organized over 75 high profile forums and hosted over 5,000 delegates from across the globe with varied professional backgrounds. Africa Resource Bank (ARB) is one of IREN’s key forums that target policy makers, business leaders, media, industry players and academia, for annual brainstorming sessions on various issues that affect Africa.

ARB is a network of organizations and individuals with an objective of knowledge sharing, networking and promoting concepts that will enhance economic freedom and wealth creation in Africa.

Since 2003, IREN has hosted over 300 delegates from over 20 countries in Africa, USA and Europe for the annual Africa Resource Bank (ARB) Meeting.

Previous themes that comprised ARB brainstorming and discussion include:- Building Africa Through Trade (2003); Property Rights in the African context (2004); Conquering Poverty in Africa through Business (2005); Turning African People into a Resource (2006); Positioning Africa in the 21st Century (2007); Commercializing Africa’s Resources to Promote Prosperity (2008); Probing Governance and Prosperity in Africa. (2009) and Africa vs. Developed and Emerging Economies: How to Make Africans Win (2010).