. Ngwenya

By HELEN ZULU –
THE Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft East Africa Limited aimed at accelerating cross-border trade through access to technology.
COMESA secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya said the MoU which was signed through the COMESA Business Council was aimed at promoting access to technology to improve regional trade and promote local innovation for better service delivery.
Mr Ngwenya said the MoU would promote access to technology to COMESA Member states based on a trusted cloud infrastructure that focuses on secure deployment of modern information technology operations.
He said the collaboration was expected to accelerate and promote the adoption of innovative high speed low-cost connectivity initiatives, including through new policy approaches to spectrum management such as dynamic spectrum access.
Mr Ngwenya was speaking at the signing of the MoU between COMESA and Microsoft East Africa Limited in Lusaka yesterday.
“The MoU will also encourage the use of cloud technologies through the adoption of important enabling policies in the areas of cyber security, data privacy and data protection.
“Business technology has revolutionised the way countries and firms conduct business,” he said.
Speaking at the same function, Microsoft Middle East and Africa associate general counsel, legal and corporate affairs Antony Cook said the collaboration was further expected to focus on fostering innovation across the COMESA region by promoting the value and protection of intellectual property.
Mr Cook said this would also encourage the development of e-Government solutions that would facilitate, simplify and stimulate investment in and across the COMESA region to save on time and the cost of complying with business governance and regulations.
He said through the collaboration, Microsoft would bring policy makers and businesses together and empower them to take advantage of the cloud-first, mobile-first world.
“With the right policies and regulations in place, people will be encouraged to use clout technology, develop their own IP and ultimately participate in trade and e-commerce across borders.