Special Report Grande C么te Operations
www.africanbusinessreview.co.za | November 2014
Top 10 CEOs Innovating the Tech Industry
Big Data
IBM Dissects the Trend
Mobile Money
WorldRemit Wakes a Dormant Sector
Wananchi Group The East African Success Story Expands its Zuku Brand Offering
Big landscapes Inspire big thinking
THERE’S NOTHING LIKE AUSTRALIA FOR YOUR NEXT BUSINESS EVENT. This year we chose Australia for our global congress. It was an easy choice, as Australia’s proximity to Asia gave us the opportunity to attract many new delegates. The program was one of the best in years. New Australian developments in our field attracted a lot of interest and strong international research partnerships were established. Australia is on everyone’s list to visit, and it lured our highest number of delegates yet. There’s no doubt they’ll be talking about this convention for years to come. Dr Louise Wong, International Board Member
visit australia.com/businessevents/associations for everything you need to plan your australian event.
editor ’ s comment
Africa’s Tech Revolution Continues of the world’s ‘emerging markets’ when it came to technology, Africa is no longer perceived as just an upand-comer in the ever-developing sector, leaving a gaping space for budding startups and entrepreneurs to come in and capitalise on the constantly improving infrastructure on the continent. To that end, Kenyan home entertainment and communications giant, Wananchi Group leads the way this month as CEO, Richard Alden pinpoints why the company has become such a major force across the board in East Africa over the past 18 months. IBM are often the yardstick to which technological breakthroughs are measured against and Cory Wiegert, IBM Software Group Product Director for Africa takes a more general stance in analysing the big data evolution. It would seem that security isn’t quite the issue that some experts have portrayed. Elsewhere this month, Shailendra Singh of Wipro Limited analyses how the emerging trend of virtualised desktop environments will transform the workplace, Iain Mackenzie of WorldRemit points out why Africa is no longer a sleeping giant in the mobile money arena and we take a look at the CEOs behind TechRepublic’s Top 10 tech startups.
Long seen as one
Enjoy the issue!
Matthew Staff Associate Editor matthew.staff@wdmgroup.com 3
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Answers for industry.
CONTENTS
Features
32 Finance
8 Q&A: Who’s The Boss? Christina Watson: Dreams Big on Behalf of South African Education
Mobile Money is Finally Found by the Tech Revolution in Africa
24
TOP 10
CEOs Innovating the Tech Industry
16 Marketing
Technology
Virtualised Desktops Redefine the Way South African Companies Operate
Big Data in Africa: IBM Dissects a Developing Trend in a Developing Market
38 5
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CONTENTS
Company Profiles
MINING
Grande C么te Operations Brings Economic Boost to Senegal with Globally Significant Mining Project
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TECHNOLOGY
Wananchi Group Continues to Innovate its Globally Competitive Home Entertainment Services to East Africa
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MANUFACTURING
MINING
Tetra Pak
Senet
Invests Heavily in the African Market
The South African mining project management and engineering specialist
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November 2014
Q & A : W HO ’ S T HE B OSS ?
Christina Watson dreams big on behalf of South African education Via Afrika Publishers’ CEO, Christina Watson has taken the same proactive approach to the education company as she has her own career over the years, forming a potent combination in South Africa E d i t e d b y: M a t t h e w S t a f f
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Q & A : W HO ’ S T HE B OSS ? Via Afrika is a leading publisher of quality educational textbooks and related material for South Africa and southern African countries. Established more than 60 years ago, the company publishes materials to meet the needs of learners from early childhood development up to Grade 12 and FET (vocational) Levels twoto-four, as well as Adult Education learners in both print and electronic formats. With an eye to the future, Via Afrika has recently prioritised the development of digital learning tools suited to South Africa’s education sector, signaling a commitment to the overall continuous improvement strategy of the company. In this month’s ‘Who’s the Boss’ Q&A, we take a look at the continuous improvement of the woman currently entrusted with the task of overseeing Via Afrika’s ongoing rise; Christina Watson. ABR: What is your name and where were you born? CW: My name is Christina Watson and I was born in Gauteng, South Africa.
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November 2014
ABR: Where were you educated and what qualifications do you have? CW: I have a degree in languages, history and education. This equipped me well to grow through the ranks in educational publishing. I also have an MBA which gave me the all-important overview and insight into what is required to be successful in business. ABR: Tell us about your career and how you got to your current position? CW: After a few months as a teacher, of which I enjoyed every moment, I was offered the opportunity to join an educational publishing house. The majority of my career in educational publishing, with a spell elsewhere here and there, has been spent working for Via Afrika Publishers where I am now currently CEO. ABR: What influence did your parents have on your career choices? CW: My father died when I was 10 years old. My mother was the most dedicated person I have ever encountered. She was a grade three teacher and a number of her learners
C h ristina W atson
“As an industry as a whole, educational publishing motivates me. It allows me the opportunity to bring all my childhood dreams together” – Christina Watson, Chief Executive Officer, Via Afrika
Via Arika is a vital cog in southern African education
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Children respond to various different styles of teaching, and Via Afrika is utilising this fact
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November 2014
E lian W iene
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Q & A : W HO ’ S T HE B OSS ?
The company sees digital learning tools as a priority focus
kept in contact with her up to her death at 85. She really made a difference in people’s lives. That inspired me. ABR: Who in your career has been your biggest influence? CW: My first boss in educational publishing, Estie van der Lingen. She did not accept second best. Ever. Today, at 75, she is still my mentor and friend. 14
November 2014
ABR: What does success mean to you? CW: Making a positive difference in whatever I am doing. ABR: What motivates you? CW: As an industry as a whole, educational publishing motivates me. It allows me the opportunity to bring all my childhood dreams together. I
C h ristina W atson
can learn from past best practices and apply them in the workplace, I can nurture and guide employees, I can ensure that all human rights are being protected in a spirit of fairness and I can build bridges between people and between learners and their future. What more can one want?
ABR: What was the worst? CW: You have to listen to me!
ABR: What do you consider are the main ingredients for business success? CW: Willingness to take risks, not Xxxx accepting anything but the best from people, trusting your instincts, hard work, caring for your customers, and to do what you say you will.
ABR: What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs? CW: Dare to dream big and accept that failure often is part of the road to success.
ABR: What was the best piece of advice you ever received? CW: You can do more damage taking forever to make a decision than by making the wrong decision.
ABR: What do you do in your free time? CW: I love reading, and recently bought a Jeep so now I am testing its limits (and mine).
ABR: What was the biggest mistake you ever made? CW: Not doing anything. ABR: What would you like your epitaph to be? CW: It will have to be a figurative one, perhaps; “She cared.�
Via Afrika was established more than 60 years ago
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marketing
Virtualised Desktops Redefine the way South African Companies Operate Shailendra Singh of Wipro Limited analyses how the emerging trend of virtualised desktop environments will transform the workplace; anywhere, anytime W r i t t e n b y: S h a i l e n d r a S i n g h , B u s i n ess D i r e c t o r , A f r i c a Re g i o n , W i p r o L i m i t e d
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November 2014
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marketing As faster, cheaper and more pervasive broadband networks start becoming a reality in South Africa, the stage is set for a complete reinvention of the workplace. With a comprehensive desktop virtualisation strategy, organisations are able to securely deliver personalised employee desktops, combined with centrally-deployed applications, and various online services. This new, unified workspace provides end users with a consistent experience across devices, locations, and via all forms of connectivity. Deployed correctly, desktop virtualisation extends the boundaries of the traditional office. Now, the office is anywhere where the employee can connect from. Virtual office environments illustrate the importance of the big four technologies; Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud. Most obviously, cloud and mobility come to the fore. Virtual desktops connect cloud-based architecture with flexible mobility services. As these four major trends continue to evolve and converge, future-proofing the organisation’s desktop environment becomes 18
November 2014
End-users benefit from the ability to securely tap into the core business processes whenever they need to
paramount. End-users benefit from the ability to securely tap into the core business processes whenever they need to. A clear desktop virtualisation strategy brings the concept of BYOD (bring your own device) into reality, as users are able to work with the laptops, tablets and smartphones that they are comfortable with. By improving the levels of access and ease of use, employees become
V irt u alised desktops
‘By improving the levels of access and ease of use, employees become more productive, more innovative and more collaborative’
more productive, more innovative and more collaborative. No longer does the company representative have to wait in line at the office to load product orders into the system. With the right virtualisation solution, he can do so from the client’s offices, immediately following his successful meeting. In this way, virtualisation accelerates the pace of work within the enterprise, as hand-overs become more seamless and role-players more tightly 19
marketing Vellaut quia necti omniendia comnis que labor atet vellesti ut invendit ut a quasima cupid escit everiosam dolorep eruntis idem dolum voluptatibus quidebisim sunt. Et pratatecto millaut et et, conecum enditae poris doluptiunt. Ficae exerumq uasperunt quia as eum fugitas verfers peremol uptatem ius re volorae des alisim quas untiae. Omnis ut et ut esecto il im harumquatia sequam eosandandam, quam que re, quam estia sundeli atemporecum que prate ex ex eos dendant velent. Caption to the image
Sub head Cero explique eum reperumet lab imus apitas exceati volendi consequi aut id etum, sunt asperae venist atur, vellore exera volorep ernam, con eum exerferem. Num fugit laccum natia nonsendae quo et renditiberum que parcit quiam, voluptatur maionsequias ellicienem as sa plicat vid et moluptatur? Faccus intio. El ex erum alic tem cuptae ditate sit am nonsedi dest eum ullorep rorerum aditio temporruptat alitiate pratecu ptatassequo quod quam voles imus. Obit, vellamet reperem cuptaerio temque expliquas et harum, sa nate
‘Staff enjoy a better work-life balance, able to work more from home (or other out-of-office locations), and from the Caption to the image devices they prefer’ 20
November 2014
V irt u alised desktops
connected. In larger organisations, with offices around the country or around the world, these benefits are clearly visible. But this approach is certainly not just for companies that have a large staff complement that is ‘on the road’. As companies compete for top talent by offering the most flexible, most progressive working arrangements, virtualisation becomes the key to providing the right employment environment and getting the most of one’s team. Business applications are provided in an ‘app-store’ format, available according to role-based permissions, making the entire experience of remote working more accessible, or – to use a popular term – more ‘consumerised.’ Staff enjoy a better work-life balance, able to work more from home (or other out-of-office locations), and from the devices they prefer. Ultimately, organisations are able to start shedding some of the costs of permanent office spaces, as trends such as hot-desking and flexi-hours start becoming possible through virtualisation. From the organisation’s perspective, 21
marketing there is a growing recognition that business software and applications are best rolled out iteratively, in short, incremental cycles (as opposed to large jumps every three to five years). This transition becomes far smoother with a virtualised approach, as the IT team centrally deploys and updates the latest versions of various applications. Administrators are empowered to set and then dynamically adjust rolebased permissions. For example, if an external consultant is working on a project for six weeks, he may be given time-based permissions to certain applications which expire after that period of time. He may be disabled from writing any content to anywhere other than the secure, hosted platform. So desktop virtualisation has huge benefits in the fields of information security, governance, and compliance. Advanced cloud-based storage, with the right disaster recovery management policies, will ensure that critical corporate knowledge is never lost. This is combined with security controls on the native devices to ensure that in the event of physical theft, there is no risk of losing any corporate data. 22
November 2014
IT teams can have the ability to offload the day-to-day management to outsourced partners
Finally, moving to a virtualised desktop environment also gives IT teams the ability to offload the dayto-day management to outsourced partners. Virtualised architecture means that remote desktop support can be provided by one’s ICT services partner and their pre-existing 24/7 call centre. Shifting the operational burden to
V irt u alised desktops
author biography
an outsourced provider means the organisation’s IT team is able to move closer to the business, focusing on strategy and on generating business value. It can better align business strategy with the IT roadmap, and maximise the value of every aspect of its IT estate; including, of course, the shiny new virtualised office.
Shailendra Singh is the Head of Wipro Technologies in Africa and is responsible for strategy and operations with a focus on long term revenue growth. Prior to heading business in Africa, Shailendra held several leadership roles across fast growing segments within Wipro. He is a leader and the face for Wipro in the region, leading a team that is passionate about innovative, compelling and differentiated solutions that helps organisations transform and do business better.Â
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technology
Big Data in Africa IBM Dissects a Developing Trend in a Developing Market Cory Wiegert, IBM Software Group Product Director for Africa is at the heart of the region’s tech development and believes the continent is gaining on the rest of the world in optimising big data W r i t t e n b y: M a t t h e w S t a f f
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November 2014
25
technology
In Nigeria and Kenya, 40 percent of businesses are in the planning stages of big data projects Africa is rapidly gaining on the rest of the world in optimising the benefits of big data, but there are still challenges which need to be overcome if the region is to embrace the trend fully. While stereotypical concerns revolve around security and privacy issues, Cory Wiegert, IBM Software Group’s Product Director for Africa believes that challenges regarding trust, resiliency, budget constraints, 26
November 2014
enterprises strategies and crossdepartmental collaboration are much more pressing on the continent at present. African Business Review (ABR): Firstly, if you were to look at the development of big data in Africa as a timeline, at what stage would you say it is at now, in comparison to the rest of the world? Cory Wiegert (CW): Africa is rapidly catching up to the rest of the
B ig D ata in A frica
‘In general, we are seeing more desire for analytics and usage of business analytic type applications. There is a push for more understanding of what data is out there’
world in terms of big data. The IBM Center for Applied Insights report on IT Pacesetters focusing on Nigeria and Kenya reveals that 40 percent of businesses are in the planning stages of a big data project, in comparison with the global average of 51 percent. Twelve percent of Kenyan and Nigerian firms have big data projects live, just short of the 13 percent global mean. While telco’s have an enormous amount of data, government digitisation, open data with government, usage of unstructured data and big data mining is yet to reach the level of maturity we have seen in other markets. ABR: Given Africa’s status as an emerging market, what differences have you noticed in how the trend has been managed compared to other regions? CW: In general, we are seeing more desire for analytics and usage of business analytic type applications. There is a push for more understanding of what data is out there and what value can be derived from it. In Africa, there is a general concern around data and data sources. Given the proliferation of data sources with 27
technology
Analytics team assesses some big data the same type of data, duplicate data and data which may or may not have been manipulated; the trend we see tends to focus on cleaning, standardising and starting to build a level of trust of newly built data sources.  In other markets, because of the early adoption of analytics and data warehouses, the cleansing and trust of data sources was an inherent part of the evolution of reporting. So, as reporting evolved to dashboards, on to analytics and now big data and 28
November 2014
big data mining, the data was being kept clean all along with the trust and cleansing being done while data was loaded to the new analytics technology sources. ABR: Do you see the market status as a positive thing in being able to eradicate potential old habits instilled in more settled regions, or does the lack of maturity inhibit the management of the trend? CW: From the perspective of eradicating potentially old habits, we
B ig D ata in A frica
‘In other markets, because of the early adoption of analytics and data warehouses, the cleansing and trust of data sources was an inherent part of the evolution of reporting’ see it as an advantage because the technology, standardised use cases and differentiated business models have been proven and can be adopted immediately. The growing pains of waiting for technology and mind set changes can be avoided and enterprises wanting to advance by using big data in their businesses can jump to what has been already ascertained. We also see the use of unstructured data to be more advanced here than in other regions. Africa still faces challenges in cleaning up of historical data and migrating to big data type technologies while continuing to function as institutions. So, while the cleansing and standardisation is happening, new data in the old
mechanisms continues to flow into the system. A good number of users and organisations in Africa have had limited experience in data cleansing or standardisation. This means that there is a general lack of skills in advanced techniques or advanced technologies. There may also be a lack of knowledge of what the old habits are. Many of the teams who are trying to help with big data solutions, might not really understand the concept of big data. We at IBM believe that with the adequate skills enablement, there may be a leap to the new models. This has to be accompanied by a focus on education on concept of volume, velocity, veracity and variety of data and how to extract value given those 4 Vs. ABR: A major concern for people when discussing big data is around
Data cleansing
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technology
“Technological advancements at each stage of the big data value chain, notably the proliferation of connected devices such as sensors, will continue to drive the big data trend in Africa’ – 2014 Frost and Sullivan, Big Data Outlook in Africa
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November 2014
B ig D ata in A frica
the issue of privacy, so firstly, do you feel that companies are doing enough to offset these concerns, and if not, what do you feel needs to be done to help find a solution? CW: To some extent the issue of data privacy is a bit of paranoia and unwarranted. There is a fear of data privacy, yet the same people raising issues of data privacy are putting their most private data in the public domain every day. Because big data, open data and the use of big data is new to the market, there is a fear of the unknown, and fear of what that unknown will bring. That being said, companies can do more. With big data and the use of big data comes the need for security and ensuring the data, devices and transactions on those devices are safe. We have seen a larger market swell around security topics, which we believe is in front of the swell around big data solutions. We believe we are just entering the phase of investment around big data projects and technologies. ABR: How do you see big data in Africa developing in general over the coming months and years and what challenges need to be overcome?
CW: A 2014 Frost and Sullivan report titled Big Data Outlook in Africa reiterates that “technological advancements at each stage of the big data value chain, notably the proliferation of connected devices such as sensors, will continue to drive the big data trend in Africa”. Continued investments in network infrastructure and the ease of adoption of various analytics platforms will also contribute to the emergence of big data solutions.
Cory Wiegert Cory Wiegert, IBM Software Group Product Director for Africa is at the heart of the region’s tech development and believes the continent is gaining on the rest of the world in optimising big data.
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finance
Mobile Money is Finally Found by the Tech Revolution in Africa The opportunity is there for technologically minded organisations to capitalise on a mobile money market which has surprisingly been overlooked until recently, and we spoke to the CEO of one such company doing just that at present W r i t t e n b y: M a t t h e w S t a f f
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finance WorldRemit has taken the bull by the horns in Africa, making the most of a mobile money industry which has, until recently, been relatively dormant despite the acceleration of tech activity occurring elsewhere in the region. To get to the bottom of the reasons why, and the potential of the trend moving forward, we spoke to the company’s Head of Communications, Iain Mackenzie who firmly believes that the platform is in place for financial services to catch up with neighbouring sectors over the coming months and years.
African Business Review (ABR): Firstly, tell us about WorldRemit and the reasons for its success. Iain Mackenzie (IM): WorldRemit is an online money transfer service that lets people send to more than 100 countries. We offer a low-cost alternative to over-priced transfer agents, with the convenience of sending from a computer, smartphone or tablet. Amazingly, until recently, the money transfer business had remained largely untouched by the technological revolution. People were sharing pictures and sending instant
‘WorldRemit is an online money transfer service that lets people send money to more than 100 countries’ 34
November 2014
M obile M oney by W orld R emit
messages around the world, but still leaving the house and queuing up to send money. ABR: How would you describe the current remittance market in Africa? IM: As with all things in Africa, you can’t generalise about an entire continent. But we know from the World Bank that Africa receives around $32 billion per year in remittances and that number is rising. However, some countries are more reliant than others. In Liberia remittances account for 23 percent
of GDP, compared to just over one percent in Guinea. One general observation that we can make is that Sub-Saharan Africa fares worst in terms of punitive transfer fees, with traditional transfer firms adding an average mark-up of around 12 percent. That’s despite the G8 and G20 supporting a target rate of five percent. ABR: Why do you think that mobile money is so important for the money transfer sector in Africa? IM: There are 246 mobile money
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finance services in the world and most of those are in Africa. The continent has leap-frogged the ‘developed’ world and gone straight from cash to mobile money. In fact, there are nine countries in Africa where Mobile Money accounts outnumber bank accounts. The popularity is probably down to a combination of infrastructure and convenience. Mobile networks can offer an anytime, anywhere service and users don’t have to visit a physical building to manage their finances. What is most exciting is that of the world’s 2.5 billion unbanked people, one billion already have a mobile phone, so the potential for expanding financial inclusion through mobile money is huge. Remittances will be a big part of that, which is the reason we enable transfers to mobile money services.
‘What is most exciting is that of the world’s 2.5 billion unbanked people, one billion already have a mobile phone, so the potential for expanding financial inclusion through mobile money is huge’
How It Works - Faster, low fees & guaranteed exchange rates 36
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M obile M oney by W orld R emit
ABR: What impact can mobile money have on African economies? IM: Undoubtedly the biggest opportunity is extending financial services to those who currently have no access. If you live in a cash based economy, your capacity to give and receive money is limited by physical proximity. With Mobile Money, people can accept payments from further afield allowing them to scale-up a business. They can shop-around for the best deals on services such as insurance
or education, and they can receive money from friends and family overseas in a way that is extremely fast and convenient. ABR: What further steps can be taken to promote financial inclusion in Africa? IM: Connectivity is a massive issue, but contrary to popular belief in the west, it is more about affordability than infrastructure. Companies such as Google and Facebook are exploring innovative ways of extending free or cheap internet access which will, in turn, lead to wider availability of so-called ‘basic’ or essential services. Financial services, alongside health and education will doubtless be part of that. To make it work, telcos in particular will need to be open to new business models and we will probably see several years of experimentation with free and premium services delivered via mobile across Africa.
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T OP 1 0
Top10 CEOs
Innovating the Tech Industry in Africa Earlier this year, TechRepublic counted down the top 10 tech startups currently driving valuable innovations in Africa. Finishing off the great work that they started, we decided to take a look at the names and faces behind those companies leading the continent’s technological revolution Written by: Matthew Staff
David Osei, Dropifi 39
top 10
Alpesh Patel, Oju Africa
10
Alpesh Patel, Oju Africa
Created in 2012, Oju Africa is part of Mi-Group International and is the first Africancentric Emoticon provider. Running the show is Apesh Patel who has set his sights high in trying to bring Apple on board to diversify its range of emoticons; the word ‘Oju’ literally meaning ‘faces’ in the Yoruba language from its native Nigeria.
09
Barbara Mallinson, Obami
Voted as one of the top young people to take to lunch, Barbara Mallinson has been labelled as one of the most refreshing and innovative entrepreneurs on the continent after founding Obami, a platform which allows people to create and join learning communities. Mallinson’s contagious enthusiasm stems from her belief in Africa’s unbound tech potential.
www.ojuafrica.com www.obami.com 40
November 2014
C E O s I nnovating t h e T ec h I nd u stry in A frica
08
Chris Prujisen, Sterio.me
07
Tim Rimbui, Waabeh
As the youngest President of Oxford Entrepreneurs when he went to the prestigious UK University, it has been no surprise to see Chris Pruijsen formulate companies such as Ampion.org and Founderbus UK. Stereo.me is arguably his flagship project however, once again reinforcing interactive learning through the medium of advanced technology and digital tools.
More recognised as an established and successful musician in Africa, Tim Rimbui has been one of the driving forces behind online music portal, Waabeh. Having worked in the industry for more than a decade, Rimbui has been able to leverage significant partners such as Warner Bros, BBC and Safaricom in bringing the music discoverer and distributor into the region’s consciousness.
www.sterio.me
https://waabeh.com
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top 10
05
06
Jeremy Hodara & Sacha Poignonnec, Jumia
Online shopping site, Jumia was funded in 2012 by Rocket Internet and has grown substantially in Egypt and Nigeria in the hands of CEOs, Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec. Mimicking Amazon’s success, Jumia won the title of Best New Retail Launch and has since expanded its services and delivery footprint to six countries in the region. www.jumia.com.ng 42
November 2014
Neil du Preez, Mellowcabs
Passionate about preserving the environment and producing a more eco efficient way of life, Neil du Preez’s Mellowcabs company has proved an immediate success in South Africa. Following the principles of people like Richard Branson, his fun and creativity led to the electric vehicles which act as first and last mile transportation for commuters in urban areas within a three kilometre radius. www.mellowcabs.com
C E O s I nnovating t h e T ec h I nd u stry in A frica
03
04
Johann Jenson, SleepOut Kenya
Leveraging the ever-significant trend of ecommerce in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean islands, Johann Jenson joined forces with Kenyan digital entrepreneur, Mikul Shah to form SleepOut. Coming to fruition in 2011, the company acts as a booking service assisting travellers in finding discounted rates for hotels, apartments and other popular accommodations.
Kahenya Kamunyu, Able Wireless
Keeping an eye fixed on the future of technology in Africa more than most, Able Wireless, headed up by CEO, Kahenya Kamunyu, is innovating the sector in Kenya with its advanced wireless internet and television services. Having consulted for the likes of BT, Yahoo and Sony in the past, Kamunyu is focused on solving the infrastructure deficiencies in the country. www.ablehq.co.ke
https://sleepout.com 43
top 10
Angani website 44
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C E O s I nnovating t h e T ec h I nd u stry in A frica
02
Phares Kariuki, Angani
Staying in Kenya, Phares Kariuki’s Angani is striving to provide competition for the likes of Safaricom in offering a pay as you go cloud based service in the country. Angani’s innovative business model included buying infrastructure in bulk before virtualising it and then leasing it out at reduced rates; relying on the continuous growth of cloud saturation in Africa. 45
top 10
01
David Osei, Dropifi
David Osei takes top spot in this month’s countdown in relation to his company, Dropifi’s number one placing in TechRepublic’s chart earlier this year. Finishing second in a Top Technology Entrepreneur to watch in 2012, this suggests that everything has gone according to plan for Osei in the intervening years. Succeeding in a role as an emerging company in an emerging market, Dropifi’s success has coincidentally come from aiding similarly small businesses and acting 46
November 2014
as the Salesforce.com for SMEs. While not setting the world alight in terms of the function of the business, Dropifi, and Osei’s genius comes from the ability to solve a big issue in the region with a simple solution. Acquiring huge numbers of users without any marketing initially epitomises the strength of the business model itself and the Ghanaian company is now looking to push on through not only its own clear business model, but also the ability to tailor its clients’ business models and marketing strategies too. www.dropifi.com
C E O s I nnovating t h e T ec h I nd u stry in A frica
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Wananchi Group Continues to Innovate its Globally Competitive Home Entertainment Services to East Africa Written by: Matthew Staff Produced by: Kiron Chavda 49
WA N A N C H I G R O U P
Finding differentiators in a saturated communications and home entertainment market is not easy, but the Kenyanbased operator is leveraging its quality offering and strong homegrown principles to reach its goals
W
ananchi Group’s ambitious and increasingly successful services to the retail and corporate markets in East and Southern Africa have been built on the principles of consumer inclusion and homegrown quality, with the company now looking to expand further via three core facets of the organisation. Built largely upon its Zuku brand, the home entertainment and communications company has become one of the key market players in the region across direct-to-home fibre network services, a unique satellite television offering and its business services arm which provides connectivity to enterprises across the region. Beginning operations in 2008, the past 18 months have been especially significant in the company’s rise to prominence which Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Richard Alden attributes to a well-formed strategy.
Wananchi instills pride in its employees
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T ec h nology
“It has been about being able to demonstrate the clarity of our strategy to gain support from our shareholders and our customers who can clearly see that this company is one to take seriously” – Richard Alden, Chief Executive Officer, Wananchi Group
“Our three-pronged strategy, as well as our business model and objectives, are clear and have been executed very well, leading our shareholders – both local and international – to invest more money into the business to help us grow even further,” he explained. “It has been about being able to demonstrate the clarity of our strategy to gain support from our shareholders and our customers who can clearly see that this company is one to take seriously.” Unique Selling Propositions One of Wananchi’s key differentiators is its footprint and the subsequent portion of the
Key Personnel
Richard Alden CEO
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Building the African Internet. SEACOM was established in 2007 by a group of African investors with the objective of bringing the global Internet to Africa. Two years later, SEACOM launched the first broadband submarine cable system along the East African coastline linking South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique with major Internet connection hubs in Europe and Asia. Today, SEACOM has evolved from being a single cable operator into Africa’s foremost network service provider and ICT enabler. The company offers resilient and scalable data services across multiple submarine cable systems and diverse terrestrial networks to mobile and fixed-line network carriers, ISPs and other ICT service providers.
SEACOM’s Internet Protocol network is now the largest and most advanced on the continent and is designed using advanced fiber optics that can grow and scale as Africa continues to develop. SEACOM prides itself in ensuring that its customers realise the intrinsic value of its network, by providing them with tailor-made communication solutions and world-class customer service. The company’s service offering includes dedicated private line transmission services, flexible Ethernet services as well as resilient global and regional IP transit services.
SEACOM’s mission is clear; to bring affordable data connectivity and its associated benefits to all of Africa’s people.
WA N A N C H I G R O U P
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population it can reach out to. Casting aside misguided notions about the readiness of parts of Africa to embrace innovative new technologies, the company has successfully brought its three pillars of services to the everexpanding middle class market, while some competitors continue to focus on a smaller, wealthier section of the region. “Affordability remains the main challenge so if you price yourself only in the region of the three or four percent who can afford high-end services, then you’re missing out on a great number of people,” Alden said. Zuku Fiber is arguably the product benefiting most from Wananchi’s all-encompassing philosophy; the triple play internet, phone and
supplier profile
Wanachi Group event
Seacom
SEACOM launched Africa’s first broadband submarine cable system along the eastern and southern coastlines in 2009, bringing with it a vast supply of high quality and affordable Internet bandwidth. Since then, SEACOM has moved beyond being a cable operator to become a major pan-African service provider, offering a full suite of resilient and scalable data services that allow Africa’s growing ICT community to develop and evolve. Website: www.seacom.mu
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CastleNet Bridges the World and Your Family
DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem
CastleNet is a professional OEM/ODM vendor focusing on Broadband CPE manufacturing. We are one of the leading companies in DOCSIS3.0 / EURODOCSIS3.0 Cable Modem industry and ranks as top five Cable Modem suppliers in Taiwan.
www.castlenet.com.tw inquiry@castlenet.com.tw
WA N A N C H I G R O U P
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television platform providing speeds of up to 50 Mbps and built over 1,500 kilometres. Running parallel to this, Zuku Satellite TV is the fastest growing platform in the brand’s armoury and currently covers 32 countries to bring its unique and locally relevant content to millions of people on the continent. Continuous updates to this offering have recently comprised HD channels such as Zuku Sports HD and Zuku Max HD while the focus on providing different and more appealing content always remains at the forefront of Wananchi’s strategy. Finally, Wananchi’s corporate division, SimbaNET has become a leading provider of VSAT and data solutions to corporations in East
supplier profile
Team building excercises
Castlenet
Established in 1998, CastleNet is a professional OEM/ODM manufacturer of network communication equipment. We focus on development, manufacturing and sales of products including Cable Modem, Powerline Communication, Notebook and Networking Modules, and Digital Home Applications. Our products are mainly supplied to Europe, Japan and Korea, where the quality and creditability have been well acknowledged by the network communication industry and clients. Website: www.castlenet.com.tw
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WA N A N C H I G R O U P
Wananchi has a strong team ethic
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Africa, paying special attention to the strength of infrastructure in the region to ensure the most effective network and communications speeds possible for burgeoning and established enterprises alike. “In everything we do, the competition is fierce here,� Alden said. “In the paid television market alone, there are six different operators so it requires us to be quite specialised and focused on being different in order for consumers to tell us apart from the others.
T ec h nology
“Investments into building fibre networks directly into consumers’ homes, or into infrastructure for businesses, or building and acquiring new and locally relevant television content all gives us an advantage and a lot of strong USPs.” Quality over quantity As part of Wananchi Group’s recent rise to market success, a huge focus has been placed on the internal structuring of the company and, in particular, to the people within the organisation. In the early years of the business’ development, there wasn’t always the lure to bring in the most skilled individuals to capitalise on the established and reputable business model, but that has all changed now, with Wananchi fast becoming an employer of choice in the region. “Over the past year we have been able to get a lot more people with deeper skill sets than the company could afford to access in the past,” Alden said. “We are now getting people to focus on very specific areas of expertise and then bringing in new people to supplement that, all the way down, through from management to the people on the ground.” This begins during the hiring process and the most skilled local people in the industry now recognise Wananchi as a serious player in the market, subsequently bringing their high calibre attributes into the fold. Alden continued: “While it is inevitable that the
“Investments into building fibre networks directly into consumers’ homes, or into infrastructure for businesses, or building and acquiring new and locally relevant television content all gives us an advantage and a lot of strong USPs” – Richard Alden
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BUILDING A WORLD OF SECURE MULTI-NETWORK SOLUTIONS
CA PE N O V E TO W MBER N 12TH Multi-network revenue security enables you to cost-effectively reach your subscribers across different networks, devices and geographic boundaries. The Verimatrix Video Content Authority System (VCAS™) and ViewRight® solutions offer the flexibility to match any hybrid network combination and keep pace with the latest connected devices. Discover how Verimatrix is working with global digital TV operators to build a single harmonized rights management platform that protects and enhances revenue.
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Join us for Multi-network Solutions in the Real World Forum 12 November • 13:40 - 14:50 Featuring Richard Alden, CEO of Wanachi Group verimatrix.com/africacast2014
WA N A N C H I G R O U P
T ec h nology
numbers of people within the business will grow, I’m not so interested in expanding the size of the workforce. “We are now attracting the cream of the local crop and some extremely strong talent, and I have always said that the key thing is about quality, not quantity, of those people.” Expansion plans Starting out as the first internet service provider in Kenya, Wananchi has evolved to become East Africa’s leading home entertainment operator, and a fully vertically integrated media and telecoms group; a success story which Alden puts down to local dedication and subsequent shareholder support.
supplier profile
“We are now attracting the cream of the local crop and some extremely strong talent, and I have always said that the key thing is about quality, not quantity, of those people”
Verimatix Inc
Verimatrix specializes in securing and enhancing revenue for multinetwork, multi-screen digital TV services around the globe. The award-winning and independently audited Verimatrix Video Content Authority System (VCAS™) and ViewRight® solutions enable cable, satellite, terrestrial, IPTV and OTT operators, including the Wananchi Group, to cost-effectively extend their networks and enable new business models. Website: http://bit.do/verimatrix
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Kenyacam by Camusat, the partner chosen by Wananchi to manage FTTHX operation and triple play for Wananchi Group.
Camusat is a specialized in turnkey deployment and management of telecommunications networks. The group is present in 33 countries and counts 2100 employees. Its business lines include: · Telecom sites construction & installation · Power systems & renewable energy · Equipment installation & commissioning · Fiber optics · Managed services and maintenance.
The network Developer Emmanuel Fresco / Regional Managing director East Africa
efresco@camusat.com
www.camusat.com
WA N A N C H I G R O U P
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“There are very few companies in this part of the world that are successfully raising huge amounts of capital from a range of shareholders that are both local and international,” he said. “Some people see investments in this region as too risky leaving the vast majority of companies without funding, but what we’ve been able to do is take small steps forward by demonstrating that we can do what we say we can do and by giving customers and shareholders confidence through the presentation of our strategies. “We now expect to expand into additional geographical markets. The analogue switch off in Africa, for example, means that there has never been more awareness of pay TV and we expect to capitalise on this.”
supplier profile
Richard speaking at a Wanachi event
Camusat
CAMUSAT is one of the market leaders in the implementation of telecom infrastructures and one of the most experienced network developers with a history which starts back in the late 40’s. In the today’s extremely dynamic technological environment, our committed mission is to help the telecom actors to efficiently build and optimize their networks development by integrating the traditional telecom technologies with the most innovative know-how from adjoining fields. Website: www.camusat.com
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Best-of-Suite Broadband Billing, Customer Management & Provisioning GLDS offers broadband providers market-leading billing, customer management and provisioning solutions covering virtually all broadband services including Digital, FTTH, & IPTV, VOD, VoIP, WISP. GLDS has installed software for more than 400 operators in 44 countries worldwide, offering “tier-one� features at significantly lower prices.
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Leading the way in Electric Power Generation LEROY-SOMER, the worldleading specialist in industrial alternators and drive systems, designs and manufactures highly innovative eco-technological solutions to serve the industrial and large-scale commercial sector markets. www.leroy-somer.com
America - Europe - India - China/Asia
WA N A N C H I G R O U P
T ec h nology
Wananchi attracts the best in local talent
This proactive ethos and approach to continuous improvement once again applies itself in different ways across the three components of Wananchi but the underlying principles remain the same, and have translated into enhanced market positioning and geographical expansion. A local success story Local is a key word in Alden’s assessment of the now flourishing Wananchi team, with the company’s regional commitment very important to the reputation that has been built over the past six years. He therefore believes the real success story of the company to be the indigenous nature of Wananchi Group, ensuring that both he and
Operations at Wanachi
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WA N A N C H I G R O U P
“The people who come in to work for this business every day are very proud of what they’re doing” – Richard Alden
Positivity is engrained into the Wananchi philosophy
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the entire team of employees can be proud of working for a company in East Africa providing services every bit as comprehensive and advanced as those seen in the rest of the world. “This is a homegrown African business and 99 percent of the people who work here are African,”
T ec h nology
Company Information Industry
Technology h e a d q uar t e r s
Nairobi, Kenya f oun d e d
2008 employees
More than 700, plus indirect employees r e v e nu e
Not disclosed
the CEO concluded. “The people who come in to work for this business every day are very proud of what they’re doing. “There’s a lot of talk around the world about African constraints but we’re building a first world business here and every day they come to work, they are developing this part of the world and should be very proud of their achievements “The people on the ground can hold their heads up high knowing that what they’re doing is the same as what’s being done in the western world and is being done in a very positive way for the African continent.”
pro d uc t s / s e r v ic e s
Home Entertainment
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Aerial view of the Grande C么te mining area
Boosting the Senegalese Economy with a Globally Significant Mining Project Written by: Matthew Staff Produced by: Anthony Munatswa 67
G R A N D E C Ô T E O P E R AT I O N S
Grande Côte’s 36MW power station
The TiZir Limited and Senegalese Government-owned company has spent much of the past decade planning for one of the world’s biggest mineral sands mining ready to bring the fruits of its success to the local region
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rande Côte Operations has begun production in one of the world’s largest dredging operations as it aims to achieve economic prosperity, not only throughout its 15 year-plus lifecycle of the mine, but also far beyond that to Senegal and the local population. Stretched four kilometres wide and 100 kilometres long, the Grande Côte site has been a long time in the planning under the guidance of owners, TiZir Limited, and the Senegalese Government who owns the remaining 10 percent; both of which have played an integral role in supporting all stages of the operation’s development. The origins of what is now a globally significant mine, goes back to 2006 when
SECTOR
Mineral Deposits Limited gained the tenure, followed quickly by a similar successful tender for a gold project, also in Senegal. While the gold mine took off immediately, Grande Côte was slowly developed in the background in regards to logistical planning, locating resourcing and carrying out feasibility studies; all of which culminated in the key ownership agreement which has funded the project to where it is today. Chief Executive Officer, Simon Finnis explained: “Mineral Deposits Ltd (MDL) signed an agreement with ERAMET, a large industrial company with an ilmenite smelter in Norway, as a joint venture partner. “MDL then merged the Grande Côte project
Simon Finnis
CEO Grande Côte Operations
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G R A N D E C Ô T E O P E R AT I O N S This map shows the existing rail currently being refurbished and the new 22km rail spur link to the mineral separaton plan
“It’s very important to us that we are self-sustaining so we built everything ourselves to make sure everything is catered for onsite” – Simon Finnis, CEO
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into this joint venture, forming the company, TiZir Limited which now owns the smelter in Norway and 90 percent of the project here in Senegal. “Now that the construction effort is over we can look towards producing what some people have reported as six percent of the world’s mineral sands products from this Grande Côte mine.” Ramping up production Located 50 kilometres north of Dakar, Grande Côte runs parallel with the ocean for the entire 100 km length of the mining concession, making it a globally significant mineral sands deposit. The mine itself was constructed over a two year period, at a cost of $650 million, finishing
MINING
in March 2014 and will mine relatively low grade 1.7 percent heavy mineral sands. Now in the “ramping-up”, commissioning phase of the project, Finnis is eager to start seeing the fruits of the organisation’s labour. “The project itself is fully integrated and starts off with us mining a large sand dune with our dredge.” he said. “We then process that sand through a mineral concentrator - a floating wet concentrator – which separates the sand from the heavy minerals using gravity techniques, creating a heavy mineral concentrate. “This concentrate is pumped to a storage area, and we place the clean sand, using pumps, pipelines and stackers, behind us. “What you end up with is a big pond where we take from the front and put it in the back, so the whole pond continues to move along the mine path following the ore body.” The mining operation will, at full production, mine and process at a staggering production rate of 55 million tonnes per annum. Over a projected lifecycle of at least 15 years, this equates to more than a billion tonnes of resources, with nearly 800 million in reserve. The heavy mineral concentrate is then trucked to the operation’s mineral separation plant where it is put through further stages of processing, all of which culminates in approximate annualised production of 575,000 tonnes of ilmenite (two grades), 80,000t of Zircon (two grades) and smaller amounts of Rutile and Leucoxene.
Grande Côte Operations With construction complete and mining underway, the Grande Côte Mineral Sands Project is one of only a few major new projects globally that is set to take advantage of the supply-constrained mineral sands sector. Grande Côte is located in Senegal, west Africa. Having gained independence in 1960, Senegal enjoys a stable and investor friendly political and social environment. The government of the Republic of Senegal is a valued partner and holds a 10% free carried interest in the project.
Mineralisation
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TOTAL SENEGAL
Total is one of the largest major integrated oil and gas companies in the world, with products marketed in 150 countries. The Group is also a first rank player in chemicals. Its 100,000 employees put their expertise to work in every part of the industry – exploration and production of oil and natural gas, refining and marketing, gas and new energies, trading, and chemicals. With nearly 15,000 service stations worldwide, Total is among the largest refiners & marketers in Western Europe and the leading marketer in Africa. Total is a major player in the specialty products business (lubricants, aviation fuels, marine fuels, heavy fuels, liquefied petroleum gas, bitumen‌) and one of the leading traders of oil and refined products worldwide. Total is committed to meeting growing energy demand while consistently acting as a responsible corporate citizen. Total is actively preparing for the energy future by progressively expanding its offerings and developing complementary next generation energy activities, with a focus on solar. As a result of strong partnerships with mining companies in 40 countries worldwide, Total has developed mining solutions based on a range of high quality products with integrated services. TOTAL MINING SOLUTIONS adds value to mining customers by maximizing equipment, availability, increasing productivity and thus, reducing their overall costs. Supplying around 200 mining sites worldwide, Total is a partner of choice for mining companies. Website: www.total.sn
G R A N D E C Ô T E O P E R AT I O N S Reaching new scales While inevitable that each of these products will ebb and flow in regards to market demand over the course of the mine’s lifecycle, the flexibility of Grande Côte means that the range of products available from the operations will allow a rise in certain customer interest in one mineral to offset any shortcomings from another. This is also testament to the sheer scale of the project, as Finnis explained. “The project is of such a scale that using equipment that had been previously used elsewhere wasn’t an option. Everything we built was brand new and purpose designed. “It’s a brand new industry in Senegal but not in Africa necessarily. The processes we’re using are common and the same goes for the equipment. However, the scale is not common. “From a mining perspective, it’s twice as large as any single dredging operation in the world so it’s a very significant project.” Ensuring that all construction and mining requirements were available onsite has been
MINING
Grande Côte Operations is the largest of its kind in the world
“The project is of such a scale that using equipment that had been previously used elsewhere wasn’t an option. Everything we built was brand new and purpose designed” – Simon Finnis, CEO w w w. m i n e r a l d e p o s i t s . c o m . a u / g r a n d e - c o t e - m i n e r a l - s a n d s
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C O M PA N Y N A M E
Dredge launch
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a pivotal component of the mine’s potential success, and has recently lent itself to dealing with early challenges and teething problems. Minor redesigns of the project and the implementation of new equipment is something that Grande Côte has been able to respond to quickly and effectively to ensure that optimum productivity is returned to within as short a time as possible. Finnis continued: “It’s very important to us that
SECTOR
Overlooking the initial dredged pond
we are self-sustaining so we built everything ourselves to make sure everything is catered for onsite, to be as efficient as possible. “We’ve built a large facility at the port to store our finished products and load the vessels, as well as building a power station onsite to provide our electrical needs. We also have a camp, power lines and our own water system to ensure we have everything we need, built ourselves.� w w w. m i n e r a l d e p o s i t s . c o m . a u / g r a n d e - c o t e - m i n e r a l - s a n d s
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$50m Has been invested into Grande Côte’s Supply Chain
Supply chain management Continuing in this vein, Grande Côte has also taken the same internal approach to its supply chain, and especially its distribution channels via rail. “From this point of view, we have also installed a brand new railway from the mine to Mecke to connect in with the national rail network, and have refurbished the line from there to Dakar Port, which we are also managing as we transport minerals to the port,” Finnis said. “It’s 80
November 2014
MINING
Locomotives and rolling stock are part of its fully integrated logistics solution from mine to ship
been quite difficult because we’re introducing brand new trains and brand new roads and a different culture from the point of view of maintaining that rolling stock in Sengeal.� As a consequence, $50 million has been invested into the rail builds and refurbishments with the operation having received a concession from the Government to manage it internally. Finnis continued: “The rail development has led to a key risk being eliminated in getting our products to port. The roads here may be w w w. m i n e r a l d e p o s i t s . c o m . a u / g r a n d e - c o t e - m i n e r a l - s a n d s
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G R A N D E C Ô T E O P E R AT I O N S
Operators undertaking exploration drilling
Highly trained experts
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a lot better than in other African countries but it is still quite difficult from a traffic and efficiency standpoint. 700,000 tonnes per year heading to port is not feasible via trucks.” For such a large scale operation, supply chain considerations have played an integral role from the outset, with Grande Côte requiring the correct skills and equipment throughout the construction phase. In regards to the large amounts of steel, pipework, cables and dredges being purchased, availability simply isn’t there in Senegal, so a lot of the essential components were imported. However, the operation’s dedicated local focus was accounted for in terms of labour via nearby contracting companies.
MINING
Promoting the best staff
“From a purchasing perspective now, we try and purchase locally as much as possible, keeping availability and price in mind,” Finnis added. Employ and train The theme of local commitment and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one that resonates throughout everything that Grande Côte does, and becomes especially prevalent in regards to employment and people management over the entire lifecycle of the mine. Similarly to the supply chain situation, the skill sets aren’t available in a lot of key operational areas, but this certainly does not mean that Grande Côte has cast aside the premise of local workers, and is instead devoting much
Grande Côte’s philosophy is to employ and train
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G R A N D E C Ô T E O P E R AT I O N S of its efforts to developing and promoting the best that the surrounding region has to offer. “It is true that in some areas the skill sets just aren’t there; there aren’t the people who can operate certain items of plants, so our philosophy is to employ and train,” Finnis said. “We have a highly skilled set of expats here doing the training for us and there are very well educated people here who will continue to grow in the organisation. “Skill sets in areas like some trades, instrumentation and high tech plant aspects we don’t see exist, so we have to make sure we tailor our training and expatriate support for areas like that. “We are looking long term and building for the future so that in a couple of years the local guys will have received the high levels of guidance and mentoring required to take over from the expats and to run things themselves.” Local focus CSR and sustainability doesn’t just stop at employment opportunities either, with a tailored sustainability department set up to cover areas of environmental considerations, health and safety procedures, community initiatives and corporate aid. “Beginning with the Grande Côte workers, in a perfect world we employ people locally rather than from Dakar so they can go home every night to their families, get plenty of rest
MINING
“It is true that in some areas the skill sets just aren’t there; there aren’t the people who can operate certain items of plants, so our philosophy is to employ and train” – Simon Finnis
Grande Côte aim to train local people
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G R A N D E C Ô T E O P E R AT I O N S and come to work refreshed and happy,” Finnis said. “We have therefore started a housing scheme so our workers can afford to buy and own their own home over a number of years. “We have set this up with BHS, a Senegalese institution that specifically targets the support of housing projects, where they will purchase land and we will assist in getting our people approved for mortgages which is usually a difficult process. We will look out for them and do what we can to help them get their own home in the local area, close to where they work.” A strong health and safety adherence promotes this ethos further, with hazard identification a pivotal factor not only for the organisation’s direct employees, but also the local population in general. Finnis continued: “It is not uncommon in Senegal to see things like people riding around on the roofs of buses, and other hazardous behaviours but of course we can’t accept that because of the safety risk to our people. “We therefore spend a lot of time training and planning to make sure that everything is not just as environmentally efficient as possible, but is also as safe as possible.”
MINING
Sending out trial samples
“Every time you introduce a new product, customers need to get used to that and we’ve sent some trial parcels to various places like China and North America over the past year” – Simon Finnis
Market acceptance Following the eight years of hard work, the next key phase to dictate the overall success of Grande Côte will be the market’s acceptance of the organisation’s products, something which w w w. m i n e r a l d e p o s i t s . c o m . a u / g r a n d e - c o t e - m i n e r a l - s a n d s
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G R A N D E C Ô T E O P E R AT I O N S
Zircon and rutile storage at the Mineral Separation Plant
New track from the MSP to Méckhe nears completion
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Finnis anticipates being a relatively smooth transition, based on feedback already received. “Every time you introduce a new product, customers need to get used to that and we’ve sent some trial parcels to various places like China and North America over the past year,” the CEO explained. “We have seen acceptance of the products on a trial basis and we hope to do long term business with them, on ilmenite especially. From a zircon perspective we already have some long term partnerships in place.” There will inevitably be a period of time now while prospective customers assess the products coming out of Grande Côte but there is likely to always be a product among the range which is performing well to ensure
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the ongoing success of the overall operation. “The products we’re going to make are high quality and they will gain market acceptance,” Finnis said. “There will always be periods in the industry when the market is soft and then times where it’s good. It’s just a case of getting from one period to the other as smoothly as possible. “For instance, the market is robust on the zircon side of the business right now but soft in the ilmenite market.”
Company Information INDUSTRY
Mining HEADQUARTERS
Senegal, West Africa FOUNDED
World class business While many companies have short and medium term goals, the lifecycle of this mine means that Grande Côte can look even further ahead at the bigger picture, and Finnis believes that much of the organisation’s overall targets will be visible within just five years, especially in regards to its influence on Senegal. “In five years’ time we will be a well-known and well understood business in Senegal,” the CEO concluded. “We’ll be an integral part of the community, providing a continuous revenue stream and providing jobs to local people. “In just a few years, the number of expats will be reduced, the expertise of the locals will be increased and we will be providing a platform for the people of Senegal to go on to bigger and better things in the future as well. “We’ve come in and built a world class business and it deserves to be managed to the highest levels possible.”
2006 EMPLOYEES
950 REVENUE
N/A PRODUCTS/ SERVICES
Mineral Sand Mining
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Tetra Pak
Invests Heavily in the African Market Written by: Sam Jermy Produced by: Kiron Chavda
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T E T R A PA K
The global food and drink processing and packaging company Tetra Pak, recognises huge growth potential in Southern Africa
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etra Pak is looking forward to a surge in market growth in the coming years as southern Africa’s appetite for dairy and juice products held in paper based packaging shows no abating. The company, which was founded in Sweden in 1951, is continuing to plough significant investment into strengthening operations in its Pinetown packaging material factory near Durban. It is also investing heavily in training and employee development. John Strömblad, Managing Director of Tetra Pak South Africa, said: “We are investing a lot on staff training to ensure we are meeting increasing demand and heightened customer expectations.” He explains that consumers are constantly looking for new, more convenient products,
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which puts pressure on manufacturers to continuously innovate their offerings. “There is a lot more diversity in food packaging and products compared with five years ago,” he said. Due to this increased demand, the company is always looking at ways to develop new packaging solutions and update its production facilities. “We already have a strong technical service area, but we can be even better,” said Strömblad. “We are expanding our capabilities in that respect by offering value added services such as training external operators by illustrating how to reach higher levels of efficiency.” Rise to prominence Aseptic packaging, which is the practice of filling a sterile food or liquid into a paper based
250 The number of employees across its South African operations
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www.jpm.pt
Founded in 1994, JPM is in the fields of Industrial specialized in the design equipment, primarily in
s a technologically advanced company that develops its activities primarily l Automation and Mechanical Engineering. Throughout its journey, JPM has n, production, installation, maintenance and repair of industrial plants and food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.
SUPPLIER PROFILE
JPM INDUSTRY
Services: Founded in 1994, JPM is a technologically advanced company that develops its activities primarily in the fields of Industrial Automation and Mechanical Engineering. JPM has specialized in the design, production, installation, maintenance and repair of industrial plants and equipment, primarily in food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. We offer accuracy, innovation and quality in every product and service we develop in order to effectively attend the needs of our customers. JPM has a long experience, founded in numerous projects developed in more than 30 countries all over the World. We are a team of more than 90 people, average age 34, with the appropriate competencies in mechanics, mechatronics, automation, electricity, programming, project management, maintenance and kaizen & lean methodologies, operating on an industrial area of approximately 10.000 m2. Vision: To grow in a sustained way and in the long-term, acting as a lead partner for multinational companies. Mission: To offer engineered solutions, automated equipment and maintenance services for distribution lines, using the latest technologies available, to industrial customers on a global scale, aiming to optimize their production and/ or logistics processes. Website: www.jpm.pt
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M A N U FA C T U R I N G
package, started in 1959 at Tetra Pak. When a sterile product such as UHT milk goes into the packaging, the perishable goods can then be kept for much longer periods without the need for refrigeration. This led to generous savings in distribution and the overall handling of products, such as a reduction in energy consumption. Then in 1991 Tetra Pak acquired a diverse Swedish engineering company called Alfa-Laval AB. It produced industry leading industrial and agricultural equipment and milk separators. At the time of the takeover it was the largest deal Sweden had ever seen. Strömblad said: “Today, if you set up a dairy you can buy or lease everything you need from Tetra Pak. Not only the filling and packaging equipment, but also everything you need for processing such as pasteurisers, sterilisers, homogenisers, automation equipment and so on. “Obviously it’s an investment for that company, but then we also provide technical service and maintenance support to make sure everything is performing properly. The technical service training centre in Johannesburg is where we train our employees from the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. “Most importantly we train our customer’s operators too; we run very practical training courses in our Johannesburg facility. The vast majority of business comes from within South Africa but we’re seeing very interesting growth
Key Personnel
John Strömblad Managing Director John Strömblad MD of Tetra Pak Southern Africa is a 28-year Tetra Pak veteran who has risen through the ranks. He began as marketing trainee and sales administrator in Lausanne, Switzerland. He joined Tetra Pak South Africa from Greater China as VP Sales Management. Prior to Greater China he was the M&PM VP based in Seoul. He has a great deal of experience in developing markets having led the Greater China region for Tetra Pak since 2012
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T E T R A PA K
75% Percentage of Tetra Pak packaging used for milk-based products
potential in other markets such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola and Mozambique too.” The global Tetra Pak group has seen a tremendous growth over the past 30 years, and the same can be said for South Africa since operations started there in the early 1990’s. Today it employs around 250 people in its country headquarters in Johannesburg, engineering centre in Cape Town and packaging material factory near Durban. Managing growth The encouraging signs of growth throughout the region Strömblad manages has seen many
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T: +27 31 201 4715
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of its customers forge successful international brands. The South Africa entity oversees a total of 10 southern African countries including Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe and its main export market is west Africa. However, there are 38 Tetra Pak factories worldwide so there is an allocation of products on a global scale too. Globally, 75 percent of Tetra Pak packaging contains milk and by-and-large South Africa follows this trend. But recently, as well as the leading juice firms, there has been a more diverse range of produce utilising the packaging such as tomato centric products, wine and even canned food like baked beans. Strömblad said: “We provide various different packaging materials which we produce in the factories. That material is then shipped to our customer’s site, sold to them, then the customer uses that material to pack their product. That’s the overall business model. “We have recognised that seed and oatmeal drinks, as well as almond and soya milk is probably one of the biggest growing segments globally and we expect similar growth movements in the future. If we look at market data, we are looking at around 10 percent growth in carton packaged milk and a decline of chilled milk of about four or five percent going forward in the coming years.”
“We provide various different packaging materials which we produce in the factories. That material is then shipped to our customer’s site, sold to them, then the customer uses that material to pack their product. That’s the overall business model.” – John Strömblad Managing Director
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13%
Percentage the group’s carbon footprint was reduced by from 2005 to 2010 100
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Sustainability and CSR The three parts of Tetra Pak’s products are the paper-based material, polyethylene and aluminium foil. Carton material is sourced mainly from Scandinavian manufacturers because in order to form these packages longer fibre is needed, and that comes from slowly growing forests typically found in Scandinavia and North America. “Environmental thinking is in our genes, it
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Tetra PlantMaster
started right from the beginning in the 50’s. The most obvious way to reduce impact to the environment is to reduce the amount of packaging material. If you take a typical 1 kilogram carton it weighs 28 grams but if you have a glass bottle it is more like 300g. “A straightforward reason for our fantastic sustainable performance is down to the fact that we are basing our manufacturing on a renewable resource of paper. It comes from responsibly
“Environmental thinking is in our genes, it started right from the beginning in the 50’s” – John Strömblad
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managed forests which means you plant more trees than you cut down. Most of our packaging material has an FSC marking on them and we are a driving member of the Paper Recycling Association of South Africa (PRASA).” “We are working with the Polyethylene technology providers who can give us green PE produced mainly from sugar cane. We are also striving for a barrier material in place of aluminium. You will see an entirely green product from us in the not too distant future.” Tetra Pak has worked hard to reduce environmental impact and achieved tangible results; the group’s carbon footprint was reduced by 13 percent from 2005 to 2010 despite substantial company-wide growth. It also has a three year old partnership with the paper mill Gayatri, going from zero recycling due to a lack of facilities to 16 percent overall, which is continuously rising, enhancing Tetra Pak’s image as a sustainable, ethical company in Southern Africa. Tetra Pak has become a household name in the packaging and food storage sector. Its commitment to sustainability, product development and continued expansion means it remains a long way in front of the competition. With on-going investment into employee development and geographical expansion, it’s likely to retain its world-leading title for many more years to come.
Company Information INDUSTRY
Manufacturing HEADQUARTERS
Johanessburg, South Africa FOUNDED
1951 EMPLOYEES
250 in South Africa REVENUE
Not disclosed PRODUCTS/ SERVICES
Packaging & Processing
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SENET Excels in Africa and Beyond with World-Class Projects and Technology Written by: Joel Levy Produced by: Anthony Munatswa
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The South African mining project management and engineering specialist has won plaudits for its quality and custom engineered solutions, including its ability to carry out work in some of the most remote and infrastructurelight locations
Solvent Extraction
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M
inerals Processing, Project Management and Engineering specialist SENET has earned an outstanding reputation from the industry for its experience in operating throughout Africa and beyond. For 25 years, it has provided detailed, multidiscipline engineering, procurement, logistics management and construction services to the mining, mineral processing, infrastructure and materials handling industries worldwide. The latest example sees SENET commencing engineering work on the Yanfolila processing plant and associated infrastructure in southern Mali, after winning a contract with Hummingbird Resources, which acquired Gold Fields’ interests in April this year. Hummingbird Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dan Betts pointed to SENET’s “extensive experience in West Africa, as well as over three years’ experience working on the Yanfolila project (under Gold Fields)” as the deciding factors in his company’s choice. SENET’s success in this region, and indeed the entire continent, can be attributed to its wide-ranging services and the quality, bespoke solutions it delivers to clients. In an industry still feeling the impact of the global downturn, it is important to excel, and while SENET remains a smaller proposition to the project-industry giants, General Manager of Commercial, Darren Naylor noted that SENET’s customer-focused approach certainly
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SENET offices
differentiates the company and enhances the quality of the services that it provides. The smaller-scale nature of the operation affords the company a greater intimacy with its clients, and Naylor sees this as one of the company’s key advantages over some of its rivals. He said: “Larger companies have a tendency w w w. s e n e t . c o . z a
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Low Voltage Switchboards(Pty)Ltd is a large independent South African switchgear-assembly manufacturer, supplying mining and heavy industry, predominantly in Africa, but as far afield as Turkey and Russia.
SPECIALISING IN THE MANUFACTURE & REPAIR OF WOODEN PALLETS, DECKS, BOXES & CRATES. TIMBER AGENTS. ISPM15 REGISTERED
T: +27 11 827 4442/5 • F: +27 11 827 4818
alanlee@global.co.za
Filtration & Separation Solutions Tailored Process Equipment Pilot Plant Equipment Laboratory Testwork Drawing & Design Office Research & Development Quality Guaranteed Aftersales Support Maintenance & Optimisation Reference installations in over 30 countries on 5 continents www.roytecsa.com
www.lvsb.co.za
SENET
MINING
to apply a template approach to their clients’ projects, while SENET can offer a unique service covering the entire project lifecycle, with a tailor-made solutions approach, specific to the particular requirements of the customer.” Expanded services SENET has had experience in its DNA since its founding in 1989 by a group of engineers and project managers with many years’ practice in Design, Project & Construction Management of Turnkey Materials Handling and Minerals Process Projects. Having initially focused its offering on materials handling systems and gold processing facilities, SENET has over the years substantially grown its capabilities to include process plant designs including Copper, Cobalt, Uranium, Coal and Iron Ore. A “saturated” domestic mining market led the Greenstone-based company to spread its wings from South Africa into the rest of the continent, and it now has extensive project and construction experience throughout Africa, including in some of the most remote and infrastructure-light countries. With the Copper sector performing strongly in the DRC, it is a location that is becoming increasingly important for SENET, which continues to expand these operations into neighbouring Tanzania and Zambia. Some of SENET’s larger African projects
“Larger companies have a tendency to apply a template approach to their clients’ projects, while SENET can offer a unique service covering the entire project lifecycle, with a tailormade solutions approach, specific to the particular requirements of the customer” – Darren Naylor, General Manager of Commercial
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SENET
Key Personnel
Hugo Swart Managing Director
Darren Naylor General Manager of Commercial
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include the Mutanda Copper-Cobalt project in the DRC, from 2009 – 2013, which through four phases of development saw the capacity of the plant expand to 200ktpa of LME Grade A Copper cathode; and the Bisha Gold-CopperZinc project in Eritrea, from 2010 – 2013, which also developed through multiple phases of 2Mtpa CIL Gold and 2.4Mtpa of Copper concentrate. Further afield SENET has successfully delivered projects in North, South and Central America, Asia and the Middle-East. African operations It is however the African continent that has provided a majority of SENET’s experience, and its ability to successfully execute projects in remote African locations has been possible as a result of the company leveraging its global experience in cross-border logistics, freighting and construction activities. The company boasts an array of technical specialists and consultants with specialised knowledge in a broad spectrum of process plant designs and materials handling systems design. SENET’s procurement expertise along with its well-developed supplier network allows for local and international sourcing, which when coupled with optimised engineering designs, has enabled the company to be at the forefront of low Capex projects. SENET also boasts multidisciplinary erection expertise, with numerous project
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Electrowinning Copper Cathodes
installations having been executed over the years: a function necessitated by the challenges of the African continent. SENET is also an innovator and is considered to be a leader in Heap Leach technology as well as in Copper Solvent Extraction and Electrowinning process design and installation
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SENET
“I believe that any company needs to grow to stay relevant, because without growth, you will eventually die” – Hugo Swart, Managing Director
Electrowinning house
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(SX EW). The company developed a range of proprietary equipment for Heap Leach Stacking and Agglomeration Equipment in the early 1990s, which has enjoyed global success and continues to retain its leading position, with technically robust and economically attractive options. SENET’s SX EW experience leverages patented technology to offer the lowest cost design worldwide, with multiple installations and proven capability. Long-termism Despite the financial downturn in 2008,
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SENET’s workload continued to increase, and has since reflected sustained growth. Staff numbers are fluid depending on the ongoing operations, but the total currently stands at 320, comprising a skilled workforce which the company complements with local contractors to make use of their specific regional knowledge. Many of the permanent workforce have been with the company since the beginning, and the retention of skilled staff has been fostered by a positive culture and opportunities to progress in the company. “If somebody wishes to progress in the company then the opportunities are certainly there,” said Managing Director, Hugo Swart. SENET understands that its success is largely attributable to its employees, supplier networks and long-standing clients and will continue its expansion and growth opportunities into new markets by continuing to nurture these relationships. Sustainable growth SENET’s management remain focused and are optimistic about the long term sustainability of the company. Now in its 25th year, SENET is well positioned to continue its growth path and plans to do so in a controlled and sustainable manner, retaining the differentiators that have won it such respect to-date. “I believe that any company needs to grow to stay relevant, because without growth, you will eventually die,” Swart concluded.
Company Information INDUSTRY
Mining HEADQUARTERS
Modderfontein, South Africa FOUNDED
1989 EMPLOYEES
320 REVENUE
Undisclosed PRODUCTS/ SERVICES
Engineering / Mineral Processing
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