`Shola TAYLOR, is an independent consultant and a leading authority on ICT in Africa. With over 25 years of postgraduate professional experience, and extensive worldwide travel including to about 40 African countries, he has developed an enviable record of professional expertise on ICT infrastructure development in Africa.

‘Shola has held a number of international positions including Regional Director for Africa at Inmarsat UK, Project Director, RASCOM and Project Coordinator, SPACECOM, both at the ITU, Switzerland. Prior to these, he held technical positions at INTELSAT USA, NITEL Nigeria and the Ultra Electronic Communications Ltd, UK.

Previous appointments include Board Member, Nigerian Communications Commission, Coordinator, African Telecom Think Tank, and Member Advisory Group on ICT to the South African Minister for Communications.

He is currently a member of the E Africa Commission, and was elected in 2002 as a member of the ITU Radio Regulations Board where he now holds the position of Board Vice Chairman for the year 2004

In December 1999, he founded Kemilinks International and since then held the position of Principal Consultant/CEO in which capacity he leads the firm in undertaking several medium to large consultancy assignments for a number of local, regional and international clients. ‘Shola graduated at the University of Essex UK, with an MSc in Telecommunications Systems

'Shola TAYLOR, is an independent consultant and a leading authority on ICT in Africa. With over 25 years postgraduate and professional experience, and extensive worldwide travel including to about 40 African countries, he has developed an enviable record of professional expertise on ICT infrastructure development in Africa.

Sonwabo Eddie Funde is an M.Sc Electrical Engineering graduate from the St Petersburg Polytechnical Institute (1975). He underwent further training in public policy and change management at the Civil Service College in the UK (1992), the USIA Programme on Government Management and Training (1992), the Executive Candidates Programme at Wits University (1993).

He has also undergone training in Telecommunications Policy and Regulation at the Adam Smith Institute in 1997 (UK), and at the US Telecommunications Training Institute in Washington, in 1998. Mr Funde recently completed the Certificate Programme in Finance and Accounting at Wits Business School (2001).

Mr Funde is currently the Executive Chairman of Kemilinks International, (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd , President of the South African Communications Forum (SACF). He is non-Executive Chairman of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Director of Murray and Roberts Holdings Limited, Eskom Holdings Limited, Chairman of the National Institute for Economic Policy (NIEP) and Board of Trustees of the Independent Development Trust (IDT),

His career has included being Deputy Chairman of the South African Telecommunications Authority (SATRA)(1997 - 2000), Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulators Association of Southern Africa (TRASA)(1998-1999), Chairman of the GMPCS-MoU Implementation Task Team at the ITU (1998), ANC Chief Representative in Australia and New Zealand (1883 - 1991) and Head and International Affairs Head of the ANC Youth (1978-1983).

Dr. Edmund B. Katiti, is an Associate Consultant with Kemilinks International, and Dean of the School of Computer Studies at Kampala International University in Uganda. He has a B. Sc.(Hon) in Electronics Engineering (London 1978), an M.Sc. (1979), and a Ph.D. (1983), both in Telecommunications Systems Engineering from the University of Essex, UK.

Dr. Katiti has worked on several consulting assignments. In early 2004 he worked as Senior Telecom Expert on the ITU assistance to NEPAD in the identification of the needs for African ICT Infrastructure growth.

From 1999 to 2001, he worked as Lead Consultant on the drafting of the Uganda National ICT Policy. In 2003, the Ugandan Government with only minor changes adopted the National ICT Policy. Prior to this, Dr. Katiti was involved in the drafting of the Uganda Communications Bill which was passed as an Act of Parliament in 1997. This Act is credited as being largely responsible for the rapid growth the Ugandan telecom sector.

Dr. Katiti also worked as the Business Development Director (Africa) for Global Electro-Comm International Inc. a Texas-based IT/Telecom Consulting and Systems Integration company, involved in supplying Billing and Interconnect solution to Telecom companies. Before going into consulting, Dr. Katiti worked as Senior Technical Adviser to Uganda Commercial Bank, on the Bank's Computerisation project. Prior to this, he started the Institute of Computer Science, at Makerere University in Uganda.

During 1979, as part of his M.Sc. project, Katiti drafted the Group 3 Digital Facsimile Coding Standard, which was adopted as the World Standard in 1980 by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). While undertaking his Ph.D. research, Dr. Katiti made several inventions in the field of Multimedia Image Processing, which were published in several technical journals. Dr. Katiti is today still regarded a world leader in this field.

During his career to date, Dr. Katiti, has attended several workshops organised by the United States Telecommunication Training Institute (USTTI), and run by leading Telecommunication Corporations including: HP, Cisco, AT&T, Sprint, Digital, Intelsat, Comsat, All-American Television, GTE Spacenet, Hughes Network Systems, Unisys, HP, and Cisco. According to the feedback received by USTTI from the above Corporations, Dr. Katiti has been one of the most highly rated, of over 5000 Telecommunication Professionals who have attended the workshops.

In May 1994, Dr. Katiti won 'global fame' during the CNN program "Global Forum" that was televised live worldwide, when President Clinton praised his question on Somalia and Rwanda, as "a brilliant question; the question of the day".

Dr. Katiti is a founder member of the African Telecom Think Tank; a worldwide association of African professionals active in the telecom sector. He is a past Chairman of the Uganda National Standards Council (1995-2000), and a past Chairman of the Uganda Computer Society (1991-93).

BRIEF PROFILE OF SHOLA TAYLOR

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