March 2018 • AFRICA EDITION
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The e-birth of a nation How Facebook conquered Nigeria
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FOREWORD WELCOME TO THE Africa edition of Business Chief, which comes to you this March jam-packed with a variety of both global and local content. In our lead feature, Andrew Woods speaks to Kendall Ananyi, CEO of Tizeti, about how the African telecommunications company is helping tech giant Facebook expand in the Nigerian market. For technology transformation this month, we take a look at data infrastructure with comments from experts at SAP and Cisco on how businesses can dig through vast quantities of data and use it to their advantage. Turning to people management, Michelle Boucher from Colonial Life tells us how businesses can adapt their workplace environment to encourage creativity and motivate employees. In sustainability news, Stuart Hodge asks GM Global Manager of Renewable Energy, Rob Threlkeld why now is the most exciting time to work in sustainability. March’s city focus explores Lagos, and we’ve also investigated the top 10 most expensive restaurants in the country – so look no further if you’ve got a client to impress! Be sure to take a look at our company profiles where we update you on the latest exciting developments underway from Aggreko, African Underground Mining Services, Maersk Line and Lagoon Hospitals. We hope you enjoy this month’s issue, and as always you can leave any comments or feedback on Twitter @BusinessChief Enjoy the issue!
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The e-birth of a nation – How Facebook conquered Nigeria L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y
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PEOPLE
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Why getting data infrastructure right is vital for modern businesses
Reframing company culture for better workplace diversity
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
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The e-birth of a nation – How Facebook conquered Nigeria A three-company partnership has just launched Facebook’s Express Wi-Fi across Nigeria, a country beset by communication problems. Facebook recently joined forces with Tizeti and MainOne in a project that has supplied power, sustainability and low costs to an emerging digital colossus… Writ ten by A N D R E W W O O D S
L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT Facebook has Africa firmly in its sights. Following Google’s announcement last year that it was to train 10mn young people in online skills over the next five years – producing 100,000 software developers in the process – Facebook launched a $24mn technology training programme in Nigeria last November to establish a foothold in the continent. The hub opens later this year and will offer support to tech startups while also training 50,000 young people and SMEs in digital skills. A regional director based in South Africa swiftly followed. Emeka Afigbo, Facebook Head of Platform Partnerships Middle East and Africa, laid out the plans: “We are committed to working with people in Africa, helping entrepreneurs and developers grow, and to eliminating barriers to connectivity,” he told reporters. And there most certainly are barriers to connectivity. It’s perhaps unsurprising that a continent as vast and largely untamed as Africa has long been dogged by poor communications. Many areas experience little or no internet with fast and reliable wi-fi but 12
March 2018
Facebook in Nigeria
In Nigeria alone, there are 22mn monthly Facebook users, 10mn of which log in daily to the platform almost exclusively on mobile devices a pipe dream for many, crucially at a time when many African countries are announcing to the world that they’re open for business. Poor power supply has been cited as the chief contributor to Africa’s woes, with businesses unable to operate and manage data centres and basic operations due to little or no digital communication. Sectors most affected include banking and tourism, which have suffered greatly with power outages causing total communications blackouts, while also hitting profits as the already high cost of doing business in these emerging economies escalates.
Poor power supply has prompted many digital providers and businessprocess outsourcers to invest in generators in a bid to fulfil demand. The national grid is increasingly being bypassed by companies who are looking more and more to renewable energy sources. With over 140mn mobile phone subscribers, Nigeria – with the highest number of internet users in Africa at 91.6mn – is Africa’s largest telecom market defined by investment and subscription. As a result, a
sustainable solution to its poor internet connectivity problems has long been sought. Enter Facebook. “We understand the important role Facebook plays here in Nigeria with developers and startups and are invested in helping these communities,” said Emeka Afigbo, its Regional Head of Platform Partnership, last November. Afigbo added that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, was an important market for Facebook. “Everybody knows about the country’s 13
L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y entrepreneurial drive,” he said. “Its creativity, large, young population… we think the investment in Nigeria will spread and have impact across the continent,” he explained. When Facebook looked to remedy some of the digital shortfall in Nigeria, with a plan to providing Express Wi-Fi hot spots across the country it looked to Tizeti, a fastgrowing ISP from Nigeria. We caught up with Kendall Ananyi, Founder and CEO of Tizeti and the man who helped Facebook establish a stronger presence in the region.
Express Wi-Fi targets Nigeria So, what attracted Facebook to Tizeti? “We were already a fastgrowing ISP and had the ability to deploy the hotspots very quickly,” Ananyi explains. “Therefore, they (Facebook) felt we would be good partners on this. We were both aligned on the need to solve the internet problem in Africa and they move really quickly once they have determined that you are able, and ready, to execute on a vision. “Express Wi-Fi is possible as a result of software provided by Facebook, which allows internet 14
March 2018
service providers and mobile operators to provide quality internet access through hotspots by working closely with local entrepreneurs. Express Wi-Fi has been a welcome innovation in that it allows these entrepreneurs the opportunity to make an income, while providing a service for areas where people gather and work, including markets, cafes and public outdoor spaces. Under-serviced areas can be catered to – internet access is more widely available so that people can stream more, connect more and conveniently conduct business online.” Tizeti had a simple solution to the power shortfall: the sun. “We provide fast wi-fi technology and unlimited, uncapped wi-fi internet through our own solar power base stations,” says Ananyi. Indeed, the recurring issue of power was at the heart of Facebook’s partnering with Tizeti and leading provider of innovative telecom services and network solutions MainOne, which provided fibre connectivity and multiple Gbps internet bandwidth to Tizeti’s outdoor towers via a mix of fibre optic and microwave backhaul connections. “Our use of solar energy in the
“We understand the important role Facebook plays here in Nigeria with developers and startups and are invested in helping these communities” - EMEKA AFIGBO, REGIONAL HEAD OF PLATFORM PARTNERSHIP, FACEBOOK
operation of our solar towers has been, and still is, our unique selling point,” says Ananyi. “The use of solar power has increased across Nigeria, therefore we utilised this as well as the decreasing cost of solar panels, which have allowed us to build our own solar power stations in key hubs in Lagos. Because of this, we are not restrained by costly wholesale internet costs from large telcos that have previously dominated the data market.”
The birth of a vision Tizeti was launched in 2012 as a niche ISP to deliver internet to Estates, but was relaunched as Wifi.com. ng in 2014 to the mass market; with the goal of providing a sustainable
solution to the poor internet connectivity problems in Nigeria and Africa. The company attracted $2.1mn in seed funding – which is large for an African company – as it looked to extend its footprint. It has also turned down many investment opportunities to maintain more control. Prior to Tizeti, Ananyi worked with two AAA companies, ExxonMobil and Microsoft, as well as a ‘Big 4’ in Pricewaterhouse Coopers. “I managed large oil and gas projects and this helped shaped my thesis of building capital-efficient internet infrastructure quickly,” says Ananyi. “At Microsoft I developed software which I applied at Tizeti and led development of our own technology stack that powers every aspect of 15
our business from customer billing and support through to custom networking software that runs on our equipment. My experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers (in Nigeria and Canada) helped make me more rounded, as most engineers have little understanding of finance and accounting. “You have to decide who your target market is and develop products that appeal to them and are disruptive in the market. A startup’s strength lies in its ability to innovate and it’s extremely important to us. It is one of our core values.”
Affordability is king Keeping cost and prices low during
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L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y the Express Wi-Fi roll out was always integral to its success. “Running our internet network from our own infrastructure reduces operational costs and allows us to be hyper competitive with our prices and data,” says Ananyi. “Solar power has allowed us to monitor and reduce operational costs such as overheads on generators and diesel etc., which are often used across the continent to run towers. This has then given us the flexibility to be competitive with our prices for the sake of our customers with subscriptions approximately 30% cheaper than the large telcos. Wifi.com.ng – our customer facing-arm – has subscriptions starting from N9,500 ($30) a month.” The price point was key to the entire operation with Facebook.
‘You can’t conquer a problem like Africa overnight however, and a seamlessly digital environment will always experience glitches along the way’
“Offering unlimited internet at 30-50% less than our customers is disruptive in our market and has been difficult to replicate. As was figuring out how to deliver up to 1.5TB (1,500GB) a month to customers without throttling them. As was bootstrapping to a $1mn run rate with no external investments and securing licensed spectrum from the NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission).” The equation between low prices and increasing demand can often strangle growth, but Tizeti and Facebook experienced no such problems. “The cost of internet drops over time and as customer demand increases, the cost per Mbps (megabits per second) also drops. So, high bandwidth costs actually become easier over time. “We are a mobile-first continent and as the price of the internet drops to affordable levels, a lot of innovation will come out of the continent. The digital solutions and services we will develop will solve the unique problems we have in Africa. Locations were chosen by Facebook and Tizeti based on areas where people “gather and 17
L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y work, including markets, cafes and public outdoor spaces”. Ananyi explains: “We approached many potential retailers and so far, we have not seen any push back. They usually ask when we’ll be launching as they themselves need the internet for their business. “We pride ourselves in providing an internet service that is not only fast, affordable, unlimited and uncapped, but is most importantly – undisruptive. Our public wi-fi hotspots are also amongst the best in Nigeria and in Africa. With our additional hotspots that have been added, we’ve been working towards ensuring that will be no shortage of internet connectivity opportunities for customers.”
Dependability You can’t conquer a problem like Africa overnight however, and a seamlessly digital environment will always experience glitches along the way. “Our biggest challenge is interference,” says Ananyi, “which affects the quality of the internet connection. We are now in the process of solving by licensing spectrum (frequency 18
March 2018
assignment service) from the Nigerian government to cover Lagos, South West and SouthSouth regions. This does add pressure to our business model as licence fees are hefty, but are offset by the significant improvement in the quality of service.”
The e-birth of a nation “We are proud to have partnered with Facebook in this venture in seeing Express Wi-Fi becoming a standard sight in Nigeria and aim to be the go-to internet service provider in Lagos and ensure that we are fully functional here. We are, however, extending our services into the South-South region of the country, with a view to expand across the West African region over the next 18-24 months.” “We are on track to have more towers than a typical telco or towerco per square kilometre once we complete building our network in Lagos. We have also signed an IRU contract with a submarine cable provider to extend our service coverage through its fibre optic cable network to our wi-fi towers to reach our more customers directly.”
“We are proud to have partnered with Facebook in this venture in seeing Express Wi-Fi becoming a standard sight in Nigeria and aim to be the go-to internet service provider in Lagos” - KENDALL ANANYI, FOUNDER AND CEO, TIZETI
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WHY GETTING DATA INFRASTRUCTURE RIGHT IS VITAL FOR MODERN BUSINESSES Stuart Hodge speaks to experts from SAP, Cisco and Warwick Analytics to outline how quality, effective data infrastructure can help optimise a company’s business processes… Writ ten by STUART HODGE
TECHNOLOGY ONE OF THE most important hires for companies across most sectors these days is that of the data scientist. As data analysis and technology strategy expert Q Ethan McCallum observes on his website, there is no point in hiring a data scientist until you have the correct data infrastructure in place. Doing so would be akin to hiring Lewis Hamilton for a racing team, but providing him with a car liable to break down before the finish line. “To invest in such a data infrastructure is to invest in the longterm success of your firm’s data science activities,” Q McCallum notes. The principal challenges with data come mainly from the volume, the plurality of sources and types, and the discrepancies in how it is gathered, processed and ultimately used. Sven Denecken, Head of Product Management and Co-Innovation for SAP’s S/4HANA business suite, embraces the challenge of navigating the ever-changing tides when it comes to data. “As a product manager, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I want to use that technology. I want to use that data. I want to use those concepts, but my job is to bring it all together with an actual business process. Big 24
March 2018
“You cannot know exactly what your customers want tomorrow, but you want to predict it as much as you can” SVEN DENECKEN Head of Product Management and Co-Innovation for SAP’s S/4HANA
data is more important than ever and the technology is there to compute it in vast amounts and with great speed. The more you can virtualise and put into in-memory speed computing, the better you will be able to adapt your business processes. You cannot know exactly what your customers want tomorrow, but you want to predict it as much as you can.” That’s how companies can ensure proper enterprise resource planning, and that is what the SAP S/4HANA suite does: a real-time
enterprise resource management suite for digital business built on the company’s advanced in-memory platform, SAP HANA, deployable in the cloud or on-premise. Denecken, not unexpectedly, describes it as “the best enterprise resource planning software on the cloud” barring none, and he was happy to break down what he sees as the prerequisites for any company to succeed when it comes to structuring and interpreting data. “I would argue infrastructure as a
service, security, and the availability of the data are three key ingredients you need to start with,” he asserts. Whether talking about unstructured, structured or semi-structured data, Denecken is adamant these different types need to be combined if a company hopes to optimise its business processes. Everyone talks about big data. “I’m actually more a fan of the right data. Big data’s the starting point. It’s a commodity. The right data is bringing you a competitive advantage. 25
TECHNOLOGY
“The trick is to analyse 100% of the right data in the right way” DAN SOMERS CEO Warwick Analytics
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“We need to realise that data itself is the new gold. It’s a case of the more data the better, in whatever shape or form: unstructured, structured, or semi-structured; we need to collect much more. The key question is how a company deals with it. For example, text messages, audio, semi-structured data, are much less voluminous… I want to make sure that we process this in the right way. This is where process knowledge and data knowledge need to come together.” This is also where a lot of companies tend to fall down, according to Dan Somers, CEO of predictive analytics firm Warwick Analytics. “Less than 1% of data is analysed. This in itself is bad, but there are also a lot of types of data which are not very informative. The trick is to analyse 100% of the right data in the right way. Mostly, people are just deploying analytics for visualisation. Unstructured and text data are very poorly analysed and form the majority of data today. Much of the time there’s a ‘so what’ at the end of analysis because people are asking the wrong question. “One example is analysing voice of customer data for topics and sentiment whereas the better
analysis is to validate (remove trolls and statistically validate across all customers removing skews) and then isolate the topics and sentiment which drive customer churn and/or loyalty, as these are the things that predictively make the difference. “Start with the right question and analyse the right data,” Somers advises. “Then, once you start from there, find the tools that can help, don’t always just do what the data science team is capable of. It must fit the business and be flexible enough to be updated and ‘live’ as things inevitably evolve, rather than bogging the data science team down in curation.” Being able to do all of these things requires a strong and robust network, or at least one which is attuned to a business’s own requirements and needs. That is very much the ‘domain’ of David Goff, who is Head of Enterprise Network for UK and Ireland for world networking leader Cisco. “What my team is there to do, and what Enterprise Network is there to do, is to find ways that we can drastically simplify the network or actually make the network intuitive,” he explains. “To make it intuitive – that means to be able to see, 27
to think, and to act itself, without manual intervention requires data. “Then it’s about how we use visibility of data to be able to inform the network and to ensure that the network is something that adapts and has the rigidity that business needs to be able to capture transitions on IAP, cloud and mobility.” But from a network point of view, it’s less about looking within the data itself and more about how its transportation can be facilitated. All of the factors outlined so far need to be considered when it comes to how to structure data, but what 28
March 2018
also needs to be remembered is that technology is constantly evolving and that the playing field is always subject to disruption and change. Goff says he expects “ongoing innovation, creating ecosystems” and Denecken agrees that there is further room for disruption in the data space – in fact, he expects it, saying that anyone who manages to marry “the combination of big data, AI and business processes” will be on to a winner in that regard. He acknowledges that more and more processes are going to become streamlined
TECHNOLOGY “I’m not going to hire a consultant to dig at that for a year – but I will rely on certain market data to sense it, and then based on that sensing, drive my business processes or my automation” DAVID GOFF Head of Enterprise Network for Cisco in UK and Ireland
or automated thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning. “There will be always niches where experts and very bright people will find an even better way or will fill in holes,” he adds. “Already today, what we can do with process robotic automation disrupts many business processes. So, would I, today, invest into a short service centre company to outsource labour tasks? Personally, I wouldn’t. I think those tasks will be automated first. “On the other side, a lot of opportunities will be created. There’s a lot of discussion about things like
access to big data, access with algorithms to make it more intelligent etc., but the closer you get to the business process, the more you will own that piece of the data. The further you go away, the more you will rely on third-party resources. Maybe also to pre-empt it, to pre-condition it, to pre-extract certain data. If I want to know what my customer base is doing, I’m not going to hire a consultant to dig at that for a year – but I will rely on certain market data to sense it, and then based on that sensing, drive my business processes or my automation.” 29
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Business process outsourcing and the digital revolution
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Reframing company culture for better workplace diversity Michelle Boucher, Vice President, Global Talent Management at Colonial Life advises how creativity can be fostered in the workplace
Writ ten by MICHELLE BOUCHER
PEOPLE
Google spent $265mn on a datadriven diversity programme 83% of Vodafone employees say flexible working has helped improve productivity
Boston Consulting Group’s stunning New York office
MOST OF US would agree the greater the diversity of minds in business, the greater the diversity of perspectives, talents and creative solutions. However, progress of achieving workplace diversity has been surprisingly sluggish. For example, Google’s data-driven diversity program cost $265mn to implement, but still failed to significantly change the composition of its workforce. Such results imply money isn’t everything when it comes 34
March 2018
to implementing diversity initiatives. However, with the right internal strategies and robust planning, there are steps any organisation can take to help its business embrace diversity.
REASSESS TRADITIONAL WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENTS From interview processes to decision making, most of our workplace environments are built around eye contact, noisy group work and
generally overstimulating settings. But traditional workplace environments and routines may not be for everyone. By adapting your workplace to cater to a diverse array of age groups, personalities and work styles, you can drive better efficiency and performance. For example, consider offering the option of open office spaces versus quieter, private working space for your employees, so they can pick an environment where they’ll be most
‘ It’s valuable to move the culture of your business away from being dominated by how many hours employees work in the office’
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PEOPLE 5 tips on how to improve your creative space… • Allow employees to have a choice of which environment they will be productive in, for example between an open workspace and a quieter, private working space. • Remember the workspace needn’t be the office and if your organisation offers flexible working, employees can choose their own space, with work from home options proving popular. • If necessary, make use of virtual technology allowing users to remain in an environment they find comfortable, especially for interviews. • Subtly encourage collaboration by making sure your office space has ample space to connect and chat, even if this may be in a break area. • P rioritise organising employee affinity groups; communities within corporations that encourage people with similar experiences and backgrounds to connect. Adobe’s Lehi offices boast an indoor climbing wall and is part of Adobe’s wellness initiative 36
March 2018
productive. Individuals with autism or hyper-sensitive personalities may need different workplace accommodations, such as changes to lighting or headphones to prevent auditory overstimulation. Team meetings and brainstorms are central to many workplace routines, but not everyone excels in these conditions. In fact, research by Harvard shows some employees worry about other team members’ views and when they perceive others have more expertise, their performance declines. This is especially challenging for introverted or less confident individuals. Encouraging a subtle collaborative environment can prevent employees from feeling forced into sharing ideas and concerns. Simple ways to do this include integrating mentoring into everyday practices and modelling collaborative behaviour from the top down.
CONSIDER INDIVIDUAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES What if we created tailored roles to really benefit from each employee’s unique talents and contributions?
‘ Could your interviews be conducted virtually? Some candidates may interview better in surroundings that are familiar to them’
Some in the business world are already beginning to think this way: A PricewaterhouseCoopers 2030 report entitled ‘Workforce of the future’ discusses the benefits of workplaces that focus on individual talents to compete in the race to give consumers what they want. Business leaders can tap into this by developing non-traditional roles that maximise individual strengths and are less reliant on linear thinking. For example, recent ground-breaking research from Johan Wiklund revealed many individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are great at solving certain types of complex issues in isolation because they become hyper-focused on a problem capturing their attention. The research also discovered many 37
PEOPLE individuals with ADHD enjoy improvisation, so high-pressure pitches and shifting strategy may be less emotionally and cognitively taxing for these workers. If nurtured in the right way, these skills are extremely effective in business. While it’s fine to set individual tasks, ensure non-traditional roles still include a collaborative element. Encourage teams to share ideas and feedback on other workplace projects with each other to ensure everyone feels part of a team and no one becomes too isolated.
PROMOTE FLEXIBILITY AND TRANSPARENCY In a global workplace survey by Vodafone entitled ‘Flexible: friend or foe?’, 83% of respondents said adopting flexible working had helped improved productivity and 61% said it helped increase company profits. That’s why it’s valuable to move the culture of your business away from being dominated by how many hours employees work in the office. You can do this by writing flexible policies with work-from-home options and encouraging employees to use that time. Not only does this show 38
March 2018
Instagram’s Silicon Valley office
willingness to support individual needs, it’s a good way to alleviate the additional stress that comes with commuting or having to work overtime. Help people understand the nuances of their jobs, too. We want to celebrate employees’ unique offerings and diverse perspectives, but we also want them to understand how their individual routines, what they do and why they do it, contribute to overall business success.
About Colonial Life
‘ Encouraging a subtle collaborative environment can prevent employees from feeling forced into sharing ideas and concerns’
CHALLENGE TRADITIONAL RECRUITING PROCESSES Employee Benefit News reports it costs employers 33% of a worker’s annual salary to hire a replacement if the worker leaves the company, so recruiting and retaining the right person for your business is vital. However, the behaviour of some individuals may run counter to common notions of what makes a good employee. This doesn’t mean solid communication skills, being a team player, emotional
Colonial Life is a market leader in providing financial protection benefits through the workplace, including disability, life, accident, dental, cancer, critical illness and hospital confinement indemnity insurance. The company’s benefit services and education, innovative enrolment technology and personal service support more than 86,000 businesses and organisations, representing 3.7mn of America’s workers and their families
intelligence and the ability to network aren’t all important skills to have in a workplace. But focusing only on traditional criteria may systematically screen out individuals with unique special talents. Think about ways you can adapt your hiring policies to encourage diversity. Could your interviews be conducted virtually? Some candidates may interview better in surroundings that are familiar to them. Or would it be better not to hold a traditional interview at all? 39
PEOPLE CREATIVE SPACES AROUND THE WORLD… What makes a creative space? Good design from the outset certainly helps. Fortune has mentioned some of its favourite offices around the world and these include…
Hyland Software
Adobe Systems – the company’s Lehi office features a rock-climbing wall so employees can take a break but stay motivated to make it to the top. The adaptation is part of Adobe’s wellness initiative and the idea was put forward by staff themselves. Autodesk – the company’s California office features a green space with deckchairs and hammocks so employees can take a well-earned rest or nap. This is part of a sleek, fresh design. Hyland Software – the company’s offices feature an onsite barber offering a relaxing wet shave in a comfortable chair. Boston Consulting Group – the company’s New York offices have 40
March 2018
Zappos office a photo wall which employees can decorate with their own snaps. This touch of personality encourages employees to “own the space” but remains in keeping with the sleek wooden design. Zappos.com – the Zappos Family office is bright and airy with an eclectic mix of styles and playful features, including a ball pit and stuffed camel.
‘ By adapting your workplace to cater to a diverse array of age groups, personalities and work styles, you can drive better efficiency and performance’
Autodesk’s San Francisco office Adapting how the interview process is structured was a key action taken by Willis Towers Watson in its bid to attract colleagues on the autism spectrum. Company research revealed a work trial or test can often be a better way to assess someone’s suitability for a role.
CREATE CONNECTIONS While diversity is about celebrating and leveraging differences, no one wants to feel so unique they’re isolated from peers and adrift in the workplace. Prioritise organising employee resource and affinity groups – communities
within corporations that encourage people with similar experiences and backgrounds to connect. By providing such avenues for networking, socialising and mentoring, you demonstrate that diverse individuals are not only finding success within the company, they’re willing to help others succeed as well. With tools like these at their disposal, employees are far more likely to feel part of a diverse yet inclusive workforce. After all, what really matters is your workforce feels secure in an accepting work environment, allowing them – and your business – to thrive. 41
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General Motors’ Global Manager of Renewables Rob Threlkeld says right now is the most exciting time to work in sustainability – Business Chief finds out why Written by STUART HODGE
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or a company like General Motors (GM), sustainability is now a vital cog in its global operations. With businesses now working towards objectives set out in the Paris Agreement on Climate Action, there is now not just an incentive, but an imperative to work towards the goals delineated in the strategy, which aims for a global low-carbon economy by 2050. Companies have been aware of the need to take a more ecological outlook for a number of years now, well before the agreement was submitted to the UN. A byproduct of this has been an exponential increase in the pace of innovation we’ve seen in the renewables space across all industries. It’s particularly true for 46
March 2018
General Motors World Headquarters
GM, which has signed up to the RE100 agreement, outlining how the world’s most influential companies are committed to 100% renewable power. That pace of innovation is something that is only set to continue, says Rob Threlkeld, Global Manager of Renewables at GM. He believes it will only get quicker as time goes on. “You’ve definitely seen it rapidly increase in the last five years,” he says, “especially with smart meters
“From a company standpoint, we’re always looking for the most economic source of generation that we can procure and sometimes getting it to our facilities can be a challenge” – Rob Threlkeld, Global Manager of Renewables at GM
- Detroit, MI, USA
and other applications that allow you to choose when you use certain types of electricity – whether it’s green or not – and what the costs actually are. “It’s also in the transportation sector. Five years ago, there was not a lot of talk around autonomous vehicles. Electrification was starting to just start to come around. We only had the (Chevrolet) Volt at that time. We’ve now got the Volt and the (Chevrolet) Bolt. But you can
see this massive switch to where autonomous vehicles are definitely part of a future with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion components. You’ve seen this technology revolution in both the utility and transportation sectors. You’re going to see more change in those sectors in the next five years than we’ve seen in the last 50-100 years.”
ENERGY DEMAND 47
BREAKING DOWN GM’S FOUR-PILLAR RENEWABLES STRATEGY… ENERGY EFFICIENCY GM knows that reducing its overall energy consumption, as a company, has a direct correlation to its renewable energy percentages. Whether it’s something as routine as switching out lights to LEDs, GM looks at how it can optimise its energy management systems around its production and manufacturing sites, in particular, to become energy efficient.
SOURCING RENEWABLES Finding out the cheapest and most efficient means by which renewable energy sources can be secured is vital to any company, particularly a global enterprise like GM. The main two methods GM uses to do this is through power purchase agreements or onsite generation.
ADDRESSING VARIANCE AND INTERMITTENCY On the automotive side, this can mean looking at what the company is doing in terms of its advanced transport operations, whether it's battery storage, electric vehicles, fuel cells, etc. On a more general basis it refers to what the company is doing to address the intermittency of renewables on the grid by innovating when it comes to, for example, using new storage technologies or electrification efforts.
IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES The final pillar is essentially how GM really leverages policy and scale to look at green tariffs, opportunities with utilities, and working with regional transmission operators. The company always looks to address the technology transformation that's going on in a way that has a “broader value” to the communities it builds manufacturing facilities on, as well as consumers.
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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y Despite these disruptive changes in mentality and attitude, there are still plenty of concerns around where these efforts are ultimately headed. In the US, which remains GM’s primary base of operations, a recent report from the Wind Energy Foundation identified a serious gap between corporate America’s near-term demand for renewable energy and the electricity grid’s ability to meet that demand. Threlkeld says the issues cited in the report are simply part of the natural progression of change. “I think it’s just part of the evolution of the process,” he says. “Going back five years, as we looked at how corporations such as GM could scale up the use of renewables, it was more around what the companies really need to do in this space to engage with each other. The next logical step was: how do we gauge the utilities, which are really the natural potential owners of the renewable energy assets? That’s where we started to take off as we looked at green tariffs in the US and what utilities were starting to offer. “The last component in this natural progression is the issue of moving this low-cost electricity. From a company
standpoint, we’re always looking for the most economic source of generation that we can procure and sometimes getting it to our facilities can be a challenge. How do we now engage relevant stakeholders – the regional transmission operators or the independent system operators in this process – as technology drives the future both in utilities and transport? It has to be in a way that ultimately benefits all the customers. We don’t want to do unnecessary upgrades should technology supersede our work.”
ELECTRIC CARS AND THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION While GM has grown to much more than just an automotive enterprise, it makes sense to scrutinise the sustainability of the company’s vehicular operations. The technological transformation of cars into electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and fuel cells has completely changed the way the organisation now looks at its automotive strategy. “Where we used to be more worried about the price of a litre of gasoline, it’s now focused on the cost of electricity, and when the consumer actually 49
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y utilises that electricity,” says Threlkeld. “You can see transformation with a lot of our efforts in energy efficiency and renewables in support of our manufacturing side of the operation that now impacts the product side. From a competitive standpoint, they’re really linked together in a way they weren’t before, even a few years ago. “Last October, we announced 20 new electric vehicles between now and 2023 as we march towards that all-electric future. The ‘zero emissions’ component is an important part of our product messaging and sets a competitive opportunity for us to look at how we viewed manufacturing in the past during our previous sustainability efforts. We’ve always focused the company in that direction. We’ve now got it both on the manufacturing and the product side when you look at the mobility component associated with the future of transportation.”
EFFECTIVE STRATEGISATION AND A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE GM’s four pillar sustainability strategy is fairly straightforward in terms of the goals it sets out and its implementation, but every decision the company makes is 50
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thoroughly considered and well thought out. Threlkeld says it is therefore important to stay on top of what’s happening with regards sustainability and renewables more widely. “I think it’s very important to strategise,” he affirms. “As a person who has always been educated by what’s going on in the industry, I like to read a lot of different articles on what the industry is doing. I need to feel the pulse of some of these technological changes and how they have an impact on the broader efforts in electrification, whether it’s transportation or renewables. It’s really about gaining that knowledge and then being able to strategise around all the changes taking place.
GM’S RENEWABLE GOALS… • ALL FACILITIES TO BE POWERED BY 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY • ALL FACILITIES TO BE 100% LANDFILL FREE • ACHIEVE 20% REDUCTION IN ENERGY INTENSITY BY 2020 • ACHIEVE 20% REDUCTION IN CARBON INTENSITY BY 2020 • ACHIEVE 15% REDUCTION IN WATER INTENSITY BY 2020
HOW ARE THE EFFORTS GOING? “I think it's progressing well,” answers Threlkeld. “I just recently signed two 100-megawatt wind power purchase agreements to supply 100% of our load for seven of our manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Indiana. Those two were some of our largest deals to date and will actually get us to 20% of our electricity being matched with renewable energy by the end of 2018.”
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
Another change that Threlkeld has seen is a move away from simply considering the environmental, operational and potential PR consequences of any decisions regarding renewables, to a situation now where sustainability efforts are as much motivated by financial considerations as the other factors. “In every project we do, we look at it from the financial perspective and obviously pull all the additional intangible benefits, environmental attributes, the right 52
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things for the company to do in our efforts towards sustainability. Everything we’re looking at is purely driven by the financials now.� The renewables space, like any other, has its daily ups and downs as demand increases and decreases, despite the generally increasing need for it, and it works similarly on a month-to-month or year-toyear trend. Threlkeld feels that the process of learning when the peaks and troughs happen is an important component of integrating the proper
“I think battery storage is definitely going to be a disruptor in this space, as well as blockchain and artificial intelligence” – Rob Threlkeld, Global Manager of Renewables at GM
generation sources at the lowest cost possible. He is also aware that, when it comes to technology, it’s an ever-changing landscape, and is in no doubt as to where the next disruption may be coming from. “I think battery storage is definitely going to be a disruptor in this space, as well as blockchain and artificial intelligence,” asserts Threlkeld. “How do you leverage all the technology and what is going on in the systems, whether it’s the grid or an individual solar array or your home? How
do those all integrate together to move the system in a much smarter way so it could deploy generation assets when needed as well as reducing generation assets when not needed, such as charging electric vehicles when the grid is actually requesting you to do so. With those questions in mind, I think artificial intelligence, blockchain, and those efforts are going to be key for us going forward to really leverage this technological transformation.”
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LAG CITY FOCUS
Headline
Seque rest volorum aute velestio intem illibus es qui ut alit et, sita iuntur? Writ ten by AUTHOR
GOS WESTERN TECH GIANTS FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE ARE SHOWING A PARTICULAR INTEREST IN THE CITY OF LAGOS, NIGERIA. WE FIND OUT WHAT IT HAS TO OFFER Edited by OLIVIA MINNOCK
CITY FOCUS
Lagos is home to one of Africa’s biggest and busiest ports 56
March 2018
In terms of powerhouses, Lagos, Nigeria, is a notable one. Combined with the areas nearby, the city is the largest in the state of Lagos, as well as Nigeria itself and indeed the entire African continent. With an estimated 21mn people living within Lagos' metro area, the city is home to one of Africa's biggest and busiest ports, is a major financial centre and has the highest gross domestic product (GDP) on the continent
ISLAND AND MAINLAND The city of Lagos was originally situated on a collection of islands, known as ‘the Island’, before growth fuelled its expansion west of the Lagos Lagoon. This movement gave rise to an area referred to as the Mainland. The central financial district is located on the Island. The majority of the financial institutions, major corporations and banks are headquartered in the city. Lagos is also West Africa’s information, communication and telecommunications hub. PORT OF LAGOS The Port of Lagos is a massive entity split into three primary sites. The Apapa Port houses the container terminal and is located in Badargy Creek. Tin Can Port is also situated
on this creek which enters the Lagos Harbour. The third site is Lagos Port and is located next to Lagos Island along its main channel. In addition, the port contains a railhead. A great deal of crude oil is exported through the Port of Lagos, and these products comprise about 14% of Nigeria’s GDP and 90% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. Lagos itself provides about 10% of Nigeria’s total GDP. GETTING AROUND LAGOS Lagos boasts an extensive and sprawling network of roads – one of the largest in West Africa – including links to numerous bridges and highways. Ferry services and trains are also widely used in the city. Located in Ikeja, a northern suburb of Lagos, the Murtala Muhammed 57
CITY FOCUS International Airport is one of Africa’s largest and busiest. Boasting both international and domestic terminals, the airport handles nearly 50% of Nigeria’s yearly air traffic. NOTABLE BUSINESSES IN LAGOS While the petroleum sector fuels a significant portion of Lagos’ economy, there are numerous other major industries including food processing, vehicle assembly, railroad repair and the manufacture of items like chemicals, soap, textiles, pharmaceuticals, furniture and more. FLOUR MILLS OF NIGERIA Founded in 1960 at Apapa Port with a single flour mill, Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) is a business that focuses on agro-allied industry, food, support and logistics. It employs more than 12,000 people and has a reported revenue of about $1.57bn.
Lagos – and Nigeria as a whole – contains a significantly underserved population of about 330mn adults who are unable to tap into the convenience and security of a more formal financial system 58
March 2018
TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA A conglomerate diversified in four primary sectors: hospitality, power, agriculture and oil & gas. The company states its focus is “acquiring and managing strategic businesses that create longterm shareholder returns and socioeconomic impact”. TNC went public in 2004 and is now comprised of around 300,000 shareholders.
BLACK HOUSE MEDIA Founded in 2006 in Lagos, Black House Media also has an office in London. Employing about 50 people, this digital communications and public relations company is focused on consumer, entertainment, technology, fashion and lifestyle interests, and describes itself as a “360-degree traditional and digital PR Agency”. 59
CITY FOCUS LAGOS: THE STARTUP CAPITAL OF AFRICA Lagos has been the recipient of lots of attention from Western heavy hitters, namely in the form of Google and Facebook. In 2017, Google hosted a weeklong bootcamp in Lagos. The Google Developers Launchpad Start is designed for startups in the early stages of development, and the tech giant now plans to open a Google Launchpad Space in the city, its first outside the United States. Facebook, too, is investing in Lagos, with its first African tech hub. Developed as a collaboration with Co-Creation Hub, it will feature digital skills training programs and incubations programs for developers and startups. Indeed, CNN has recently estimated Lagos’ startup ecosystem to be worth $2bn. Fintech services are a natural by-product of this explosion in technology investment and capability. On a continent that has been largely cash driven, Lagos – and Nigeria as a whole – contains a significantly underserved population of about 330mn adults who are unable to tap into the convenience and security of a more formal financial system. In just five short years, the average value of monthly transactions via mobile money operations increased from $5mn in 2011 to $142.8mn in 2016. This increase is attributed to a combination of smartphone and e-commerce penetration. Indeed, about 28% of adults in Nigeria currently own a smartphone with almost 80% of the country’s internet traffic being routed through the devices. It’s also become a significant source of remittances in a country whose economy relies heavily on this form of income. 60
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stats.
(Stats from CNN
• LAGOS STATE FORMED IN 1967 • POPULATION: 17.5-20MN • LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: 57 • INTERNALLY GENERATED REVENUE, 2016: $900MN • SIZE OF LAGOS: 1,171KM² 61
Top 10
most expensive restaur
rants inAfrica With a restaurant scene as focused on value as it is on supreme quality, restaurant goers shouldn’t expect to pay New York prices in Africa. However, Business Chief was still able to find some exorbitant eats
Writ ten by SAM MUSGUIN -ROWE
TOP 10
Wolfgat
Western Cape
10
Sevruga
Western Cape
Located on Cape Town’s iconic harbour, Sevruga is a classy spot whose menu features inventive, sous-vide meat dishes (chicken and prawn ballantine, ostrich, springbok tartar) with dim sum and sushi plates packing endless flavour. Guests are advised to sample the $45 signature sushi selection, plus the $60 seafood plate which brings together king crab, prawn, mussels, crayfish and linefish with caviar butter on a crispy noodle salad. 64
March 2018
Wolfgat is a primarily seafood-based establishment, but is “enhanced by seasonal produce, local wild herbs, seaweeds and succulents”. Owner Kobus van der Merwe uses the restaurant’s seaside setting to its fullest. Maybe the slightly leftfield location is why the sevencourse tasting menu comes to a fairly reasonable $60. With culinary creations this tasty and visually stunning, this gem won’t remain under the radar for long.
9
Marble
Johannesburg
Mosaic
8
Pretoria
Paris-trained, multi awardwinning chef Chantel Dartnall has transported French influence and art nouveau stylings to Pretoria, inside The Orient Hotel. Known for its many tasting menus, each of them tweaked according to season, patrons can enjoy the ‘Market Degustation’ for a very reasonable $70, so much so that an extra $40 for wine seems a no-brainer.
Pegging itself as a hub of “meat and flame enthusiasts”, Marble is a quintessentially South African establishment, in which an open fire is not solely the central attraction, but a sort of shrine. A wonderfully diverse mix of meat, fish and salad, the standout plates to sample are the $75 grilled meat selection and the $80 fried fish and shellfish platter.
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TOP 10
6
Greenhouse Cape Town
Like many classy food joints, Greenhouse considers itself not just a restaurant, but an experience. It tells stories, with “each plate a question, an idea”. Recently blowing out the candles for its 10th birthday, the restaurant has curated a new, aptly-named tasting menu, ‘Ten’. Patrons can expect wagyu beef, cherries and champagne jelly, and even a ‘camembert cheese cake’.
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Luke DaleRoberts X The Saxon Johannesburg
Following a spectacularly successful pop-up in 2016, Luke Dale-Roberts teamed up with this prestigious Jo’burg hotel to create a permanent brick-and-mortar bistro. Its tasting menu is $110 on its own, $130 with tea pairing, $160 with local wines or $175 should one wish to ‘go global’, and features the intriguing ‘seabass tartare’ alongside beef tataki, fermented pineapple and guava delice.
5
La Calombe Cape Town
4
Waterkloof Restaurant Cape Town
Though principally a wine estate boasting breath-taking views, Waterkloof is steadily becoming as feted for its food as its fermented grape juice. The seven-course degustation menu is $130 when paired with its famous wine, and changes frequently to keep things unexpected and seasonal.
La Calombe was originally founded on the Contantia Uitsig wine estate, and has since relocated to another estate, Slivermist organic. Proprietor Scot Kirton fuses Asian and French cuisine using the freshest seasonal produce. The ‘Gourmand’ menu comes to $190 with wine or $115 without, and brings together a whole heap of experimental taste. Guests should look out for the smoked lamb tongue with mussels, aubergine and chorizo.
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TOP 10
The Test Kitchen Cape Town
Championed as the finest of fine dining establishments in all of South Africa, The Test Kitchen is one of a stable of booming bistros that belong to Britishborn master chef Luke Dale-Roberts. His ‘Light Room’ tasting menu costs $150 ($250 when paired with ‘iconic wine’), and infuses the likes of springbok, beef sweetbread and pork belly, plus a sensational dill and berry Eton mess.
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1 La Grande Table Marocaine Marrakech
Enthusiasts for white glove service and French delicacies looking for a tasting menu that blows all other African eateries out of the water should hastily book a trip to Royal Mansour, and its crown jewel restaurant. The ‘Iktichaf’ degustation offering costs a staggering $600, featuring poached lobster, spicy snails and orange pearls.
POWERING AFRICA’S
MINING INDUSTRY WITH
PASSION WRITTEN BY DALE BENTON PRODUCED BY ARRON RAMPLING
For more than 50 years Aggreko has helped the mining sector around the world improve productivity and manage power demands through a commitment to the customer like no other
I
n the mining industry, it is often forgotten or overlooked how important power generation and the supply of long term power truly is in determining the success of an operation. Be it at the planning, exploration or even production stage of a project, power generation is crucial. This is what Aggreko prides itself on. After all, the company’s own motto reads: “We’re with you from start to finish.” But, as Brano Kollar, Area General Manager for South & East Africa points out, the company promises much more than that. For Kollar, it starts with a simple belief that the true value of power generation extends well beyond the realms of profitability and efficiency.
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“As a company we believe in the positive impact of power and the ability to control temperature,” he added. “We believe it opens up opportunity, and creates potential for individuals, communities, industries and societies all over the world. “Together and over time, we believe that our services make a massive difference.” Through his role, Kollar oversees the company’s footprint across 20 countries in South and East Africa. Currently, Aggreko has active projects in six of those 20 countries but the company has ambitions to expand its project portfolio further. The African mining industry of 2018 is an industry full of hope. Over the last two years it has witnessed a significant increase in foreign investment into
MINING
“What makes us unique is that we have the expertise when it comes to design and engineering of power solutions specifically for the mines, hence we have unparalleled strength to provide additional value for our customers” – Brano Kollar, Area General Manager for South & East Africa
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the sector, with commodity prices increasing alongside this investment. Kollar, having worked with the company since 2007, has seen first-hand this shift and feels that right now is a very exciting time for South and East African mining. “It is true that we are seeing a positive trend in the sector from commodity prices,” he says. “South and East Africa has a huge potential for mining and we are already working on some very interesting projects in countries such as the DRC, Sudan and Zimbabwe to name a few.” Aggreko’s portfolio has seen the company deliver an 8MW power
plant to Banro Corp in the DRC as well as designing mobilising and commissioning a 28MW power package for Bisha Mining in Eritrea. In late 2017, Aggreko entered into a partnership with Hummingbird Resources to fully commission a 7.4MW diesel power facility on site in Mali, where Aggreko will complete turnkey solutions as part of a full operations and maintenance team on site. Kollar points to the company’s generators and indeed their flexibility and efficiencies which will provide a “seamless supply of power”. As the company promises, Aggreko works with the partners until the very
Aggreko’s footprint spreads over 20 countries
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end and Kollar believes that to achieve and deliver on this promise is to foster and develop partner relationships with a long-term view in mind. “Our role is to ensure that customer needs and contractual obligations are met throughout the operational period, of course,” he says. “But beyond that, we are firm believers in building a positive and long-term partnership with our customer and their satisfaction is our upmost priority.” In the journey of delivering large scale power generation services to an industry that can sometimes be volatile and often unstable, it is not without its challenges. Kollar concedes as much, alluding to the timeline from the initial feasibility stage to financial close right through to breaking ground providing a great deal of uncertainty. But where Aggreko stands tall is in that customer and partner relationship. “We are ready to work along with our customers to support them in these various phases,” Kollar says. “What makes us unique is that we have the expertise when it comes to design and engineering of power solutions
“We believe it opens up opportunity, and creates potential for individuals, communities, industries and societies all over the world” – Brano Kollar, Area General Manager for South & East Africa
specifically for the mines, hence we have unparalleled strength to provide additional value for our customers. “They can truly rely on Aggreko during any challenge and difficulty that comes as part of a project.” Aggreko has been the power industry leader for over 50 years, giving the company that reputation for unparalleled strength. This is a reputation that is built upon high reliability and flexibility, being made up of a team of highly skilled and experienced people that Kollar believes really makes a difference in the overall value proposition. As with any mining operation, a
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INNOVATIVE SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS
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MEDITEK commitment to safety, responsibility and ethical standards are essential, and for as much as Aggreko prides itself on delivering a service to the customer that is unrivalled in the industry, Kollar understands this importance. “We actively engage in supporting the local communities we work with,” he says. “We recruit, train and develop local people and provide them with the skills to really enrich their lives.” This extends beyond developing a workforce. Aggreko is an
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+261 329794476
active participant in the local community and ensures that for as long as the company works in a particular geographical location, it does whatever it can to leave a lasting legacy of change. “Our local workforce helps us build relationships in the local community which are very important to us as a company,” says Kollar. “Our charitable donations are largely focused on the education and wellbeing of children, such as our support of the Book Aid International programme.”
YANFOLILA
MINING
POWER SUPPLY
7.4MW facility of installed diesel power at Yanfolila
Complete turnkey solution on a seven-year contract
Full Aggreko operations and maintenance team on site
Generators are the most efficient in their class
Modular set up further maximises efficiency.
donations are largely focused on the education and wellbeing of children, such as our support of the Book Aid International programme.� Aggreko has worked closely with and been a strong advocate of the Book Aid International programme for more than 10 years. It has seen Aggreko donate more than 150,000 books to 10 African countries. The company has also partnered with Ethik Investment to supply solar panels and IT equipment to a local school and neighbouring villages.
Aggreko has been a power industry leader for 50-plus years
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AGGREKO
An Aggrekko site in Zimbabwe
Aggreko has worked closely with and been a strong advocate of the Book Aid International programme for more than 10 years. It has seen Aggreko donate more than 150,000 books to 10 African countries. The company has also partnered with Ethik Investment to supply solar panels and IT equipment to a local school and neighbouring villages. This, Kollar feels, is further example of how Aggreko not only stays with the customer throughout a project but goes above and beyond in order to add true value to a local community. As Aggreko continues to deliver market leading services, as it has done for more than 50 years, the company continues to invest in cutting edge technologies. With plans to expand and develop its portfolio with projects in more African countries, Kollar is keen to stress that for Aggreko the focus will always remain on one important thing. “We remain focused to serve our customers in the best possible way whilst continuously working on our key strategic objectives,” he says. “2018 provides significant opportunities across Africa and we want to further expand our operations and continue to build sustainable and long-term relationships with our customers and our strategic partners alike.”
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MINING
“Working with Aggreko to deliver our power remains in line with our strategy of working with world class partners as we progress Yanfolila to imminent gold production” – Dan Betts, CEO of Hummingbird Resources
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THE UNDERGROUND MINING PARTNER OF CHOICE Written by Dale Benton Produced by Arron Rampling
AFRICAN UNDERGROUND MINING SERVICES
THROUGH THE SUBIKA PROJECT, AND OTHER SUBSTANTIALLY SUCCESSFUL MINING PROJECTS IN AFRICA, AUMS CONTINUES TO BE AN INDUSTRY-LEADING UNDERGROUND MINING CONTRACTOR
S
ince 2007, there has been a leader in providing mechanised underground mining services in Africa – African Mining Underground Services (AUMS). The company prides itself on its ability to outperform the owner-operator underground mining operations tonne for tonne, all the while improving the overall profitability of mining projects, with the first priority on the well-being of its personnel. As the partner of choice to some of the world’s leading mining operators, including Roxgold Inc, AngloGold Ashanti and Newmont Ghana,
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delivering on that promise is essential. The recently launched Subika Project, located in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana, West Africa, is a highly significant gold is a project in which Newmont has partnered with AUMS to develop and operate an underground gold mine. to develop it into a mine that will ultimately see it rank as one of the highest producing underground operations on the continent. Blair Sessions, AUMS’ Chief Operating Officer, is looking forward to delivering safe and efficient
MINING
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Defining Tyre Management Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group specialises in a complete range of tyre management services in over 20 countries. Our skilled workforce performs according to our global safety and operating standards, and focuses on extracting the maximum value from tyres and related assets for mining customers. As an independent tyre dealer with 45 years’ experience, we ensure customers get the right product for the right application. Through continuous innovation, we are able to meet the evolving needs of mining customers and help them make the most of their tyre investments.
KalTireMining.com
MINING
production at the Subika Operation, as the company has delivered on other projects and in different jurisdictions throughout continental Africa. Sessions joined the company in 2014, having extensive experience in various mining operations across Australia, many while General Manager of one of AUMS’ parent companies, Barminco. Sessions believes that the key to the success of the AUMS business has and will continue to come from the transfer of skills, maintaining the high standards and experience from within the Australian underground mining sector. “Our joint venture owners are two Australian contracting companies in Ausdrill and Barminco,” he says. “Essentially, what AUMS is accomplishing in Africa is effectively the same deliverables as what is being achieved in Australia, if not better in some areas. It’s about bringing every facet of operational excellence to the African continent, transferring and enhancing those necessary skills, aiming to leave a robust and positive company legacy.” While it is admirable, and results
have proven that it has been a successful integration, what is an effective and profitable model in Australia may not be the case in Africa. No mining operation is without it’s challenges, so to move from one geography to another and experience zero hurdles along the way is almost unheard of. “In the quest to deliver the Australian safe production model into Africa, naturally we have a strong emphasis on the training and transfer of skills utilising technology wherever possible to our national workforce,” Sessions says. “A core foundation of our business plan is that AUMS has the right people and the right systems in place to consistently deliver a safe, high quality product to our business partners. AUMS prides itself that local businesses within the surrounding and broader communities that we operate in, will also benefit from our operations.” This is something that Sessions feels is one of the many reasons that partners such as Newmont Ghana choose to work with AUMS. AUMS’ strategy is to continue to
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develop its people in every country in which it operates with a view to generating long term success in knowledge transfer, personnel development and financial growth for individuals and the community. The company is proud of its training success, both in Ghana and across Africa. To date, AUMS has trained well in excess of 1,000 Ghanaians, and close to 3,000 Africans in its short history in the skills required for large scale mechanised, safe and productive underground mining. “When we started with Subika, we had a core group of both Ghanaian operators and expatriates who were known to us and who we could rely on,” he says. “We have implemented training systems that are comprehensive and well developed as they have been established and further improved for over 25 years at Barminco.” The purchasing of fit for purpose specialised equipment simulators is another area that AUMS has invested in for the growth and development of its employees.
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AUMS has trained more than 1,000 Ghanaians to date
AUMS recommenced work at the Subika Underground Project in May 2017, following the successful contract award which saw an initial five-year contract put in place to “effectively establish underground capital infrastructure, and continually drive for steady state production”. The ultimate vision for the Subika Underground Project is a 20-plus
MINING
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Sourcing the right products for your mining or construction business can be time-consuming and problematic. That’s where Allied Mining Services Limited can be a life-saver. As one of East Africa’s leading suppliers and stockists of mining, construction, industrial and agricultural products, we have years of experience in the procurement sector. And thanks to our close links with major brands, we can source top quality products worldwide at very competitive prices. So why not let Allied Mining Services Limited take away your sourcing headaches.
Head Office:
Branch office:
www.alliedgroup.co.tz
Nyakato Industrial Area, Plot 108, Block F,
Acacia real estate, 2nd floor,
info@alliedgroup.co.tz
P. O. Box 2260
Plot 84, Kinondoni Rd
Mwanza, Tanzania
Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania
MINING
year high-production underground mine with a robust business case for future growth, that has a long term production output delivering of over 2m tonnes per annum. “The Subika Underground Project is very exciting. It has plenty of scope for future expansion, and with further exploration drilling I am sure Newmont will see growth in their projected mine life and production continuing,” he says. “We are fortunate to be involved with some fantastic projects within East and West Africa, all with expansion opportunities and we believe strongly in our business partnership with all our clients. AUMS aim to ensure a cohesive and aligned strategy in not only developing each operation, reaching its full potential, but also driving the benefits for the local communities and broader regions in which we operate.” As a contracting company, it is essential that AUMS establishes key strategic relationships with all mine operators and continues to foster its existing and potential business relationships, not
only to deliver on the project expectations, but exceed them. All clients AUMS work with have exceptional CSR activities, and the company ensures that it makes a significant contribution towards them as well as establishing its own. Working with local communities, enriching the lives of those communities, providing infrastructure and investment to local areas are attitudes and beliefs that are at the very core of the company’s business strategy. To this end, Sessions can point to the way in which AUMS truly exceeds what the commonplace expectations of what a business partner can be. “AUMS has an extensive history of involvement in every community we operate in, investing in in schools, recreational facilities and organisations as well as charitable works. We drive local employment and transfer of business skills and opportunities by the subcontracting and development of as many local businesses as possible. Our employment is obviously a key focus – in Ghana nearly 50%
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of our employees come from the immediate surrounding areas of operations, whereas another 40% comes from the surrounding mining areas within Ghana,” says Sessions. Since beginning work at the project in 2017, it didn’t take long before AUMS began to grow and success began to materialise. “Within the first three months, we had 300 people working on site,” he says. “As an underground mining solutions provider, state of the art technology with our mining equipment is crucial in the delivery of a project.” Historically, the mining industry has been recognised as one that lags behind others with regards to technological innovation, relying on traditional mining methods that has a strong history of proven success. But for AUMS, the company utilises advanced technologies in underground mining, technologies that are not spoken about as frequently as they should be. AUMS has partnered with Sandvik Group and implemented an underground remote loading system. This is fully autonomous,
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controlled remotely and ultimately will be operated from the surface, which is the first of its kind in the African mining industry. “We have a number of remote technologies and automatic production drilling technologies which will streamline production activities. In addition, AUMS has adopted machine learning and collision avoidance systems to further improve our critical safety systems – all of this being powered through underground wi-fi.”
This wi-fi connectivity in underground mines allows for a centralised control room that facilitates cross communication between the various automated machinery and equipment, providing Sessions and the onsite staff access to information and data “second-by-second” in real time. Currently, as part of a wider African portfolio, the company works with Roxgold in Burkina Faso and Anglo Gold Ashanti in Tanzania. Across
“AS AN UNDERGROUND MINING SOLUTIONS PROVIDER, STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY WITH OUR MINING EQUIPMENT IS CRUCIAL IN THE DELIVERY OF A PROJECT” – Blair Sessions, COO, AUMS
AFRICAN UNDERGROUND MINING SERVICES
MINING; OIL & GAS AND INDUSTRIAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS SMEC is a Western Australian based company that provides a full range of specialist electrical products and services for surface and underground mining and the oil & gas industry. We are committed to providing clients with the highest level of service and quality of products by a skilled team of staff. Our electricians have extensive experience and knowledge of both the mining and oil & gas industries in Australia and overseas. Specialising in electrical contracting services, engineering, high voltage installations, testing and commissioning, cable repairs, automation and communication systems, switchboard and substation manufacturing.
www.smelectrical.com.au | sales@smelectrical.com.au | 0061 (0)439 917 192
MINING
each of its projects, Sessions believes that AUMS focuses on delivering the safest, sustainable yet most productive outcomes and delivering that at a greater level than any potential competitors. “We take the same systems of work and the same processes and training systems to all our operations, whether it’s in Australia, Tanzania, Burkina Faso or Ghana,” he says. “It’s a matter of ensuring that we tailor our safety, operational and maintenance systems and optimise wherever possible to ensure that we provide our clients with the best end product.” AUMS extends well beyond simply delivering a successful mining operation and profitability. Like any company, growth and a diverse sustainable portfolio are key business goals, but Sessions stresses that there is a legacy that AUMS wants to leave. “An integral component of AUMS’ vision is to develop the national workforce to the level where we expand the foundations of our national skill base and essentially nationalise the workforce to the point where senior management and executive management roles are filled by that national workforce. “We can ensure that we impart the necessary and required skills into the African underground mining community as a wider skill base and provide real value to that community as well, leaving a long-lasting legacy.”
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Written by Catherine Sturman Produced by Justin Brand
MAERSK LINE
The International Monetary Fund has created ripples within the Egyptian economy. How has Maersk Line Egypt transformed its supply chain services to remain resilient against this sea change? Managing Director Nabil Samy tells us more
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T
he Egyptian economy is undergoing a significant transition. The adoption of new reforms has eradicated a number of government subsidies as part of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which came into force in November 2016. The EFF arrangement of US$12bn has led to sweeping reforms in Egypt, which have notably resulted in increased foreign investment, reduced government spending and a boosted
overall economy, providing a multitude of advantages for its citizens. However, with decreasing annual core inflation of up to 22%, according to TradingEconomics, such economic reform has significantly impacted the transportation industry, particularly with the volume of imports and exports within the country. “There has been a big shift in the trade balance between imports and exports,” acknowledges Maersk Line Egypt’s Managing Director Nabil Samy. “Imports were up to 70% of our business, which has now completely changed. It has been quite a change for the whole market and its dynamics.” According to the Ministry of Trade & Industry, exports rose exponentially in 2017 to $20.4bn, whilst imports fell 14% from the previous year.
“There has been a big shift in the trade balance between imports and exports. Imports were up to 70% of our business, which has now completely changed” – Nabil Samy, Managing Director
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Number of employees at Maersk Line (Egypt)
130
A step in the right direction in macro view The country’s currency devaluation and subsequent aim to tackle soaring interest rates has also impacted Maersk’s competitiveness across the region. Nonetheless, Samy is optimistic about what the year will bring. “Egypt is a country that is advancing and therefore, we are expecting 5% GDP growth for 2018,” he says positively. “Egypt is quite an important country for the company to be in because of the Suez Canal, as well as it being
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a major waterway for global trade. That is the intention - to grow more in Egypt, within this area and this coast.”
Internal overhaul With high turnover rates and a transforming economic climate, Maersk Line Egypt has undergone a significant internal transformation. the company has outsourced most of its transaction-based roles, which previously accounted for up to 60% of its workforce, Instead, has replaced these internal roles with ones which are commercially-focused, in order to
WE SERVE SERIOUSLY AND WITH HONOR Within all over the Egyptian ports and being service agent for the 4 reefer machineries manufacturers “ATEB Group� became the leader in service and maintenance of reefer containers in Egypt. The reefer service department within ATEB Group is specialized in offering technical services for reefer containers 24/365. We pride ourselves in providing other container solutions offering container Storage, transport, Gensets hiring, ISO Tanks , Container trading and leasing and container handling machines leasing.
tamer.hamid@atebgroup.com 19 Mohamed Safwat St. of Khalil Khayat, Kafr Abdo Alexandria, Egypt. WWW.ATEBGROUP.COM
MAERSK LINE
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attract further talent and stay focused on creating value for its customers. “Just to give you the scale, we have changed approximately 60 jobs out of 150. It has been quite a turnaround. We’ve also centralised all the work which was previously undertaken in six offices,” reflects Samy. The company has also committed significant investment in new digital solutions, in order to place greater emphasis on the customer experience, and on trade. Maersk Line Egypt has strenuously worked towards centralising its different systems to give the customer one core platform, where they can access all available services. This has enabled it to pre-empt any potential bottlenecks within its customer-facing
services before they occur. “It is one of the business solutions that we came up with to give us a better edge when it comes to the customer experience,” explains Samy. “Another business solution we came up with as a company was an application for our business, which is called C360, which undertakes predictive maintenance and provides a 360-degree view, rather than remaining siloed through our data interchanges. “We’ve also just launched a new service just a couple of months ago which is an inland haulage,” he continues. “We aim at delivering a quality service to our customers, in an area where they have been historically underserved”
“Egypt is a country that is advancing and therefore, we are expecting 5% GDP growth for 2018” – Nabil Samy, Managing Director
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Supply chain strengths The use of its electronic data interchange (EDI) has therefore enabled the business to continue on its journey to provide exceptional supply chain data and build positive relationships with customers and suppliers. “We try to streamline the relationship between our suppliers and us, so that what we offer to our customers becomes one integrated solution and they don’t have to see through the different parts of the supply chain,” observes Samy. “The intention is to try to enhance that. Right now, one of the projects we’re running is that we use off-dock depots (depots which are not ports or terminals, but inland). So, we partner with them and try to bring them up to speed to make sure that there is EDI between their systems and ours. “The aim is to have big data 24/7 and not depend on finicky email. We present the customer with a one-stopshop solution for the entire continent which requires us to work very closely with our suppliers and have a realtime data interchange between us.”
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Additionally, the company has partnered with IBM to look at the advantages of blockchain technology, which will enable further data sharing and tracking capabilities by allowing suppliers to contract digitally with other carriers, as well as support the development of future products and services.
One-stop shop Whilst sustainability remains a key topic across the supply chain industry, Samy admits that this remains relatively low profile across Maersk
Maersk Line Egypt is looking at the advantages of utilising blockchain technology
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Line Egypt’s operations. However, in order to remain competitive, it continually works to drive industryleading sustainability programmes in areas such as paper waste. Providing a one-stop shop within its supply chain solutions, Maersk Line Egypt will continue to leverage customer-centric technologies which no other carrier can deliver across the region, where users can book all services within one transaction. “Customers don’t even have to have a supply chain department, we can take care of that,” concludes Samy.
“We’re halfway there with our inland and ocean offering, but we can also give customers the customs house brokerage and key financing in the future, these are still projects to come. “Shipping is quite a complex industry, but we want booking a container to be as easy as booking a flight or booking a hotel room somewhere, that is the end goal. If we are to reach this, we will be miles ahead of all our competitors.”
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Lagoon Hospitals and Nigeria’s growing private healthcare sector WRITTEN BY FRAN ROBERTS PRODUCED BY GREG CHURCHILL
Lagoon Hospitals is one of the largest healthcare companies in Nigeria. With an impressive track record stretching over 30 years, the company is committed to driving up quality standards throughout its operations as it looks to increase its footprint in the coming years
L
agoon is the only Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited private healthcare provider in Nigeria, and only one of two in sub-Saharan Africa. The company has been in operation since 1986, when it managed a single hospital in Lagos. Today, Lagoon has expanded to three hospitals and two clinics and is today the largest private healthcare operator in Nigeria. Lagoon is a part of Hygeia Nigeria Ltd and has consistently been providing healthcare of international standards to the people of Nigeria. Last year, Lagoon added its third hospital – Gold Cross Hospital Ikoyi – and the organisation is looking to expand the services it offers to patients. “We are moving towards tertiary care, so some of the key medical programmes that we’re looking at are the neurosciences, as well as orthopaedics, which will include joint replacements and arthroplasty. We’re moving into cardio thoracic surgery, interventional cardiology later on in the year, while focussing on
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Lagoon Hospital Ikoyi, Lagos
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building nephrology, urology, critical care, and neo-natal critical care. These are some of the key specialities within the medical care programme that will be launching throughout the course of the year,” advises Rajeev Bhandari, CEO. With this in mind, Lagoon is investing in its hospitals and clinics. “We have already been revamping some of our facilities with state-of-the art units. We’ve set up new critical care units in our hospitals,” explains Bhandari. “All of that is to ensure that we provide the right kind of care and the right levels of service.”
MAJOR GOALS A PwC survey of Nigerians found that more than 90% of respondents associated advanced healthcare delivered in Nigeria with “low quality”. Despite this, Lagoon is striving hard to deliver healthcare that meets and exceeds international standards. “We’re consistently looking at increasing our footprint to be the best healthcare provider in Nigeria. Nigeria currently has a very substantial population that goes out of the country for medical treatment,” states Bhandari.
ENDOSCOPY SOLUTIONS
RADIOLOGY SOLUTIONS
LAB SOLUTIONS
MEDICAL SOLUTIONS
H E A LT H C A R E
“We’re consistently looking at increasing our footprint to be the best healthcare provider in Nigeria” – Rajeev Bhandari, CEO, Lagoon Hospitals
“One of our major goals is to provide healthcare at affordable rates, of high quality standards to Nigerians so that they can actually avail those services here and do not have to go out of the country. We have a very strong commitment to quality – the quality of the healthcare we provide, patient care and clinical excellence,” Bhandari continues. It is this commitment to quality that sets Lagoon apart from other private healthcare providers in Nigeria. “We don’t compromise on
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Lagoon has been in operation since 112
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quality at all,” notes Bhandari. “Our standards of quality are very high and that is something we are very committed to and of course the other thing that sets us apart is the quality of clinicians. The profile of the clinicians that we offer are definitely the best in Nigeria. We feel proud that we offer the right clinical mix and quality of service to our patients.”
ENSURING CONSISTENCY Guidelines set out by JCI help Lagoon to meet such high standards of quality. “We actually follow certain healthcare guidelines that have been provided by JCI on adherence to quality patient care,” Bhandari comments. “We have been given scorecards based on all our processes, procedures and medical methods. We also have non-medical indicators, which give us a scorecard for patient care services. They start right from waiting times to turnaround of lab test times to radiology tests, so covering approximately 18 different parameters based around clinician satisfaction and patient experience.” As well as the quality of care,
patient safety is at the heart of everything Lagoon does. “We ensure consistency through training, again as per JCI standards and other internal SOPs. We have consistent training and retraining for our people. We follow a system where we check on all processes that have been laid out,” Bhandari advises. “We collect data, validate the data and track the data as per our SOPs and guidelines provided. Of course, we have a strong culture of empowering people to speak out whenever there are any issues, so that we can ensure that we rectify them.” In order to meet international healthcare standards, Lagoon works with partners overseas to keep up to date with the latest expertise. “We have a JV with Fortis Healthcare in India where we take clinical expertise in terms of SOPs, protocols, processes from them so that we can actually manage to deliver international standards of healthcare here,” explains Bhandari. “We work with them closely, they’re our international partners.”
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THE IMPORTANCE OF INNOVATION Lagoon has long pioneered advanced medical care in Nigeria, becoming the first private hospital in the country to successfully perform open-heart surgery. Today, such pioneering innovation continues, where Lagoon eagerly embraces the latest technology. “Innovation has always been very important to us. In Nigeria, we were the first operators to actually launch fully electronic medical records. We predominantly operate paperless facilities and
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we have gone electronic for our patients. This can be accessed across facilities,” Bhandari advises. “Additionally, we have our own hospital information system that we work with. All our facilities are connected to each other so a patient can walk into any of our facilities and with one registration number we can access their medical records. That ensures continuity of care. Technology is of course paramount to our business, and so we’re investing in the best and latest medical technology.”
H E A LT H C A R E
STRONG DEMAND
“Our standards of quality are very high and that is something we are very committed to and of course the other thing that sets us apart is the quality of clinicians”
With facilities around Lagos, Lagoon is able to cater to the healthcare needs of Nigeria’s, and indeed Africa’s, largest city. It is one of the fastest growing in the world, and also one of the most populous urban agglomerations. Indeed, Nigeria as a whole has experienced exponential population growth over the preceding decades. According to the 2017 revision of the World Population Prospects, the total population of Nigeria was 185,989,640 in 2016, compared to only 37,860,000 in 1950. This means that there is significant potential for Lagoon to expand outside of its home city in the coming years. “Our objective is to increase our footprint across Lagos and eventually across Nigeria,” Bhandari comments. “If any appropriate opportunities come along we will be evaluating those to see if we can increase our footprint. There is a strong demand for the private healthcare set up in Nigeria.”
– Rajeev Bhandari, CEO, Lagoon Hospitals
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Your success is our motivation Lekkerland supplies about 90.000 filling stations, kiosks, convenience shops and quick service restaurants in Europe. We not only deliver the products but also develop tailor-made solutions - from holistic shop concepts to individual logistics services. Our vision is to become the preferred 360 degree concept provider for all channels of on-the-go consumption and all aspects of the convenience business. The success of our customers is our motivation.
About 4,800 Employees
About 90,000 Points of sale in 6 countries
â‚Ź13 billion Revenues in 2016
For more information please go to: www.lekkerland.com