The webinar hosted by Pacific Trade Invest New Zealand (PTI NZ) on the subject of Digital Infrastructure in the Blue Pacific was well received by the 78 persons who attended online to listen to the Zoom presentations. A record number for a PTI NZ webinar! The event took place on Tuesday 31 October.
Addressing the over-arching theme ‘Shifting the Dial’, authoritative speakers from the Cook Islands, Samoa, and from the Bankai Group, which has investment links to Papua New Guinea and elsewhere in the Blue Pacific, the webinar took a deep dive into crucial discussions about the digital landscape in the Pacific region.
Digital Infrastructure in the Blue Pacific Continent. This subject is timely, topical and important. For addressing it can overcome the old-fashioned ‘tyranny of distance’ that historically handicapped Pacific Island countries in their business and export efforts – to enter into dynamic new ways of doing business in a way that is oblivious to physical distance.
Investing in digital infrastructure also provides great opportunities in levelling the playing field for all businesses in our region – indeed, it allows us to work to our unique advantages – but it also presents some practical on-the-island and over-the-sea challenges. These positives, potentialities and issues to overcome were all part of the discussion on the day.
In this insightful session, the invited speakers discussed in detail pivotal topics such as:
- challenges faced by the Pacific in the provision of digital infrastructure
- enhancing that infrastructure and the practical challenges this entails
- cybersecurity threats facing our region and what we can do about them (proactive precautions and mitigations where necessary)
- the potentialities of mobile wallets
- the role of governments and telecom operators in this ongoing transformation of the Blue Pacific’s digital business landscape.
Investment opportunities were also revealed and explored in the sessions, with a spotlight on mobile wallets and widespread digital uplift in the Pacific Island nations. What was most useful was that the speakers shared specific examples of ongoing and future upgrades. Naturally, they emphasised the urgency of addressing cyber threats. There was a focus, too, on potential areas needing immediate attention.
The speakers were Phillip Henderson, CEO, Vodafone Cook Islands, and Vice-President of the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA). His topic was ‘Leading the charge in digital transformation’.
Specifically, Phillip addressed current challenges in digital infrastructure, the role of the governments, and projects essential to connectivity and economic growth.
Dinesh Parihar Sr., Vice-President, Sales Engineering, Bankai Group; and Aayush R Barot, Chief BDO, Pacific, Bankai Group, took the virtual stage together. They spoke on ‘Bridging the digital divide in the Pacific’.
Aayush is an expert in wallet solutions and digital innovations, and together they also presented Bankai Group’s plans to invest with banks, mobile operators, governments and regulators throughout the Blue Pacific Continent, to bridge the digital divide with the outside world.
Alex Abraham, CTO, National Bank of Samoa rounded off the webinar by speaking on ‘Bringing financial and telecom expertise together for holistic progress’ – with a laser-like focus on cybersecurity issues.
He addressed existing cybersecurity threats and the role of governments and telecom operators, the immediate measures required, and strategic opportunities to secure future cyber safety.
This was the final in a series of webinars hosted by PTI NZ in 2023. We have found them to be an extremely beneficial way of reaching new and wider audiences.
For those who missed the webinar, a full video recording of it is available here https://lnkd.in/gPpv4ZzD
