Participation in this edition was one of the aspects highlighted by the Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, Mário Oliveira, at the closing ceremony of the event.
In his speech, the governor emphasized the fact that the event "was attended by a universe of 180 startups, 105 exhibiting companies, four of which were international, 12 non-exhibiting sponsoring companies, two of which were international, and 11 restaurants".
The minister also highlighted the number of visitors to this edition, which almost doubled compared to the previous edition. Taking stock of the event, Mário Oliveira said that by 2 pm last Friday, "statistics already pointed to around 18,000 visitors, a plausible indicator that the goal of reaching twice the 10,000 of the previous edition was close to being achieved, if we take into account that the attendance of citizens continued into the night with a musical show, among other social activities".
The minister, according to a statement from the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communications to which VerAngola had access, supported the success of the "undertaking with the presence of students from 11 establishments of different levels of education, in addition to counting 3,355 children aged six to 14, 137 trainees in seven courses taught over the three days, 29 thematic sessions with 108 speakers, 74 national and 34 international, as well as the participation of 21 moderators".
This year's edition "showed the resilience of our youth, judging by the number of startups present here, very strong evidence of the road we have to travel with a view to the digitalization of the country, the digital transformation of our society and economy", considered the head of the Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communications portfolio, quoted in the statement.
On the occasion, the minister also left a "word of comfort to the young Angolans who, even though they were far away or for reasons beyond their desire to be there, followed the events by other means.
"We are all to be congratulated," he said, also leaving a word of recognition to the team behind the scenes of the event.
"To our Angolan companies that participated here and to all those who visited the event with the intention of sharing their knowledge, getting to know our reality in terms of what has been done in our country, our many thanks," he added.
The internationalization of the event was another aspect highlighted by Mário Oliveira.
The minister "gave a positive note to the fact that the fifth edition of Angotic was marked by the strong participation of companies from different latitudes," saying that it was "a reason for joy to have the opportunity to witness the presence of African, Asian, American companies, that is, from almost all over the world in addition to the national ones."
According to the official, the "environment experienced among investors of different nationalities focused on the same desire to develop new technologies is the greatest proof that the forum is now beginning to be a very important brand, a great contribution to the development of the country.
"Among the parallel activities developed by his department during the three days of Angotic, Minister Mário Oliveira highlighted the inauguration of the Spatial Data Processing Center and the support provided to the Óscar Ribas Institute, a school dedicated to training people with visual impairments," the note reads.
The minister also recalled that "thanks to the use of technology, young people who have had their vision compromised now have the opportunity to feel an integral part of the digital transformation that is taking place in the country."
The minister "called on companies to contribute so that the aforementioned school, in particular, and others that exist throughout the country also have the opportunity to participate in the digital transformation and in the reduction of information exclusion."
"A special mention to the foreign companies that only came because they believe in the development of our country and in Angolans, because it is in this belief that the transformation of our country will reside, in the certainty that next year we will have other countries that will continue to believe in Angola, just as we Angolans believe in the development of our country. Information and communication technologies will certainly continue to play a key role in the great transformation that the country needs for the good of us all", he concluded.
The fifth edition of the forum had the theme "50 Years of Communicating, Modernizing and Developing Angola" and took place between June 12 and 14, in Luanda.
