With the High‑Level Participation of

Cosmas Zavazava took office as Director of the​ Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) at the International Te​lecommunication Union (ITU) on 1 January 2023.

With more than 30 years in telecommunications, including over 20 years in ITU’s Development Sector, Dr Zavazava has promoted and implemented impactful information and communication technology projects around the world.

Prior to his election as BDT Director, he served as ITU’s Chief of Partnerships for Digital Development , overseeing development-related projects, strategic partnerships, and resource mobilization between 2019 and 2022, while launching new initiatives that have boosted the engagement of industry, private-sector and academia members in ITU’s work.

Previously, as ITU’s Chief of Projects and Initiatives, he oversaw development projects focused on gender, youth, and people with special needs, along with capacity building, emergency telecommunications, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and e-waste management.

Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani is the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

An accomplished entrepreneur and business leader, Dr. Tijani is a pioneer in the African startup ecosystem and has been instrumental in driving innovation and fostering the growth of tech startups across the continent.

He is the co-founder and former CEO of Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB), the leading pan-African technology and innovation center with presence in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Namibia. Founded in 2010, CcHUB has played a pivotal role in nurturing startups through mentorship programs, funding initiatives, and access to essential resources.

Under his leadership, CcHUB became a vital catalyst for the African tech ecosystem, promoting collaboration, knowledge sharing and the development of groundbreaking solutions to local and global challenges. Dr. Tijani’s visionary leadership, passion for technology, and commitment to fostering a thriving startup ecosystem have made him a respected figure in the African tech communities. His dedication to creating opportunities and driving innovation continues to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs in Nigeria and beyond.

Prior to CcHUB, he led the networking and coordination of leading innovation agencies across Europe as European Innovation Manager at PERA, with the aim of standardizing the varying methodologies for commercializing research results. He had also previously worked at the International Trade Centre, in Geneva Switzerland overseeing the design and implementation of technical support programmes geared towards enlightening and assisting exporters in Sub-Saharan Africa in maximising the use of information and communication technologies for export marketing.

Dr. Tijani is an exemplary scholar who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Jos, a Masters degree in Information Systems and Management from Warwick University and a Doctorate degree in Innovation and Economic Development from the University of Leicester. He is also an adjunct professor at the Wits School of Governance, South Africa.

His PhD research focussed on contributing to a better understanding of how the network perspective to innovation capacity serves as a contextually relevant
framework for explaining the adoption and adaptation of innovation in developing countries and offers an alternative path to how African countries can effectively organise to strengthen their innovation ecosystems.

He was a member of the UK Advisory Committee on Digital Access Africa, a Committee member for NESG on Science and Technology and a member of the Expert Advisory Group to the European Commission on mainstreaming technology and innovation in the relationship between Europe and Africa.

Dr. Tijani is a Desmond Tutu Fellow and fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law at the prestigious Stanford University and is happily married with three children.

Dr. Chris Baryomunsi is Uganda’s Minister of ICT and National Guidance and a passionate advocate for inclusive digital transformation. He is at the forefront of implementing Uganda’s Digital Vision, championing policies that ensure universal, meaningful, and affordable connectivity to accelerate socio-economic development and close the digital divide.

With a multidisciplinary background as a medical doctor, public health expert, and demographer, Dr. Baryomunsi brings a people-centered lens to ICT policymaking – prioritizing accessibility, digital inclusion, and the ethical use of technology. He has spearheaded initiatives that expand broadband access, support rural connectivity, empower youth through digital skilling, and strengthen the resilience of national ICT infrastructure.

Under his leadership, Uganda continues to position ICT as a strategic enabler for inclusive growth, sustainable development, and regional digital integration. He has also served in ministerial roles in Health and Housing, consistently linking technology to essential services.

Dr. Baryomunsi holds a PhD in Public Health and advanced degrees in Demography and HIV/AIDS Management. With prior experience in academia and international development organizations including UNFPA and GTZ, he combines technical expertise with a global development perspective.

As a Member of Parliament since 2006, Dr. Baryomunsi remains committed to harnessing ICT for inclusive governance and meaningful participation in the digital age.

His voice continues to shape regional and global dialogue on leveraging connectivity for a sustainable digital future.

Deputy Minister Mondli Gungubele was appointed as the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies of the Republic of South Africa with effect from 6 March 2023. He previously served as Minister in the Presidency responsible for the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), the National Planning Commission (NPC), Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), the Government Communication Information System (GCIS) and the State Security Agency (SSA).

Deputy Minister Gungubele has extensive experience in local, provincial, and national government and believes in strategic planning and effective monitoring of systems to ensure that government is held accountable to deliver services to the people. He is a political activist who spent much of his youth fighting for a liberated and just South Africa which is united in diversity.

Deputy Minister Gungubele became involved in the trade union movement in the ‘70s and it is this experience that sharpened his political and negotiation skills. In 1982, he became a member of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and would later be elected as a Chairperson of his Local Branch of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in 1989. In 1992, he was elected as the Chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) Vosloorus Branch, and later became the founding Chairperson of the ANC East Rand Region. In the same year, he was elected to the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the ANC in Gauteng.

In 1994, Deputy Minister Gungubele was deployed as a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and was subsequently appointed as the MEC of Health in the Gauteng Provincial Government in 1997. He held this position until 1999. He was then deployed to lead Gauteng’s Sports, Recreation and Arts and Culture agenda as its MEC where he worked tirelessly to unite all sporting codes and contributed to the development of grassroots sports in Gauteng. He held the position until 2004 in the year South Africa was awarded the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup showpiece.

After the 2004 Provincial and National Elections, Gungubele became the Chairperson of the Economic Affairs Portfolio Committee in the Gauteng Legislature where he was responsible for political oversight and ensuring that the Department of Economic Affairs fulfilled its mandate to the people.

In 2009, he was deployed to the National Assembly as an ANC Member of Parliament, where he served as the Whip of the Justice and Constitutional Development Portfolio Committee. He was later redeployed to the City of Ekurhuleni as the City’s Executive Mayor in 2011. It is during this time where he drove the City’s Governance and Administrative record to clean audits and numerous awards on good governance.

In 2016, he was deployed back to Parliament and served on the Portfolio Committees on Communications and Public Enterprises respectively. Mr Gungubele was part of the collective which led SABC Inquiry and the Eskom Inquiry – both processes which paved the way for the turnaround of these two State Owned Enterprises.

Deputy Minister Gungubele was then appointed as the Deputy Minister of Finance from February 2018 until the general elections in May 2019. After the commencement of the 6^th Parliament in June 2019, he was deployed as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee of Social Development and the Convener of the Social Transformation Cluster.

Deputy Minister Gungubele holds a B Com (Law) Degree and a National Diploma in Nursing with various certificate courses. He also serves as a member of the National Executive Committee and National Working Committee of the African National Congress as elected in December 2022.

Mark-Alexandre Doumba est Ministre de l’Économie Numérique, de la Digitalisation et de l’Innovation de la République Gabonaise depuis mai 2025, après avoir occupé le poste de Ministre de l’Économie et des Participations.

Spécialiste de la transformation numérique, de la finance du développement et de l’investissement, il a mené des initiatives en Afrique, en Asie et au Moyen-Orient.

Il est diplômé de la George Washington University, de la London School of Economics et de la Harvard Kennedy School. Il a été reconnu en 2025 comme Young Global Leader par le Forum Économique Mondial.

Honourable Emma Inamutila Theofelus is a young, 28-year-old Namibian woman who serves as a Member of Parliament and the Minister of Information and Communication Technology in the Republic of Namibia.

Before her appointment, Honourable Emma was always policy adjacent and was a Youth Activist around issues of gender, children’s rights, and sustainable development and against youth unemployment. She served as the Deputy Speaker of the Youth Parliament of the Republic of Namibia, Board Member of the National Council of Higher Education and the Junior Mayor of the City of Windhoek amongst other roles.

Born and bred in Windhoek, Namibia, Honourable Emma holds an LLB Honours Degree from the University of Namibia where she served as Secretary General of the Student Union in her final year of study; a diploma in Business Management from Amity University and a diploma in Afrikan Feminism and Gender Studies from the University of South Africa. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in ICT Policy and Regulation at the University of Witwatersrand.

Honourable Emma is currently awarded the Laureate in the Individual Category of the United Nations Population Award, 2022 and serves as a board member of the Leadership Council of Africa REACH. She has been recognised as the BBC 100 Most Influential Women in the World 2021, named as Avance Media 100 Most Influential Young Africans 2020 & 2021, named as the New African 100 Most influential Africans of 2020, Reputation Poll 100 Most Reputable Africans 2020 and named as the Emerging African Young Leader by the African Leadership Magazine 2022.

Honourable Emma is currently a council member of Nala Feminist Collective where she is championing digital justice on the African continent. She was further nominated for the One Young World Politician of the Year Award 2020 & in 2021. In her current role, Honourable Emma plans to better communicate the activities and programs of the Government of the Republic of Namibia, create a more digitally literate nation, increase access to the internet among Namibians and assist in preparing the Namibian nation for the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Mr. John OMO is the Secretary-General of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), the African Union’s specialized agency for telecommunications and ICTs’ development in Africa. He has held the position since January 2019 and was re-elected for a second 4-year term at the ATU Conference of Plenipotentiaries held in Algiers, Algeria in July 2022. He leads the continental body entrusted with building consensus within African countries in the development of ICT policies, systems and services, and also in coordinating African participation in international ICT fora.

Mr. Omo has 31 years of experience as a lawyer and has contributed immensely to the development of local and international policies, legislation, agreements, and treaties in all areas of public service life but mainly in the area of ICTs.

Prior to his election as the Secretary General of the Union, he worked with the Communications Authority of Kenya, Kenya’s ICT regulator, where he provided leadership over the Authority’s legal matters and strategies. Before that, he worked in the public/civil service.

He holds a Master of Law degree in International and Commercial law from the University of Sheffield – UK, a Bachelor of Law from the University of Nairobi – Kenya, and a Diploma in Human Rights Law from the UN Human Rights Centre, Geneva, and ILO Centre Turin among other professional courses.
Mr. Omo was recently awarded the Global Merit Leader Awards 2022 by Telecom Review during Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit in Dubai, UAE.

Dr Gift Kallisto Machengete is the Director General of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), having been appointed to the position in December 2016. He is a member of the ITU Digital Innovation Board and currently serves on the Boards of several institutions in Zimbabwe.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe and a Master of Business Administration Degree (MBA) from Southern Cross University, Australia, for which he was awarded the University Plaque for outstanding achievement. He also holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Southern Cross University, whose thesis was highly rated by both internal and external examiners.

He has over forty-four (44) years work experience, having worked as an Economic Counsellor at the Zimbabwe Embassy in China, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Ambassador to Malaysia and Director Administration in the Office of the President and Cabinet, before joining POTRAZ in 2016.

He is a former part-time lecturer for the Master of Business Leadership and Master of Security and Intelligence Degree programmes at Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE). This included working as a Research Thesis Moderator.

Mothibi Glenview RAMUSI is the Chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) since 2 May 2024. He possesses extensive executive, technical, and leadership experience gained across both the public and private sectors.

His academic and professional background spans telecommunications, broadcasting, and satellite engineering, with expertise in areas including spectrum management, lotteries, strategic and business leadership, radio planning, development and implementation of ICT, satellite broadcasting, postal and their associated regulatory frameworks. Mothibi was part of the founding cohort that contributed to the development of South Africa’s telecommunications policy, satellite and regulatory landscape in the post-1994 era.

He is deeply committed to mentorship and community development and is a qualified Electronic Systems Engineer, having graduated from the University of Essex, Colchester (United Kingdom). He also holds a Senior International Executive qualification from London Business School, completed in partnership with Wits Business School, and is a Certified Information Technology Professional (Systems Integration) with the Institute of Chartered IT Professionals of South Africa.