NEWS FROM ALL AROUND AFRICA

Recent investments, expansions and milestones.

SHELL ACQUIRES WEST AFRICAN HYBRID-SOLAR-POWER PROVIDER

Daystar Power, a West African provider of hybrid-solar-power solutions to commercial and industrial businesses, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell following its acquisition by Shell and the approval of regulatory authorities. The acquisition will allow Daystar to grow its operations in the region, while expanding across the African continent. The existing brand will operate within Shell’s Renewables & Energy Solutions business. Sub-Saharan Africa has abundant potential as a solar market, which is expected to grow due to the chronic energy gap. Daystar Power, which numbers among its projects the fitting of a solar system to the Brazilian Embassy in Lagos (pictured), aims to increase its installed solar capacity to 400MW by 2025 to become one of Africa’s leading providers of solar power solutions for commercial and industrial businesses. Daystar Power’s co-founders and management team will continue to grow its operations in key West African markets, while expanding the company’s presence to other countries across the continent.

Daystar Power’s clients pay a flat monthly fee or a variable tariff (per kilowatt hour) for premium power services, which include a power audit and assessment of energy needs, a bespoke proposal, installation and full operation and maintenance. Clients do not incur any capital expenditure and do not pay up-front costs. By outsourcing the management of their power systems, Daystar Power clients can focus more on running their core businesses.

Head Start For African Airlines After Pandemic

With no travel allowed during the worst months of the Covid-19 pandemic, some airlines switched to ferrying vital cargo. But most fleets were grounded. Rolls-Royce took the opportunity to complete an extensive maintenance programme on their AE3007 engines in the region, upgrading to the latest standards without charge. This allowed operators to comply with an Airworthiness Directive (necessary for all grounded aircraft) before operations restarted, giving them an all-important head start.

Rolls-Royce has also signed an important extension of its TotalCare maintenanceservice agreement with South African airline, Airlink. The airline’s 28-aircraft Embraer ERJ fleet is powered by Rolls-Royce engines and the relationship has been going since 2001. Airlink’s on-time performance is consistently above 97%. TotalCare is predicated on maintenance schedules running at a fixed cost per engine flying hour. The service is underpinned by predictive maintenance which relies on extensive gathering and analysis of performance data, which helps engineers to diagnose potential future faults and act on them to avoid downtime.

Rolls-Royce has stated that it intends to prove that all its aero engines will be able to run on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel by the end of 2023. Any sustainable fuel that meets the D1655 jet fuel standard and requirements is now approved for use in AE3007 engines. Currently, seven different blend varieties can be used, some being certified to blend up to 50% with conventional jet fuel, dramatically reducing carbon footprints.

LOW-EARTH ORBIT SATELLITES HOLD POTENTIAL FOR RURAL CONNECTIVITY

World Mobile is expanding its network across the African continent following a series of successful pilot tests using low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites in the US and UK. Positive results have been found in ongoing tests of Starlink, one of the many LEO satellites.

The company, which was founded in 2018, aims to provide affordable connectivity to rural and remote areas worldwide.

The African continent currently sees less than a quarter the population having access to reliable Internet. Using innovative satellite and relay technology with stratospheric balloons, the first efforts of World Mobile are looking to provide connectivity in hard-to-reach areas within Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria.

World Mobile’s pilot tested the use of Starlink’s satellite network as a backhaul option for providing internet to World Mobile’s AirNodes (the network’s Internet access points). The connection delivered impressive broadband speeds, latency and stable connectivity with download speeds of up to 400Mbps.

World Mobile’s dynamic network adapts its connectivity infrastructure to the needs of each region, allowing it to deliver efficient and affordable connectivity where other mobile operators cannot reach.

The pilot tests conducted by World Mobile and its partners demonstrated that remote connectivity with the LEO satellite, which serves as a constellation network connecting World Mobile’s AirNodes, can provide robust Wi-Fi services. In Zanzibar, World Mobile is targeting areas where there is minimal or no connectivity. It is underway in deploying its hybridmesh network to deliver affordable mobile connectivity in the region through a network of AirNodes and aerostats with a coverage radius of up to 70km. In addition to rolling out in Tanzania and Kenya, World Mobile is in advanced talks about expanding its network to other African countries, such as Mozambique and Nigeria. The company’s unique offering provides low-cost connectivity in areas that traditional operators cannot reach, while also enabling entrepreneurs to own or operate a portion of the network and benefit from its adoption.

Orange Botswana became the first Orange affiliate in Africa to launch 5G commercially and the country’s first Orange Digital Center made it the company’s 12th such training centre in Africa and the Middle East

The Digital Centers are designed to train young people in digital technology and enhance their employability. Previous countries to host a Digital Center are Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mali, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Madagascar, Morocco and Liberia.

Spread over 390 square metres, it brings together several strategic programmes of the Orange group, namely, a coding school, a solidarity FabLab (one of the Orange Foundation’s digital manufacturing workshops) and an Orange Fab start-up accelerator, supported by Orange Ventures Middle East and Africa, the investment fund of Orange Group.

All the programmes are provided free-of charge and are open to everyone. They range from digital training for young people, 90% of which are practical, guidance for project bearers, start-up acceleration and investment in these. enabled in the country by the 5G technology. The 5G launch is aligned with the government’s ambition to leverage Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) innovation towards transforming Botswana into a knowledge-based economy.

Working as a network, the Orange Digital Centers allow experiences and expertise to be shared between countries and offer a simple and inclusive approach to improve young people’s employability, encourage innovative entrepreneurship and promote the local digital ecosystem.

5G, with its ultra-high speed and low latency, will support new disruptive services such as e-health, connected vehicles, connected cities, real-time gaming, smart homes and learning through VR and augmented reality. It offers a new world of possibilities to companies, innovators and society at large.

Orange Botswana has partnered with MRI Botswana to create a “Connected Ambulance” project that will allow doctors to guide paramedics through life-saving procedures on their way to hospitals. This telemedicine intervention will change lives and would not have been possible without 5G.

After this first commercial launch of its 5G services in Botswana, Orange Middle East and Africa intends to maintain its efforts in getting the latest and most advanced technologies in all its MEA countries, adding value to local economies and bridging the digital gap.

In addition, Orange Botswana, in partnership with universities, will train students for free and roll out Orange Digital Center Clubs, extensions of the Orange Digital Center within some universities in the regions. This will complement the education system to give as many people as possible access to new technologies and support them in using these technologies to their full extent.

The 5G network became available in greater Gaborone and Francistown, covering 30% of the population in November 2022. Other cities will follow in early 2023.

New healthcare, education and security services will be

Orange is present in a total of 18 countries in Africa and the Middle East and has 142-million customers as of 30 September 2022.