TCS+ | Louise Steenekamp: what to look forward to at Saphila 2023

The African SAP User Group (AFSUG) is a community-driven, non-profit organisation independent of SAP that represent the interests of SAP customers and partners in Africa. It does this by providing a platform to share stories, best practices and insights related to their experiences with SAP technology, assisting SAP users to address their key challenges in the African context.<br /> Africa trails other regions in terms of digital adoption and maturity. There are many reasons for this, including poor internet infrastructure and coverage, lack of trust in digital service providers, and a lack of digital and general technology skills. African companies must also overcome a myriad internal factors that contribute to low digital maturity, including cultural resistance to adopting digital tools, a lack of organisational agility required to adopt digital tools effectively, and underdeveloped technology capabilities.<br /> Despite these wide digital gaps and other challenges, there is clearly a desire to catch up to the rest of the world, and digital adoption and the associated infrastructure buildouts are occurring faster in Africa than in other regions.<br /> Through events, forums and networking opportunities, AFSUG allows SAP customers and partners from diverse industries across Africa to engage around these challenges and to exchange ideas to address them, accelerating successful business implementations. Aside from unlimited access to like-minded professionals, resources and education, a further benefit for AFSUG members is being able to influence SAP’s direction in Africa and globally.<br /> Saphila 2023<br /> Saphila, meaning “Alive”, is AFSUG’s world-class biennial African conference, hosted in collaboration with SAP, and is making its post-pandemic comeback from 9-11 July 2023 at the Sun City resort in South Africa’s North West province. This year’s Saphila conference will also be the first-ever hybrid Saphila event, further extending the agenda to delegates who may not be able to travel to or within South Afri