Leading Service Providers including Zain Africa and Safaricom to explore Africa’s diverse and rapidly changing market

Regional Growth, Consolidation and Operational Excellence to fall under scrutiny at Management World Africa

MORRISTOWN, NJ—January 28, 2009— Chris Gabriel, Chief Executive, Zain Africa; Pauline Warui, Chief Customer Care Officer, Safaricom; and Eric Roberts, Former CIO, MTM South Africa and Senior Consultant, Huawei Technologies, will be amongst those leading industry visionaries discussing crucial business and operational issues at TM Forum’s Management World Africa conference at the Hilton Sandton, Johannesburg, SA, Wednesday 24 to Thursday 25, February, it was confirmed today.

The diverse African market faces many challenges as it looks to consolidate, grow and improve operational efficiencies; in particular many operators are faced with the challenge of low ARPU and poor infrastructure.

Management World Africa 2010 will bring together industry experts from the mobile, fixed line, cable, Internet, media and entertainment industries to explore strategies to lower total cost of ownership through convergence, transformation and outsourcing.

The conference will focus on practical lessons from the past, as well as strategies for survival and profitability within low average revenue per user (ARPU) economies. Sessions will examine how to ensure customer loyalty and retention by improving customer experience, as well as maximizing revenue through best practice revenue management and charging.

Hot Topics
•   Consolidation, centralization and expansion in Africa; moving towards a lower total cost of ownership;
•   Lowering CapEx and OpEx through convergence, transformation and outsourcing;
•   Mobile broadband services and next generation broadband (3G/4G/WiMAX);
•   Overcoming low ARPU and poor infrastructure;
•   Maximizing the customer experience and retention;
•   Revenue management and charging (i.e. tariff strategies, pre-paid vs. post, mobile payments, overcoming internal and external fraud, etc.);
•   Operational excellence; efficiencies and back-end support;
•   Data service usage (i.e. security, digital rights management and data transfer);
•   Ramifications of VoIP; how should it be managed and handled?
•   New services and business models; understand the new wave of small income users and how to create relevant services that are correctly priced;
•   Understanding the new codes of practice on sustainability;

Key Facts:
•   The two-day conference will feature perspectives from the region’s leading communications service providers, including a number of practical case studies;
•   Attendees will look at innovative high-growth strategies for survival and long-term profitability in this high-growth region and debate the many unique challenges they face;
•   They will hear from experts who have implemented high growth strategies and who understand the challenges of delivering services to large and diverse populations;
•   Learn the practical lessons of the past as well as strategies for survival and profitability within low ARPU economies;
•   Hear consolidation strategies from the latest movers and shakers;
•   Explore new methods of going to market; understanding the new consumer and offering relevant and correctly priced services;
•   Understand how business and cultural transformation has driven profitability through operational excellence;
•   Discover how enhancing the customer experience ensures loyalty and customer retention;
•   Find ways to maximize revenue through best practice revenue management and charging;
•   Management World Africa 2010 follows a series of successful TM Forum regional events held during 2009 in Asia, Brazil, Dubai, China and Japan. 

Quote:
•   Along with the substantial innovation of the communications industry, , the African market is at a turning point,” said Martin Creaner COO, TM Forum. “This year’s Management World Africa is all about recognizing this and looking at the real business and operational issues that face service providers as they battle for market share.”

Resources:
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•   Press and analysts are invited to contact Geoff Devlin to apply for free press access to the event if appropriate