Juanita Clark

Juanita Clark is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Council Africa, a not for profit industry association head quartered in South Africa. 

The Digital Council 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 digital services through participation of the digital eco-system stack.

She 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 in the telecommunications industry. The organisation has since grown to include other infrastructure technologies including towers and datacentres. 

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

A high performing and deeply committed leader she played a pivotal role in steering and establishing the fibre 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.