Africa is open for business and the opportunities are huge – states ICE Africa Ambassador, John Kamara

'An event that will kick-start the growth of gaming on the continent in an organised format' is how John Kamara is previewing the first edition of ICE Africa, which runs across 24th and 25th October at the Sandton Convention Centre. According to Mr Kamara, Director of Global Gaming Africa, the continent is ‘in the eye of a beautiful storm’ with gaming’s only pan-African event attracting experts on investment, FinTech, Blockchain, Payments, Affiliates, Training and Development.
 
Speaking ahead of ICE Africa, which has attracted pre-registration from industry professionals based in 91 countries, he stated: "I believe senior members of the sector have a duty and a responsibility to create an environment that will aid and support the long-term growth of gaming, including responsible gaming, investment in other sectors of gaming, investment in gaming education and creating an ecosystem that allows us to collect more data that will help the industry with policy makers and governments across the continent. I believe that we are currently in the eye of a beautiful storm and the ability to attract the right investment is part of the objective that we should all work together to achieve. I want ICE Africa to be a place where investors come and find opportunities, where operators learn how to grow their business and where we provide an educational warehouse for the industry going forward.”
 
For international gaming professionals who are new to the Continent, Kamara has some words of advice. "Africa presents its own unique opportunities as well as challenges that you don’t find in Europe or America” he stated. "In Africa, we find that you can form a number of partnerships outside of gaming that will aid your business. Also, there are sectors that directly affect the growth of gaming in Africa, which makes it significantly different to Europe. Being successful requires operators to appreciate the African experience and understand that their thought process need to change: they should be willing to learn about the diversities that make the continent unique. Find a local partner that knows the market and work with them to grow your business in that country. There’s no doubt - Africa is open for business and the opportunities are huge."
 
ICE Africa will feature content and networking opportunities developed exclusively for top-tier participants. Agenda sessions will cover all of the key issues facing traditional gaming operations, as well as Integrated Resorts including Marketing, CRM, Business Intelligence, Cash Desk and Hospitality. World class training will be delivered by the Totally Gaming Academy, which is widely regarded as being the industry’s premier training and development provider.
 

Image: John Kamara, Director of Global Gaming Africa and Event Ambassador for the upcoming ICE Africa, organised by Clarion Gaming

For more information on the first ICE Africa and to register, visit the ICE Africa website: www.iceafrica.za.com. You can also register your pass onsite this week.