THE EGYPTIAN capital, Cairo, will this year host the first ever Information Communication Technology (ICT) forum to take place in Africa.

The forum, which is scheduled for May 4 to 8, this year, would be a key meeting place for decision and policy makers in Africa as well as industry leaders and other pacesetters in the continent to access, explore and build on the region's untapped resources.

This, nevertheless, would enhance Africa's ICT industry since participants at the forum, according to a release issued in Geneva, Headquarters of Information Technology Union (ITU), would address the challenges and opportunities for the African region and identify the factors that go into shaping the future of the ICT industry.

Speakers at the forum would be drawn from across the spectrum of the ICT, comprising prominent personalities, who are involved in shaping Africa's market environment and outlook.

The personalities include Conny Kullman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Intelsat, Marc Mesle, Vice-President, Africa of Orange, Michael Kutschenreuter, Chief Financial Officer at Siemens and Dr. Jabulani Dhliwayo of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) among a host of influential people in Africa's ICT industry.

"In the few years since the start of the new millennium, more users have been added to Africa's networks than in the whole of the previous century", says Dr. Tim Kelly, Head of the ITU TELECOM Forum.

Key areas to be focused on at the meeting, the release indicated, included how the development of mobile phones in Africa could be utilized to provide broadband internet access to a larger number of Africans, considering the greater number used by Africans than fixed lines.

The forum would also focus on examining the challenges faced by new regulatory bodies and what new policies were needed to ensure continued market growth as well as the need to bridge the digital divide.

A youth forum would be featured at the meeting where some 100-university students across the African continent would participate as Youth Fellows and gain the opportunity to further their knowledge in the ICT sector.

The target areas of the Youth forum include Technology and Applications, Policy and Regulations as well as Financing and Opportunities.