Enterprise Africa February 2020

AFRICA

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR AFRICA’S INDUSTRY LEADERS

February 2020

www.enterprise-africa.net

Growth , Idea n

n

22 Years of Creativity

Exclusive interview with Joe Public Founder and CEO Gareth Leck

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

Warwick Wealth / HouseME / Glodina / Dimension Data

THE POWER OF PARTNERSIP

When it comes to business-building ICT solutions, one size definitely doesn’t fit all. Which is why, for 20 years, Digital Generation has been custom building award-winning IT solutions to meet the unique needs of organisations. Through a strategic partnership approach, Digital Generation leverages its vast experience and proven expertise to help its clients develop their businesses and sustainably grow their bottom lines.

A SOLUTION FOR EVERY NEED

From end-user instruments like mobile devices, laptops and desktop PCs, to high-end servers, storage, networks, infrastructure design and full data centre solutions, Digital Generation collaborates with its trusted global partners to deliver precisely what each individual client needs - on time, on target, and on budget. As a full-service solutions provider, Digital Generation also offers warehousing, inventory management, logistics, configuration services, asset disposal and even a contact centre all focused on helping clients achieve optimal ICT product lifecycle management.

Digital Generation has many years of experience in managed rollouts, including complex projects involving delivery to multiple local, national and cross border locations. Digital Generation has extensive experience with stock demand forecasting & acquisition plans, as well as a proven track record of partnering with clients and suppliers to procure the best technology at the most competitive prices.

Along with managed rollouts, the consulting team offers onsite ICT management to assist clients with technical resources and asset management.

STORAGE AND SECURITY

The superior design of Digital Generation’s cloud platform services means that they consistently provide service levels that far exceed those of public clouds, effectively keeping business systems up, while ensuring risks and costs stay down. By combining their own proven cloud platform with those of expert third party providers, Digital Generation is able to offer fully customisable hybrid cloud solutions and highly efficient architectures, including Backup-as-a-Service, Infrastructure-as a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service.

Storage is something that simply must play a part in every company’s digital transformation strategy.

As business capacity requirements grow, there is inevitably a growing cost for storingdata & ensuring it is always available and accessible. According to Trevor Naidoo, MD of Digital Generation, companies ultimately have to look at cost effective ways to store this data, while also ensuring that performance & functionality is not compromised. Digital Generation suggests that a well implemented hybrid or multi-cloud strategy is the answer, as it provides performance on demand, coupled with long-term archiving solutions.

Asset Sourcing Asset Management Asset Disposal Reverse Logistics Warehousing Customised Warranty Solutions

Data Centre Infrastructure Cloud Services Project Implementation Onsite Resi sidence ICT Management MIS Reporting

www.dg.co.za

EDITOR’S LETTER

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EDITOR Joe Forshaw  joe@enterprise-africa.co.za SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER Sam Hendricks  sam@enterprise-africa.co.za SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER Tommy Atkinson  tommy@enterprise-africa.co.za SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER Lewis Hammond  lewis@enterprise-africa.co.za PROJECT MANAGER James Davey  jamesd@enterprise-africa.co.za PROJECT MANAGER Chris Wright  chrisw@enterprise-africa.co.za PROJECT MANAGER Daniel Roper  daniel@enterprise-africa.co.za FINANCE MANAGER Chloe Manning  Chloe@enterprise-africa.co.za SENIOR DESIGNER Liam Woodbine  liam@enterprise-africa.co.za CONTRIBUTOR Manelesi Dumasi CONTRIBUTOR Karl Pietersen CONTRIBUTOR David Napier CONTRIBUTOR Timothy Reeder CONTRIBUTOR Colin Chinery CONTRIBUTOR Benjamin Southwold CONTRIBUTOR William Denstone

Published by Chris Bolderstone – General Manager E. chris@cmb-media.co.uk Rouen House, Rouen Road, Norwich NR1 1RB +44 (0) 1603 855 161 E. info@cmb-media.co.uk www.cmb-media.co.uk CMB Media Group does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/ or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. © CMB Media Group Ltd 2020

The start of 2020 sees many companies heeding government’s message and adopting new technology in an effort to boost productivity and efficiencies.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is not coming, it’s already here. A high-level commission has been arranged, and the government is clear that it will not be left behind as the digital age settles on the continent.

Manufacturers of South Africa’s Black Label towel range, Glodina, is back in business after investment from the IDC, but now the company is completing installations of world-class technology to improve capacity and streamline operations, bringing it inline with the world’s best producers.

HouseME, the digital residential rental business, is making use of big data and technology advances to create a deep understanding of the market – something traditional agents could only dream of – so that it can better serve the needs of landlords and tenants.

Leading international IT business, Dimension Data, is pulling together the security expertise technology from across its sister companies so that its customers can operate safely and securely.

Joe Public United, the country’s leading marketing and communications agency based on ROI, is looking at ways it can roll out new technology to track the success of campaigns, as well as investing in digital tech so that it can keep apace of ad spend which is moving increasingly into the digital space.

All of these companies and more are looking to the future with optimism and, despite the ongoing infrastructure and economic hinderances in the country, investments in technology are a key part in strategies. If you’re not investing in tech to help your company grow, you could have already missed out on market share.

Tell us how your business is making the best use of digital tech. Connect on LinkedIn or Twitter – we’re online all the time.

Joe Forshaw EDITOR

GET IN TOUCH  +44 (0) 1603 855 161  joe@enterprise-africa.co.za www.enterprise-africa.net

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06/NEWS: The News Snapshot A round up of some of the latest news stories from around the country

102/EXHIBITION CALENDAR: Key Upcoming Events Across the Country Our regular update to help you keep track of important events and exhibitions taking place across the spectrum of industry sectors

8/ JOE PUBLIC Growthn, Idean – 22 Years of Creativity Leading communications and marketing agency, Joe Public, puts growth at the heart of everything it does. ‘We believe that the growth of our people is linked to the growth of our creative product, which impacts the growth of our clients, and which ultimately contributes to the growth of the country,’ the company says.

Founder and CEO Gareth Leck tells Enterprise Africa about how the company has grown from three to 300, and how it will double again in the future.

Here, it’s all about growth to the power of n.

8/ 4 / www.enterprise-africa.net

CONTENTS

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MARKETING 8/JOE PUBLIC Growthn, Idean - 22 Years of Creativity INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE 17/WARWICK WEALTH Invest With The Specialists

48/ 58/KAEFER SOUTH AFRICA Placing People Above All 64/BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO SA Total Tobacco Transformation INDUSTRY FOCUS: IT

22/ZANACO Grow Into Your Greatness With Zanaco

73/DIMENSION DATA Humans Driving Digital Tech Transformation

29/RAND MUTUAL ASSURANCE Changes at the Top for 125-year-old RMA

78/ADAPT IT Resilient Adapt IT Consolidating for Future Growth

INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY 35/HOUSEME The New Way to Rent & Lease in SA 43/STADIUM MANAGEMENT SA Keeping SA Venues Packed Out INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING 48/GLODINA The South African Manufacturing Phoenix 54/EDDELS SHOES & CELROSE CLOTHING Celrose Wears the Trousers in SA Fashion

INDUSTRY FOCUS: LOGISTICS 85/SANRAL Keeping SA’s Wheels Turning 91/GRINDROD Commencement at Umlaas AutoPort Adds to Grindrod Positivity INDUSTRY FOCUS:ENGINEERING 97/ZUNGU ELGIN Innovation Brings Industrial Transformation

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MAKGOBA APPOINTED AS INTERIM ESKOM CHAIR Professor Malegapuru William Makgoba has been appointed as interim chairman of the Eskom board following the recent resignation of Jabu Mabuza.

Professor Makgoba is a leading scientist and academic who joined the Eskom Board as a non-executive director in 2018. He is the independent lead director.

The Public Enterprises Ministry said Makgoba’s appointment as interim chair is consistent with the government’s commitment to good governance and the stability of the company.

“The government is going through the process of putting in place a reconfigured board in line with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Friday,” the Ministry said.

President Ramaphosa announced the government’s plan to introduce a reconfigured Eskom Board with the appropriate mix of electricity industry, engineering and corporate governance experience.

PORTIA DERBY NEW TRANSNET GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE Following the departure of Siyabonga Gama as Transnet CEO back in October 2018, the beleaguered state-owned entity has finally approved the appointment of a new Group Chief Executive. As of February 1, Portia Derby is now in the driving seat for Transnet.

“The recruitment process was run by the Board of Transnet, which made a recommendation of the preferred candidate to the Public Enterprises Minister, in line with the Memorandum of Incorporation that governs the relationship between the board and the shareholder representative,” said the Public Enterprises Ministry.

“Portia has a long history of service to South Africa. She is a dynamic leader with experience in the public and private sectors. Portia served as the Director General of the Department of Public Enterprises from 2005 to 2009. She acted as the Chief Operating Officer of the Department of Trade and Industry and has served on various boards, including the Board of Metair Investment and SAFCOL. She holds an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of KZN and an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand. The Board believes that Portia brings the

© Transnet

insights, experience and competence to lead Transnet,” said Transnet Chair, Dr Popo Molefe.

The appointment of Portia Derby brings to an end the temporary leadership of Mohammed Mahomedy who was in charge since May 2019.

Mahomedy has been asked to return to the position of Acting Chief Financial Officer and Mark Greg-MacDonald will serve as the Acting Group Treasurer.

“Portia’s appointment brings certainty to Transnet. She will be playing a key role in leading the revival of Transnet,” said Molefe.

OGILVY’S MOKOENA TO HEAD UP GOOGLE SA Ogilvy South Africa CEO, Alistair Mokoena will leave the communications agency for Google where he will take up the role of Country Director for South Africa. His tenure will begin in April and he will be responsible for the commercial growth of the infamous search engine.

As the lines between online and offline worlds become more blurred, Mokoena believes digital transformation and technology will have an ever-increasing impact on the lives of South Africans.

He has a LLB from Rhodes University, as MBA from MANCOSA and is working towards his PhD from North West University School of Business.

Ogilvy, which has seen a number of high profile employees leave in recent months, is confident that its succession planning will drive the business in the right direction as one of the country’s leading agencies.

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NEWS SNAPSHOT ARCELORMITTAL SOUTH AFRICA ANNOUNCES POOR RESULTS The largest steel company in Africa, ArcelorMittal South Africa, announced its 2019 annual results at the start of February. The main stat to come from the presentation highlighted a a loss of R4.68bn for the year.

The company labelled the year: “the most challenging year since the global financial crisis for the world steel industry, and an exceptionally difficult year for the South African economy and ArcelorMittal South Africa.

“The downturn in world steel has been faster and deeper than could have ever been anticipated,” the company continued.

Significant factors in the loss were cited as net impairment charges of R1.4bn, compared to 2018’s R10m.

This was made up largely of R1bn for the impairment of the property, plant

and equipment at Newcastle Works, R294m for Saldanha Works and R99m towards the closure of the tin plant at Vanderbijlpark Works.

Off the back of weak demand, the company witnessed a 9% drop in revenue to R41.4bn as sales volumes reduced by 8%, with the company noting that revenue from the coke and chemicals business fell due to lower selling prices.

EBITDA was hit, down by R4.2bn to a loss of R632m, and headline earnings dropped from a profit of R968m to a loss of R3.3bn.

Operational and productivity statistic were also down thanks to both planned and unplanned maintenance, and cost-saving restructuring resulted in the loss of around 1000 jobs which was better than initially planned.

Going forward, the picture looks challenging for the embattled steel producer.

“In 2020, cash, cost, customers, collaboration, climate and communication (6Cs) will be vital enablers for ArcelorMittal South Africa’s now familiar strategy of transformation for sustainability and growth. Internationally, margins have been tightly squeezed though elements of normalisation are becoming evident. Expected low domestic growth will require immediate interventions. As ArcelorMittal South Africa heads into 2020, it will continue to vigorously focus on the business transformation programme. The volatility of ZAR/ USD exchange rate is also likely to continue to have an impact on the company’s results,” the company said.

PETROSA APPOINTS NEW CEO The PetroSA Board has announced Pragasen Naidoo as the entity’s new Group Chief Executive Officer.

In a statement, the board said the appointment was effective from 17 January 2020, subject to transitional arrangement with the Central Energy Fund.

“His appointment followed a rigorous recruitment process to appoint a permanent Group CEO after the entity has had a number of executives on an acting role since 2014,” PetroSA said.

Prior to the appointment, Naidoo, in addition to other roles, served as the Group Chief Operations and Business Development Officer at the Central Energy Fund (CEF), a holding company of PetroSA. He holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering and an MSc in Engineering whilst his industry experience spans approximately 18 years in Human Capital Development and Management, Technology Development and Engineering, Capital Project Execution, Business Development and Operations.

During this period, Naidoo also gained exposure to the local and international environments.

Commenting on his appointment, PetroSA chairperson, Frans Baleni said: “Mr Naidoo’s demonstrable industry experience and acumen will continue to deliver value to the entity’s shareholders and stakeholders through good governance, operational excellence, and sustainable growth. We are confident that he will contribute immensely towards addressing our business’ sustainability challenges, as well as positioning PetroSA for the future.”

The CEF Group Chairperson, Monde Mnyande welcomed the appointment.

“We embrace and fully support the permanent appointment of the PetroSA Group CEO, Mr Naidoo.

The appointment of Mr Naidoo could not have come at a better time, when as a group we have initiated a roadmap to build a solid foundation for the long-term sustainability of the group,” said Mnyande.

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JOE PUBLIC

Growth , Idea n

n

- 22 Years of Creativity PRODUCTION: David Napier

Leading communications and marketing agency, Joe Public, puts growth at the heart of everything it does. ‘We believe that the growth of our people is linked to the growth of our creative product, which impacts the growth of our clients, and which ultimately contributes to the growth of the country,’ the company says. Founder and CEO Gareth Leck tells Enterprise Africa about how the company has grown from three to 300, and how it will double again in the future. Here, it’s all about growth to the power of n.

//

All over the world, marketing agencies can seem like daunting places. Of course, for those that work within, this is something that they would never admit. A lot of the time they present an image of a cool, laid back, relaxed environment, where ideas can thrive.

But for the customer – especially the smaller business or the individual – marketing remains intimidating. It’s expensive and complicated, and when it comes to agencies, one industry commentator described them as ‘like yachts – underused, expensive and all the same’. For Gareth Leck, Pepe Marais and Noel Cottrell, when they started their agency in 1998, this was a stigma they wanted to escape.

8 / www.enterprise-africa.net

The three had some experience in the industry but all were entrepreneurial and wanted to bring their own ideas to the market, dominated at the time by a handful of large players.

South Africa was still a relatively young democracy and the economy was buoyant.

From the late nineties through until the late 00s, business in the country boomed.

Leck, Marais and Cottrell had started at the perfect time. The trio had also hit the right note with their model. An unconventional approach, the style was designed around the takeaway restaurant model.

“We came up with the idea of opening an agency that was very transparent and was based around a restaurant menu idea where you could walk into the office and know exactly

what an ad would cost you by looking at a menu,” Leck tells Enterprise Africa.

Nothing was pretentious, there was little jargon to contend with, and the pricing was crystal clear. It was simple, and it allowed clients - who might have previously found the marketing world challenging - to utilise the important tools on offer. At the time, advertising was predominantly focussed around print, TV and radio, and the expertise of the three founders was extremely helpful for clients.

“We knew we were not big names and we needed to do something disruptive if we wanted to do our own thing, and so we labelled the idea ‘take away advertising’. That was the launchpad for Joe Public – we all quit our jobs and it was a revolutionary idea,” remembers Leck.

Pepe Marais - Co-founder

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MARKETING

The name of the company was almost stumbled upon. It again showed the desire of the entrepreneurs to be clear and simple, and work with those who needed it most.

“We had a one-page business plan and it was linked back to the model of take away advertising – it said we want to do advertising for the man on the street or Joe public. It was about making great advertising accessible to anyone.

We had some ideas for agency names but a friend of ours pointed out Joe Public, as written in the plan, as a cool name. We also liked the fact that it had a level of simplicity. There were other agencies with very long, complicated names and we liked the fact we were different and we were just a group of guys coming in to do work for the man on the street,” laughs Leck.

He says that the company’s atmosphere and culture has remained from those early days - very down to earth. “We don’t like big egos – we think that gets in the way of business.”

The focus at Joe Public is not about

// THE MARKET STOOD UP AND WATCHED AS WE PUSHED FORWARD WITH THIS BREAKTHROUGH STYLE AND, WHILE MANY SAID IT WAS CRAZY AND WOULDN’T WORK, WE STUCK TO OUR GUNS AND WE HAD A GREAT FEW YEARS AND A LOT OF FUN IN THE EARLY YEARS AS WE BUILT OUR AGENCY // 10 / www.enterprise-africa.net

projecting an internal image to the wider industry, it is about getting the job done for the sake of clients and staff development.

“The market stood up and watched as we pushed forward with this breakthrough take-away advertising model and, while many said it was crazy and wouldn’t work, we stuck to our guns and we had a great few years and a lot of fun in the early years as we built our agency.”

GROWTHN People quickly took to the model and the agency became popular, winning Financial Mail AdFocus Emerging Agency of the year in 2000. The takeaway advertising idea had proven a success.

But Joe Public was still a young business and the company made the decision to evolve to meet the needs of its growing client base and keep up with market changes. Clients were demanding a broader range of services and wanted to develop long term relationships and not only work on one off projects. Each client had a different need and the ‘off the shelf’ approach of take away advertising needed to be tweaked.

Sticking with the restaurant theme, Joe Public became what Leck terms more of a ‘sit down advertising business’.

“The idea was to become a more traditional advertising group as we wanted to find a more sustainable business offering with retained clients and ongoing revenue streams,” he says.

Each client could now obtain a tailored quotation based on exacting needs and, because of the quality work that the agency was churning out, bigger clients were quickly on-boarded and relationships lasted. This success attracted the attention of the biggest names in the industry.

“We were approached by the IPG group which was represented by FCB in South Africa. They acquired us in 2001 and it was very interesting for us going from being start up entrepreneurs to being owned by a big listed corporate. It was a big shift

// THE BRANDS THAT ARE INVESTING IN ADVERTISING AND COMMUNICATIONS AND DOING THE MOST IMPACTFUL WORK, ARE THOSE THAT ARE CONSISTENTLY PERFORMING THE BEST IN TERMS OF SALES AND MARKET SHARE GROWTH // and ultimately did not turn out the way we wanted it to,” says Leck.

After eight years under corporate ownership, Marais and Leck decided to buy the business back from FCB, with the view of reinvigorating it as a private company. This was 2009 – not a good year for business, Joe Public was on the brink of failure. The global financial crash had all but ended a lot of corporate marketing spend and SMEs were under extreme pressure.

But, for those who see beyond negativity and identify the opportunities that always exist, even the tough times can offer up hope. During the Great Recession, which impacted organisations large and small all over the world, the very identity of Joe Public was reimagined.

“We had to do a lot of soul searching to realise what the business was about and why we come to work.

It was a tough time as we were at the start of the global economic crash. We started to work on why we existed and what was our purpose,” says Leck.

After much thought and a collaborative brainstorming process with every member of the staff at the agency, it became clear that the one word that best described Joe Public’s

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MARKETING

reason for being, was ‘growth’. Not just growth of itself as an entity, but exponential growth – growth to the power of n.

Joe Public’s ethos is now firmly rooted in the growth of its people, the growth of its clients, and growth of the country. “In 2009 we put that at the heart of the business and it has all developed from there. Over the last decade, everything we have done has been centred around our business purpose.”

This focus on growth is combined with a strict adherence to a set of values – creativity, excellence, integrity, respect, leadership, and unity, has resulted in expansion of the business, reaching heights that Leck and Marais did not expect back in the early days.

“We are now a fully fledged communications group with around 300 employees, we have five different businesses in the group, all working in specialist areas of the communications field, and as a by-product we have picked up a number of amazing accolades along the way,” states Leck

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MOST AWARDED Currently, Joe Public is busy with important work for big name clients across various industry sectors. The likes of Nedbank, Jet, Chicken Licken, SAB, Altron, and Clover among many more have trusted the agency to deliver high quality work and the result has been success all-around. For any marketing and advertising spend to be justified, there has to be measurable ROI – Joe Public is South Africa’s leader in this regard.

“SCOPEN, the global research group, assessed all of the agencies in South Africa and conducted a survey with around 200 CMOs, and we came up as the number one agency in terms of making the biggest contribution to our client’s business growth. Number one on a client’s list is ROI and so it was very nice to see the results of that survey where Joe Public was the number one agency and having an impact on client’s business results,” admits Leck.

This research makes up the largest most in-depth and up-to-date view of

the country’s marketing and agency landscape and highlights how far Joe Public has come and its undisputed position as an industry leader.

In May, at the 2019 D&AD Awards, Joe Public was recognised as the most awarded creative agency among its South African peers after it claimed a Yellow Pencil (Gold), a Graphite Pencil (Silver), a Wooden Pencil (Bronze) and three shortlists. The agency’s European partner, which is based on the original Take-Away advertising model, Joe Public Amsterdam, also won Agency of the Year.

And in September 2019, for the second year running, Joe Public United was recognised as Agency of the Year at the Loeries Awards (South Africa’s premier advertising awards). The agency won a total of 17 Loeries, including two Gold, six Silver, five Bronze and four Craft Certificate awards.

But, for Leck, winning awards has never been a goal. The entrepreneur says that accolades, like the bottom line, should be a measure of the health

JOE PUBLIC

of the product that is delivered to its clients. Winning recognition links back to the company’s purpose of achieving exponential growth.

“If you produce a very good product for your clients, a by-product of that should be recognition, just like if you run a good business you should see revenue growth and healthy bottom line growth. We like to see awards as a by-product of us delivering on our purpose. Obviously, it’s a great way to attract the best people into your business and clients want to work with agencies doing the best work. It’s important for marketing but we like to ensure awards are a by-product of the work we do every day and not the focus,” he says.

DIMINISHING AD SPEND? According to Harvard Business Review, advertising should not be managed as a discretionary variable cost and should receive consistent investment spending.

Share of market can be quickly snatched if advertising voice is dampened (CocaCola and Pepsi is the go to example), and Leck reminds of the importance of delivering, and investing in, quality product – it will result in positive results.

But there has been downward pressure on ad spend. Even with a bursting trophy cabinet, Joe Public has witnessed the challenges that come from a weak, downtrodden, untrusted economy. He is keen to point out that those who are able to maintain their marketing spend will likely achieve marketing share gains.

“An example of this is Chicken Licken. The agency has done some amazing work over the last few years with Chicken Licken and the results have been equally amazing. We’ve seen direct links with standout campaigns and having standout results.

“If you go back to our strategy about how do we grow our clients, we believe firmly that the brands that are investing in advertising and communications and doing the most impactful work, are those that are

consistently performing the best in terms of sales and market share growth.

There is plenty of evidence that shows the guys who do the best work on the creative side are those that are winning the most,” he says. In a study conducted in 2017 by McKinsey, it was proven that Cannes winning marketing companies created more value than their competitors. The study was based on Cannes award-winning companies between the years 2001 and 2016 and included the prestige of the award, the number of categories it was awarded in, the consistency of awards won over time and the number of years the company was recognised. Based on the results it was found that companies that did better at Cannes did better than their non-Cannes winning competitors with 74% of these companies achieving above-average earnings.

This is why Joe Public must provide creative products of the highest standard – if it fails, those that are spending on marketing will go elsewhere. And competition is fierce – some reports suggest there are hundreds of large and small companies operating across the country.

“With the economy, which has been flat for a number of years and continues to be so, there are some really stand out businesses that are bucking the trend.

It has been tough, but we are seeing amazing case studies where great campaigns are helping clients to win in their markets,” highlights Leck.

// WE CAME UP AS THE NUMBER ONE AGENCY IN TERMS OF MAKING THE BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO OUR CLIENT’S BUSINESS GROWTH // The company has recognised the need to demonstrate the impact of great campaigns and prove ROI, and so has ventured into data, analytics and technology that can bring easy to understand information to the fingertips of account managers.

“We have developed certain innovations, including growth tracker, which is a technology that takes all of our clients commercial metrics across their entire business and we can plug that in and overlay our campaign activity, including what we are doing across multiple mediums and multiple areas, and we can track, in real time, the effects of the campaign in terms of return on investment,” details Leck.

“We have been working on that for the past couple of years and it’s absolutely critical. With the economy being so tight, everyone wants to make sure they are gaining the maximum return on investment – that is definitely something we are crystal clear on - it links back to our purpose.”

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MARKETING

2020 – FERTILE SOILS As Joe Public continues on its growth path, driving the ripple effect that grows its people, its clients, and the country, Leck is concentrating on one thing for the New Year: consistently producing world class work.

“A massive part of our strategy is about delivering really high-end product for our clients and our intention is to be doing this more and more across our existing client base and with new clients.

We are always thinking about how we do better work for our clients as that is what is going to help them grow their businesses.”

Whether its traditional mediums – print, radio and TV; or innovative new products in the online space or social media platforms, the company has developed a suite for all. Like all agencies, digital innovation is becoming increasingly important.

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“It’s no secret that a huge part of the market sits within the digital space,” reminds Leck. “The market has changed from when it was just print, radio and TV. In the UK, for example, over 60% of ad spend sits in the digital space across various platforms, and in South Africa digital ad spend is the fastest growing media category, so if we want to continue to meet our clients requirements and assist in growing them in our area of expertise, we have to constantly build capacity and continue to innovate offerings in the digital space.”

Joe Public’s digital arm is relatively young and the management team only started building it around five years ago. “It represents a decent portion of our revenue and is home to around 80 people but there is huge room for growth in that area. We are working

hard putting plans in place to build further capacity,” says Leck.

As well as portfolio expansion, the company is also ready and open to geographic development. Well-known in Johannesburg, Joe Public could use its brand strength to conquer South Africa’s other major metros. “We see opportunities in the likes of Cape Town and Durban,” suggests Leck. But the big opportunities lay in the roll out of new services that complement the company’s existing infrastructure and add to its growth mantra.

“We see growth opportunities in public relations, we think there is massive scope to grow our digital business, we are looking at media planning and buying as there is big potential there, and there are even big opportunities with research, data and analytics,” details Leck.

JOE PUBLIC

A LABOUR OF LOVE In a famous quote often picked up by marketeers, Benjamin Franklin one said: “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about,” and Joe Public is doing so. For more than two decades this expert communications business has honed its craft and differentiated itself through a down to earth culture and a strategy which brings quality advertising products to everyone. And it’s not done – Leck is already making plans for the next 20 years.

“We often say that the business is a labour of love. It’s been our creation and it’s our child. It’s 22 years old but there is a huge room for growth beyond 22 years old as a person so why can’t there be growth as a business. It’s not in its infancy but it’s definitely not fully potentialized as an organisation.

There really is a lot more scope and that gets us excited.

We think in the next five years we can double this business, if not more. In South Africa, the largest communication group is more than double our size and so we believe significant expansion is possible.”

Even while the South African economy remains stagnant, Joe Public is cautiously optimistic and quietly confident. According to PwC, Chief Executives in South Africa are pessimistic about the rate of global

// WE HAVE FIVE DIFFERENT BUSINESSES IN THE GROUP, ALL WORKING ACROSS DIFFERENT AREAS, AND WE HAVE PICKED UP A NUMBER OF AMAZING ACCOLADES ALONG THE WAY //

www.romancefilms.tv

ROZANNE ROCHA-GRAY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER m. +27 83 267 6884 rozanne@romancefilms.tv

economic growth with 44% believing that it will decline over the next 12 months compared to 35% in 2019.

The local economy is not expected to reach meaningful growth numbers for at least the next 12 months, but at Joe Public the only interest is growth.

“The market is what you make of it. If you have a strong brand, a good formula, and you deliver quality products, in times that are tough, you can take share. When we bought the business back in 2009, times were worse in South Africa and we managed to navigate through that. It would be naïve to say it will be easy but there is no reason why we can’t make things work. We are quite bullish. We have a South African flag flying from our building as South Africa has been good to us for the past 20 years and we certainly believe there is a good market

HELENA WOODFINE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER m. +27 83 626 0422 helena@romancefilms.tv

to be had here,” confirms Leck.

This is an agency that is not intimidating, is not daunting and is not the same as the others. Unlike the yacht comparison, Joe Public is very different, very clear with its business purpose and the importance of long-term relationships – here ideas can thrive.

“Marketing is really just about sharing your passion,” says NY Times Best Selling business author Michael Hyatt, and at the fertile soils of Joe Public in Bryanston, that has been, is, and will be very much the case.

WWW.JOEPUBLICUNITED.CO.ZA

www.enterprise-africa.net / 15

WARWICK WEALTH

Invest With The Specialists PRODUCTION: Colin Chinery

Exceptional client-centricity focussed on the lucrative lifestyle segment has seen international wealth management specialists Warwick Wealth become one of the South Africa’s fastest growing financial planning operations. And the momentum continues. “I believe the next 10 years will become the most successful in this company’s history,” says Managing Director Marc Wiese. www.enterprise-africa.net / 17

INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE

//

To trace the link between an oval ball, a croquet mallet, a four ace bridge hand and high net worth investing, reach back to a period house on an old 17th century wine estate in Constantia, Cape Town.

It was here in 2002 that Ian Kilbride and Steve Wallace formed international wealth management specialists Warwick Wealth.

Now, with offices in Cape Town, Claremont, Constantia – as well as Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Knysna and East London – the established investment operation offers a range of bespoke financial products, delivering arguably the best client service in South Africa.

Exceptional client-centricity is a Warwick hallmark, a management ethos driven not by merely selling a product, fund or unit trust, but by analysing specific financial needs and each client receiving a bespoke investment plan.

18 / www.enterprise-africa.net

// WHEN THINGS ARE TOUGH, THEY START ASKING DIFFICULT BUT IMPORTANT QUESTIONS. AND THAT’S WHERE WARWICK CAN PROVIDE THE ANSWERS // HOLISTIC PLANNING “Right from the start the focus was on conducting financial planning in a holistic way, the wealth of high net worth individuals and those with some degree of disposable income. That was where the niche was,” says Group Director of Corporate Affairs, Professor Tim Hughes.

And along with that niche, and closely identified with it, was another.

“What Ian and Steve had identified - and this was important in South Africa - was a kind of lifestyle market, people who played bowls, golf, or bridge, and so forth. And so the market for Warwick almost identified itself.”

Sport is in the DNA of Ian Kilbride, a Lancastrian who settled in South Africa in 1990. His father had played Rugby League, while Kilbride is a supporter of

Everton Football Club, still travelling the 6000 miles from Cape Town to watch his Merseyside favourites – “supporting Liverpool Football Club is one of the deadly sins!”

The genesis of Warwick – named after the English university where Kilbride graduated – was Appleton, the private client asset management he formed in 1992, with offices in Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, and listed on the JSE seven years later.

Appleton, together with Cadiz Asset Management and Warwick Wealth Management are today housed under the Spirit Invest holding company, managing and administrating over $3bn of client assets, and of which Kilbride is Executive Chairman.

WARWICK WEALTH

UNIQUE PRODUCTS AND SERVICE Warwick is focused on unique products and service levels designed for the client wanting quality and professionalism.

Initially, each client meets with a qualified Warwick professional to

// A NUMBER OF FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANIES HAVE EXTENDED THEIR OPERATIONS OUTSIDE SOUTH AFRICA, AND FRANKLY THE RECORD AND PICTURE IS VERY MIXED //

determine their specific financial needs and requirements. “We are the closest I think you will get in South Africa, to a private banking operation,” says Hughes.

“Our entire business model is about applying a very direct, personalised tailored service to the individual client, looking at the particular financial and income needs and specific risk profile.

“Altogether a holistic view of the client, with Warwick constructing financial products and offerings around it.”

WARWICK LIFESTYLE The Client Network is one of three Warwick operational arms, with a second, the Lifestyle network, one of the biggest sponsors of grass-roots sports and lifestyle institutions in South Africa, sponsoring between 200 and 600 different sports events a year, including bowls, golf, rugby, croquet,

bridge, running and cycling.

Formed in 2002, Warwick Lifestyle is the largest network of its kind anywhere in Africa, with several hundred sports, recreational and social clubs, along with retirement villages and other senior associations.

“We have built long standing relationships with clubs, some running almost 20 years,” says Warwick Managing Director Marc Wiese.

“We have established our brand, and reputation for what we can do for clients. We have built a great client base, and this will continue to be a large focus for our business going forward.”

The third - and one which Wiese believes will supply Warwick with the bulk of its planned distribution and growth over the next decade - is Warwick’s Professional Network.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE

“If you look after your clients very well you retain your client base. That is great. But from there we want to grow. We are one of the fastest growing financial services in South Africa, and we are very ambitious.”

PROFESSIONAL NETWORK Launched in 2007, the Professional Network is Warwick’s direct link to the thousands of industry professionals working throughout South Africa and around the world, a vast network of Independent Financial Advisors (IFA’s) and other professionals aligned with Warwick through its Succession, Intermediary, Advisory and Merger plans.

Of these, the most important is Succession Planning, says Wiese. “We believe the average IFA is older than 55, with those coming in from a new and

younger generation far less than many years ago.”

Despite an exceptionally attractive basic salary plus progression incentives package, Warwick finds direct recruiting of appropriately qualified, ambitious, young professionals highly challenging.

RECRUITING CHALLENGES “Over the past ten years in particular, it’s become increasingly difficult to find really good people of the right calibre and qualities and yet the quality of our wealth specialists improves every year.

“We have an expansion drive in Johannesburg to secure more wealth specialists, and the latest we appointed there was late last year.

“After narrowing down from way over 100 applications we went through 58 interviews, and only one was of the

// I BELIEVE THAT THESE WILL BECOME THE MOST SUCCESSFUL TEN YEARS IN THIS COMPANY’S HISTORY //

Marc Wiese, MD Warwick

20 / www.enterprise-africa.net

right calibre for Warwick. We won’t appoint for the sake of appointing.”

So Succession Planning and mergers are the dual keys to operational growth. “We offer by far the best succession planning deal for IFAs looking to exit the industry or retire.

“We estimate there is going to be in excess of R100b to potentially up to R400b IFA investment books looking to retire.

“This, along with mergers, gives us a tremendous opportunity of extending a structured approach, meeting each client face to face, explaining the benefits, and slowly but surely, transitioning them and meeting their financial planning needs.

“The other offering we have within the Professional Network, is our Intermediary plan, an opportunity to partner with Warwick and earn a regular passive income through building a bespoke financial investment strategy.”

With more than 100 staff at offices in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, East London, and Knysna in the Western Cape, Warwick is looking to expand over the next few years to other cities including Bloemfontein, Pietermaritzburg, and Pretoria.

BEYOND SA? Expansion beyond South Africa’s borders however is more challenging.

“There are very clear opportunities in major growth points such as Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Kampala where there are high networth individuals looking for the type of service we can offer,” says Professor Hughes.

“The opportunities are there, and while you don’t actually need a bricks and mortar presence, the one constraint is our model of being highly personalised, and providing that faceto-face type of service.

“A number of financial services companies have extended their operations outside South Africa, and frankly the record and picture is very mixed. And we want to make sure we get it right.”

WARWICK WEALTH

The Warwick Cape Town Sales Team

Meantime, “enormous opportunities within the financial services industry over the next five and potentially ten years” means South Africa will continue to be the company’s core focus, says Wiese “After say three or five years we will be looking at Africa – likely to become one of the big hubs at some stage in the future - as well as potentially the UK, where we already have a presence, and Australia, both of whose financial service regulation models are very similar to South Africa’s. Mauritius is another we have in view.”

If territorial expansion is active on the Warwick planner, investment, outsourcing is very much in the here and now.

OUTSOURCING = STABILITY “One of the cornerstones of investing is diversification, and this includes different jurisdictions,” says Wiese.

“I still think there’s a lot of value in South Africa, which is an amazing country. But for high net worth individuals to have a bulk of their wealth invested in an economy and stock market that makes up less than 1% of the world economy and stock market, will certainly not provide them with that required diversification.”

// WE ARE ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING FINANCIAL SERVICES IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND WE ARE VERY AMBITIOUS // Warwick anticipated this trend four years ago, says Hughes, with an executive decision to externalise client’s funds, sometimes as much as 50%.

“This means our clients have been enjoying real currency returns and growth from our international portfolio.”

Wiese cites a company declaration that ‘Warwick as a nationally-based financial services organisation provides on average, the best client service in South Africa.’ “That’s our statement, and I stand by that.”

Recalling that seven years ago Warwick went through a period of substantial growth, he says the last three or four have been one of enormous investment some consolidation, “building an exceptionally scalable model that will give us further growth over the next five to ten years.

EXCEPTIONAL GROWTH “Last year was a tough time in the market, yet we had exceptional growth, and going into 2020 we are taking on several fairly large independent financial advice businesses. Growth for this year is pretty much set there.

“I think the industry is going to go through an enormous change over the next ten years, and I believe that these will become the most successful ten years in this company’s history.”

The Warwick MD’s comments are a refreshing counterpoint to a New Year survey showing consumer sentiment remaining at a two-year low, with household budgets increasingly constrained by slow wage growth, high tax rates, and soaring electricity prices.

“Even if the economy struggles and things are tough out there, I think in some senses it allows us even better opportunities because clients are looking for something special.

“When things are tough, they start asking difficult but important questions.

And that’s where Warwick can provide the answers.”

WWW.WARWICKWEALTH.COM

www.enterprise-africa.net / 21

ZANACO

Grow Into Your

Greatness With Zanaco PRODUCTION: David Napier

Zambia’s largest bank by customer numbers is looking to digitisation and collaboration for further growth as the country’s population remains largely unbanked. There is so much opportunity in the important southern African nation, but slack economic conditions continue to throw up hurdles. According to the company’s senior management, co-creation and partnerships are key.

//

With negative economic news seemingly now more prominent than any positive stories to come from sub-Saharan Africa, it is easy to see why many have changed their stance on investment strategy on the continent. A constant wave of headlines highlighting monetary, social and infrastructural failings have resulted in the region – once a star for investors with many of the world’s fastest growing economies – becoming a much more difficult place for business.

But for those with a large presence, those with established client bases, and

22 / www.enterprise-africa.net

those with carefully crafted strategies that include provisions for the good times and the bad, there are always opportunities to be had.

However, the challenges that face businesses are vast. So many issues combined have created an unclear roadmap for future growth. Despite being home to the world’s largest free trade area and a market of 1.2 billion people, sub-Saharan Africa is only expected to achieve modest growth in 2020 after realising 2.6% in 2019 and 2.5% in 2018. These figures were below projections and the World Bank says that they come as a reflection of

ongoing global uncertainty, increasingly from domestic macroeconomic instability including poorly managed debt, inflation, and deficits; political and regulatory uncertainty; and fragility.

To succeed, many big businesses have opted for an increasingly digital strategy. This is the case for Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco).

Headquartered in Lusaka and listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange (LSE), this powerhouse of the region is going further than most in the pursuit of a digital future, leveraging USSD and smartphone technology to help drive financial inclusion and business growth.

INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE

THE PEOPLE’S BANK Self-labelled ‘The People’s Bank’, Zanaco operates one of the widest branch and ATM networks in Zambia and boasts more than one million customers. The bank works across various sectors with clients in retail, public sector, agri, corporate and more.

With backing from the Zambian government, the National Pension Scheme Authority, and Dutch-based Rabo International Advisory Services (RIAS), Zanaco is recognised as one of the most solidly capitalised banks in Zambia. This is not a business ready to surrender to a weak economic environment and an uncertain future – Zanaco is carving its own path.

At the 2019 Singapore FinTech Festival, Zanaco’s Chief Digital Banking Officer, Wane Ng’ambi, explained that a new Innovation Lab is helping to connect the fantastic ideas coming up across the country so that financial inclusion can be achieved and the population can benefit. Instead of looking to out-innovate all competition, the Innovation Lab is designed to bring digital creators together to share ideas and work in unison.

“The interesting thing about the online banking sector across the region is that there is a big and deliberate drive to get collaboration going,” he said during a discussion about the role of mobile money in financial inclusion in southern Africa. “It is becoming very clear that to deliver efficient services, no single institution can deliver a single solution to problems. The key theme across the region is that there is a lot of collaboration happening between mobile money players, banks, and FinTechs, and the idea is that everyone owns a specific area of expertise.

Take, for instance, the Telcos – they generate billions of data points that can be used to refine more advanced products. These are things that, five years ago, did not exist and the context around picking alternative vertical business competencies, bundling them together, and being able to co-create with third party players is a key theme that I see happening in Zambia and across the region.

“Already, we have started working on solutions as a bank where we are looking at providing switching services for third party FinTechs as an example. You don’t have to solve every

vertical industry’s business from a bank perspective. All we need to do is provide the realms – open APIs – to connect banking platforms to our system and enable banking transactions to happen more efficiently.”

INNOVATION LAB At the launch of the Innovation Lab, Zanaco CEO Henk Mulder talked of the importance that the bank places on digitising in line with government’s goals to become a leading digital player as part of the Smart Zambia campaign.

“Zambia has a young, vibrant population and it is a pool which needs to be developed into world class entrepreneurs for real economic growth to be attained. The Smart Zambia programme of the government is the future of this country and Zanaco bank is a very strong partner in this regard.

We are convinced that innovation is its heartbeat and this lab is for our partners to exploit so that together we can grow our community’s businesses and economy. We can make Zambia the hub of technology exploits in Africa – this is very possible,” Mulder said.

The new centre is equipped with

// WITHOUT CO-CREATION ACROSS DIFFERENT AREAS OF EXPERTISE, YOU TEND TO STAGNATE DEVELOPMENT //

24 / www.enterprise-africa.net

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE

a world class Software Development Kit (SDK) aimed at the development of programmes, applications and systems for any device and any operating system.

Transport and Communication Minister Mutotwe Kafwaya said that all of government, especially his department, is behind the Zanaco initiative.

“Government places importance to

// IT IS BECOMING VERY CLEAR THAT TO DELIVER EFFICIENT SERVICES, NO SINGLE INSTITUTION CAN DELIVER A SINGLE SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS //

26 / www.enterprise-africa.net

initiatives such as this one that Zanaco bank is establishing. In this vein, may I reiterate the President’s call for strong partnership in the implementing the Smart Zambia programme because it is the country’s future.

“Zambia should have a big share at the table of innovation and because of that, I would like to assure Zanaco of my ministry’s and government’s support in its quest to digitise the landscape.”

All agreed that investment into projects of this nature will unlock human capital and accelerate national development.

Ng’ambi sees the Innovation Lab as a key enabler for FinTech businesses and digital enterprises going forward and explains that collaboration between market players, both old and new, will be the fundamental driver of progress.

“Without co-creation across different areas of expertise, you

tend to stagnate development,” he says. “No bank is going to solve the smartest insurance solutions, so it is now a question of how do key vertical industries work together to co-create products through an open API. “We just recently launched an Innovation Lab and we have created what we call our Sandbox where we have partnered with a lot of local universities to create an innovative hub that is moving towards an end goal of an ecosystem environment. We have created a platform that connects into a financial system – Zanaco is already the biggest bank by customer numbers in Zambia – and that gives us and the FinTechs capacity to connect into a financial institution. A challenge for FinTechs is to find established entities to plug into. We are partnering with hundreds of young innovators across Zambia to enable different financial solutions.”

ZANACO

FINANCIAL INCLUSION For the first half of 2019 – Zanaco’s 50th year of operation – the bank announced decent financial performance against a bleak economic backdrop. Total assets increased 9% from K9,599 million in 2018 to K10,474 million in 2019 mainly attributed to

// ZAMBIA HAS A YOUNG, VIBRANT POPULATION AND IT IS A POOL WHICH NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED INTO WORLD CLASS ENTREPRENEURS FOR REAL ECONOMIC GROWTH TO BE ATTAINED //

growth in investment securities and loans and advances to customers.

Investments securities grew by 10% from 2018 while net customer lending also increased by 25% from K3,074 million in 2018 to K3,832 million in 2019. Customer deposits increased to K8,418 million from K7,532 million representing a 12% increase.

The expectation is that, through innovation and a customer centric strategy, Zanaco will grow in the future as financial inclusion in the country is improved.

According to Henk Mulder, the focus on financial inclusion, knowledge and education is never ending. “Financial literary is Zanaco’s all year-round agenda. Meaningful inclusion can only be achieved when individuals have the right information and skills to manage their finances. We are all encouraged to critically check our financial life and build ourselves.”

Growth in Zambia is expected to

reach 2.4% in 2020 – behind forecasts.

But business challenges will continue and new strategies with fresh ideas are required. Zanaco is a great example of how to reinvent your offering to industry to meet a modern need.

“Zambia is currently sitting at around 38% financial inclusion and that is a big improvement over the past five years. We still have a long way to go and the government has deliberate initiatives in place to drive this,” highlights Ng’ambi.

“Personally, I am very excited at the opportunities that are to come but also scared about the rate of change that is already happening in these sectors.”

WWW.ZANACO.CO.ZM

www.enterprise-africa.net / 27

RAND MUTUAL ASSURANCE

Changes at the Top for 125-year-old RMA PRODUCTION: Karl Pietersen

With a new head office in Johannesburg set to welcome a new CEO in June, things are looking bright for Rand Mutual Assurance. The business, which has served generations of workers, is growing with new technology and a renewed focus on collaboration. www.enterprise-africa.net / 29

INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE

//

2020 looks set to be a big year for one of South Africa’s leading financial services businesses, Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA). The company - which was formed in 1894 by three mining houses to administer workmen’s compensation benefits for those injured in the course and scope of their employment – celebrated its 125th anniversary last year and is ramping up activity as it searches out further growth.

For RMA, all policyholders are shareholders. Over the years, the company has evolved to meet the needs of a changing person and a changing marketplace. Today, the core business for RMA is the receipt, adjudication and administration of workers’ compensation benefits and claims, including the payment of medical costs, once-off disability payments and the ongoing payment of pensions in the case of severe disability and fatalities.

It is also invested in other activities and operates subsidiary businesses which handle various other activities on behalf of the group.

30 / www.enterprise-africa.net

Fortunately, after much economic and political uncertainty – which has been harmful for Africa’s financial services industry – the expectation is that the future is bright for the sector.

According to PwC, Africa’s insurance market remains largely underdeveloped when compared to global standards.

Disruptions resulting from the 2008 global financial crisis have impacted the growth of companies in the industry.

And, competitors from other sectors, such as banking and mobile operators, have started to enter the market placing further pressure on quality and pricing.

But, global economic conditions have improved over the past three years and, in sub-Saharan Africa, GDP figures are expected to continue to improve (2.6% for 2017, 2.4% for 2018, 3.2% for 2019, 3.6% projected for 2020). “Growth is projected to remain strong in nonresource-intensive countries, averaging about 6%. As a result, 24 countries, home to about 500 million people, will see their per capita income rise faster than the rest of the world,” states the IMF. Clearly, RMA has picked up on

the positive feeling and is actively searching out opportunities for future growth. The first step in the process came in the busy month of December when RMA announced the appointment of a new CEO. CHANGES AT THE TOP Following the appointment of Thabo Dloti as RMA Board Chairperson just a few years ago, the company announced in December more changes of senior staff as current CEO, Jay Singh, announced he would retire from the business at the end of June 2020. He will be replaced by Mandla Shezi (now CEO designate). Shezi joins from Hollard where he also held the position of CEO of the international business. Previously, he was Managing Director of Hollard Affinities and Direct for more than a decade and brings an supreme academic background holding a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Cape Town and a Bachelor of Science Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“I am pleased to announce that we

RAND MUTUAL ASSURANCE

// MANDLA HAS EXCELLENT BUSINESS EXPERIENCE AND THE DRIVE TO WORK WITH ALL OF US TO TAKE RMA TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT // have appointed Mandla Shezi as RMA’s new Chief Executive Officer. Mandla will take over from Jay Singh, who is retiring from RMA at the end of June 2020. Mandla will be CEO designate from the 1st of February 2020 and fully assume office as CEO on the 1st of July 2020. Both Jay and Mandla will

work closely, hand in hand to ensure a smooth transition during this period,” said Thabo Dloti.

RMA was particularly attracted to the problem-solving nature of Shezi – developed through an engineering background. His international exposure is also important, helping to bring further global best practice into the business.

“He is an engineer turned businessman,” said Dloti. “He studied chemical engineering and worked as a process engineer and an economist early on in his career. His passion for business management and decisionmaking inspired him to move from engineering to business management where he worked as a management consultant at Bain and Company from 2000 to 2002. He moved to SAB as an executive assistant to the CEO where he was responsible for strategic

projects across the group and was also manufacturing manager for two of SAB’s plant operations.

“In 2007, he joined Hollard as MD and led different divisions for the group.

He has both long-term and short-term insurance experience and has been MD of a division at Hollard that was focused on SA for 12 years and led a division that had Africa and Asia focus with country CEOs reporting to him.”

RMA holds the vision of ‘being the leading insurance provider and administrator of employment injuryand health-related benefits and niche insurance solutions through a worldclass integrated IT system’. Shezi will take up the position with the view of improving strategic and managerial leadership while executing strategy.

“His wealth of experience in the Insurance and Financial Services arena

www.enterprise-africa.net / 31

INDUSTRY FOCUS: FINANCE

will contribute to the growth strategy of our Non-COID (Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases) business and his extensive knowledge of emerging markets into the rest of Africa will drive our new Africa Growth strategy. His vast experience in stakeholder management with multiple strategic partners will be beneficial to driving our growth strategy and in utilising our state-of-the-art IT software,” said Dloti.

Key risks for Shezi to consider when it comes to strategic implementation are the implementation of the National Health Insurance Bill, proposed amendments to COIDA, and political risk. But Dloti remains convinced RMA has got the right man.

“Mandla has excellent business experience and the drive to work with all of us to take RMA to the next level of growth and development. I am personally very pleased that we have been able to attract someone of his calibre, track record and further

32 / www.enterprise-africa.net

potential. He is a strong, dynamic and values-driven leader with an impressive track record of delivering consistent high-quality performance,” enthused Dloti.

ON THE MOVE When Shezi arrives, he will be welcomed to the new RMA head office in Parktown, Johannesburg. Currently, the company

is headquartered on Wellington Road, RMA will make the short move across the district to St Andrews Road. The drive behind the move is to bring staff under one roof to improve teamworking and make cost savings.

“This is a great milestone in our growth journey,” the company says.

“People are the core of what makes us successful, as part of our efforts to continue enhancing our capabilities to deliver on our strategy, we decided to acquire a building that will house all head office staff into one building. This decision is a move towards increasing collaboration, improving operations and staff relationships.

“We believe that the new office space will offer us an opportunity to work closely together in pursuit of reaching our strategic goals. We are confident that this move will positively affect our staff and improve service delivery to our clients, enabling us to: foster creativity and collaboration across RMA departments, save on costs by joining two RMA offices into one, increase client centricity and service, and create a sense of one RMA.” All of this is vital when it comes to delivering a truly human service for people that really need it.

Following the organisation’s 125-year anniversary, outgoing CEO Singh was keen to reiterate the importance of continuation of quality service delivery to ensure sustainability.

RAND MUTUAL ASSURANCE

“Reaching our 125th year milestone, has made me proud of the successes that we have achieved as a group. Through our diversification strategy we have successfully created the foundation for longer-term sustainability so that RMA may continue to offer Caring Compassionate Compensation well into the future,” he said.

// WE BELIEVE THAT THE NEW OFFICE SPACE WILL OFFER US AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK CLOSELY TOGETHER IN PURSUIT OF REACHING OUR STRATEGIC GOALS //

“[In 2019] we launched our Straight Through Processing and Single Queue Claims Management systems using innovative automation and artificial intelligence to offer first class claims administration. Our successes in 2019 were also attributed to our staff who were dedicated and committed to delivering Caring, Compassionate, Compensation throughout 2019.”

Now with offices in Johannesburg and regional walk-in branches located in Carletonville, Cape Town, Durban, eMalahleni, Klerksdorp, Pretoria, Rustenburg and Welkom, and satellite offices in Lesotho, Mthatha and Mozambique, RMA is a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor that is furthering the country’s reputation as a financial services leader.

With Africa’s insurance industry accounting for just 1.2% of premiums

written globally, there is major room for advancement on the continent – home to more than 17% of the world’s people. South Africa’s industry is well-regulated and has a sound framework which, although the market is competitive, allows for innovation and growth potential.

If RMA can sidestep negativity in the economy through product and geographic diversification, there is no reason why this established South African institution can’t achieve its ambitious growth plans and deliver reliable and sustainable services that have helped make it both popular and powerful.

WWW.RANDMUTUAL.CO.ZA

www.enterprise-africa.net / 33

Co-founder and CEO - Ben Shaw

HOUSEME

The New Way

to Rent & Lease in SA PRODUCTION: David Napier

African prop-tech firm HouseME is taking the South African residential rental market by storm and has plans to expand its reach internationally when it has conquered the local market. Co-founder and CEO, Ben Shaw tells Enterprise Africa more about this exciting young business and how it has grown from nothing.

//

In 2019, Cape Town-based specialist residential rental business, HouseME, was recognised by Forbes Africa and Accenture as a top start-up, contributing in a vital way to Africa’s growth. HouseME is a prop-tech business, established in 2016, that exists to remove the hassle, cost and risk from managing long-term rentals –

both for landlords and tenants.

CEO Ben Shaw co-founded the business alongside Kyle Bradley with the goal of reducing fees charged by traditional agencies by using tech to streamline processes and create scale.

Now three years in, success has come quickly for HouseME, but it has been hard work, as Shaw tells Enterprise Africa.

“Whilst studying at UCT, I was fortunate to be part of the Allan Gray Orbis Fellowship which helps to fund students through university.

They try to identify and profile future entrepreneurial leaders and then provide them with a platform to grow their business. I came out of that pipeline with great mentorship before moving into banking,” he says.

www.enterprise-africa.net / 35

INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY

After completing his studies, Shaw moved into the investment banking world, working at JP Morgan Chase in the M&A team. This experience allowed the entrepreneur to learn about efficiency of markets.

While working at the bank, Shaw was renting and came to a realisation: “There was no pricing efficiency whatsoever in how to determine a rental. Neither I, the landlord, nor the agent for sure, knew what the fair price of the property was.

That could be solved – in banking you have a stock exchange where you can trade value of shares – and I thought it would make sense to apply this to rental.

That was the birth of HouseME – a pricing mechanism for rental – back in 2015.”

He approached Kyle Bradley who was working at another start up that had begun to hit the big time. Bradley had been a driving force in the team, moving that company from Cape Town to London and internationalising the product, witnessing first-hand the company go from start up, through scale up, to established business.

“By the time I approached Kyle I had already put my own money behind a very good minimum viable product (MVP), I had raised angel funding, and I had relocated back to Cape Town in order to start the business,” details Shaw.

// BY DOING THINGS MORE EFFECTIVELY, USING TECHNOLOGY, AUTOMATING, BUILDING SCALE AND USING DATA, WE ARE ABLE TO PASS ON THAT SURPLUS – USUALLY AGENT PROFIT – STRAIGHT BACK TO THE CONSUMER // 36 / www.enterprise-africa.net

ACCELERATING MOMENTUM Like any start-up, HouseME had to grind out even the smallest of results in the early days – constant focus and little reward for major efforts. But, after some helpful funding injections, the business started to gain traction.

“In 2016, we worked from home, trying to survive and trying to get into an accelerator programme,” explains Shaw. HouseME managed to secure a spot on the inaugural E-Squared Accelerator programme – a funding house that empowers South Africa’s responsible entrepreneurs to unleash their high impact potential. After graduating the programme at the end of 2016, HouseME gained seed funding and launched its MVP - a mobile app.

“Subsequent to launch, we built out a new system and platform, and we hired some great people to help; I would say the genesis of HouseME as it is today came in July 2017,” remembers Shaw.

Even after a strong introduction to the market, the founders knew their offering needed more work.

“It’s one of the least complicated times – maybe not the happiest – because everything you do translates directly to value for the business and investors love to see that kind of commitment. We were still young and fresh enough to believe we could do anything, and some days we did,” admits Shaw. “We very quickly learnt what worked in the market and what didn’t, and when we launched the MVP during the accelerator, we already knew that it wasn’t what we needed to build, it was simply used as a way to collect data on our users and understand better ways to solve their problems. When we launched in July, we had a far better product fit for what we were trying to do.”

Eventually, HouseME’s modern product was launched and the company looked to cover all aspects of the rental market, bringing vetted tenants to landlords with shared values, while taking care of all of the processes in between.

// WE CAN DELIVER PLACEMENTS THAT WE KNOW ARE EXCELLENT TENANTS AND EXCELLENT PAYERS. LIKEWISE, WE ONLY WORK WITH LANDLORDS WHERE WE HAVE BUILT A PROFILE, COMPLETED FULL VERIFICATION CHECKS AND WE CAN IDENTIFY WITH // “We manage a consolidated end-to-end property service. If you’re looking to manage a property, we can do almost anything you want,” details Shaw. “We have created consumer surplus. By using HouseME, we are multiples better than the alternative solution at the price point we offer. For example, if a landlord wants full rental management, an agency will typically charge one-month rental up front which translates to around 8.3% - ours is 2.5%. By doing things more effectively, using technology, automating, building scale and using data, we are able to pass on that surplus – usually agent profit – straight back to the consumer. That is the first paradigm – we build consumer surplus so that people love to use us and when people are with us, they want to stay.”

The quality of service delivered speaks for itself - 90% of lessors that use the HouseME system stay with the service year after year.

DEPOSITFREE™ In April 2019, HouseME launched its newest service for tenants, a product which allows for residential rental

HOUSEME

without the need to part with a large security deposit. Typically, renters will have to pull together two months’ rent as a lump sum to hand over before they receive the keys to their new home.

Shaw and Bradley realised quickly that this was one of the major hurdles in the journey of a rental tenant.

The idea is that, for a small monthly fee, HouseME will take the risk on behalf of landlord and tenant so that the process is simple and easy on both sides.

“It works well when people are moving out of one property and waiting for the return of their deposit, but they need money to pay the deposit on their new property. The tenant would take the DepositFREETM lease from HouseME on the second property and have the opportunity to pay the deposit in full when they get their deposit back from the first property,

cancelling the fee,” explains Shaw.

“The second use case is when a young professional is starting out in their first rented accommodation and they need to use their savings to buy furniture and help with moving costs.

They pay the small fee throughout the duration of their lease and they don’t ever need to come up with a big lump sum for deposit – they are happy, we are happy, and the landlord is at all times entirely covered for the risk.”

At time of launch, HouseME was the only company offering such a service across the entire continent – reinforcing its innovative nature.

“Subsequently, there are a couple of products that are similarly built but I’m not sure how well they have done.

The differentiator that people often overlook is that you have to have superb vetting and you have to be able to verify

huge data, and that is what we are focussed on.”

Shaw states that with the idea being new to Africa, a certain amount of education has been needed to ensure everyone fully understands the process, and it is also boosting presence in the market. “We have seen good traction from the landlord side and tenants,” says the CEO. “We also have agents asking to engage with us and looking to move onto the platform, so that is exciting.”

DATA POWER Using data to tailor products and services to the needs of the market is not a new thing for customer facing businesses, but doing it efficiently and effectively is now starting to pay dividends for those who have invested wisely. Often, too much importance is placed on technology when it comes to

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY

Kyle Bradley and Ben Shaw

digital transformation, and the data side of things is ignored. But for HouseME, both have received adequate attention and the business has thrived.

“The difference between HouseME and others is that our data forms a user profile right across the behavioural spectrum,” delineates Shaw. “We understand who you are and what you are looking for before you are in a property, once you’re in and paying, when you are up for renewal, or if you are doing something wrong; we can assist throughout the process at a much cheaper rate than any specialist provider. That is where our advantage comes at scale as the data is constantly evolving. We have around 100,000 verified profiles on our system and we can service all as we understand the needs.”

The company is now so much more than a connector of vetted tenants and landlords. HouseME works across all sectors of the industry.

“We take a property from the very

38 / www.enterprise-africa.net

beginning, right through marketing, through tenant vetting and viewing coordination, inspections, deposits, payments, reporting, invoicing, maintenance and even emergencies.

From a tenant perspective, we are an easy online application tool and we are on all the marketplaces that people are already used to dealing with. We are not disrupting behaviour but we are augmenting it and making it simpler,” explains Shaw.

It is HouseME’s data and vetting process that separates it from competition of traditional agents. And this is a strength that will only continue to grow. It is already demonstrated in the affordability matching process employed by HouseME and the likes of DepositFREETM and the rental guarantee.

“The average agency in the southern suburbs of Cape Town will screen around five tenants for every one successful placement – in other words, one in five will match the affordability criteria that the agent feels

is acceptable,” explains Shaw. “Ours is one in eight meaning we are almost 50% more rigorous in comparison to an agent equivalent. As a result, we can deliver placements that we know are excellent tenants and excellent payers. Likewise, we only work with landlords where we have built a profile, completed full verification checks and

// IF A LANDLORD WANTS FULL RENTAL MANAGEMENT, AN AGENCY WILL TYPICALLY CHARGE ONE-MONTH RENTAL UP FRONT WHICH TRANSLATES TO AROUND 8.3% - OURS IS 2.5% //

HOUSEME

we can identify with. We realise that the opportunity is not just management of rental, but management of the rental experience and anything to do with renting a property. We started with the rental guarantee where we will take the risk, and we now offer DepositFREETM for tenants.”

Of course, this type of offering is attractive to potential investors and, alongside recognition from Forbes and the Cape Town Seedstars Summit, HouseME is starting to garner attention internationally.

“We are consolidating so many verticals. There are companies in Europe that are spending massive amounts of money to build their deposit free solution, but it just happens to be one of our products. Hopefully we can reap the rewards going forward,” says Shaw.

FROM SA TO THE WORLD? After three years of hard work, HouseME now has a nationwide footprint and continues to delight its clients. Asked about the next step in the company’s growth, Shaw is certainly happy to explore international expansion, but only when the local market is secure.

“We are one strategic leap away from it,” he muses. “We have one piece of strategy to execute before we engage in that. We must dominate our local market further. We manage a good number of properties for only being three years in, but we are not yet one of the top five in the country and we want to be there before we go overseas.

That is achievable in the medium term, so probably a couple of years away.

In the next two to three years, we are actively looking at partners that could take us international. Whether its investors, portfolios that need a manager, or agents. We’ve had a couple of approaches from Europe, America, and others in Africa but we remain in a ‘wait and see’ space until we have executed locally.”

He adds that expansion for HouseME is two-pronged; volume and product range. Growth will come in the

form of acquiring new landlords and tenants (and therefore more data), and also through adding new products as demanded by the market so to continue solving problems and delighting clients to drive loyalty.

There are many considerations when expanding beyond South African border into the continent. Many try and fail, and a key is to understand the differences in each market. In just the sub-Saharan region, there are 15+ economies with different business cultures, economic climates, legal systems, and governments.

“Some African countries require four months rental as a security deposit. That means our DepositFREETM product would have to cover four times the risk compared to South Africa. Those tweaks are things that we are working on but remain a couple of years away,” details Shaw.

Growing internationally when the company is ready will also be down to the appetite of investors and the maturity of the proposed geography.

For Shaw, Africa represents a real opportunity and is first on the agenda, followed by parts of Europe before entering more established markets where competition is already rife.

BRICK BY BRICK Asked if HouseME is a vehicle for personal wealth creation for Shaw and Bradley, the CEO is clear in his reply: “We are not here because we think it’s an easy flip, we are here because we think we are solving a problem and adding value.

“There is room for a scale play in residential rental. Until someone has that dominance, we have the chance of doing it ourselves. If we are able to earn the trust of someone who is paying around 30% of their salary in rentals, it’s not a hard jump to move that to 31 or 32% by offering products which are desperately needed, and services that can be offered more effectively. If this paradigm holds, our data shows that we have the ability to make it to the top ourselves.”

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY

Clearly, this is not an ‘establish to sell’ situation, and the founders remain active in the day-to-day operation of the company, driving for consistent, sustainable growth with every opportunity. Going forward, further investment will be required and Shaw wants to be a case study for what is achievable in Africa.

“We are on an upward trajectory but we are reliant on growth funding to provide that,” he says. “As with any start up, your first few years are based around building a great platform and delivering a great experience. From there you see the numbers grow and that is where we are right now. We have been able to show returns for our investors but there is always more to achieve so we hope we can continue to grow this vision and be a part of the African growth story as investors back us to perform and the

strategy we come up with at the tip of Africa can be translated around the world – nothing excites us more.

“Winning recognition means that we are now able to open discussions that were previously closed to us because of what people read about us.

We are building a brand and are aware that coming from South Africa there are only a handful of tech start-ups that have actually become big success,” he adds. “Because of that, there is a perception that tech in Africa is not good enough – we have to overcome that bias every time we walk into a boardroom for a meeting. The brand recognition and exposure goes a long way in helping to bridge the gap and provide credibility for fantastic service. I believe so many South African companies could fight above their weight in developed markets, but

// WE ARE NOT DISRUPTING BEHAVIOUR BUT WE ARE AUGMENTING IT AND MAKING IT SIMPLER // 40 / www.enterprise-africa.net

often are overlooked so don’t have the opportunity to do that.”

The one element perhaps hindering faster growth for HouseME is the economic climate in South Africa. Something which has dogged businesses across many sectors, a slow economy results in slow investment and slow decision making – maybe it’s safer for a landlord to stick with the agent they know; maybe a tenant should put off upgrading their living situation.

Uncertainty leads to hesitation.

But HouseME is aware of the situation and well-placed to ride out the storm, with a large client base and high satisfaction levels.

“When you look at constraints to growth, it is certainly up there at the top of the list. We are aware of it and we are dealing with it. The market is under pressure for a number of reasons, not least the cyclicality of the property industry itself wherein there is an oversupply in the market for the first time in six or seven years.

“It is not something that

HOUSEME

// WE WERE STILL YOUNG AND FRESH ENOUGH TO BELIEVE WE COULD DO ANYTHING, AND SOME DAYS WE DID // keeps us up at night because there is nothing we can do about it, quite frankly. What we can do is continue to delight our users. Everything that we do is built around ensuring we have a great customer experience and serving them in the best way possible. By doing things differently, we have been able to earn loyalty in a market that is under pressure. In the long run, property is a very defensible market – everyone needs somewhere to live. Despite the cyclicality of supply, there will be a need for the next thirty years,” affirms Shaw.

Prominent client wins are helping to secure status for HouseME, and the

more customers that sign up, the more remain loyal, the better the service deliver gets.

“We are a very young business but we are seeing growth. In the last three or four months, this was around 30-40%,” enthuses Shaw. “We have won some massive clients – one of the most prestigious is the V&A Waterfront where we manage the entire residential portfolio. Although growth is tough and we are aware that start-ups have to pursue growth above all, we are equally cognisant that our clients are staying with us because they are delighted with our service. Because we have that customer lifetime that we can engage with, we can offer better products as we go. We offer the rental guarantee, we offer eviction coverage as we realised that was a concern for landlords, and the DepositFREE™ idea came out of that.”

Clearly, the strategy planned out and delivered by HouseME is working.

Clearly, this African prop-tech start-up is acting as an example to follow. Clearly, there is more to come.

“As we understand our users, we are able to profile them better and define their risks to pay rent. HouseME acts as an intermediary or a payment switch in the sense that tenants pay us, we hold the money in trust, and then pay the landlord who is ultimately the beneficiary. In doing so, and having built up profiles based on our data, we have realised that we are really good at this core competency – our vetting is exceptional. We have a collection rate of 99%, right across the country. As a result of that, we are able to offer guarantees on our services that others simply cannot,” concludes Shaw.

At a fraction of the cost of a traditional agency, HouseME is the modern, digital, transparent alternative, and in challenging times, an offering like this seems all the more attractive.

WWW.HOUSE.ME

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STADIUM MANAGEMENT SA

Keeping SA Venues

Packed Out PRODUCTION: Karl Pietersen

Stadium Management SA is driving into 2020 with a host of new idea across rugby, football and entertainment events to continue driving consumer demand. With sentiment in the sporting world on a high after the Rugby World Cup victory, SMSA is doing all it can to ensure its stadiums remain busy and full so that the local economy can benefit. www.enterprise-africa.net / 43

INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY

//

After the injection of positivity that was so desperately needed for South African sport, and South Africa in general, the 2019 Rugby World Cup winning spirit brought back from Japan is now last year’s news. Can the country continue to attract fans into its stadiums? Is there a renewed optimism in sport after that heroic night in Yokohama in front of more than 70,000 people? For leading big venue facilities management business, Stadium Management SA (SMSA), the hope is that attendances will boom.

// THE STANDARD OF SAFETY AND SECURITY HAS BEEN RAISED AND MUST BE MAINTAINED FOR ALL FUTURE EVENTS OF THIS MAGNITUDE //

© Chris Kirchhoff - Media Club South Africa

44 / www.enterprise-africa.net

In January, England came to South Africa to contest at the top level once again – this time in cricket. After the test, many questioned why the venue seemed to be full of England fans with very few South African’s, despite home nation status. It is a problem which both the sport and those in charge of the stadium have had to examine.

For Johannesburg-based SMSA, historic and ongoing quality service, delivering high-profile events in some of the country’s most prestigious stadiums, has helped property owners to trust that their venues will be effectively managed, even when full to capacity.

Focussed on delivering memorable events in four of South Africa’s biggest and best stadiums (FNB, Orlando, Dobsonville and Rand), SMSA has become one of the continent’s most respected organisations.

On behalf of the South African government, SMSA independently funds the commercial business of

these multi-purpose, adaptable venues which have become internationally known for hosting world-class sporting, entertainment, political and business events.

A complete integrated service package is delivered including finance and commerce, operations and facilities management, and event planning. Every aspect of modern stadium management is catered for. Sponsorship, advertising, retail, stakeholder return and investment, commercial rights management, support services, catering, hospitality, maintenance, pitch management, cleaning, waste management, security, health and safety, security and disaster management, local authority collaboration, transport and parking, technical and event management, and emergency and police services – without all of this, stadiums of this size would not survive and would never be able to attract top teams and large events.

TOP 10

REASONS TO HOST YOUR NEXT EVENT AT THE JEC  Over 100 000m² outdoor space  Over 50 000m² indoor space  Over 20 000 secure parking bays  Close proximity to hotels  World-class award-winning venue  Registered Helicopter landing site  Affiliated to all major industry associations  30min away from ALL major airports  Accessible from ALL highways  All service providers on-site

MEETING YOUR DEMANDS, EXCEEDING YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

+27 (0)11 494 1920 Cnr Rand Show & Nasrec Road, Johannesburg info@expocentre.co.za www.expocentre.co.za

INDUSTRY FOCUS: PROPERTY

MILESTONES Since establishment in 2010, SMSA has achieved a number of major milestones. After the onset of the 2008 global financial crisis, many businesses scaled back in a big way, consolidating operations and looking to streamline to make it through tough times. But for SMSA, delivering consistent operational excellence has resulted in sustainable growth, bringing the company to where it is now, at the forefront of the industry.

Hosting a number of Soweto derbies – the country’s most anticipated soccer match – SMSA makes us of what it calls ‘the mecca of South African football – FNB Stadium’. Rumours emerged at the end of 2019 that the Soweto derby could move to Durban but the Chiefs quickly distanced themselves from the story stating that the logistics would simply not work.

Across its portfolio, SMSA has hosted some of the biggest and best events that the continent has ever seen, and it is FNB Stadium that often takes centre stage (remember the FIFA World Cup Final 2010?). This was highlighted in March 2019 when one of the world’s leading musical acts, Ed Sheeran performed to more than 125,000 fans across two days.

The spectacle was one of the largest of the year and the stadium was set up with one end blocked off for a large stage and three sides, along with the pitch area, flooded with people. Of course, for SMSA, this was a challenging weekend

// VODACOM SUPER RUGBY WILL CONTINUE TO IMPRESS WITH BREATH-TAKING RUGBY BETWEEN THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE // 46 / www.enterprise-africa.net

but the experienced business pulled it off without a hitch.

In fact, the event was so successful, SMSA was highly commended by partners. Big Concerts, the company behind the organising of the shows, made it clear that SMSA (and all involved through the Event Safety & Security Planning Committee – ESSPC) had been a part of something special. Big Concerts CEO Justin Van Wyk said: “This has been THE most attended music event in South African history, and we have been overwhelmed by the positive response from the public.

“Even Ed Sheeran, who is the biggest artist in the world and who has played over 150 stadium shows on every continent over the past three years, commented about the positive feedback he’s seen on social media and how successful these shows were.

“It would not have been possible without the collective effort and tireless work from the members of this ESSPC and their respective teams, and we can all be proudly South African about this tremendous achievement and truly world class event.”

SMSA were equally impressed with the collaboration, stating: “We would like to extend a big thank you to Big Concerts, the South African Police Service, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, the ESSPC, and all our partners for your contribution to the success of the Ed Sheeran concerts, held at the FNB Stadium on the 23rd and 24th of March 2019.”

The event went off with only seven reported incidents ending up with police – mostly for minor offences relating to illegal sale of alcohol and theft. No major incidents were reported across the two-day period. Provincial Commissioner of Gauteng, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela offered his thanks to the companies involved as well as the public for a job well done.

“The standard of safety and security has been raised and must be maintained for all future events of this magnitude. This can only materialise

// THERE IS A GOOD VIBE IN SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY AT THE MOMENT // through taking collective responsibility by both event-goers and law enforcement deployment,” he said.

Bertie Grobbelaar, Managing Director of SMSA said: “We would like to thank the SAPS for their service and continued efforts to ensure the spectators and stadia are safe during events. We value our close working relationship, and appreciate the efforts of each SAPS member in achieving these.”

AWARD WINNING Because SMSA has been run with governance and ethics at its heart since the beginning, a culture of excellence has been developed which provides overarching standards within the business. Driven from the top by CEO Dr Jacques Grobbelaar, this culture has helped SMSA to become a multi-awardwinning operation, collecting some prestigious titles along the way.

In 2011, FNB Stadium was given the Sports Event of the Year award at an evet in Barcelona for the FIFA World Cup final which was viewed by more than a billion people worldwide.

In 2013, the company was lauded by an entertainment industry body for successful delivery of many major concerts at FNB stadium, including Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Metallica, Justin Bieber, Bon Jovi and Rihanna, where more that 233,000 tickets were sold in a 12-month period. This award was followed up with further success in the same field in 2015.

2015 also saw SMSA labelled by the South African Trade and Industry department as a national top empowerment leader of business and industry.

For helping to grow the local, national and global economy, SMSA was

STADIUM MANAGEMENT SA

South Africa’s Elton Jantjies - Credit : Jonathan McMillan, Shutterstock

awarded The Bizz Award in 2017, which recognises quality and excellence. The company picked up recognition across two categories: World Business Leader and Inspirational Company.

After much more success, the company was given the 2018 Stadium Business Award for quality and excellence with Grobbelaar also being recognised for his contribution to the industry.

EXCITEMENT CONTINUES As always, SMSA is pushing for the best events with full stadiums, and to encourage rugby fans in 2020, SMSA in partnership with SuperSport and Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, helped to introduce new Marvel branded team uniforms and a Super Hero Sunday event, where the big clubs - Vodacom Bulls (Captain America), DHL Stormers (Thor), Emirates Lions (Spider-Man) and Cell C Sharks (Black Panther) – played in January and are participating in numerous initiatives to raise awareness and funding for local charitable causes.

“We have a new generation of rugby heroes in South Africa ready to make their mark in Vodacom Super Rugby in

2020,” said Mr Mark Alexander, President of SA Rugby.

“We’ve seen a re-energised enthusiasm for rugby in South Africa in recent months and that will spill over into 2020, when Vodacom Super Rugby will continue to impress with breath-taking rugby between the best players in the Southern Hemisphere.”

50,000 people turned out at FNB Stadium for Super Hero Sunday and displayed ongoing enthusiasm for the game.

“There is a good vibe in South African rugby at the moment. We’re all in this together and we’re all part of South African rugby, so an event like this is very positive. It was quite special to be part of this,” said Elton Jantjies.

For SMSA, this is yet another seamlessly organised event that epitomises what the company is all about – the smooth running of fantastic events. To date, the business is achieving its mission statement of delivering solutions that allow clients to maximise opportunities for venues or events by leveraging all available technical, commercial and business opportunities

that produce clear and tangible benefits.

“We match our stakeholders’ ambitions and objectives with geographic, business and demographic opportunities, creating formulas for sustainable, profitable and active venues, and providing scalable and future-proof solutions by using the data and hardnosed, unmatched experience necessary to make informed business decisions and to create viable strategies and business models,” the company states.

So, it looks like South Africa sport is buoyant. Despite Faf du Plessis admission that having more England fans in the stadium during January’s test did help to sway the result, most fans – especially those in Gauteng – can rest assured that Stadium Management SA will continue to do everything in its power to pack out its venues, driving the local and national economy while doing so.

WWW.STADIUMMANAGEMENT.CO.ZA

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GLODINA

The South African Manufacturing Phoenix PRODUCTION: Manelesi Dumasi

Over the past 60 years, Glodina Black Label’s expansive product range has provided South Africa with towels unrivalled in luxurious quality and enduring reliability, but the operation fell off the shelf in 2017 when the factory was forced to close doors.

The IDC stepped up, and now Glodina is successfully implementing a turnaround strategy, bringing its quality back to South African consumers. CEO Mark Goliath tells Enterprise Africa more about the successes of the past 12 months.

//

It’s about time South Africa had a positive business turnaround strategy story to tell. Thanks to long-lasting economic and political woe, the business and investment picture in the country has not been pretty.

This was highlighted in sharp focus in 2017 when the Glodina towel manufacturing business, located in Hammarsdale KZN, closed its doors leaving more than 500 people out of work.

Manufacturing output around the country had slowed and businesses had started looking to cheap imports to fulfil their needs. This situation was and is unsustainable.

48 / www.enterprise-africa.net

Unfortunately, not all that have struggled in manufacturing have found a way out. But for Glodina, investment from the IDC saw the company thrown a lifeline. In 2018, after a year in the wilderness, Glodina resumed operations at the bottom of the ladder – the challenge was on; could this once famous South African brand win back market share and create a sustainable operation once again?

According to CEO Mark Goliath, the turnaround strategy put in place following the company’s reestablishment has been successful and, already, Glodina is rebuilding its presence.

“We are on track to meet our targets for the financial year which

ends at the end of March,” he says.

“Our sales are slightly behind – around 5-6% - but that is not bad at all considering the circumstances. We grew employment and we are now at 211. We’ve gained traction in the retail space – we are now supplying Makro.

That started in September last year and is still growing. At the end of April, we will also supply Game, also part of the Massmart group, and then we will start to have a big retail presence. The brand is growing slowly but surely.”

Last year, Glodina was only operating at 30% while it utilised its R150 million IDC investment to bring onboard world-leading automation equipment, returning the business

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING

to efficient production. The other towel manufacturer under the IDC umbrella, Colibri, has officially merged with Glodina and, a year on, and the company is soon to be at 50% capacity with an appetite to keep pushing.

Demand driving the capacity increase comes from the addition of business with Game, and also a growth in the hospitality sector – traditionally a stronghold for Glodina.

“We have managed to bring onboard one of the country’s bigger hospitality groups, Tsogo Sun. We are also supplying Sun International and the Sun City Resort with towels. We have grown nicely and we are getting the brand back in there,” Goliath highlights.

In the past, most hotels in the country would have stacked Glodina towels but that demand was allowed to dwindle. This is certainly an area where the company can regain share, and also grow through export. In 2020, Glodina is targeting Indian Ocean island resorts - Mauritius, Madagascar and Reunion – areas with heavy tourist traffic in a bid to build its pipeline.

“We are also looking at Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, Gabon and areas in East Africa where tourism is growing,” admits Goliath.

“We want to get in with the hotel chains, some of which we already supply in South Africa.

// PRODUCTS ARE STILL COMING INTO THE COUNTRY WAY UNDER COST SO WE MUST CONTINUE TO DIVERSIFY AND GAIN COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WITH SERVICE AND QUALITY // 50 / www.enterprise-africa.net

// THERE IS NO POINT GOING FOR TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS ALREADY MATURED, WE’VE GONE FOR THE VERY BEST WE COULD FIND // “We are also working with a UK company which is looking to move our hospitality towels into a big global hotel chain in the USA. In the next four months, we will have an idea about whether or not that chain wants to switch to our towel. That is a big project that we have in the pipeline.”

MARKET LEADING AUTOMATION Right now, one of the main focusses for Glodina is the installation of new machinery that will improve efficiency, capacity, and quality. Last year, Glodina sent people to some of the world’s finest manufacturing facilities to research best practice processes.

Facilities in Europe, Turkey and India were studied, and Glodina is now adopting those learnings.

“Technicians from Belgium are assisting with the installation of new weaving equipment in the Cape Town plant. We expect that to be fully commissioned before the end of March,” Goliath explains. “In the C&T and make up area, the equipment has been delivered and the installation will be done by March – all of the plans that we had are now coming to fruition. We are expecting by the end of 2019’s Q1 that the bulk of the new equipment will be installed for the start of the new financial year – that is excellent news from our perspective.

With technology upgrades, everything is going to plan.

“Nobody manufacturers weaving looms in South Africa and we had to look to Europe. It gives us credibility – we have gone for the leading equipment suppliers globally and this is cutting edge technology. There is no point going for technology that has already matured, we’ve gone for the very best we could find,” he adds.

“We have partnered with the

KwaZulu-Natal clothing and textile cluster and the job of the cluster is to do benchmarking for its members.

Those benchmarking exercises are transposed against what global trends are and in terms of best practice benchmarking, we have made progress,” he adds.

Without this capital investment into new plant, Glodina would not have been able to win the major national clients that it has. Its capacity would not have increased, and the positivity that has been realised since reopening would not be as impressive.

Makro and Game form part of the Massmart group, a major African retailer, and gaining the trust of these organisations is a real coup.

“We expect those two clients to make up 20% of our business across the group. For the first four months, it will only be Glodina in Game, but we are actively looking at additional products that Colibri could supply.

“We are working hard to get business with Woolworths and we are busy sampling and trialling with them.

25% of our business is probably on the hospitality side of things. We do a lot of business in the independent market, supplying to a lot of wholesalers and our towels for this market make up about a quarter of our turnover.

We have two factory shops - one at Glodina and one at Colibri – and that is possibly another 25% turnover. The retail clients make up another 25% and what we are driving this year is that hospitality will grow for both companies,” details Goliath.

LOCALISATION Manufacturing supports millions of jobs in South Africa and is a key drier of multiplier economics, where value addition, job creation and

GLODINA

export earnings all come as a result of investment. But when investment slows, imports from China and other expert manufacturers increase as basement pricing becomes attractive.

Unfortunately, importing heavily is not good for an already fragile economy and Glodina is keen to localise as much as possible.

“We cannot compete on price with imported products,” admits Goliath. His solution? Offer first-class, comprehensive and speedy service that competitors from the East could never replicate.

“Products are still coming into the country way under cost so we must continue to diversify and gain competitive advantage with service and quality. That is the reason we have been able to get some of these bigger retailers online.

“If you run a full programme with a retailer but not all colours sell well, we could offer turnaround in under 10 days where we will up the order of popular colours and reduce those that are not selling. The retailers are happy with this and they can take advantage of what is trending instead of being left with dead stock.”

Importing on mass, in large containers, from China means that orders cannot be tweaked and retailers are stuck with product that has no demand – this is not flexible in a world of fast fashion.

Currently, the business is managing to take share in the local market and bring some manufacturing back to South Africa. The investments into new equipment and the relentless marketing push to make potential clients aware of the strengths of the

brand are starting to pay off.

“It has been very rewarding seeing the traction we have been able to gain from a sales point of view,” says Goliath. “The South African economy is still very sluggish with GDP growth at 0.5% - where it will stay for the whole year – there is not a lot of disposable income around and all of the retailers results have been down year-on-year; that makes for a tough environment for manufacturing. We have been cautious and we have formed selective partnerships with specific retailers and overall the experience has been a good one so far.”

YEAR 2: RESULTS TIME Following Glodina’s relaunch, the IDC facilitated something of a grace period as the company began its rise from the ashes. Market share has been

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The company’s mission statement is to become “an integral part of its customers’ supply chain, focusing on personal attention to their individual needs.”

Afristar’s shareholders and management team have a combined experience of 156 years in the logistics industry which includes NVOCC, Freight Forwarding and Customs Clearing, Ships Agency, Supply Chain Management and Road Freight.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING

// WE ARE ON TRACK TO MEET OUR TARGETS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR WHICH ENDS AT THE END OF MARCH // recaptured, the brand is being rebuilt, and the factory is pumping out quality product at a more efficient rate – but now is the time that Glodina proves its worth.

“The first financial year was meant for us to re-establish the brand and get market traction. Next financial year will be the critical one because we are no longer a start-up and we are in the second year of a plan. Because

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year one has gone to plan, it places expectation on year two, and that will be interesting,” says Goliath.

A new board has been appointed to lead Glodina and Colibri as one organisation and, when Goliath’s secondment from the IDC comes to an end in May, a new CEO will likely take the reins to continue the story.

“The official merger was completed in November 2019 and we have a single board and single management team to oversee operations. There has been a natural migration of skills and ideas between the two and it is an ongoing process as it is fairly new,” he says.

“We are recruiting for a permanent CEO and it will be a wide search. I am seconded until the end of May and I will ensure of a successful handover if I am not the successful candidate.

“We are also revising our organogram to ensure we streamline operations. That doesn’t mean we are going to retrench people – that is the furthest thing from our minds. We just want to make sure we are using the people we have optimally. Both operations are running fairly lean at the moment. There has been a nice reduction in staff complement at Colibri due to natural attrition through the year. We purposefully did not replace those people in anticipation of the automation that is going live in the next two months. Less people can help to provide a more robust, cost-effective business. Integration is underway and we are happy to have it in full swing.”

As capability and capacity grows across the group, and customer start to notice the benefits of working alongside a proud South African

GLODINA

// WE WILL NOT REST UNTIL WE CAN CALL OURSELVES A GLOBAL SUPPLIER, ON PAR WITH THE BEST IN THE WORLD // manufacturer, Glodina will also look to expand its offering for clients through partnerships within the IDC portfolio.

“The IDC also owns a company called Sheraton Textiles which is a bedding and bed linen manufacturer,” says Goliath. “We have been working together on a project where we can design products for the bedroom and bathroom. It will be marketed as one design portfolio to offer to the retail and independent markets because

there is an appetite for it and globally that is a common strategy. We will not manufacture those products we will definitely partner with our sister company to extract the value that is on offer. That will happen in the next financial year.”

The IDC exists to promote economic growth and industrial development in South Africa, and the turnaround that it has helped to implement at Glodina is a shining example of what is possible.

Localisation is vital, and nowhere is that more obvious than in the community surrounding the Glodina plant.

“90% of our employees come from Hammarsdale. The closure had a direct impact on the economy there and when we reopened, it was great to re-establish some pride. We have been working closely with CSI projects in the Hammarsdale area and

we are supporting creches and old age homes so that we can implement targeted initiatives that help build credibility in the community and show people that we are up and running again and we are here to stay – that has been rewarding,” explains Goliath.

Now, further hard work begins.

The company must build capacity to ensure ROI and increased market share. With capital expenditure in place, Goliath sees no reason why Glodina cannot go on to achieve great things, bringing back the Black Label reputation for the highest quality.

“We will not rest until we can call ourselves a global supplier, on par with the best in the world,” he concludes.

WWW.GLODINA.CO.ZA

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EDDELS SHOES & CELROSE CLOTHING

Celrose Wears the Trousers

in SA Fashion PRODUCTION: William Denstone

Amid sharp decline in the retail, clothing, textile, footwear and leather (R-CTFL) market in South Africa over the last decade and more, Eddels Shoes and Celrose Clothing have remained among the top producers of modern, high-quality garments in the world. This is down to a sharp focus on consumer trends and innovation, Enterprise Africa learns, in a sector that is being given a major patch-up.

//

Celrose has been offering quality garments at competitive prices since 1946, to sartorially savvy consumers both throughout South Africa and abroad. Growing and developing customer needs saw it embark upon a major expansion programme in 1975, opening its main manufacturing complex.

Really ramping up its capacity, this move saw Celrose incorporate specialist equipment into a state-of-theart warehouse, alongside a high-tech cutting room in order to keep pace with demand. These are two of the pillars of the Celrose philosophy, in order to remain at the forefront and evolve to meet consumer goals.

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ONE STEP AHEAD The clothing giant is unequivocal regarding the importance of harnessing technology. “Celrose will continue to investigate and act upon technological innovations to keep ahead of the field and to maintain its enviable rate,” it states.

“At the same time it will develop and adopt to the ever-changing customer garment market so that customers will consistently benefit from a reliable supply of top quality merchandise at competitive price.”

Also run by Celrose’s CEO, John Comley, Eddels is a shoe manufacturer that has been providing South African consumers with quality footwear for

over one hundred years. The company is famous for kitting out faithful customers in brands such as John Drake, QC, Riccardo, Aeroflex and Freedom.

Celrose, operating in Tongaat near Durban, was the clothing manufacturing arm of the Edcon retail group until 2006, when Edcon divested and John Comley, Eddels CEO and one of Edcon’s most successful suppliers, was brought in as Celrose’s new CEO. Comley was already well-known in industry circles for having revived Eddels, a shoe factory in Kwa-Zulu Natal where Celrose is located, by introducing innovative worker-participation and incentive schemes to enhance both productivity and profitability. Edcon

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING

retains a 49% interest in the entity today. “Edcon will continue to be supportive of the new company to grow its business,” Edcon CEO Steve Ross stated at the time of the merger.

“The factory has clean inventories, a reputable client base and a strong order book - we think the business is in a good position for this transaction to be successful.”

To this day, Celrose and Eddels retain the philosophy of staying ahead of the curve in SA fashion.

“To keep ahead of the fast moving fashion world,” they outline, “designers regularly visit European Trade Fairs to asses’ future trends and to ensure a free flow of vital information and a constant interchange of ideas.”

It is a strategy which has worked, Comley told us when Celrose in particular had begun to attract major attention and result in consistent yearon-year growth. “We work very hard with our customers to prove to them that we are a value-added supplier and offer a point of difference,” he promulgated.

“We work extremely hard on product diversity, flexibility, and become that first name or phone

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number in the customer’s mind. Not only will they get top service quickly, they will get guaranteed quality and after sales service and support.”

BUYOUT APPROVED In April of last year, fin24 reported that The Competition Tribunal had approved, subject to conditions, the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation’s (IDC) acquisition of Celrose.

Concerns had been raised previously by both the National Union of Leather & Allied Workers (Nulaw) and the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu) regarding what they saw as a potential threat to employment, but the Competition Commission took the view that the merger is unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in any market.

The IDC and Celrose, in turn, said an amended and reinstated merchandise supply agreement will ensure that Edcon continues to procure products from Celrose and Eddels post-merger. The IDC and Celrose undertook that the merger will not result in any retrenchments.

The conditions to which the merger must adhere outline that Celrose must not retrench any employees as a result of the merger for a period of five years from the implementation date of the merger. During the first five-year period of the Merchandise Supply Agreement, additionally, Celrose must provide reports to the Competition Commission in relation to the agreement.

THREADBARE INDUSTRY What makes Celrose and Eddels’ continued success all the more impressive is a consideration of the overall state of the space in which it has been operating, a situation which stretches back some 20 years. Once the economic lifeblood of many small regional towns, the abundance of cheaper products from China has led to the loss of nearly two-thirds of South Africa’s retail, clothing, textile, footwear and leather (R-CTFL) jobs over the past two decades.

Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) indicates that the total value of the country’s Clothing, Textile, Footwear and Leather (CTFL) market exceeds R180bn. However, the domestic clothing manufacturing sector has declined sharply over the past two decades and currently contributes only around 3% towards the country’s total manufacturing production.

“The R-CTFL sector has shed almost 170,000 jobs during the past fifteen years and as at June 2017 the industry provided formal employment to 87,057 people,” added Business Wire. Having weathered the storm and remained not only profitable, but ever-growing, Celrose and Eddels are ideally poised to capitalise on the shoots of recovery visible in the industry today.

Firstly, and crucially, Etienne Vlok, director of the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union, has stated that the custom of South African retailers buying their goods from China and other Asian countries is changing.

“The factory-gate price was cheaper there,” he outlined, “but then

EDDELS SHOES & CELROSE CLOTHING

they did not factor in the cost to the environment of importing these goods, the additional costs of the long lead times, including when replenishing stock,” he said.

Vlok added that local retailers suffered because this previous business model meant they could not respond

// WE WORK EXTREMELY HARD ON PRODUCT DIVERSITY, FLEXIBILITY, AND BECOME THAT FIRST NAME OR PHONE NUMBER IN THE CUSTOMER’S MIND //

quickly to changing consumer trends, unlike their international competitors who could change stock almost every two weeks, meaning that South African retailers are increasingly switching to local or regional suppliers.

With the clothing industry at a vital crossroads, it appears that the right moves are being made to steer it out of the downturn of the last 15-20 years. A decrease in the reliance on imports is being backed by substantial government funding. The provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism last year pledged R132million in funding to stimulate the industry and create new jobs.

“We import too much and we produce too little,” explained MEC of Economic Opportunities, Beverley Schäfer. “As a country, our imports of clothing, textiles and leather goods

have rocketed from just over R5billion in 2000 to almost R60bn now.

“In the clothing and textile sector, South African labour is 45% cheaper than in China at the moment and it makes no sense that we are not producing more locally,” Schäfer revealed. “This region used to be well known for its clothing and textile production and we want to rebuild this industry and use the skills we already have, while developing new ones.

“The manufacturing industry is far from dead and there are still opportunities.”

WWW.EDDELS.CO.ZA

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KAEFER SOUTH AFRICA

Placing People

Above All PRODUCTION: Karl Pietersen

Today, it is more important than ever to make use of the most important asset available to any business – people. While there are many examples of companies who deliver a fantastic HR offering, so many still fail. For KAEFER, globally and in southern Africa, putting people at the top of the priority list has resulted in industry leader status.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING

//

2020 should offer up much to be excited about for those involved in South African construction and industry. Yes, the industry is strained; yes, demand is slow; and yes, the weak and uncertain economic climate makes things difficult for large projects to progress. But the big companies that monopolised the construction market are now all but gone, the expertise across the sector remains at a high level, and the need for property – both commercial, industrial and residential – is feverish.

So, as new firms enter the market, new projects come into the pipeline, and new ideas are spawned, those companies that are active in construction, engineering and heavy industry should look at 2020 with optimism. After all, it’s something the business community shouts about all the time – there are always opportunities and those that are proactive, and happy to go out and look for opportunities are those that will succeed.

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KAEFER South Africa is the Gauteng-headquartered division of the global KAEFER business. Originally established by Carl Kaefer in 1918, the global company is now run from its HQ in Bremen but regional offices host more than 28,000 employees all over the world. KAEFER specialises in the delivery of the most re¬li¬able and ef¬fi¬cient tech¬nical in¬dus¬trial ser¬vices in in-dustry, mar¬ine and

off¬shore, and con¬struc¬tion. The company’s core service range includes insulation, access solutions, surface protection, passive fire protection, refractory, asbestos solutions and interior outfitting.

PRIORITY: PEOPLE The reason this international business has managed to grow to such an extent is because of its people strategy. Most businesses out there develop their strategy around people – or at least they claim to.

The first step in building a workable HR strategy is admitting that you need the right people – HR is often highlighted as a focus but ends up as an afterthought as operational issues take the fore. Building the right team is not a quick and easy process and certainly does not happen at the first attempt. For more than 100 years, KAEFER has had to grow, tweak and adjust its people strategy to ensure it remains an organisation where people want to work, and where they feel comfortable so they can produce work of the highest quality.

In the very beginning KAEFER was just one man – Carl Kaefer started by using peat to insulate the walls of cold storage spaces. The innovation was so successful, the company boomed and expanded exponentially.

Today, Dr Ro¬land Gärber and

KAEFER SOUTH AFRICA

Steen Hansen lead the company as joint CEOs and they are absolutely clear about the importance of people and the company’s focus on developing a successful people culture.

“If there was one thing that we would single out that makes KAEFER unique and special, it’s the people,” the pair said in K-Wert. “We’re fortunate to have fantastic individuals in the business as employees, partners, friends and shareholders. It may sound like a bit of a cliché, but our people really are our greatest asset.

“Even though our services are predominantly technical, KAEFER is a people company. We can’t work without each other’s support, help and encouragement and when we talk about continuous improvement, we see it very much from a human point of view. We want to be a community of skilled and capable people, who are proud to be ambassadors for our company.

“To achieve the levels of reliability and efficiency that we have become known for and to be ‘best in class’ we must use the vast pool of skill and dedication at our fingertips.

By leveraging the craftsmanship, ingenuity and hard work that gives us great pride in what we do every day, we can focus on what we’re good at and try to do it even better. That is one of the reasons why we aim to use mainly our own workforce of 28,000 to execute our work.”

PLEASING ALL PEOPLE A people-focussed strategy does not only bring internal benefits. Clients are often the first to notice the benefits of a thriving group of people.

“For our clients, working with KAEFER means they shouldn’t have to think about the job they’ve awarded us anymore – they know they can count on us to get it right,” the coCEOs explained.

In South Africa, this approach has been recognised and adopted, now flowing through the business and

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING

helping to maintain the company’s industry-leader status. Leadership has, for many years, ensured people are at the heart of the company’s regional strategy.

“Our highly experienced staff have been tested in the field over many years and are able to guarantee outstanding efficiency and deliver innovative solutions on time, while preserving our customers’ resources and the environment,” said former SA Managing Director, George Wardrope – a 25 year KAEFER veteran – when talking to Enterprise Africa in 2016.

“Our commitment to excellence helps maximize our clients’ success.

It’s a commitment to deliver the best products and services to our clients through excellence in our people practices, systems and processes and

// WE’RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE FANTASTIC INDIVIDUALS IN THE BUSINESS AS EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, FRIENDS AND SHAREHOLDERS. IT MAY SOUND LIKE A BIT OF A CLICHÉ, BUT OUR PEOPLE REALLY ARE OUR GREATEST ASSET // to continuously manage and improve our performance,” he added.

After Wardrope, industry stalwart Ben Garrad took the reins and reiterated the company’s focus on people collaboration. “The deep relationships we have with clients, partners and industry professionals mean we have a bright future together,” he said at a partner focussed innovation day.

At KAEFER we support our clients’ success by delivering the most professional, integrated services and solutions for industry.

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AWARD-WINNING Recently, Jayson Cleaver became KAEFER AFRICA’s new Managing Director and the people focus will continue with Cleaver describing himself as “passionate about projects and people” and someone who is “always excited to explore and exchange ideas”.

He has inherited a very healthy operation with established access solutions, asbestos, insulation, passive fire protection, and surface protection offerings. And the South African operation is award winning, claiming a contractor award at the end of 2019 at the Medupi Power Station for 10 million man hours lost time incident free – that’s 2446 days LTI free. Safety awards of this nature highlight yet again the company’s strict ongoing focus on people.

“Our amazing team from South Africa, working at Medupi Power Station, has been awarded with the Contractor Safety Award by Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Africa for 10 million LTI free scaffolding manhours. KAEFER joined the project in 2009 supplying, erecting and dismantling scaffolds. In 2014, KAEFER was also employed to do insulation works. KAEFER was subsequently awarded more work and became the largest insulation contractor on site.

Congratulations to everyone involved,” the company said.

In July, KAEFER was responsible for refurbishing a school library in Limpopo. By investing in CSR projects that promote education, the company is once again driving development of people, this time in the community, to

KAEFER SOUTH AFRICA

// OUR HIGHLY EXPERIENCED STAFF HAVE BEEN TESTED IN THE FIELD OVER MANY YEARS AND ARE ABLE TO GUARANTEE OUTSTANDING EFFICIENCY AND DELIVER INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS ON TIME, WHILE PRESERVING OUR CUSTOMERS’ RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT //

help the ultimate development and growth of the economy.

“Great job from our colleagues at KAEFER in South Africa, who renovated the library of the Batlhalerwa High School in Shongoane, Ga Monyeki Township in Limpopo, and provided furniture.

It will hopefully enable many people to enjoy reading and studying,” the company said.

The biggest businesses in South Africa trust KAEFER to provide solutions that keep them running.

Whether it’s the very largest – SAPREF, Sasol, Eskom, or Omnia – or smaller businesses around sub-Saharan Africa, since 1976, KAEFER has grown its reputation to a point where it is thinking globally while acting locally.

As new and changing opportunities continue to present

themselves in southern Africa, even during tough times, KAEFER is set to step up to the challenge.

“We are not easily recognisable but we are there,” the company reminds. “You find us in factories, power stations and on drilling platforms. In tunnels and on piping. In ships, football stadiums and research facilities. In clinics, hotels and schools.

We are everywhere. Maybe even where you are right now.”

WWW.KAEFER.COM

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BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO SA

Total Tobacco

Transformation PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder

British American Tobacco (BAT) draws on a long history, having been founded in 1902 and arriving in South Africa just two years later. BAT now looks to convert a highly successful past into an exciting and broad future, responding to shifting customer expectations to offer new products which are better both for the health and for the climate.

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© BAT SA

INDUSTRY FOCUS: MANUFACTURING

© BAT SA

//

British American Tobacco (BAT) is a leading global company with an enviable heritage in tobacco, boasting nearly 120 years at the forefront of the industry. “We’ve been around a long time, and have evolved into one of the world’s leading consumer goods companies,” BAT begins, “proud of our history and excited about the opportunity to write a new chapter in our success story.”

BAT is made up of 55,000 individuals across the world, based in offices and factories but also on the ground floor, on the road helping and advising tobacco farmers and the retailers who sell the finished products.

“We pride ourselves on the strength of our relationships with farmers, suppliers and retailers – crucial business partners who are vital to our success and the sustainability of our company,” BAT says of its holistic approach to business.

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“Our portfolio reflects our commitment to meeting the preferences of today’s adult smokers while transforming tobacco with a choice of potentially reduced-risk products. We sell our brands in more than 200 markets worldwide and in 2018 we were market leaders in more than 50 of them.”

BAT IN SA It is this sustainability and commitment to perfecting the entire process which has allowed BAT to grow into a business with a presence which spans the continents, while remaining hugely valued for its contribution to local economies. “We are a truly international company,” BAT goes on. “Our products are sold in over 200 markets with a balanced presence in high-growth emerging markets and highly profitable developed markets.”

// WE’VE BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME, AND HAVE EVOLVED INTO ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING CONSUMER GOODS COMPANIES // The tobacco manufacturing industry in South Africa is estimated to be worth close to R30bn, and propped up by nearly eight million adult tobacco users. It is home to one of BAT’s longest and most distinguished histories, and British American Tobacco South Africa is now the second largest company listed on the JSE by market capitalisation, and the leading tobacco

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO SA

manufacturer in South Africa by market share. “We have a strong heritage of more than 100 years in South Africa,” the company delineates.

Coming from a long legacy in South Africa as United Tobacco Company, the global merger of Rothmans International with British American Tobacco in 1999 created the business as it stands today, and ultimately led to the creation of British American Tobacco South Africa. To reach its dominant position in Southern Africa and beyond BAT has had to balance a global remit against retaining local relevance.

BAT’s operations cover every aspect of the tobacco product cycle everything from growing the tobacco, through to manufacture, marketing and distribution. Three manufacturing facilities, including the Heidelberg which ranks as one of the largest in the world, facilitate the company’s regional production requirement, including exports to countries throughout Africa and the Middle East.

Multiple distribution networks create a supply chain which services South Africa, Angola, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to name but a few.

British American Tobacco South Africa’s approach to sustainability is underpinned by the concept of ‘Shared Value’, a belief in investing in the country’s future, for the benefit of both society and the business.

“Environmental management is a key focus for us given that the most important input into our products is sourced from nature,” the South African arm explains. “Because of this, we recognise the importance of applying sound environmental practices throughout our business.”

It is a sentiment we hear echoed continually from manufacturing giants, but BAT SA lives its commitment to the conservation of the physical environment and the sustainability of the country’s natural resources, and works actively to reduce its impact.

“We have reduced our energy consumption by installing natural and

LED lighting, motion sensors, motor resizing, variable speed drives, and solar panels, among others,” the company details of recent suitability initiatives.

“This has helped the company optimise our energy consumption by more than 40% over the past five years.”

Water saving initiatives, notably at the Heidelberg factory, have allowed BAT SA to recycle a significant amount of water, as well as harvest rainfall. “We are very proud of our project which was primarily initiated to conserve water, and answering the call from government to partner and find a solution to water shortages,” BATSA CEO Soraya Benchikh said of the achievement.

“It has benefitted the business, but as a corporate citizen of this country, we’re also very conscious of giving back to the society we operate in.”

TRANSFORMING TOBACCO British American Tobacco South Africa’s portfolio of more than 20 brands includes some of the continent’s most well-known and top-selling cigarette brands. These range from Dunhill, which has been around almost as long as BAT itself and whose cigarettes are sold in 120 countries, to the relative newcomer Kent, launched in the South African market in November 2006.

With a heritage and the foundations of its success firmly in cigarettes, BAT puts its success down in large part to an ability to adapt and change to the prevalent market desires and moods. “We believe our company has more than stood the test of time because we’ve always excelled at anticipating and meeting the Continues on page 70

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Our expertise and experience have enabled our clients to survive and thrive in some of the toughest markets in the world.

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Continued from page 67 preferences of our consumers, adult smokers,” it explains.

Consumer needs are, famously, ever-shifting - it has been one of BAT’s key skills to identify and shape these throughout its lifetime. Today, the serious risks associated with smoking are more prevalent than ever before, and leading many consumers to have expectations beyond cigarettes, to seek new products that provide the pleasure of smoking and consuming nicotine, but with reduced risks.

“We see this as an opportunity,”

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BAT declares. “Despite being aware of the risks, hundreds of millions of people worldwide enjoy smoking and we will continue to provide them with highquality products, marketed responsibly.

“However, our world is changing.

Now, many of our consumers have expectations beyond cigarettes and they are seeking new products that provide the pleasure of smoking and consuming nicotine, but with reduced risks.” This has spawned an initiative BAT calls ‘Transforming Tobacco’, a journey which has been several years in the developing. “Our company is also transforming,” Bat goes on.

“We have become a multi-category tobacco and nicotine products business with potentially reducedrisk products embedded into the heart of our company, alongside our cigarette operations.”

This year is a crucial one in this commitment, as it sees three global new category brands poised to further accelerate BAT’s growth and diversification” VUSE for vapour products; VELO for modern oral products and glo for tobacco heating products. This announcement marks the beginning of an ambitious brand migration and consolidation

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO SA

© BAT SA

// HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE ENJOY SMOKING AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THEM WITH HIGHQUALITY PRODUCTS, MARKETED RESPONSIBLY //

programme worldwide towards these three priority brands.

“We understand global brands are important for our worldwide consumers - brands that they can trust, recognise and buy wherever they are in the world,” said Kingsley Wheaton, British American Tobacco’s Chief Marketing Officer. “For these new consumer categories, both quality and trust are vital and this step further supports BAT’s leading ambition in the industry.

“We are at a very exciting stage of our New Category journey,” Wheaton concluded. “Central to our leading role

is continuing to develop remarkable products and trusted brands, whilst driving global awareness of them.

The move to VUSE, VELO and glo is yet another exciting milestone in our New Category journey. We remain committed to accelerating the transformation of our industry and the growth of our brands.”

WWW.BAT.COM

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DIMENSION DATA

Humans Driving Digital

Tech Transformation PRODUCTION: Manelesi Dumasi

Now is an exciting time for Dimension Data, one of the market leaders in African IT and managed services. The Middle East and Africa division is taking an increasingly important roll in delivering regional expertise on behalf of parent company NTT Ltd. But it’s not all AI and robots in this tech business – human beings are very much at its heart, and that is what helps it to grow. www.enterprise-africa.net / 73

INDUSTRY FOCUS: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

//

In March 2019, Grant Bodley – CEO for Dimension Data MEA – told Enterprise Africa that the number one key driving force behind the major successes that have been achieved at the company is people.

Dimension Data is a technology business with global exposure, helping drive digital transformation for businesses across different industries, all over the world. Today, Dimension Data is headquartered in Johannesburg and handles $1.3 billion of business, consisting of systems integration and managed services.

However, for Bodley, technology is simply a catalyst for service delivery offered by the company’s more than 15,000 people in 15 countries on three continents.

THE HUMAN TOUCH “We are a people business in a technology industry, and as such we need to have the most skilled people in the industry working for us,” he said.

“To do this you create fertile soil to attract them, a good people and culture policy, investing in areas like training, internships and development.”

The company works to the motto: ‘If you believe you can do anything, we are here to help you do it’, and that goes for those inside and outside of the business. Both clients and

// WE ARE A PEOPLE BUSINESS IN A TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY, AND AS SUCH WE NEED TO HAVE THE MOST SKILLED PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY WORKING FOR US // 74 / www.enterprise-africa.net

employees receive equal focus at Dimension Data.

And this focus is vital – there infamous skills shortage that has plagued South African businesses for years is a real concern for the likes of Dimension Data – where technical knowledge is imperative. This is why the company invests heavily in training and development so that those with skills are able to further improve their position.

“Overall it’s a real challenge, but one where we can try to mitigate through our own investment from ground roots level right through to the re-skilling or cross-skilling of those who have been with us for many years,” said Bodley.

“As long as I am around, certainly in our geography, we will never stop investing. I spend a great deal of my time making sure that I’m connecting with the 14,000 employers, communicating with them, and sharing the vision.

“It’s really rewarding when you see these young people come through and start making a real difference in the market,” he added.

Importantly, Dimension Data’s people focus is not just recognised internally. The company has been labelled, yet again, as one of the country’s Top Employers by the Dutchbased Top Employers Institute.

“Our comprehensive independent research revealed that Dimension Data provides exceptional employee conditions, nurtures and develops talent throughout all levels of the organisation and has demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment, always striving to optimise its employment practices and to develop its employees,” explained the Institute.

The perfect example of this nurturing nature comes from the Dimension Data partnership with dialogue – a communications training company that has been delivering high-quality service to the tech giant

// BY COMBINING ALL OF THE EXPERTISE ACROSS OUR BUSINESSES, INVESTING IN DEVELOPING LOCALLY TAILORED SOLUTIONS AND LEVERAGING THE GLOBAL EXPERTISE FROM OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NTT, WE’RE BUILDING A BUSINESS OFFERING THAT TRULY SETS US APART ON THE CONTINENT // for almost two decades. “We have been a service provider for Dimension Data since 2001, coaching managers and running group workshops. Most recently, we have been running ‘Facilitating Change’ workshops and ‘Design Thinking’ workshops with them,” details dialogue Managing Director, Amanda Holt.

COMENSA, SACE and Services SETA registered, dialogue is a transformed, dynamic team of specialist facilitators and coaches covering various disciplines.

Investment into this type and quality of upskilling proves Dimension Data’s commitment to consistent and sustainable HR improvement.

CEO at the Top Employers Institute is David Plink and he paid tribute to those that managed to achieve the internationally recognised status, saying: “This achievement is highly respected in the world of HR certification recognition and we are extremely proud to recognize

DIMENSION DATA

these companies as the pioneers in people practices. As globally certified organizations, these companies sit at the forefront of the world’s leading employers owing to their dedication to HR excellence.”

Bodley was understandably proud of the recognition and hoped that it could be used as a tool when going out and finding the best new people.

“We have been recognised as a Top Employer for a number of years, and this is a really critical part of our culture and how we do business.

“Being recognised is a great accolade, and one that helps us attract new young, bright talent.

“I am confident that with our engaged workforce, we will continue to grow from strength to strength. It’s our intention to stay at the forefront,” he said.

REORGANISING A people reshuffle will help Dimension Data to lead the market in the Middle East and Africa and comes as parent company NTT Group forms the new NTT Ltd business as an integrated global group.

Dimension Data and its subsidiaries will represent the NTT brand within the Middle East and Africa. As such, a management reshuffle was required to streamline operations.

Bodley continues as CEO while the new executive team is targeted with delivering on strategy of enabling growth and scalability, while retaining focus as a leading systems integrator and managed services provider to the region.

“The recent NTT Ltd announcement presented an opportune time to introspect and

ensure we are set up to best respond to the demands of the market and our clients. We are incredibly excited at the opportunity that lies ahead of us.

“With this announcement, I am also extremely pleased to advise that our founder Jeremy Ord remains in his role as Executive Chairman of this business and Moss Ngoasheng, previously non-executive chairman of Dimension Data South Africa, is now deputy independent, non-executive chairman,” said Bodley.

The new NTT Ltd business combines the expertise of 28 companies into one $11 billion organisation. “This is an important step forward for Dimension Data, which started as a homegrown South African ICT company. We’re so proud to be able to move this brand forwards in the region, while also retaining our

dialogue is your people partner in culture vitalization • • • •

Executive and leadership support Certified Agile coaches Systems and Design Thinking specialists Creative learning experiences

• BBBEE level 2 • Seta accredited • COMENSA Gold service provider

Ensuring authentic, game-changing business practice www.dialogueSA.co.za JHB: +27 11 442 6572 CT: +27 21 790 9398 Cell: +27 82 330 3917

 dialogueRSA  @dialogueconnect  dialogue SA

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

// IT’S REALLY REWARDING WHEN YOU SEE THESE YOUNG PEOPLE COME THROUGH AND START MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THE MARKET // strong links with NTT, enabling us to continue to deliver world-class services, technology and expertise,” said Bodley.

In December, there was also a change in ownership structure following a BBBEE transaction which introduced new shareholder

76 / www.enterprise-africa.net

arrangements. The transaction was concluded leaving Dimension Data with 51% black ownership, moving its status from Level 4 to Level 2. The transaction saw the Dimension Data campus in Johannesburg sold to a black women-owned company which is part of the recently established Identity Property Fund (managed by Identity Fund Managers, a division of Identity Partners). Dimension Data will continue to operate from the campus which has been its home for 17 years and under its ownership since 2006. The sale of the campus was an obvious choice considering the fact that Dimension Data was occupying less than 50% of the space.

“Dimension Data and NTT are committed to furthering our transformation journey and the pursuit of a sustainable South Africa.

This is a significant accomplishment

and we are extremely proud of our level 2 BBBEE rating. We look forward to growing our business further in South Africa,” said Bodley.

“Together with this new BBBEE transaction, Dimension Data has restructured its operating model driven by a new Go-To-Market strategy, which is well positioned for the future needs of its clients.

Dimension Data aims to provide a combined value proposition that enables data driven decisions, provides digital customer experiences, creates connected workplaces for their employees, and provides software-defined infrastructure,” the company stated.

Also in December, Dimension Data launched a new security business, aptly named Dimension Data Security, to help its clients combat growing digital threats. The new

DIMENSION DATA

business is the result of combining all security divisions of the four brands under the Dimension Data umbrella.

“Dimension Data has always been a leader in providing security solutions for its clients,” said Bodley.

“By combining all of the expertise across our businesses, investing in developing locally tailored solutions and leveraging the global expertise from our relationship with NTT, we’re building a business offering that truly sets us apart on the continent.”

The new company will be led

by Tony Walt, a seasoned veteran in the digital security space and a longstanding Dimension Data professional. “We are committed to protecting our clients at every incident invocation, from minor issue to fullscale crisis. We strive to be a trusted partner to our clients no matter what the circumstance,” he said.

The idea for a new security company is driven by NTT’s focus on giving clients access to a more comprehensive range and greater depth of skills across multiple technologies and capabilities, offering global technology and managed services that are world leading in scale and depth, and improving ability to deliver more in-depth industry solutions for clients.

In a time when sub-Saharan Africa is looking to its people to drive innovation that builds economic development, Dimension Data is at the heart of a thriving technology industry.

President Ramaphosa has put out the call to all to take part in the oncoming Fourth Industrial Revolution. “You are wonderful dreamers and visionaries that want to be creators. You are deeply immersed

in the future and understand the power of turning dreams into reality,” said the President at a government and business technology summit focussed on the Fourth Industrial Revolution in July.

Dimension Data is already deeply entrenched in the digital landscape and ready to contribute wherever there is demand, all over Africa and the Middle East, and globally through its affiliation with NTT Ltd. “We invest heavily in innovation to bring together the world’s best technologies, from consulting, technical and support services to a fully managed service, to our global client base,” said Bodley.

WWW.DIMENSIONDATA.COM

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ADAPT IT

Resilient Adapt IT

Consolidating for Future Growth PRODUCTION: Manelesi Dumasi

In March 2019, Adapt IT picked up the Firm of the Year Award in the digital industry class of Commerce, Law and Management category at the South African Professional Services Awards (SAPSA). “One cannot speak about African technological successes without including Adapt IT in the conversation,� said the judging panel. This is a business with strong roots in South Africa but with a growing influence across international markets.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

// THE SOUTH AFRICAN MARKET REMAINS CHALLENGING IN THE SHORT TERM. HOWEVER, ADAPT IT HAS BUILT A STRONG, WELL-DIVERSIFIED FOUNDATION ENABLING US TO TARGET GROWTH IN THE REST OF AFRICA AND AUSTRALASIA WITH LEADING SOFTWARE AS WE CONTINUE TO PURSUE OUR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH STRATEGY //

80 / www.enterprise-africa.net

//

The ongoing story that is Africa’s improving status as an IT boom market is bringing hope to many investors and businesses active in the space.

Over the past decade, many African nations have established themselves as IT hubs, with innovative ideas emanating from populations with real needs that can be addressed through the application of novel tech ideas. South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, Angola and Uganda have all displayed the type of ambition in the IT space that will undoubtedly bring results for companies and people.

The ideas are different from those in advanced first world economies, but that does not mean they are less valuable. Look at M-Pesa in Kenya – the go-to example of an idea that has utilised technology to solve a desperate need, creating a world-famous business.

South Africa is the IT industry’s leader on the continent with the largest market by value and premier status in mobile software, security, and electronic banking services.

Many of the world’s big IT businesses base their African operations out of South Africa, with many using the country as a gateway to the sub-Saharan region – where major growth opportunities still exist.

The burgeoning financial sector as well as government institutions make up the group of big IT spenders and, with the onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, spend looks set to grow in the future as more and more organisations and institutions move towards digital operations.

In January, President Ramaphosa said: “Just as the First Industrial Revolution has been helpful to the nation, we welcome the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We must continue to focus on the achievement of reading outcomes in the early grades, rolling out the subjects of the future such

ADAPT IT

as robotics and coding, while giving our learners a choice of learning streams that best suit their capabilities. They are part and parcel of the skills set necessary to meet the demands of a changing economy and the future of work.”

Worth around USD$7 billion, the IT industry is certainly important to the South African economy, which has been ailing for most of the past decade.

So, for those active in the space, now is the time to for investment in the future while protecting market share and crafting a plan to take advantage of the opportunities that do exist.

One of the leaders in the industry is Adapt IT. A provider of leading specialised software and digitally led business solutions, this is a business that has traditionally grown through acquisition.

ACQUISITIVE GROWTH After establishment in its current form in 2007 (following the merger of InfoWave and Adapt IT), the company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2008. In 2009, the company acquired Integrated Tertiary Software (ITS) which helped it enter the education market and grow into other international markets. In 2012, Adapt IT moved into the BPO sector with the acquisition of Swicon360.

The following year, the energy industry was targeted when Aquilon was acquired. From 2013 through to 2019, a swathe of new companies were added to the group - including AspiviaUnison (2014), CQS (2016), EasyRoster (2016), Micros SA (2017), LGR Telecommunications Group (2018), Conor Group (2019) and Wisenet (2019).

The result of this impressive decade of work is Adapt IT becoming a software provider to over 10,000 customers in education, manufacturing, energy, financial services, communications and hospitality worldwide.

In October, the company

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

announced its results for the year. Adapt IT CEO, Sbu Shabalala described the numbers as ‘resilient despite tough trading environment’.

Revenue from continuing operations increased by 14% to R1,438 billion. EBITDA from continuing operations improved by 3% to R229 million. Cash generated from operations was R179 million.

“While the results for the year under review showed moderate topline growth, I am pleased to say that in a year of global macroeconomic challenges, Adapt IT made great strides in positioning itself for the next growth phase, with a strategic focus on geographic positioning, strengthening sales capabilities and ensuring that all the divisions are streamlined,” detailed the CEO. Shabalala, who founded the

Adapt IT HQ in Johannesburg

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business as a black-owned SME, stated that the 2019 results were positive considering that the company has been in something of a consolidation period after the acquisitions of Conor and Wisenet, and the move into a new Johannesburg campus which was fast-tracked to bring together the company’s people from different offices all over Gauteng.

“This has realigned the teams, enhanced group culture, will facilitate better cross-selling and standardise processes that are critical for sustainability.

Adapt IT has been consolidated in the Johannesburg campus for 16 months and is already experiencing an immensely positive employee engagement across the organisation.”

GLOBAL AMBITION The acquisitions that the company strategically entered since 2017 have helped it to grow exposure in new geographic territories including Europe, Australia, AsiaPacific and Africa.

However, the South African market remains the largest contributor to the group, and with a reported uptick in activity, Adapt IT is well placed to capitalise.

“This presents a flicker of good news as the strong customer focus, sector specialisation, skills and software that the group has at its disposal will assist in ensuring the operations take advantage of these green shoots,” said Shabalala.

In January, President Ramaphosa stated in a weekly newsletter that moving poorly qualified persons to

ADAPT IT

the top jobs in State Owned Entities will stop. “We are committed to end the practice of poorly qualified individuals being parachuted into positions of authority through political patronage. A major focus of our work this year is to restore our SOEs to health.”

This is music to the ears of many of the country’s businesses, especially those in IT who attract

// ADAPT IT HAS BEEN CONSOLIDATED IN THE JOHANNESBURG CAMPUS FOR 16 MONTHS AND IS ALREADY EXPERIENCING AN IMMENSELY POSITIVE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ACROSS THE ORGANISATION //

a major chunk of revenue from government spending. A more stable, resilient, reliable and predictable government leadership programme is vital for sustainability.

Shabalala is excited about growth opportunities and reminded of the importance of sticking vehemently to the company’s carefully crafted strategy.

“The South African market remains challenging in the short term. However, Adapt IT has built a strong, well-diversified foundation enabling us to target growth in the rest of Africa and Australasia with leading software as we continue to pursue our sustainable growth strategy,” he said at the start of 2019.

“Adapt IT is poised to take advantage of its underlying diversification,” he added in October. “This can be done by mining the current client base more effectively, focusing on sales in a cohesive manner, carefully expanding on the Pan Africa and Asia Pacific strategy and ensuring that all of this is done bearing good capital allocation in mind.”

For Shabalala, and for Adapt IT, things are looking good. Away from all of the noise around economic uncertainty, government disruption, SOE implosion, and legacy infrastructure issues in South Africa, Adapt IT is well positioned to continue delivering services across multiple industry sectors and now across multiple geographic markets.

Shabalala remains optimistic.

“Adapt IT has over the years given shareholders a lot of returns. As an investor myself I always look for a diversified portfolio and when you look at where ICT is at this point, there aren’t a lot of options for local investors and therefore we’re happy for Adapt IT to give that option. I mean, years ago we had less than R100m EBITDA, we’re on R223m now, we’ll get up to R400m and at some point we won’t be a small cap, but we will remain listed,” he told Financial Mail.

WWW.ADAPTIT.COM

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SANRAL

Keeping SA’s

Wheels Turning PRODUCTION: Benjamin Southwold

SANRAL knows exactly how important South Africa’s roads are to its prosperity; it calls them the ‘arteries’ of the country’s economy, and as such invests all of its knowledge and expertise into keeping them in the greatest working order. “At SANRAL we endeavour to enhance your travel experience and improve and maintain the national road network for the social development and economic growth of South Africa,” the agency announces.

//

The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) is an independent, statutory company of which the South African government, represented by the Minister of Transport, is the sole shareholder and owner. SANRAL’s mandate is clear and distinct: to finance, improve, manage and maintain the national road network.

In line with government’s objective of transforming the public sector, SANRAL was established in April 1998 to maintain and develop South Africa’s expanding national road network, which currently stands at in excess of 700,000 kilometres (21,000

under SANRAL stewardship). “SANRAL harnesses more than 600 person years of core skills and experience in road development and management,” the agency elaborates, “within a highly motivated, professional and passionate team operating out of its Tshwane (Pretoria) head office.”

This is joined and bolstered by four regional offices in Tshwane, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg and Port Elizabeth.

“SANRAL has two primary sources of income,” it outlines. “Non-toll roads are funded from allocations made by the National Treasury. Toll roads are funded from borrowings on the capital and money markets – bonds issued

on the Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA) in the name of the South African National Roads Agency Limited.”

SANRAL manages assets worth in excess of R30 billion, without land values.

“Our vision is to be a world leader in the provision of a superior national road network,” it lays out. “As the custodian of the national road network, we are committed to the creation of economic value for the nation, through the provision of road infrastructure with a motivated and professional team, consideration for community needs and state-of-the-art technology.”

Continues on page 88

www.enterprise-africa.net / 85

LEADERS IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION & REHABILITATION Since establishing the Company in 2004, it has grown to a CIDB 9 CE Contractor, with its main focus on Road Building and Rehabilitation Projects.

In becoming more competitive with its main competitors, Tau Pele acquired the Capabilities to manufacture Asphalt and Modified Bituminous Binders internally, and for that purpose, “ringfenced” these activities in two separate entities; these being:

supervised by Aurecon, contractual Engineer on the project.

Pictures 1 and 2: Dura-Tech Surfacing in Stutterheim The Dura-Tech Surfacing System was developed under Tau Pele/At-Road’s initiative by WHCES Pty Ltd. (www. whces.com) The layer was constructed as a surfacing over a newly constructed asphalt inlay. The purpose of the product includes:

DURA-TECH SURFACING SYSTEM

• • • • • •

At-Road Construction and Tau Pele Construction recently did a DuraTech Surfacing Trial Section (UltraThin Surfacing) on the N6 Route in Stutterheim. SANRAL agreed to the Trial Section, and the works were

Improved skid resistance Spray reduction Noise reduction Improved riding quality Surface sealing Improved tack coat application with exceptional bonding properties

The Dura Tech Surfacing system includes the use of a specialised modified binder and the performance of the mix was tested using the Hamburg Wheel Tracking Test (HWTT), which was included over and above the conventional Agrément requirements to ensure a durable and long lasting surfacing product

A-R1 ASPHALT MIX

The Marshal Mix Design process was used as the predominant method for the design, supported by a number of Specialized tests as required in Project Specifications. These tests were carried out on Laboratory Prepared Samples in controlled conditions, as per the various and most recent testing protocols.

The initial laboratory prepared design showed an optimal binder content (BC) of 5.7% and 4.6% Voids in Mix. (VIM) Plant Trials done after the initial laboratory design showed a higher BC of 6.1% and 4.6% VIM. This mix was again tested in the laboratory with the slightly coarser grading, which yielded similar volumetric properties that those obtained in Plant Trials.

Current Specifications in a Broader Context The use of Rubber Modified Asphalt mixes recently became more popular.

The contributing fac- tors for the use of Rubber Modified Asphalt may include: • •

•

Improved high-temperature benefits, but especially Improved low-temperature or fatigue properties, compared to the stiffer polymer modified binders.

High UV resistant binder reducing oxidation and subsequent brittleness

The Hamburg Wheel Tracking Specification is of specific concern, including the testing proto- cols for testing plant-mixed asphalt. TRAC opted to specify a low rut depth of 4 mm after 20 000 passes. This limit is comparable with limits normally associated with stiffer mixes, such as A-E2 modified asphalt mixes.

Caltrans (California Dept of Transport) for example, differentiate between PG 58; 64 and 70 performance grade binders, specifying a rut depth of 0.5 inches; thus about 12 mm after 20 000 passes.

Asphalt Mixing At-Road established a Strocam Rubber-Blending Plant for manufacturing A-R1 Modified Bind-

er. The so-called ‘’wet’’ method of producing the A-R1 Modified Asphalt is being used. The mix consists of aggregates from Lafarge Quarries in Nelspruit and hot modified binder, as well as 1% active filler. (Lime) No Recycled Asphalt was permitted in the surfacing mix. (As opposed to the requirement for the BTB mix)

– Homo- geneous binders needs a different approach regarding evaluation and approval of mixes. It also became clear that the evaluation of the HWTT should be followed as explained in Sabita Manual 35 looking at the strip, slop and the creep slope and not the maximum rut only as this can result in misleading information.

Asphalt Testing A fully equipped Marshal Laboratory was used by the Contractor for process control purposes, whilst the Quality Engineer (KBK Consulting Engineering Services) also established a conven- tional laboratory for Quality Acceptance Testing. Although Specialized Tests (Especially Gyratory Voids & Hamburg Wheel Tracking) were not specifically required on Plant-Mixed Asphalt, it was expected that such tests would concur with Design Properties. However, some major challenges were encountered in an attempt to conduct these tests on Plant Mix Samples, and both properties (Gyratory Voids and Wheel Tracking) failed.

Marshal Testing was done on site, with freshly sampled asphalt mixes from the plant. Fairly consistent and comparative test results were obtained between the Contractor’s and Engineer’s Laboratories. Challenges observed related to the specialized tests, for which samples needed to be transported to Pretoria (A 2 to 3-hour drive).

Due to time constraints, the Contractor continued with Paving Trials and Construction, whilst these tests were being done. Further to the above, 150 mm diameter cores were sampled, some two to four weeks after construction, which cores were subjected to the Hamburg Wheel Track-ing Test. It became clear that the rutting values tested with the HWTT decreases over time (2 – 4 weeks after construction) compared to testing the same mix directly after manufacturing. Curing experiments in the laboratory don

by STL laboratory also revealed the same tendency. From this finding it is important to note the difference between homogeneous and non

www.taupele.co.za t: +27 51 436 0103

With A-R1 modified asphalt, the digestion process continues, with the mix deteriorating over the time period, up the time when the laboratory receives the sample. Due to the cooling down of the sample, some reheating is required prior to the preparation (compaction) of the briquettes. This causes further possible deterioration of the binder, which again impacts on the reliability of the test result.

Conclusions Implementing new equipment, incorporating latest best practice knowledge and information into mix design development and investing in some external research work on our asphalt mixes are all part of the company’s strategy to ensure a quality and durable product reach their clients.

Specifications on Performance testing needs careful consideration on type of binders and type of mix to be used to ensure a balanced outcome as far as rutting and fatigue properties are concerned.

f: +27 051 436 0105 e: admin@taupele.co.za

INDUSTRY FOCUS: LOGISTICS

Continued from page 85 BUSY ROADS BOOST ECONOMY The number of cars on SA roads often takes people by surprise, and makes SANRAL’s task all the more challenging and crucial. South Africa has the highest cars per capita in Africa, with one in every five people in South Africa owning a vehicle. Wheels24 reported that the most recent data showed a total of 12,027,860 registered vehicles in South Africa, recorded by the electronic National Administration Traffic Information System (eNatis) at the end February 2017.

// SANRAL HARNESSES MORE THAN 600 PERSON YEARS OF CORE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE IN ROAD DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT //

88 / www.enterprise-africa.net

South Africa realised yet more year-on-year growth in new vehicle production in 2018, with a total of 610,854 new vehicles made across all sectors of the market. By way of comparison, in 2017, Naamsa reported 601,338 units and 599,812 vehicles in 2016.

South Africa’s infrastructure is such that it can produce thousands of new vehicle exports, and has drawn manufacturers such as BMW, Ford, Toyota, and Volkswagen to all have factories across the territory where they produce vehicles for local and international markets.

These numbers meant that the annual heavy traffic flows which characterise the post-holiday were more pronounced than ever in January this year, as thousands of holidaymakers made their way back to their homes after the Christmas holidays. Limpopo traffic authorities recounted more than a thousand vehicles passing through the toll gates on the N1 towards Gauteng, with traffic congestion on sections of the highway.

// OUR VISION IS TO BE A WORLD LEADER IN THE PROVISION OF A SUPERIOR NATIONAL ROAD NETWORK // “The number of cars stretches probably almost a distance of five or six kilometres,” declared Transport MEC Dickson Masemola. Traffic volumes increased on average by 1.8% when compared to the same period in the previous year, but, refusing to dwell on the potential downsides of this rise, SANRAL focuses purely on the economic boost it entails.

SANRAL general manager for communications Vusi Mona, SANRAL’s spoke of the relationship between traffic volumes on the national road corridors and the status of the South African economy. Based on historic trends, the average increase in traffic volumes year-on-year on the national road corridors was at 1% above the GDP growth rate of the country.

SANRAL

POSITIVE RATING CHANGE In further good economic news, in August Moody’s changed the SANRAL outlook from negative to stable, saying that the change reflects the SA government’s plan to provide additional financial support to its Gauteng Freeway Improvement Projects (GFIP) for the next three years.

“The rating is constrained by very high debt levels, high capital expenditure requirements as well as well as ongoing liquidity pressure related to low cash collections on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Projects,” Moody’s commented.

According to Moody’s, this rating could be upgraded if the government introduces an alternative funding model which will include collection and enforcement strategies for the GFIP that will result in a structural improvement in SANRAL’s cash flows.

Just days later, in September SANRAL received from the BRICS National Development Bank (NDB) a R7 billion loan, payable in 15 years. The loan will help to improve key national roads to construct additional lanes and

rehabilitate related infrastructure, such as bridges and intersections.

“The loan is for both maintenance of roads and construction of new ones, bridges, etc. It will not be to refinance existing debt,” clarified NDB directorgeneral at the African Regional Centre Monale Ratsoma. “As a sovereign guarantee loan, it enjoys the best rates possible by the NDB in rand.”

PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE SANRAL announced in August that it will issue major road construction tenders to the value of more than R40 billion to the construction sector over the next two to three years. National Treasury has allocated about R21.5 billion per year for the maintenance and improvement of SANRAL’s 19,262km non-toll network and Louw Kannemeyer, SANRAL’s engineering executive, described that this will go towards a total of 940 projects, of which 325 are already under construction.

“We expect a surge in road construction projects over the mediumterm framework as part of the broader national efforts to invest in economic

infrastructure,” Kannemeyer said.

“We are confident that this investment will help to boost the construction sector which has been under severe pressure in recent years, and also cascade down to black-owned and emerging enterprises who will receive much larger shares of tenders in future.”

Kannemeyer added that SANRAL will issue smaller tenders related to routine road maintenance and periodic maintenance across the entire SANRAL network and in all nine provinces.

“The projects will provide economic and social infrastructure that has the potential to unlock economic growth, stimulate local economies and create jobs within the communities that are located close to the construction activities.”

WWW.NRA.CO.ZA

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GRINDROD

Commencement at Umlaas AutoPort Adds to

Grindrod Positivity PRODUCTION: David Napier

Coming off the back of a strong 2018, JSE-listed, world class freight logistics operation, Grindrod is preparing for a buoyant 2020 as it begins with a host of major infrastructure projects. www.enterprise-africa.net / 91

INDUSTRY FOCUS: LOGISTICS

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Positivity is oozing from Grindrod following a string of successful project implementations. After posting good results for the 2018 financial year, Grindrod is hopeful that 2019 will deliver further positive sentiment. At the end of 2018, earnings from ongoing operations were R803.4 million, an increase of 24% on 2017. There was also a 26% increase in headline earnings from continued operations. The 2019 results are set for release next month and feelings are good.

Grindrod was founded in 1910 and has grown to become one of that largest freight logistics operations in all of the territories in which it operates.

Headquartered in Johannesburg and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the company has a presence across 31 countries, employing some-4500 people.

// WHAT SEEMED AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK WHEN FIRST CONTEMPLATED HAS BEEN ACHIEVED

BY OUR TEAM //

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Operations are split into two divisions – freight and financial.

Freight is a multi-disciplinary division focussed on logistics and infrastructure development on the African continent.

Finance incorporates a banking operation alongside other financial services offerings.

At the end of 2019, CEO Andrew Waller talked, in a release to stakeholders, about the positivity of the previous 12 months and encouraged ongoing enthusiasm for 2020.

“Grindrod has had a great year,” he said. “From a people perspective, staff participated in development programs and training initiatives and received various accolades reflecting the high standards our people strive to achieve.

“A new energy is sweeping across the organisation, one of cooperation and passion. A heartfelt thank you to the management teams and the 4000 plus Grindrod employees scattered across twenty countries, for your continued commitment and hard work.”

This came after realisation of promising results for the first half of 2019, released in August.

Overall, the continuing operations performed well. Port and Terminals, Logistics and Bank - generated first half trading profit of R678 million up 22% on the prior year of R556 million.

Headline earnings grew by 118% to R136.7 million compared to R62.6 million in 2018.

“In most businesses we saw improvement in results off a very clear focus on customer solutions and servicing the supply chain. Strong iron ore prices in the first half sustained chrome volumes and our Nacala operational ramp up also contributed to the improvements,” said Waller.

The Nacala cross-dock facility in Mozambique was officially inaugurated in June 2019 and is already bagging and delivering significant volumes of graphite from the Syrah Resources graphite project in the north of the country.

While Waller thanked stakeholders for work in 2019, it is the projects that are getting underway now that are helping to drive positivity for the future.

UMLAAS ROAD In January, Grindrod kicked off construction of its exciting and hotly anticipated state-of-the-art AutoPort project between Pinetown and Pietermaritzburg. The 270,000m2 site in Camperdown will be constructed in phases with the first set to be complete at the end of 2020’s second quarter.

The first phase will accommodate the undercover storage of 2400 vehicles.

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INDUSTRY FOCUS: LOGISTICS

The facility will be the first of its kind in the country and will incorporate a whole host of new technology and equipment designed to meet the modern needs of automakers, autodistributors and logistics companies.

Reticulation for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (EL/PHEV), metal roofing to mitigate fire and hail, fully equipped workshop and fitment centre, smart repairs facility, clearing and forwarding activities, bonded and duty paid storage, storage for trucks, light motor vehicles, and other rubber-tired vehicular equipment is set to be installed on the site which is adjacent to the Natcor rail link between Johannesburg and Durban, where Transnet Freight Rail is advanced with integration works.

“We are very pleased with this exciting development which will contribute to growth in the community,” said Mayor Eric Ngcongo of the Mkhambathini Local Municipality. “Thank you to the church leaders, members of the business forum and my esteemed colleagues for your support in this development and to our hosts from Grindrod for celebrating this milestone with us.”

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Andrew Waller said: “We are very grateful to Mayor Ngcongo and his municipality for enabling us to build this facility which will bring revenue and employment to the community. This investment in key infrastructure supports our strategic focus of ‘unlocking trade corridors’.

Our management team has worked tirelessly and in collaboration with business partners to ensure that the design specifications provide our customers a unique competitive advantage and contribute to delivering a sustainable, costeffective and efficient hub for strategic growth along this corridor.”

When Phase 2 is complete, the AutoPort will have capacity to a further 2300 vehicles. In the longterm, the option to increase even further is on the table but will depend on demand. If expansion is needed, the facility could accommodate a further 12,000 vehicles.

Grindrod is pouring R105 million into the venture and helping to develop various industry sectors across the reach of the AutoPort project.

OFFLOADING NWK In September, Grindrod took the strategic decision to finalise the offload of its 20.3% shareholding in NWK Limited. NWK is active in the agricultural industry as a service provider to grain producers, offering storage and handling of grain, the provision of finance, market access, production inputs and other valueadded services. For Grindrod, the shareholding in NWK was a non-core asset and the transaction provided a cash boost. The shareholding was taken

by NWK Holdings for a reported fee of R204,072,848.

“As was communicated at the interim results announcement, Grindrod’s focus is on unlocking sub-Saharan African trade corridors which requires the alignment of its investments along key corridors effectively providing logistical solutions for cargo flow. NWK is a good business but it does not fit into these corridors.

We are very pleased to have concluded this agreement with NWK and NWK Holdings and expect to finalise the transaction by the end of September,” said Waller.

GRINDROD

September was also a good month for contract wins for Grindrod as the company penned a five-year deal with Vivo, through its Petrologistics division, which sees it transport fuels from South African terminals and refineries, into Botswana. Managed from the Tlokweng facility in Gaborone, estimates suggest that more than 190 million litres of fuel will be moved each year. The signing of the contract resulted in 47 new Grindrod vehicles and 62 new drivers.

MANAGING ASSET RECOVERY In July, Grindrod overcame a difficult scenario when it completed the recovery of valuable assets from Sierra Leone. 24 locomotives that had been working in the country,

// A NEW ENERGY IS SWEEPING ACROSS THE ORGANISATION, ONE OF COOPERATION AND PASSION //

hauling iron ore from the Tonkilili Mine to Freetown for export. In 2017, operations were halted and payments from the client ceased. Grindrod was keen to repatriate the locomotives so they could be redeployed and their value realised.

The locomotives were shipped back to Durban under challenging logistical conditions and are being prepared to be sent out to clients by the middle of this year. Four of the locomotives were dropped for a new client in the DRC as the vessel transported the remaining 20 back to South Africa.

“We are very pleased to have successfully recovered these assets and are in the advanced stage of negotiations to contract the locomotives out to new operators.

Thank you to the Grindrod team for their efforts in the negotiations as well as the careful planning and logistics required for the successful shipment,” said Waller.

Andrew Thomas, CEO Grindrod Rail added: “What seemed an impossible task when first contemplated has been achieved by

our team, from our landing at Lungi Airport in Freetown on the 26th of March 2019, to securing the Sierra Leonean Government’s support, contracting the logistical expertise and assets from around West Africa and safely executing a complex landside operation to delivery by sea to Durban only four months later is really remarkable.”

This is a business with a clear and defined strategy and with an ongoing focus of delivering services for its customers around Africa without delay or hassle. Those active in oil and gas, dry bulk, bulk liquid commodities, containerised cargo, vehicles and freight in Africa have a partner in Grindrod which is both internationalised and experienced.

Now is a great time for the company, and 2020 looks like success is going to continue.

WWW.GRINDROD.CO.ZA

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ZUNGU ELGIN

Innovation Brings

Industrial Transformation PRODUCTION: Benjamin Southwold

Zungu Elgin brings innovative engineering solutions to the sugar, petrochemical, mining and industrial sectors. Sandile Zungu’s Zungu Investment Company (Zico) revived the embattled Elgin Engineering in 2016, since when it has risen to the top of a sector plagued by tough economic conditions and doom-laden prospects. www.enterprise-africa.net / 97

INDUSTRY FOCUS: ENGINEERING

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It is rare these days to find an engineering outfit strong enough to have withstood more than 70 years in this most challenging of SA industries, but since its 1949 foundation Zungu-Elgin has been strengthening and developing to remain at the forefront of the medium to heavy trade.

The mood has been sombre for some time now in a number of key economic sectors in South Africa, and for manufacturing the picture has been among the bleakest. An acute skills shortage is resulting more and more in a growing, serious mismatch between the capabilities demanded by an increasingly sophisticated economy and those currently in supply.

“Regrettably,” expounds Business Report, “at a time when many are heralding the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, South Africa is not training enough engineers, artisans or technicians to deliver on the National Development Plan’s long-awaited R845

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billion strategic infrastructure projects.

“We find ourselves in the company of other developing countries where crucial infrastructure projects compete for a diminishing skills pool.”

SWEETENING THE DEAL What this does mean, is that for the cream of the crop there are many opportunities to be found, where those precious skills can be found in abundance and put to the very best use. Boasting the logistical benefits of being situated close to the Durban harbour, and only 40 km from King Shaka International Airport, Zungu-Elgin has become the go-to manufacturer and equipment repairer for the sugar and petrochemical industries, and spreads its influence to incorporate general engineering and ship repair.

“Today, Zungu-Elgin supplies more than 350 sugar rolls per year to the global sugar industry and has a workshop specially dedicated to the manufacture and maintenance of

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“We are able to undertake fabrications and castings of any size, using our own large-scale foundry and furnace facilities.”

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Africa. The R14 billion industry is costcompetitive, and consistently ranks in the top 15 out of approximately 120 sugar producing countries worldwide.

Stretching across two provinces of South Africa, namely Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, the sugar industry makes

// ZUNGU-ELGIN WILL ACT AS A CATALYST TO ACCELERATE BLACK ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION IN THE ENGINEERING INDUSTRY THROUGH OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL //

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a positive difference to the lives of more than a million people and is a catalyst to economic growth and development. The South African sugar industry is a significant contributor to the national wealth and operates in rural areas of the country.

Zungu-Elgin has an African footprint which stretches up to Egypt and down to South Africa, and betwixt Ivory Coast and Ethiopia and everything in between.

Its product range spans sugar milling equipment including shredders, cane knives, mills and hilo unloaders, and process equipment such as diffusers, vacuum pans, crystallisers, evaporators and juice heaters.

Zungu-Elgin also boasts an unrivalled range of sugar maintenance spares, which encompass mill rollers and reshells, scrapers and trash plates, refurbishment of cane knives and shredder rotors and pinions and mill bearings.

The engineering pioneer is clearly fully aligned with another of what

Business Report deems essential to the triumph in the industry: “For the country to remain globally competitive the business community must be on the cutting edge of technological advancement and innovation,” it states.

“We must be willing to make the necessary investments in technologies in order to reduce our production costs and ensure that we remain competitive both domestically and internationally.”

To this end, Zungu-Elgin never stops plunging resources and research into keeping its sugar equipment and machinery at the cutting edge. There are swathes of recent examples of this desire to upgrade and renew, so much so that it is difficult to know where to begin; sugar driers, continuous vacuum pans, vertical crystallisers and cane and bagasse diffusers are just a small number of the company’s recent improvements, all serving to further strengthen arguably its core offering.

ZUNGU ELGIN

FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH Petrochemicals too remains right at the top of the list of priorities for ZunguElgin, which has long been at the forefront of Heat Exchanger technology and established a reputation for being able to manufacture high standard, high performance equipment to all specifications.

“One of our key achievements has been the manufacture of the largest Texas Rower rod baffle exchanger in the world,” the company states.

“Our shell and tube heat exchangers are designed and manufactured to ASME and TEMA standards, while our pressure vessels meet ASME and British standards.”

Another key development was a Cold Heat Exchanger, for use in an acid plant.

“This was the first full manufacture in our workshop,” Zungu-Elgin expands.

“The biggest milestone was the successful transportation of the finished product. The advantage of this type of manufacture is that it does not tie up site utilities and space, and production is hedged from disturbances caused by weather conditions hence down-time is also reduced.”

It was Elgin’s innate strength and aptitude for innovation that was among the primary factors in prompting business mogul Sandile Zungu’s Zico to pledge R50 million to rescue Elgin Engineering in 2016. Business rescue practitioner Sipho Sono and corporate

// FOR THE COUNTRY TO REMAIN GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY MUST BE ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT AND INNOVATION //

advisor Patrick Birkett had been mandated by Elgin shareholders to seek an investor with 250 facing job losses.

“Elgin is one of the strongest engineering fabrication and services brands in Africa, and will play a pivotal role in the clean fuels environment in the petrochemical industry and in South Africa’s re-industrialisation,” Zungu said of the pairing.

The combination of Zungu Investments Co., National Empowerment Fund (NEF) and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in the partnership was also lauded as a massive boost to plans to accelerate black economic participation. “Zungu-Elgin will act as a catalyst to accelerate black economic participation in the engineering industry through ownership, management and control,” added Sandile Zungu.

The investment caught the attention of political commentators given the vision of transforming critical sectors of

the economy, as noted the province’s Economic Development MEC Sihle Zikalala. “It is encouraging to note that Zungu Investments, a black-owned company, has yet again made inroads into a sector that holds immense potential for turning around the province’s economic fortunes through job creation and skills transfer,” he said.

“This will secure an engineering industry that is diversified and inclusive.

The advancement of women remains high on our transformation agenda,” Zungu concluded at the launch of the company, and Zungu-Elgin has more than delivered on its early promise as, bit by bit, it’s commitment to transformation shapes the industry and enables it to lead where others follow.

WWW.ZUNGU-ELGIN.CO.ZA

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EXHIBITION CALENDAR

KEY UPCOMING EVENTS ACROSS THE INDUSTRY Our regular update to help you keep track of important events and exhibitions taking place across the spectrum of industry sectors.

AFRICAN FINE COFFEE CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2020 FEB 12 - 14 | MOMBASA The African Fine Coffee Conference & Exhibition is Africa’s largest coffee trade platform that – over the three days of the event – brings over 2000 regional and international coffee roasters, traders, producers, professionals and connoisseurs under one roof.

The event will have a fantastic line-up of internationally and regionally acclaimed speakers, spouse programs, coffee field visits and recreational activities.

The wonderful exhibition area has increasingly been regarded as pivotal in providing a unique opportunity to exhibitors showcasing the best coffees and affiliated services providing ample opportunity to network with coffee luminaries from all over the world. This will be the perfect platform for gathering valuable coffee information, building trade relations and buyer and seller interaction.

TANZANIA TRADE SHOW 2020 FEB 21 - 23 | DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania Trade Show is the main international event for all trades. Setting new highs for participation from over 20 countries and visitors from over 12 African countries, the event is all set for its exhibitors to meet serious buyers within the three days. The event

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continues to lead the way in showcasing the new products and technology not only to Tanzania but also to its surrounding countries. The 14th edition of the show promises to be larger and more successful for its exhibitors than ever before.

According to the registration approximately 7600 business/trade/ general visitors were estimated to have visited the exhibition. About 1400 overseas trade visitors were recorded who came from the UK, Burundi, India, Hong Kong, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, Mozambique and the UAE. MEETINGS AFRICA 2020 FEB 24 - 26 | JOHANNESBURG In recent years, the global meetings industry has begun to recognise Africa as a sought-after destination. Meetings Africa showcases Africa’s diverse offering of services and products where African associations and African meetings industry professionals can partner to help transform our continent.

Meetings Africa provides the perfect business platform to present your products, services and brands to senior decision-makers, buyers and influencers. Meet local and international professionals from the meetings, events and business travel industry.

AFRICAN FINE COFFEE CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2020 WHITESANDS RESORT MOMBASA FEB 12 - 14 AFRICA AGRI TECH 2020 SUN ARENA & THE MASLOW HOTEL FEB 18 – 20 SENCON CENTRE INTERNATIONAL DU COMMERCE EXTERIEUR DU SENEGAL FEB 18 - 21 TANZANIA TRADE SHOW 2020 MLIMANI CONFERENCE CENTRE, DAR ES SALAAM FEB 21 – 23 AFWA INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS 2020 SERENA HOTEL, KAMPALA FEB 24 - 27 EITE - ETHIOPIA INTERNATIONAL TRADE EXHIBITION 2020 MILLENNIUM HALL, ADDIS ABABA FEB 24 - 26 MEETINGS AFRICA 2020 SANDTON CONVENTION CENTRE FEB 24 - 26