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GITEX Africa Keynote: Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI): Reinventing the way work

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2 years ago

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Saad Toma

The future of work is here! IBM MEA General Manager, Saad Toma, in his keynote at GITEX explored how generative AI is reinventing the way we work, and gives his insights on AI adoption on the continent and discussed watsonx & real-world success stories

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 6, 2024/APO Group/ — 

After capturing the public’s imagination in 2022, generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) began to permeate the business landscape in 2023. 2024 remains a crucial year for the future of AI, with researchers and organizations pushing the boundaries by developing new algorithms and models to tackle increasingly complex tasks. 

A recent IBM report found that three out of four (75%) global CEOs believe that the organization with the most advanced gen AI will have the ultimate advantage. Moreover, 43% of CEOs said they will use gen AI to inform strategic decisions. Companies worldwide are recognizing the benefits of gen AI and its crucial role in their success. This is driving a new era of work, productivity and opportunities across industries. AI is projected to enhance human productivity and unlock an astounding $16 trillion (https://apo-opa.co/4c8KytI) in value by 2030. In perspective, the fifth largest economy by gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 was about $3.7 trillion. When combined with automation technology, gen AI can help clients improve interactions with customers and partners, as well as boost operational efficiency and productivity.  

Slow but steady AI adoption in Africa

This is not just a global phenomenon; half of the African CEOs surveyed in our IBM report (https://apo-opa.co/3yOCZdH) expect to realise significant value from advanced AI and analytics. However, adopting AI is not without its obstacles. Many businesses on the continent and beyond are grappling with a multitude of challenges. Globally, 82% of IT professionals say IT complexity is impeding success in deploying AI, while 55% of business leaders (https://apo-opa.co/3yLNA93) lack key information regarding their technology spending decisions. In Africa, many organizations face barriers such as costs, market and regulatory factors, workforce readiness, infrastructure, skills gap, ethics and governance. 

Become an AI-first organization to stay ahead

To overcome these challenges, organizations must move to an AI-first approach, where AI is integrated into their business strategy across the lifecycle. Being AI-first enables businesses to be value-creators rather than solely value users. Companies that will lead their respective industries for the next decade or two will be the ones that decide to be AI-first. That is why we launched watsonx (https://apo-opa.co/4catrIm) in 2023 to develop trusted AI and drive innovation for organizations in every sector or industry. Building an open-source AI community is a core part of our AI strategy. At our recent THINK conference, we further enhanced watsonx’s data and automation capabilities to make it more open, cost-effective, and flexible for businesses.  We achieved this by releasing a family of IBM Granite code models to the open-source community. We launched InstructLab (https://apo-opa.co/4catsfo) with Red Hat, to enhance large language models and open the doors for those with minimal machine learning experience to contribute. We also announced IBM Concert (https://apo-opa.co/4cattQu) that uses AI-powered automation to help businesses to discover gaps, prioritize insights, reduce complexity and streamline operations for more innovation and cost-effectiveness.

Putting IBM AI solutions and watsonx to work across industries

Since the launch of watsonx, we have over 700 client pilots running and managing over 1,200 AI models globally. We have also increased the accessibility of watsonx by making it available (https://apo-opa.co/3XbtlvD) on AWS Marketplace, reaching 92 countries worldwide, including 18 in Africa. To name a few examples, we are leveraging watsonx’s geospatial foundation model built from NASA’s satellite data to ensure climate resilience with the Government of Kenya (https://apo-opa.co/4c76YvI) watsonx is enabling local scientists to track and visualize tree-planting activities to assist the government’s goal of planting 15 billion trees by 2032. Working with Neostream Technology, an IBM business partner based in Kenya, we successfully deployed and integrated IBM Instana with M-GAS – a premium provider of liquefied petroleum gas in the country. The deployment of Instana has provided real-time monitoring and visibility. This has empowered M-GAS to track critical business applications with granular application-level insights. This has empowered M-GAS to address issues across all layers of their technology stack that previously could not be delivered by traditional monitoring tools. Lastly, Instana’s intuitive interfaces and customizable dashboards have offered rapid issue identification and resolution, fostering team collaboration, minimizing downtime, and enabling M-GAS to intervene proactively to ensure uninterrupted gas supply to their customers.

In the Middle East, we partnered with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority to launch an open-source Arabic Large Language Model, ALLaM on watsonx (https://apo-opa.co/4catuUy).  This has enabled the deployment of Arabic gen AI models, which opens the possibility of building AI models for Africa using the continent’s rich and diverse languages. Globally, working with Transport for London (https://apo-opa.co/3XebtAe), we deployed IBM Maximo to assist in managing the day-to-day maintenance efforts for more than 10,000 internal technicians within the London Underground. Above ground, the software enables the tracking, support and oversight of numerous contractors – helping extend existing equipment’s life and keeping commuters happy.

Across the world, organizations are leveraging IBM’s AI business solutions to solve business challenges. Their use cases range from banking and financial services, energy, telecommunications, climate change and sustainability, customer services and entertainment to name a few.

The right partnerships and governance are key

The adoption of gen AI is accelerating across enterprises as organizations aim to gain a competitive edge and unlock new opportunities. To achieve this, organizations need to have a robust AI strategy and the right level of investment. They also need to establish and implement clear and consistent standards or guardrails concerning the utilisation of AI across all strategic focus areas. Most importantly, they need the right partner who understands the overall business objective and how to overcome barriers preventing AI adoption. Such collaborative partnerships are critical for developing robust data and AI strategies, filling the skills gaps, and guiding the organizational change necessary for successful AI adoption.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GITEX Africa.

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China’s digital hub Hangzhou hosts conference on AI, OPC

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6 hours ago

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June 30, 2026

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OPC

HANGZHOU, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 June 2026 – The inaugural AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference was held from June 29 to 30 in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, capital city of east China’s Zhejiang Province. Centered on one-person company (OPC), a new form of smart economy in the AI era, the conference program comprised one opening ceremony and two parallel breakout sessions.

It gathered around 400 delegates from government departments, industry associations, financial institutions, AI enterprises and OPC startup operators across the country. Participants exchanged insights on AI innovation pathways and cross-industry integration strategies, injecting strong impetus into Hangzhou’s ambition to develop a national benchmark hub for AI+OPC entrepreneurship.

A series of key launches and milestone ceremonies took place during the opening segment. Official releases included the 2026 national OPC development observation report, Hangzhou’s 2026–2028 action plan and supporting policies to build a national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub, and a catalog of actionable AI+OPC application scenarios. Attendees also received an in-depth interpretation of the specifications for AI-enabled OPC community services and evaluation.

The ceremony featured multiple landmark initiatives: plaque awarding for Hangzhou’s priority AI+OPC incubation communities and dedicated observation sites, the official launch of the AI+OPC Community Alliance initiative, and a kickoff marking the official construction of the national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub.

The open forum session featured keynote speeches from distinguished industry and academic leaders. Speakers included Pan Yunhe, former executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Zhejiang University; Liang Gui, former executive vice governor of Jiangxi Province and ex-director of the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and Zou Ling, head of Hong Hub, Shangcheng District’s single-member unicorn startup acceleration community, who shared cutting-edge insights from varied perspectives.

A panel dialogue followed, bringing together representatives from Moshu OPC Community (Beijing E-Town), the School of Future Science and Engineering at Soochow University, Qingju Hub · Future Digital Intelligence Port (Shangcheng District), and Puhua Capital for in-depth industry exchanges.

Complementary concurrent events held throughout the conference included an OPC capital-industry matchmaking salon, a symposium on industry-education integration for AI-powered OPC sectors, and a national exchange forum for AI+OPC community practitioners.

OPC has emerged as a vibrant new engine driving economic vitality and underpinning high-quality development. Against the backdrop of a new development era, the inaugural Hangzhou AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference unites OPC innovators nationwide.

Drawing on the creative energy of millions of independent super-individual operators, the event delivers sustained digital momentum to fuel Hangzhou’s super-individual economy, while rolling out replicable local practices and actionable Hangzhou solutions to advance high-quality growth of smart economies nationwide.

 

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Hainan FTP marks 6-month milestone of special customs operations, signs deals during Hong Kong visit

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13 hours ago

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June 30, 2026

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Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – As the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) marked the six-month milestone since the launch of its full special customs operations, a Hainan provincial delegation wrapped up a three-day visit to Hong Kong. During the visit, the delegation signed deepened cooperation agreements with several major local chambers of commerce and promoted the latest policies introduced since the island-wide special customs operations took effect.

According to data released by Hainan Province during the visit, Hainan’s foreign trade has surged since the launch of special customs operations. As of June 17, the province’s total goods imports and exports reached RMB 173.98 billion (approximately US$24 billion), up 54.6% year on year. Imports of zero-tariff goods hit RMB 2.645 billion, a 120% jump that generated tariff savings of RMB 440 million. A total of 172,100 new market entities were registered—a 61% increase—including 1,240 foreign-invested enterprises. Zero-tariff items now account for 74% of all tariff lines, benefiting more than 12,000 market entities.

During the Hong Kong visit, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Provincial Committee (CCPIT Hainan) signed separate deepened cooperation MOUs with the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Under the MOUs, the parties will establish a regular liaison mechanism for the periodic exchange of economic and trade information, and will promote collaboration in areas including professional services, green finance, the digital economy, supply chain management, and cultural tourism. Mutual enterprise service desks will be set up to provide consulting services regarding policies and projects. The parties will leverage their complementary strengths to help Chinese mainland enterprises access overseas markets via Hong Kong, while facilitating Hong Kong companies’ entry into the Chinese mainland through Hainan.

The delegation also held talks with the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, exploring ways for British and American businesses to leverage Hainan’s value-added processing tariff exemptions and multifunctional free trade accounts to position themselves in regional supply chains and cross-border investment and financing. HSBC, De Beers, and other British firms are already active in Hainan, and the UK served as the Guest of Honor country at the 2025 China International Consumer Products Expo.

According to industry analysts, amid the shifting international trade landscape, Hainan is leveraging Hong Kong’s “super-connector” role to accelerate its integration with global capital and business networks, while simultaneously offering the Hong Kong business community a policy testing ground for entering the Chinese mainland market.

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Africa’s Grid Constraints Come into Focus as Regional Markets Push Toward Integration

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5 days ago

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June 26, 2026

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Africa

Regional power pools are advancing and renewable pipelines are growing, but the regulatory and financial architecture needed to connect them remains the continent’s most critical infrastructure gap – an issue central to the Power Africa Today conference at AEW 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 25, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa’s electricity demand is projected to nearly double to 2,291 TWh by 2050, requiring an estimated $30 billion in transmission and grid infrastructure investment to unlock and integrate new generation capacity. Yet across the continent, grid systems are struggling to keep pace with rapidly expanding supply pipelines and rising demand.

In Nigeria, repeated nationwide grid collapses as recently as February 2026 underscore the fragility of aging transmission infrastructure. In East Africa, tower failures along the 428 km Loiyangalani-Suswa line temporarily stranded output from Lake Turkana Wind Power – Africa’s largest wind installation. Meanwhile, demand growth pressures are accelerating across North Africa, where electricity consumption is expected to rise by around 50% by 2035, driven by urbanization, desalination projects, and climate-related temperature increases.

Despite these constraints, generation investment continues to accelerate across Africa, particularly in renewables, gas-to-power and hybrid systems. However, without equivalent investment in transmission and interconnection, much of this new capacity risks being underutilized or stranded. This growing imbalance between generation and grid capacity is driving a sharper focus on system-wide planning and regional market design – issues that will be central to the newly launched Power Africa Today conference at African Energy Week 2026. The platform will bring together policymakers, utilities, investors and developers to explore how regional interconnection, cross-border trading frameworks and financing structures can better align generation growth with grid expansion.

Power Markets Experiment with Reform

Alongside infrastructure challenges, Africa’s electricity sector is undergoing gradual – but uneven – market reform. Most countries still operate vertically integrated systems dominated by state utilities, but a growing number are introducing competitive frameworks to attract private capital and improve efficiency.

Zimbabwe opened its electricity market to full private participation across generation, transmission and distribution in 2025, targeting $9 billion in new investment. South Africa is advancing one of the continent’s most ambitious grid expansion programs, with plans for 14,500 km of new transmission lines and 133,000 MVA of transformer capacity by 2034, alongside mechanisms designed to crowd in private financing. Kenya, meanwhile, has introduced open access regulations enabling independent power producers to wheel electricity directly to multiple off-takers, reshaping how generation assets interface with the grid.

Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future

Regional Integration Remains Fragmented

Efforts to connect Africa’s fragmented power systems are progressing, though at different speeds across regions. In Southern Africa, the World Bank’s RETRADE SAPP program, approved in 2025, is deploying $12 million to strengthen renewable integration and transmission capacity across 12 member states. In East Africa, the Ethiopia–Kenya–Tanzania Electricity Highway is now in trial operations at up to 2,000 MW, marking a significant step toward a more interconnected regional grid.

West Africa is also moving toward deeper integration, with permanent synchronization of the West Africa Power Pool expected in 2026. Analysts, including the African Finance Corporation, argue that such synchronization is critical to unlocking large-scale hydropower potential and industrial demand across the region. Longer term, full synchronization between the Eastern and Southern African power pools – targeted for the end of 2026 – could create one of the world’s largest cross-border electricity trading corridors.

Building Bankable Financial Architectures

While interconnection is advancing, infrastructure alone is not enough to create investable electricity markets. Investors consistently cite the lack of standardized offtake structures, creditworthy counterparties, and cross-border payment guarantees as key barriers to scaling capital deployment.

New models are emerging to address these constraints. Africa GreenCo, operating across Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, is helping to aggregate independent power producers under a single creditworthy intermediary, standardizing power purchase agreements and reducing counterparty risk. At a broader level, AUDA-NEPAD estimates that Africa requires around $30 billion in additional investment to complete priority transmission corridors and establish three fully interconnected regional trading blocs by 2030.

“Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “The question at Africa Energy Week is not whether integration is possible – the evidence is already there. The question is which regulatory frameworks and financial structures will get projects to financial close, and which markets will be ready when capital is looking to move.”

The Power Africa Today conference will run alongside AEW 2026, taking place October 12–16 in Cape Town, and will focus on the regulatory, financial and infrastructural architecture needed to build interconnected electricity markets capable of attracting institutional capital and delivering reliable, cross-border power at scale.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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