Author: Digital World

Searching unsuccessfully for a specific medicine prescribed by his doctors, a very sick man living in rural Angola listened by chance to a radio interview with Appy Saude, an e-health start-up based in the capital city of Luanda. He contacted Appy, who promptly sourced the very last units available on the Angolan market of the drug he so desperately needed – saving him time, money and even his life.

This is one of many success stories highlighting the major change in access to healthcare information and services offered by Appy Saude, winners of the ITU Virtual Digital World 2020 SME Awards in the e-health category. It is also demonstrates the company’s founding principle: to connect as many people as possible to the healthcare professionals, medicine and knowhow they need using available digital tools.

In this case, that tool was a simple phone call: the ill man did not own a smartphone. But most Appy Saude users access their services through an online portal listing pharmacies, pharmaceutical products and prices, healthcare facilities, doctors, accepted insurance policies and appointment scheduling.

“We are trying to improve accessibility to healthcare services using the digital tools we have available today.“
– Pedro Beirão, co-founder and CEO, Appy Saude

“’Saude’ means health in Portuguese,” explained Pedro Beirão, co-founder and CEO of the three-year old platform, outlining how the start-up began. “We identified a major need to put information on health establishments online – instead of people having to walk around to find a pharmacy or hospital or clinic. We think having information available to everyone makes society more just, allowing people to make better decisions: the final user, the patient, but also hospitals, pharmacies and decision-makers in the healthcare sector.”

Democratizing access to health information

Creating a directory of hundreds of pharmacies online was just step one. Appy then added online access to pharmacy stock listings, enabling price comparison across a sometimes-volatile market, where the same product could be offered at double – or half – the price in neighbouring pharmacies. The platform also allows medicines to be purchased online and picked up in-store or delivered at home; lists doctors and clinics; and provides an online appointment booking system.

“Just the fact of placing the information on one platform and allowing people to choose helps the market to readjust and reduce the inequalities in terms of pricing and availability,” noted Beirão. This kind of market disruption naturally led to resistance from established pharmaceutical players, but convincing just one major player of the value of providing wider access to their products was enough.

Concerned that the platform was defining market costs, and keen to share increased visibility and consumer engagement, the other pharmacies quickly came on board, too.

“Today, people are more used to having information to make better decisions,” said Beirão. “There is no stopping the future: we are just trying to enable it.“

New markets, new partners

Appy is taking its model of information transparency in the healthcare sector international, with operations up and running in Rwanda, and Kenya within its sights. Both these markets are less heavily regulated than Angola, where stringent healthcare legislation has proved challenging. For instance, some products are not authorized for home delivery, and showing images of prescription products is not allowed.

Beirão believes that the lessons learned from this difficult environment will make international expansion easier. Strategic alliances with mobile operators, based on the successful partnership Appy has established with Angolan market leader Unitel, will be key to future success, according to Beirão.

“Working with Unitel, it was an open discussion where we identified our common aim: to reach more people and allow them better information on health,” he highlighted.

“In terms of expansion, we see mobile operators as an important part of our growth, and of the digitization of health services. They have coverage everywhere, they are looking for solutions that people can use to access healthcare or other digital services, and they can help collect data on pharmacies and doctors on our open platform.” And the mobile operator stands to gain more subscribers and visibility in a win-win partnership.

Appy is also planning new products to add to its portfolio. These include a tool to codify the different names under which the same pharmaceutical products are sold, a problem affecting up to 15 per cent of all products in Angola, said Beirão. Doctors often prescribe medicine under the market name used in Brazil, Portugal or Cuba, where many Angolan medical professionals completed their training. Identifying the correct local name for the same product is expected to be much easier with Appy’s database for patients, and its planned electronic prescription system for doctors.

Expansion is not just international, however. Some 35 per cent of Angola’s population of 30 million lives in Luanda, where around 60 per cent of all pharmaceutical markets and medical appointments are concentrated. Moving beyond the well-connected urban centre to rural areas means addressing different market segments  – and developing new ways to connect people to information. Smartphone penetration is typically much lower in rural areas, so Appy needs to find alternative solutions to making reservations via the mobile app, website or WhatsApp. Initial ideas are focused on USSD or SMS services, taking advantage of their agreement with partner Unitel, who do not charge customers airtime for using Appy’s service over their network.

As a start-up, Appy is also working to align itself with more established partners, including the Angolan Ministry of Health, companies, and NGOs working for social impact through healthcare.

This is the main benefit of winning the ITU Virtual Digital SME Award, according to Beirão: finding partnerships that help their solution to grow, become sustainable, and maximize its impact.

“Our vision is to connect everyone to our health service, which is what most NGOs and governments are working for – so let’s find a way of actually doing it in partnerships in Angola and in other countries, too,“ he concluded.

Appy Saude are hoping to join ITU Digital World 2021 in Hanoi, Viet Nam, to share more stories and good practices, increase their visibility, and build on their relationships with mobile operators, NGOs and the broader UN network.

The ITU Digital World Awards 2021 will launch in March 2021 – find out more here.

 Image credit: Appy Saude

This blog was originally published on ITU News.

Israeli start-up OKO Finance have a clear objective: to be known and trusted by smallholder farmers across Africa as the market leader in crop insurance, to protect farmers from loss of income due to adverse weather and to provide access to financial tools.

And by winning the ITU Virtual Digital World 2020 SME Awards, the fledgling fintech is one step closer to meeting its goal.

The Awards focus on the innovative use of digital technology for social impact. OKO creates and distributes crop insurance to smallholder farmers in emerging markets using simple mobile technologies and automates claim verification with satellite data and images. The company‘s success, according to CEO Simon Schwall, lies in adapting existing basic mobile capacity to the specific customer environment rather than in advanced technological innovation.

“There is nothing revolutionary here, but we use a different set of tools to make our product as inclusive as possible.“ -Simon Schwall, OKO Finance

Chatbot innovation

Payments are collected through mobile money accounts, embedded in most African networks, meaning that even those without smart phones can take part. Communication with customers who may be illiterate, or uncomfortable writing in local languages, happens through a voice messaging service and a newly-launched WhatsApp chatbot, as well as automated text messages.

“We saw that our customers who have WhatsApp don‘t chat with text messages, but prefer to exchange voice notes, because it is easier,“ explained Schwall. “So we created a voice note chatbot so people who cannot read or write can still listen to information, respond by choosing an option and then navigate through a menu to access more information and register for insurance.“

Finding a customer journey to match levels of literacy and digital skills on the ground in Mali, where OKO started out, was a process of trial and error. Case studies and best practice from other markets could not simply be replicated – a Facebook campaign to recruit new customers, for example, would fall flat as the platform is little used and largely irrelevant for this target group, said Schwall. An initial SMS chatbot, asking a series of questions by voice or text to establish basic criteria to build an insurance quote, such as where a potential customer lives or what crops they grow, also failed miserably.

“Many customers couldn’t read or are not confident [reading], so they didn’t want to use it,“ explained Schwall. “And the people who used it saw there were many steps, with an SMS to pay each time, so it started to become too expensive.“ OKO learnt that all good ideas in theory need to be tested in reality at small scale in the context of local markets – even if it means starting from scratch.

Financial inclusion and climate resilience

The impact of its crop insurance business model is two-fold. By providing insurance to people who have never previously been served by financial institutions, OKO is not only reducing farmers‘ risk of losing income when bad weather hits, but also providing much-needed access to microcredit to buy seeds or fertilizer and grow businesses.

Financial inclusion is accompanied by climate resilience. As seasons become ever more unpredictable, and weather events intensify in many parts of the world, crop insurance can stabilize farmers‘ income streams and better equip them to face the effects of climate change.

“We have a solution that makes people who are vulnerable to climate change (and to climate risk in general) more resilient,” noted Schwall, “while bringing compensation for lost income.“

Scaling up across Africa

In the short term, OKO is planning the second full season of insurance in Mali, aiming for 30,000 paying customers, covering more crops and more regions. Full-scale commercial services are scheduled to launch across Uganda throughout 2021, following a series of successful pilots. Beyond geographical expansion, the fintech hopes to establish itself as a bigger player in the microfinance space. And as smartphone usage and network bandwidth increase across the content, OKO intends to provide new services such as weather alerts, agricultural advice, or market information.

“Our goal is to be the leading service for crop insurance in Africa,” affirmed Schwall.

Scaling up calls for new partners and investors – and winning awards is an important opportunity to gain credibility here. OKO have some experience with this, having won first place in the AFI Alliance competition for financial inclusion in 2019.

Now Schwall hopes the telecommunications sector will also be on board: “Winning the ITU Digital World SME Award will be reassuring to mobile operators we want to partner with and investors who sometimes doubt our capacity to find key partners to allow us to scale. It will also make us more credible when we go and talk to other UN organizations we would like to work with, such as UN Women, UNDP or UNDCF.”

Schwall notes that the presence of start-ups from other countries can act as a catalyst, transferring technology and services: “In some cases companies come from eastern Africa to western Africa, or the other way round, so countries need to be open to bringing innovations from abroad, replicating the benefits of good practices and services. This will eventually lead to more people launching their own businesses, more people being trained, more jobs in the ecosystem.”

Overcoming challenges

OKO Finance sees the major challenges to increasing access to digital services in Africa as connectivity, cost, and digital literacy. The majority of the company’s customer base also suffer from basic illiteracy, a further cause of exclusion and marginalization. Schwall suggests governments and industry work together to develop basic networks for rural areas providing essential services at low or no cost, re-examining taxation policies on over-the-top services such as WhatsApp, and even exploring whether privacy policies should be considered only after meaningful connectivity has been established.

Schwall is also keen for international organizations to provide standards or open APIs across multiple markets so that companies such as OKO can scale up without having to redesign customer journeys or sign new local partnerships in each new market. This would also make it easier for innovations from bigger markets, such as Kenya or Nigeria, to be launched in smaller neighbouring countries, he said.

This year’s competition, the ITU Digital World Awards 2021, will launch in March, and are open to any start-ups or SMEs using technology innovatively with real social impact – like OKO Finance.

Image credit: Shehzad Lokhandwalla via OKO Finance

 

This blog was originally published on ITU News.

India-based deep tech start-up Astrome sees its innovative wireless solution as a way to connect the country’s rural and semi-urban areas.

Its use of millimetre wave wireless communication to provide fibre-like backhaul capacity for 4G and 5G infrastructure has won Astrome the SME Award in the Connectivity category at ITU Virtual Digital World, the 2020 online edition of leading UN tech event ITU Digital World.

“We help telecom operators and governments bridge the digital divide by enabling them to deploy quality telecom infrastructure in rural and semi-urban areas at five times lower cost than fibre and an order of magnitude lower time of deployment,” said co-founder and CEO Dr Neha Satak, in a conversation with ITU News.

Delivering last-mile connectivity

Astrome’s first product is a multi-beam E-band radio called GigaMesh. By packing six point-to-point E-band radios in one, the cost of the device is distributed over multiple links.

Astrome believes in Gigamesh’s potential to decongest dense urban networks and rapidly deploy 5G by extending broadband coverage in rural areas.

In India, government initiatives have been working towards bringing connectivity to villages around the country, notes Satak.

“But the last mile of connectivity from a grama panchayat [village council] to a village is typically a distance of between 3 to 7 kilometres depending on the state. And that last mile is key to getting  connectivity delivered to the villages,” she added.

To bridge the digital divide and unlock economic potential, Satak pointed out the importance of linking up village councils that are difficult to connect, while also connecting them by a backbone “which can be deployed in a matter of days, compared to the years fibre takes to get deployed.” According to Satak, “That’s where we believe we can play a major role in getting rural India fully connected.”

From satellite to the field

Astrome was not founded with the mission to connect rural India. They began as a company that wanted to build wireless technologies for the satellite communication domain. Their multibeam technology for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to deliver 10 times more capacity on the ground aimed to bridge digital divide using satellites.

“Along the way, we realized that the technology can be much more effective today if we use it to bridge the last mile connectivity [gap] on the ground infrastructure itself. That’s how we took a pivotal decision in our journey about three years ago,” explains Satak. “[Gigamesh] can do the job of fibre but at one-fifth the cost. And it can be deployed in hours between two locations compared to the months it takes to deploy fibre.”

Astrome is working towards overcoming regulatory barriers, added Satak. “The frequencies in which we operate will be opened up soon in India. There is some delay in that, but we are hoping that it will happen this year. The path we have taken is talking to the regulators,” she explained. The company has also shared their readiness to provide solutions with the government, and these have been received favourably, according to Satak.

Astrome is also looking into entering markets where the frequencies in which they operate are open already. Satak and her team intend to keep their original ambition intact.

Astrome’s vision is to enable high-bandwidth, low-cost connectivity across land, air and sea by building terrestrial wireless and satellite communications products.

“Our ultimate goal is also to build satellite communication payloads and user ground terminals that can help make LEO constellations as effective as fibre in terms of cost,” said Satak.

Building credibility and trust in deep tech

Satak credits her team’s positive attitude towards problem solving for their success in creating an innovative deep tech solution. “If you think: ‘I can solve it,’ there’s always a way,” she said.
But what made the project stand out in a competitive, global field at the ITU Digital World SME Awards?

“We believe that we have won because our product can truly help telecom operators and governments deploy quality rural telecom infrastructure at record cost and time. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of rural connectivity and action to bridge the digital divide has [quickened] due to it,” Satak noted. “There is an opportunity for the world to move to a better telecom infrastructure in a short period of time,” she added.

For Satak, the best part of the Awards was “the opportunity to present our solution to a diverse set of judges and audience”.

“This award is a strong validation that our technology and product is desired all around the world to bridge the digital divide,” explained Satak. “It gives [Astrome] encouragement to scale our business and reach its maximum potential. We are already using the award in our customer conversations to build credibility and trust,” she added.

It’s a key benefit enjoyed by many Award winners over the six years of the programme at ITU Telecom events.

Satak’s message for applicants this year? “Make the most of this fantastic opportunity to be on a world stage by submitting a good application.”

The SME programme at ITU Digital World 2021, scheduled to take place in Ha Noi from 12 to 15 October 2021, will provide support, visibility, investment and networking potential to tech SMEs and start-ups from around the world. Applications for the ITU Digital World Awards 2021 will open in the second quarter.

Learn more on how to take part in ITU Digital World as an SME here.

Image credit: Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images

 

This blog was originally published on ITU News.

Despite being a formidable challenge, the global pandemic presents an enormous opportunity for the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.

The invaluable role of digital technologies in the response to the COVID-19 crisis is universally recognized, and now is the time to use that momentum to fast-track digital transformation, drive economic recovery, promote social inclusion and tackle the digital divide.

This was the finding of the three Ministerial Roundtables held at ITU Virtual Digital World 2020, bringing together ministers, regulators and private sector leaders from around the world to share their experiences and strategies in the digital sector in the COVID-19 era.

Co-organized by ITU and the government of Viet Nam, this was the first high-level ministerial meeting to be held online since the start of the pandemic.
Read on to discover the top five takeaways from the discussions – also available as videos and session summaries here.

1. Networks stood up well to the challenge of providing uninterrupted connectivity.

With traffic soaring by between 30 and 70 per cent at the height of the initial lockdown, network resilience was critical. Short-term government actions to support operators included regulatory relaxations on spectrum, infrastructure sharing and licencing, as well as recognizing telecom engineers as key workers able to move around to support and maintain critical infrastructure – all measures which could be introduced longer-term, too.

“The outbreak forced digitization at scale on society, so everything related to ICT took year-long leaps in a matter of months. We now need to make sure that pre-COVID regulations don’t hinder the potential of technology and communication in real time.”
– Konstantinos Masselos, President, Hellenic Telecommunications & Post Commission (EETT), Greece

2. Healthcare and education have been the big winners.

Digital has played an enormous role in healthcare, from track-and-trace to remote diagnosis, delivery of medicines by drones, and predictive tools using AI and big data. Education has turned digital at scale and at speed across the globe, with dedicated satellite channels, government subsidies to schools and end users and free access to learning platforms and websites.

The countries most successful in the fight against the pandemic are those who have already integrated digital technologies into policy and healthcare, according to Isias Barreto da Rosa, Chairman of the Board at ARME, Cape Verde. But accelerated digitization in both sectors has underscored the dramatic inequalities between the digital haves and have-nots.

3. Temporary fixes for government and businesses will continue post-pandemic.

Much of the day-to-day functioning of government and delivery of services to citizens moved online at pace – and is likely to stay there as the benefits of cost-effectiveness, efficiency and convenience have become clear.

As Isa Ali Ibrahim, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Nigeria, pointed out, digital technology has sustained government services and operations throughout the crisis with such success that “virtual engagement in federal government activities is now institutionalized.” The same leapfrog effect is true for large corporates, SMEs and growing numbers of e-commerce retailers.

4. Investing in digital skills is critical to recovery.

Human capacity development must be at the centre of policies and strategies on social inclusion and economic recovery. Digital literacy and a mindset open to digital transformation will allow people to survive and thrive; public private partnerships for skills development in the workforce now will build the foundation of sustainable economies in the future.

Ensuring the population all possess the correct skillset is a priority, explained Frédéric Genta, Country Chief Digital Officer of the Principality of Monaco: “We want every company to move to digital, and to make sure every person has the right opportunities to live in the digital world.”

5. The time for operating in silos is gone.

Governments and the private sector must collaborate to drive economic growth and close the digital divide. Administrations need to create the right enabling environment for investment, including revisiting taxation and regulatory frameworks; technology providers from satellite, mobile, fixed and emerging tech sectors must work together; and the creative innovation of tech SMEs should be supported and embraced within the industry ecosystem. Collaboration and cooperation between public and private, all industry stakeholders and across national and international boundaries is key to building back better – together.

“The most important lesson from COVID-19 is that the best resource we can retain is public private partnerships working together.”
– Rosa Nakagawa, Vice Minister of Communications, Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications

See all the highlights from ITU Virtual Digital World 2020, including photos, video sessions and session summaries, at digital-world.itu.int – and find out more about next year’s physical event, ITU Digital World 2021, taking place in October in Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

 

This blog was originally posted on ITU News.

There’s only one news story dominating all outlets, social and mainstream media, online and offline conversations these days: COVID-19, the novel, highly infectious and potentially lethal coronavirus.

The situation is new to us all and changing so quickly that by the time you read these words, you will probably have experienced the impact of new restrictions, new statistics and new – if perhaps temporary – ways of working and living. International borders are closing, states of emergency are declared in more and more countries, schools close, cities empty, and, as lockdown is imposed, colleagues, families and friends are separated in isolation.

It is dramatic, fast-paced, confusing and frightening to many. As the epicentre of the outbreak moves westwards through Europe to the Americas and Africa, the power and extent of globalization becomes ever clearer. The ease and speed of international travel we have grown used to in recent years has left few countries unaffected as the virus voyages invisibly around the world.

Previously unimaginable confinement measures such as self-isolation, curfew, lockdown, strictly-enforced social distancing -these are truly unprecedented times. And there’s one thing that’s becoming increasingly evident: the critical importance of digital technologies in today’s societies is heightened in a time of crisis such as this.

Digital communication is vital as an effective tool for governments to share rapidly changing updates, directives and essential information. Platforms such as WhatsApp, WeChat, Alibaba Facebook, Skype, Google Hangouts and Zoom (to name just a few) connect colleagues, friends and family as never before – across streets and towns, as well as countries and continents. Social isolation, and the very real danger to mental wellbeing that ensues, can be combatted through email, SMS, messaging and video applications. Businesses of all sizes can communicate efficiently details of revised opening hours and the availability (or not) of products and services.

Digital entertainment is also hugely important in combatting mental distress in extended periods of isolation. Who would wish to be closed up indoors for days on end without digital television, streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney + or video games – especially if you share a house with children or teenagers?

As schools shut, education is moving more rapidly online than could ever have been envisaged mere weeks ago – including by many teachers, adapting and adopting curricula and classes on the hoof. Phones, tablets, laptops and desktop devices are operated by children from primary school to university ages, with large numbers of online platforms offering services for free or expanded options for educational institutions. Meanwhile, the adults whose work permits it are teleworking: discovering the joys and challenges of virtual team meetings and conference calls, adjusting to new rhythms, working patterns and environments through digital technology.

At a time where physical proximity, let alone actual contact, is moving from social norm to signifier of irresponsible, antisocial behaviour, virtual is virtuous. The coronavirus has no power in our virtual worlds: video calls are not contagious – and digital truly can deliver us from the danger of pandemic.

But there are challenges. Will the networks be able to cope with such huge increases in traffic and demand? Will teleworking and e-education now prove unstoppable, or will this massive, sudden change in behaviour turn out to be a temporary blip? Will the digital divide deepen into a COVID-19 digital divide, cutting off millions from the opportunities and basic realities of a new digital society? What can be done to avoid such a scenario, to ensure equitable, fair access to digital technology in all sectors?

And what of digital health? The enormous potential of remote diagnosis and treatment has been evident for many years, hampered in its realization by issues such as data protection, supporting infrastructure, coordination between medical institutes and digital education for medical professionals and patients alike. Can we use the COVID-19 experience to invest in developing more efficient digital health options that protect frontline medical staff in future contagions or outbreaks through the power of the virtual?

How will the COVID-19 crisis change our use and appreciation of digital technologies? What lessons will we learn as individuals, societies and governments? Can we already start to draw on best practices in differing industry sectors, government approaches or individual companies? How can we protect the most vulnerable in society through digital tools and technologies – including the sick and the elderly? Should our right to digital connectivity be openly acknowledged by governments, enshrined in law and action?

These are not issues that can be solved by individual governments or entities by themselves. Now, more than ever, a cooperative approach is needed to solving these urgent questions, bringing stakeholders from across governments, industry and international organizations to the table to find mutually beneficial solutions.

Collaboration is key. Which is why ITU, the UN specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), is leveraging its broad and diverse global membership and reaching out to the tech community at large to use the full potential of ICTs during the COVID-19 crisis, including the launch of the Global Network Resiliency Platform (REG4COVID) and. And why international events such as ITU Digital World 2020, ITU’s leading tech gathering for governments, major industry stakeholders and small and medium businesses from around the world, are more important than ever. The event combines exhibition, high-level debates and knowledge-sharing, networking and awards ceremony for the best innovative tech solutions with social impact. And the debates at the event will be addressing just such questions on the future of digital technologies and the nature of digital transformation around the world.

We’d love to hear your opinions on all the questions raised by the role of digital technology in the age of COVID-19, both right now and in the weeks and months to come – and in tackling or mitigating future global crises of public health or natural disaster as well.  Let us know your thoughts!

Stay up to speed to ITU’s COVID-19-related initiatives by visiting this dedicated webpage.

When the Government of Indonesia decided to showcase their experience fostering the development of different digital economy business models, they headed to Busan, Republic of Korea, where ITU, the United Nations specialized agency for information and communications technologies (ICTs) was organizing ITU Telecom World, a global tech event held annually at different locations around the world, connecting heads of government, tech & business leaders and high-growth SMEs.

Indonesia’s ICT Minister, H.E Rudiantara highlighted his country’s experience to this global audience, hosted a press conference to international media, and helped launch some of the country’s up and coming SMEs onto a global stage.

Participants from around the world, be they a government minister from Tuvalu, a regulator from Poland or the CEO of a small tech enterprise from Mozambique, flock to ITU Telecom World events. Here they can connect to a UN agency director from Geneva, a Boston-based AI expert or the Hungarian representative of a leading global broadband network company.

You’ll find heads of state and government, academics, media, tech experts, heads of international organizations and decision-takers in vertical sectors from finance to education and transportation gathering together. It’s a mixture of stage, melting pot and meeting room when it comes to influential figures in the tech world – the people actually deciding where money is spent and on what, experts in technology, strategy and policy, all ready to connect, share good practice and do business.

Delegates come to meet, network, conclude deals, share their own personal insights and creative ideas, as well as to learn and take in views and lessons of others, to apply back home. “We have to learn what the advanced countries do,” explained Indonesia’s Rudiantara at ITU Telecom World 2017, “How they develop their digital economy, how they can maximise digital technology to the economic or social benefit of the people – that is our main objective at this conference.”

“It’s an exceptional opportunity to interact with my peers, with governments and policy makers and all stakeholders in one place, and actually hear their perspectives.” said Qualcomm’s Elizabeth Migwalla about her recent event experience.

As it is organized by the UN, the ITU Telecom World event plays a unique role in connecting developing and developed markets across its exhibition, conference and networking hub. The innovation, projects, applications and products on the showfloor provide a window to the world of governments, associations and leading industry players around the world.

Helping tech SMEs grow and scale-up

The second USP is the focus on tech SMEs – the micro, small and medium tech enterprises which are so critical in driving job creation, innovation, entrepreneurialism and socio-economic development throughout the world. The SME Programme of workshops, pitching and mentoring sessions, networking and debates at the event aims to support SME growth – and culminates in the ITU Telecom World Awards for the best innovative tech solutions for social good.

The mix of SMEs, new technologies, big industry, investors, experts and policy-makers makes for an  unusual networking hub – one which has proved very successful in building contacts, partnerships, business and creativity.

Ask Sabelo Sibanda, CEO and co-founder of Tuse Applications, a South African SME using IoT, AI and predictive data analytics to bring the benefits of connectivity to agricultural and domestic settings. Tuse entered the ITU Telecom World Awards last year to launch their products, and reach new markets, funding and skilled staff.

“The experience was truly a game changer for our business,” he said, “The SME programme gave us unparalleled exposure, access to markets, finance and new opportunities. And winning the Award gave us all of that on an exponential scale.”

The result: within weeks of winning, Tuse had increased its business to such an extent that the company had to move to bigger premises and recruit 67% more staff  – an important step on the way to becoming what Sibanda calls  “the most impactful African unicorn.”

Or Hiroshi Tominaga, General Manager, Japan Battery Regeneration, and event participant: “A small company like us doesn’t usually have the opportunity to come to this event, but by participating we can meet the right people, announce and advertise our technologies, which is very helpful for the growth of our business.” Directly following their exposure at the event, Japan Battery Regeneration went on to close a major deal with a global transportation company, significantly accelerating their progress in both domestic and international business

Next stop Budapest

This year the event is headed to Budapest, Hungary, starting on 9 September, where it will focus on international, cross-sector collaboration to harness new technologies and innovative approaches for digital inclusion and social good – all under the theme of “Innovating together: connectivity that matters. A powerful Forum programme of debate, exhibition plus effective networking with decision-makers throughout the digital ecosystem is on offer – just where the journey will take you is up to you.

You can register today to join this year’s ITU Telecom World 2019, with a number of special offers now available.

For more information visit https://telecomworld.itu.int/