NxSE, the international forum for digital transformation in Africa and the Indian Ocean, will be back for a third edition. The announcement was made by the association Digital Réunion, which also reveals that this Business Forum on Digital Transformation will be held in Paris on October 9 and 10.
In order to evolve in a global society increasingly turned towards digital, it is vital for the Indian Ocean islands to promote the growth of the digital sector on an international level. The creation of such an engine of international growth is a commercial and educational showcase for Reunion’s digital expertise, but above all a privileged business space between local, national and international clients and partners. The NxSE forum was created to establish a regular business flow between Reunion, neighbouring countries and mainland France. Through NxSE, this convergence between these three professional African, Indian Oceanic and European ecosystems aims to put Reunion on the map of African digital.
After the success of the last two editions of the Digital Transformation Business Forum on the island, the Digital Reunion association has decided to hold it again this year. A third edition of the NxSe forum will be held in Paris on October 9 and 10. The announcement was made on 11 March by Philippe Arnaud, President of Digital Réunion, during the visit of the Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.
A third edition with high stakes!
Technology as well as digital is growing worldwide. This sector represents a real boon for companies wishing to develop in this promising industry. Competition is everywhere in the market, whether it is local or international. And to keep the same pace and not lose ground to the competition, you have to open up to the market and look for partners in order to evolve better.
The holding of this forum in Paris is strategic, because in such a context, where competition is fierce, the best defense is to attack. Digital Reunion aims to demonstrate, educate and sell its attack, as close as possible to the growth markets, the circles of influence and the decision-making spheres that will influence the evolution of the regulatory framework.
Moreover, 2018 promises to be rich in transitions for the Reunionese digital sector. A year that sees the end of the current LODEOM (Law for the Economic Development of Overseas France), the keystone of its growth, threatened. However, we are at a time when some of Reunion’s digital companies are exporting to the five continents, when startups are distinguishing themselves in international competitions and are starting to raise funds to accelerate their growth. What’s more, the sector, which is now worth €1.4 million, with almost equal shares between services and telecoms, is establishing itself as one of the pillars of Reunion’s economy: it is therefore unthinkable to risk breaking this dynamic. On the contrary, we must take advantage of it to continue to progress locally and globally.
Positive spin-offs from NxSE 2017
The NxSE forum wants to be a reference event on the island of Reunion where the North and the South-East meet. The 2017 edition was a real success with its 700 professional visitors, 108 speakers, 27 exhibitors and 85 partners and sponsors, the 250 BtoB meetings organized, the 50 contracts and partnerships concluded and more than 100 press communications that relayed the event.
A second edition, whose topics discussed revolved around the challenges of Digital Health, the industry of the future, cities and buildings of tomorrow, the connected tourist and connected agriculture … Themes with real stakes for Reunion, but also for the African countries that participated in this forum.
This year, Digital Réunion hopes to make things evolve even more and wants, through this forum, to consolidate the credibility of the sector with its partners and that of the companies with their current and future clients. “It marks our commitment and our responsibility to change the way the world looks at Reunion Island. We hope that this exceptional edition in Paris will mark a turning point in our legitimacy as the embodiment of French digital technology in Southern Africa,” explained Philippe Arnaud.
