Washington, DC — AllAfrica Global Media, the largest distributor of African news and information worldwide, has signed a strategic agreement with Afcom International, a Fairfax, VA based international technology consulting firm. The agreement provides for joint work to help Africa bridge the digital divide.

AllAfrica, based in Africa and the United States, disseminates over 400 stories daily to financial, corporate, institutional and media clients and operates the leading Africa site on the Internet, allAfrica.com http://www.allafrica.com. AllAfrica's Services and Infrastructure division utilizes its proprietary, interoperable technology platform to create reliable, accessible, and scalable applications.

Afcom International is a premier provider of telecommunications and technology solutions and training for government and commercial clients. The firm's annual All Africa Telecommunications and Information Technology Conference attracts key international players in the fields of communications and technology from both public and private sectors.

AllAfrica and Afcom plan to collaborate on a range of initiatives to increase the distribution of technology information and services for and about Africa. Among them are projects related to the upcoming Afcom gathering in Arlington, VA, outside Washington, DC, whose theme is "Bridging the Digital Divide."

This year's conference to be held July 17-19, is the tenth anniversary of the event. Expected among the several hundred participants are communications ministers from governments; managing directors and other senior officials of public posts and telecommunications entities; private telecom-company operators; satellite, cellular and Internet service providers; equipment manufacturers and investors in the sector. Their agenda is to explore both the opportunities and the challenges facing the telecommunications sector on the African continent.

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Dr. Raymond Akwule of George Mason University, Afcom International's president, says that in the past decade, Afcom has become the forum where African telecommunications decision makers share ideas, present business opportunities in their respective countries, see new products, and discuss the latest developments in a fast-paced industry. "For our tenth anniversary," Dr. Akwule says, "we are planning a bigger event. We are proud to team up with AllAfrica to take advantage of its position as the leading Africa news resource on the Internet to promote this year's forum."

AllAfrica Global Media's president, Amadou Mahtar Ba, also welcomes the new partnership. " Although the continent has made some progress since the early 1990s," he says, "Africa remains a disaster-stricken place when it comes to telecommunications infrastructure. When all of sub-Saharan Africa has less telephone lines than Manhattan, we need cooperation to attack the problems. If African decision makers really want to bridge the digital divide, they will have to keep abreast of developments across the industry. There are only two ways to do it: get accurate information and network with African and non-African professionals. AllAfrica provides the news resource and Afcom provides the networking event."

Over 500 delegates from Africa, America, Asia and Europe are expected to attend Afcom 2001. Regular updates will be carried on allafrica.com before, during and after the July conference. Conference registration information can be found on the Afcom site at http://www.afcomnet.com.

For more information contact:

Emmanuel Aninye Conference Coordinator www.afcomnet.com afcom@afcomnet.com Tel: 703 691 3570 Fax: 703 691 3572