The GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) Africa is set to kick off on Tuesday, October 25 at Kigali Convention Center, bringing together a variety of industry sectors, business leaders and policymakers with the region’s mobile ecosystem.

The GSM Association (GSMA) is an industry organisation that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide. More than 750 mobile operators are full GSMA members and a further 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem are associate members.

MWC Africa 2022 congress which will run until October 27 will be the first in-person edition. It will convene to discuss how technology and shared value have the power to drive economic growth for people and businesses across Africa.

Its agenda will explore technology themes, including Leadership for Connectivity, One People – One Purpose as well as Accelerate Africa and Fintech.

MWC Africa 2022 will host more than 120 expert speakers and 60-plus hours of curated content. At least 2000 people are expected in Kigali for the congress.

The congress includes the 2022 GSMA Africa Policy Leaders Forum which will bring together key stakeholders from ministries, regulatory bodies and the broader mobile ecosystem.

Discussions will include how government policy across the region is aligning with technological developments as well as the policy developments needed to advance Africa to the digital economy.

Part of MWC Africa 2022 is the 5G Summit which will deep dive into commercial 5G services, with a particular focus on Africa, where the journey to 5G has begun, with stakeholders taking steps to accelerate the transition to 5G.

FinTech, which is at the forefront of Africa’s digital transformation, is pioneering the availability of financial services and supporting financial inclusion. The FinTech Summit will explore the latest innovations and emerging technologies which are set to shape Africa’s financial services over the next decade.

Speaking during a Twitter Space event, Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation, explained that Rwanda applied to host the GSMA Africa events for three consecutive summits, starting with one hosted virtually in 2021. This means that Rwanda will be the host until 2023.

President Paul Kagame is expected to deliver a keynote address to the participants.