The explosion of mobile connectivity in Africa is providing levels of access to communication and information that’s changing peoples’ lives across the continent.

According to the analytics company Socialbakers, Facebook use is growing more rapidly in Africa than in any other region of the world, with 50% of users coming online in the last six months; Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are the countries with the fastest adoption.

With this rapid up-take comes huge opportunity for businesses and brands that operate in African countries. And these organisations need to start paying attention to their social media strategies now, or be left behind.

Social Media World Forum, the world’s leading networking event Social Media for social media marketers, is coming to Cape Town on 1-2 June 2011. This international event series attracts leading industry figures and key Social Media players from around the world, operating events across five continents. Speakers include, Garth Rhoda, General Manager Media, Habari Media Group, Gustav Praekelt, Founder, Praekelt Digital – speaking on behalf of the Mobile Marketing Association, and Nic Harry, Co-founder of Motribe.

Featuring cutting-edge content on how to make the most of the latest developments in Social Media across the African continent, Social Media World Forum Africa 2011 will be the industry event of the year for savvy marketers looking to get the latest insight into how to take advantage of this exciting trend. For more information, see the Social Media World Forum Africa website.

SMWF Africa 2011 will be co-locating with its sister event, Apps World Africa 2011, touching on a lot of related issues and topics, discussing how apps development for Africa can assist the social benefits that mobile proliferation is having across the continent. The potential of apps to change the landscape of Africa is boundless. Increased literacy, widespread access to healthcare, farming and agricultural, aids knowledge and more is being facilitated by mobile apps. For more information, see the event website.