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EDITORIAL
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Africa is expanding at a relentless pace, with the World Economic Forum predicting that the continent’s 1.1 billion citizens will double in number by 2050. These escalating population levels are driving urbanisation efforts that are pushing Africa’s boundaries to their limits.
In this fraught context, this issue’s publication falls just days ahead of an event whose significance resonates on a global scale, as hundreds of thousands convene in the aspiring ‘Green City’ of Sharm El Sheikh to combat carbon emissions and progress the fight against climate change worldwide.
COP27 marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Whilst Glasgow’s COP26 fell short of many expectations as a conference that mainly centred on discussing action, COP27 is widely heralded as the event that will take action. Themed as ‘Together for Implementation’, read our Topical Focus feature for a deep dive into this year’s summit.
Meanwhile, our Expert Eye Aamena Desai, Senior Urban Designer at Arup, tackles the need for sustainable urbanisation in Africa’s race for space through the development of future-proof cities, where natural infrastructure and data analysis work hand in hand throughout urban planning. The theme echoes across our feature on the Big 5 Construct Kenya, and in an exclusive interview with the Blantyre Water Board as the company fights to provide an ever-expanding city with quality potable water.
Elsewhere, we go underground with our sparkling cover star, De Beers Group, as the diamond mining Venetia Underground Project gears up to enter production in Q1 2023. In conversation with Project Director Allan Rodel and Head of Supply Chain Nadine Kok, we explore a project that combines mining production with the welfare and livelihood of the communities surrounding the site through initiatives designed with sustainability in mind to far exceed the mine’s own lifespan.
Finally, take a dive into a host of other fascinating corporate stories, including Royal FloraHolland, AirKenya, Joint Medical Store, Kasapreko, and many more.
We hope that you enjoy your read.
Phoebe HarperEditorial Director, Outlook Publishing
THE GHANAIAN CEDI has slumped significantly to become the world’s worst-performing currency this year as investors have continued to squeeze foreign capital into the West African country.
The currency of the world’s second-largest cocoa producer depreciated the most among the 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
The decline of the cedi has accelerated rapidly since the beginning of the year. For the past two months, Ghana has been in formal negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an extended credit facility with the hope of receiving a significant multi-billion bailout in loans over three years.
A NEW MOBILE app enables Kenyans to become actors of wildlife conservation.
The National Museums of Kenya has unveiled a new app aimed at helping the country’s wildlife authorities track and log both rare and common mammals and record whether the species and their habitat are thriving in the wild.
As well as enhancing tourism and those who work tirelessly towards animal welfare, the free app aims to become a tool for raising awareness. Researchers implore the general public to seize this new opportunity in order to partake in vital wildlife conservation and development.
ROAM, A NAIROBI-BASED green transport company, has unveiled its new electric bus.
Nairobi is referred to as the ‘Green City in the Sun’ because of the vibrant parks surrounding the East African capital. But now, the Kenyan-Swedish
company, Roam, wants this to also refer to the city’s environmentally friendly mobility and transport links.
In a city where polluting exhaust fumes contribute to thick levels of smog, last month saw the company launch its new electric bus.
The 77-seat vehicle has a top speed of 70 kilometres per hour and a battery pack that allows it to travel 360 kilometres before requiring a two hour recharge.
IN LINE WITH its pursuit of Brewing a Better World, Heineken South Africa has officially launched the recently installed solar power plant at its Sedibeng, Midvaal brewery.
The plant proudly boasts 14,000 panels, creating a significant 6.5MW of power, targeted to provide 30 percent of the brewery’s electricity demand.
It complements Heineken’s Brewing a Better World goal to reach net zero by 2030.
ANGOLA’S NATIONAL AIRLINE, TAAG, is a company with over 70 years of aviation history.
Like many carriers, TAAG is undergoing a transformation in order to confront the challenges of the times.
The plant, which has an estimated lifespan of 25 years, has been undertaken in partnership with The SOLA Group, a vertically-integrated provider of renewable energy solutions in South Africa.
THE ZANZIBAR GOVERNMENT has signed a road construction contract with Propav, a UK company, in partnership with a local Tanzanian company, Mwananchi Engineering and Construction Ltd (MECCO). The contract is for the construction of three roads on Unguja and Pemba Islands, spanning more than 103.5 kilometres.
The value of the contract is €230 million and will be funded by the British government through UKEF (United Kingdom Export Finance).
One of the airline’s 14 destinations inside Angola is a flight from the capital Luanda to the northern agricultural and mining province of Uíge. This is in addition to the 12 existing international destinations, and that number is rapidly increasing.
With a new management team, a new partnership with Iberia Airlines, new destinations on the horizon and a firm commitment to making Luanda a global cargo hub, TAAG’s future looks increasingly promising.
These new roads will have four lanes, two in either direction. The project will also include streetlights and pedestrian lanes.
AFTER MORE THAN a decade, Kenya has lifted a nationwide ban on growing genetically modified crops (GMCs).
The government has reversed the sanctions on GMCs following a Cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto. This was originally enforced in 2012 following a presidential decree by the late former President Mwai Kibaki, in light of a study by a French university that linked cancer in rats to the consumption of genetically modified foods.
Ahead of COP27, Aamena Desai, Senior Urban Designer at Arup, explains the need to future-proof cities across Africa and create more sustainable outcomes
Written by: Aamena Desai, Senior Urban Designer at ArupAcross the globe, rapidly expanding cities have led to a race for space.
This is particularly true for cities in Africa, which have an everincreasing urban footprint. Data from the World Economic Forum has predicted that Africa’s 1.1 billion citizens will double in number by 2050, and more than 80 percent of that increase will happen in urban areas. As global cities ramp up efforts to achieve net zero, it is critical that this urban growth across Africa is tackled with sustainability in mind.
Given this backdrop, an important focus of this year’s COP27 summit in Sharm El Sheikh must be around sustainable urbanisation, which delivers infrastructure that puts people and the environment first. But how can we future-proof African cities for this next stage of development?
As urban areas in Africa grow at pace, this expansion is often concentrated in lower-cost city outskirts, which paves the way for spawling city layouts.
This not only increases the carbon footprint of the built environment, but in the absence of sustainable transport options, makes decarbonisation more challenging.
One way to better assess and manage infrastructure needs in an appropriate and sustainable way is through the use of data and insights. With the number of buildings in Africa expected to double in response to its growing population, emissions from households will also rise substantially. In response to this, data can help to optimise the location of future residential areas, helping to minimise impact on the planet.
Analysis such as whole lifecycle carbon assessments – which measure the carbon impact of projects across all stages of its life, including materials, construction, and the operations of the building – must become a key part of the planning process. Reliable analysis of this kind can influence city decision makers and developers to consider the choices they make in relation to their carbon impacts.
Using Johannesburg as a study
area, Arup, in partnership with the Green Building Council South Africa and Divercity Urban Property Fund, compared building types in the urban core with the city’s suburban neighbours to determine the carbon impact of different locations.
The findings suggested that buildings in peripheral locations had a higher carbon footprint, providing evidence that more compact cities are not only less carbon intensive, but also offer better socio-economic outcomes for their people – whether this be through greater proximity to jobs, transport, water and sanitation services, or increased food security.
Given this, we need to see cities direct urban development in a much more conscious and proactive way, building up – not out – to ensure that both funders and citizens can realise the benefits.
When we think of cities, the phrase ‘concrete jungle’ comes to mind. But if we want to encourage sustainable urbanisation and fight climate change,
we must start to think about the components of a city differently. Looking to a city’s own natural infrastructure – like seas, forests, parks and lakes – can play a crucial role in absorbing climate shocks such as flooding and extreme heat. These solutions should be seen as fundamental to urban planning.
In Dar es Salaam, our urban greening project will help inform the sustainable development of the city, supporting the government to create more resilient urban plans that leverage natural systems to minimise flooding, river erosion, and carbon emissions in the city. While every city is different, there is always potential to better utilise natural infrastructure.
We need to look no further than the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to find city resilience as a key focus area. This too must be a central consideration when it comes to city planning. New construction techniques, alternative materials and innovative technologies make it possible to retrofit old, and design new, buildings and structures which can withstand current and future impacts of climate change.
Urban resilience approaches are key to ensuring that cities are more prepared for the effects of a changing climate which in Africa includes increased frequency and scale of natural disasters. What’s more, resilience planning that is inclusive of communities can be a tool to support other developmental goals such as job creation and economic development.
But what does resilient infrastructure look like? It could work to maximise access to daylight and avoid excessive heat in the summer, or use natural ventilation to regulate temperature and minimise the need for air conditioning, like we see in the V&A Granger Bay area in Cape Town. Resilient infrastructure can also prompt more climate positive human
behaviours by encouraging citizens to embrace habits that fight climate change – such as active travel, public transport use, and recycling.
For too long, city planning has not responded fast enough to the needs of populations and the environment. As more people turn to cities across Africa, this year’s COP27 summit provides a window of opportunity to focus on driving positive change when it comes to sustainable urbanisation.
Key to this will be addressing issues of financing, skills, governance, and supply chain innovation. And while it is good to see Africa taking the lead in addressing its own sustainability –with many cities signing up to global initiatives such as C40, and nations developing their own Nationally Determined Contribution plans –global support and participation is critical to ensure that implementation is effective and timely.
By coming together to better utilise data, embrace natural infrastructure, and factor resilience measures into urban planning, we have a chance to future proof cities across Africa, and in doing so, create more sustainable outcomes for urban citizens across the continent.
Based in Arup’s Johannesburg office, Aamena is an experienced urban designer who strives to deliver sustainable and resilient development projects that enrich the lives of people in urban environments. With over 15 years’ experience, Aamena has worked on large-scale housing and new city projects across Africa, infrastructure advisory programmes for special economic zones, and public space design schemes.
Encouraging Africa’s youth to take action against climate change, we speak with Damilola Hamid Balogun, delegate at COP27 and co-Founder of the Youth Sustainability Development Network
Writer:
Phoebe HarperAfrica Outlook (AO): As a delegate at COP27, what changes do you hope to see from the event?
Damilola Hamid Balogun, coFounder and CEO (DB): With this year’s summit being a COP for implementation and action, I look forward to seeing negotiations leading to actions touching on every aspect of the world, especially the most vulnerable communities affected by climate change. I particularly hope to see developing countries put the climate agenda at the heart of their respective developmental agendas as one of the key developmental issues being addressed. Finally, I hope to see African countries capitalise on the youth demographic to bring forth not only innovative climate solutions, but also other developmental goals in order to build a truly sustainable and resilient future.
AO: Are you optimistic about the progress of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across Africa?
DB: I am very optimistic of the progress of the UN SDGs across Africa. While there is still more work to be done, I acknowledge the progress of things so far, especially when compared with the level of uncertainties that have risen lately. Again, the SDGs are blueprints for global development and as such, there is a need for global partnerships across countries, institutions, and individuals to drive meaningful change not only within Africa but the world at large.
AO: What led you to co-found the Youth Sustainable Development Network (YSDN)? Could you tell us more about some of its work?
DB: My passion for social impact and drive to do something different with my profession as a lawyer led to the establishment of the YSDN. I have always wanted to create opportunities for youth to thrive, because growing up I had limited resources to lead my bold ideas and I never wanted to practice law as it is traditionally done. I was able to articulate what I wanted to achieve as a person in life, what my passion is and how to get there, which eventually led to me initiating the YSDN.
Our work at the YSDN revolves around working with youth and changemakers around the world
to foster an enabling environment which will lead to a more sustainable and resilient future by 2030. With youth at its forefront, the YSDN provides intellectual guidance and scientific evidence to the challenges of the UN SDGs, with humanist and critical thinking, promoting research, education and real-life actions to build a fair, global community and more sustainable societies. Beyond education and policy recommendations, at the YSDN we are bent on action. For example, in 2021, in a bid to address the high cost of energy and intense decline of water supply faced by local farmers, the YSDN launched the Solar Irrigation Project, having raised USD$5,000 to support farmers in Lagos, Nigeria to have access to knowledge, management, and equipment on irrigation that supports them to practice all year production. This solution has helped these farmers increase farm produce by 30 percent and income by 60 percent.
AO: In your opinion, why is it so important that youth take action in the leadership of sustainable development?
DB: The need for youth to take on leadership in sustainable develop ment cannot be overemphasised. Sustainable development is an affair
that touches on the future and needs innovative strategies to drive mean ingful change. Against this backdrop, it is clear that young people have the population, strength and vision to drive progress at a wider level, so it is important they are engaged to move things ahead. Young people are not only the present but also the future, so if we are talking of truly sustainable development, it only makes sense that they play active roles in delivering that future.
AO: Finally, does the YSDN have any upcoming projects that you would like to highlight?
DB: For the YSDN, our drive to continue unlocking opportunities for young people to catch up with the global scheme of things as far as sustainability and sustainable development is concerned remains a core of our mandate. In a bid to
further deliver meaningful change, we are set to launch the YSDN ESG Consulting.
The YSDN ESG Consulting is an initiative focused on providing strategy and implementation guides and recommendations for organisations towards ensuring that they become sustainable stakeholders and partners in creating a sustainable global environment.
This is an initiative that is led by youth, and clearly shows that demographic as a driving force demanding accountability and regulating sustainable development.
With the number of African cities doubling in just over three decades from 3,300 to 7,600, the cumulative population has risen by around 500 million people[1]. East Africa is at the forefront of this progress, with the most recent industry reports claiming an urban growth rate of 4.5 percent.
With this in mind, all international industry eyes are fixed on Kenya’s leading building and construction trade show, The Big 5 Construct Kenya, taking place from 9 to 11 November 2022 at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi. The expo will see exhibitors hail from 17 countries worldwide, including official pavilions
from Italy, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey. The Big
business-to-business meetings, to help strengthen bilateral business relations.
As cities and urban populations grow, larger-scale construction pro jects will similarly rise, generating even greater interest from international players. According to ABiQ’s Kenya Construction Project Market Report, construction industry spending is set to increase more than 13 percent from USD$2.601 billion in 2022 to USD$2.944 billion in 2023, with a sig nificant increase expected within engi neering services regarded as a positive indicator of future work prospects.
For the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), this industry expansion presents
5 Construct Kenya will also allow opportunities to conduct in-person
The ‘Made in Italy’ stamp of quality combines with African ingenuity, as industry players prepare to gather in Nairobi for The Big 5 Construct Kenya
Writer: Phoebe Harper
a not-to-be-missed opportunity for ‘Made in Italy’ technologies and construction materials
at The Big 5 Construct Kenya. Director of the ITA in Addis Ababa, Riccardo Zucconi, says that the trade show will give Italian companies access to quality buyers from sub-Saharan countries as well as strengthen Italian brand awareness on the continent.
“The Big 5 Construct Kenya will open up opportunities to conduct in-person business-to-business meetings, which will help strengthen bilateral business relations between local market players and Italian technology producers and material providers in the construction sector. We believe it will be a fantastic opportunity for visitors and exhibitors alike to get acquainted with the high quality of Italian construction products and technologies, which will facilitate new business relationships with Kenyan counterparts,” says Zucconi.
As the trade show’s ‘Country of Honour’, the ITA supports 62 Italian exhibitors, including 39 companies falling under building materials and 23 companies within construction machinery. The exhibition floor space will be filled with the best of Italian solutions, showcasing a wide variety
bilateral economic relations between Italy and Kenya, fostering trade and investment, while raising awareness on the superior quality of “Made in Italy”. We are willing to assist Kenyan and Italian companies in linking their demand and offering in every possi ble way and look forward to paving the way forward for future collabora tion at The Big 5 Construct Kenya.”
The event’s Gold Sponsor, Aalberts integrated piping systems (Dubai), formerly known as Pegler Yorkshire, has had a presence in the Kenyan and wider African market for over half a century through the sale of its Pegler Valves. Recognised as a leader in heat-free connections and dynamic balancing technology, the company brings together multiple world-class, globally recognised brands to provide the perfect piping system solution.
William Reaseback, Export Sales Manager at Aalberts says, “while we are still very well known in East Africa as Pegler Yorkshire, as Gold Sponsor at The Big 5 Construct Kenya, it is our intention to show that the Pegler Valve brand is not going anywhere, and it is only the company name that has changed. We are also looking forward to showcasing our new technology solutions and to meeting and doing business with leading industry players.”
The Big 5 Construct Kenya is free to attend for all industry professionals, and will be open daily from 10:00 –18:00, from 9-11 November 2022.
of products from wall paints to door handles, and electrical generators to earth-moving machines.
Other international markets participating in the trade show include the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Germany, India, United Kingdom, Finland, Egypt, Greece, Ethiopia, Uganda, Spain, South Africa, Poland, and Malaysia.
Zucconi adds, “The ITA, with the essential help of the Italian Embassy and other Italian institutions in Nairobi, is committed to improving positive
For more information and to reg ister, visit: www.thebig5construct kenya.com
Countries are set to come together and take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals at COP27 in Egypt, the first climate change conference held in Africa for six years
Writer: Jack Salter
I deeply believe that COP27 is an opportunity to showcase unity against an existential threat, that we can only overcome through concerted action and effective implementation.”
Welcoming the world with conviction to the upcoming 2022 United Nations (UN) Climate Change
Conference, commonly referred to as COP27, is Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the President of Egypt.
This year’s conference is being hosted in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh, at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. An international tourist destination popular with both Egyptian and foreign visitors alike, the
world will turn its attention to Sharm El Sheikh this November for reasons other than the region’s natural and cultural beauty, as world leaders once again convene to combat climate change and reduce carbon emissions.
Sharm El Sheikh is the ideal destination to host an inclusive and sustainable COP27, with a
demonstrable track record of hosting international events and a commitment to green transformation, having taken major strides in the adoption of sustainable accommodation, transportation, energy, waste management, and tourism operations.
In preparation for COP27, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has provided further support to the Egyptian government. For example, UNDP has cooperated with large hotels in Sharm El Sheikh to help install solar rooftops, whilst smallscale photovoltaic (PV) systems have been installed in landmark buildings throughout the city.
USD$6.2 million was granted by UNDP to the Egyptian government in June 2022, meanwhile, to finance the transformation of Sharm El Sheikh into a green city by 2028 and support the development of green infrastructure in the coastal resort.
The project aims to rationalise resource consumption, whilst focusing on water desalination, increasing the frequency of recycling and energy recovery from waste, as well as installing solar panels, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, and promoting sustainable tourism in Egypt.
Opportunities to support green transport and limit the use of plastic have also been explored ahead of the conference, all of which are efforts that confirm Sharm El Sheikh as a leading driver of the energy transition in Egypt, setting an example for other cities to follow.
COP27 marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In the three decades and 26 climate change conferences since, the world has come a long way in the fight against this global phenomenon and alleviating the negative impacts on our planet, equipped with a better
understanding of the science and the tools to address the causes and consequences.
Building on the outcomes of COP26, held in Glasgow in 2021, this year’s conference will deliver action on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency, from the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to building resilience and adapting to the inevitable effects of climate change.
COP27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries, to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement in the face of a growing energy crisis, record GHG concentrations, increasingly extreme weather events, and to implement effective and concerted action.
The slogan of COP27 itself – Together for Implementation –highlights this urgent need for action and tangible, concrete solutions to the challenges of climate change, rather than just promises.
Egypt will spare no effort to ensure that COP27 is the moment when the world moves from negotiation to implementation and words are translated into actions, collectively embarking on the path towards a sustainable, greener future for generations to come.
Implementation requires the input and contribution of all stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental.
With this in mind, a series of panel discussions, roundtables and events have been organised across 11 key thematic days.
These dedicated themes come as part of COP27’s efforts to enable broad interaction with various stakeholders, where the voices of women, youth, civil society, and indigenous people will be central to discussions.
Finance Day, for example, is the
conference’s very first thematic day and will address several aspects of the climate finance ecosystem, such as financial instruments, tools and policies that have the potential to enhance access and contribute to the clean energy transition.
Other key focus areas include the promise of innovation and clean technologies, as well as the centrality of agriculture and water to the climate crisis. COP27 will also highlight the role of science, in addition to biodiversity loss, the energy transition, and decarbonisation efforts.
Bringing COP27’s series of thematic days to a close on November 17th is Solutions Day, where government representatives, businesses and innovators will share their experiences, ideas and best practices, potentially building alliances and collaborations going into the future.
Egypt looks forward to welcoming COP27 to Sharm El Sheikh, where the world will come together once more to reaffirm its commitment to the global climate agenda.
‘THE SLOGAN OF COP27 ITSELF – TOGETHER FOR IMPLEMENTATION –HIGHLIGHTS THIS URGENT NEED FOR ACTION AND TANGIBLE, CONCRETE SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE, RATHER THAN JUST PROMISES’
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De Beers’ Venetia Underground Project in Limpopo, South Africa, champions the symbiotic progress of people, processes, and systems. Due to enter production in 2023, we catch up with Project Director Allan Rodel and examine what makes a mine of the future
Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager:
Thomas Arnold
Under the surface of South Africa’s (SA) northernmost province, work continues on what represents the single greatest investment in the country’s diamond industry in decades. Here, in Limpopo, you will find the Venetia Mine (Venetia), the largest mine in SA operated by De Beers Group (De Beers) - the iconic name that is synonymous with high-quality diamonds.
Majority-owned by the global diversified mining company Anglo American, De Beers has operated Venetia as an opencast mine since 1992 and will do so until the site reaches the end of its life. However, in 2010, the mine’s underground capacity proved difficult to ignore. With the potential to treat approximately 132 million tonnes of material containing an estimated 100 million carats and effectively extend the mine’s life to 2046, the transition below surface began.
Fast forward almost a decade, and the USD$2.1 billion excavation
and build of the Venetia Underground Project (VUP) is poised to enter the first stages of production in H1 2023.
For Project Director Allan Rodel, it’s an incredibly exciting time – both for what lies ahead, and what has been achieved thus far.
“In terms of underground progress, we are on track to reach operational readiness. We are undergoing a sustainable ramp-up in construction, and there are still various systems we need to put in place, including pumping systems, water management, and ventilation, but from that point of view, things are looking positive,” he outlines.
Since VUP’s inception, De Beers has adhered to an Operational Readiness Framework to guide its transition from open pit to underground, defined by the four tenets of assets, process, systems, and people. By so doing, VUP follows a holistic vision of progress, whereby no one is left behind on the journey.
Safety is an intrinsic thread in the cultural fabric of VUP, woven through every aspect of operation. This is embodied by the ‘2022 Safety Improvement Action Plan’, which is divided into the following key areas: leadership and governance, cultural and behavioural aspects, training and capacity, technology, risk management, performance, compliance assessment and improvement, contractor management, communication and health and wellness. Current overall progress stands at 76 percent completion of the annual plan.
The safety and culture plan incorporates the ‘Pioneering Brilliant Safety’ (PBS) framework, which commenced with a roll out in Q3 2021 in partnership with ITD and Safemap, and fulfils an essential role in establishing Venetia Mine as a safe and mature operation.
“We’ve been working with ITD
and Safemap for the past 18 months on PBS in our culture change journey. It’s an extremely validating effort in how we’re building the Venetia of tomorrow,” Rodel shares.
“It’s the safety drive I’m most excited about, and through PBS, we continually focus on various leading indicators – what are the things that didn’t happen, could have happened, or how could we have prevented them from happening,” he adds.
Key training programmes are aimed at supervisors and the teams working on the frontline of the mine’s operations, ensuring that all are equipped with the necessary skillset to perform their roles as safely as possible. Going forward, new culture change modules from ITD are set to be implemented across the Venetia Mine site.
“On a daily basis, we drive the culture of identifying things that might result in a negative outcome. You have to look for ways to make safety fresh and engaging.”
One “forward-thinking programme” that Rodel highlights as working particularly well in this respect is ‘Brothers and Sisters Keeper’ - an
on-the-spot recognition scheme launched within the past 12 months whereby individuals are incentivised for the correct culture and behaviour and for recognising their peers.
It is such initiatives that play a fundamental role in cementing VUP’s stance on prioritising its people and their safety. This is key to both talent attraction and retention, which is essential on an ambitious journey that requires significant recruitment efforts.
“We have pulled out all the stops to make sure we’re attracting the best talent,” comments Rodel, emphasising how the mine is working with different agencies and recruitment partners to entice skilled workers. As an owner-maintained mine, there is an explicit focus on localisation in recruiting people from around Limpopo.
Simultaneously, however, it is equally important to retain those who have a loyal working history at Venetia and train them to work with underground assets.
“We have many employees who have worked for us for over 30 years in our surface operations. It is rewarding to see how many want to keep working for us by transitioning to the underground,” he continues.
At the nexus of this development is the state-of-the-art Skills Development Centre, launched in 2021. A major surface project, the facility is critical in transitioning employees from open pit to underground, whilst also training new employees.
Incorporating the latest technologies, the centre is Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) certified and boasts video walls, refuge bays, virtual reality capabilities and six simulator training modules, alongside instructor-led classroom facilities, yard training facilities, and dedicated underground skills transfer mining areas for practical experience.
Since 2019, over 130 employees have been successfully transitioned
from open pit to underground through rigorous training processes. With a fully developed training management system in place, the facility is in constant evolution to ensure up-to-date skills development for all those involved in the mine –from surface to Top of Mine (TOM) and Bottom of Mine (BOM).
A
OF THE FUTURE Technology is a key ingredient in the change taking place across the site, as VUP follows an ambitious journey of digital transformation. Digitalisation is incorporated throughout VUP’s systems and falls within the overarching vision of establishing VUP as a mine of the future.
“It’s an extremely exciting digital journey that we’re going on,” states Rodel. “Digitalisation is the way we do business, and we have several systems employed to support this vision.”
Crucially, the technological innovation behind this transformation is encouraged to thrive in progress with people transformation, in terms of upskilling and training, to ensure cohesion and collaboration between the two.
This is evidenced by the state-ofthe-art Thoroughtec simulators for Sandvik intelligent loaders, trucks, drills and bolters installed in the training centre, and a host of other technological applications concerning skills development. This will only increase in the decade to come, as VUP’s ambitious technological development will see the site aim to
become a fully autonomous mining operation by 2027.
The Venetia Underground Technology Development Roadmap outlines that by this time, the underground operation will have established an autonomous mine production system, autonomous navigation/tramming, data analytics, 3D mine visualisation, personnel location tracking, automated asset health monitoring, and a digital operating platform.
Steps towards automation are already underway, as VUP’s first remote-operated loader undergoes safety testing at the facility in Q4 2022.
For Rodel, a series of fundamental questions lie at the core of this “forward-looking lens” regarding the application of technology - how will it affect operations, what does it mean in terms of maintenance, and does it
make business sense in light of what VUP is trying to achieve?
“The critical element of technology is that it’s got to make sense and not just implemented for the sake of it. You have to take everyone along with you on the journey of why technology is important – proving that it’s safer, more productive, and making a genuine difference.
“We have a whole series of training programmes outlining where we need to go and how this whole jigsaw puzzle fits together. Everyone must know where they are going and everyone needs to understand the “why”.”
VUP’s emphasis on bringing everyone along with the mine’s future translates not just to its employees, but also the Limpopo communities surrounding its operations, particularly the local
suppliers and service providers involved in the project who share in the site’s ambition and vision.
Here, Venetia Mine endeavours to leave a lasting positive impact that will benefit the area long after the mine’s combined open pit and underground lifespan of approximately 60 years.
“The sustainability of our business is critical to us,” introduces Supply Chain Manager Nadine Kok. “We want to ensure that we further develop the skills of our service providers
Founded in 2001, Great Nthambe Electrical Services (NES) has worked with Venetia for the past five years, providing electrical maintenance, high voltage services and electrical engineering. The business is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Nembudani, with Mr. Nembudani having worked for 16 years as an electrician in the mine.
Presently, NES holds contracts with the Musina Mine, Musina Municipality, ESCOM, SANRAL Project and Venetia – the latter of which is a contract for electrical installation worth over USD$2.8 million.
When NES encountered financial difficulties so severe that it struggled to pay its workers, Venetia stepped in to ensure that the business got back on track. The mine continues to engage in the growth and development of NES, and its services have expanded so much that employees have increased by 25 percent since it entered a collaborative working relationship with the mine.
– ALLAN RODEL, PROJECT DIRECTOR, VENETIA UNDERGROUND PROJECTand contribute to the community in a way that means they’re not solely dependent on the mine’s lifespan. There’s a lot of skills development taking place both on and outside of the mine,” says Kok.
One example is the Changing Lives Forever Skills Development Programme. This came to inception after a skills shortage was identified in the labour needed to build accommodation in Musina during the construction and transition phase of the mine. As a result, VUP teamed up with BMH Africa to deliver the necessary skills training to tradespeople on mine accommodation construction projects, with excellent results. Through this project, participants are receiving valuable skills experience, literacy and health and safety training with the appropriate certifications, equipping them with the skills and
training to undertake such work anywhere in the country.
Similar initiatives also apply to small businesses, with Kok highlighting local ‘success stories’ such as electrical services contractor Great Nthambe Electrical Services, and Blue Disa – a small civils company run by Mr. Nemakonde – which has grown and evolved alongside the mine over the past decade through its Zimele Business Hub programmes and on the job coaching and mentoring by Venetia Mine employees.
“That programme has been a huge success,” says Kok. “Blue Disa went from being a 100 percent whiteowned company, to being fully owned by Mr. Nemakonde. It has since grown from 15 to 60 local employees and has allowed significant business skills development and training on the mine itself,” she elaborates.
Corporate social investment
“WE HAVE A WHOLE SERIES OF TRAINING PROGRAMMES OUTLINING WHERE WE NEED TO GO AND HOW THIS WHOLE JIGSAW PUZZLE FITS TOGETHER”
contributions by all the Venetia Mine’s contractors are integral to these efforts as surrounding businesses, and in turn the communities, grow in tandem with the mine.
Returning to the idea of technology and personal development flourishing hand in hand, this is a key focus of De Beers’ partnership with the International Youth Foundation (IYF), where digitised education is making a difference for students enrolled in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
The programme enhances course content and offers valuable work experience opportunities for those studying in institutions near Limpopo and is run in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). So far, the scheme has undertaken skills gap analysis, offered enhanced life skills training, established a private sector
engagement forum to identify early career opportunities, and has launched online lecture resources.
“We are rewriting the curriculum, adjusting training, providing digitised lectures and equipping students with the necessary life skills to prepare them for a work environment. We are digitising the whole story,” says Kok. Indeed, earlier this year the programme received the go-ahead for digitised content to be rolled out across 50 colleges in 2022.
“It’s extremely exciting to be part of this journey and to see all the hard work paying off. We look forward to seeing the results at the end of the year,” she concludes.
Drawing to a close, Rodel returns to the vision of a mine of the future that VUP aspires to.
“It’s going to be a mine where
people will want to work – a mine that operates digitally in terms of its systems and processes, with the safest and best technology as well as trained, skilled people. It will have digitalisation at the core, using data analytics like no other mine, with corporate social investment programmes in place that genuinely make a difference.”
With all these elements combining, the future for Venetia Mine and the communities surrounding it, is sparkling.
DE BEERS GROUP
Tel: +27(0)11 374 3000 jackie.mapiloko@debeersgroup.com www.debeersgroup.com
The healthcare space in Uganda is an interesting one, despite the many challenges we face. There has been a great deal of disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, yet there has also been significant development in the supply chain, automation and various processes, the latter of which are very promising.”
It is no surprise that both the pan demic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have impacted the African healthcare sector. Reduction in supply is a key issue for Uganda in particular, as a land locked country sat close to the centre of the African continent, where supply chains already face infrastructure
challenges such as limited road net works across rough terrain.
Operating throughout the country in this most critical sector, Joint Medical Store (JMS) is the leading private-not-forprofit (PNFP) non-governmental organisation (NGO) pharmaceutical store in Uganda, serving at least 3,000 medical facilities. JMS was established in 1979 as a joint venture between Uganda Catholic Medical Bureau (UCMB) and Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau (UPMB), and is licensed by the National Drug Authority (NDA) to engage in the import, export, and wholesale of medicines and related healthcare supplies.
Joint Medical Store is expanding across Uganda with the sole aim to provide medical products, equipment and services to as many facilities as possible. Executive Director Bildard Baguma tells us more about the company changing the face of the Ugandan medical space
“Initially, JMS was established to educate and provide health supplies to healthcare facilities and to the church, and it has since grown both in its services and scope of work and support,” introduces Bildard Baguma, Executive Director of JMS.
“We supply government-owned and private healthcare facilities, and currently have around 2,500 customers. JMS procures warehouses and distributes essential medical supplies and equipment, transporting them to cities across the country. We are duly registered as a corporate body under the Trustees Incorporation Act, Cap-165 and under the NGO Registration Amendment Act, 2006.”
JMS specialises in four primary areas within the healthcare industry: health supplies management, capacity building, the installation,
servicing and maintenance of medical equipment, and warehousing and distribution.
“Partnering with development partners, JMS lobbies, receives, manages and distributes inventory comprising of donor items like antiretrovirals (ARVs) and laboratory reagents. These are distributed to PNFP facilities,” Baguma tells us.
JMS empowers health workers through a comprehensive model that aims to optimise efficiency. The model components are intended to strengthen the facilities holistically in order to achieve continual growth, and the capacity-building modules offered include inventory management, customer care, communication and relationship
Climate change is a key global agenda, and JMS recognises the importance of conserving the environment.
JMS supports healthcare facilities to manage and prevent waste through capacity building, so that they are able to effectively quantify and order only what they need.
In the event that customer facilities are left with an excess of products that create waste through product expiration, JMS supports them to manage waste in an eco-friendly manner in line with its environmental goals, helping to limit harm to the environment by reducing the amount of waste and the chance of it occurring again.
management, financial management, and business mindset in a healthcare setting.
“JMS offers free installation, servicing and maintenance of all equipment purchased from JMS or any authorised JMS distributor, and has created a wide network of global medicines and equipment manufacturers and distributors,” Baguma adds.
“We believe that it is not only important to provide our services to communities, but also to properly manage and maintain them. We work across the entire country via our three branches, with an additional three branches currently being set up in the west, east, and northwest of the country. All of our locations are supported by pharmacies, engineers and other professionals.”
JMS’ expansion surrounds the aim to develop and increase the overall
production capacity for healthcare supplies in Uganda.
The company’s old business model was designed around customers making orders at a JMS location, such as in the capital Kampala, receiving the products and transporting them back to their specific facilities. Moving with the times, this has changed both by design and necessity.
Since 2015, JMS has established its multiple branches to address the issues of outreach and accessibility for customers. Each of the three new branches provides greater access, and JMS is now starting construction on a warehouse that, once finalised, will be able to further streamline consignments and deliveries to facilities across the country.
On top of this, at the centre of the company’s product expansion, JMS established Joint Healthcare, a company that has been developing JMS’ locally manufactured products.
Joint Healthcare started with the
+39 022651521
Located near Milan in Italy, Fazzini o ers more than 4000 references of furniture and medical devices covering the world of primary and secondary care, the technical platform and hospitalization. Since 1995, company Fazzini manufactures and distributes internationally medical equipment essential for the activity of health facilities in the private or public sectors.
www.fazzini.it info@fazzini.it www.facebook.com/FazziniSRL/ www.linkedin.com/FazziniSRL/
Gradian Health Systems is a global nonprofit medical technology company that works in partnership with healthcare providers to design and introduce user-centric solutions that address gaps in technology solutions, training, and customer service. Since 2011, Gradian has developed and distributed award-winning innovations in anesthesia, critical care, and oxygen therapy in 35+ countries with offices in New York, Nairobi, and Dar es Salaam.
Gradian and JMS have a shared mission of providing their customers with high-quality medical technology and support. Through this partnership, we guarantee world-class medical equipment paired with timely aftersales parts and service from local technicians certified on Gradian’s products. Gradian and JMS have distributed and installed more than 200 UAMs (Universal Anaesthesia Machines) and CCVs (Comprehensive Care Ventilators) in Uganda, helping to treat tens of thousands of critically-ill and surgical patients since 2013.
Driven by feedback from clinical users and biomedical technicians, we are excited to be launching new products and partnerships to better serve our customers. This includes the launch of Gradian’s K-O2, a wardlevel oxygen generator that delivers uninterrupted oxygen to multiple patients at one time.
S.S. Padana Superiore, 317 - 20055 - Vimodrone (MI) Italyproduction and distribution of hand sanitiser, a product especially proven by the COVID-19 pandemic, before branching into further categories.
“We are expanding our product range to the likes of ultrasound gel, sodium hypochlorite (disinfection agent), and liquid soap, while also finalising plans for the production of medical oxygen that will be distributed to medical facilities soon,” Baguma explains.
“On top of our product develop ments, we are also doing contract manufacturing for oxybutynin, and additionally, we are working with some partners in producing new capacity
According to Baguma, Uganda has a very young and rapidly growing population, and with this comes both increased technological accessibility and widespread use. Taking this into account, JMS recognises the need for technology integration as well as the adoption of digitalised methods and practices to further its presence and services, to best help and serve people across Uganda.
“JMS is very open to changes and evolving in the digital space, especially
light of the current information and digital revolution,” Baguma tells us. “We also operate in areas where many people don’t have sufficient access to computers, and sometimes don’t have the skill to use them, but it is very important to us that we develop a digital presence and ensure that customers can reach us digitally, without the need to visit us physically.”
To answer this, JMS set up an enterprise resource software called Industrial Financial Services (IFS), an integrated platform that handles all of the company’s operations, including
for Replenish Plus, an immune booster, and foods for special medical pur poses (FSMPs) to help malnourished children in Uganda.”in
warehouse management, order processing, financial transactions, and human resource transactions.
“This platform also provides capacity expansion to the customer and increases business connectivity,” Baguma continues. “In this way, the process of finalising allows us to see, order, process and save records of what we need to serve our customers in a surer and swifter way, streamlining our operations when it comes to business-to-business (B2B) activities.
“We believe that this will be crucial for us to be able to reach and supply our customers seamlessly. It is a heavy investment which we are continuing to do both on the side of the customer and the supplier. For the latter, we have integrated another system for advanced supplier notice to ensure full accountability of the commodities.”
People are at the heart of JMS’ mission and central to the company’s success in the sector, whether they are pharmacists, engineers or warehouse workers processing orders and deliveries.
With people at the forefront, JMS places a great deal of value on bettering the skills and opportunities of those in the community.
“One of our roles and mandates at JMS is to ensure that we have the right kind of health workers who are trained and skilled enough for the job and to help people in Uganda,” Baguma elaborates. “We do this in various ways; we support our founding bureaus, the UCMB and the UPMB, to provide scholarships for staff in facilities to be able to train and gain more skills in the field, be it doctors, nurses, technicians or others.
“The second area of JMS’ engagement is working with Ugandan universities to support hands-on training in terms of providing space for students to undertake internships and practical training.”
“WE AIM TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR SUPPLY CHAIN IS EFFICIENT, AND THAT IT DELIVERS VALUE TO THE PEOPLE THAT WE SERVE”
– BILDARD BAGUMA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JOINT MEDICAL STORE
Student training is a key part of JMS’ work with the Ugandan community, helping to raise up and train new generations of medical experts and front-line medical workers to further the Ugandan healthcare space, for example, in the area of health logistics.
“We also work with universities in developing programmes that surround supply chains, permits for engineering, and innovations that can further improve the efficiency with which we work in various areas,” Baguma says. “This, in our view, is one of the major roles that we play, improving the overall healthcare system and developing people’s skills to help manage the healthcare sector further.”
This training and preparation of the next generation of medical personnel is a key part of JMS’ vision for Uganda moving forward. At the same time, the company’s mission is to make sure that health facilities, and therefore by extension patients, can actually receive quality and affordable health solutions.
“We aim to make sure that our supply chain is efficient, and that it delivers value to the people that we serve,” Baguma reaffirms.
VISION:
“A partner of choice excelling in health solutions for the glory of God” - JMS
MISSION:
“To provide affordable, quality health solutions through an efficient supply chain system that delivers value to accredited health units and other stakeholders” - JMS
“WE BELIEVE THAT IT IS NOT ONLY IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE OUR SERVICES TO COMMUNITIES, BUT ALSO TO PROPERLY MANAGE AND MAINTAIN THEM”
– BILDARD BAGUMA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JOINT MEDICAL STORE
tatainternational.com
“Therefore, one of these key priorities is digitalisation, and our ambitious digitalisation agenda ensures sufficient business-to-business activity and connectivity, which in the short- and medium-term will ensure that facilities and suppliers are able to reach us seamlessly. That is a key target that we are working on for the year.”
JMS is also working on its evolving portfolio of manufacturing products. The company is expanding its production facility so that it can increase the number and variety of products that it is producing locally, and in doing so, also improve and create employment opportunities for the community.
“Lastly, we have designed, continue to use, and expanded a key scheme that allows healthcare facilities to purchase and acquire the medical equipment they need,” Baguma adds. “Many facilities cannot afford to pay
for equipment such as computerised tomography (CT) scanners as they are expensive pieces of kit, but our initiative is a game changer, and allows us to provide such equipment on a repay system so that each party receives what they need.”
With these three core focus areas for the years ahead, JMS is leading the development and expansion of healthcare products, equipment and supplies across Uganda, for a healthier, better and brighter future.
JOINT MEDICAL STORE (JMS)
Tel: 0800340340 www.jms.co.ug
TATA UGANDA LIMITED - HEALTH CARE DIVISION. LEADING IMPORTERS AND DISTRIBUTORS OF PHARMACEUTICALS PRODUCTS IN UGANDA.
Spearheading
36 | Africa Outlook Issue 99 SYSMEX WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA HEALTHCAREthe advancement
In the MedTech industry, it’s important to connect people and technology, build networks across boundaries, tolerate ambiguity, integrate diverse ideas, and allow sustainable solutions to emerge. These ideals carve out the foundation of business and ambitious aspirations of Sysmex West and Central Africa (Sysmex).
Writer: Ed Budds | Project Manager: Callam Waller
Managing Director of Sysmex.
Drawing from a vast swathe of diversity in his career to date, Osei transitioned from his industry entry as a pharmacist to a Sales Manager, Area Manager, and then eventually, after working across cultures in Africa with great multinational companies like Roche, BD and Sysmex covering pharma, medical devices and the IVD industry in West and Central Africa respectively, to his current role at Sysmex.
“As Managing Director, I am responsible for leading the transformation of Sysmex’s business in West and Central Africa. As an international business manager, it’s important to assess trends and developments in the regional
economy, provide a framework for analysis to understand economic developments, and reduce the inherent uncertainty and risk involved with doing business in countries,” he expands.
By predicting the actions of governments and other entities in the region and their impact on Sysmex’s business and its local teams, the company develops action plans to defend, retain, or increase business where necessary.
Sysmex exists as a subsidiary of Sysmex Europe SE, and for over three years the company has actively shaped the advancement of
healthcare in West and Central Africa by setting new standards and driving innovations in haematology and other areas of expertise.
Sysmex now sits among Africa’s top laboratory diagnostics and healthcare companies and is the industry leader in haematology diagnostics and service.
“We’re famous for sales and aftersales support of diagnostic solutions for medical laboratories including automation, and our activities span the entire region,” acclaims Osei.
Sysmex looks after the interests of and provides support for its many stakeholders through a range of affiliate companies and local cooperation partners per country. In this way, the company can coordinate
the entire buyer experience, including purchasing, delivery, use, supplementary services, maintenance, disposal and replacement marketing, as well as all regulatory issues.
“Sysmex is also home to our main training and service centre called the Sysmex Academy. One of our strongest assets is that we love knowledge. We love applying it in smart ways to create unique solutions that really help people, our clients, and our partners,” he tells us.
Currently, Sysmex is actively expanding its expertise and is already breaking new ground in such diverse fields as coagulation and urinalysis, near-patient testing and automation.
Osei believes that the people of Sysmex, their know-how, creativity and engagement are the company’s most valuable resource.
“Excellent collaboration is a way to tap into this resource and is, therefore, a key driver for all future success. Leadership is another important enabler of collaboration, as this provides the framework for action for all members of the organisation,” he outlines.
“Our principles have been developed by Sysmex employees for Sysmex employees. These
principles represent our shared ambition for successful collaboration and leadership. By describing values, motives, beliefs as well as behaviour, they offer a possibility of identification with what we believe is important to us.”
Osei further believes it’s these prin ciples that have built a solid foundation for success at the company.
“The Sysmex way is a good representation of who we are and how we want to act, and one of the core features of the Sysmex way is trust. Clients must trust the fact that our solutions solve their challenges, and they must trust our products, services, and staff. Ideally, our employees also trust in their abilities and those of the company,” he clarifies.
In almost all areas, Sysmex employ ees are given broad scope for deci sion-making. Experience has taught Sysmex that having confidence in its employees translates into close involvement with the company – a great, mutually-reinforcing circle.
“We greatly appreciate competence and teamwork and the remarkable diversity and creativity generated by simply letting people be who they really are,” Osei adds proudly.
ERIC OSEI, MANAGING DIRECTOR: “Accompanying the change process, we are looking at delivering successful laboratory automation in West and Central Africa. Providing a concept is a huge step, of course, but we guide our customers through the whole change process to ensure the efficiency of the daily laboratory routine at any time, 24/7. We will provide support in managing the inevitable bottleneck during the implementation phase and assist with concept readjustments if necessary.
“In terms of improving lab economics, consuming just three to five percent of the healthcare budget, the laboratory, nevertheless, influences directly or indirectly over 90 percent of patient management processes related to diagnosis or patient treatments. Providing excellent scientific laboratory support by using advanced clinical parameters saves costs and reduces the level of patient discomfort, and this is what Sysmex strives towards.”
Sysmex, Ajinomoto Foundation and NEC have initiated a cross-industry co-creation project to improve maternal and child health and nutrition in the Republic of Ghana.
Malnutrition and malaria are two of the most severe health issues in Ghana, and are considered the most significant risk factors for death and disability. The former is a leading factor in stunting the growth of unborn children and infants and causes anaemia, which enhances the risk of severe malaria. Additionally, children under five and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to malaria, making it particularly important for Sysmex to take an integrated approach to the prevention of malnutrition, anaemia, and malaria.
By combining effective nutrition education for mothers and children in Ghana using ICT with business-based approaches, such
as supplement production by local private companies and marketing and infiltration activities by local NGOs to enable sustainability,
Shaping the advancement of healthcare.
Continuing to create unique and innovative values, while building trust and confidence.
With passion and flexibility, always demonstrate the company’s individual competence and unsurpassed teamwork.
Sysmex aims to make behavioural changes to healthcare and strengthen the health system through human resource development of medical professionals. Utilising innovative ICT and clinical testing technologies originating in Japan will contribute to creating environments where pregnant women, breastfeeding women, caregivers, and children can enjoy high-quality nutrition and health services.
Looking to continually enhance the healthcare space, Sysmex aims to promote improved test quality and
access through the introduction of malaria diagnostic medical devices and educational activities for medical professionals, leading to the early detection and treatment of anaemia, malnutrition and malaria through human resource development.
The Sysmex Academy was envisioned to expand the company’s customer knowledge. Classroom training, digital training and webinars are now accessible in French and English for
“WE GREATLY APPRECIATE COMPETENCE AND TEAMWORK AND THE REMARKABLE DIVERSITY AND CREATIVITY GENERATED BY SIMPLY LETTING PEOPLE BE WHO THEY REALLY ARE”
– ERIC OSEI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SYSMEX WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
all countries in the West and Central Africa region.
Another strand of the academy is the Sysmex e-Learning portal, which is now available via mobile app for free on all iOS and Android devices. It is the perfect complement for all Sysmex digital training, allowing users to access tests, certificates, and much more, now readily available from a phone, even without an internet connection.
Regarding further education and development, the internship programmes created by Sysmex offer a wide range of opportunities, particularly for the younger African demographic. Some beneficiaries of these internship programmes have additionally been given the opportunity to work full-time at Sysmex, based on their work ethics and the availability of these opportunities during the periods they interned.
“We hope to make a difference in giving opportunities, which is often unusual in our area of specialisation, to these young people as an array
of hope towards the motivation of others to choose professions in medical science in Africa,” Osei elaborates.
High-performance medicine thrives on interdisciplinary dialogue, ideally reaching across the aisle between clinical and diagnostic disciplines so that adequate and rapid therapy can be guaranteed in the future.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) knows no boundaries; it can affect anyone, of any age, in any country. AMR is the ability of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites to stop an antimicrobial, such as antibiotics, from working against them. AMR can also lead to treatments becoming ineffective and accelerate the spread of infections. Microorganisms are increasingly harder to treat with antimicrobial medication, and more and more bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Therefore, antivirals must constantly keep up with new mutations as well.
“Sysmex intends to focus on the AMR fight in West and Central Africa using our urinalysis technology and partnering with health authorities in various countries to develop and implement AMR policies for public safety,” explains Osei.
Sysmex implemented the first fully automated urinalysis analyser in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, located in Kumasi, Ghana. This fully automated urinalysis testing system combines the integration of the urine chemistry analyser UC-3500, urine particle analyser UF-4000 and the urine particle digital imaging device UD-10.
“The Sysmex XN-31 automated analyser is also elevating the malaria diagnostic game to another level, and it’s really something that the world has been looking forward to having in terms of the fight against malaria,” he adds.
It is advancements like the gamechanging analysis technology and tools offered by the company that promise Sysmex will maintain its position moving forward, as a true pioneer of the African healthcare space.
SYSMEX WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
Tel: +233 3027 988 67 info@sysmex-wca.com www.sysmex-wca.com
Inchcape Shipping Services is the iconic name that is synonymous with the global maritime industry. A historical enterprise embracing modernity, we honour its 175th anniversary with CEO, Frank Olsen
Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: David KnottAs American astronomer Carl Sagan once said, “you have to know the past to understand the present.” Embodying this mantra within the global shipping space, is maritime giant Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), as a company that simultaneously leverages a rich industrial heritage whilst keeping its eyes firmly on the horizon.
“Whatever curveball you might throw at us, there’s a fair chance that we’ve dealt with something similar in the past.”
In operation since 1847, our conversation with CEO at ISS, Frank Olsen, occurs as the company commemorates a major milestone in the year of its 175th anniversary.
“It doesn’t matter who you talk to in shipping, all of them will have heard about ISS and the vast majority will have done business with us,” says Olsen.
“It’s quite unique in the world we live in today that you encounter a brand which is more than 100 years old, and now we’re verging on 200.”
With an operational footprint in over 60 countries, encompassing over 2,200 ports, 245 offices, and upwards
of 3,000 employees, ISS is firmly established as a global leader in marine services and as a port agency provider.
“Wherever you are in the world, we are able to support your port call,” he continues. “We are a completely global network, and we have capabilities in all manner of port related activity for any kind of marine assets.”
Despite this versatility and the evolution that the company has undergone since its inception, the mainstay of ISS’ core services has remained unchanged over almost two centuries.
“We’re still doing the same basic things we were doing
all those years back,” observes Olsen, comparing the company to other major brands who may have been in operation for many years, but whose core business has changed dramatically in that time.
For ISS, this stands as a major competitive advantage, bolstering the brand name and reputation with credibility proven through a solid track record.
“Of course, this heritage also means that we bring to the market a tremendous amount of accumulated expertise, and a lot of the same people have stayed working with us for a long time.
Complementing its extensive geographical reach, ISS combines port agency, marine services and digital solutions with an entirely sector and activity agnostic approach.
From superyachts upwards, ISS can support any kind of vessel – whether cruise ships, navy vessels, tankers or bulk vessels and anything in between.
“It’s something we’re extremely proud of and contributes to the culture throughout the company,” Olsen continues.
We are (NSC) Navigator Shipping Company, founded in 2011 by Captain Tarek Shokri in Tripoli, to manage vessels for principals. It is run and managed by a professional team whose members have extensive experience in the shipping industry, our company’s solid work relations with the Libyan Port authorities and personnel places us above our competitions. The company strives to offer a comprehensive and constantly improving service to our principals, ensuring the safety of owners’/ charterers’ property and remaining competitive in the market.
To make our principal’s business successful and profitable.
To continuously exceed the expectations of our principals, government authorities, traders, shippers, consignees and vendors.
Our business is built around relationships with principals, government authorities, traders, shippers, consignees and vendors.
NSC emerged as one of the best if you are looking for quality shipping, marine and logistics services. Our services shine with dedication, professionalism and clients’ satisfaction. We always strive for the best as we offer a variety of service which never fails to satisfy our principals.
“Equally, it doesn’t matter what your interest in the maritime assets is. A client of ours could be involved in ship management and looking to arrange crew services, a ship owner who’s much more concerned with the actual assets, or even a cargo trader - we are happy to provide support services for all these things.”
Confronting the often volatile and unpredictable waters of the global shipping industry, ISS’ heritage and worldwide network bolster the company with resiliency learnt and honed from experience.
“The port agency market is incredibly fragmented,” Olsen comments. “There’s a handful of global companies who have about 15 percent of the market share combined, but that means that the remaining vast majority is represented by smaller local companies.
“For us, having that global network means that we can support any client wherever they require us to through the modern framework of a large multinational company.”
This in turn entails a host of advantages and additional security, in terms of stringent compliance with health and safety regulations, compliance around ABC and ethics, sound procurement practices, sanction checking and a solid environmental social governance (ESG) agenda based on industry best practices.
“We have all those crucial factors in place, and it’s something that really sets us apart,” he elaborates.
In a modern context, these capabilities can prove crucial. Throughout its rich history, ISS has witnessed various conflicts - from the two World Wars, to playing a critical role in aiding allied forces in the Middle East. Today, amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, ISS fulfils an equally essential role with regard to the sanctions that have been imposed against Russian entities.
“Our ability to run complete sanctions checks, and make
sure that not only the direct customer but also any kind of counter party and related parties are operating within the sanction’s regime, is extremely important.”
Clients can rely on safety in experience in ISS’ hands, as a company that has truly been through it all.
“Regardless of what you throw at us, we’ve dealt with it before,” Olsen states.
This experience both informs and differentiates the ISS approach to working with its clients, acting as an extension of the business of its maritime partners and sharing its experience entirely to their advantage.
“The other major benefit of this global network is the ability to collect data and analytics to give advice to a customer that is based on a vast number of transactions.
“It means that we can give our customers valuable, proactive insight, based on the ports they’re using, the operations they intend on doing, and the challenges they might encounter. We can guide them on how to overcome
“IT’S QUITE UNIQUE IN THE WORLD WE LIVE IN TODAY THAT YOU ENCOUNTER A BRAND WHICH IS MORE THAN 100 YEARS OLD, AND NOW WE’RE VERGING ON 200”
– FRANK OLSEN, CEO, INCHCAPE SHIPPING SERVICES
Navigator Shipping Agency is a modern Shipping Agency based in Tripoli, Libya. Since 2011, we have focused on keeping up with the adjustments and changes of the maritime world and to provide the best of maritime services for our principals by providing the most competitive prices, most accurate information and 24/7 availability with all procedures made to keep the work going under any circumstances or occurrence.
operations goes as smoothly as anywhere else as we always receive questions regarding the environment at each Libyan port. We therefore always show content at Libyan ports to give our principals peace of mind and our audience a realistic and better view on Libyan ports.
NSC is devoted to complying with all maritime laws and treaties Issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and by that, the company becomes the first Libyan maritime agency to cooperate in the fight against corruption and money laundering and hold a TRACE certificate of membership since 2015.
Over the recent years
NSC has expanded its strong social responsibility presence locally and abroad with full commitment towards the needs of the Libyan government in contributing to solving legal and administrative problems whenever we were asked for, and we’ve made a good reputation between principals for this.
NSC is also the only shipping company in Libya that is taking responsibility to create graphic social media content to give the general audience and principles a view of what work at the Libyan ports is like. We provide full proof that loading / discharging
NSC is always passionate and serious about keeping up with the latest technological working tools to give extra facilitated information, more accurate times and very quick responses at anytime during the day or night on any given day to make sure our principals are satisfied and assured that their business is going well and if a problem is faced, the problem is dealt with on the spot and every time it is solved with the satisfaction of the authorities and principals.
NSC will always be flexible regarding principal requests and will always go to new heights to reach their desires or come up with a solution for any given problem.
these obstacles and avoid delays or extra costs.”
ISS is a company that takes the macro challenges facing the industry as a whole – whether it be the most recent crisis of COVID-19, the record low oil prices of 2016, or the financial crisis of 2008, just as seriously as those of its individual clients.
“Throughout all these events, we have just continued doing and delivering. We haven’t been insulated to any of them, but we’ve always come out on our feet and delivered acceptable financial performance even during the toughest of times.
“At the same time, we’ve always been able to support our clients through all the hardship that they go through too.”
“REGARDLESS
– FRANK OLSEN, CEO, INCHCAPE
2022 marks a landmark year for ISS –not just for its historic anniversary, but also because it heralds the beginning of a new chapter for the company.
“Earlier this year, we entered into new ownership,” says Olsen. “Since 2006, ISS has been owned by Dubai based investment fund Isthitmar.”
That all changed in June, when London based private equity investment firm – Epiris LLP – completed the transaction in acquiring 100 percent of the company. For Olsen, a hopeful future awaits under this new ownership.
“This gives us a lot of confidence and bullishness about the future. Now that we have access to more capital, we can accelerate some of the good things we have going,” he shares.
Within this acceleration, technology has an integral role to play in forging ISS’ future.
“We’re not a technology company and never will be, but we see technology as an enabler and a tool to more effectively capitalise on the strengths and the value generated by our global network.”
For ISS, technology has a multifaceted application. The first perspective through which the company approaches its use, is in making ISS an easy enterprise to do business with, thereby driving process optimisation to improve and advance the efficiency of its operations.
“This benefits us internally by enabling us to be more productive, but also the customer by delivering higher standards of service,” Olsen shares.
The other lens through which technology is viewed concerns the collection of essential data. This is instrumental for a port agent in creating transparency, by collecting this information, analysing it, and subsequently providing useful insight to its clients.
Adopting a model of predictive anal ysis, based on what has happened in the past informing what might occur in the future, this technological approach harkens back to the opening philoso phy, of leveraging experience to help determine what lies ahead.
“If we get this right we will be better equipped to go proactively out to our customers and inform their port schedules, guiding their actions to avoid delays or save costs, ultimately helping them to make better decisions.
“Of course, the final positive by-product of all this, is that by increasing the efficiency of shipping, you will de facto also reduce the carbon emissions.”
Looking ahead, growth is firmly on the agenda for ISS.
“With private equity ownership, there’s a strong focus on this and we have a very clear strategy across three main segments.
“To start with there’s organic growth, doing more with our existing customers and winning new clientswhether that be through tenders or through the transactional market,” Olsen informs us.
Complementing this organic growth is a focus on ancillary and additional services, based on developing new product offerings focused in and around the port, bolstering ISS’ core portfolio with new activities.
“Our third growth pillar is inorganic, centered on acquisition and driving a positive consolidation in what’s arguably a very fragmented market,” he continues.
This third pillar is already in full effect. Just days after the recent
new ownership was announced, an acquisition has already taken place with more due to come into effect shortly.
“On 25th July we announced our acquisition of a Belgian port agency called Kennedy Hunter. Meanwhile, back in 2019, we acquired the agency division of V. Group, and both have been strategic acquisitions.”
With several other active deals in a well-advanced stage, the next few months are set to bring more acquisition announcements for ISS. But at the heart of this ambition, is a people-centric positive outlook, based on bringing together a fragmented sector.
“We want to drive positive consolidation, we don’t want to behave or to be seen as corporate raiders nor do we want to do hostile takeovers.
“We’re in the people business and we need the backing of the people within the organisations that we
buy into. We look for companies with reputations, a certain level of expertise that complements our own, and good geographic matches in areas where we are looking to accelerate our presence,” he concludes.
Despite its longstanding history, ISS is a company that refuses to stagnate, riding a tide of continual expansion and evolution and bolstered by the solid foundation of its core competen cies to continually cater to the modern needs of global shipping. INCHCAPE
Tel: +44 2035 138500
Committed to providing efficient and cost-effective handling solutions for dry bulk cargo transported within East Africa, we speak with Jared Locklear, Chief Operating Officer of Grain Bulk Handlers Limited Writer:
Ed Budds | Project Manager: Cameron LawrenceAs a whole, Africa is a diverse and rapidly evolving market.
There are 54 unique and amazing countries across the continent that each have their own policies, level of infrastructure development, acceptance, and utilisation of technologies along with cultural nuances.
With the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA), in addition to the various regional trading blocs, the continent and the leaders of these countries are working in a very positive transformational direction.
“There is still a lot of work to be done regarding the coordination of policies and execution of the works, but the job has commenced, and we look forward to the changes in the coming years that will enable greater
free trade across the various regions and the continent as a whole,” opens Jared Locklear, Chief Operating Officer for Grain Bulk Handlers Limited (GBHL).
The continent finds itself at a pivotal point with growth across all sectors, and GBHL is proud to be a part of that today and in the coming years and decades.
“Africa is an amazing environment to work in and there are increasingly more organisations, such as ours, that are
driving innovation in processes and systems, streamlining operations, and implementing technology to create efficiency that can help to enable the reduction in the cost of goods and services and to ultimately create jobs and empower consumers,” he continues.
GBHL is a private company which commenced operations in 2000. It owns and operates a specialised
terminal for the handling of dry bulk imports at the Port of Mombasa, Kenya. A key feature of the GBHL facility is that the storage silos and flat storage are located outside the port area, allowing for easy terminal access for trucks with minimum road congestion.
Impressively, the total storage capacity is 220,000 metric tons (MT) for grains, 65,000 MT for fertiliser and 120,000 MT for clinker, with a
discharge rate of a maximum of 1,800 MT per hour and capacity for over 20,000 MT per day.
The terminal has bagging and bulk loading facilities for rail and road together with weighbridges, whilst conventional bulk vessel operations are less efficient and vessels often have to wait, hence the waiting time and demurrage are not deemed economical.
• Fast discharge of vessels leads to reduced vessel time in port.
• Ability to use bigger vessels for economies of scale.
• Reduced voyage time and costs for vessels.
• Following improved ship turn-around time, importers can negotiate for lower freight charges.
• Fast discharge and elimination of demurrage.
• Delivery/receipt of cargo in prime condition.
• Option of saving bagging costs by taking delivery in bulk.
• Reduced inventory costs following improvements in vessel scheduling to meet market requirements.
• Lower insurance costs following a major reduction in commodity losses.
• Improved status following the commissioning of specialised facilities for handling dry bulk cargo.
• Potential to recover bulk cargoes diverted to other ports.
• Better utilisation for the appointed berth as it turns around high tonnage.
• Potential to penetrate nontraditional hinterland, such as Ethiopia.
• Potential to attract transhipment traffic.
• Recognition as a dispatch rather than demurrage port for dry bulk vessels.
Today, GBHL employs over 500 permanent staff and nearly 500 casual workers across its various operations in Kenya and Uganda, handling vessel offloading at the Port of Mombasa for cereals, clinker, and fertiliser.
Elsewhere, GBHL designs, constructs, and owns the intellectual property for specialised containers that are used to transport bulk and bagged cargo from its terminals in Mombasa to the terminals in Embakasi and Jinja, through the utilisation of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) operated by Kenya Railways, and through the Meter Gauge Railway (MGR) connection in Naivasha. This allows the company to interchange its containers for the delivery of cargo to the terminal in Jinja.
“We serve over 50 major industrial customers across the region with our logistics solutions across the full
spectrum of bulk commodities that are imported through the Port of Mombasa,” Locklear tells us.
“We have grown from handling just over 400,000 MT of cargo in our first year to now handling over 5.4 million MT per annum.
“We are a highly driven organisation with leadership that is keen on utilising technology and innovation to create economically sustainable solutions for our customers, therefore directly leading to savings in the logistics supply chain while achieving the highest level of performance for their needs,” he expands.
A major project milestone for GBHL was the recent commissioning in May 2022 of a new terminal in Mombasa for clinker and fertiliser vessel offloading, handling and storage.
The company has also commissioned a train loading system in the port of Mombasa, linking all its Mombasa terminals with the terminals in Embakasi and Jinja. Clinker has
traditionally been handled through conventional vessel operations, by using the vessel gears and sometimes shore-based mobile harbour cranes to offload the product onto tipper trucks before transporting the clinker to holding yards near the port area.
Accountability is a crucial element of the GBHL business model.
During discharge, bulk cargo is weighed electronically in batches using shoreside scales at the quayside as it is conveyed to the silos and flat storage. This way, the rate of working can be monitored as well as the discharged quantity as the operation is in progress.
The final tonnage discharged can also be determined to facilitate immediate accounting of the actual quantity landed against the manifested tonnage. Government entities are also able to monitor the scales in real time.
“AS AN ORGANISATION, WE TAKE PRIDE IN THE ACHIEVEMENTS AND PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE ACROSS THE EAST AFRICAN CORRIDOR”
- JARED LOCKLEAR, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, GRAIN BULK HANDLERS LIMITED
Next, a printout of the progressive weighing is given to customs after the completion of discharge. The system ensures greater accuracy and reduced pilferage of bulk cargoes handled through the GBHL terminal as it is weighed on discharge, on bagging or delivery in bulk and at weighbridges, on road and rail, and on exiting the terminal.
Accountability in GBHL operations is a rule rather than an exception. This includes accountability in terms of the environment, a major ongoing focus point for the company.
The entire operation and systems employed by GBHL are environment and user-friendly, with all discharged cargo running through enclosed overhead discharge equipment and conveyors.
Before entering the silos, the cargo passes through dust extraction devices as a safety measure, and this is also repeated before deliveries. Dust emissions in GBHL’s operations remain at a minimum. GBHL operators recognise the need to protect the
environment and maintain noise-free, dust-free and spillage-free handling systems.
EXPANSION AND SUPPLY
GBHL has been working diligently to ensure that it has the right people, systems, processes and technology for sustainable operations in its existing businesses, along with the capacity to replicate that in new markets.
“As an organisation, we take pride in the achievements and progress we have made across the East African Corridor. We look forward to and welcome future opportunities in other
countries and corridors throughout sub-Saharan Africa,” Locklear offers.
GBHL conducts complete due diligence and takes its time when finding new partners and suppliers for equipment across the supply chain which is vital when exploring these new opportunities, in order to secure the resources that the company needs to operate.
“Once we have found a partner or supplier that meets our criteria, we work diligently together to build a sustainable relationship that can be mutually beneficial and enables our business to operate efficiently 24-7, 365 days a year,” he continues.
- JARED LOCKLEAR, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, GRAIN BULK HANDLERS“WE WANT TO GUARANTEE THAT OUR STAFF HAVE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF TRAINING TO CARRY OUT THEIR JOBS AT THE PEAK LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE AND IN THE SAFEST MANNER”
LIMITED
“We must always meet our customers’ requirements every day, and thus it is critical that our service providers, partners and suppliers are also able to match those same obligations.”
AN ACCOMPLISHED TEAM
GBHL’s team remains extremely diverse, with most of its management and other members being Kenyan and Ugandan.
“We have staff that have studied all over the world with a broad spectrum of backgrounds and industry expertise. This diversity of experience ranges from port infrastructure development and operations to terminal management, financial analysts, engineers, automation specialists, logistics experts and even artificial intelligence designers,” Locklear reveals.
“Our expert team has been growing gradually over the course of our 22 years in operation, by bringing in new team members where required while also working diligently to internally promote and train our
team members to grow within the organisation,” he adds.
Constantly scrutinising the market, GBHL ensures that its staff receive competitive remuneration and benefits, and can operate with a clear mindset knowing the company is looking after their best interests.
“We want to guarantee that our staff have the highest level of training to carry out their jobs at the peak level of performance and in the safest manner. We want our team members to all be leaders in their communities and within their individual families,” Locklear elaborates.
GBHL’s board of directors and senior management have committed to ensuring that in addition to the utilisation of technology, the company must have the best-skilled staff available. In order to achieve this, a robust training plan has been created that allows GBHL to continually improve its team’s capacity in their various roles, which will then lead to further promotions within the ranks.
“We have also created a graduate trainee programme where we work
with a variety of top-tier universities and technical colleges in the region to attract the best talents, give them real-world experience, and then allow them to grow within our organisation. Ultimately, we are then able to hire exceptional full-time staff that are young, energetic, driven, and truly understand the business and our company culture,” he adds.
It is this trust in the process and the company’s people which has been proven to produce consistent results across every element of the business. The seamless development of all staff and attention to detail in GBHL’s training and market analysis ensure the future of the company looks brighter than ever.
GRAIN BULK HANDLERS LTD
Tel: +254 (0) 703 017000 gbh@grainbulk.com www.grainbulk.com
Bus
Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Cameron LawrenceBus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a relatively new phenomenon in Africa.
BRT delivers fast, comfortable, and cost-effective bus-based services, through the provision of dedicated lanes, segregated right-of-way infrastructure, offboard fare collection, and fast and frequent operations.
Containing similar features to a light rail or metro system, BRT is thus much more reliable, convenient, and faster than conventional bus services, which are often slowed by the likes of traffic and onboard payments.
It was the National Land Transport Act 5 (NLTA) of 2009 that first made way for BRT in South Africa. The system was inaugurated in the City of Johannesburg ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and has since been rolled out across the country.
Rapid Transit has been embraced in South Africa to improve public transport services. Operated by Tshwane Rapid Transit Pty Ltd, we delve into the system with CEO, Samuel Matebane
Our team has in excess of 50 years’ experience in the financial services industry with a deep knowledge in Insurance and Fleet Risk management.
The Wyngaardt Brokers team comprises of experienced and highly trained professionals who are fully compliant with all statutory requirements. We stay current with changes and developments in the insurance environment and industry to instil confidence and peace of mind with all our clients.
We make use of modern, operationally-integrated systems to fully relay the benefit of technology, efficient processes and long-standing relationships to our clients.
Responsible for rapid bus services within the City of Tshwane, the second-largest municipality in the South African province of Gauteng, is Tshwane Rapid Transit Pty Ltd (TRT), who seeks to transform road-based public transport services through BRT.
“TRT established BRT in 2012 and began operations in 2014, through a resolution by the City of Tshwane municipality council,” states CEO, Samuel Matebane.
“This relationship is governed by the Bus Operating Company Agreement (BOCA), as stipulated by NLTA. Since then, TRT has grown into the company it is today and has been expanding in relation to the City of Tshwane’s requirements.”
TRT is run based on a concession agreement with the City of Tshwane, which is responsible for collecting fees, monitoring services, and tracking the company’s performance.
Having also served the communities of Mamelodi since 2017 on an ad hoc basis, TRT provides “one of the best commuter services in the country,” according to Matebane.
“Our operational space is within the City of Tshwane central business district (CBD), from Wonderboom Junction to Hatfield and Menlyn, with feeders around the regional trunk road network,” he says.
“Our Mamelodi operations are
widely spread, from Mahube and Lusaka to Midrand in the south and Garankuwa in the north. We are com mitted to serving our communities with humility, pride and providing a safe and reliable transport system.”
As the CEO of TRT since 2017, Matebane himself is driven by safety and reliability in the provision of transport.
“My purpose is to impact every person that I interact with, and this is how I do it in my daily life. I operated in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector until I joined the transport industry in 2009, and I have loved it ever since.”
An independent corporate entity, TRT is owned by qualified taxi and bus operators within the City of Tshwane that previously operated on the BRT route.
BRT seeks to empower these “affected operators”, by bringing them into the mainstream economy and ownership of the system.
“This is a work in progress, as a lot of mistakes were made with the implementation of BRT which need to be resolved to make sure affected operators can be proud to own the system for a while longer,” Matebane acknowledges.
In metropolitan areas worldwide, frustration over worsening traffic conditions is a growing problem.
BRT systems have been embraced to improve public transport in several countries, who subsequently found their traffic troubles were significantly reduced.
The City of Tshwane recognises that traffic congestion has become a major problem for drivers, especially during peak hours. At the same time, many depend on public transport to get to work or school.
By implementing a cost-effective and efficient public transport system, not only does congestion reduce and road safety improve because of less private vehicles and car accidents, but the mobility of residents also increases.
Samuel Matebane, CEOWhen your broker goes above and beyond the call of duty.
In a world full of choices, choose to have a broker who has a genuine passion for your business, it’s wellbeing and your peace of mind.
Our business goals are to create value by differentiating our insurance products and services to the direct benefit of our clientele.
Wyngaardt Brokers uses bespoke tools and systems whilst harnessing our industry relationships to carve out policies with terms, conditions and products built around our clients’ specific fleet and business needs. We strive to serve businesses through aligning our clients’ insurance portfolios and risk management strategy to their long term strategic and business goals.
To that end, our introductory analysis fulfils the function of:
• Identifying the current and future business and fleet risks
• Analyse and measure these risks and their prospective outcomes
• Prioritise and examine potential solutions
• Treat the risks and Implement solutions
• Monitor the risks and results
This process, with its multiple intricacies, has consistently proven successful in reducing the frequency and severity of client claims and claimable events.
Rolling up our sleeves for the long-haul and getting stuck-in:
Wyngaardt Brokers enhances client human capital and capacity. We increase value by taking time to
keep all parties fully engaged in the process, thus enabling incident level efficiencies, operational and process efficiencies, reducing vehicle down-time and enhancing claims management efficiency from the time of incident until the vehicle is returned to service. By involving ourselves in the day-to-day claims management processes, we become a capacity and efficiency plug-in and an extension to the service of our clients.
Our team operates at client staff level; on the ground with operations and in the boardroom with executives. This brings relevance to the market movement, risk management and participation in the risk to the table in order to extract the maximum reward to the point of profit sharing with the insurer on a successfully managed portfolio. We add our resources and human capital to our clients’ teams with a focus of upskilling our clients’ staff - aiding in the progression of the risk management of the modernised fleet and business.
We direct our focus on the counter-intuitive nature of being a broker – reducing client incidents and losses by severity and frequency in order to consistently deliver affordable products at reduced rates. We have consciously made the choice to reinvest our income and manpower into our clients’ portfolios in service of our clients, with the view that if our client benefits, we all benefit over the long term.
Ultimately, Wyngaardt Brokers aims to re-instil the integrity, efficiency and trust that the insurance industry is so desperately in need of.
Wyngaardt Brokers (Pty) Ltd is a Juristic Representative of Smit and Kie Brokers FSP:11184
Wyngaardt Brokers is a proud partner of Tshwane Rapid Transit and is wholly committed to their ongoing operational and strategic goals.
“We strive to empower the affected operators of BRT, and this is non-negotiable. By implementing improvements to BRT, we will be using taxis and buses as feeders and allowing commuters to move around easily and seamlessly.”
TRT employs 257 members of staff, the majority of which are recruited from the affected taxi associations in the City of Tshwane, with 80 percent working as bus drivers.
other areas of development such as housing and industrial parks to make the movement of people easier and less costly.
VISION: To be the leading passenger transport operator on the continent.
MISSION: To operate reliable, safe, and commercially viable passenger transport services.
• To render a safe, affordable, and reliable bus operating service for residents of the City of Tshwane and surrounding areas.
• To improve the socio-economic conditions and quality of life of all City of Tshwane residents.
• To offer a better level of service as part of an integrated public transport system.
More than 70 learner drivers have been trained by the company, all sourced from the taxi industry, whilst 34 TRT apprentices have qualified as diesel mechanics and auto electricians in collaboration with the Transport Education Training Authority (TETA).
Working together with the taxi industry, and with the support of gov ernment, TRT strives to make trans port accessible to all through BRT.
“The transport industry is an everchanging space and improving daily. Whilst transport has transformed our lives when it comes to access, we still have people without access, especially in the rural areas and townships,” notes Matebane.
“Government focus in these areas is needed. Townships are on the periphery of metropolitan areas and travelling distances are longer for daily commuters. It is imperative that more is done to transform the industry, whilst coordinating with
“Technology is taking over, and we have no option but to comply. It’s an exciting time to be part of the transport sector which is a basic human right,” he continues.
The TRT commuter experience has been improved further by a major investment in a revolutionary automated fare collection (AFC) system, developed by intelligent transportation solutions provider, KentKart.
Equally, as the first commuter business in South Africa whose operations are now 100 percent cashless, the risks of cash handling have been eliminated for TRT’s bus drivers by KentKart’s AFC system.
“We are now able to offer a safe driving experience, where the driver doesn’t have to worry about cash handling, making errors, or being a target for criminals,” Matebane explains.
“We are glad to have chosen KentKart, as we have immediately recovered 35 percent of the cash losses we were experiencing due to the previous system.”
TRT has also invested in KentKart’s passenger information system, allowing commuters to check travel information and the number of on-board passengers, as the company embraces digitalisation.
This will prove particularly useful those travelling to and from work on a daily basis, with most buses filling up during the morning and afternoon peaks.
Today, a total of 114 BRT buses are owned and operated by TRT, with another 57 to be purchased. An additional 55 buses are dedicated to commuter services, bringing TRT’s fleet total to 169, and in a first for sub-Saharan Africa, 40 run on concentrated natural gas (CNG).
A cheaper and greener alternative to diesel power, CNG buses release fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, create less noise pollution, and have lower maintenance costs.
The roll-out of CNG buses
reinforces TRT’s commitment to providing an efficient transport service and making the system more sustainable.
“We are the first bus operator in South Africa to have 100 percent CNG buses, and this is a leading-edge technology advancement,” acclaims Matebane.
“We are learning from these operations, in order to improve our energy mix into the future.”
Social responsibility is the first of TRT’s five core values, along with excellence, integrity, teamwork, and accountability.
In Mamelodi, the company works with schools in the community for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
“Our employees spend their time doing work within the communities, and assist with painting, gardening, and cleaning at these schools,” Matebane smiles.
TRT likewise maintains long-lasting relationships with local suppliers in the community and is building on
these partnerships in order to bring about change.
All the while, TRT remains committed to the affected operators in the City of Tshwane and is looking to diversify into other commuter contracts.
Matebane tells us that this is the “immediate goal” of TRT, with the company also in negotiations for a 12-year cost-per-kilometre contract.
“This is the basis of our existence,” he affirms. “We are excited and look forward to a new model for the business in the next 12 months.
“We have implemented value-added services, which we are seeing major returns from, and these will continue vigorously in the short term.”
TSHWANE RAPID TRANSIT PTY LTD
Tel: 012 323 1754 enquires@tshwanetransit.net www.tshwanetransit.net
Thakane Motebang, Human Resources Manager
Samuel Matebane, CEO
Captain Dino Bisleti, General Manager of the pioneer safari airline, AirKenya, discusses its competitive advantage and future synergies for an unparalleled regional network
Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Cameron Lawrence
The origins of the word safari are rooted in the Swahili term ‘safiri’ meaning ‘to travel’, deriving from the Arabic verb ‘safara’ - to make a journey.
Today, a safari is considered a bucket list experience for many discerning travellers – a quintessential African adventure that is synonymous
with the phenomenon’s original heartland of East Africa. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the vast savannahs of Kenya - the very birthplace of safari.
“Our business model is safari, and that’s where we’re different from other airlines. We’re one of very few companies that flies exclusively to
safari destinations,” opens Captain Dino Bisleti, General Manager at AirKenya.
A niche airline specialising in servicing national parks, AirKenya has a monopoly over East Africa’s leading safari destinations with an extensive network covering Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The iconic
CPT. DINO BISLETI, GENERAL MANAGER: “AirKenya is always keen to give back to the community through a host of projects.
“In the Maasai Mara, we wanted to contribute to the Maasai community and are building a local school. It’s an ongoing project that we’ve been working on for the past seven years, but we are now completing the modular construction. This will give Maasai a place to learn and expose them to who AirKenya is and what we do. As a local, safari airline, we hope that through this school, we may find our future employees. We want to see more Maasai coming to work for AirKenya.
“Elsewhere, we also sponsor flights for The Samburu Project which supplies clean water access in Samburu, a region that has a historic problem with water supply. By so doing, it also facilitates programmes that amplify improvements in health, education, gender equality and economic growth in the region.”
plains of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Serengeti National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Amboseli National Park, Samburu National Reserve, and a host of other wanderlust-worthy destinations, all fall within AirKenya’s remit.
“Western Kenya is our bread and butter. It’s where we have the most scheduled flights every day and the most charters - everyone wants to see the Maasai Mara game reserve,” he observes.
AirKenya is one of three sister companies that work in tandem to cover the East African region. This also includes Regional Air Services, based in Arusha Tanzania, and Aerolink, in Entebbe Uganda.
“We’re not like other airlines that fly schedules point to point across the Kenyan border to commercial destinations. All our scheduled flights are tailored to the safari business,” Bisleti continues. Aside from this, the company prides itself on bespoke charter services designed to fulfil the individual needs of each client with the ability to cover the length of Africa, from Egypt to Zimbabwe, and all coastal destinations.
“The group of airlines that AirKenya commands is unique in the area with an overview of the whole East Africa region. No one else has what we have, and no one covers what we do in regard to specific tourism and safari destinations,” he tells us.
As Group CEO, it was a very conscious decision for Bisleti to veer the company away from the commercial market and exclusively cater to safari and charters.
“About two years ago we decided that we wouldn’t fly to any commercial destinations. We realised that whatever benefits we would gain from safari services would be lost by entering into a price war with other commercial airlines.
“It was a very specific decision we
Aero Instrument Service was incorporated in 1970 and is Kenyan owned. Previously, the company was doing repair, testing and inspection of Class 1 Mechanical, Class 2 Electrical and Class 3 Gyroscopic Instruments. However, with a change of ownership in 2021 and the need to fill a gap in the industry, the management felt the need to expand its capability and scope.
Quality: AISL personnel are fully trained and certified to the highest standards. A lot of emphasis is placed on recurrent training as well as attending industry seminars and exhibitions to keep abreast with all the latest trends and developments. All aviation inspection certification and/or training records are available for review.
enquiries@instrumentkenya.com
made, and it’s now paying back.”
As a well-established pilot with over 19,000 flight hours under his belt, Captain Bisleti’s aviation career comprises extensive industry experience – both from the cockpit and from behind a desk.
“I started my aviation career in 1976. Since then, I have flown commercially for various airlines and became Chief Pilot of AirKenya in 1985. From there, I became the General Manager and CEO, and the accountable manager of Air Kenya Express in 2007.”
From small aircraft to giant 737s, and both corporate and commercial jets, Bisleti has flown them all.
“It’s been quite a fruit salad of aeroplanes!”
AirKenya’s own fleet comprises eight aircraft in Kenya, four in Tanzania and an additional three planes in Uganda. The larger capacity planes are the Bombardier DHC 8-202 (Dash 8), a model manufactured by de Havilland in Canada and the
AFRICA OUTLOOK: HOW DOES AIRKENYA GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT IT SERVES?
AISL is a state of the art repair and overhaul workshop that offers maintenance services for propellers, starter generators, alternators, motors and aircraft instruments. We have approvals from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia CAA as well as Hartzel OEM approval for cold compression rolling.
Instrumentation is a calibration and repair laboratory accredited by Kenas under ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Scheme in the scope of force, torque, temperature, pressure, revolution, electrical measurement quantities (AC/DC) and dimensional fields.
Building 37, Wilson Airport, P.O. Box 44356-00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 722 521 874 enquiries@instrumentkenya.com calibration@instrumentkenya.com
Dash 7 model, seating 50 people and extremely effective for short-haul travel.
AirKenya also utilises de Havilland’s DHC-6 Twin Otter, and the Cessna Grand Caravan C208B – the latter of which forms the entirety of AirKenya’s Ugandan service as an effective choice for rough terrain.
Aside from its niche specialities, a major differentiator at AirKenya is its in-house engineering prowess. 30 percent of the company’s 140 employees work in engineering, with a dedicated department for the maintenance of AirKenya aircraft and separate approved divisions deployed to both Uganda and Tanzania.
“The particularity and the
uniqueness of this is that we maintain our own fleet, so we don’t rely on third parties to provide aeroplane maintenance. Having control over our own aircraft maintenance is a great advantage for both flexibility and deployment in the region,” says Bisleti.
This is especially crucial when considering the nature of the terrain that AirKenya’s fleet covers. Across the region, bush airstrips can be in poor condition and are often unprepared. The fleet of planes are geared towards this, with the majority of models designed for short take-off and landing (STOL).
As such, training is of paramount importance, to equip pilots with the necessary skills to cope with short, unprepared airstrips and conditions specific to the locality.
To do so, AirKenya works with Flight Safety International, a worldrenowned training provider based in Toronto, Canada that specialises in a host of aircraft.
“To be able to do this effectively and safely, we train all our pilots in Canada, since this is where they can work with the simulators. Meanwhile, training for the Caravans takes place in Wichita, Kansas, in the US,” explains Bisleti, who also undertook his pilot training in North America.
• The first airline to fly into the Maasai Mara in the mid-‘80s.
• The first to launch scheduled services to Lamu and Diani on the Kenyan coast.
• The first airline to fly to the Lake Turkana region in Northern Kenya – touching down at Lodwar, Kalokol and Loiyangalani.
• The first airline to launch scheduled flights to Kitale in the Northern Rift Valley of Kenya.
• Among the first airlines in East Africa to recruit female pilots, in the late 1980s.
• The only airline in Africa operating the Dash 7 commercially – a regional aircraft built to service short-haul travel.
• The only airline to operate the Dash 6 (18-seater Twin Otter) commercially in East Africa.
• The first and only airline to provide connecting flights from the Maasai Mara in Kenya to Entebbe, Uganda.
• The first and only airline to provide scheduled flights to Meru National Park.
• Finally, the only airline with a regional presence throughout East Africa, connecting the region’s world-famous safari destinations.
In addition, rigorous local training is implemented in-house with recurring sessions covering regulatory requirements and essential topics such as dangerous goods legislation.
Looking to the future, a major focus for AirKenya concerns strengthening the interconnection between the three airlines, channelling a holistic operating model whereby they combine to create a seamless and expansive flight service throughout East Africa, allowing clients to cross borders and sample the best of the region’s offerings.
“We are working very hard on strengthening our connectivity between the three countries. It’s a regional project. We want to improve our connection times and establish
increased frequencies between destinations in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania,” Bisleti explains.
He goes on to highlight a particular route the company introduced two years ago that is working well in this regard, whereby passengers can fly from the Maasai Mara Reserve to Entebbe, then on to Uganda’s west for an unforgettable wildlife experience.
“With this route, passengers can effectively have breakfast in the Mara and trek with gorillas in the afternoon. Our efforts are now to increase and strengthen this route to give our customers better choice and a unique taste of the three countries.”
Aside from this, expansion is a priority in increasing the number of seats available and growing the fleet with the addition of more Dash 8 aircraft.
“Only by establishing more seat availability can we improve on our volumes and return tourism back to 2019 levels before we were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” concludes Bisleti.
With a hopeful future ahead, AirKenya continues to keep its eyes on the skies of one of the world’s bestloved tourist destinations.
AIRKENYA
Tel: +254 20 392 5000 Info@airkenya.com www.airkenya.com
For optimised business environments and gaming experiences, FirstNet Technology Services has the solutions. We talk cloud and connectivity with Managing Director, Vaughan Gerson
Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Josh Hyland
Data has become the backbone of any modern-day business. Safely and securely storing data is therefore more important than ever, and cloud services have subsequently been growing in popularity.
They are a particularly ideal solution in South Africa, where many businesses are investing in both private and public cloud services.
The likes of Google are clamouring to provide cloud services in the
country as a result. Just recently, in October 2022, the tech giant announced its intent to establish a Google Cloud region in South Africa, its first on the continent, to bring services closer to local customers and allow users to store their data in-country.
“We are seeing major hyperscalers such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon investing in data centres in the region, which is somewhat transforming the landscape,”
observes Vaughan Gerson, Managing Director of FirstNet Technology Services (FirstNet).
“Now that hyperscalers are in the region, the latency conversation and adoption of cloud across production systems is certainly becoming a lot easier for enterprise customers.”
FirstNet, one of South Africa’s leading single-source cloud solutions providers, was formed out of the need for customers to enjoy a reliable internet and private cloud journey.
The company remains a flexible private cloud operator, for customers that don’t want to adopt public cloud suites such as Google Cloud, Azure (Microsoft), or AWS (Amazon), be it for security, financial, or other reasons.
“The private cloud platform that we have built over time remains superrelevant to many of our enterprise customers,” adds Gerson, who has now been part of the business for 22 years.
“I’ve always been interested in technology, and I think the decisions we made back in the day to become an internet service provider (ISP) have been vindicated as cloud adoption continues to drive our revenue streams forward and change the way we approach customers’ infrastructure,” he reflects.
“Nowadays, it’s about making sure the customer has robust internet and connectivity, as well as security, to protect them in a cloud-first world.”
FirstNet’s business is divided into four strategic pillars, the first being connectivity.
For fast, reliable, and unrestricted internet access, FirstNet’s connec tivity solutions are cost-effective and give businesses access to its exten sive network of secure and trusted services, available from its data centres throughout South Africa.
“Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) was what every enterprise customer looked for out of an ISP. That rapidly changed towards the new buzzword in the industry which is SD-WAN, and we continue to offer significant value around SD-WAN,” shares Gerson.
“From a connectivity perspective, we have absolutely ensured that the customer has a highly reliable, lowlatency solution that meets the needs of the smallest customers all the way to the largest enterprises.”
As a Microsoft ExpressRoute part ner, FirstNet is part of Azure’s peering services and therefore directly connected to Microsoft infrastructure. This in turn allows customers to have a reliable experience when hosting on a Microsoft platform.
FirstNet’s private cloud is also based on Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualisation platform, or “hypervisor”, as well as VMware.
“We support both of those hypervisors, which is important because customers that are considering Azure or AWS often have to go through migration processes to make their workloads public
cloud-ready,” Gerson explains.
“The advantage for us is that we can take a customer that is a large VMware house, and migrate them directly into our VMware environments without them having to go through massive migration processes to take those workloads and put them into our private cloud. The same applies to any large Microsoft house that has significant Hyper-V workloads.”
FirstNet’s hybrid cloud orchestration platform, meanwhile, allows customers to carry out selfservice provisioning, firewalling, enterprise networking and more.
It also shows customers their cloud billing. For instance, Office 365 consumers can purchase licenses and view licensing costs on a daily basis, allowing them to track cloud spend which is often an important part of cloud conversations with customers.
FirstNet also plays in the voice and telco space, offering competitive professional voice capabilities.
Using cloud PBX, hosted PBX, and Microsoft Teams Direct Routing, com panies can ensure their communica tion and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) strategies align with the latest technology trends.
“A customer that is connected with us using our connectivity business can enjoy the benefits of significantly discounted voice rates across our network,” Gerson outlines.
“Of course, because our enterprise network is very robust, it also means that our customers’ voice services enjoy that same resilience and robustness.”
Founded in 2014, Cloud Assert is an Independent Software Vendor and a Microsoft Solutions Partner with a presence in the US, Canada, and India. We deliver cost-effective solutions and services for cloud management, orchestration, migration, governance, data centre automation, reseller management and billing automation via SaaS portal or as extensions to Microsoft Azure Stack Hub portals. Cloud Assert’s solutions are used by enterprises in over 30 countries to take total control of their resources across clouds.
Cloud Assert’s engineering team has hands-on experience building in and for cloud, and can help enterprises fast track design, development, deployment and management of large-scale cloud applications from the ground up, or help modernise legacy applications for various cloud platforms.
Our strong leadership team brings decades of experience in building and running large-scale cloud solutions, enabling customers arrive at optimal solutions that work reliably over time.
info@cloudassert.com
“FROM A CONNECTIVITY PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY ENSURED THAT THE CUSTOMER HAS A HIGHLY RELIABLE, LOWLATENCY SOLUTION”
Finally, FirstNet’s cyber security suite provides real-time protection of businesses’ information, important data, and online operations.
FirstNet is a premium partner of Fortinet, a global leader in cyber security solutions and services, allowing the company to provide customers with an answer to any security-related issues they may have.
“All of the typical cloud security questions can be answered by our security team,” assures Gerson.
“We are delivering security in the cloud as a key initiative, allowing the customer to have a secure hybrid workforce.”
In a newly-launched venture, UrbanConnect is FirstNet’s brandnew fibre to the home (FTTH) and retail brand.
FTTH refers to the use of fibre optic cables to deliver broadband internet,
and with FirstNet’s UrbanConnect FTTH packages, subscribers get faster internet and increased bandwidth. The natural choice for many South African households, UrbanConnect’s future-proof products support smart home technology with higher capacity access than ever before.
Indeed, through UrbanConnect, FirstNet has optimised its network so that customers can stream higherquality content and enjoy a superior online experience, with more devices connected simultaneously.
“The UrbanConnect brand can leverage our enterprise network to deliver a meaningful experience to the home user. We firmly believe that the connected home, or smart home, is going to be a major investment in technology for us,” Gerson affirms.
“As broadband penetration increases in South Africa, it’s a growing opportunity for us. Of course, we’ll leverage the investments that we’ve made in our enterprise network
to deliver FTTH.”
The UrbanX brand, meanwhile, stands as South Africa’s first dedicated gaming ISP.
Powered by FirstNet, UrbanX packages offer fast and stable connections for PC and console players, allowing gamers to focus on their favourite games, play with the lowest latency possible, and gain a competitive advantage.
“We recognise that gamers often use streaming technologies like Discord and other online chat platforms, so we’ve worked very hard to deliver the ability for players to optimise their connection in real-time across the core of our network,” says Gerson.
UrbanX allows gamers to change their last mile prioritisation across the FirstNet network, and optimise it for the ultimate gaming experience.
“If their family is busy downloading, or there’s contention on the last mile, they can ensure that their connection
is optimised for gaming as opposed to Netflix streaming, for example. We’ve made some significant investments in technologies and core network infrastructure to deliver a differentiated gaming experience.”
However, FirstNet acknowledges that a number of gaming studios are not going to bring their servers locally to South Africa.
The company has therefore ensured that when gamers are connecting to international servers, in areas such as Europe or Singapore, they are taking the shortest path and are provided with low-latency connections.
“We are bold enough to advertise our live pings to gaming servers around the world, so that gamers can see what our pings are to various gaming platforms. Likewise, if there’s something going on in the core of our network that’s causing a problem, we don’t hide it,” Gerson tells us.
FirstNet is also very supportive of fibre network operators that are leading the conversation around e-sports enablement in schools, with significant investments being made in classroom technologies.
Where schools have very strong e-sports agendas, or are introducing e-sports as an extramural activity or as part of their curriculum, FirstNet is supportive of such investments or initiatives, whether it be through highspeed internet connections or gaming hardware.
“The investment opportunity for schools is to be talking to us about their initiatives, and if the criteria is met, then we’re very keen to get involved.”
FirstNet is also investing heavily in R&D and new technologies.
Over the next 24 months, the company’s roadmap is very much to bring innovative technologies that challenge the norm and allow customers to have a competitive edge in their own markets.
– VAUGHAN GERSON, MANAGING DIRECTOR, FIRSTNET TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
Bringing disruptive technologies to the fore, specifically in the gaming space, are what FirstNet refers to as its tactical vendors.
“We’ll continue to disrupt the norm with our tactical products. The idea here is to be testing new technologies all the time,” offers Gerson.
With strategic suppliers and vendors that have been part and parcel of FirstNet’s growth for several years, the company equally wants to ensure its staff are in it for the long haul.
Through training regimes, mentorship and incubation programmes, FirstNet has managed to retain a highly skilled, experienced technical team.
“If I look at what makes our business different, it’s the fact that we’ve got many years of experience and remain
very relevant in the IT industry.
“Many customers depend on us as thought leaders. We have the experience and ability to give solid advice, the technology that we bring is tried and tested, and we can manage and maintain it ourselves which is often not the case for many of our competitors,” Gerson continues.
Experienced in cloud-based solutions, FirstNet is putting connectivity and safety first for businesses and gamers alike.
“WE’VE
Vodacom Lesotho plays a critical role in connecting people and businesses across the kingdom. We speak to Managing Director Mohale Ralebitso about the company’s products, services and people-centric missionWriter: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Josh Hyland
The African technology space is booming.
With a rapidly growing and relatively young population, the continent is seeing a significant rise in technological and digital accessibility. In light of this, technology companies, internet and communications providers are critical to maintain this growth, as it not only upholds individual consumerism, but also the expansion of businesses and the entrepreneurial boom that is led by a young population.
Such growth varies between regions and countries across the continent, yet it is the overall promising potential of Africa that underlies the industry. In the landlocked kingdom of Lesotho, growth comes with its own opportuni ties and challenges.
“The current space is that of a rapidly changing landscape, with convergence and platform solutions being the order of the day,” begins Mohale Ralebitso, Managing Director at Vodacom Lesotho. “Meanwhile, regulatory pressures for inclusion and accessibility place a strain on industry margins which are in contrast with significant pressures to invest in new solutions and technologies.
Vodacom Business ensures that businesses are connected at all times with 4G super-fast networks for reliable and smooth communication, and gives customers the flexibility to choose a plan that suits their needs the most. Vodacom Lesotho offers affordable mobile phone contract plans for businesses and their employees, making sure that they are always connected to Lesotho’s best value for money network.
“This is necessary to keep abreast with customer expectations, facilitate greater innovation so we can do more with less, and push forward both digital and financial inclusion.”
Vodacom Lesotho is the leading telecoms and technology company in Lesotho and is part of the communications giant Vodacom Group (Vodacom), with offerings spanning digital, telephony and connectivity solutions as well as data and financial solutions for all. Vodacom Lesotho is the leading provider of inclusive mobile money solutions with market-leading products within the mobile money and micro-lending space.
With over 1.2 million subscribers to its products and services, Vodacom Lesotho is a major player in a country with a population of around 2.1 million. Vodacom Lesotho’s headquarters are based at Vodacom Park in the capital of Maseru, with offices across the nation’s 10 districts, and the company currently boasts around 400 direct and contractual employees.
“We recently won an employer award, and our leadership team is 50:50 male and female which is a great achievement for us and speaks to our passion for gender equity and inclusivity.”
Ralebitso’s own personal passion for the technology and telecoms sector stems from a mixture of education and a vast amount of collective industry experience that has seen him operate in advertising, media and technology. On top of this, it was his family connection to Vodacom Lesotho that saw him join the company initially.
“I started out in academia in the US, continued on that path teaching at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa, and by chance, met a friend who worked at an advertising agency doing voiceovers – the voiceover work paid more than UCT paid me to teach!” he tells us. “I would later join what became FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding), the global advertising company, and then went on to work for Herdbuoys-McCann Erickson SA, the first Black-owned and led agency of its kind, that later owned and sold stakes in a number of advertising agencies.
“The team I led at The Jupiter Drawing Room, a creative agency, likely still holds the record for the most business won in a year and was arguably our finest extended hour in advertising. It was also here that I was reunited with the African
Education is one of the key pillars of the Vodacom Foundation. The following interventions are being rolled out to build local capacity in STEM subjects as well as ensuring access and inclusion for those with health conditions or impairments:
• Vodacom Bursary – M2 million all-expenses paid scholarships for 10 students to study STEM subjects at the university of their choice in South Africa launched during 2021/22.
• UDACITY nano degree partnership
– M800,000 invested in skills interventions in Data Science with Python and Business Analytics for 50 Basotho youth.
• Support of learning through deployment of fully kitted computer labs with connectivity at Tsehla Primary School and Malealea Community at M2.4 million.
• M2 million of support for access and inclusion through the Insight Centre at the National Library, a library for the visually impaired with text to speech capabilities.
• M600,000 of funding for the National Resource Centre, to support the education of visually impaired primary school students.
• Support for three schools in Leribe, Lesotho, catering for the visuallyand hearing-impaired with assistive technology to aid their learning.
• Support for the Lapeng Centre in Botha Bothe with assistive devices and technology to aid in the education of children with mental disabilities.
mobile telecommunications giant MTN Group Limited (MTN), having worked for them at TBWA\SA, the South African creative marketing and com munications group, over a four-year period – it was during this time that we launched MTN Nigeria working with TBWA\Concept Nigeria.”
Thereafter, Ralebitso worked as Marketing Director for Liberty Life (financial services), then Absa Group, followed by an executive position at Absa Private Bank in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Ralebitso’s final chapter in financial services was as Group Marketing Communications and Corporate Affairs Director for Old Mutual Limited in the insurance space, and from there, he transitioned back to entrepreneurship.
The TBWA\SA chapter of Ralebitso’s career stayed with him, showing how the telecoms sector could transform an economy and country, as it did in Nigeria through MTN.
The 4CIT Group has been serving Vodacom Lesotho as a strategic partner since 2010.
We are incredibly proud of our continued association with Vodacom. It is exciting to see how solutions such as our iNSight Payment Gateway enable Vodacom to deliver innovative mobile financial services that serve as a catalyst for economic growth, financial inclusion, and prosperity in the mountain kingdom.
Our values of trust, respect, transparency, and agility are central to how we approach our client relationships. We are committed to ensure our services and solutions make a positive impact.
Rea leboha ha le re tšepa hore re tla le tšehetsa le ho ntlafatsa maphelo a Basotho.
www.4cgroup.co.za
Financial technology that delivers seamless and scalable payment solutions, financial services, and integrations for expedited ecosystem expansion.
The iNSight Payment Gateway is a powerful, interconnected gateway that delivers cost-effective, quick to market products and services that enable your customers to pay and get paid; borrow and save; insure and invest; and much more.
We’ve been a trusted enabling technology partner to leading enterprises across Africa since 2003.
info@4cgroup.co.za www.4cgroup.co.za
“Our family business, led by my brother who is a Vodacom veteran, took us directly into the telecoms value chain doing fibre optic. It was a no-brainer when the opportunity came to join Vodacom, with the opportunity to reconnect with Lesotho where Vodacom Lesotho was based, and remains at the forefront of digital inclusion,” Ralebitso elaborates.
“The privilege to lead and serve here is just that - a great privilege. I’m humbled by what we enable Basotho to achieve every day, from communications to financial inclusion. It’s the perfect convergence of things for me personally and professionally – being part of the Vodacom business and wider continental play allows me to live out my purpose of helping people stay connected.”
Technology sits at the heart of developing Lesotho’s potential for people and businesses. For Vodacom Lesotho, technology is an enabler for inclusion, both digitally and financially.
“As the telecoms and financial services industries converge, giving rise to the platform economy, we are grateful to be able to enable our customers to do more and with greater ease,” Ralebitso says. “It is within this ethos that we have brought the innovative M-Pesa solutions (including M-Pesa Business App) to our customers, to ensure
“WE ARE PLANNING TO INCREASE OUR INVESTMENT IN OUR NETWORK AND ENSURE THAT WE REMAIN THE BEST NETWORK WITH THE BEST DATA EXPERIENCE”
– MOHALE RALEBITSO, MANAGING DIRECTOR, VODACOM LESOTHORecycling old equipment Vodacom Lesotho ensures M-Pesa is covered in remote areas A typical Vodacom Lesotho retail outlet
cutting-edge solutions that are affordable, readily accessible and financially empowering for our customers and Basotho in general when much of the country, especially rural communities, had been cut off from accessing financial services.”
M-Pesa Business App is an easy and secure service available to Vodacom merchants, enabling them to collect payments from their customers and make payments to other merchants and suppliers. The app has various features to help businesses track their performance, collect payments and settle their accounts, as well as give merchants instant access to funds without the need for manual transfers.
Like the consumer app, the M-Pesa Business App’s home page provides an overview of the account, displaying the balance and a mini statement of the last five transactions. In addition, a merchant can search for previous transactions using the transaction ID and have visibility of corresponding transaction charges. Other functionalities include the ability to withdraw from an agent
as a merchant, switch an account, manage the list of ‘favourites’, change the language between Sesotho and English, and receive preliminary assistance from the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section.
“We see our FinTech solutions as key enablers for the further inclusion of Basotho across all strata, and are excited about opening up access even further to catalyse economic growth and unleash Lesotho’s human potential,” Ralebitso explains.
“We continue to offer innovative digital solutions, including our successful Mega Promotions competition, our streaming and music offering My Muze, and many other offerings to cater for clients’ digital needs. We’ll take to the market shortly with our class-leading funeral cover and will continue to expand our financial services offerings through our subsidiary, VCL Financial Services – watch this space for some exciting partnerships as we believe in co-opetition to make our customers genuinely better off!”
People are centred at the core of all Vodacom Lesotho activities. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vodacom Lesotho - with assistance from the Vodafone Foundationdonated USD$1 million worth of vaccines, the largest donation from a single local company.
In addition, working with the Sesiu Fund, the company contributed in a joint corporate effort towards the rollout of vaccines.
“We are planning to increase our investment in our network and ensure that we remain the best network with the best data experience. We also have more financial solutions coming into the market, and will deepen our differentiated experiences with even more localised and individually customised offerings for our customers,” Ralebitso concludes.
VODACOM LESOTHO
customercare@vodacom.co.ls www.vodacom.co.ls
The rapid adoption of technology and digital connectivity has flourished across Africa in the last decade.
The continent’s relatively young population and explosive urban growth have the combined effect of accelerating the adoption of technology when it comes to both domestic living and business operations, with software, internet and telecom providers playing a key role at the centre of this growth.
“Kenya in particular is a technology hub for Eastern and Central Africa, which places us on a very high pedestal within the continent as pace setters,” says Ian Kasyoki, Executive Director at Syokinet. “We have seen exponential growth and our mobile money technology is one of our
highlights. We also have a vibrant youthful community who are engaged in hackathons, incubation hubs, and are doing a marvellous job at furthering technological development across the country.”
Founded in 2014, Syokinet is a premier internet service provider (ISP) with the central goal to connect clients with reliable and fast internet. It is a privately owned telecommunications company that has been in the industry for the past eight years. The company provides a range of services including fibre optic networks, design and instal lation, cloud hosting and installation, CCTV and biometric installation, fibre and wireless to the home, business and node including IP transit.
“Our clients include small businesses, corporations, government
agencies and households, and our network coverage cuts across both Nairobi and Machakos counties providing reliable internet service to thousands of clients every day,” Kasyoki continues.
“We are driven to be the preferred provider of commercial and household internet services in Kenya, through the introduction of new technologies that will have
Meeting the needs of a growing technological population, Syokinet is a market leader in providing fast and reliable internet in Kenya. We speak to Executive Director Ian Kasyoki about the company’s drive to maximise coverage across the country
a beneficial social and economic influence on our country. We also aim to be full time service providers of high-quality, cost-effective, and efficient internet management solutions on a consistent basis.”
For Kasyoki, there is no better industry to work in than the technology sector, with his passion for
the field stemming from a childhood filled with inventive exploration.
“Growing up, I had such a curious mind I would open up TVs and gadgets to see what was inside,” he recalls fondly. “I have a clear memory of this one time I tore open our home stereo and made a boat with its motor – yes, it worked! And it became my favourite childhood toy because it was my invention.”
• Fibre optic networks design and installation
• Cloud hosting and installation
• CCTV and biometric installation
• FTTx (fibre to the home, business and node)
• WTTx (wireless to the home, business and node)
• Dark fibre services
• CDN capacity
• IP transit
• Layer two and MPLS connectivity
• WDM solutions
• LAN and WAN design and installation
• IoT (Internet of Things)
• Smart power and solar installation
This keen interest in gadgets and technology led Kasyoki to carve his path into a career as an electrical engineer, and today, he currently holds eight years of industry experience under his belt.
Syokinet was established while Kasyoki was still in his third year at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). During this time, Kasyoki saw the need to find a comprehensive solution and bridge the gap of unreliable internet connection for the Syokimau residents.
“Back then I was a farmer and a student, but with time my interests weighed more on my career in technology, and I decided to fully focus on my passion,” he elaborates.
“We began our first operations at our home garage; I built a single tower to provide wireless connections to residents and my first clients
were mostly my neighbours and close networks. The result has been a success story that surpassed my expectations.”
Syokinet has strategically positioned itself as a company that seeks to provide fast and reliable internet for as many people as possible. For Kasyoki, the internet is the panacea of socioeconomic and political development, and Syokinet is right at the centre of this evolution.
“Our immediate goal is to bridge the connectivity gap by providing affordable internet to all our clients,” Kasyoki explains. “Due to the high uptake and connectivity needs of our clients, we have had to upgrade our infrastructure, ring fence our electricity usage, and embrace off-grid power to cut on costs while sourcing funds to run projects.”
Winncom Technologies, a global value-added distributor of wireless and wired broadband equipment, offers the most advanced forms of communication solutions on the market today.
With a far-reaching international scope, Winncom remains at the forefront of the global technology marketplace, demonstrating a reputation for quality products, a full range of network infrastructure and access products, and a customercentric business model. We offer the most notable product portfolio along with scalable solutions, world-class customer service, and outstanding engineering services and support.
Winncom is a global distributor of Cambium Networks’ products, is present in the EMEA region with a sales and engineering team, and provides technical expertise and outstanding support in the deployment and integration of Cambium Networks solutions.
Cambium Networks delivers wireless communications that work for businesses, communities and cities worldwide. Millions of our radios are deployed to connect people, places and things with a unified wireless fabric that spans multiple standards and frequencies of fixed wireless and Wi-Fi, all managed centrally via the cloud. Our multi-gigabit wireless fabric offers a compelling value proposition over traditional fibre and alternative wireless solutions.
We work with our Cambium certified ConnectedPartners to deliver purpose-built networks for service provider, enterprise, industrial, and government connectivity solutions in urban, suburban, and rural environments, with wireless that just works.
www.winncom.com
“SYOKINET IS A HOME FAR AWAY FROM HOME BOTH TO OUR CLIENTS AND OUR STAFF”
–
KASYOKI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SYOKINET
According to Kasyoki, the technology space has also created a lot of employment, especially given most start-ups in Kenya are technology oriented. Syokinet has capitalised on the youth dividend, creating employment and a platform for ideation and innovation for younger generations across the country.
“The fact that most blue-chip companies are now setting up their hubs in Kenya shows the confidence the global community has in our country; we have to utilise these opportunities to advance technology and innovation within the sector,” he
tells us. “Syokinet offers its clients the best product they can buy at the best price available. We also have a short turnaround time when it comes to connecting our clients, and we offer door-to-door follow-ups on customer satisfaction.
“Let’s just say that we are really keen on our customer retention strategy.”
Syokinet also prides itself on having a team that is diverse, transparent and inclusive, and one where every member has the opportunity of being innovative, open-minded and expressive. This has driven the Syokinet team to pay close attention
to all its clients, and the company places a high value on them, working around the clock to ensure that its team has everything it needs and that its clients receive the best solutions in the market.
“Syokinet is a home far away from home both to our clients and our staff.”
Syokinet’s fibre network has been strategically deployed, targeting data centres, corporate companies, and government institutions in metropolitan areas. Since the company’s network is unique in its deployment, the turnaround time to resolve any issues as they may arise is very prompt, and this reliability and efficiency gives Syokinet an edge over the competition in the market.
– IAN KASYOKI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SYOKINET
“We made the decision because we had unutilised capacity on our cables,
“WE ARE DRIVEN TO BE THE PREFERRED PROVIDER OF COMMERCIAL AND HOUSEHOLD INTERNET SERVICES IN KENYA”
2014 - Syokinet establishes its first POP (Point of Presence) using microwave technology in Syokimau.
2015 - Syokinet establishes two additional POPs in Athiriver and Kitengela, Syokimau.
2016 - Syokinet establishes a POP in an East African data centre, connecting it to global IP transit providers. Syokinet begins rollout of GPON fibre to the X (home, business and node).
2017 - Syokinet expands its presence to the towns of Machakos, Joska, and Ruai.
2018 - Syokinet fibre network expands its footprint by laying hundreds of kilometres of fibre cables.
2019 - Syokinet extends its fibre network to Nairobi West, Ngong Road, and the greater Nairobi area.
2020 - Syokinet collaborates with KPLC to lay fibre optic cables on their poles.
2021 - Syokinet expands its portfolio by offering IP transit and dark fibre services to corporate clients.
2022 - There are currently plans to increase the fibre footprint and boost capacity to 100 gigabit ethernet (GbE).
and we could also guarantee critical customers that we could meet the Service Level Agreements (SLA),” Kasyoki says. “We have also leased the power company poles, which allows us to rollout faster and to target a greater community.
“We have invested in more fibre optic cables, and therefore we will be rolling out fibre optic throughout the metropolitan area and its environs. We also look forward to providing cheaper and more reliable services to our community and being the solution to their much-needed answers. Moreover, we plan to increase our backbone to 100 gigabytes per second (Gbps).”
In addition to this, Syokinet is pushing its smart power solutions initiative, allowing communities to be connected to stable power and giving them access to information via the company’s fast and reliable internet services.
One of Syokinet’s key priorities moving forward is to make use of technological tools to boost its productivity at an affordable cost.
“As a company, we aim to get things done more accurately and with little time invested,” Kasyoki concludes. “At the moment, we are coming up with a user-friendly app which will enable our customers to interact and reach out to us more effectively to make payments, raise tickets, make calls, give feedback and more. In addition, we are working hard to have a 50 percent increase in our client base by December 2023.”
SYOKINET
+254 111 018 400 / +254 20 8692 240 care@syokinet.co.ke www.syokinet.co.ke
From the native king protea in South Africa to the arabicum in Rwanda, Africa is a hotspot for beautiful flowers and stunning blooms.
But how does a premium cut rose from Kenya or Ethiopia, for example, make it to a supermarket or florist in Europe, the Middle East or Asia?
For members of Royal FloraHolland (RFH), a cooperative that has brought together growers and buyers for more than a century, fresh flowers and plants are auctioned to various destinations around the world.
“Members are the foundation of the cooperative. Worldwide, we have over 3,500 members, 5,000 suppliers, and 2,300 buyers. We process approximately 100,000 transactions per day and trade more than 23,000 varieties of flowers and plants,” opens Fred van Tol, Manager of International Sales and Account Management.
“The majority of member growers in RFH are from the Netherlands, however there are a large number of growers located in most flower
producing countries across the world. In Africa, we have members from countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.”
RFH has two local offices in Kenya and Ethiopia, supporting growers by offering value-added services including commercial sourcing, order management, quality assurance, and logistical services.
Global buyers can source flowers and plants from RFH’s member grow ers located in Africa, and other flower growing regions of the world, through Global Sourcing Services (GSS).
“GSS is well positioned to provide buyers with market access and a onestop-shop for their sourcing needs, from RFH’s pool of growers and their wide assortment of flowers and plants,” says Edwin Gakonyo, General Manager of Africa.
“RFH’s local offices also offer postharvest services, to improve customer value and built technical capacities through audits and training on key post-harvest processes.”
Floriculture growers, auctioneers and buyers give us a diverse insight into Royal FloraHolland, the cooperative striving for sustainable success for its membersFred van Tol
Flower farm worker picking flowers at Dale Flora Kenya
RFH has grown to become the largest marketplace in the floriculture industry, whose auction is spread over five locations across the Netherlands and Germany in Aalsmeer, Naaldwijk, Rijnsburg, Eelde, and Rhein-Maas.
Unlike traditional auctions, the RFH auction is unique in that bidding goes from high to low, rather than low to high, as the clock runs towards zero.
“The auction is exciting for the grower because it’s a guessing game to see what price their beautiful flowers are valued at,” van Tol tells us.
“For the buyer, it’s a quick dash to gamble a price and be the first person to stop the clock, by selecting a number on an electronic keypad to buy the product. The number that the buyer presses indicates the quantity that they would like to purchase, at the price at which the clock was stopped. This is a continuous process that goes on until all the flowers are sold.”
“THE AUCTION IS EXCITING FOR THE GROWER BECAUSE IT’S A GUESSING GAME TO SEE WHAT PRICE THEIR BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS ARE VALUED AT”
– FRED VAN TOL, MANAGER OF INTERNATIONAL SALES AND ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT, ROYAL FLORAHOLLANDRoyal FloraHolland auctioneer looks on as the auction takes place
RFH is working towards nationwide auctioning and making its dynamic clock futureproof.
With the advancement of nationwide auctioning, supply at all RFH locations is available everywhere in the Netherlands through one platform.
“We can then organise our logistics for all transactions to suit our customers’ wishes. We will start with transportation between our branches and build upon that step-by-step, to create a nationwide network,” van Tol explains.
For further insight into the auction process, we are introduced to three RFH auctioneers: Linda de Ruiter (LdR), Maarten Loos (ML), and Henk Visser (HV).
Africa Outlook (AO): What do you enjoy most about being an auctioneer?
LdR: Working with passionate growers, and of course, the seasonal work; we really go from one season to another. It will be Christmas again before you know it, and then we’ll jump straight into spring! The seasons are reflected in the flowers. The variety of all these different types of products really makes things fun. Each product involves different growers who you see throughout the year.
AO: Can you explain the importance of the auction, and to what extent it has changed in recent years?
LdR: The price is really set at the auction, even for the growers who trade directly; that price, too, is often based on the auction. The auction truly is the best advertisement you can have as a grower; you bring in your trolley with the most beautiful flowers, and buyers from all over the world can buy your products. I really believe in promotion, and see the auction as my shop.
AO: Can you provide a little background on the rose/seasonal flower market when it comes to importing flowers from Africa, but also other countries?
ML: In general, by far the most roses come from Kenya and Ethiopia. Roses from Kenya are most common for the auction, and roses from Ethiopia are often traded directly and destined for the retail market. These are often very large companies that have a direct line to major buyers, but this trade does go through RFH. Growers are completely dependent on the climate. This year, Kenya experienced a colder season, meaning production was lower than in previous years.
AO: What opportunities are there for countries in Africa when it comes to growing flowers?
ML: In general, most roses coming to the Netherlands originate from Kenya and Ethiopia. There is certainly still room for growth in the rose market, and consequently, there are several
Royal FloraHolland auction trolleysgrowers planning to expand. There are also opportunities for the African market in sea freight transport as an alternative to air freight, and there have been many trials over the past two years. There will always be de mand for flowers, but how the future will look remains unclear.
AO: What types of flowers are there for different markets?
HV: From Ethiopia, mostly smaller roses are sent to the auction for retail, whilst Kenya often supplies more ex pensive roses. The demand for these different roses differs per country. Italy, for example, often requires long stems with large buds, whereas the UK is interested in the retail segment as supermarkets are a major source of flower sales. Another development in Kenya is spray roses, a huge market that is very much in demand in Russia and Poland.
AO: What role do you think RFH
HV: We are the centre of the flower world, and all eyes are on us. RFH has the pricing, know-how and market knowledge. The auctioneers can also support growers in many different ways, visiting and providing growers with up-to-date market information, estimating supply for the coming year, and helping them with long-term operations. In short, RFH can offer added value for both growers and buyers, even in these uncertain times.
FREDcan play in this?
“WE PROVIDE A COMPLETE SERVICE, FROM ORDERING THROUGH TO DELIVERY AND PAYMENT; THIS IS HOW WE UNBURDEN GROWERS AND DELIVER CUSTOMISED SOLUTIONS TO CUSTOMERS”
–
VAN TOL, MANAGER OF INTERNATIONAL SALES AND ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT, ROYAL FLORAHOLLANDRFH employee uses Floriday in the local office in Kenya
A major reason why the floriculture market has changed considerably over the past 20 years is digitalisation, a core part of the RFH strategy.
RFH is developing its marketplace into a digital platform, where growers make their broad and sustainable range of flowers and plants available worldwide.
All transactions are processed using smart logistics solutions, from the farm to the buyer’s doorstep. That way, RFH facilitates more frequent, faster and fresher deliveries to any customer location under its payment guarantee.
“We provide a complete service, from ordering through to delivery and payment; this is how we unburden growers and deliver customised solu tions to customers,” shares van Tol.
“We are changing with the industry so that we can continue to do what we have done for more than 100 years: connect growers and customers so that they can get the most out of the market, enabling them to grow and continue to supply the world with fresh flowers and plants.”
RFH connects growers, buyers, and third parties through its digital Floriday platform, which offers a unique combination of ordering, payment, and delivery services.
Development of Floriday is ongoing, and once fully operational, will offer
the infrastructure and data needed to develop and roll out new services.
“The whole world, including marketplaces, is becoming increasingly digital, and so is our floriculture sector. To maintain our leading position and make the sector sustainable for generations to come, we also have to take a leading position digitally,” van Tol acknowledges.
“The goal remains clear, to achieve an optimal price at minimal cost for our members. That is why, as a cooperative, we are building the futureproof Floriday platform together with growers and buyers.”
With Floriday, RFH wants to
Floriday connects growers with new international buyers, allowing people to trade through a much larger international network and do business with buyers they didn’t know before.
More than 4,500 growers and buyers have already been brought together by Floriday, resulting in 180,000 transactions per week. Over and above connecting buyers and growers, the platform makes doing business easier and more efficient.
make the floriculture sector more accessible, by providing a single international platform where growers, buyers, and service providers come together.
Harvesting of flowers at Dale Flora
Transportation of flowers in the greenhouse at Dale Flora
This allows growers to easily manage their stock, supply and orders in one place, and provides buyers with real-time information. Additional services such as market insight, logistics fulfilment, and financial payment services are also offered by Floriday.
In 2021, Kenya represented 43 percent of the total cut flower imports and generated a turnover of €398 million, making it RFH’s top importer and an important hub for the global floriculture industry.
With Floriday, RFH believes that Kenyan growers will have increased access to new international trade lanes, and the following case study describes an international trading relationship through the platform.
Dale Flora is one of three rose farms in the city of Nakuru, and one of the Kenyan growers working with Floriday.
Around 29 million roses in 21 com mercial varieties are grown by Dale Flora, whose production is focused on popular events and occasions such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Mother’s Day.
Since 2020, Dale Flora has sold directly to buyers through Floriday, who get a complete view of the products on offer and can place requests. Dale Flora can then accept orders, provide the flowers, and arrange the packaging and transport to the airport.
One of Dale Flora’s regular buyers is United Flowers Group. Owner, Sulaiman Aloqaibi, explains how Floriday is helping to grow the Saudi Arabian company’s network.
“We can easily search for new growers, their varieties, and their availability. In our buying process we prefer long relationships with the growers we are doing business with, so we mostly work with repeat orders. The growers present their availability of flowers in Floriday and we submit our orders on a weekly basis,” he outlines.
“For me, Floriday speeds up the process of buying, shows me exactly what I need as a buyer, and saves a lot of time communicating with different parties. Now, I can easily purchase
Flower farm worker at Dale Flora Kenya
Flower farm worker processing alstromeria at Mt Kenya Alstromeria
Logistics workers offloading flowers at Sian Equator farm Kenya
Solar panels on a greenhouse roof at Dale Flora farm in Kenya
all the flowers I am looking for from different growers at the same time.”
As a cooperative, RFH remains fully committed to sustainable development.
Sustainability is seen as an opportunity and a responsibility to improve the sector, together with stakeholders across the international floriculture supply chain.
We speak to two RFH member growers, the first of which is Craig Oulton (CO), General Manager of
Floriculture at Kisima Farm Kenya (Kisima). Whilst arable crops and floriculture are the primary focus, Kisima also manages a successful forestry programme and supports numerous thriving community development projects.
AO: What role does sustainability play at your farm?
CO: Both environmental and so cial sustainability are key pillars of everything Kisima does. No projects are undertaken, no matter how small,
Flower farm worker at AQ Roses farm Ethiopiawithout a full sustainability survey. We are proud to be recognised as one of the leading farms in environmental sustainability in Kenya.
AO: Do you actively adopt CO2 reduction measures on your farm?
CO: CO2 reduction is key to our five-year strategy plan. Kisima was certified as carbon neutral in 2022, as our on-farm activities are offset by our forestry and land use, which is fantastic. In the coming year, we will be looking into how we can reduce
both on-farm and off-farm carbon emissions.
AO: In what ways do you embrace circularity?
CO: Kisima is one of the only flower farms that does not rely on ground water as a primary source for irriga tion. Our main water source is from a well monitored communal spring on the farm, and we use irrigation monitoring devices in our greenhous es that check daily water saturation in our soils at all depths. All rainwater is
collected into a series of five lagoons, which enable us to have over six months of water supply for our irriga tion needs in a year.
Frank Ammerlaan (FA), meanwhile, is the Managing Director of AQ Roses PLC Ethiopia (AQ Roses).
Established in 2006, AQ Roses currently employs 1,250 people, exports 100 million roses per year sold under the Rosa Plaza brand, and is a company with a sustainable viewpoint.
AO: How do you as farmers avoid causing damage to biodiversity?
FA: For many years, we have applied Integrated Pest Management (IPM) solutions. Through time, we have de veloped biological solutions for every pest, which form the base of our crop protection plan. The compost that we continuously apply in the field is made from our own green waste, resulting in better soil life and bettering the ap plication of some biological products. We see much better root develop ment, which is contributing to the vitality of the plant. In the wetlands, many types of trees and plants are planted and attract several birds and insects. We have planted many trees and plants around the farm to keep the area green.
AO: Do you undertake any CSR activities at your farm?
FA: We have programmes to support our workers with food and hygiene items, cover medical costs, and provide education for our workers’ children. We also organise social pro jects for the community; we do this alone, but often cooperate with other flower farms in our area. We aid in the construction of houses, and provide school items and medical insurance for the most impoverished people in the community.
In collaboration with growers such as Kisima and AQ Roses, as well as buyers and partners, RFH is
Ethio Telecom is a pioneering African telecom operator that has been serving Ethiopians for the last 128 years. With a customer base of 68.3 million, it is the second largest telecom operator in Africa and the 25th largest operator in the world. It has a population and geographical coverage of 99.1 percent and 85.4 percent respectively with a tele density of 63.8 percent.
Ethio telecom commits to provide services beyond connectivity, simplifying the daily activities of enterprises and individuals. Especially, at this time, where the government’s reform is attracting foreign direct investment, we strive to make sure that the investment pathways are smooth and seamless for operation. Hence, besides engaging in the mobile financial services, we vigorously conducted 4G LTE & LTE advanced expansions in more than 136 towns. Moreover, we deployed the latest, future transforming, 5G network technology inside the capital and plan to do demandbased expansions to regional cities.
With Ethio telecom’s up to date infrastructure in place, one can comfortably eye the nation as a place of investment opportunity.
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committed to making the sector more sustainable, as it continues to bring the best of African floriculture to countries around the world.
With Floriday, we want to make the floriculture sector more accessible by providing a single international platform where growers, buyers and service providers come together. An online platform with useful features and additional services that allow you to do business easily and efficiently. If your flower farm is interested in becoming a supplier to the RFH auction, kindly contact the local office via email at fhservices@ royalfloraholland.co.ke, or call +254731069092.
Flower farm worker picking roses at Sian Equator farm Kenya
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Kasapreko’s unique proposition of producing herbal-based products is derived from our rich Ghanaian heritage, differentiating us from others.”
As one of the leading herbal alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage producers in Ghana, Kasapreko uses authentic traditional blends and world-class technology to create celebrated beverages and brands.
Today, Kasapreko sells a variety of branded bitter, whisky, gin, liqueur, brandy, wine, water, and soft drink products worldwide, and continues to expand its portfolio whilst growing each brand’s offerings.
Perhaps the most celebrated of all is Kasapreko’s pioneering,
award-winning flagship brand, Alomo Bitters, the first scientifically formulated, herbal-based alcoholic beverage in Ghana. In 2013, CNN Money identified Alomo Bitters as one
of the top five emerging brands in the world.
“We were responsible for the conceptualisation, research, design, and development of Alomo Bitters,” continues Managing Director, Richard Adjei, whose father Dr. Kwabena Adjei founded the company in 1989 in response to the growing demand for quality alcoholic drinks.
“Kasapreko’s vision differed from that of other alcoholic drinks manufacturers in the country, as we identified the increasing sophistication of the consumer in terms of taste, quality, and packaging. Consumers were spending more on imported products and aspired for quality; this was the mass niche that Kasapreko set out to service, ensuring
Richard Adjei, Managing Director
Kasapreko combines traditional blends and Ghanaian heritage to create herbal-based beverages. Richard Adjei, Managing Director, discusses an authentic approach to production
Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Kyle Livingstone
that we produced quality drinks at affordable prices for the ordinary Ghanaian.”
Having started the business in a garage with just five employees, it was quite the task for Kasapreko to break into the market, achieved by adopting a truly authentic approach to producing locally-sourced, herbalbased products.
The company has since grown into a multinational manufacturer, and has also ascended to a leading position in the gin market with Kasapreko London Dry Gin.
Other brands to have earned their stripes include Kalahari Bitters, K20 Whisky, Kasapreko Berman Herbal Gin, Carnival Strawberry, and VIP Irish Cream to name just a few, all of which
enjoy great patronage as consumer drinks of choice in Ghana.
“We are large but local, and carry a very diverse portfolio. We are proudly Ghanaian and cater for various Ghanaian consumers,” Adjei states.
Kasapreko’s automated factory is located in the colourful Ghanaian capital of Accra, equipped with worldclass machinery that contributes to the production of the company’s various brands and types of packaging.
A customised high-speed production line gives Kasapreko the ability to package over 60,000 glass and PET bottles in just one hour, whilst a newly-opened facility in Kumasi is
complete with state-of-the-art lines for bottled water, carbonated soft drinks, and sachets.
“The Kumasi plant will run our water business, as well as some soft drinks and alcohol products. We believe in backwards integration and local sourcing where possible, so we have invested in lines to produce our own caps and preforms,” notes Adjei.
“As part of our integration strategy, we will also be commissioning an alcohol rectification plant in March 2023, whereby we will refine crude alcohol to be both used in production and sold to customers.”
Dedication to quality, and the drive to remain a market leader, are sustained in the emphasis Kasapreko places on R&D and adopting the latest
ADM is at the ready to partner with you and drive innovation that matters - with the flexibility, new ways of working, unparalleled portfolio, technical ingenuity and accelerated speed-to-market capabilities you need to bring food and beverages to reality.
technology for its operations.
As the first local manufacturer to establish a modern quality control and product development laboratory, and the first to introduce proprietary custom-made bottles and caps, Kasapreko is proud to have been recognised as Manufacturing Company of the Year by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana in 2013.
Kasapreko is always looking to innovate and meet the needs of customers, a commitment that remains steadfast despite operating in what is currently a challenging business environment.
“Some of the macroeconomic challenges both within Ghana and worldwide are impacting on the economy, with inflation, fuel prices, and currency depreciation all impacting on consumers and businesses alike,” Adjei acknowledges.
“That being said, over the past few years, the business has still grown tremendously and held steady throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We foresee a great future for Kasapreko and Ghana as the economy starts to recover.”
Given the challenges facing the market, especially when it comes
to shipping and accessing foreign currency, Adjei tells us that supplier partnerships are critical to the business.
“We have cultivated profitable partnerships with over 1,000 suppliers, both local and global, across the breadth of our operations. Working with them is critical to
Awake Purified Drinking Water (Awake), produced by Kasapreko, allows consumers to support people living with various heart or cardiovascular conditions through the One4Life initiative.
Since the inception of Awake in 2016, the brand has donated more than GH₵1 million to the cardiothoracic centre at Korle-Bu Hospital through One4Life, supporting the centre to carry out free surgeries on people with cardiovascular diseases who do not have the funds to treat themselves.
Awake is the first ever charitable brand to use its profits to support those in need in Ghanaian society. Over 20 patients have successfully gone through heart surgeries as a result of the initiative and money donated by Kasapreko.
For over 30 years, Kasapreko Company, LTD has been a celebrated African beverage manufacturer. What started in a small garage in Ghana has grown into a multinational corporation, exporting over 100 distinct products to 16 countries worldwide. Firmly rooted in crafting herbal-based alcoholic beverages, it was not until 2016 that Kasapreko launched its first line of non-alcoholic drinks.
While Kasapreko was largely successful in exclusively producing alcoholic beverages, ADM identified a significant growth opportunity for Kasapreko to apply its in-depth expertise and traditional Ghanaian heritage to an entirely new beverage category. By diversifying its product lines and expanding into the realm of non-alcoholic beverages, the company could target new demographics of consumers and provide additional options to existing ones.
In 2014, Kasapreko and ADM took the first step forward in the product development process. Their goal was to craft a line of soft drinks and carbonated beverages that encompassed the same unique Ghanaian flare Kasapreko is known for with its alcoholic beverages, but with an alcohol-free twist. After close collaboration and extensive research and development, Kasapreko was able to launch its first soft drinks and carbonated beverages with astounding success.
Kasapreko’s partnership with ADM granted it access to complementary technical, market, and industry expertise across the beverage category. This included proprietary market insights and a global team of expert formulators who understood how to
translate the data into flavours and profiles tailored to regional preferences. The result of this teamwork amplified Kasapreko’s revenue and catapulted it into the global powerhouse it is today.
But the work is not done yet. ADM is continuously working to identify white space in the market for Kasapreko to plant its roots and grow.
“When we started working with ADM, we were firmly planted in the alcoholic beverage category with no intentions to expand beyond it. ADM helped us see the opportunities to diversify our portfolio and reach an even greater audience. From the beginning, working with ADM was a true partnership and one we look forward to continuing in the future,” quotes Kasapreko.
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meeting the demands of our consumers and ensuring we have all our materials in full and on time,” he says.
Of equal importance are partnerships with more than 200 distributors, who are determined to give Kasapreko’s brands a blanket presence nationwide in Ghana and map the course for further expansion into neighbouring countries, the rest of Africa and beyond.
Kasapreko received the Gold Award in 2010 for its export achievements, and two years later was presented with the Exporter of the Year award.
“With our origins in Ghana, we ensure a dominant presence on the market, making sure our products are available at every corner of the country,” Adjei shares.
“Now, with partner distributors in Western and Southern Africa, Europe
and the US, our brands are visibly penetrating several other markets on the African continent. We are making strategic strides at an ambitious and exciting pace.”
Alomo Bitters exemplifies Kasapreko’s market penetration, having launched in markets across Africa such as Nigeria and Burkina Faso, and even the US in 2017.
The international success of Alomo Bitters can be traced down to the roots of its authentic herbal composition, and organic appeal.
“With Alomo Bitters, we used
a local recipe to create a truly international brand. This forms part of the insight that leads us to success in other markets with our other brands,” Adjei outlines.
To deliver many more greattasting beverages, Kasapreko has expanded its range of brands with the introduction of carbonated soft drinks and water.
As evidenced by the recent opening of the Kusami plant, carbonated soft drinks and water are two categories that Kasapreko believes will optimise consumer choice and satisfaction.
RICHARD ADJEI,“KASAPREKO’S UNIQUE PROPOSITION OF PRODUCING HERBAL-BASED PRODUCTS IS DERIVED FROM OUR RICH GHANAIAN HERITAGE, DIFFERENTIATING US FROM OTHERS”
–
MANAGING DIRECTOR, KASAPREKO
A recent licensing partnership with Distell Limited, meanwhile, comes as Kasapreko expands into the cider, wine, and beer categories.
“We have recently dipped our toes into the beer market by launching Freedom Beer, and will continue to introduce new products to the market,” affirms Adjei.
Kasapreko strives to create a sustainable and socially responsible business model that serves the interests of the communities it operates in.
Kasapreko’s commitments are focused on strategic programmes and partnerships that support its corporate values, aimed at promoting social change.
Social engagements carried out by Kasapreko include donations to the University of Ghana, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana Heart Foundation, and more, as well as supporting local councils with various developmental projects and annual festivals.
Dr. Kwabena Adjei himself has even personally constructed a six-unit block of junior secondary school classrooms for the village of Bonuamah in the western region of Ghana, and donated a six-bedroom house free of charge to accommodate teachers in the village.
“It is worthy to note that my father has also established the Kwabena Adjei Educational Endowment Fund (KAEEF), which currently provides full scholarships for 19 students in various senior secondary schools and some Ghanaian university students,” adds Adjei.
Equally, as a family-owned business with more than 600 valued members of staff and 500 contracted employees, Kasapreko prides itself on the vast wealth of human resources at the company.
There are a number of internal and external employee training
programmes on offer at Kasapreko, complemented by a recently-opened training centre in Accra that reflects the company’s investment in its people.
“We are family-owned, and our staff feel like part of the family,” Adjei informs us. “We have a culture of entrepreneurship and self-leadership to encourage people to think and take action.”
Investment in people is just one of a number of key priorities for Kasapreko, as it aspires to be a global player focused on providing herbalbased beverages worldwide.
“Our key priorities are to expand our distribution network in Ghana, accelerate our growth in bottled water, and increase our footprint in Western Africa with production partnerships in Liberia and Nigeria.
“We seek to innovate with new brands to meet ever-changing consumer needs, to minimise and reduce unnecessary waste, and improve planning and process management to ensure goods arrive on time and our storage and raw material management is optimised,” concludes Adjei.
KASAPREKO
Tel: 030 281 0956 info@kasapreko.com www.kasapreko.com
Supplying potable water to an urban population is no easy feat. We take a look at Blantyre Water Board and speak to CEO Robert Hanjahanja about the challenges of pumping water in Malawi, and the organisation’s aim to develop its water network
Despite being a landlocked country, Malawi is home to an abundance of water. Lake Malawi, a freshwater African Great Lake, is in fact the second deepest on the continent. It is part of the East African Rift, and flows into the Shire River, one of the many outlets to the south that in turn feeds pan-African waterways.
Lake Malawi is a critical source for livelihoods and industries across the country, and so providing access to such water is an all-important endeavour.
“Malawi has a unique water cycle because we are blessed with so much water,” introduces Robert Hanjahanja, CEO of Blantyre Water Board (BWB). “Geographically, one-third of the country is made up of Lake Malawi, which itself is the ninth largest in the world, and its water systems feed arable lands.”
According to Hanjahanja, Malawi’s position on a higher elevation than the lake makes it challenging to supply water to feed the needs of industries across the nation, as the lake itself rests at a lower altitude than much of the country. With such a vast demand for water, supplying from the lake comes the issue of pumping and infrastruc ture, and the associated costs.
BWB operates in the face of such challenges. The company provides potable water for commercial, industrial, institutional and domestic use in the supply area of the city of Blantyre and the surrounding areas. Its mission is to offer reliable and affordable water supply services to customers, whilst effectively contributing to the development of the national economy and preservation of the environment. Currently, BWB is supplying water to about 1.4 million people within its designated area, which includes the city and other surrounding areas such as Bvumbwe, Chiradzulu, and Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Thyolo.
“Every single person should have access to as much water as they need,” Hanjahanja continues. “However, our cities and communities have grown faster than the nation has been able to meet this demand, and so the utilities sector is stretched. Most companies in the sector need investment and opportunities to grow, even if it is just upgrading existing systems that have been there for multiple decades.
“For a country of our size, around 80 percent of people have access to safe water, but it is critical that the other 20 percent be reached with water in our cities.”
BWB has four broad categories of customers, namely domestic, industrial, institutional and
commercial. Currently, BWB serves around 40,000 metered customers and registers an average of 300 new connections every month.
BWB extracts its water from the Shire River at Walker’s Ferry north of Blantyre City. As BWB’s main treatment plant, it currently produces 96 million litres per day, which comprises around 95 percent of total water production, with the rest being produced from the Mudi Dam and Likhubula River in Mulanje, even though the Likhubula treatment system is yet to be fully constructed.
“BWB supplies Blantyre residents, which amounts to roughly 1.4 million people, with our head office providing supervisory and governing support,” Hanjahanja says. “We are also 100 percent owned by the Malawi government, and so they review all
ROBERT HANJAHANJA, CEO: “Back in 1992 I completed a degree in civil engineering with the University of Malawi’s Polytechnic, because I held a huge passion to make a significant impact on the lives of people and change their livelihoods for the better.
“It was natural for me to gravitate towards water supply out of all the various disciplines under civil engineering. I felt that it would be the most appropriate because it would allow me to help people, thereby satisfying my overall goal, and make a positive impact.
“After graduating, I held many positions specialising in water supply in Malawi and sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, I joined the Department of Water, under the Ministry of Works and Supplies for a few years before beginning work with the Lilongwe Water Board in 1996, which was where my career was really defined; I joined as a Junior Engineer and left as Acting CEO of the organisation after 13 years. From there, I worked briefly for Habitat for Humanity as Country Director, and then joined USAID – SUWASA in Nairobi, Kenya as a Water Utility Specialist. After the SUWASA project, I returned to Malawi to run the Southern Region Water Board as CEO. When the contract ended, I re-joined USAID for the follow-on project in Nigeria, USAID - EWASH, where I was Deputy Chief of Party.
“While my career was developing, I also had time to further pursue my studies and I was able to undertake a masters at Loughborough University (UK) and a PhD with the University of Nairobi (Kenya). I am also a registered Utility Management Specialist with the Institute of Public/Private Partnerships (USA) and a registered Engineer with the Malawi institute of Engineers. These accolades have helped me reinforce my passion, and today I am CEO of BWB!”
major investments and finance the required resources.
“If we need a new dam or an upgrade to a major pipeline that is running across a city, we work with the government to ensure that such projects are undertaken.”
After the completion of the new water source project from Likhubula in Mulanje, Walkers Ferry will produce 79 percent of the total production. Mudi Dam currently produces five million litres, and the Likhubula source is expected to produce 20 million litres in the days to come.
At present, one of BWB’s primary aims is to utilise new water sources to meet and keep up with the demands of Blantyre, pumping more water into urban areas where people can gain access. At the forefront of such an objective, the Shire River Project stands as a major undertaking in the works.
AFRICA OUTLOOK: CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR CAREER PATH?
“The Shire River Project is valued at approximately USD$240 million in total, and comprises of a full water treatment plant with an intake and delivery line running for 40 kilometres from the river all the way to the city, and then connecting to an existing network,” Hanjahanja explains.
“Alongside this, we have a supplementary solar project that will help combat the energy challenges that we are facing in Malawi, which is really important when you look at the electrical costs of pumping water from the source to the city.”
Energy dependency is a reality for
ROBERT HANJAHANJA, CEO: “Not only are we developing our energy usage at the moment, but we are also working on developing infrastructure to better the supply of water to the city of Blantyre. BWB is working alongside the World Bank Group (World Bank), African Development Bank (ADB) and the India EXIM Bank to upgrade the water network in Blantyre.
“The network is porous at the moment, and we have substantial leak issues that need to be addressed. This project will remove and replace older pipes, reconnect people, and secure the water supply across Blantyre. This is a game changer; once we have upgraded the network, our losses will be minimised, and we can really invest capital from those gains and savings made. This is a key project for us at the moment.”
AFRICA
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT BWB’S WORK WITH EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS?
BWB. As the country’s primary power supplier, BWB relies on Electricity Supply Company of Malawi Limited (ESCOM), with pumping costs making up the majority of operations expenditure.
“Because of this, we are transitioning to incorporate solar for all pumping stations and pumping facilities,” he adds. “We are currently in the middle of designing and constructing a new solar farm, to potentially be one of the largest in Malawi, and we want to produce up to 55 megawatts (MW) of power annually.”
Incorporating solar energy is part of BWB’s greater sustainability agenda, one aligned towards green thinking and initiatives.
“We depend so heavily on the environment that we have to be responsive and act on the side of nature, rather than be disruptive,”
Hanjahanja tells us. “There is an underlying need to act now to preserve the future. At the rate of the current climate crisis, water is slowly drying up and in the next 120 years we may not have water to talk about; we have to address climate issues and be responsible.”
This sustainability-centric push has helped shape BWB’s future plans and aims. In the short term, BWB is looking to minimise water loss through development projects on the waterlines to prevent and reduce leaks.
“This is our primary driver, and we are working with World Bank and ADB to minimise leaks,” Hanjahanja says. “We have managed to reduce this by 10 percent from last year which is quite substantial, and we are working to reduce it further in the coming years – this is our priority.
“Secondly, we are focusing on network and community growth.
Communities are expanding all over the city, people need water, and so we need to be connected to them in order to answer the demand as best we can. Lastly, we are moving from post-paid metering to prepaid metering. People in Malawi seem to prefer to pay by credit and use water against what they have already paid for, so we are moving ahead with trying to get as many prepaid metres on the ground as possible. The most important thing is making sure as many people as possible have access to water in Blantyre.”
BLANTYRE WATER BOARD
Tel: (+265) 888 100 700 www.bwb.mw
15-16 November | Festival Arena, Dubai | terrapinn.com/miningme
THE MINING Show is the region’s most important mining and quarrying event. Now in its 14th annual year and still growing, The Mining Show is the region’s only exhibition and confer ence that gives you the opportunity to capitalise on the development and change in mining across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asian region. This year will see thousands of attend ees, 100+ speakers and 100+ exhibi tors gather for two days of network ing, learning and business on 15-16th November at Dubai’s Festival Arena. There’s never been a better time for
the region’s mining leaders to come together to share their expertise and navigate the challenges we are all facing. Over two days, The Mining Show 2022 will bring you insights from more than 80 mining and quarrying leaders across a series of presentations and panel debates. From key projects, the latest opportunities in mineral exploration, reformation of codes and regulations, and development of operations across several exciting countries, The Mining Show is your only annual opportunity to meet buyers in the region.
• 3,000+ attendees
• 100+ speakers
• 100+ exhibitors
• 40 sessions
• 60 countries
gather in Dubai for the 14th edition of the largest mining and quarrying event in the region
15-17 November | Conakry, Republic of Guinea | www.smguinee.com
THE SEVENTH Symposium Mines
Guinea (SMG) is West Africa’s largest mining event and the second largest on the African continent. This edition is under the main theme of “Optimising linkages with the mining industry to catalyse the social economic development of Guinea”. The event
is organised by the Ministry of Mines & Geology, Republic of Guinea, in association with AME Trade Ltd.
SMG is the only place where visitors can meet with all representatives of Guinea’s mining industry simultaneously. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with senior
government officials, major and junior exploration and production companies, mining service companies, investors, energy providers, infrastructure, logistics, legal and financial experts, as well as environmental, education and training providers.
The sixth edition, which took place in 2019, attracted over 800 delegates, 96 exhibitors, and 88 speakers emanating from 34 countries. SMG is a well-established event, and has been organised on a bi-annual basis since 2004 (Bel Air, Boffa, Guinea), 2006 (Dusseldorf, Germany) and 2008, 2011, 2017 and 2019 in Conakry, Guinea.
The event aims to add value to Guinea’s economy through diversified and sustainable mining operations.
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