Excitement as Nairobi event kicks off journey to AMC Conference 2024

This year’s conference is hosted by the Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK). It will run in parallel with the 2nd annual Technology Information Confederation Africa (TICON) Conference. 

TICON is the umbrella body for African ICT professional associations. Its conference, the second since its formation, is being held in collaboration with the Information Communication Technology Association of Kenya (ICTAK). 

Speaking at the media launch, before a live and remote audience from across Africa, the Chairperson of MSK, Zuhura Odhiambo, warmly welcomed all stakeholders and expressed her excitement at the upcoming conference, which she believes will be a landmark event for Kenya.  

MSK’s mantra is to be “the force behind business” in Kenya and the conference, in bringing together the continent’s top marketing and IT professionals, will help to drive business in Kenya and across Africa. “We need to own our own narrative,” she emphasised. 

She also congratulated the AMC on its recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Asia Marketing Federation, as it will broaden the focus of African marketers and also take the continent to a wider audience. 

Conference keynote speaker announced 

Joining the Nairobi launch event remotely from South Africa, AMC President, Helen McIntee, announced that the keynote speaker for the Mombasa conference is Hermawan Kartajaya, founder of the Asia Marketing Federation and co-founder of the World Marketing Forum. 

He is also the co-author, with Philip Kotler, of 12 books on marketing. Kotler is widely renowned as the ‘Father of Modern Marketing’. Kartajaya will bring with him to the conference a message for African marketers from Kotler.  

In his address, the Secretary General of the AMC, David Balikuddembe, thanked MSK for undertaking to host the 2024 conference. From his own experience of hosting the 2023 conference while President of the Uganda Marketers Society, he knew the sacrifices and commitment required. 

He also thanked the Information Communication Technology Association of Kenya for its collaboration with TICON in hosting the IT conference alongside the marketing conference.  

“The synergies between marketing and IT will benefit Kenya and Africa,” he said. “This is not a ‘marriage of convenience’, it’s here for the long run.” 

The combined power of the two groups of professionals could be a launch pad to impact lives and do great things. The two organisations could, for example, explore how to jointly influence policy and regulation, Balikuddembe stated. 

Kenya’s Presidential Advisor on ICT, Dennis Itumbi, was the chief guest at the event. He highlighted how rare it is to see the IT and marketing disciplines coming together, but expressed his enthusiasm for what the parallel conferences could achieve for Kenya. 

“I declare the journey [towards the conference] is officially on,” he said. 

Other speakers at the event included the President of TICON Africa, David Gowu, TICON Africa Secretary General, Dr Jannie Zaaiman, ICTAK Secretary General, Adrian Kamotho, and the Chairman of the Kenya Tourism Board, Francis Gachagua. 

You can find out more about the AMC Conference 2024 here.