 Welcome back to JSA TV live. We are the newsroom for tech telecom and data centers I am Keely Dorian broadcasting live from the channel partners expo hall here at channel partners 2023 and with me now We've got two wonderful guests joining us. We've got Evo Pascucci. He's the BP and business head of America's for airtel business and then Mohit Shankar He is the director of the channel program for airtel business. Thanks for stopping by today Well first big Congratulations, there was just a big big announcement with bridge point technologies about the the channel program I'm gonna kick it to you Mohit first to tell us about that partnership No, it's a great like we just starting King starting with the channel program with the worst announcement the bridge pointing I guess we we will make a deep in route in the India and And the Africa market with the help of bridge points. So that's that's all yeah And it's really going to do just wonders to give your services to more people especially here in the US Yes, it's like we are looking for the more enterprise customer to get in route through the bridge point So that they can expand in India and Africa market with us Absolutely exciting stuff. I know a lot of work went into that. Yeah again. Congratulations. Thank you So tell us just a little bit in general about airtel's channel program. Yes So we're really re-energizing the channel program and at airtel this you know signing up bridge point now You know, they're a very trusted tech advisor in the industry Great name. They have a lot of great relationships with you know, great enterprise customers that have global needs What we're seeing in the channel business is that you know, there's a big need for India and Africa access and Expertise in these areas and that's what airtel brings to the table. So, you know here at the channel partner show We've met with a lot of channel partners that have a lot of interest in what we're doing And as I said, we feel an important Yeah, and what a wonderful place by the way to make that announcement bridge point is here We've seen them They've got a really good presence and it's just a wonderful community and a place to get that word out about the channel And what you're doing in it and channel is very energized. We see here at channel partner It's just a big turnout and you know for for airtel It's you know our first time here in a few years and we're making some great connections Yeah, we're excited about building up the channel program and you know mohit now is heading up You know our channel business here and you know now we've built a program around it all the support around the program and Really excited about building that up. Yeah, I guess we look forward to see the searcher turn around and they will associate with us I'm really good. Like I'm seeing the huge response, especially pertaining to India and Africa So look forward to associate with more channel partners here. Yeah, absolutely Well, you know you talk just real briefly about Africa as well as India I know obviously airtel is very well known in India, but not not as well known yet We're working on it about the Africa offerings to talk to us about those two markets and Really your place in it and how you can help people grow and expand there. Yeah So of course India's our strong suit. I mean, we've got you know the largest B2B provider there You know deep network assets largest data center portfolio You know so very very well established there in Africa, you know the airtel Africa business We have you know data center and network throughout Nigeria Kenya Uganda Tanzania There's 14 countries through Sub-Saharan Africa You know where we're a leading provider and I would say over the last few months We've seen a really big uptick and demand and interest in those markets And you know, we're best positioned there and you know leveraging what we've done You know in India the relationships we've built there. It makes us a natural choice for those markets Yeah, and and what's driving that growth? That's such an interesting point So I wanted to dig into that for just a moment. Well, it's you know, it's where we see not only you know application You know providers cloud providers looking to enter that market, but there's a lot of demand for security You know CDN and so there's a lot of growth there And so now we're starting to see a lot of networks wanting to deploy locally and then on the MNC side You know, there's a lot of enterprise investment in those markets And you know, they have needs that it's very challenging to meet and that's where airtel comes in Really strong, you know with our assets that we have there. Yeah Absolutely. So before we let you go again big announcement here at channel partners about the airtel channel program So can you give us a hint mo hit it what's coming next for the channel program as much as you can say now? So it's a no, but it's it's a exciting journey We just started and we are we are promising this to the community that we will give back whatever is possible to back To this community so that it will be getting stronger and stronger and we will have a deep Engaged relationship with this community. So I look forward to be a part of this community as as possible as possible Yeah, absolutely. Well, where can we go to learn more about airtel business and to watch what's developing? Go to airtel.in slash business Thank you so much mo hit evo great to talk to you glad you're having a wonderful experience here at channel partners Thank you. Thank you very much and thanks to our viewers for tuning in to jsa tv live. Happy networking