Vodafone CEO advocates new mindset by Africa to win in the digital era

Vodafone Chief Executive, Yolanda Cuba, says the new era of globalisation and digitalisation means Africans must develop the capacity to think differently in order to stay relevant.

In a world where technology is dictating every pace of growth and development; new skills and abilities are needed by the global human resource if they are to be of any use. Recent research work show that the new age of machine learning, artificial intelligence and also biological technologies, mean that the role of the human workforce is changing. A paradigm shift from the old ways of doing things is required in order to compete effectively.

Speaking at the 2nd National Women's Summit in Accra on the topic, "Shaping the digital future", Yolanda said:

"To accelerate our ability to innovate, we must approach issues with the capacity to think differently. I believe Africa is best placed to win in this digital age because we don't have to change who we are in adopting the new culture of sharing and being adventurous. The new age with its strong ability to disrupt cares little for physical infrastructure and that is to our advantage. It is about how we change our mindset and not our minds. It is time to learn, adapt, think and be flexible."

The Women's Summit was organised as part of various events held in the country to commemorate International Women's Day, which fell on March 8, 2018.

In a related development, Vodafone celebrated International's Women's Day with a week-long activity for its women employees and surrounding communities. The company organised a Ladies Forum on the theme, "Connected She Can", to throw more light on the crucial role of the woman in the modern era and how to tap into the new realities. Farida Bedwei, a famous software engineer, was a keynote speaker at the event.

Women employees of the company also organised a mentoring session for selected schools in Greater Accra at the Christ the King School where Chief Executive Yolanda and Human Resources Director, Ashiokai Akrong, were in attendance. Other activities including a "Happy Feet" event to sensitise the general public on the relevance of the day, also took place at the Makola market.