Juanita Clark

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Digital Council Africa

Speaker

Juanita Clark is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Council Africa, an NGO head -quartered in South Africa.

The DCA is an independent association that acts a bridge and connector between government, the technology industry, and stakeholders across Africa. It seeks to establish an efficient telecommunications environment through the development of best practises, standards policies and guidelines.

The Digital Council believes that digital technologies will bring about widespread disruption and will with it unlock new opportunities for rapid economic growth, innovation, job creation and access to services.

The Digital Council encourages African governments to embrace the extraordinary possibilities that the digital era has for Africa and believe that the digital economy will enhance the quality of life for African citizens and allow Africa to remain competitive in the global market.

The Digital Council mission is to help public and private sector to work together to deliver on the expectations of an inclusive gigabit society where all Africans have access to the digital economy through participation in the digital eco-system stack.

Juanita founded the organisation in 2010 after realising the need for grass roots awareness and education with regards to the role of fibre optic broadband networks, including sub marine cables and terrestrial fibre in the telecommunications industry. The organisation has since grown to include other infrastructure technologies including towers and datacentres, and the Platform Economy.

In doing her work she has travelled and addressed audiences across the world, advocating for an inclusive digital economy that considers methodologies and mechanisms to ensure that marginalised communities are given equal access to digital services. Her interviews and opinion pieces have been widely published. As an award-winning thought leader, she has been interviewed on local and international television and radio on matters pertaining to the digital economy.

She serves on several advisory committees for government and was listed as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Woman in the Technology sector. Juanita is a high performing and deeply committed leader and have played a pivotal role in steering and establishing the technology infrastructure industry in South Africa as we know it today and she continues to play a leading advocacy role for the rights of women and young people in the digital economy.