Business Chief Africa - Feb 2018

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FO CU S XPRESS MONEY and HUAWEI team up

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February 2018 • AFRICA EDITION

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FOREWORD HELLO AND WELCOME to February’s Africa edition of Business Chief. Our first feature this month looks at efficiency in the electric power grid. Dave Bryant, Director of Technology at CTC Global, speaks about the need to improve the capacity, reliability and resilience of the electric power grid to produce a low-carbon world.

Continuing with the theme of efficiency, we look at why operational risk management is vital and where it’s headed, including how advanced analytics and automation will play bigger roles in driving efficiencies in the future.

What’s the key to keeping your best talent? Another important question for any business, and one that Business Chief sets out to answer, with commentary from some of the world’s leading experts.

On the subject of experts, we speak to Sudhesh Giriyan, COO of Xpress Money, after the company announced a partnership with Huawei which could help expand financial inclusion in Africa.

We also speak exclusively to a number of Africa’s top companies about the prescient trends and pressing issues in their industries.

Electricidade De Mocambique E P’s Chairman and CEO Mateus Magala discuss Mozambique’s growing sustainable energy potential.

Martin Eales, CEO at Rainbow Rare Earths, discusses the firm’s plans to increase production of rare earths in a sustainable and responsible way.

February’s City Focus assesses how Cairo is becoming a breeding ground for startups, and we also look at the top 10 IPOs in Africa during 2017.

We sincerely hope you enjoy the issue, and as always, please tweet your feedback to @Business_Chief

Enjoy the issue!

www.africa.businesschief.com www.bizclikmedia.com

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L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y

Xpress Money and Huawei team up to provide mobile money alternative to banking

TECHNOLOGY

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CHANGE FOR THE PEOPLE,

BY THE PEOPLE 4

February 2018

PEOPLE

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Indeed how What’sshows the key to an ‘unlimited tomake keeping your leave’ work best policy talent?

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44 CITY FOCUS

CAIRO S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Why operational risk management is vital – and where it’s headed

HOW THIS HISTORIC CITY IS BECOMING A BREEDING GROUND FOR STARTUPS

56 TOP 10

African IPOs of

2017 5

C O M PA N Y PROFILES

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CTC Global Technology

Rainbow Rare Earths Limited Mining

February 2018

88 108

Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee Mining

Electricidade De Mozambique EP Energy

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L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y

Xpress Money and Huawei team up to provide mobile money alternative to banking Business Chief speaks to Sudhesh Giriyan, COO of Xpress Money, after the company announced a partnership with Huawei which could help expand financial inclusion in Africa Writ ten by S T UA RT H O D G E

WITH BANKING PENETRATION still sitting at less than 50% across Africa, financial inclusion remains a key challenge facing the continent.

In certain geographies, conducting business remains a massive challenge due to the lack of banking services available, so an opportunity remains for companies to find new ways to exploit that, and to provide Africa with services which help to expand levels of banking penetration and financial inclusion.

Back in 2016, the World Bank reported that 2bn people across the globe had no access to formal financial services and an awareness of this has resulted in mobile money fast becoming a safer alternative to cash, particularly in some regions of Africa.

With precisely that in mind, global money transfer company Xpress Money has joined forces with telecoms giant Huawei to “drive mobile money services to more of the world’s unbanked”, especially in Africa.

The partnership will give the globally-respected remittance firm access to Huawei’s mobile money service platform, which has over 100mn accounts.

“For those that have limited access 10

February 2018

Banking penetration rates are still be to formal banking services, mobile money is a critical technology,” says Sudhesh Giriyan, Chief Operating Officer of Xpress Money.

“There are over 500mn mobile money accounts currently in use, and with Huawei servicing over 100mn of these, we’re confident this collaboration will improve the state of financial services for Africa’s unbanked.”

Huawei’s mobile money services

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y

elow 50% across Africa platform delivers basic banking transactions in developing countries. The technology is not restricted and because it works on both smartphones and basic handsets, it has been particularly successful in developing markets.

Recipients of Xpress Money remittances can use the service to make online and offline payments, pay for essential services such as utilities and school fees, as

well as financial services like loan applications, insurance and banking.

“This partnership with Huawei is going to give us a much larger footprint,” says Giriyan. “We’ll be able to expand the number of countries where we can put money onto mobile wallets. We’ll also be able to bring in some new partners and start putting money onto mobile wallets through the Huawei partnership.

“Look at the banking penetration 11

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y

“For those that have limited access to formal banking services, mobile money is a critical technology” – Sudhesh Giriyan, Chief Operating Officer, Xpress Money in some of these countries: it’s between 10% and 15%, which means that there is still a long, long way to build in financial inclusion. In the interim, until the time that happens, until banking penetration improves drastically, there is a major role that mobile wallet providers can play in terms of bringing international remittances into those markets.

With Huawei catering for around a fifth of the 500mn strong mobile wallet market, Giriyan is confident about the benefits of the deal.

“Through this partnership, we expect to reach out to a good percentage of these customers and be able to facilitate remittances, especially from North America and Europe, which have two of the largest markets from Africa in one perspective – the remittances will be sourced from North America as well as from the UK and Europe, and will go onto the mobile wallets 12

February 2018

of partners and of Huawei.”

That’s what Giriyan describes as ‘the game plan’, and Xpress Money expects to see growth in the African market, a region which is already a fairly strong one for the company, off the back of this partnership, as the COO explains.

“Africa has been one of the biggest recipients of remittances thanks to a large African diaspora that lives in markets like the US, UK, Europe, Canada, across some of the Middle East markets, even in Australia,” says Giriyan.

“As we have seen, the behaviour in the African segment is such that they regularly remit money back home to support their families. Look at Liberia and Egypt, which are among the top receiving countries in the world today. Look at Morocco, look at Algeria, look at Tunisia, look at Ghana, look at Kenya – all these countries depend on remittances.

Banking penetration rates in some African countries is as lows as 15% 13

“This partnership with Huawei is going to give us a much larger footprint” – Sudhesh Giriyan 14

February 2018

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y In fact, a good percentage of the GDP of these countries is made up by remittances. There are countries which are relying on remittances to the extent of 20-25%.

“Remittances have become a lifeline for many markets, and more so in some parts of Africa. Africa currently receives somewhere around $60bn from across the globe. So, Xpress Money is constantly looking at increasing its money share across the key African market. Be it North Africa, East, West or the South African belt, we are constantly looking at increasing our market share.

“With that intention, we are growing our channels. Years back, we used to only have cash remittances in most of the market, then we added account credit and then mobile wallet credit… so with this partnership with Huawei, definitely we’ll be looking at enhancing our market share in the key African market.”

The importance of companies like Xpress Money in Africa cannot be underestimated. Businesses such as this are important in terms of helping trade to happen in parts of the world where challenges remain.

Xpress Money is aiming to

be in every country on earth for cash remittances by the end of this year, and the Huawei partnership will play an important role in the company’s growth.

Giriyan is hopeful that, together, both companies can create some market disruption by bringing together their respective expertise and services in a way which suits potential customers.

“In Africa today, compared to any other region, mobile wallet credits are in great demand,” he says. “The best examples of this are countries like Kenya and Tanzania. There is a lot happening in markets like Rwanda, Ghana and, going forward, it’ll happen in Nigeria as well. That is something which we see a lot when we get inquiries from our customers.

For example, when a Kenyan walks into any of the locations, invariably he or she wants money to be sent to mobile wallet in Kenya.

“So, because of the partnership that we have entered into with Huawei, we’ll look at countries where we can roll out these agreements and once they go live in a particular country, with a particular partner, we’ll definitely look at promoting this channel, which is sending money into mobile wallet.”

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TECHNOLOGY

CHANGE FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE Writ ten by BEN MOUNCER

Digital transformations are now seen as mission critical to businesses large and small, yet Conrad Fritzsch, Mercedes-Benz’s Director of Digitalisation, Marketing & Sales, explains why people as much as technologies are the true drivers of change

TECHNOLOGY

SPEAK TO THE leader of any ambitious business in any region of the world, and it won’t be long before you arrive at one particular topic in the conversation.

‘Digital transformation’ may well rank as the buzziest of buzz phrases from 2017, a year that also made convincing commentators ‘influencers’, heralded any progress points as ‘nextgen’ and redefined an employee’s (human, not robot) working capacity as ‘bandwidth’.

While quirks in language come and 18

February 2018

go, however, the plans and processes that define a ‘digital transformation’ are here to stay. This is no fad. Like the office chairs you sit in and the screens you’re reading on, technology as the vertebrae of a business – and installing it quickly - is becoming less desirable and more just plainly essential.

Yet a recent study, conducted by Vanson Bourne, reported that nine out of every 10 digital transformation projects fail. The research called on input from 450 CIOs, CTOs and

The parent company, Daimler, knows the pairing of its mobility platforms with the trends and futuristic technologies of tomorrow is the answer to the individual needs of its customers

Chief Digital Officers at sizeable companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. This startling rate of derailed disruption is consensus, not just a manufactured statistic.

Why does the embedding of digital in businesses prove so problematic, when the very people charged with managing that business have, more often than not, made it their priority? Are they trying too hard, losing sight of its true purpose?

“When you have true customerobsession, then this is what will drive your transformation because you see what’s important and what’s not so important” CONRAD FRITZSCH Director of Digitalisation Marketing & Sales at Mercedes-Benz 19

Video: An insight into the experience and shape of digital transformation at Daimler with the Digital Life Day 2017

CONRAD FRITZSCH Director of Digitalisation Marketing & Sales at Mercedes-Benz

Conrad Fritzsch, born in Berlin in 1969 joined Daimler AG in August 2017. He is the Director of Digitalization Marketing & Sales Mercedes-Benz. He is the driver of the digital transformation.

In order to promote entrepreneurial creativity and cooperation, Fritzsch brought digital marketing and IT together within a swarm organization. In his function, he leads the digital transformation and Mercedes me, which offers a digital, personalised ecosystem and is all about to satisfy customer demands.

Besides, he promotes a seamless customer journey, which is ensured through the new website in frontend and backend “OneWeb�. Further he is responsible for eCommerce. With the creation of new international delivery hubs, Fritzsch is also very active in worldwide recruitment of digital high potential employees.

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TECHNOLOGY Conrad Fritzsch is Director of Digitalisation, Marketing & Sales, at Mercedes-Benz. As the overseer of a digital transformation in a worldfamous company steeped in tradition, he is keenly aware of the challenges.

For him, the focus shouldn’t be on technology itself, but on people.

“Customer-obsession is the starting point for any transformation,” he tells Business Chief from the automaker’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.

“In the past (at Mercedes-Benz), often we built things because we can. Technical things, more driven by innovation, more driven by what us as engineers can build. Now we’re trying to find out what our customers want today and tomorrow.

“What is important for our customers? When you have true customer-obsession, then this is what will drive your transformation because you see what’s important and what’s not so important.”

Fritzsch joined Mercedes-Benz’s parent group, Daimler AG, in August 2016. In the short period since he has started the long journey to change, trying to impart his expertise on a company boasting 280,000 employees; a weight of work he

admits being surprised by initially “Coming from start-ups, I really underestimated how huge and complex the company is,” he remarks.

The 48-year-old’s primary role is to weave innovative digital products into modern working models, all with the customer’s requirements as the motivation. For example, Fritzsch lead on ‘Mercedes me’, the manufacturer’s range of mobile services and apps that come together to deliver a best-inclass digital service to its customers.

His most notable change so far, though, has been to merge MercedesBenz’s marketing and IT provisions, creating a swarm mentality that has hastened the pace of change from both a technical and personnel perspective.

He claims its most crucial aspect has been the buy-in of the employees.

“The first point that you have to really solve is, does the company want to change or not? Not only the Board, not only the top management, everyone. We have to create a working and culture model that works for all of us.” explains Fritzsch.

“Digital transformation in big companies is more a transformation of the people, from A to B. It’s not too much about digital only; you have to 21

TECHNOLOGY understand that the people are the core in this changing process. Daimler is a fantastic company and it knows that we have to change because the world is changing, the customer is changing.

“In our department, there were around 250 people from IT and the business unit together. We said, ‘Okay, these are our problems we have to solve and these are the people we have’. Then you see white spots because there are new roles we didn’t make! When you build digital products like apps, you need all kinds of experts – so we built a team from both outside experts and inside experts.”

A vital part of the process was establishing the new working models, with the scale of change broken down into step-by-step parts – an approach

“Digital transformation in big companies is more a transformation of the people, from A to B” CONRAD FRITZSCH Director of Digitalisation Marketing & Sales at Mercedes-Benz 22

February 2018

to transformation that Fritzsch likens to developing a key piece of software.

“When you build software, you go out with beta, the version one, version two etc. This is the same method. With the people, we said ‘let’s change in this direction’. We built a Daimler blueprint which combines the strengths of start-ups and global company,” he adds.

“Everybody was on the boat, they had the right mindset. They didn’t say ‘so we made something wrong and now some guy’s come here and has some big answer?’. We built a solution together and everyone could see that solution. That is super important when you want to change.”

Fritzsch’s energy for his mission is career, and it’s a passion that powered a unique career ahead of him taking up the role at MercedesBenz one and a half years ago.

Back in 1993, he co-founded the advertising agency Fritzsch & Mackat, where he served as Creative Director, leading on all creation and consulting. His innovative spark saw him launch tape.tv in 2008, an online music video streaming service that, at its peak, serves 3.9mn unique users, hosting videos from high-profile

DigitalLife Days is a method for the Group to keep staff informed of technological developments and show digital transformation in action artists from around the world.

Fritzsch left the company in 2016, with Daimler picking up the phone.

“I have never worked on this scale. And I thought, ‘okay, the transformation of the car industry is a fantastic challenge’,” he reveals.

“In my life, I had built my own companies but I had never had one of these corporate challenges, as they described; when a corporate company really wants to change. I thought, with all the skills and experiences I gathered in the past, that I can do it.”

Is he content with how it has gone since he picked up the baton in August?

“Am I happy how it goes? 100% yes.

Are we done? 100% no. It’s a really tough journey for us,” he summarises.

“In my world, when I made it my plan in August, September 2016, I thought it will be much quicker.

We’ve decided that we need more people, to move forward and to change more dramatically.

“With digital transformations, don’t make a plan and think it will just work. There is always a change, there is always a new idea from outside, there is always a distraction.

But you have to take everyone on this journey with you.”

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PEOPLE

What’s the key to keeping your best talent?

Stuart Hodge looks at the main challenges companies face in terms of staff retention and some of the novel approaches big companies are taking to create a positive culture Writ ten by STUART HODGE

PEOPLE FOR ANY BUSINESS, ensuring that you keep hold of your most talented members of staff in an often increasingly competitive job market can be the difference between sustained success and the possibility of stagnating or going backwards.

Indeed, a recent Willis Towers Watson study showed that more than half of all organisations globally have difficulty retaining some of their most valued employee groups and that more than a quarter of employees are considered ‘high-risk’ for turnover.

Most scholars would agree that motivation is at the heart of keeping a workforce happy and, according to a recent report by Forbes, establishing an emotional connection with staff is the key to ensuring a cohesive and inclusive culture around the company.

The Forbes study asked HR professionals what their biggest challenges are related to corporate culture and they said overwhelmingly that creating a cohesive culture (55%) and retaining talent (41%) gave them the most concern.

Lola Gershfeld, Psy.D, Board Dynamics Specialist and CEO at 26

February 2018

52% of executives feel culture is primarily set by the current CEO Level Five Executive, says creating that emotional connection can be done using a three-stage plan called Board/Team Dynamics Process.

“When everyone is familiar with and understands one streamlined process the culture becomes much more cohesive,” she says.

“Team members start speaking

W H AT ’ S T H E K E Y T O K E E P I N G Y O U R B E S T TA L E N T ?

the same language and using the same tools to work through conflict. This is where you start to see some really positive changes.

“In our work, we’ve found that culture has to start from the top.

Everyone tends to look up to learn behavior. This is backed up by a recent study from Duke University

that says 52% of executives feel culture is primarily set by the current CEO. And, while boards of directors do not directly choose the firm’s culture, they influence the choice of culture by picking the CEO. “Boards also modify the eventual success of the culture by reinforcing or undermining it through their 27

PEOPLE

“Addressing emotional connection is the way to arrive at a cohesive culture that retains and attracts talent” - Lola Gershfeld, CEO, Level Five Executive approach in addressing challenges together and making that emotional connection with the executive team.

“So, to have a long-term effect on culture, you have to start with the board and the executive team.

This might seem overwhelming, but in that same study, 91% of executives said culture is important at their firm and 78% view culture as one of the top three or top five factors that affect their firm’s value.

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Executives and boards understand the value of culture and they are looking for long-term solutions.

“Improving culture is within arm’s reach. We know how to fix culture for the long haul; it’s just a matter of committing to it. Addressing emotional connection is the way to arrive at a cohesive culture that retains and attracts talent.”

But this is just one approach to creating a positive culture within

a company. For some companies, such as the Star Entertainment Group in Australia, it’s more about creating an operational identity and sense of belonging for employees.

“With over 4,500 staff, the real trick is to ensure that everyone is willing to act autonomously,” says Dino Mezzatesta, COO. “It’s important to have confidence and faith in your employees and support them to give their best. There are four things

we ask our employees to do: live it, bring it, own it and deliver it.

“By ‘live it’ we mean that people need to understand guests and their expectations to ensure that what they provide is in keeping with what a customer wants. When we talk about ‘bringing it’, we want our people to always give of their best and to bring everything that they can to offer to our customers. ‘Own it’ means step up, don’t be afraid to take ownership of situations, to be brave and not to be scared to do things differently. And ‘deliver it’ is basically the final step, because if you do the top three then you should be able to be the perfect host.”

Given the Star Entertainment Group’s award-winning hospitality offering, there can be no doubt that this approach is working, but another important factor for businesses is ensuring that they are helping to develop the leaders of tomorrow as well.

Figures in the TalentKeepers Workplace America report show that a disappointing 36% of organisations are taking steps to develop leaders to drive engagement.

“Leaders need to be trained in 29

PEOPLE

A US study shows 36% of organisations are taking steps to develop leaders to drive engagement

employee engagement skills and must understand their role in retaining and motivating people,” says Christopher Mulligan, TalentKeepers CEO and author of the report.

“The first step in leveraging leaders is determining how well they are currently doing and understanding specifically what training they need to become successful. Every leader should have engagement and retention goals, incentives to meet those goals, and consequences for failing to do so.”

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Clearly the pressure to keep your best staff has never been greater and the lengths companies will go to in creating a positive working culture and environment are more creative than ever.

For Paul Alexander, Head of Indirect Procurement for EMEA with BP, the best way to ensure staff loyalty and to keep them happy in their work is by engaging employees on an intellectual level to stimulate and challenge them.

“My view is that inspiration and

W H AT ’ S T H E K E Y T O K E E P I N G Y O U R B E S T TA L E N T ?

learning is really what people are turned on by these days and that’s what creates a successful team,” says Alexander, who is a bonafide leadership expert and speaker with a passion for the subject.

“Something that compounded my thinking was research by Zenger and Folkman. They’ve written a couple of books, the first of which is called ‘The Extraordinary Leader’ and their research is absolutely fascinating.

“They’ve found many things in their studies and they’ve used very, very large sample groups to test their assumptions. They have

“Inspiration and learning is really what people are turned on by these days and that’s what creates a successful team” - Paul Alexander, Head of Indirect Procurement for EMEA, BP

found very clearly that the ability for leaders to inspire interest and the resource and sincerity you put into development and learning are the things that will drive success.

“I do believe in a knowledgebased economy and a productive economy: you need to have people who want to work for you and are motivated and want to succeed.

“The research on the millennial generation really underlines all of this, I think what they’re asking for which is to be treated with respect, not to be hugely well rewarded but to be sensibly and adequately rewarded but to be treated well and given the opportunity to learn and fulfill themselves.

“I think that’s what we all want; the difference now is that a lot of work has gone into listening to millennials who have a loud voice and I think and hope our workplace is evolving the way it needs to do for the benefit of us all.

“Another thing I would point to is the work of Dan Pink. What he says is three things really turn people on: autonomy, the freedom to do the job the way they want to do it; mastery, giving them the 31

PEOPLE Employees who are “engaged and thriving� are 59% less likely to look for a job elsewhere

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W H AT ’ S T H E K E Y T O K E E P I N G Y O U R B E S T TA L E N T ?

support to excel at what they do; and purpose, helping them find a reason to do what they do.

“If I could crystallise everything that I’m saying about leadership into one word it would be: inspiration. Within procurement, they can be the kind of people who turn up, place orders and do a commodity task, or they can be the people who save the company.

“My very strong belief is that when people come to work they should be able to have a good time and I don’t know why so many organisations struggle with that.”

Indeed, when Alexander breaks it down like that it is hard to fathom why so many companies find it difficult to create such a positive environment for staff to work in, and no doubt this issue is becoming increasingly important.

Research from Gallup shows that employees who are “engaged and thriving” are 59% less likely to look for a job with a different organisation in the next 12 months.

Companies like German online clothing retailer Spreadshirt have an even more novel approach to creating that positive culture and ensuring that work is a fun place

for employees to come into, as Philip Rooke, CEO, explains.

“We have a Feel Good Manager whose job it is to make Spreadshirt a great environment to work in and a big part of this job is organising the company events. We always have a big summer party where family and friends, but also former Spreadsters, come together. Now we also have a “Spreadster exclusive” event, called Wandertag, like a summer outing.

“Talent retention isn’t a big problem for us. We have a great product and a great company, but we do not take that for granted.

Like any company we have our bad days. Our culture and talent retention is led by our Head of Recruiting and Feel Good Manager.

“She’s responsible for the onboarding process for each new Spreadster, and improving workplace culture. In particular she has brought in programs on management communication to improve the way we work with talent. If you respect and empower talent, it wants to stay.”

Words which should perhaps be borne in mind by companies who are worried about competitors poaching their most talented employees.

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Why operational risk management is vital – and where it’s headed

Writ ten by STUART HODGE

Business Chief looks at how operational risk management has developed in recent years and what we can expect in years to come...

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y MITIGATING RISK. IT’S a challenge that every company faces but it’s sometimes a difficult thing to confront or to feel that you’re maximising the potential from.

It can mean anything from having more money set aside for workers’ compensation to an awareness of transaction risk in crossborder deals – that’s why there can often be a reticence in certain sectors to properly address it.

Michael Rosenberg is from WPV Corp, a company which claims to have developed technology that almost completely mitigates the risk of harassment/sexual harassment and workplace violence, using a validated risk assessment and an incident reporting system that is held outside the organisation.

“Managing risk can literally mean the difference between a company being profitable and being bankrupt,” he says assertively.

“Reactive cultures that ignore risk waste millions of dollars literally having to deal with emergencies. It’s like a car: if you don’t do the maintenance and ignore the risk, it will break down at the worst possible time and cost you a lot of money to fix and replace.

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Many organisations still use spreads

“Ignoring operational risk leads to significantly higher insurance rates, turnover, lost time and most importantly brand degradation.

“Identifying and preventing operational risk before it becomes a crisis literally is the single largest factor in ensuring a company’s survival.”

But what exactly is operational risk and how do you manage it?

“Typically, operational risk is a highly-siloed discipline in

sheets to manage risk

organisations,” explains Val Jonas, CEO of British consultancy company Risk Decisions.

“Good risk management may be carried out locally, but this doesn’t necessarily meet the organisation’s need to achieve a connected view of risk. It also doesn’t encourage creativity in thinking about both up-side and down-side scenarios. This is exacerbated by the fact that most organisations still use spreadsheets

to manage risk in each silo.

“Those organisations most effective at risk management embed a culture of risk awareness and management as a top-down imperative. This encourages more informed risk taking, drives creativity and increases business performance.

“Key strategies include establishing a consistent approach to give panorganisation visibility of risk, while allowing different operational areas to 37

We asked

Tim Ng…

Operations is an oft used word in the business world, but what does it really mean?

“As a Chief Operating Officer, my challenge is multifaceted. It is not a role that is well defined. It is a role that is integral to the company but is also unique to the sector I am in. The role of a Chief Operating Officer for a financial services firm is very different from one in manufacturing, technology or health.

“The maturity of the business impacts greatly on the skills necessary to ensure that the company operates in a manner that allows it to react to internal and external pressures.

“With market uncertainty and volatility caused by Brexit and the pressure on the currency markets, companies have required a sustained pursuit of greater efficiencies and major business transformations.

“The nature of the position is diverse with a wide variation in operational roles from one sector to another, but the core lies in supporting the CEO and determining the optimal strategy for the future and then help implement it.

“As a CTO, it made sense to move into a broader role within the company which is primarily a technologyenabled business. The ability to marry technology and development skillsets to operations gives us the capability to take our operational agility to another level. We are not wedded and reliant on third parties, we can develop and create our own solutions to operational challenges.

“The challenges facing operations are varied and can be likened to guerilla warfare – you just don’t know where you will have to be next.”

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manage risk as appropriate. This will increase and improve collaboration which can lead to valuable insights e.g. supply risks impacting multiple areas of the business. Another strategy is to implement regular audits of key suppliers’ risk policies and processes to ensure they deliver. For example, pharmaceutical companies ensuring that the third-party companies running their clinical trials will do so ethically and in the required time-frames.

“Finally, all business cases should include an assessment of risks, with clear explanations of how they will be managed.”

One of the key facets of operational risk management companies have to address in this day and age is the prospect of cybercrime.

Figures in last year’s Accenture Cost of Cyber Crime study showed that the average annual cost of cybercrime is $11.7mn, increasing annually by 22.7%, with the number of breaches increasing by 27.4% to an average of 130 each year.

“Operational risk management is getting more important in recent years due to the new and more stringent regulatory requirement while organisations are keen to embrace the digital transformation which essentially increases the risk exposure as a result,” says William Tam, Director of Sales Engineering, APAC, for global cybersecurity expert Forcepoint.

“The continuously shifting ‘threat landscape’ requires an equally transformative view on behaviourcentric security. To manage cybersecurity risk, companies need to include measures that understand the nature of human intent and the ability to dynamically adapt security response. That’s the path forward to stop cyberattacks dead in their tracks.

“Cloud computing has been 39

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y a key disruptor to operational risk management. As business critical data continues to move to the cloud, and be made available to anyone anywhere, traditional perimeter-based security and riskmodelling are becoming obsolete.

“Organisations need to concentrate on when and why people interact with critical data. Additionally, as malware continues to evolve, the risks will multiply, leaving traditional security controls ineffective.”

It’s an ever-evolving space, and requires companies to be clear in their thought process and implementation.

Jeff Skipper, an expert in organisational psychology who runs his own consulting firm, Jeff Skipper Consulting, believes it is an area which companies often fail to address.

When asked how important operational risk management is in the business world, he responded assertively.

“Very,” says Skipper. “And it’s too often overlooked because risk management doesn’t seem like ‘productive’ work. You only feel the gap when something goes off the rails.

However, the impact of that can be measured in revenue hits, reputational 40

Feburary 2018

damage, and employee exits.

“In my work with leading organisations in both the public and non-profit sectors, risk management is most commonly only given lip service.

The leaders whom I advise are the ones who continually surface risk as a lever to remove obstacles and act.

“Combining high risk awareness with the strategic use of what I call ‘leadership capital’ is a critical combination for successful initiatives.

It has made the difference between 10% and 100% cost overruns.”

Skipper believes that poorlymanaged strategic projects are often at the root of organisational failings with regards to risk management.

“It’s very common for the best people to try and avoid key projects because they are very demanding,” he says. “But having the best people with strong skills and leadership is key in these situations.

“Secondarily, there are major gaps in future anticipation. We don’t give people time to think about the ‘what ifs’, which can be the greatest source of risk avoidance as well as innovation.”

One of the key areas where innovation is expected in the ORM

“Managing risk can literally mean the difference between a company being profitable and being bankrupt” - Michael Rosenberg, WPV Corp space, as it is in so many others, is by embracing cognitive technology.

David Cahn is the Director of Product Marketing for Elemica, a leading business network for supply chains of process businesses, discussed how that might, and might not, change things.

“Cognitive risk management involves the decision by a human to follow the risk mitigation procedures, but knowing the risk of something doesn’t prevent us from taking a chance anyway,” says Cahn.

“However, cognitive science is being incorporated into technology to create powerful tools that tackle complete problems. Advanced analytics and automation will increasingly play bigger roles as tactical solutions to drive efficiency or to help executives solve complex problems.

“The real opportunities lie in re-imaging the enterprise as an intelligent organisation – one designed to create situational awareness with tools capable of analysing disparate data in real or near-real time.

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“Organisations need to concentrate on when and why people interact with critical data” - William Tam, Director of Sales Engineering, APAC, Forcepoint “The goal of cognitive governance, as the name implies, is to facilitate the design of intelligent automation to create actionable business intelligence, improve decision-making, and reduce manual processes that lead to poor or uncertain outcomes.

In other words, cognitive governance systematically identifies ‘blind spots’ across the firm then directs intelligent automation to reduce or eliminate the blind spots.”

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Feburary 2018

Tim Ng, COO of Europe’s leading digital health business Now Healthcare, casts an eye even further forward.

“A key challenge in the future will be the necessary integration of new and future technologies into core processes, world-changing technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning,” says Ng. “Data is at the heart of operations, and those who can harness it will be more

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y successful than those who can’t.

“The greatest impact and trend will be the use of artificial intelligence.

This is a logical next step from business intelligence – systems that can consume data from multiple data streams and provide actionable intel in a format that is easily digestible to the management.

Say goodbye to huge teams of analysts: AI will be the new norm.

“Technology in general will drive greater change, so operations people will need to thrive on the adrenaline of complexity and change. The operational canvas will be changed forever and this needs to be embraced.

“The world economy has faced and is still facing large structural changes on the way to bringing business to the international stage. Technology has impacted hugely with the world becoming a much smaller place – globalisation of businesses has significantly accelerated with small companies able to enter the global markets through the use of technology.

It is no longer an honor reserved for large companies and SMEs. “Because of this, agility is required.

Agile operations allow the companies

to react to market conditions and plot routes through the minefield of consumer demand. I expect operational processes to be more agile with changes made almost instantaneously, as technology allows access to real time KPI (key performance indicator) management to an unprecedented level.

“Deeper integration of systems and data will be necessary with mobilisation and real time access a key enabler. With executives able to access data anytime and anywhere, leading to strategic and tactical decision making many factors quicker than previously possible.

Micro services will be the new fabric for operations with the reliance on the large monolithic enterprise systems no longer necessary.

Imagine if you could piece together the services you needed like a jigsaw.

Able to add, update and discard as necessary when new technologies or better AI became available.

“These are just the beginnings – it is no longer enough to be a safe pair of hands. It is now necessary to have the mindset of an innovator and creator to ensure that operations are able to support the needs of the business.”

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CAIR CITY FOCUS

Headline

Seque rest volorum aute velestio intem illibus es qui ut alit et, sita iuntur?

Writ ten by AUTHOR

IRO HOW THIS HISTORIC CITY IS BECOMING A BREEDING GROUND FOR STARTUPS Edited by BEN MOUNCER

CITY FOCUS CAIRO IS AN historic Africa city that is the largest in Egypt and also the country’s capital.

The city has a population of 6.76mn people while nearly 10mn additional individuals reside within close proximity. In addition to being the site of Egypt’s music and film industries, Cairo is home to the headquarters of the Arab League, many international businesses and media organisations as well as the second-oldest institute of higher learning in the world, Al-Azhar University.

Cairo boasts a strong infrastructure with an established healthcare system that is the most advanced in the country and which contains half of all the hospital beds in Egypt. The city is also home to at least 20 universities of higher learning including the Arab Academy for Science & Technology and Maritime Support, Cairo University, Arab Open University, Nile University and many more.

In spite of the city’s age - modern-day Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in 969 CE - much of its buildings are fairly young. Due to significant growth, Cairo has undergone rapid construction with about one building out of every five being 15 years old or younger. This “hyper-urbanisation” has spurred rapid infrastructure growth.

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February 2018

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CITY FOCUS

TECHNOLOGY ACCORDING TO VIRGIN, Cairo is ranked as one of the top startup hubs in the world. There are a number of reasons why the city was recognised for being such a fertile region of growth. Much of its growing population is aged 30 years or under and are tech-savvy. As such, the entire area is experiencing unprecedented growth in both webbased and mobile industries.

Cairo’s young population is 48

February 2018

also hungry for technology and the benefits that it offers. With e-commerce reaching approximately $450mn in 2017 and a location that is very attractive geographically, the city’s growth will only continue to rise. Innovative entrepreneurs, developers, technologicallyoriented individuals and others will find opportunities to expand within existing markets as well as develop brand-new ones. The e-commerce

industry alone is expected to grow by 35% over the next two years.

Cairo’s business culture can best be described as forward-thinking and opportunistic. As Egypt moves away from its industries fueled by monopolies - which has been true for much of its history - new opportunities are being created.

The government is opening up industries but there is still a significant lack of competition due

to the newness of these policies.

It is relatively inexpensive to start a business in Cairo, with Virgin stating that the average cost is about $1,500. The city is leading the way in entrepreneurs who are not only excited about starting new businesses but who are also finding innovative, socially conscious and environmentally friendly ways to set themselves apart from others around them.

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COMPANIES

CITY FOCUS

NAFHAM, AN EDUCATIONAL platform whose name means “we understand” in Arabic, strives to bridge the educational gap that exists within the country. The company does so by providing free online videos through its crowdsource educational platform. Currently, it covers all of the Egyptian curricula and a large 2mn page views. The free videos that are posted on the website offer an invaluable resource for all of Egypt.

WEB

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February 2018

www.nafham.com

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CITY FOCUS

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February 2018

WEB

www.reformstudio.net

COMPANIES

REFORM STUDIO AIMS to reduce the amount of trash by focusing on unused plastic bags. Rather than simply recycling them though this innovative Egyptian start-up is focused on converting them into products and materials that can function in everyday lives. These woven materials help increase the lifespan of the plastic bags in ways that help the environment and the people of Cairo as well. Reform Studios’ furniture designs have also garnered awards.

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COMPANIES

CITY FOCUS

FLAT6LABS IS A company focused on mentoring and accelerating new ideas, creating jobs and securing funding. So far, they’ve created more than 700 jobs, helped over 100 companies and mentored over 220 entrepreneurs.

WEB

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February 2018

www.flat6labs.com

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African IPOs of

2017 Looking back at 2017 we rank the top 10 IPOs by proceeds in a list dominated by South African floats (Source: EY & Bloomberg) Edited by DAN BRIGHTMORE

T O P 10

RH Bophelo Ltd $38mn (South Africa)

10

Letshego Holdings Namibia $30mn (Botswana) www.letshego.com/namibia

Letshego Financial Services Namibia (Letshego Namibia) opened its doors in 2002 as Edu Loan Namibia, providing consumer and micro-lending services. In August 2008, Letshego Holdings Limited (LHL), a Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) listed entity, acquired 100% of the company, soon after which the company re-branded to Letshego Financial Services Namibia. LHL is the largest indigenous BSE-quoted company with a current market capitalisation in excess of BWP 5bn ($500m) that places it in the top 40 sub-Saharan Africa companies (excluding South Africa). LHL focuses on low to middle income earners in the economy, through the provision of financially inclusive solutions.

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February 2018

www.rhbophelo.co.za

RH Bophelo (RHB) is a healthcare investment vehicle aiming to produce superior returns, whilst contributing to socio-economic value creation and development of South Africa. It aims to pursue acquisitions of healthcare assets in exceptionally managed commercial entities or special situations across the South African market. However, a tenth of the fund will be allocated for social assets. The company has been structured to deliver shareholders a growth-oriented cash generative return, without the negative structural elements of traditional junior debt and private equity funds, namely management fees, illiquidity and opaque governance.

09

08

Premier Fishing & Brands $40mn (South Africa) www.premierfishing.co.za

Premier Fishing and Brands Ltd is a predominantly commercial fishing, fish processing and marketing company. Its range of activities involves 1,000 permanent and seasonal staff, as well as factories, facilities and vessels operating in three provinces.

The group has strong relationships with its customers in Asia, Europe and the USA, and has built partnerships with small companies, particularly in the west coast rock lobster sector where it assists these companies with the catching and marketing of their fish. This is in line with the group’s fundamental principle of developing smaller black-owned companies as well as in investing into the communities within which it operates. According to its website, Premier Fishing & Brands is the largest black-owned and managed food and fishing company in South Africa, in existence since 1952, winning several awards for sustainability and financial performance.

Ecobank Cote d’Ivoire $80mn (Togo) www.ecobank.com/ci

Ecobank was established in 1985 under a private sector initiative spearheaded by the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Today, it is the leading pan-African bank with operations in 36 countries across the continent. It has a larger African footprint than any other bank in the world. Ecobank currently operates in countries in West, Central, East and Southern Africa. The Group also has a licensed operation in Paris and representative offices in Beijing, Dubai, Johannesburg, London and Luanda.

07

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T O P 10

African Export Import Bank $166mn (Nigeria) www.afreximbank.com

06

Seaharvest Group Ltd $99mn (South Africa) www.seaharvestgroup.com

Founded in 1999, Seaharvest is an innovative investment Group which owns and invests in a diversified portfolio of 22 global companies across sectors and industries, including Seaharvest Oil & Gas, Seaharvest Medical, FACT Freight, ACME Group, Go Green, FACT Travel and Environmental Solutions.

It aims to combine the expertise of teams across finance, marketing and operations to maximize the benefits of all stakeholders of the company.

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February 2018

According to its website, The African Export Import Bank was established in Nigeria in 1993 by African Governments and both private and institutional investors for the purpose of financing, promoting and expanding intra-African and extra-African trade.

The Bank was established under the twin constitutive instruments of an agreement signed by member states and multilateral organisations, and which confers on the bank the status of an international multilateral organisation. Headquartered in Egypt’s capital Cairo, the bank has branch offices in Harare, Abuja, Abidjan and Nairobi.

05

Ayo Technology Solutions $318mn (South Africa) www.ayotsl.com

04

Vodacom Tanzania Ltd $213mn (Tanzania) www.vodacom.co.tz

Vodacom Tanzania Limited is Tanzania’s leading cellular network company. As of September 2017, Vodacom Tanzania had over 12 million customers and is the largest wireless telecommunications network in Tanzania (based on total wireless customers). Vodacom Tanzania is the second telecom company in Africa, after Vodacom, to switch on its 3G High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). According to its website, Vodacom Tanzania has deployed state of the art technology, thereby enhancing its product portfolio and positioning itself as the market leader for any communication solution.

The Ayo Group was established with the purpose of empowering African businesses to compete in new global market spaces, part of its group-wide vision to become the leader in ICT solutions and business transformation across Africa. Its portfolio of companies includes some of the most creative and innovative ICT solutions providers in the region such as Health System Technologies, Headset Solutions and Afrozaar. The group’s mission is to continue to forge partnerships with companies that share its goal of empowering the continent’s public and private sectors.

03

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T O P 10

02

African Rainbow Capital Invest $326mn (South Africa) www.africanrainbowcapital.co.za

Ubuntu-Botho Investments was created in 2004 with its initial main purpose to build black-controlled capital through being Sanlam’s empowerment partner.

Allied to this, the vision of UbuntuBotho Investments from the outset was to make a difference in the lives of ordinary South Africans by being the premier black-owned and controlled financial services entity. The first phase of realising this vision was the 62

February 2018

accumulation of capital in partnership with Sanlam. This objective has now largely been achieved, with UbuntuBotho Investments holding about 14.5% of Sanlam’s issued shares with a current value of around R17bn. According to its website, the second phase will entail partially investing this capital in African Rainbow Capital, which is set to become a leading South African-based, black-owned-and-controlled financial services company.

Steinhoff Africa Retail Ltd $1.237bn (South Africa) www.steinhoffafricaretail.co.za

Steinhoff Africa Retail (STAR) is a leading African retailer. STAR is the preferred destination for delivering value to the African consumer and all other stakeholders. With more than 4,950 stores in 12 African countries, STAR provides everyday products at affordable prices and serves customers at their convenience. The separation of

Steinhoff’s emerging and developed market retail businesses was a natural progression for the group, given its distinct strategic and geographic focus.

This separation has resulted in a listed, diversified, multi-format retail champion of significant size and scale with its roots in Africa. Its roster of brands includes Hi Fi Corp, Timber City, Ackermans and The Tile House.

‘WITH MORE THAN 4,950 STORES IN 12 AFRICAN COUNTRIES, STAR PROVIDES EVERYDAY PRODUCTS AT AFFORDABLE PRICES AND SERVES CUSTOMERS AT THEIR CONVENIENCE’

01

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ACCC Conductors for a low carbon world Written by Laura Mullan Produced by Greg Churchill

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AS THE NEED TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY, CAPACITY, RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCE OF THE ELECTRIC POWER GRID GAINS MORE AWARENESS, CTC GLOBAL HAS CEMENTED ITS POSITION AS A MARKET LEADER IN THE UTILITY INDUSTRY

E

lectricity is a necessity in today’s digital age.

It helps to connect communities, empower businesses, and encourage innovation in global economies. One component that helps to distribute this resource is overhead power lines and, although they may seem like a simple element, they are a crucial component of the electric power grid. As the need to improve efficiency gains increasing attention, CTC Global has emerged as a major player in the industry by providing cutting-edge Aluminium Conductor Composite Core’s (ACCC) for electricity distribution.

“CTC Global was founded with the aim of leveraging aerospace technology to improve the efficiency, capacity, and reliability of the electric power grid,” comments Dave Bryant, Director of Technology at CTC Global. “We are very aware that, without access to affordable, reliable, and

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February 2018

A test for cable sag between ACSR (left) and ACCC (right)

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The World’s Most Efficient High-Capacity Low-Sag Conductor Increase Line Capacity l Mitigate Thermal Sag l Reduce Line Losses l

Over 60,000 km at over 550 Projects in 50+ countries CTC Global manufactures the ACCC® core used in the production of ACCC® conductor and also provides ancillary components such as dead-ends and splices, and provides engineering, installation and warranty support for all of its products.

ACCC® core is produced, tested and certified at CTC Global and then stranded with trapezoidal shaped aluminum by qualified ACCC® conductor licensees who then ship the finished conductor to customers worldwide.

All components produced by CTC and its stranding partners are certified to ISO 9001-2008 Standards.

For More Information please contact:

2026 McGaw Avenue Irvine, CA 92614 USA Phone: +1 (949) 428-8500 Web: www.ctcglobal.com E-Mail: info@ctcglobal.com ACCC® is a registered trademark of CTC Global Corporation

TECHNOLOGY

“We are very aware that, without access to affordable, reliable, and hopefully clean energy, there is really no country in the world that can successfully develop competitive economies” DAVE BRYANT Director of Technology

hopefully clean energy, there is really no country in the world that can successfully develop a competitive economy. When you have rolling blackouts due to lack of electricity generation, it’s very difficult for businesses to thrive.”

Innovative design and aerospace technology From the late 1800s to early 1900s, overhead conductors typically used copper wire as a conductive material. However, in the wake of World War I, copper was reserved for war materials and so aluminium became the material of choice, with steel core wires often added for strength. Most of the grid still uses this dated structure and, due to electric resistance, it often loses a substantial amount of energy as a result of heat loss and thermal expansion. This poses an industry-wide challenge, and it is one that CTC Global has tackled head-on.

“With a background in aerospace materials, we looked into replacing the steel core of overhead power lines with a composite core using high strength carbon and glass fibres,” explains Bryant. “This not only offers a very low coefficient of thermal expansion to mitigate thermal sag under heavy electrical voltage conditions, it is also about 70% lighter than steel, which allows ACCC to incorporate about 28% more conductive aluminium without a weight or diameter penalty.”

This innovative design not only helps the product

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CTC GLOBAL

CTC Global helps commuinities access reliable energy supplies

carry higher levels of current, it also reduces electrical resistance and line losses by 25% to 40% or more.

Improving access to reliable, cost-effective energy “Our primary goal is to help more people get access to higher quality, more reliable, and less expensive electricity,” Bryant says. “There are still tens of millions of people that don’t have access to electricity at

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February 2018

all and so enhancing the capacity of the grid is really about reducing congestion costs and offering reliable, cleaner electricity at a lower cost to customers.

“In the United States, line losses are generally considered to be between 3% and 5% on a typical transmission line whereas, in countries like India, the technical or system losses are as high as 22% or 23%,” adds Bryant. “Therefore, enhancing the

High Performance Hardware for High Performance Conductors For the last 70 years, Preformed Line Products has been at the forefront of providing innovative, reliable products to the global electric power industry. Now, with the advancement of highperformance, high-capacity conductors, we’re proud to offer a full line of industry-leading hardware designed specifically for the world’s most efficient and reliable conductors. And with engineering, manufacturing, and technical support operations on 6 continents, PLP is fully committed to meeting the needs of customers around the world.

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TECHNOLOGY

“Our primary goal is to help more people get access to higher quality, more reliable, and less expensive electricity” DAVE BRYANT Director of Technology

capability of the line is crucial.” Reducing line losses also frees up generation capacity that is otherwise wasted supporting line losses.

Making an environmental difference By reducing line losses, CTC Global’s ACCC conductor not only improves the capacity of the power line, it also provides a cost-effective way to reduce fuel consumption and associated CO2 emissions. As the very first electric conductor to earn an SCS Global certification, the CO2 emission reductions offered by CTC Global can be evaluated and quantified, allowing corporate and government entities the opportunity to monetise their emission reductions and meet regulatory standards.

“We’re very proud of the CO2 emission reductions we can make, so, for instance, at a recent project for American Electric Power in Texas, the company replaced 240 circuit miles of their 440,000-global transmission line with our composite core ACCC conductor. At a very low mean load factor of 34%, they are able to save 300,000 MWh of electricity every year. In the case of Texas, where you’ve got a number of different resources for energy generation, they were able to reduce the CO2 emissions by 200,000 metric tonnes per year, which is the same as taking 34,000 cars off the road.”

CTC Global not only helps reduce operation costs for natural gas, oil and coal-fired generation units,

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CTC GLOBAL

CTC Global engineers working with an ACCC cable

S TAT I S T I C S • Installed ACCC conductors are saving up to 400 Metric tons of CO2 per kilometer per year • Over 50,000km of ACCC conductors have been deployed at over 500 sites in 48 countries

Close-up of an ACCC cable’s core structure 74

February 2018

• The ACCC conductor was developed to increase capacity and carry twice the current of conventional all-aluminum and steel reinforced conductors.

• The ACCC conductor uses a carbon fiber core that is 25% stronger and 70% lighter than a traditional steel core.

TECHNOLOGY

it is also beneficial for the use of heavy toll on power grids but the renewable energy resources. This can company’s conductor has a proven be seen in countries such as Chile track record of not only resisting in South America, which rely heavily damage from severe weather on hydropower. “During drought conditions but also surviving when season, when there’s less water, wood and metal structures were less power becomes available,” burned down or knocked over. With explains Bryant. “So, by using our a composite core twice as strong conductor, even though they’re not as steel, the conductor repeatedly necessarily reducing demonstrates its ability emissions directly, they to resist damage and are able to get more out improve grid resiliency. of the generation and “Because the carbon that means that they fibre is twice as strong can conserve their water as steel, we’re seeing Number of resources.” Because most a lot less damage and staff at CTC improved survivability from fossil fired generation Global also converts heat to major events,” comments steam to spin turbines, additional Bryant. “About five years ago, a clean water is also saved, worldwide. record EF-5 tornado - the strongest tornado that can happen - struck Robust and resilient a town by the name of Moore, As climate change continues to Oklahoma, and the tornado crossed increase the frequency and severity directly over one of our lines. of extreme weather conditions, the “Although the shockwave snapped resilience that the ACCC conductor the ACCC conductor’s aluminium provides is more important than ever. strands, the composite core was Hurricanes, super storms, and other not damaged at all. Because of severe weather events can have a this, lineman in two bucket trucks

50+

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CTC GLOBAL

“Tens of millions of people that don’t have access to electricity at all and so enhancing the capacity of the grid is really about reducing congestion costs and offering reliable, cleaner electricity at a lower cost to customers” DAVE BRYANT Director of Technology

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TECHNOLOGY

were able to re-energise that section of the line within just a few hours. If the line snapped completely and fell to the ground, it would have taken a couple of days. Our conductor made it easier to put the line back in service and that’s what resiliency is all about.”

Helping societies stay connected Efficiency, capacity, reliability, and resilience are core values at CTC Global and it is these that give the company a competitive edge in the industry. CTC Global’s ACCC conductor is a small component of the electric grid, but with cutting-edge design and aerospace technology, it is giving people greater access to reliable, affordable energy, its reducing carbon emissions, and it’s helping communities stay connected.

“We don’t typically think about electricity in our day-to-day lives; it’s not something we talk about around the dinner table at night,” notes Bryant.

“But in society, there is a growing awareness that people need access to affordable, reliable energy. There’s also still millions of people who don’t have access to electricity so there’s still a lot of work still to be done.”

ACCC power plant upgrade

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Helping Burundi take advantage of the global green technology revolution Written by Catherine Sturman Produced by Arron Rampling 79

CEO Martin Eales discusses plans to increase production of rare earths in a sustainable and responsible way

T

he use of rare earth elements (REE) continues to power new and upcoming technologies.

The utilisation of neodymium and praseodymium, particularly within the manufacturing of electric vehicles, generators and mobile technologies, for example, has been long-standing.

Nonetheless, it has been noted that the REE market is set to rise at an annual growth rate of 8.5% from 2016 to 2026, providing significant opportunities for the mining sector.

Established back in 2011, Rainbow Rare Earths has been behind the development of the high-grade Gakara Rare Earth Project in Burundi, with the ambition to become one of the leading rare earth producers outside of China.

At present, China is the leader in the production of rare earths, with Lynas Corp as the only major non-Chinese supplier of the material, until now.

“Every electric vehicle on average will begin to have twice as much

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February 2018

rare earth content by weight than a traditional vehicle,” explains Rainbow Rare Earths CEO Martin Eales.

“As the world increasingly switches to using electric vehicles, there will be more demand for rare earth materials. The minerals are also used in wind turbines, as well as consumer and tech products, such as smartphones and computers.”

The Gakara Rare Earths Project Situated in East Africa, Burundi has a long mining history. The discovery of rare earth mineralisation back in the 1930s led to the mining of ore from the 1950s up to the 1970s, albeit in much lower quantities than Rainbow is now undertaking. “The rare earth magnet was invented in the 1980s, so you can imagine global demand was very different back then,” notes Eales.

After commencing exploration work on the deposit in 2011, Rainbow obtained its 25-year mining licence

MINING

Martin Eales, CEO of Rainbow Rare Earths

RAINBOW RARE EARTHS LIMITED

in 2015. Following its listing on the London Stock Exchange in January 2017, the company achieved its stated target of first production and first export shipment of high grade rare earths mineral concentrate at the end of last year. Rainbow’s short-term aim is to produce at a rate of 5,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) before the end of 2018, rising to 6,000tpa before the end of 2019.

Rainbow’s Gakara project is widely recognised as one of the highest-grade REE mining projects worldwide, with an in-situ grade

of up to 67% rare earth oxides.

Sustainable operations Working closely with the environmental ministry in Burundi has enabled Rainbow to reduce any potential impact on the surrounding areas to its operations.

“It’s open quarry digging, effectively.

Other than tons of soil being relocated, we’re not doing anything else which may affect the environment,” says Eales. “We use no acids or explosives, which could pollute the environment.

“It’s such a high grade that

“We like to support the growth of the economy in Burundi and enable what is currently a small developing country gain access to the foreign currency that the mining sector can provide” CEO, Martin Eales 82

February 2018

MINING

the volumes we have to mine are consequently very low,” he continues.

“Our processing from the mined ore is also not overly technical because it relies on gravity separation.

“It’s heavier than the waste so it’s relatively easy to extract the rare earth ore. It’s separated using gravity, so the lighter material gets thrown off and the heavier material gets concentrated.”

Building partnerships Strong existing infrastructural links such as the roads to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Mombasa, Kenya,

support Rainbow’s operations by enabling mineral concentrate to be trucked to port. Its processing plant, situated 20km away from its core mining locations in Kabezi, will enable Rainbow to process of up to five tons of run of mine ore per hour.

Rainbow’s implementation of low-risk, low capex mining and processing has therefore increased the speed to first production and will support future sales, with the high grade eradicating the need for further chemical processing. A signed 10-year agreement with thyssenkrupp Raw

As at end November last year Rainbow directly employed 153 Burundian staff and 234 subcontractors, revitalising the local economy and creating opportunities for secondary businesses such as offering catering for the mining staff.

2011 The year that RRE was founded

2017 The year that RRE was listed on the London Stock Exchange

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RAINBOW RARE EARTHS LIMITED

Materials covers Rainbow’s ongoing distribution and marketing, and will see the business sell up to 10,000tpa of rare earth concentrate worldwide.

All marketing and price negotiations will be undertaken by thyssenkrupp.

Community spirit “We also like to support the growth of the economy in Burundi and enable what is currently a small developing country gain access to the foreign currency that the mining sector can provide,� says Eales.

Rainbow exported its first shipment of rare earth concentrate on time and within budget at the end of last year 84

February 2018

Adopting a robust corporate social responsibility programme, Rainbow is developing an allocated fund dedicated to community developments and local programmes.

Examples of community projects already supported by Rainbow include the supply of essential building materials to local people, as well as establishing a catering cooperative, which provides food for local workers.

Most importantly for both the company and Burundi, Rainbow guarantees that non-local hires

MINING

Veins extracted at the Gakara project are mined manually from free-digging host rock with no explosives or hazardous chemistry required

are kept to a minimum. Currently employing well over 100 local staff, the business provides many local opportunities, and is contributing to the improvement of local infrastructure in order to educate, uplift and empower local citizens.

“We hire local, if possible, and we do that hand-in-hand with the local administration to ensure that the local residents are first in line for employment, rather than coming from elsewhere in the country,” comments Eales.

“We have only two full-time expat

staff in country, one of whom is a very experienced South African Health and Safety Manager. He has implemented a range of standard operating procedures and health and safety monitoring. We’ve trained all our workers to the fullest extent, and provide everything required to ensure workers are as safe as possible throughout all our operations.”

Future growth Whilst Rainbow now looks to ramp up its production, it has sought to mitigate any potential short term financial risks

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RAINBOW RARE EARTHS LIMITED

“We hire local, if possible, and we do that handin-hand with the local administration to ensure that the local residents are first in line for employment�

CEO, Martin Eales

Obsideo Consulting Mineral processing engineering, project management and construction specialist, Obsideo Consulting has recently expanded its business into Africa, where it has done several mineral processing studies and has successfully constructed and commissioned the Gakara Rare Earths processing plant in Burundi.

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Rainbow became the first rare earths producer in Africa last year.

In 2018 the company targets a run rate of 5,000 tpa with a plan to ramp up the production to a run rate of 6,000 tpa during 2019

by completing a further equity issue in early December 2017. “We’ve just done a fundraising of nearly $4mn,” adds Eales. The Company’s recent fundraising opens up the door for further acceleration of growth.

The funds will enable Rainbow to expand its existing mining fleet to increase production, and will see the company look at other areas of exploration potential, with approximately $750,000 put aside for a maiden drilling campaign, alongside $1mn which will be

put towards the establishment costs of new mining areas.

“It’s quite an exciting time and will support the increase of production through 2018 and into 2019. We’re also set to undertake our first drilling campaign on some very exciting anomalies highlighted by our recent airborne survey,” concludes Eales.

“We see many, many years of operations in the area. Hopefully we’ll leave a good legacy, something that’s sustainable for the local people.”

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INVESTING IN BAUXITE MINING. INVESTING IN GUINEA’S FUTURE Written by Laura Mullan Produced by Richard Deane

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Embarking on a $1bn expansion of its fast-paced strict compliance bauxite mine in Guinea, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée is helping to transform the West African country into a global mining giant

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he West African country of Guinea may seem small but scratch under its surface and this fast-emerging nation is set to become a frontrunner in the mining industry – and it’s all thanks to its abundant asset, bauxite.

Sitting on top of about a third of the world’s total bauxite reserves, the small, yet-resource rich country of Guinea is the second largest provider and exporter of the ore in the world.

With exports set to soar in comings years, Guinea is on track to continue on an upward trajectory and, by extracting bauxite from the heart of the country’s Boké region, Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG), is positioned to play a key role in this future.

Currently operating open pit mines in Sangarédi, Bidikoum, Silidara and N’Dangara, Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée is 49% owned

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by the Guinean government and 51% owned by Halco Mining Inc., a consortium comprised of Alcoa, Rio Tinto, and Dadco Investments.

Accelerating production As the largest bauxite producing company in Guinea, and one of the largest bauxite producing companies in the world, CBG has gone from strength to strength since it was first founded in 1973.

In the 1970s, the company’s first ship left the port of Kamsar with 19,000 tonnes of ore on board after a total loading time of 125 hours. Today, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée has the ability to load 75,000 tonnes of bauxite on boats in less than 20 hours.

Production hit 15mn tonnes for the first time back in 2013 – and the numbers are still rising. As such, the historic company is

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keen to maintain momentum.

In order to meet the pressing demand for this valuable mineral, CBG has embarked on an ambitious project worth around $1bn that’s set to drastically expand its operations.

By investing in its plant and port in Kamsar, the Guinean miner hopes to grow its production and export capacity in two phases: the first phase aimed to increase production capacity to 18.5mn tonnes per year as of last quarter 2017, followed by a second phase with an increased

‘Under the guidance of General Manager Souleymane Traore, CBG has redefined its strategy, balancing speed, compliance, sustainability and spending to lead an exemplary operation in Guinea’

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capacity of 25mn tonnes by 2022.

Through the massive multi-phase expansion project, CBG intends to increase the production capacity of its railway, power plant, and port treatment plant, to boost revenues and enhance the mine’s efficiency.

Souleymane Traore, Director General at CBG, is optimistic about the future of the Guinean firm.

“CBG is engaged in a great phased expansion project that will, at the end of the project, double the production capacity of the company,” he says.

“The first phase of the project is currently in its construction phase and is close to completion.

“What separates us from others companies operating in Guinea is our history,” he adds. “We are the only ones in Guinea operating for more than 40 years. It shows the solidity of our business model. Another thing which distinguishes us is our fundamental principles: ensuring the security of our operations and our workers; controlling our environmental impact; the ethic and integrity we show in our work; the respect and equality in our team; and the satisfaction of our customers.”

Building Partnerships to Achieve New Production Records TAKRAF is proud to be an important partner to Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG) and assist them with their Expansion Project; providing specialized equipment and technologies to increase the production and export of bauxite according to CBG’s strategic goals.

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We are pleased that our equipment and services can contribute to CBG’s success story, and lead the way for Guinea’s future success.

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Strict compliance Yet, although CBG is ambitiously trying to double its production capabilities and scale up, it isn’t going to compromise its values to do so.

Under the guidance of Souleymane Traore, CBG has redefined its strategy, balancing speed, compliance, sustainability and spending to lead an exemplary operation in Guinea.

By all accounts, health and safety is CBG’s top priority. Therefore, the mining firm is keen to ensure that the bauxite is extracted, treated, and shipped in the safest of conditions, and that it has “strict compliance” with the highest national and international practices.

Furthermore, the company is eager to keep up-to-date with the latest industry innovation to remain ahead of the competition.

Bauxite is a vital Guinean export

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“Since its very creation, CBG has made its production processes better and better thanks to technological evolution,” says Traore.

As one of its the region’s most prized resources, bauxite production is of strong economic importance to Guinea, accounting for roughly 20% of the country’s gross domestic product and 80% of its exports.

Therefore, the mining giant’s expansion plan will not only create a lasting legacy for the company,

it will also create a positive future for the country at large.

Investing in Guinea’s future Throughout its 45-year history, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée has continued to make a meaningful contribution to the region’s local economy.

In fact, CBG is currently the single largest contributor of revenue to Guinea and this latest project expects to add further revenue

‘By balancing its vast expansion plan with extensive CSR policies, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée has cemented itself as a definite ‘one to watch’ on the global mining stage’

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through additional tax payments.

As well as this, the company has cemented itself as one of the key drivers of employment in the Boké region, currently standing as the largest employer in the country after the state.

By upgrading its facilities, CBG hopes to hire an extra 1,300 employees during construction and over 230 permanent employees during operations.

These are impressive statistics, but beyond the figures, it is clear that CBG is having a profound and meaningful impact on the lives of everyday people in Guinea’s mining communities.

Indeed, since 2010, the mining giant has partnered with local communities to help promote the creation, training, and supervision of very small enterprises (VSEs), especially if these are in areas such as sanitation, public works, rehabilitation, and reforestation.

To date, this policy has created a dozen VSEs in the Sangaredi and Kamsar region. In doing so it has helped to employ over 950 people and, perhaps more importantly, it has assisted in creating social security and peace in the area.

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CBG CONCESSION AREA EXTENDING FROM SANGARÉDI TO GAOUNAI THROUGH THE COGON AND TOMINE RIVER REGIONS

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RAILWAYS CONNECT THE SANGAREDI MINE TO THE KAMSAR TREATMENT PLANT

Community-driven approach As a local Guinean miner, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée takes an authentic, grounded approach to corporate responsibility.

It prides itself on developing lasting relationships with communities based on mutual trust, transparency, active partnerships and commitments.

As a result, the company makes sure that its community investments are genuinely aligned with the priorities of local people and collectives, with projects often focused on key issues

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The multiphase project hopes to increase production in two phases: the first phase aimed to increase production capacity to 18.5mn tonnes per year as of December 2017; followed by a second phase with an increased capacity of 22.5mn tons by 2022

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such as health, education, and basic infrastructure.

In June 2017, CBG’s Board of Directors decided to increase its community development budget from about $600,000 per year to $2.5mn. With this in mind, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CECI, an international organisation that combats poverty and exclusion through sustainable development projects. Through this partnership, the company has worked diligently to finance projects that will help local communities generate income and develop sustainably.

One such health project that has seen visible results is the company’s commitment to counter the spread of malaria, a high risk to Guinean families throughout the year.

The repercussions of the mosquito-transmitted disease are painfully felt by local communities

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and so, to combat this, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée launched a malaria control programme in 2016 in collaboration with the National Program for the Fight Against Malaria.

Helping the employees and communities which are so intertwined with the mining operation, CBG’s programme focuses on three main pillars: the distribution of mosquito nets, intradomiciliary spraying, and community awareness courses about the disease’s symptoms.

Through such projects, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée not only positions itself as an impressive mining leader, it also showcases its impressive moral code, ethical standards and commitment to the local people.

This ethical stance extends not only to the country’s people, but to Guinea’s local environment and habitats.

By upgrading its facilities, CBG hopes to hire an extra 1,300 employees during construction and over 230 permanent employees during operations

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Protecting biodiversity Sustainability sits at the heart of CBG’s vision for its mining operations and, like many in the mining industry today, Traore and his team are keen to balance its mammoth expansion programme with the need to preserve the nation’s environmental integrity and biodiversity.

To this end, CBG has created a pioneering Biodiversity Management System to oversee and manage the project’s biodiversity impact.

This crucial programme outlines the company’s key environmental strategies and these include: creating a buffer zone around the habitats of critically endangered and endangered species; offsetting any impact to the country’s endangered chimpanzee habitat; reducing noise pollution by using surface mining techniques and avoiding dredging during species’ breeding season.

With its burgeoning operations and proactive sense of social responsibility, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée is, by all means, a mammoth operation. The day-to-day running of CBG is a challenging feat but thanks to the company’s committed

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workforce and adept management under Traore, it has established itself as a major player in the mining sector.

Cooperating with industry leaders The team at CBG is a tight knit one but this sense of togetherness hasn’t been closed off to CBG and its employees – it’s a philosophy that is ingrained in its relationships with the mine’s partners and suppliers. Whether its gaining industry knowledge from partners enhancing the railway system like Canarail Consultants Inc, or handling materials thanks to equipment from Takraf, Traore and his team understand that the company’s partnerships are an integral component of its success.

CBG’s operations are, by all means, on a global scale. Therefore, by gaining only the best expertise from industry partners like TIG+, Vinci Construction, Tecnasol, MTN Business Guinea Conakry, Transco and Aden Services, CBG has continued to evolve over its 45-year history and has kept up-todate with the latest industry know-how.

Unquestionably, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée is helping

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to reinvigorate the African country’s natural resources sector, signing a succession of impressive contracts along the way.

Transforming the sector Extending across Guinea’s mining heartland of Boké, CBG’s $1bn expansion plan has yielded promising results so far. It seems that, as the world’s biggest bauxite exporter, CBG will continue to have a pivotal role to play in both the West African

country’s future and, indeed, the future of the aluminium industry.

Forming one of the crucial minerals needed for aluminium production, Guinea’s bauxite reserves are an indispensable asset for the aeronautic, automotive, building and packaging sectors, and beyond. Therefore, Guinea’s role on the world mining stage cannot be overlooked.

Yet, although Guinea ranks first in the world for its bauxite reserves, the potential of this in-demand resource

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has not been fully revealed. The West African country ranks sixth in the world for its extraction of high-grade bauxite but, through its expansion plan, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée hopes to change that – and it seems it’s well on its way.

Guinea’s bauxite reserves are amongst the highest quality worldwide, making it a valuable resource in the global market. By balancing its growth with extensive CSR policies, CBG has cemented itself as a definite ‘one to watch’ on the global mining stage.

In the 1970s, the company’s first ship left the port of Kamsar with 19,000 tonnes of ore on board after a total loading time of 125 hours. Today, the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée has the ability to load 75,000 tons of bauxite on boats in less than 20 hours

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EDM: OFFERING MOZAMBIQUE A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY LIFELINE

WRITTEN BY CATHERINE STURMAN PRODUCED BY GREG CHURCHILL

Electricidade De Mocambique E P’s Chairman and CEO Mateus Magala discusses Mozambique’s growing sustainable energy potential

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he energy sector in Africa remains complex.

Escalating costs, ageing infrastructures and growing populations have placed an increased strain on resources. At present, existing electricity tariffs in Mozambique are not cost reflective, severely impacting the country’s ability to invest in sufficient power infrastructure to sustain domestic and industrial demand. In 2017 alone, Mozambique’s peak electricity demand reached 1,850MW, whilst the entirety of Southern Africa is facing increased demands of 38,897MW. Primary energy demand has been historically met by traditional sources such as wood or charcoal (which accounted for 64% of energy production and 77% of final energy consumption back in 2011).

The country is now looking at alternative resources to support its growing need for electricity.

“The rate of access to electricity among the

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population is still very low with a national average of 27% - 82% for urban areas and 1% for rural areas,” explains Electricidade de Moçambique, E.P. (EDM) Chairman and CEO Mateus Magala. The country is therefore facing an ongoing uphill battle, where two-thirds of their population are without electricity.

However, this is all set to change.

Africa is unmatched in its renewable and sustainable energy sources (such as solar, hydro, wind and geothermal), and Mozambique aims to take full

EDM’s Cenral Hídrica de Chicamba site

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advantage. Implementing on-grid and off-grid technologies, the country is working to promote greater access to clean energy services through equitable, efficient, sustainable and culturally sensitive sources of new and renewable energies. Africa’s Policy for the Department of New and Renewable Energies 2011-2025 will also support Mozambique’s ambitions to meet rising energy demands.

“The Republic of Mozambique has considered the increase in generation

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capacity through the use of renewable energy sources (solar and wind) to be a strategic goal for the country, and the growth of new opportunities will attract foreign investment,” adds Magala.

THE STRENGTH OF EDM Brought on board to expand Mozambique’s domestic and regional power grids, Magala will lead the way for the country’s rural electrification and revolutionise its service offerings.

“We will work to transform the business into a credible, competitive

EDM was established in 1977

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utility, which will power and light up Mozambique with renewable energy sources, fully positioning the country as a regional hub for the Southern African region,” he says.

“Mozambique has untapped energy generation potential, with an installed generation capacity presently reaching approximately 3,000MW. Energy production in Mozambique has also been rising by 6% since 2000.”

Through supporting the Paris Climate Change Agreement (also known as COP 21) in 2016, the country will also work to reduce its carbon emissions by 76.5 megatonnes from 2020 to 2030 through upcoming projects. This has also

been noted in its Intended National Determined Contributions (INDC).

Making significant headway, EDM’s strength in building strategic, international partnerships has seen a growth of foreign investment, which has enabled the business to counteract any potential deficit in power and develop a number of renewable energy projects.

Such is its success, that by looking at new ways to produce and transport power, EDM is exploring the advantages of developing a number of Floating Liquified Natural Gas (FLNG) plants in Mozambique, working closely with Shell, ENI and Yara and others.

“Once there is more certainty

“The Republic of Mozambique has considered the increase in generation capacity through the use of renewable energy sources to be a strategic goal for the country” – Chairman and CEO Mateus Magala

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EDM’s strength in building strategic, international partnerships has seen a growth in foreign investment

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regarding gas availability from the Rovuma basin of southern Tanzania and northern Mozambique, a clear generation investment plan will be implemented to sustain the potential energy demand for the centre and northern region as well as exports,” comments Magala.

GROWTH OF HYDROPOWER The release of the Renewable Energy Atlas of Mozambique by the Government of Mozambique (GoM) in 2014 highlights how local authorities are supporting the development of renewable projects, particularly around the technical and economic prefeasibility levels of utilising renewable sources. It has also stated that the potential of renewable sources is 10GW for hydropower, 27GW for solar power, 5GW for wind power and 2GW within biomass energy.

Hydropower has become an essential resource in the bid to cater towards rapid energy consumption growth across the country. Since 2014, EDM and government owned Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) have provided essential

energy through the development of the Cahora Bassa hydro dam, where 500MW will be distributed across Mozambique, with the remaining 1,575MW going to adjacent countries. However, Mozambique’s allocation of hydropower will need to be increased due to the country’s increasing rise in demand.

“EDM needs an additional allocation in the order of 250MW from Cahora Bassa to reduce the cost of power acquisition to supply the load in Mozambique,” explains Magala. “Since 2011, the power supply of internal consumption is based either on emergency of supply or from new independent power producers, which is unsustainable.”

The Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Dam project will also provide a number of advantages for EDM and form part of a wider objective to construct additional dams. Located downstream from Cahora Bassa on the Zambezi river, the project will provide 1,500MW of clean and renewable energy for local domestic growth and export to the region “The additional power generation

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and associated transmission infrastructure will ensure the improved security and reliability of supply, and export revenues in foreign currency, among other benefits, such as foreign substantial direct investment and intensive labour demand for the central and northern region,” says Magala.

INCREASED INVESTMENT None of EDM’s projects would be possible without the growth

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of strategic partnerships and alliance with stakeholders and international businesses. Stressing the importance of EDM’s relationship with the Japanese International Corporation Authority (JICA), World Bank, African Development Bank, Kingdom of Norway, Sweden and others, Magala explains that both parties mutually benefit, which has led to the subsequent improvement of Mozambique’s energy sector.

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“Japan is a highly credible technology partner, and is secondto-none,” he notes. “In the last five years, the Japanese Government has been a determinant player supporting Mozambique. We expect this to be consolidated and enhanced in the near future. We now have some projects which are close to, or are ready to start construction.”

Recently, the European Union’s Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund’s (EAIF) has also pledged a €4mn investment to further support the growth of renewable energy projects in Mozambique. The Project for Promotion of Auctions for Renewable Energies (PROLER) initiative has led

to the construction of two new solar power plants, set to be completed up to 2021. Whilst one will be situated in Mocuba, Zambézia province, the other, the Metoro solar power plant, will be built in Cabo Delgado Province. “Both the PV Metoro and Mocuba projects will encompass 30MW each,” adds Magala.

“Developed by SCATEC, construction on the Mocuba project is expected to begin in December this year. The Metoro project, however, is set to be developed

by NEON and is at the end of its development phase and should be in operation by 2019. EDM will have 20% shareholding participation

“Private sector investment will also support the diversification of energy, establish new skills and capital into the country, and enable the benchmarking of performance and pricing” – Chairman and CEO Mateus Magala

ELECTRICIDADE DE MOCAMBIQUE E P

in each of these power plants.”

To support EDM further, GoM has submitted an application to the EAIF’s Executive Committee on the company’s behalf to request increased funding surrounding EDM’s need for Technical Assistance (TA). The funding would ramp up the ongoing development of renewable on-grid capacity (solar and wind) through an auction process, and attract increased private investment within renewable energy projects at lower costs. It would also enable a swifter response to market developments.

“EDM will also gain essential knowledge and support in the analysis of existing legal frameworks, bidding documents, feasibility studies and standard contracts through TA,” explains Magala.

“Such assistance will also enable the creation of a Project Management Unit (PMU), with the Technical Director coming from EDM as an advisory body.”

LONG-TERM GOALS In order to reduce the financial burden on local governments, the private

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EDM will also work with neighbouring countries to strenghten regional power connectivity sector will need to play a significant role within energy projects across Africa, and also alleviate EDM’s present borrowing requirements. “It will also enable the introduction of new technologies, which may play a vital role in the future electricity generation and supply options,” adds Magala.

“Private sector investment will also support the diversification of energy, establish new skills and capital into the

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country, and enable the benchmarking of performance and pricing.”

With increased investment and international, local and private sector support, EDM will work to develop interconnections with neighbouring countries and aim to operate in the international arena long-term, fully driving the reform required to become an exceptional leader in the Mozambique electricity

sector for the foreseeable future.

“EDM has a great capacity to adapt and grow, without losing sight of its strategic goals,” concludes Magala. “EDM has a track record of growth and will continue to engage all stakeholders in the pursuit of sustainable, high-quality electricity supplies to its customers, and in support of national development.”

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