Africa Outlook Issue 25

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Mining Indaba

The continent’s premier event paves the way for the sector elite to shine ACCESS BANK GHANA 108 A bank heading for top tier status in Ghana by 2018

AFRICELL GROUP 72 Orange Uganda acquisition promotes expansion opportunities in Africa

MTN SOUTH SUDAN 82 Identifying the communication needs of the country

BRINK’S AFRICA 186 A worldwide commitment to innovation, quality and investment in people

AFRICA OUTLOOK ISSUE 25 A L S O T H I S I S S U E: V I C T O R I A C O M M E R C I A L B A N K | L O D E S T O N E B R A N D S | A I R T E L R WA N D A

W E L C O M E Global Mining Takes Centre Stage at Indaba, 2015

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EDITORIAL

Each February, the global mining community turns its gaze to Africa as Mining Indaba descends upon Cape Town; an annual occasion for the best in the continent’s sector to rub shoulders with the most prominent international investors.

This year’s event certainly didn’t disappoint, attracting nearly 7,000 attendees across an ever-broadening demographic of sector, nationality and The continent’s premier event paves the way for the sector elite to shine mining tier.

The upshot of 2015’s numerous presentations, discussions and sharing of expertise: the state of mining on the continent is a lot rosier than some would have you believe!

As African economies continue to diversify and improve off the back of adjacent industrial sectors, the readiness for proactive investment in the region once the general commodity market picks up is equally being enhanced; a promising indictment that Mining Indaba’s Managing Director, Jonathan Moore, shares with us this month as he reviews the latest successful instalment of the event.

Stemming from our sector focus projects a plethora of African mining’s most prominent players at present, profiled within our monthly showcasing assortment.

Jindal Mozambique, Major Drilling, MetGroup, Mbuyelo Group, SENET and White Rivers Exploration are all capitalising and differentiating within the current mining domain and each provide interesting insight into how they see the sector developing over the course of 2015 and beyond.

When the commodity market breaks out of its global slump and the time does come to reinvest, it will have a direct effect on numerous partnering financial institutions; a second core focus for Africa Outlook this month.

Access Bank Ghana, Victoria Commercial Bank, Gulf African Bank and the National Bank of Kenya are all striving to diversify their services and find differentiators in a competitive field, with mobile money and internet banking key battlefields on which to prove themselves this year.

Rounding off this issue, we continue to bring the very biggest brand names to the fore including the likes of CocaCola’s Sabco division in Mozambique, Airtel’s drive into Rwanda, Brink’s’ fascinating global operations emanating from South Africa, and a special, continent-wide focus on Africell Group; a telecoms giant basking in its latest acquisition of Orange in Uganda.

Matthew Staff Editorial Director, Outlook Publishing Enjoy the issue!

Mining Indaba

ACCESS BANK GHANA 108 A bank heading for top tier status in Ghana by 2018

AFRICELL GROUP 72 Orange Uganda acquisition promotes expansion opportunities in Africa

MTN SOUTH SUDAN 82 Identifying the communication needs of the country

BRINKS AFRICA 186 A worldwide commitment to innovation, quality and investment in people

AFRICA OUTLOOK ISSUE 25 A L S O T H I S I S S U E: V I C T O R I A C O M M E R C I A L B A N K | L O D E S T O N E B R A N D S | A I R T E L R WA N D A

Editorial Director: Matthew Staff matthew.staff@outlookpublishing.com Deputy Editor: Emily Jarvis emily.jarvis@outlookpublishing.com

PRODUCTION Production Manager: Daniel George daniel.george@outlookpublishing.com Art Director: Stephen Giles steve.giles@outlookpublishing.com Advert Designer: Mandy Farnell mandy.farnell@outlookpublishing.com Images: Thinkstock by Getty Images

BUSINESS Sales Director: Nick Norris nick.norris@outlookpublishing.com Operations Director: James Mitchell james.mitchell@outlookpublishing.com Sales Manager: Ben Wigger ben.wigger@outlookpublishing.com Senior Project Managers: Arron Rampling arron.rampling@outlookpublishing.com Donovan Smith donovan.smith@outlookpublishing.com Project Managers: Callum Philp callum.philp@outlookpublishing.com Eddie Clinton eddie.clinton@outlookpublishing.com Josh Hyland josh.hyland@outlookpublishing.com Stuart Parker stuart.parker@outlookpublishing.com Tom Cullum tom.cullum@outlookpublishing.com

ACCOUNTS Finance Director: Suzanne Welsh suzanne.welsh@outlookpublishing.com Office Administrator: Donna Redpath donna.redpath@outlookpublishing.com WEB DESIGN: Hamit Saka IT: James LeMay

OUTLOOK PUBLISHING Managing Director: Ben Weaver ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com Chairman: Mark Weaver CONTACT Africa Outlook / UK 22 Wensum Street, Norwich, UK, NR3 1HY Sales: +44 (0) 1603 559 145 Editorial: +44 (0) 1603 559 152 Africa Outlook / SA The Colosseum, First Floor, Century Way, Century City, Cape Town, 7441 Tel: +27 (0) 21 5270053 SUBSCRIPTIONS Tel: +44 (0)1603 559 152 Email: matthew.staff@outlookpublishing.com

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In this issue of 28 Africa Outlook...

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MBUYELO GROUP Exploring the Possibilities for Rewarding Returns Developing Group assets through new partnerships

JINDAL MOZAMBIQUE Entrenching its Foothold in Africa

Expanding its presence through sustainable development of Chirodzi Mine

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WHITE RIVERS EXPLORATION The Next Generation of World-Class African Mines

Exploring South Africa’s mining potential to gold standards

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NEWS

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MADE IN ETHIOPIA

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DATA CENTRES The World’s Greatest Energy Guzzlers

All the latest top stories across the month from Africa East Africa’s leading economy has business opportunities abound, and vast potential to still unlock

High demand for data consumption drives the need for more energy efficient facilities

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SECTOR FOCUS MINING Africa’s Indaba

SENET A Silver Anniversary for the Gold and Copper Processing Specialists

An indigenously South African firm gearing up for future industry growth

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MAJOR DRILLING Southern Africa’s Partner on the Ground

Building relationships on quality and safety

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METGROUP Raising the Bar

International mining’s lean and mean one-stop shop

RESOURCES FOCUS

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SHOWCASING LEADING COMPANIES Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world

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GILBARCO AFS True Specialists in Fuel Management End-to-end fuel and fleet management solutions

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

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AFRICELL GROUP Aggressively Challenging the Telecom Landscape Orange Uganda acquisition promotes expansion opportunities in Africa

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GULF AFRICAN BANK Opening Doors in Islamic Banking

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Award-winning innovation and dedication to Islamic banking

MANUFACTURING FOCUS

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MICROELETTRICA SCIENTIFICA Localisation in Action

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MTN SOUTH SUDAN Initialising Telecoms in an Emerging Market

Growing its presence as a leading supplier to the foodservice, wholesale and retail markets

CONSTRUCTION FOCUS

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High compliance to localisation and BBBEE initiatives drives company growth

COCA-COLA SABCO MOZAMBIQUE Achieving Together to Become World-Class

MOLDON Taking the Brand Forward

J.R. GODDARD CONTRACTING ZIMBABWE Dedicated to the Growth of Africa Valuing the protection of its people and the environment

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Capitalising on the changing fortunes in Mozambique

MANTRAC NIGERIA Riding the Storm

Maintaining market share amid industry challenges

Identifying the communication needs of the country

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AIRTEL RWANDA Rwanda’s Operator of Choice

Affordable services from Africa’s most-loved brand

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VICTORIA COMMERCIAL BANK Quality over Quantity Branching out, with the customer in mind

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ACCESS BANK GHANA Treating the Customer as King A bank heading for top tier status in Ghana by 2018

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NATSURE Refined Focus for Niche Underwriters

South Africa’s reputable market leader in niche short-term insurance

LOGISTICS FOCUS

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PAPERCOR HOLDINGS Merchants with National Reach

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SENIOR FLEXONICS The Senior Name in Flexible Manufacturing

Dedicated to innovation across an ever-expanding footprint

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NAMPAK BEVCAN

Unlocking Value Across Africa Africa’s leading packaging company expands its reach

LODESTONE BRANDS Taking Entrepreneurs to the Next Level

Building brands on a platform of innovation, entrepreneurship and flexibility

NATIONAL BANK OF KENYA Bank on Better Kenya’s indigenous bank reaching global standards

BRINK’S AFRICA A Global Standard for Excellence A worldwide commitment to innovation, quality and investment in people

The paper merchant with a growing national footprint

FOOD & DRINK FOCUS

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KENBLEST GROUP The Right Ingredients for Success Locally produced bread for Kenyan people

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AFRICAN INFLUENCE EXCHANGE (AIRC)

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EAST AFRICAN PROPERTY INVESTMENT SUMMIT (EAPI)

Connecting regional leaders in the insurance & reinsurance sectors

Creating opportunities for real estate growth in East Africa

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MUGO KIBATI BECOMES NEW CEO OF PAN AFRICA HOLDINGS

R E S O U R C E S

GE ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT GHANAIAN OIL & GAS INVESTMENT GE has announced the booking of an $850 million order across its Oil & Gas business for the supply of equipment to the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) block, Ghana.

This order incorporates

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L’ORÉAL AND CFAO SIGN IVORY COAST PARTNERSHIP L’Oréal and CFAO announced the signing of a protocol agreement covering the production and distribution of cosmetic products in Ivory Coast.

The worldwide leader in cosmetics, present in more than 130 countries, will draw on its expertise in beauty products and the strength of its consumer brands to accelerate its expansion into key markets in Frenchspeaking West Africa.

By teaming up with L’Oréal, CFAO establishes a new worldclass partnership in Sub-Saharan Africa by giving L’Oréal access to its distribution channels in Ivory Coast and its thorough knowledge of African countries and markets.

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both turbomachinery and subsea elements, with the first shipment planned for Q4 2015. Further shipments are planned in order to deliver first oil by 2017.

“This order draws on the full range of GE expertise, showing the value of our broad technology scope, cutting across two of our business units to deliver innovative, economic solutions for our customers,” commented Lorenzo Simonelli, President & CEO, GE Oil & Gas.

ORANGE AND AIRTEL JOIN FORCES TO ENABLE INTERNATIONAL MONEY TRANSFERS BETWEEN IVORY COAST AND BURKINA FASO Customers of Orange Money in Ivory Coast can use their mobile phones to send money to

Former Vision 2030 Director, Mugo Kibati has been appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of Pan Africa Insurance Holdings Ltd. The position is new to the company which has a life assurance business, general insurance arm called Pan Africa Securities and an asset management subsidiary.

Mr Kibati previously served as Managing Director of East African Cables before he was appointed by the government to head the Vision 2030 secretariat.

Pan Africa Holdings recently experienced a drop in profits which it attributed to lower gains in the equities market compared to 2013 and reduced deals in the property market. customers of Airtel Money in Burkina Faso, and vice versa. This partnership between Orange and Airtel enables Orange customers to send and receive money to or from people based in a country outside the Group’s footprint for the first time.

Thanks to the interconnection between the two operators’ mobile money platforms, it is also the first time that people living in Burkina Faso will be able to send money to contacts in Ivory Coast using their mobile phones.

GO TO WWW.AFRICAOUTLOOKMAG.COM/NEWS FOR ALL OF THE LATEST NEWS FROM AFRICA

T E C H N O L O G Y

SAMSUNG TAKES A ‘WHAT IF I CAN’ STEP FORWARD amsung Electronics Africa has launched a mission to gather the human step in an effort to harness the power of shifting mindsets by allowing ordinary people to contribute to extraordinary solutions Samsung Electronics has taken a giant step in its corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts in Africa through the launch of its new brand campaign; ‘What If I Can’.

The campaign is all about the power of a human step. To display this strong message, Samsung collaborated with UK-based Company, Pavegen in laying a 68-tile walkway, situated in Sandton City Johannesburg.

These tiles have the ability to collect kinetic motion and store this as energy.

In addition, the walkway consists of an interactive data screen displaying a leaderboard of real-time footfall data and providing an immediate visual payback.

Sandton City’s main passage receives a monthly footfall rate of more than two million footsteps. The energy stored from shopper footfall will contribute towards benefiting

underprivileged communities in Africa, aiming to prove that even the smallest action of movement can make a huge difference to standards of living across the world.

To extend participation beyond the Sandton City walkway, Samsung has created a simple step-counting mobile application allowing thousands of ordinary citizens across Africa to power solutions that benefit the less fortunate by simply walking.

This application can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and is available on all Android devices.

During the first 20 days of the campaign, the steps taken by participants will be accumulated to reach at least 400 million steps.

The Campaign runs from March until the end of May and participants across Africa will compete against each other to take the most steps, with Samsung matching every contribution with a further 1,000 steps. The country generating the most steps at the end of the first part of the campaign will earn a Samsung Solar Powered Internet School for a deserving community in that country.

Ntutule Tshenye, Director of Public Affairs and Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics Africa, is the face of this new approach by the brand.

“Education relevance and internet connectivity are imperatives to contribute towards future socioeconomic growth in Africa. We feel that a consumer facing campaign such as ‘What If I Can’ is both complementary and even gives credit to our innovate solutions such as Solar Powered Internet Schools and Solar Powered Digital Villages that work to empower people by delivering revolutionary solutions designed to overcome local challenges and take communities into the future,” Tshenye emphasised.

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GLOBAL MEGATRENDS WILL DRIVE GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY ACROSS AFRICA

Nicholas Ganz, PwC Africa Capital Markets Leader F I N A N C E

AFRICAN ECM MARKET SEES HIGHEST LEVEL OF ACTIVITY IN 2014 According to analysis into transactions across 2010-2014 by PwC, 2015 is expected to be a positive year for equity capital market activity in Africa.

2014 saw the highest level of activity in African equity capital markets (ECM) over the previous five years, and a significant increase in both transaction volume and capital raised during 2014 compared to the prior year, according to the report. PwC’s inaugural publication entitled “IPO Watch Africa 2014”, has found that US$11 billion was raised in 2014 in the African equity markets across the continent, with IPO activity also increasing in number from 20 to 24 IPOs, and doubled in terms of capital raised to US$1.7 billion from US$0.8 billion in 2013.

Building on the strong performance of last year, 2015 is expected to be a positive year for ECM activity in Africa.

This is driven largely by a combination of expectations for continued exits by private equity investors, reforms to certain capital markets legislation, and growing investor confidence in and familiarity with African markets.

Download the report here.

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Over the next five years, global megatrends such as rapid urbanisation and demographic changes will drive growth opportunities in the real estate industry across Africa, says a recent PwC report. “The pace of change in the world is accelerating, with a series of transitions, known as global megatrends, transforming the way in which business and society operate,” says Ilse French, Real Estate Leader for PwC Africa.

“Investors around the world are seeing the growth potential of Africa, in particular its substantial demographic edge. Economic growth, improving political stability and ongoing investments in infrastructure are opening up previously inaccessible markets,” she adds.

The report shows that the opportunities across the African continent are significant and span every sector.

Download the Africa report here.

Ilse French, Real Estate Leader for PwC Africa

Chris Bredenhann, PwC Africa Oil and Gas Advisory Leader O I L & G A S

OIL & GAS EXPLORERS NEED TO RETHINK THEIR CAPEX IN AFRICA IN LIGHT OF THE DROP IN THE GLOBAL OIL PRICE Oil and gas explorers must rethink their capital expenditure on exploration activity across the African continent in the wake of the significant drop in the global oil price, according to an analysis on the oil and gas industry in Africa released by PwC. According to PwC’s ‘Fit for $50 oil in Africa’ analysis, Africa has seen substantial successes in the exploration for hydrocarbons over the past decade including the entry of new country players with East Africa joining the ranks of their West African neighbours.

In 2013 alone, six of the top 10 global discoveries by size were made in Africa – including some of the largest discoveries in the last decade in East Africa. The key to surviving the ups and downs of the cyclical oil & gas market is to learn how to adapt quickly. “Oil & gas companies now need to plan for the upturn that is sure to follow to ensure that the potential boom does not go bust,” warns Chris Bredenhann, PwC Africa Oil and Gas Advisory Leader.

Download the report here.

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M I N I N G

STANDARD BANK: AFRICAN MINING PROSPECTS REMAIN INTACT DESPITE CAUTIOUS 2015 According to Standard Bank, 2015 will remain challenging for the global mining industry, with Africa retaining good prospects.

“The broad fundamentals of the African mining narrative are still firmly in place,” said Rajat Kohli, Head, International Mining and Metals at Standard Bank. “The reality is that the continent still boasts an abundance of natural resource deposits which are relatively underdeveloped compared to the likes of Australia or Latin America. The continent may be experiencing a cyclical slowdown in new investment but, as the global economy recovers, Africa

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CFC STANBIC BANK LAUNCHES KENYAN PRIVATE SECTOR BASED INDEX CfC Stanbic Bank in conjunction with a leading financial information services provider, Markit has launched a monthly survey of business conditions in the Kenyan private sector.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI™) and the survey, which started in January 2014, will provide a solid basis for investment strategies and asset allocation, helping policy makers and businesses make well informed decisions from early economic indicators. The latest figures show that the Kenyan private sector output increased at a faster rate in February, mirroring the overall improvement in

remains well positioned to benefit from any increase in investment and consumption.”

Standard Bank research shows that African mining remains underexplored.

In 2013, African exploration accounted for 17 percent of the worldwide exploration budget despite the fact business conditions.

Commenting on the figures, Jibran Qureishi, Economist at CfC Stanbic Bank said: “The PMI index recovered in February after a slower pace of growth recorded last month, primarily driven

that the continent holds more than 30 percent of the world’s mineral resources.

“A sustained recovery in demand growth, coupled with limited investment, will provide the ingredients for a recovery in the sector’s fortunes.” In the next 12-24 months, the outlook is less secure. “If producers can withstand challenging market conditions, they should be set fair to benefit from an economic recovery.”

Financing challenges have also arisen, especially for mid-tier and junior miners. Public equity markets are highly discreet and lending terms have tightened. In this environment, private capital has emerged as a growing source of funding for new mine investment in Africa, which is partly driven by the fact that resource assets can currently be acquired at relatively attractive prices. This will also spur an increase in M&A activity. by rises in output and new orders.

Interestingly, the PMI seems to have lost the solid momentum witnessed towards the end of last year, although we suspect this is transitory.

“The decline in international oil prices and power tariffs as a result of the geothermal component being added to the national grid should lower costs for most firms in Kenya and will probably lead to higher output in the coming months. Confidence within the Kenyan private sector remains high and should continue to bode well for business conditions.”

The February data signalled that the overall increase was driven by modest rises in both purchase prices and staff costs during the month. Subsequently, prices charged by Kenyan private sector firms rose in the month under review, albeit at a historically muted pace.

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TELL US YOUR STORY

AND WE’LL TELL THE WORLD AFRICA OUTLOOK is a digital and print product aimed at boardroom and hands-on decision-makers across a wide range of industries on the continent.

With content compiled by our experienced editorial team, complemented by an in-house design and production team ensuring delivery to the highest standards, we look to promote the latest in engaging news, industry trends and success stories from the length and breadth of Africa.

We reach an audience of 165,000 people across the continent, bridging the full range of industrial sectors: mining; oil & gas; logistics; resources; manufacturing; construction; engineering; technology; food & drink; retail; finance; and healthcare.

In joining the leading industry heavyweights already enjoying the exposure we can provide, you can benefit from FREE coverage across both digital and print platforms, a FREE marketing brochure, extensive social media saturation, enhanced B2B networking opportunities, and a readymade forum to attract new investment and to grow your business.

To get involved, please contact Outlook Publishing’s Managing Director, Ben Weaver, who can provide further details on how to feature your company, for free, in one of our upcoming editions.

W W W. A F R I C A O U T LO O K M A G . C O M Tel: +44 (0) 1603 559 140 Email: ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com

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Ethiopia Made in

When identifying who rules the roost in East Africa, look no further than Ethiopia; a country with business opportunities abound, and vast potential to still unlock

By Anders Heede, CEO of EMEA, BDO and Million Kibret, CEO of BDO Ethiopia any emerging markets, especially in SubSaharan Africa, have seen solid GDP growth in the past decade, driven mainly by natural resources. But with falling commodity prices and Chinese demand dwindling, those with overly resource-dependent economies are being caught. Companies seeking to invest in emerging markets should be on the lookout for those countries that have invested in diversifying their economies. And those willing to look beyond BRICs and MINTs should have Ethiopia on their shortlist.

In 2012, Ethiopia was the 12th fastest growing economy in the

world, according to the World Bank.

Hefty state-led investment has kept the economy of Africa’s second most populous nation growing at more than eight percent a year for more than a decade.

More than that, it has become Africa’s fastest growing non oil economy. The Ethiopian government’s focus on growing value-added activities has bolstered its transformation towards a diversified economy and, as a result, it is attracting the attention of ambitious businesses and investors alike. We should examine how it has solidified its position and what the opportunities are for businesses.

Business opportunities

Most importantly, the country has invested in infrastructure. The government has delivered on its five year Growth and Transformation Plan, which has seen it making large investments (around 15 percent of GDP) in infrastructure projects.

At the heart of the programme are railway, road and dam projects to give the landlocked nation cheap power and reliable transport. The programme’s poster child is the controversial Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which will become

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Anders Heede CEO of EMEA, BDO

Africa’s biggest hydro-power plant and turn Ethiopia into a regional power hub.

At the same time, reforms to business registration and changes to regulatory institutions have simplified rules, improved the quality of business support and considerably reduced the cost of doing business. The time required to clear customs for export and to secure a business licence has been cut to 15 days, from 44 in 2004.

With China slowly running out of inexpensive labour, manufacturers are looking at low-income countries like Ethiopia. Textile manufacturers have already been attracted by the rich local supply of leather and cotton. For example, multinational retail clothing firms, H&M and Primark both source significant amounts of material from Ethiopia.

Ethiopia commercial bank

The Addis Ababa-Dire Dawa Road in Adama, Ethiopia

The Ethiopian government has developed specific industrial zones which will see the companies within them benefit from a tax ‘holiday’ of up to 17 years. Chinese shoe maker Hujian Group has already invested heavily in the Chinese-built Eastern Industrial Zone and last year announced its plans to invest a further $2.2 billion in an industrial zone of its own, located in the Lebu area in the South Western outskirts of Addis Ababa.

Turkey is currently the leading country investing in Ethiopia; Turkish companies have invested $1.2billion capital in the last decade. Other big names that have recently announced investment plans include Unilever, GE and GSK. With a growing population of 94 million, urbanisation and rising income levels, Ethiopia is also surfacing as an

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attractive consumer market.

By 2020 Coca-Cola, hopes to sell 100 million unit cases in Ethiopia, putting it on par with Egypt and South Africa. Meanwhile, Heineken has just inaugurated what it claims is Ethiopia’s biggest brewery to capitalise on figures showing the Ethiopian beer market has doubled over the past five years, with per capita consumption still relatively low compared to other East African countries.

Country challenges

However, the country is not without its challenges and there is some uncertainty ahead. The country will go to the polls on 24 May 2015. The next elections will likely see another win for the ruling EPRDF party that has claimed victory in every election since the fall of the Derg regime in 1991.

It will be the first election to be held under the current Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegnn, after the death of Meles Zenawi in 2012, who ruled the country for 21 years. The claim from many human rights activists of the growing inequality and demands for freedom of press and political participation are likely to challenge the ruling party.

Investors will be keen to find out whether the government plans on loosening its grip on the economy – for example, many sectors remain closed off to foreign investors and even to domestic companies at times.

Access to finance for the private sector remains difficult, even more so because of the government’s large infrastructure plans. For the boom to continue, Ethiopia needs a stronger banking sector.

The World Bank’s ‘Investing across Sectors’ indicators show that Ethiopia has above-average restrictions on foreign equity ownership. It imposes restrictions on foreign equity ownership in many sectors, including telecommunications, financial services, media, retail trade and transport.

Meeting, Addis Ababa

Unlocking potential

With a growing population of 94 million, urbanisation and rising income levels, Ethiopia is also surfacing as an attractive consumer market

A broad-brush view might suggest that the glory days for emerging markets are gone – but outside the BRIC countries especially, pockets of opportunity do exist. With its large scale investments in infrastructure, high growth rates and vast population, Ethiopia is a fine example of this.

Companies looking to invest in emerging markets would do well to take a granular approach. Emerging markets is too broad a term for what is not a homogeneous group of economies, just as Africa is not one single market, rather a vast and diverse continent with varying challenges and opportunities. Deep local knowledge of in-market intricacies is key to unlocking the potential.

As one of the largest audit and advisory firms in Ethiopia, BDO supports domestic and international clients in navigating the Ethiopian market and grasping the opportunities there.

We see Ethiopia as a major future market for our clients and can support them with deep local knowledge, combined with global expertise and the consistent delivery of exceptional client service.

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Data Centres The World’s Greatest Energy Guzzlers Data centres consume up to three percent of all global energy production and are in the early, exciting stages of development in South Africa, according to Aurecon’s Peter Greaves Writer: Emily Jarvis ata centres have for years been known to be excessive consumers of power, consuming up to three percent of all global electricity production, and roughly 10 times more per square metre than the average office.

Previously, energy efficiency wouldn’t necessarily be at the top of an information technology (IT) organisation’s priority list, but rising power costs, and an ongoing need for more hardware and equipment as well as booming data consumption is changing the way data centre operators are planning and running their facilities.

This interview with Peter Greaves,

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Aurecon’s Expertise Leader, Data & ICT Facilities, explores why data centres consume so much energy; how design principles can help minimise a data centre’s energy needs; dealing with load-shedding; and possible future trends that may help reduce energy consumption.

Peter Greaves, Aurecon’s Expertise Leader, Data & ICT Facilities

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Africa Outlook (AfO): Why exactly do data centres consume so much energy?

Peter Greaves (PG): Data centres are complex environments that have been created to house IT equipment. Within these, the primary driver of energy consumption is the IT equipment itself.

The IT equipment that supports a data centre includes communication

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systems, storage systems and other IT systems such as processors, server power supplies, network infrastructure and hardware, computers, uninterrupted power supply and connectivity systems.

Most of the energy that is consumed within a data centre needs to pass through various stages of distribution before it can be used by IT systems.

This energy is converted to heat, which is why these facilities require a significant amount of cooling.

As server densities continue to rise, cooling systems are under increased pressure in order to keep IT equipment and servers cool enough for them to operate efficiently. If temperatures or the humidity become too high, IT equipment can be damaged and tape media errors can occur.

AfO: What opportunities are out there to help IT organisations optimise their energy consumption?

PG: Examples of these opportunities are the virtualisation and the use of ARM-based processors, which are designed to perform a smaller number of types of computer instructions so that they can operate at a higher speed. This provides outstanding performance at a fraction of the power. The technological development of both these options is making them a viable solution, but they are still outside of the remit of most data centre developers.

Good practical management of data centre space is still a suitable, basic way of reducing energy consumption.

Making use of aisle containment systems, installing blanking panels into unused rack slots and providing brushed grommets into raised floor penetrations are all simple, yet effective energy saving methods that can be implemented but they are still forgotten in many smaller facilities.

Implementing aggressive power usage effectiveness (PUE) targets

3% Data centres consume up to 3% of all global energy production

Energy Savers Virtualisation, ARM based processors, good practical management of facilities and implementing PUE targets

will also drive more energy saving initiatives and improvements within data centres. New facilities will find it easier to implement PUE targets as high efficiency equipment can be selected to reduce parasitic load requirements.

Implementing low PUE targets, such as energy efficient lighting, in existing facilities is also achievable, but it takes more financial backing and careful planning to realise. When equipment needs to be replaced, more energy efficient options can also be chosen, for example.

AfO: How will load shedding – if it is implemented on an ongoing basis – affect data centres?

PG: Load shedding will drive a greater level of reliance on the backup generator systems that are installed in data centres.

Facility operators will need to carefully manage fuel delivery protocols and facilities that have better supply chain management systems will run less risk once fuel demand ramps up. On-site fuel quantities will be a key asset with longer storage requirements becoming commonplace to deal with any local disruptions.

If load shedding is generally implemented, facilities with cogeneration energy systems will become more viable as they will be able to reduce their cost base substantially in comparison to operators that are running exclusively on diesel supplies.

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Big operators like Google are making use of solar energy

Older facilities that have standby rated generator systems will need to consider downgrading their generator capacity as they will effectively be running in prime or continuous operational modes, favouring facilities rated to the Uptime Institute (a standardised methodology used by data centres as a way to measure their performance and return on investment) as they will have been designed to cater for this requirement.

AfO: Can some activities in a data centre be timed to take place after peak hours?

PG: It is possible for some users to schedule key processing tasks to occur on an overnight cycle, however, this is limited by the business type and probably isn’t a workable solution for most operators. Other options to consider include: • Provision of energy storage systems may provide some ability to defer energy usage to off- peak periods; • Larger battery strings could provide an alternative to diesel generation; however, continuous deep cycling of batteries will significantly reduce

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Energy Savers Key processing tasks can be scheduled to take place after peak hours to save energy

Solar Energy While data centres could utilise solar energy, it would need to be ramped up to be usable by UPS systems

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their lifespan, necessitating early change out; • Use of capacitor banks may be a viable alternative to batteries. These banks could be charged overnight for progressive use throughout the day.

As the level gets low, the engines could be kicked in to replace or supplement • Cooling storage may be a more viable alternative to reduce the mechanical cooling loads; however, some form of free cooling would probably negate the benefit of this.

AfO: As data centres are largely run off UPS’, to what extent could solar power be used to keep the UPS’ charged?

PG: A lot of solar panels would be needed to reduce the amount of electricity from the grid that most data centres would need. The most likely application is to reduce the demand on the grid by a percentage.

Although solar energy could supply a data centre with energy, it would need to be ramped up to be usable by the UPS. At this time, I would be very hesitant to suggest that this is a potential solution due to the inherent unreliability of solar energy.

Big operators like Google, however, are making use of solar energy by establishing solar generation plants that offset their data centre usage on the grid.

The use of small panel arrays coupled with battery storage could be used to reduce the parasitic loads on site that are non-critical such as fuel polishing, engine heaters, office air conditioning and lighting.

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Future Trends Design and development includes integrating cost-effective, sustainable energy solutions

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AfO: How do you think data centre design and development in South Africa will change in the future?

PG: Data centres in South Africa are in the early, exciting stages of development. As such, owners and operators are in an advantageous position to integrate sustainable, and, importantly, costeffective energy solutions such as wind energy to significantly drive energy costs down.

If we look at what big operators are achieving overseas, then we are in the ideal position to start designing and developing more sustainable facilities. For example, Google’s data centre in Hamina, Finland, is aiming to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral and it recently signed a deal with a wind farm operator in Sweden to power its Finnish facility with wind turbines.

Companies like Google are always looking for a competitive edge. They are looking for smarter solutions in their engineering for a variety of things including data centres, corporate headquarters and research and development facilities. Wind investment is just another competitive solution, but there are many more.

As South African data centres continue to develop, I predict that a growing number of operators will be more willing to tackle sustainability challenges head-on and incorporate more progressive solutions into their data centre designs and development.

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Africa’s Indaba

Mining Indaba has been the continent’s premier mining event for two decades and current MD, Jonathan Moore explains what makes it so special for African companies and international investors, alike Writer: Matthew Staff

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ining Indaba has gone from strength to strength since its inception in Africa two decades ago and now, under the stewardship of six-year MD incumbent, Jonathan Moore, and new owners, the event is looking to build upon the significant work carried out so far.

A Pan-African initiative from the offset, Mining Indaba was set up to encourage increased levels of foreign direct investment into the industry on the continent; inviting companies from the sector within Africa, investors from an intercontinental footprint, and mining ministers from across the globe to discuss trends, promote opportunities and to share expertise.

Following Mining Indaba 2015, we spoke to the MD about his passion for the event, the key lessons learned from this year’s spectacle, and how he aims to take it forward in years to come.

Africa Outlook (AfO): Can you talk me through the core aims of Mining Indaba, how it has evolved over the years and your affiliation with the event?

Jonathan Moore (JM): It was a pretty significant risk to launch an event in Africa, on African mining, with the idea of bringing in investors to the continent, as opposed to the way it had worked previously, which involved going to centrally located hubs where investors were.

However, the very bright entrepreneur who started the Indaba had a brilliant vision and had built up a relationship with a number of key mining executives in Africa. It started humbly with a couple hundred people and has since grown to being Africa’s most prominent business event and the largest mining event on the continent.

I was blessed when I took this over in 2009, stepping into something

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with such a smart vision, which hasn’t materially changed over the years from the first.

It’s still about bringing mining companies, investors and mining ministers together to put foreign capital to work on the African continent in the mining sector. This is still very much the focus that drives the event year after year.

“It’s still about bringing mining companies, investors and mining ministers together to put foreign capital to work on the African continent in the mining sector”

AfO: What were the demographics of this year’s event and how has this evolved over the course of the Indaba’s existence?

JM: Attendance was slightly down from last year – 6,750 people – which is unsurprising given the general downturn in the market. This includes a mix of mining companies, financial institutions, professional services, government investors, NGOs and service providers who have a connection to the mining investment value chain. Given the marketplace, the event was really positive this year with great participation from the right people across the sector.

It’s always been an event that

attracts a high calibre of participant, whether it’s a speaker from a mining corporate or participant from ministerial level, or someone from a financial institution or an investor.

We’ve always enjoyed that very high level of participation and its one of the things that differentiates this event from some of the others you have across the calendar.

One of the things that we have seen is an expansion of where people are coming from. Rwanda is a good example and have been participating this year. South Sudan came for the first time recently too and it’s brilliant to see emerging countries participating and getting exposure.

We also see from the attendee base, a growing contingent from Asia - we see the Indian delegation grow which has been positive – and that North America has comprised a broader cross section of US as opposed to just Canada.

There has been a nice evolution as far as there being a broader universe of people getting involved, which has been a catalyst to help fuel the growth of the event over the past five years.

AfO: What effect would you say Mining Indaba has had on economies within African over the years?

JM: What we’ve seen as the continent has emerged and as more people open up to the possibilities of Africa, is an increasingly large universe of people potentially interested. Every time you have economies on the continent maturing and getting to a point where there’s enough stability from a legislation, infrastructure and governmental perspective, suddenly the opportunity to look at investing in that country becomes a lot more plausible than it was just a year ago.

If you look at the growth of the sector on the continent, especially in some of the emerging countries, the Indaba has been one of the key

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platforms for helping drive that. We’re safe in saying that billions of dollars have been generated in the sector off of the 21-year history of the event.

The Indaba has helped be part of the catalyst to tell that story of emergence of the growing economies on the continent.

It’s also driven by the significant global press coverage we get. It’s not just an event taking place in Cape Town but an event over four days days where the entire mining world is focused on what’s happening in Cape Town and in African mining. That has been a very direct catalyst for both awareness and also in driving direct dollars into the market place.

AfO: What key trends were discussed at this year’s event?

JM: Because Indaba is solely focused on mining in Africa, and because we look strictly at the investment component of it, it really has a narrow remit as far as the scope of what it’s about.

One of the things that was very pleasant about this year’s event was the story from an industry perspective is actually quite a bit rosier on the African continent than in other jurisdictions around the world. One of the interesting things about this downturn compared to others is the relative stability of the economies in Africa despite the fact that the typical downturn in the sector has been so pronounced.

In past downturns, that has had a crippling effect on economies but because the economies have continued to mature and diversify, those economies are not, at this point, as much like one-trick-ponies as they were a decade ago.

Because of that, one of the things that was thematic of this year’s event is that as the sector begins to come back, these economies are going to be in a much better position to take advantage of it.

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“...one of the things that was thematic of this year’s event is that as the sector begins to come back, these economies are going to be in a much better position to take advantage of it ”

The mineral wealth of the continent is undeniable, but what we’ve seen over time is that some of the discussion has shifted away from purely what’s in the ground to how to get it out, the infrastructure, issues of electricity and power, access to water and transportation.

Those things are offshoots of what we need to hear at the Indaba every year but, this year, the reality of not having as much strife or disruption led to much more positive discussions about how to resolve industry challenges and about putting the capital to work on the continent.

AfO: How would you like to see Mining Indaba progress and develop moving forward? (best practice) JM: The resources are there, the infrastructure continues to advance as the economies continue to develop, and there are more and more opportunities to feel comfortable about putting capital to work in regions that were off limits a few years ago. All of those things tell a very bright picture for the Indaba and the continent at large.

One of the things we have tried to do and address is to create a platform to put mining CEOs and ministers and chambers of mines together to harmonise and let best practices rise to the top.

One of the things we felt from a legacy perspective is if we can be part a catalyst to harmonise best practice across the continent, it has the potential to significantly alter the volume of foreign direct investments that come into the sector.

Part of the challenge that currently exists in Africa is that doing business from one jurisdiction to another is so wildly different that it’s hard for investors to say they’re going to have the depth of expertise in each one, so they often tend to focus on select areas and not look beyond. But if we

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Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi opens 2015 Africa Mining Indaba

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could get to a point where we are that catalyst to bring that dialogue forward and share ideas and have those percolate into actual practiced change, then that has the opportunity to materially change things on the continent.

Every event wants to continue to grow but we want to grow the right way. From my perspective, I’d like to see us grow with that attitude in mind, with us continuing to drive and increase participation across the continent for mining companies, and for us to bring more investors from more destinations to the continent to see what’s happening in the sector.

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Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the UK, delivered this year’s keynote presentation

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AfO: What would you say is Mining Indaba’s key differentiator when comparing it to other events on the global mining calendar?

JM: The event’s mandate and what it is predicated on is it being a Pan-African event. While we are located in South Africa and there’s a strong mining sector there, it absolutely is an event that spans Africa and has been since its inception.

One of the wonderful things about this event is that it is very much an African event and its proudly so. The participants think of it as their Indaba, which is one of the things I’ve always

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felt is unique about it and makes it special. From that perspective, we continue to make sure its roots are there and that our constituents and relationships continue to develop on the continent in that way, to drive that passion around the event.

Since being acquired, one of the things you will see us do and be rabid about is making sure that this event stays true to what made it special to begin with.

We recognise though that there are things we can do and are doing to improve it further such as this year introducing a VIP investor programme to help the top investors have an experience at the Indaba that is

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customised and holds their hand throughout the event.

On the mining company side we went out to all the mid-tier guys to introduce a new value proposition for them to give them the opportunity to participate in the event in a way that allows them to do so at a price point that’s palatable for their business model.

Those types of things we didn’t do under the previous owners and we wanted to show people through this event that it is a fantastic success, it is in the right position on the global calendar, it brings all the right attention to the sector, and we’re still working hard to make it even better.

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is a leading business-to-business publication promoting and showcasing the leading companies across an array of sectors on the continent.

Appearing in both digital and print, the publication is aimed at boardroom members and hands-on decision makers, reaching more than 165,000 business executives every month.

Each month we feature leading companies and business executives by profiling their operations and success stories. Covering areas of best practice, capital investments, the supply chain, innovation and continuous improvement, we aim to promote all that is good about the industry and the region, with your company taking centre stage throughout it all.

Producing business profiles across the full range of sectors and every corner of the continent, Africa Outlook is the platform to promote your business success.

Read on for this month’s profiles.

Emily Jarvis, Deputy Editor emily.jarvis@outlookpublishing.com

If you want to enjoy the exposure and coverage we can offer, please feel free to contact us to discuss the opportunity further.

Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world.

Matthew Staff, Editorial Director Tel: +44 (0) 1603 559152 matthew.staff@outlookpublishing.com

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Rewarding EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES FOR

Returns onceptualised in an internet cafe by now husband and wife, Mr and Mrs Siweya, Mbuyelo Group meaning “return” or “rewards” - is predominantly a coal mining company that has been driven by a strong work ethic and guided by a wise leader since the very beginning.

When the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 (MPRDA) came into regulation in 2002, this change to the mining charter in South Africa gave Siweya the opportunity to enter the mining scene.

“The Act increased interest in South Africa from a mining perspective and therefore, we positioned ourselves accordingly and applied for as many mining assets as possible, and the rest is history; the company developed

from strength to strength,” says Rirhandzu Owner Siweya, CEO of Mbuyelo Group.

Admirably, with the help of his wife and brother, Siweya generated the resources to secure his vision using tight budgets and through building relationships with partners to develop the Group’s assets.

“Through various valuable partnerships with companies from around the world including London (UK), Canada, Australia and India, we were able to build the necessary technical and financial skills set so that we could stand on our own with an attractive portfolio of operations,” he adds.

Moreover, the subsidiary Mbuyelo Coal’s continued presence at the Mining Indaba for the past couple of years has proved fruitful for the

Backed by ambition and a wealth of industry knowledge, Mbuyelo Group hope to seize as many opportunities as possible and create a sustainable environment for local South Africans Writer: Emily Jarvis Project Manager: Arron Rampling

Rirhandzu Owner Siweya, Group CEO

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60 years on, Spiros Transport

grows new tusks.

It is with a sense of pride and honor that we, at Spiros Transport announce our partnership with the Maponya Group of Companies. Having Maponya Group acquire 60% ownership 60 years into Spiros’ existence is no twist of fate, but the start of a journey into the next generation of transportation.

Now a comprehensively black owned company, Spiros Transport will take you there.

www.spiros.co.za

Partnerships that run deep with the experience to match are just what your business needs.

Rare accreditations: • 1st and only black owned OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) accredited transportation company in RTMS (Road Transport Management System) Back-end tools: • Compliance with trade regulations • Up-to-date risk assessment documentation • Equipped and managed business premises – • Customer Relationship Management • Continuous up-skilling of human capital Most of all, we pride ourselves in being a family, and you are more than welcome to join us.

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Boasting a wealth of experience and understanding in mining

company, creating a platform to meet further potential investors and suppliers.

Manungu Colliery

With various arms of the Group working across different industries, primarily in the resources sector, the company boasts a wealth of experience and understanding of mining regulations and the methodologies required to stimulate good growth.

Mbuyelo’s flagship mine, Manungu Colliery is an opencast production with an estimated lifespan of 30 years. With production having begun in November 2013, the asset is 100 percent owned

by Mbuyelo Coal with 400+ million tonnes of resources and was one of the few remaining in the Mpumalanga coalfields of South Africa.

400+

million Tonnes of coal reserve available at the Manungu Mine over the next 30 years

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“This mine really brings our Group to life. We are very proud of the inroads we have made here and have recently signed a short term contract with Eskom which has started us on the right track,” says Siweya, who is pleased that the Group has been able to foster good relationships with the local power utility and may result in further investment.

Currently, the mine generates 1.98 million tonnes of coal per annum, which Siweya is optimistic will soon reach highs of 3.6 million tonnes a year. The strong relationship with Eskom promises to catch the attention of other investors, improving Mbuyelo’s reputation as one renowned for dedication to the job at hand.

With the renewable energy trend taking hold in South Africa, Siweya says that coal mining still remains a pertinent source of energy for

Spiros Transport, a Maponya Group company.

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piros Transport was established in 1954 by Mr. Spiros Soupionas. During that time the company trans ported construction and building materials but has evolved to focus on the transportation of materials where side tippers execute heavy lifting and moving. For the past 60years Spiros Transport has experienced steady growth and has solidified its reputation as a transport company that delivers under the leadership of Mr. Spiros’ sons, Joe and Jerry Soupionas.

The road to new beginnings Headed by Dr. Richard Maponya and his daughter Chichi, the Maponya Group of Companies had been looking for a credible logistics business to acquire and identified Spiros Transport as the ideal operation due to quality of the operation. The Maponya Group of companies acquired 60% ownership of the company thus making Spiros Transport a comprehensively black owned company with the ability to address concerns facing its people and industry in general.

Dr. Maponya says, “the true solution to addressing poverty, unemployment and business advancement lies in training and education”, a policy Spiros Transport approves and will engage in its empowerment strategy for the benefit of the communities in which it operates. He thoroughly understands the importance of succession planning and always ensures that staff is trained in

systems management so they are prepared to manage the day-to-day business dealings.

This partnership has become a cornerstone on which the company prides itself as it is based on principles that will see Spiros Transport play an active role in helping grow the economy of Southern Africa through the introduction of new systems and players in the industry. Having worked with visionary entities such as Mbuyelo Mining and many others, we believe the immense investment made by the Maponya Group of Companies will move the transport industry forward, taking Spiros Transport along with it.

This merging of family owned businesses, each with a rich heritage that is inspirational in its own right is a milestone we are proud of. The road is long, destinations abound but our 121strong fleet of vehicles are staffed with well-equipped personnel to meet your business’ needs. Come along and join us as we journey to the future and beyond.

Spiros Transport with the Maponya Group takeover are in it for the long haul.

CONTACT DETAILS: Spiros Transport Tel: (013) 648 8915/16 Fax: (013) 648 8917 Web: www.spiros.co.za

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the future of the country. “And our contract with the likes of Eskom continues to reinforce the vital part we play in the industry; we are confident of our future here,” he further adds.

It is only natural for those born in a mining environment such as myself to consider the people who live in the areas affected by Mbuyelo operations

Contributing to society

Mbuyelo Group has worked hard to make a valuable impact locally. Now, in order to encourage local skills development and mitigate shortfalls in the mining industry, the Group has a training programme which prepares local people for work in the sector. “We welcome local people into our company’s family culture by offering them the skills required to

join us, in turn contributing to both individual lives and the economy more generally,” comments Siweya.

The above skills development strategy contributes to Siweya’s Group vision as one which operates as a family-culture. “It is only natural for those born in a mining environment such as myself to consider the people who live in the areas affected by Mbuyelo operations. Consequently, community empowerment should be a natural consequence of our mining operations and we should always consider the local environmental impacts of our works first and foremost,” he adds.

Our Company Structure and Footprint Rirhandzu Colliery

Mbuyelo Properties

Mbuyelo Mining Contractors

Mbuyelo Farms

Roodepoort

Mbuyelo Group (Pty) Ltd

Western Crown Properties

Mbuyelo Resources

Xivono Mining

Mbuyelo Coal

Langverwacht

Palmeitfontein

Kuilrfontein

Welgemeend

Welstand

Loskop

Derdehoek

Valkvarkfontein Colliery

Hoyohoyo Mining

Vunene Mining

Eloff/Manungu Colliery

Mbuyelo Group has worked to make a valuable impact locally

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In line with this, Mbuyelo goes above and beyond the regulatory framework when it comes to its corporate social responsibility drives as Siweya further explains: “Our main focus is in areas which we mine, so as to give back to the immediately affected communities.

The contributions mainly revolve around sustainable projects that improve education in the form of bursaries, skills transfer, mentorships, learnership programmes and making sure the right infrastructure is in place for the future.”

Moreover, the Group has started running, amongst others, agricultural projects such as crop and poultry farming in order to enhance another aspect of local life in South Africa.

“To summarise, our corporate social investment ensures that local communities can continue to survive long beyond our presence in these areas through funding and assisting sustainable business initiatives which are not necessarily mining dependant,” emphasises Siweya.

“The world is our playground”

In the short term, Mbuyelo Group intends to look at the best route to list Mbuyelo Coal on the stock exchange, building the company’s reputation and even its geographical footprint to open up further opportunities. “The stock market is the right platform to show others that you have reached

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a ‘mature state’ as a company while creating long term value for our future and current investors, through means of ‘determination and success’. This motto guides us,” Siweya states.

The Group’s long term vision builds on this, as he explains: “We will develop our other assets within the company, not just in South Africa, but on both the African continent and the rest of the world.

“We believe the seed for success is as much in identifying opportunities for growth before anyone else, but also the method in which you take advantage of them. Seizing these opportunities will ultimately allow us to secure long term growth and sustainability and leave a legacy for the people where we hope to contribute to the eradication of poverty,” concludes Siweya.

Backed by ambitious plans, South Africa will serve as the launch pad for Mbuyelo’s future.

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Foothold

Workers celebrate Jindal’s first truckload of coal from the Chirodzi Coal Mine

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in A Africa

With a total resource of 1.2 billion tonnes of coal, Jindal Mozambique looks to improve local infrastructures in order to secure long-term growth of its export operations Writer: Emily Jarvis • Project Manager: Arron Rampling

have been significant steps towards s part of the $18 billion improving the coking coal yield via the conglomerate Jindal addition of a floatation plant as well as Africa Group, Jindal Mozambique is working providing adequate training to staff, expanding the washing plant and the hard to embed and mine’s other facilities. Africa Outlook expand its presence in the country spoke with the company as it begins through sustainable development of to work on the development of two the Chirodzi Coal Mine, which power plants that will make it possible produces coking and thermal coal. for Chirodzi to become a cost effective Backed by the government of export operation, securing the long Mozambique and with financial support from Jindal’s parent group, all term growth of the mine. coal from the mine will be exported Project details overseas to India and its geographic location makes for a convenient direct Located in the Tete Province and with a projected lifespan of 25 delivery system across the years, Chirodzi is Jindal’s Indian Ocean. first coal mine in the “The Jindal brand southern part of Zambezi is recognised as a key and has a resource of 1.2 international player in the billion tonnes of coal. In mining industry worldwide August 2013, the mine and has a substantial was inaugurated by the footprint across the Honourable President African continent,” says Arnando Emílio Guebuza Country Head Chandra who was accompanied by Singh, Jindal Mozambique. Naveen Jindal, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. Jindal’s first export Chairman Chairman Naveen Jindal. shipment in May 2013 Naveen Jindal is the Chairman Under the current coal marked the achievement of Jindal Steel and Power market and in order to of first phase production Ltd, a part of the O.P. Jindal make the coal project levels of three million Group founded by his late industrialist father sustainable, negotiations tonnes of ROM at are currently underway for Chirodzi, and there

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FÁBRICA DE EXPLOSIVOS DE MOÇAMBIQUE LIMITED

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ÁBRICA DE EXPLOSIVOS DE MOÇAMBIQUE Limited is a Mozambican company specialising in the production, commercialisation and application of explosives. We have clients based in the mining and stone quarry industries throughout Mozambique and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

With a production capacity of 5,000 tonnes per month per shift at the FEM primary unit located in the Moatize district, and other sites based in Mozambique and throughout Southern Africa, FEM is ideally situated to engage in providing top class bulk and cartridged emulsions to the region, in turn boosting coal projects and the Mozambican economy with a reliable range of products.

The Chirodzi Coal Mine produces coking and thermal coal

two power coal-fired plants collectively named Chirodzi Power Project. The framework agreement was signed with the Minister of Energy in 2011 which was quickly followed by a feasibility study and receiving environmental clearance.

“Not only is the construction of these power stations due to make a vital impact to production capacity and site operations as well as the sustainability of the coal mines but it will be the site of Africa’s first coal slurry pipeline directly to Beira port,

Chirodzi Mine, Washplant

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www.fem.co.mz

The primary intention of establishing these two power plants is to assist in costeffective export operations

which will drive local efficiencies.” comments Singh.

The Chirodzi site will consist of one 150MW unit in the 1st phase, with approximately 10 MW being dedicated for operational consumption.

Thereafter, a further 2nd phase consisting of one unit of 150 MW of power will be placed in situ, providing a total power output of around 290

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Fรกbrica de Explosivos Moรงambique, lda (FEM) was founded in 1955 and is directed to the production of sensitized and non-sensitized emulsions. Since the beginning of its activity, is involved in the reference works of the country, dams, mining projects, construction of road and rail network. www.fem.co.mz | T (+258) 217 458 46 | F (+258) 217 458 02

INFRASTRUCTURE, MINING & METALS, INDUSTRIAL, ENERGY.

ENCOM Offers Engineering Expertise In Process, Electrical And Instrumentation, Mechanical, Civil And Structural, Infrastructure, Materials Handling, Mining, EPCM, Industrial Processing Plant Operations And Maintenance Services. www.encommz.com | encom@encommz.com

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MW to be used by the Mozambican government to provide power to local areas.

“The primary intention of establishing these two power plants is to assist in cost-effective export operations. Through more efficient channels and higher productivity rates, Jindal will significantly contribute to the country’s economy,” says Singh.

Jindal Group owns purpose built locomotives, wagons and 12km of railway infrastructure

Growing economy

Mozambique serves as a strategic gateway into the Middle East, Asia and the neighbouring African countries; Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The country is slowly returning to form, transforming from its reputation as one of the poorest countries in the world into one of the fastest growing economies in terms of GDP. The recent Mining Indaba conference also revealed decisive positivity for the

Backed by the financial security and branding of the Jindal Group, we have built a rail road of 12 km and train networks

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future of mining in Mozambique and across Africa more generally, which Singh was pleased to hear.

“A major advantage of any large mining project is the infrastructure benefits it brings. Backed by the financial security and branding of the Jindal Group, we have built a rail road of 12 km and train networks as well as bringing other contributions to the country’s infrastructure in order to fulfil shipping of coal from our three projects in Mozambique; in Zambezi, Moatize and Beira.

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“The port is 685 km away from the mine and so we have optimised our transport links by building a loading platform at the Port of Beria and keeping a coal stock near Moatize rail. Our locomotives can currently transport one million tonnes of coal to the port. We expect to double our export levels as soon as further investments are made into the country’s infrastructure which will minimise logistical challenges going forward,” says Singh.

In the long-term, the company

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Sonil Mozambique

Industrialist Of Tea, Coffee, Cigarettes, Tobacco, Wood, Fruits, Cotton, Nuts, And More.

ak.asj@teledata.mz sonil.moz@teledata.mz Tel: +258 233 22 345

hopes to achieve in excess of 10 million tonnes per annum in coal exports.

“Mozambique has the fourth largest untapped reserves of coal, estimated at two billion metric tonnes, so there is massive potential for growth,” confirms Singh.

Infrastructure challenges

As of the end of 2014, Jindal exported half a million tonnes of coking and thermal coals to India. In order to increase this number and reach full capacity and become cost-effective, Singh says there needs to be a joint effort to rapidly address improvements to Mozambique’s infrastructure as he explains: “National companies, the government, investors and other mining organisations need to work together in order to sufficiently impact upon the country’s infrastructure.

“Just one example of the challenges that we face is with regards to exporting our product. A significant amount of products in general are

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J I N D A L

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Inauguration of Chirodzi mine by the President of Mozambique

exported from Mozambique and consequently, we need to build a stronger logistical backbone, particularly at the ports; where there is currently no mechanised loading system. The more of us who work together, the more economically sustainable we make Mozambique’s business and living environments,� he emphasises.

Local benefits

In summary, there are of course many direct and indirect benefits that Chirodzi Coal Mine will bring to the local communities and more broadly, the country. Firstly, the mine has provided more than 1,000 jobs so far, a number which is set to increase as and

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For every 50 members of staff, there are five expatriates who work across different aspects of our operations, whether it is from a classroom or through on-thejob training

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when capacity can grow. “For every 50 members of staff, there are five expatriates who work across different aspects of our operations, whether it is from a classroom or through on-thejob training,” states Singh.

Secondly the mine has a set of corporate social responsibility activities to complement its contribution to the country’s GDP, devoting millions of dollars to a wide range of local initiatives including sponsorship for training programmes in the community.

Moving forward, Singh hopes that Chirodzi will progress from its current

Chandra Shekhar Singh Vice President & Country Head, JSPL Mozambique

Night operations at the Chirodzi mine

Mr Singh is a multidimensional professional mining engineer from ISM Dhanbad, India. He brings with him more than 21 years’ diversified experience in strategic planning, mineral resource development, project planning, project execution & management, operations, production, planning and logistics. Prior to this project, Singh was Country Head of Jindal Mauritania.

Before joining Jindal Group, Singh was associated with leading corporate houses such as Aditya Birla Group’s Ispat Group, as well as with Goa mining industries such as Dempo’s and Chowgule. Singh has expertise in technical due diligence; project financing; resource & reserve estimation; mine design; planning & scheduling; pit optimisation; tendering and mine contracting; feasibility studies; mineral resource development; preliminary investigation of greenfield mineral deposits; manpower; and overall project management.

output of three million tonnes of coal, to 10 million tonnes via an extensive and thorough long-term plan to increase capacity. “Within this plan, Jindal Mozambique will continue to assess alternative logistics systems to improve efficiencies which will include the slurry pipeline development on the new power plant site. Needless to say, exciting times are ahead for the Chirodzi Mine,” he concludes.

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W H I T E

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THE NEXT GENERATION OF

World-Class African Mines White Rivers Exploration has been compiling significant tenement holdings and drill hole databases for the past eight years and is now entering a landmark milestone phase of its evolution in the Witwatersrand Basin Writer: Matthew Staff • Project Manager: Arron Rampling

hite Rivers Exploration is embarking on the most exciting period of its eight –year presence in South Africa as it looks to turn its extensive exploration and data acquisition efforts into tangible, profitable results.

The company’s journey began in 2007 after industry-renowned mining prospector and entrepreneur, Mark Creasy took the decision to capitalise on the new Mining Act in South Africa and to self fund White Rivers’ exploration of the commodity-rich Witwatersrand Basin.

The new regulations stipulated that there would be a ‘use it or lose it’ jurisdiction imposed on all existing mining houses with large tenement

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holdings in the region; subsequently paving the way for a company like White Rivers to pick up where some exploration efforts had left off decades previously.

“Mark Creasy is one of the most successful prospectors in the world and decided to send a team of people to South Africa to actually start applying for some of this now vacant land in the Witwatersrand Basin, mainly abutting or near existing operations with installed infrastructure,” recalls White Rivers Exploration’s Executive Chairman, Neil Warburton. “Being private, we regard ourselves as a very nimble and fast moving company with not a lot of bureaucracy, and with the sole funding from Mark Creasy, we can focus on

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taking the prospective exploration permits through development to production.

“With the assistance of our BEE partners, this process has been successful. With funding aligned with adding value to the company’s diverse range of mineral assets, this has led to us looking to list on an international stock exchange later this year.”

Acquiring data

Mining production and a stock exchange listing will represent the ultimate fruits of White Rivers’ hard labour over its first eight years in the Witwatersrand Basin, and will prove to be a

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just reward for an ongoing project of this complexity.

“We appointed Shango Solutions as our exploration consulting group, one of the largest and experienced Groups in the industry, in South Africa,” Warburton explains. “What we asked them to do when we started was to commence acquiring drill hole and seismic data on our project areas, but we discovered very early on that the areas had already been largely drilled out.

“However, a lot of the previous data had been lost or misplaced, as a result

WRE and Harmony’s JV Project, South Africa

AUS$8 million

spent on this project since 2007 tracking down and acquiring lost data

Map showing 32 applications, over 12 projects

of the big mining houses being broken up or sold off. The transfer or single repository of that information had been lost.”

What followed has been an extensive and comprehensive effort between Shango Solutions and White Rivers to track down and acquire that lost data; amounting to a total of AUS$8 million being spent on the project areas since 2007.

Consequently, White Rivers now comprises one of the largest privately owned databases in the Witwatersrand Basin, incorporating 3,500 drill holes

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made up of survey data and vital geological information.

Warburton adds: “There was pressure on us to drill holes and to stick in the shafts and infrastructure ourselves, but that takes years to do with the necessary feasibility and mining studies, and is also very expensive.

“By spending the money to acquire the data that is already in existence – and we have already sourced data from more than 20 individual sources – we are able to make much quicker decisions, at less cost, which

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Exploration has opened the door to even further revenue opportunities

guarantees that prospective areas are defined more readily.”

White Rivers, thanks to the help of Shango Solutions, now has a very clear interpretation of the entire geological structure of the Basin, helping the company not only determine prospective areas for exploration and future mining on its tenements, but also where best to apply for new tenements moving forward.

Diverse projects

These applications within the Basin now total 32 in the form of exploration permits, the majority of which receiving the highest form of governmental tenure known as ‘registered’.

These 32 permits cover approximately 3,500 square kilometres of land, grouped into 12 marked out project areas, and while White Rivers made these applications with the unearthing of gold in mind, the data acquired later revealed a much more widespread and lucrative prospect in

By spending the money to acquire the data that is already in existence – we are able to make much quicker decisions, at less cost, with guarantees that we’ll find something at the end of it

terms of the commodities at hand.

“Our primary focus was and still is gold,” Warburton states. “However, what we stumbled across was that a lot of the data indicated that there was coal present at some locations.”

While some mining houses had traditionally only put in applications for single commodity exploration projects, White Rivers was prepared for such a pleasant surprise having received permits to allow exploration on all 17 commodities, including iron ore, base metals, precious metals and coal.

Warburton continues: “What we found when we started acquiring all of this data was we not only had gold information, but also uranium, manganese and coal as well.”

This, combined with gas assets that White Rivers has also found within its project areas, has opened the door to even further revenue opportunities – in the form of coal - in the future to complement its mining and joint venture goals.

These coal resources will go towards

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SHANGO SOLUTIONS

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EJV project area

serving a significant need within South Africa at present; identifying a joint venture partner in the energy space to extract the coal, generate electricity and feed it into Eskom’s grid for power generation.

Warburton hopes that this initiative will have taken off within three years, alongside similar usage of its gas reserves which can similarly be utilised in the energy sector via third parties.

Beisa

The benefits emanating from the information already held by White Rivers continues to diversify and expand, but the primary goal still

High-grade gold ore from the Witwatersrand basin

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revolves around its gold efforts, with the company staying true to its initial strategy of bringing an existing commodity-rich area to the point of mining activity through the establishment of key joint venture partnerships with neighbouring operations.

Throughout its areas of exploration, one is already nearing this significant stage, as Warburton enthuses: “Our most advanced location is Beisa which is on the western flanks of the Free State, northwest of Welkom, and in September last year we formed a joint venture with Harmony to explore the ground.

“We own 65 percent, are managers of the joint venture and have to spend R50 million proving a gold resource to pre-feasibility study status and I’m pleased to announce that it’s going extremely well so far.”

The venture consists of an integration of White Rivers’ exploration expertise with Harmony’s commodity rights, preexisting data and, most importantly, its capital infrastructure and mining equipment already based within the vicinity of the site.

Warburton adds: “We manage the

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hango Solutions is a leading geological consultancy established in April 2004 in Johannesburg, South Africa. It has provided services to the Mark Creasy Group since 2005 and to its subsidiary White Rivers Exploration (WRE) since 2006. A productive and trustful working relationship with these entities has developed over the last 8 years. Shango Solutions was instrumental in creating WRE’s tenement portfolio in South Africa which led to the launching of one of the largest Exploration tenement holdings within the gold rich Witwatersrand basin in South Africa. These high quality tenements has subsequently led to the joint venture agreement between WRE and Harmony Gold abutting the Target Mine Operations in the Free State. Currently the exploration focus is on enhancing the value of the joint venture by defining a maiden, JORC codecompliant gold and uranium resource by October 2015.

As a leading geological consulting company in Africa, Shango Solutions strives towards technical excellence through innovation. Thirty passionate employees provide a diverse range of offerings to the minerals industry in South Africa and beyond. These wide-ranging client services, from target identification to technical reporting (see resource value chain overleaf), are supported by: • An extensive network of national and international affiliations, facilitating bankable feasibility studies • A core of unique mineral experts; • Knowledge-intensive databases; • More than 500 combined man years of Africa-based, multi-commodity mining and exploration experience; and • An established track record of successful project execution, management, including complex multidisciplinary assignments, involving major mining houses as well as junior exploration companies.

Shango Solutions is fully BEE compliant and fulfils its social responsibility through established community projects.

T +27 11 678 6504 E info@shango.co.za

www.shango.co.za

Excellence and Innovation

in the Resources Industry

Target Generation (Africa Knowledge)

Tenement Maintenance

Exploration

Address: Cnr. Ethel Ave and Ruth Crescent, Northcliff, Johannesburg, South Africa

Geological Modelling

Contact Numbers: Tel: +27 11 678 6504 Fax: +27 11 678 9731

Resource Estimation

Technical Reporting

Email: info@shango.co.za

www.shango.co.za

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joint venture through to a Decision to Mine, fund that exploration, and we’re now heading down the route of finalising our first major dual compliance international resource in excess of six million ounces of gold.

“The good thing about this joint venture is that if after a bankable feasibility study is conducted and it shows a very economic output and high rate of return, Harmony will then allow the use of their neighbouring installed infrastructure; their shafts, their underground workings and their treatment facilities.

“Capital is thereby reduced and mining is fast-tracked because you don’t have to put in a new shaft or build new infrastructure and this has led to Beisa being our most advanced project by a long way.”

Joint ventures

Beisa will now lay the platform for quickened and more extensive growth towards what White Rivers is trying to achieve across the Witwatersrand Basin, as other prospective partners get their first glimpse of what the company has accomplished through its data acquisition efforts in the region.

“Mark Creasy has been self funding the company to date and as we

LETSEMA CONSULTING

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etsema Consulting is a management consulting and advisory firm based in South Africa.

The company offers business and transaction advisory services across multiple sectors and geographies in subSaharan Africa.

Neil Warburton, White Rivers Exploration’s Executive Chairman

advance some of these projects and acquire more existing drill hole data and do the feasibility studies etc, the monthly spend is going up,” Warburton says. “At some point we need to go public enabling existing shareholders to realise some of their returns on investment.

“Other joint venture partnerships will follow, where we can utilise companies’ existing, underutilised infrastructure through exploration success of neighbouring tenements.”

Once a significant gold resource on

Members of the White Rivers Exploration team

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The legal practice offers commercial and corporate transaction advisory services, advising on commercial transactions in both the public and private sectors, including high value transactions in various industries, as well as disposals, restructuring and joint ventures. Letsema understands African commercial reality and partners with its clients for commercial solutions that meet their needs.

E michelleb@letsema.co.za

www.letsema.co.za

a nearby tenement can be proved, the same process as has been seen at Beisa can be applied in each of its core project areas, and the prospective relationships become even more attractive given White Rivers’ willingness to carry out the usually high-risk exploration phase.

“Once we have that joint venture in place we don’t mind spending the money on exploration because we already have some basic information from acquiring previous data,” Warburton notes. “It’s a strategy that a lot of South Africa’s major mining houses like because we reduce their expenditure and risk profile by doing so.

“Having a company that focuses on exploration with the development and production profile to follow falls in line with their thinking, while we get the benefit of using their underutilised infrastructure.”

White Rivers subsequently comprises an experienced team of

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Advised White Rivers Exploration (Pty) Ltd in the joint venture concluded with the Harmony Group We are a black-owned business advisory firm operating out of Johannesburg, servicing both the private and public sectors in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa in various sectors including transport, energy, mining, government and industrial.

Corporate & commercial transaction advisory I Strategy development & implementation I Supply chain management Procurement support I Stakeholder management I Business process optimisation I Transformation advisory I Stakeholder engagement

Contact: Michelle Beneke at michelleb@letsema.co.za or visit our website at www.letsema.co.za geologists and mining personnel in Johannesburg to further enforce this level of quality being offered to prospective partners.

Filling a niche

White Rivers Exploration’s profile is building steadily and significantly, and will only be compounded by the success of its Beisa project, the imminent stock exchange listing and its prominence at expos, including the recent Mining Indaba event in South Africa.

“Our first public brief was made at Indaba, 2015 and we have received a huge response from interested parties as well as from experienced industry geologists who came past our booth saying how they used to work in the area and knowing where to track down further data,” Warburton says. “Now that we’re getting into the public arena it should open the door to a lot more joint ventures.

We fill a niche within South Africa where large mining houses with multiple mines have sat on a lot of ground for a long time without really thinking about utilisation or profitability

“We are now an established company and are well resourced; technically and financially.”

The success of its partnership with Harmony will further encourage future development of the business model and Warburton now expects at least two

or three more of a similar ilk to have brought projects to production phase over the next three or four years.

“We expect to have a cash flow into the company from a gold perspective and other joint venture partnerships will not be far behind,” the Chairman concludes. “Mark Creasy still holds a very firm view that the gold price will continue to rise and that we are situated in one of the richest gold endowment areas here in the Witwatersrand Basin.

“We fill a niche within South Africa where traditionally it’s been large mining houses having multiple mines and sat on a lot of ground for a long time without really thinking about utilisation or profitability.

“We’re all about making profit and are nimble enough to carry out exploration very quickly to add value to our own company, existing operations and our joint venture partners.”

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A Silver Anniversary for the Gold and Copper Processing SENET has built a significant reputation across numerous mining commodities over its 25 year life and continues to diversify, expand and evolve with the future in mind Writer: Matthew Staff • Project Manager: Arron Rampling

ENET is celebrating its 25th year of operations while looking towards the next 25 as it gears up for future industry booms in the mining sector in Africa.

Despite its core copper and gold markets being engulfed in a general slowdown of late, the indigenously South African project management and engineering organisation is taking steps to ensure that its internal processes are being optimised in order to strike while the iron is hot once the industry picks up speed again.

Since its inception in 1990 as a conveying and bulk materials handling business in the mining sector, the company has grown and diversified, building a formidable reputation as a significant player across the

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African continent by providing an all-encompassing process plant design solutions range.

This range comprises all levels of project feasibility studies, process plant design, project management, procurement and construction services, heap leach stacking using state-of-the-art equipment, mineral

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beneficiation, bulk materials handling and conveying; all within the mining domain.

“Our services cover everything from conceptual desktop and feasibility studies of mineral processing plants, to project design, project execution and construction up to the point of commissioning,” explains SENET’s new Business Development Director, Darren Naylor, who also emphasises what a great achievement it is to have been successful for so long in such a fluctuating and challenging industry.

“To reach our 25th year is a momentous milestone within the African space. We are part of an elite group of truly South African EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) companies

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that are still in existence,” he adds.

“Most of the others have been bought out by large international players, therefore it’s a testament to SENET that it has maintained its unique identity and continues to prosper.”

“From that point onwards we grew exponentially with a track record in full process plant design with strong execution in construction and completion of projects.”

While not necessarily known as a construction company itself, this aspect has been integral in providing the complete service that SENET now prides itself on. This, combined with the final, tailor-made solution that is developed for each client, has led to the company working with numerous market-leading Groups on large-scale mining sites.

A bedrock of expertise

With the original founders of SENET still involved in the business, this provides a flexible, entrepreneurial basis from which all of its expansion and diversification has occurred over its history.

Starting life as a predominantly materials handling and heap leach business, the company used this robust approach to form a bedrock of expertise and to build a reputation within the industry, particularly in Africa. These features remain integral to the service provided by SENET, which is now under the guidance and direction of a new, dynamic and likeminded management team.

The SENET that exists today is the result of development that started with its first major process plant

Track record

Darren Naylor Business Development Director contract awarded more than a decade ago, as Naylor notes: “Initially, we expanded our services to meet our clients’ increasing needs, and then in the early 2000s we built our first large gold process plant, which kick-started our real growth.

By meeting and exceeding customer demands and expectations and producing flagship projects over the past 25 years, SENET has created a successful business model, starting with its first groundbreaking heap leach project in Ghana in 1994, and subsequently including work with multinational giants like Glencore for whom SENET carried out work at their Mutanda Mine in the DRC.

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LEONARD LIGHT INDUSTRIES

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eonard Light Industries (Pty) Ltd (part of the KEEGOR GROUP) has been the supplier of choice to many precious metal producers around the globe for over half a century.

We design, manufacture and supply “KEEGOR”® Fire-Assay and Gold-Room furnaces, machinery and consumables.

SENET celebrates its 25th year of operations while looking towards the next 25

Our factories have a total of over 6,200 m2 (66,700 ft2) under roof and we currently have a staff compliment of 65, some having been with us for well over 30 years. This gives us significant capability and depth of experience.

Our customers expect us – and our company culture ensures – that we adhere to extremely high standards of integrity, confidentiality, honesty and reliability.

www.keegor.co.za

KESP “Track record counts for everything,” Naylor states. “Until we completed our first process plant, we were considered a conveying company and, at best, a heap leach company, but since then we have received a significant amount of repeat business from various clients going through three or four phases of their development over the years.

“This is testament not only to doing something well, but also to developing loyalty in an environment where loyalty is diminishing.”

Fostering such close-knit relationships with clients has further aided SENET’s own growth on a geographical level too, moving into new regions of Africa, and even overseas, as customers look to the company for a consistent, standardised service across their own international operations.

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“Our target copper and gold markets are predominantly in Africa but we have also executed projects in Kazakhstan, South America and the UAE, amongst many others,” Naylor adds. “We do have good exposure internationally, but we still focus primarily on Africa because when it comes to the core skills of the business, we are very good at working in remote areas and have built a reputation for our work in that geographical area.

“We understand Africa well and some remote regional parts of Africa extremely well. You can only attain that experience through working somewhere over a number of years so it’s crucial we continue to work in areas that we are comfortable with, for our own benefit and that of our clients.”

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auteng-based Konamanje Engineering and Shower Projects (KESP™) provides a variety of emergency showers and eyewash stations, manufactured, supplied and repaired in line with international standards, to meet the requirements of the safety industry. KESP™ emergency showers carry a one-year warranty and can be purchased with or without eyewash units. All emergency showers undergo standard operating test procedures. Maintenance instructions and installation drawings are supplied to ensure correct installation and maintenance. KESP self-designs and manufactures all of its own products to ensure reliability, practicality and, most importantly, protection for its customers.

T +27 (11) 396-3905 E sales@kesp.co.za

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T: +27 11 421-0711/2/3 W: www.keegor.co.za E: info@keegor.co.za F: +27 11 421-0714

PROUDLY SERVING...

...the Precious Metal Assaying, Smelting and Refining Industries since 1959 A 3rd generation family owned business with a proud and long standing tradition of being an innovator in the industry and a manufacturer of quality, reliable equipment and consumable products Assay laboratories: • Assay laboratory equipment • Fusion furnaces • Cupellation furnaces • Sample preparation equipment • Consumables Smelting and refining: • Calcining/drying ovens • Smelting furnaces • Molten metal and slag handling equipment

Leonard Light Industries (Pty) Ltd WHY ARE WE THE SMART CHOICE?

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Improving efficiencies

While the company’s present growth is somewhat dictated by the current industry situation, SENET is still finding unique selling points to ensure that it remains sustainable and prosperous in the build-up to the next industry boom.

SENET’s unique selling points include, amongst others, a technical and economic advantage in its milling in raffinate work, for which the organisation has become a world leader. In addition, its heap leach and conveying expertise continues to be developed and enhanced.

Naylor explains: “Commodity demand is at an all-time low which doesn’t translate well into many projects getting off the ground, leading to a lot of competition in the African space.

“However, SENET benefits from being a medium-sized company of around 350 people, by being able to

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SENET has many unique selling points, making it a world leader in some operations

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offer a more personal, tailor-made and project-specific approach to our clients.

“This, combined with our track record, experience and low turnover of experienced employees, contributes largely to our success and client appeal.”

Adherence to pressing industry trends and, in particular, environmental concerns further ensures that SENET’s offering is one of the most attractive to clients across the sector in Africa, as everything is put in place for future, enhanced activity across the region.

“The industry is in a challenging position at the moment,” Naylor concludes. “The short-term calls for a period of consolidation, as well as the improvement of efficiencies and internal skills within the organisation.

“The industry will be challenging for the next few years and although we may be growing during this period, we do so cautiously with a focus on building capacity, as we gear ourselves for the next industry boom.”

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SENET has vast experience operating in remote areas of Africa’s landscape

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Southern Africa’s

Partner Ground O N

T H E

Major Drilling is one of the major players in the global mining sector and is using its expertise and reputation to overcome current industry challenges on the continent Writer: Matthew Staff • Project Manager: Arron Rampling

ajor Drilling is capitalising on its international reputation and mining expertise to weather a general slowdown in the market.

With commodity prices at or near cyclical lows, the competition for projects is all the more fierce, but Major Drilling has the benefit of being a longstanding, leading player across the global sector.

Based in New Brunswick, Canada, the company’s replication of its international success, in Southern Africa, has been an ongoing process since 2007 following the acquisition of the Longstaff Group of Companies.

“Our history in the region is fairly recent but our main focus remains that of the wider company, to provide specialised drilling services to the mining industry,” explains the Group’s Southern African Regional Manager, Greig Rodger. “As one of the very well established global players in the industry, we operate very specialised services including circulation drilling, multi-purpose drilling, directional drilling, environmental drilling, and shallow oil & gas drilling.

“Typically, the more challenging areas of drilling are where we specialise.”

Global company, acting local

The company’s operations in Southern Africa currently comprise a 250-strong workforce carrying out these highly complex projects for its range of international and regional customers.

Balancing the global influence with local considerations is something that Major Drilling has had to pay close attention to over the past six years and is something that Rodger believes is one of the key reasons for the success enjoyed across Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique.

“Major Drilling’s move into Southern Africa was strategic as it looked to expand its global operations,” Rodger

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recalls. “We had an operation in Tanzania prior to the acquisition in Southern Africa and it was really a case of increasing our overall footprint.

“For Major Drilling in Southern Africa we really want to provide an international quality service to both our existing international clients as they move into Africa, as well as clients who are already operating within the region.”

The ability to be an international company acting locally incorporates funding and capital for projects from the head office, including a recent move into the oil & gas market in Mozambique in an attempt to diversify its operations in light of ongoing commodity struggles across the core commodity domain.

With every new project the organisation is able to leverage either existing relationships and business partnerships, or the notoriety that has come from completing such projects in the past. This also assists in overcoming significant challenges, such as those currently being experienced.

“We still have to compete for contracts in Southern Africa, but where we have relationships with larger customers that are also global

operators, we have an advantage because of that existing relationship,” Rodger continues. “Each country has its own challenges though.

Each region has different minerals and different requirements, so it’s very important that we overcome those local challenges and embrace each country’s set of rules and skills challenges where we can.”

Preserving business

Greig Rodger, Major Drilling Group’s Southern African Regional Manager

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With commodity prices dictating the general slowdown in business being endured by all players in the market, the need to find other differentiators and focuses is vital, and Major Drilling is placing a lot of its efforts and investments into improving its own internal efficiencies for when the market does pick up again.

“Business is slow everywhere at the moment so it’s important in a tough market to preserve the business,” Rodger says. “This involves a lot of streamlining taking place as we ensure our efficiencies for the longer term, for

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If you look at the history and branding of Major Drilling, our motto is always that we’re a value proposition, priding ourselves on this quality, very high safety standards, and the building of long-term relationships with our customers

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our customers.

“It’s a very competitive market as well, with lots of excess equipment and drill rigs around in the region and everybody chasing the same business.”

Once again, being able to adapt and make the necessary, sustainable investments has ensured that Major Drilling is not only coping with this challenge, but is also keeping an eye firmly fixed on striking while the iron is hot in the future.

Rodger adds: “We’ve phased out all of our mechanical rigs now so that our fleet is fully hydraulic, in terms of modernisation.

“That’s an advantage over many competitors, particularly in South Africa and the wider region. We’ll continue to do that as both we and our clients demand a high level of safety.”

Quality and safety

Despite the current conditions, Major Drilling has always been a forward thinking company and this philosophy remains in Southern Africa, and especially in terms of its view to future geographical expansion.

Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Madagascar are all potential growth areas once the market becomes more lucrative, while further acquisitions are also an ongoing possibility for the wider business to monitor.

“Major Drilling is very fortunate in that it has strong financial backing from a solid company,” Rodger concludes. “It gives us an advantage over some other competitors, and right now it’s really what we pride ourselves on as well as delivering quality to very high safety standards.

“If you look at the history and branding of Major Drilling, our motto is always that we’re a value proposition, priding ourselves on this quality, very high safety standards, and the building of long-term relationships with our customers.”

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Raising the Bar MetGroup is staying true to a Group business model that has already improved industry standards via its 11 operating companies to become the mining industry’s contractor of choice Writer: Matthew Staff Project Manager: Arron Rampling

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etGroup has risen from a medium engineering group to a respected mining and engineering contractor supplying services globally through a one-stopshop value proposition, and is now striving to raise the industry bar even further through its 11 operating companies.

Diversification has enabled the company to look beyond the entire business spectrum, creating a platform for success and high performance delivery, which consolidated in South Africa in 2005; becoming an “energetic, driven and multi-faceted organisation housing a comprehensive range of expertise to the infrastructure, mining, shaft sinking, construction and

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manufacturing sectors”.

In every strategic decision made during this development, however, has been the underlying goal of meeting customer satisfaction, adhering to the latest industry trends, innovations, and ensuring a sustainable future for both MetGroup and its business partners.

“What MetGroup establishes in each company is to create diversity within the Group, but also to create a profit centre for each company in their own right, accommodating the needs of the Group itself, and the customers they serve,” explains the organisation’s Group Commercial Director, Dr. Hein Jantzen. “This value proposition therefore creates a platform for a one-stop shop solution.”

The subsequent result of this

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Shaft sinking & developing

turnkey offering has been longterm client relationships; a more comprehensive adherence to safety, health and the environment due to the more focused nature of each individual subsidiary; and a more extensive employment drive across its operating sectors and regions.

Jantzen continues: “We are adamant that we will continue giving our clients the best value. We are open to new ideas and have managers and operators on ground level to make sure that we set ourselves up as best as possible for the opportunities that are out there.

“Through our visionary strategy, we will continue to raise the bar. How high that bar will go, I can’t predict, but we will intelligently continue to set higher but feasible targets.”

Lean and mean

MetCOnsult (Pty) Ltd.

It would seem already that MetGroup’s strategy is paying dividends, having already enjoyed 400 percent business growth in recent years as a result of its acquisition joint ventures and merger activities.

This highlights another key facet of the Group’s continuous improvement philosophy in regards to its entrepreneurship, flexibility and ability to make quick decisions within the various market places.

“It’s all about making sure that your operational readiness is very clear in the sense of what you are able to take on and also being able to walk away from projects that may not be the right business fit,” Jantzen says. “This area is critical in making sure that, through

Infrastructure consulting engineers

MetATM (Pty) Ltd.

Transformer manufacturing

MetAtlantis (Pty) Ltd.

Raise and box hole drilling

MetDecci (Pty) Ltd. Solar power

MetInternational (Pty) Ltd. International mining operations

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effective planning and in applying an intelligent mindset, it will enhance sustainable growth and profitability in the short and long term.”

This envisioning business model also takes into account potential and inevitable fluctuations within the market, accommodating periods between company expansion and company consolidation; both of which need to be prepared for when working in a commodity-based industry.

Jantzen adds: “You must understand and be very clear in commodity market, having focus and both eyes on upcoming trends and happenings.

In other words, do not keep all of your eggs in one basket.

“We make sure that our front end loading and readiness plans address all these challenges and different commodity cycles and spikes through a fit for purpose business model.

“We have a very flat structure where every company has its own Managing Director and is seen as integrated profit business centre, under the MetGroup umbrella.”

It’s not about reinventing the wheel but about applying your mind to all lessons learnt in positioning the group, achieving best-in-class results continuously

you’re setting a base to accommodate all their requirements within the value chain.

“If you look at the local challenges that are out there, it’s all about completing projects on time, within budget, safe and with the best quality.”

Once again, the ability to remain lean and flexible, but also sustainable, allows MetGroup to challenge pre-existing levels of service within the market to produce an optimum turnkey offering and best-in-class value proposition.

Jantzen continues: “It’s not about reinventing the wheel but about applying your mind to all lessons learnt in positioning the group, achieving best in class results continuously.

“However, it is important to not be complacent and to make sure that all client expectations are very clear, including the scope of works in order to implement, execute and close out projects successfully.”

Clear expectations

Ultimately, it is the clients of MetGroup who benefit most from this meticulous value proposition and careful diligence.

“The MetGroup philosophy has always been based on the needs of clients, locally and abroad,” Jantzen confirms. “Through close collaboration and making sure you form a longstanding partnership with clients,

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MetGroup enhances the transfer of skills and exchange of expertise within the Group

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The benchmarks and targets MetGroup has set itself are built on robust foundations of enhancing its strength, capability, knowledge and presence, but with the realisation that success will ultimately be determined by client satisfaction; an ethos which has now been replicated on an international scale.

Adopting the mantra of being an international company with the ability to act local, there are now MetGroup offices in Brazil, Peru and Chile, among others, while projects have also been carried out successfully across India, Kazakhstan and Iran.

Employing and developing local skills within each operating region is a key initiative and reason for the company’s ongoing multi-cultural success, overcoming general industry labour challenges to produce a diverse, productive, entrepreneurial and happy workforce.

“Our multi-skilled people’s model continues to bring the best out of every MetGroup employee, while we stay true to our mission statement to enhance the transfer of skills and exchange of expertise within the Group to produce high performance teams.”

The Group Commercial Director concludes: “Age is no concern within MetGroup. As long as a person can add value, optimum output will prevail, remembering employees must enjoy their work and workplace.

“Our people are our intellectual property and the face of MetGroup.”

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Management Since the acquisition of AFS Group, Gilbarco AFS has increased its presence across Africa to offer an unrivalled fuel management solution and accompanying services to the continent Writer: Emily Jarvis • Project Manager: Arron Rampling

or AFS Group, the journey began in 1995 when it first brought a revolutionary technology to Southern Africa that would change the fuel and fleet industries. The FuelOmat technology was designed to securely authorise and control all fuel issued to fleet vehicles, thus minimising fuel losses and significantly increasing efficiencies and reducing costs associated with fuel. AFS deployed the technology in both retail and commercial applications, and had resounding successes in both market segments. This technology was specifically useful in the open cast mining environment, where large volumes of fuel are dispensed annually.

“We look to use technology through innovative software and cloud solutions to give customers a

way to monitor not just their fuel and fuel losses, but also give them the ability to use the fuel information to drive productivity, efficiencies and to monitor fleet utilisation,” says Eoin O’Neill, General Manager of Global Mining at Gilbarco AFS. An open cast mining environment usually has a high operating expenditure on fuel, which is often in excess of 30 percent of the total operating expense. Of this percentage, it is not uncommon to see around five percent in wastage or losses, depending on existing control measures. In any business, trimming large expenses such as fuel can be crucial to success. Gilbarco AFS has seen impressive results from the implementation of its solutions, and all the installed sites are managed to within 0.5 percent variance. This is approximately 10 times less fuel

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wastage or loss than before.

“On a large mining operation, this can translate to a saving of around $1.5 million per year. However, it is not just about recording this loss, but analysing the performance of the whole fleet of vehicles, monitoring variables such as driver behaviour, condition of the road and other operating conditions that help not only reduce loss but improve productivity,” emphasises O’Neill.

Currently, Gilbarco AFS manages in excess of 1.3 billion litres of fuel on the African continent annually, with more than 130,000 vehicles using its fuel management systems. In the mining industry, Gilbarco AFS have in excess of 250 in-field controllers controlling fuel issues and receipts and collecting data to transmit to a central server for validation and reporting.

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Since 2013, Gilbarco AFS has been part of Gilbarco Veeder-Root, a global leader in the supply of fuel equipment solutions and technologies to the petroleum industry such as fuel dispensers, pumps, point of sale equipment and tank gauges.

Headquartered in North Carolina, USA, the parent company has a strong global presence, with businesses in every part of the world and strongly believes in its motto: “Our customers fuel the world”.

“The Gilbarco AFS subsidiary was created to ensure that the business unit focused on providing fuel management solutions that would control and monitor fuel levels and provide accurate information to their customers. We also identified the mining industry as a potential high growth sector for these fuel management solutions,” added O’Neill.

In addition to the AFS acquisition, Gilbarco Veeder-Root also acquired the Navman Wireless telematics company, completing the solution offering by

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including the ability to offer fleet management via telematics.

“AFS Group was a distributor of Gilbarco Veeder-Root products and had developed a full featured, endto-end fuel management solution, tailored specifically for the mining industry. This solution capability and existing market penetration was a big draw card for Gilbarco Veeder-Root and the solution fitted well with the company’s plans,” says O’Neill.

Gilbarco Veeder-Root is now expanding its product range in order to bring a broader solution portfolio to South Africa, a market in which the parent company did not previously participate. “We look forward to fully integrating Gilbarco AFS into the Group,” he confirms.

We now have a presence in the Central Africa region, deploying into five mines in the DRC

Total fuel and fleet management

Gilbarco AFS has become the leading solution provider for end-to-end fuel management and fleet management solutions across the retail, commercial and mining sectors. “We identified early on that Gilbarco AFS needed to bring something innovative to the market, and we differentiated ourselves by accompanying our product with site maintenance services as well as managed information services,” comments Sean McQuade, Marketing Manager of Global Mining at Gilbarco AFS. “Many of our competitor products are installed and handed over to the customer to manage. Our experience and research indicated that there was a high failure rate in adoption of systems deployed under this model, and the system eventually becomes defunct. Consequently we changed our business model to include the complete solution offering, especially maintenance and information services.

The key to this success has been a highly motivated operations team and an advanced information management system. Gilbarco AFS continues to invest heavily in advanced information

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Its site maintenance services are a differentiator

systems to capture, process and report on fuel and fleet data,” says McQuade.

By paying attention to the customer needs and previous industry trends, adoption of Gilbarco AFS systems has been made as easy as possible. Now with the global footprint, financial support and backing from Gilbarco Veeder-Root, the company is now

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rolling out its solutions across further markets outside of Southern Africa.

O’Neill adds: “We now have a presence in the Central Africa region, deploying into five mines in the DRC. Our strategy is to enter new countries to assist in developing the mineral resource there in a sustained way. We are currently looking at opportunities

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Gilbarco AFS has become the leading solution provider for end-to-end fuel management and fleet management solutions across the retail, commercial and mining sectors

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not only in Zambia but also further afield in countries such as Botswana, Tanzania, Ghana and Burkina Faso.”

Providing innovative solutions

and other key markets across the globe. We are already seeing traction with the strategy,” highlights O’Neill.

To secure long term growth, Centre of Excellence Gilbarco AFS will continue to expand To support the African and global its geographical footprint but also look expansion of its fuel and fleet into other innovative solutions it can management solution, Gilbarco AFS offer the mining and fuel management has established a Centre of Excellence industry. “We will do this through for mining solutions and technologies our increased presence rather than in South Africa. simply growing organically. Mining is “From product, solution and a global business and our concept of technical support perspectives, fuel and fleet can improve productivity we will look to South Africa for our for everyone in the business,” he development, training and support. confirms.

We have chosen South Africa as there “Attending this year’s Mining Indaba are a significant number of mining confirmed to us that commodity prices houses that operate here, and the are driving mining organisations to Gilbarco AFS team has built very strong refocus on ways to be more efficient technical and customer intimacy in the where possible. By controlling mining industry. Combining this with outgoings such as the management Gilbarco Veeder- Root’s technical and of fuel and fleet via our complete endcustomer focus in the oil sector and to-end solution, it is clear that Gilbarco Gilbarco’s global presence will help us AFS plays a key part in the future of to expand into other parts of Africa this industry,” concludes O’Neill.

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Africell: Aggressively

THE TELECOM

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Challenging

LANDSCAPE n the span of the past two years, Africell has made two major strategic moves that boosted the Group from a regional operator in West Africa to a Pan-African operator; namely its inception in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the acquisition of Orange Uganda.

The DRC operation launched in November 2012 now boasts seven million active subscribers with a market share of over 20 percent, and Africell has ambitious plans to expand its geographical coverage further in this vast country.

The acquisition of Orange Uganda further extended Africell’s portfolio to a country with 37.5 million inhabitants and an advanced and rapidly growing telecom market with an existing 2G, 3G, and LTE network. The acquisition made “perfect sense”, according to Elias Arwadi, Africell’s Group’s COO. “The Uganda acquisition fulfilled all the criteria we look for in our expansions.

The country size is substantial, there is sufficient infrastructure in place and we believe there is room for an aggressive challenger.”

With more than 12 million active subscribers as of year-end 2014, Africell is now at the heart of the African telecom scene as one of the fastest growing players. So what does make this company tick?

The journey began in 2001 in The

Gambia where entrepreneur Ziad Dalloul (Group CEO) launched Africell Gambia, which was swiftly followed by expansion in 2005 into Sierra Leone, then came DRC and Uganda.

Africell is among very few brands that were not “imported and adapted” as Arwadi emphasises: “International players had to adapt their brands and brand values when entering the African scene. However, Africell was born and bred in Africa. Therefore the intrinsic attributes of the brand have been directly shaped by the needs of African people.”

Operational excellence

COO Elias Arwadi believes that Africell will play a key part in the development of Africa’s telecoms sector, a sector that is becoming the main driver behind the rise of the continent as a major economic player Writer: Emily Jarvis Project Manager: Donovan Smith

Africell today has an impressive 65 percent market share in both Gambia and Sierra Leone; with more than 1.3 and three million active subscribers respectively.

In Gambia, Africell achieved the first rank in market share back in 2005 and was able to grow this market share despite the entry of two new competitors in 2007 and 2009.

Today with more than 1.3 million active subscribers in a country of two million inhabitants, every other Gambian is an Africell subscriber.

In Sierra Leone, Africell came as the fourth operator going live in 2005, the first ranking in market share came in 2007 and since then the company was consolidating its position to reach 65 percent as of the end of 2014. In

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2009, Africell acquired Tigo (Millicom) in a market consolidation move that Africell was able to close at a time of global financial crisis following the 2008 financial meltdown.

Both operations have a 2G/3G network and own and manage their tower portfolio.

With the lessons learned from previous operations, the growth of the DRC operation was unprecedented, 3.8 million subscribers in the first year of operation, to reach seven million by end 2014 only 25 months following launch. As you read this, 3G will be live in the DRC and Africell is promising nothing less than the aggressive penetration it was able to achieve in the voice market.

Africell was born and bred in Africa. Therefore the intrinsic attributes of the brand have been directly shaped by the needs of African people

Corporate Social Responsibility

Arwadi thinks of CSR initiatives as “sharing and giving back to the communities” as he further explains: “In Africa the term family does not mean only your close family, the term extends even beyond what would be the western concept of the extended family, in Africa you take care of all

Africell views its CSR programme as an extension of the brand attributes

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those around you whether they are a relative or even a neighbour.”

Africell views its CSR programme as an extension of the brand attributes and being an African brand it firmly believes in giving back and sharing with the communities it operates in. “These are the guiding principles behind the Africell CSR programmes that drives our work across as many areas of society as possible, from sports sponsorships to health awareness campaigns, from artistes endorsements to rice distribution, sharing in special occasions to distributing Christmas presents; this extends to everyone and not just our subscribers,” highlights Arwadi.

Jah Oil

Company Gambia Limited

Jah Oil supplies oil and gas through 16 registered petrol and gas/oil filling stations around the nation. We also imports and sells auto engine lubricants and related petroleum products.

Banjul Area Head Office 18 Foday Kabba Highway Latrikunda Sabiji Kanifing Municipality, KSMD The Gambia, West Africa

T: +220 7871321 | +220 660 3122

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GA M B I A W I T H A population of more than competition from three rival two million people and a mobile telecoms companies in Gambia has market penetration rate well above not slowed down progress of Africell the African average standing at 111 as its market share and subscriber percent at the end of 2014, Africell base continued to grow. Today, began a conservative approach in Gambia has 1.3 million subscribers, a Gambia as the second operator to huge achievement considering the enter the country. population stands at just over two “The country’s small million. “We have been market allowed us to leaders here in terms focus on maturing the of market share since brand and making sure 2006 and we have an we provide the best attractive offering that customer care and the places us in front of the most advanced call competition with a 65 Market share centre in Gambia,” percent market share,” of mobile comments Arwadi.

Arwadi adds. operations By initiating business As a consequence of in one of Africa’s continuous dedication throughout Gambia smaller markets, the year-in year-out, Africell company was able to Gambia has won strategically test the service provider of the waters and learn the year every year so far most effective ways to since 2009. make a radical difference not only The launch of 3G mobile in communication but also in the broadband service in early 2012 community. “At this time, no one has cemented Africell’s position in was seeing Africa’s potential in the Gambia as today, it proudly provides telecoms industry and as such, there network coverage to 99 percent of were conservative estimates when the country. Accompanying this is it came to forecasts and mobile the launch of mobile money during penetration levels. There wasn’t a the course of the current year and specific way to see telecoms do well heavy investment into enhancing in an African setting,” says Arwadi. the 3G in order to expand its data Over the years, increased services.

65%

The Gambia captial, Banjul

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BENSIZWE

SIERRA LEONE The sponsorship for the beautification of the Freetown cotton tree, a treasured historic symbol of Sierra Leone’s capital city

H A V I N G E M E R G E D from more than a decade of civil war, Sierra Leone has enjoyed great political stability in recent years, with improvements to its infrastructure resulting from rapid economic growth. Similarly, the mobile and telecoms sector has experienced strong growth and fostered healthy competition among operators.

Africell started its operations here in 2005 in order to further improve services and network capabilities in the country. Initially launching 3G operations in 2011, the company has grown to become the first operator with a 65 percent market share at the end of 2014.

By 2008, Africell Sierra Leone joined Gambia in taking the leading spot in terms of market share, winning the AWOL (All Works of Life) national achievement award as the Best Telecommunications Company in the country in 2008, 2009 and 2011.

Africell Sierra Leone has become the GSM operator with the highest growth rate both as a percentage of subscriber base and in terms of the rapid increase of subscribers, reaching three million to date.

“As with Africell Gambia, the secret to our success has been

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to integrate ourselves into the Sierra Leonean society in order to strengthen our brand reach and customer product knowledge,” says Arwadi.

In Sierra Leone, Africell’s elaborate and inclusive CSR programme is in full swing. One of the most notable projects was the sponsorship for the beautification of the Freetown cotton tree, a treasured historic symbol of the country’s capital city. “We renovated the entire area surrounding the tree. The cotton tree represents Sierra Leonean heritage,” says Arwadi.

Africell was actively involved in the fight against Ebola. “Our activities included awareness campaigns to keep the public informed and educated on the crisis and donating rice to some of the worst affected communities for every minute a subscriber used their phone. We donated 150 tonnes of rice in total as a result.

“We contribute where it matters and really want the public to directly feel the impact of our contribution, this is part of the Africell spirit; to participate in people’s lives through the ups and downs,” highlights Arwadi.

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ensizwe Communications Consulting is a leading and diversified business process outsourcing company, operating in sub-Saharan African countries, and with the largest office based in the DRC. Bensizwe focuses on staffing, training, large construction projects and end to end contact centre & ICT solutions.

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The company is a dynamic civil engineering and telecom firm in a competitive environment and since 2001, the company has been established in the Democratic Republic of Congo, offering end to end project services, using skills to satisfy customers and to assure leadership.

E info@africo-rdc.com secretariat@africo-rdc.com

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9th Promesse Street, 9th Street Limete, Q. Industrial C.Limite, Kinshasa, RDC info@africo-rdc.com secretariat@africo-rdc.com www.africo-rdc.com

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D E M O C R AT I C R E P U B L I C O F C O N G O

Kinshasa, capital of The Democratic Republic of Congo

T E L E C O M S I N the DRC continue to steadily develop and Africell aim to help make a serious contribution to the region to encourage rapid growth. The government has recognised the need for a better telecommunications structure and is working to achieve a national fibre backbone rollout. With a total population of 67.6 million and growing, the competition in the DRC is fierce as big operators are in contention to gain a major market share.

The challenges ahead

The business environment and regulatory backdrop has remained challenging for Africell, however Africell’s COO says it is going in the right direction.

A key challenge facing Africell is to keep the “Africell way and spirit alive” while expanding across the continent as Arwadi explains: “We foster creativity and free thinking in the full sense of the word, we encourage entrepreneurial thinking at all levels of the organisation and most importantly we consider the extent to which we are able to grow by promoting from within. This is one of the most critical measures of our success.

“Africell’s management team is a prime example of the Africell

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Operating in the country since 2012, Africell has seven million active subscribers and is ranked third in the market as a whole.

“Our aim is to include three more provinces in the DRC every year bringing the total number up to six out of 11 in 2015,” Arwadi continues: “A new province can be the equivalent size of an entirely new country and we are proud to say that as a result of this strategy, Africell is now a household name in the DRC known as ‘the people’s network’.”

Achieving the interconnection with the other MNOs was an important milestone; the regulator as well as the Ministry of Telecom has made a serious effort in the direction to harmonize the Telecom sector.

Africell DRC underwent numerous challenges in a very competitive market and in a country equal in size to the whole of Western Europe. The aforementioned interconnection with other operators was a major

challenge facing Africell in the DRC; Africell was able to withstand this situation and achieve this substantial growth against adversity. The interconnection issue was solved in March 2015 and Africell successfully interconnected with all the other MNOs in the DRC. Africell DRC reached positive EBITDA levels and is now very well positioned to further harness the market potential with an aggressive rollout plan throughout the country adding three new provinces to its repertoire every year.

Infrastructure availability remains the biggest challenge and especially in the remote areas. “We are witnessing improvements from this angle also; however given the growing exponential demand for data, the lack of fibre infrastructure poses a serious challenge to MNOs as they strive to bring fast and reliable data to all parts of the country,” states Arwadi.

philosophy, unlike the customary HR mantra that says we do not make them, we find them Africell kind of does the reverse. All the country general managers as well as a majority of the officers, started their career with Africell at entry or mid-levels and the time they needed to reach senior position is another factor in Africell’s empowerment strategy.”

opportunities going forward.

Arwadi says this strategy revolves around the company’s desire to be an intrinsic player in the future of what he calls “the new emerging Africa”: “As the continent continues to demonstrate positive development, I believe that Africell will play a key part in its communications sector. Africa is still young and still growing. As a result I believe it will emerge at the forefront of the world economy.

“With ‘born and bred’ African companies such as Africell driving indigenous growth by providing access to fast data and related services, we represent a genuine desire to empower people and help African businesses to succeed,” he summarises.

Spotting the right future opportunities

Africell is looking to continue to organically expand into new countries and will rely on spotting the right

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U GA N DA L A S T Y E A R , Africell acquired Orange Uganda, assuming control in November 2014. The company is currently in the assimilation phase, aligning the business with the Africell brand as Arwadi explains: “We are taking a closer look at what we have and where to spend our money going forward; whether this be on increasing our capacity or studying what the network needs here.”

Africell’s product offering will be gradually rolled out here in 2015 in order to fully encapsulate the Africell way of thinking. Since acquiring Orange, subscriber numbers have steadily increased from 600,000 subscribers to more than one million. “This serves as the very first milestone in a long journey. Not only this but it reassures us that this was the right move for Africell,” says Arwadi.

The introduction of the cell phone and mobile data has revolutionised Uganda’s telecommunications sector and the economy. As a result, there has been a huge level of competition in the country accompanied by significant improvements to infrastructure.

Since 2009, the country has benefitted from submarine fibre cables lying on the East African coastline.

Subsequently, Uganda is now connected via a national fibre backbone extending to its borders with neighbouring coastal countries, which makes services for the customer cheaper and enables more reliable converged voice, data and digital media services. This will drive short term growth through competitive pricing and network expansion to underserved areas.

“Mobile penetration rate at the end of last year was 51 percent, which shows the potential for our voice and data services. As mentioned earlier, there is a big demand for data across the whole continent and Africell believes it will be an aggressive challenger here as the market is yet to become oversaturated with telecoms.

“Uganda had all the right ingredients pointing to success. For Africell, it was about spotting the right opportunity and I am excited about what the future holds here,” states Arwadi.

Supplying

Media Platforms to Africell

Email: info@proxyteam-congo.com Phone: +243-8-555-111-58

Services - All types of diesel generator maintenance from 5 kva to 350 kva - All types of airconditoner maintenance - Supply fuel to various sites and locations - Roadworks and construction - Water wells - Metal works - Artistic and designing - We are authorised distributor for Mahindra Diesel Generators - We have a subsidiary and professional security company (SEM)

ESSCON Services Ltd 26 Steward Street, Freetown, Sierra Leone

Uganda Virunga Mountains

Website: www.essconservices.sl Email: esscon_sl@yahoo.co.uk Mobile no. 232-88474050 / 232-76613907 / 232-78653495

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INITIALISING TELECOMS IN AN

Emerging Market hen South Sudan became independent on the 9 July 2011, MTN formalised its operations as a separate operating company, expanding its previously limited space in the young nation. As a company in the early stages of its life, MTN South Sudan is now working to address the existing economic development gaps and also improve its infrastructures in a sustainable manner. Top on the agenda as well is MTN’s social responsibility as a corporate citizen.

“Our strategy for deployment in South Sudan is to focus on the

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basics; namely working on deploying adequate infrastructure such as new telecoms towers and identifying partners to help us increase our capacities,” says MTN South Sudan CEO, Philip Besiimire.

“Unlike traditional markets, South Sudan is one with defining needs.

By this I mean that even though telecommunications is in the early stages here, we still have to provide the best and the latest services that match availability elsewhere in the world,” he adds.

Platform for growth

Being part of the South Africanbased multinational mobile telecoms company, MTN Group allows the South Sudan operation access to tried and tested methodologies and pre-defined technology strategies that help achieve a vision of affordability and access on the continent.

“Those who have encountered our name before will recognise our strong branding and reputation that we have among African audiences as a whole.

“Building a new arm to the business

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MTN’s presence in South Sudan has proven that with the right attitude and product offering, tough market conditions can be overcome and negative perceptions about the investment environment can be changed Writer: Emily Jarvis Project Manager: Donovan Smith

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INNOVATIVE CONSTRUC Our Services Probase Roads PROBASE

Since the beginning of time man has made roads, but still problems with them persist. Unstable roads hurt business and and the communities that live and work there. Probase creates better roads sealed and usable under all weather conditions. The reasonable cost, quality and performance compares well with regular asphalt roads at a fraction of the price and time to install.

Light Weight Concrete A timeless tested construction methodology that gives our customers far more desirable benefits for the traditional cement construction methods.

With light construction methodology our clients enjoys various benefits such as: • Reduced the dead weight of a structure.

• Can be manufactured to precise specifications of strength and densities.

• Possess excellent workability.

• Structures can be nailed, planed, drilled and sawn.

• Provides excellent heat and sound insulation.

• Can be applied with all the traditional surface finishes paint, tiles, and carpet.

• Moisture resistant and fire resistant.

LCM is an innovative technology that gives you precise densities and strength, good fire proofing capability, less building time and is relatively cheap.

CTION About AKL

African Kings Limited is a private limited company duly registered construction company in Uganda. Over the past few years, we have assisduously sought to make a significant impact on construction works and the building environment industry, in Uganda and across emerging African market.

We have continued to set standards and deliver innovative technologies for new construction and building projects at the national scene, with a forward looking plan expanding to take on bigger and more challenging projects, on the international level.

Our growing reputation for excellence, resourcefulness and responsiveness is no accident. It is a natural consequence of the values that have guided our company since its founding.

The truth is, we are always looking for better methods of building and better solutions to complicated construction problems bringing a spirited exuberance to your project.

As committed general contractors we value the essence of timely delivery in construction.

We have successfully executed several projects of varying magnitudes. Upholding a great degree of co-operation and liaising with our clients, undertaken proper planning and impact assessment and related studies and ensuring that the implementation procedures, delivering over and above minimum expectations/required standards. We redefine construction DNA. Our focal points: • Adherence to principles • Hi-tech facilities • Deployment of stenious, highly innovative and focused teams • Continuous research in the operations, design, building and construction industries.

Services: African Kings has vast experience in all types of paving work, specializing in: Highways, Local Roads, Private Drives, Commercial Parking Lots, Industrial Drives, Airport Runways & Taxiways

Our Services Include: Stone Work Fine Grading Asphalt Paving QC / QA Mix Design Base Work Grinding and Milling Asphalt Dump Sites Site General Contractor Paving Project Management Equipment Rentals

Contact Person: Zahara Bhatty Phone number : +256778 261494 Company: African Kings Limited Address: Ntinda Ministers’ Village.

Chwa II Road, Plot 9-10 Mbuya Hill Email: info@africankings.co.ug Website: http://www.africankings.co.ug

Electricity Distribution & Supply We also provide electricity distribution and supply: Contact our sales office.

Steel Works In a quest to become Uganda's leading Fabricator and Erector of Structural Steel Work with unmatched Quality and Reliability. We provide Fabrication and Erection of Structural Steel Work services, stock a wide range of Standard Product Items; such as Prefabricated Units, Roof Ventilators, Roof Insulation Materials, Concrete Mixers, Agricultural Trailers, Water Bowsers; and Pressed Steel Tanks and towers.

Housing Construction Our team of dedicated construction professionals and uniquely talented craftsmen with one common goal "the success of your project". Through experienced leadership and attention to detail, we can ensure the success of our clients objectives and our record of performance proves it – Higher quality, timely delivery and more cost effective solutions and efficient results.

Project Management Our project managers are with you right from preconstruction phase and are selected for the experience they have attained in this industry.

Our approach is "hands on" leadership - being involved, making decisions and resolving problems quickly. We set the pace that ensures success.

Water Systems Construction African Kings also provides water systems construction. We build dams, bridges, drainage systems and water retention structures. We have built Concrete Faced Rock fill Dams associated civil works such as the powerhouse, power tunnels, power intake and spillways are also built as essential structures of the hydroelectric scheme.

Consultancy Services Dedication to proactive approach is the foundation of African Kings consultancy services philosophy, we provide accurate and timely information to ensure maximum satisfaction of our client. Our attention to detail is matched only by our willingness to perform the hard work necessary to always exceed our clients expectations and ensure the projects success. African kings consultancy staff have a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the processes required to provide consultancy of your project.

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in South Sudan is a huge task, but with equipment supplies and other negotiations done at Group level, and certain expertise from sister countries coming across to provide training, we feel a level of confidence and security in our future here,” Besiimire explains.

With a less than 30 percent literacy rate in the adult population, the most popular and beneficial service for customers in South Sudan has proved to be voice services as Besiimire highlights: “As the majority of the population are unable to read or write, voice services from us are in great demand. Alongside this, we have identified a small but growing demand for data, which is a service that is still finding its feet.

“In general, the overall progress of our services is dependent on the country’s mobile penetration rate, which currently stands at around 25 percent.”

GLOBAL GENERAL TRADING COMPANY LTD

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lobal General Trading Company Ltd is a legally registered limited liability company under the laws of the Republic of South Sudan. It was formally registered on 4th November 2011 although it had started operations in South Sudan way back in early 2011.

The company principally imports and distributes various food items, beverages and building materials. Most of the products are imported from Dubai UAE, Turkey, China, Singapore and Uganda. Since its registration, the company has under taken a number of significant business contracts with private sector, NGOs and individuals contributing most of its revenue.

MTN South Sudan is addressing economic development gaps in a sustainable manner

In general, the overall progress of our services is dependent on the country’s mobile penetration rate, which currently stands at around 25 percent

MTN capitalises on the strong branding and reputation it has in Africa

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The company offices and business premises are located in Konyokonyo market street Juba; South Sudan. We also have a sister company in Dubai; Barka General Trading Company dealing in the same products.

T +211956153699 +971504275338 E info@globalgeneraltrading.com

www.globalgeneraltrading.com

Global General Trading

Our company has a vast range of business activities incorporating import and export supply functions and wholesale operations across our public, private, governmental and nongovernmental client base.

Village -

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We cover an equally diverse range of sectors through our offering, including

food and drink, technology, construction and electronics; as well as facilitating the storage of products. www.globalgeneraltrading.com

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info@globalgeneraltrading.com

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In line with its geographical expansion plans, MTN South Sudan has outlined plans to ensure that 3G is available in key towns across the country. “As a start up with limited resources, we are making sure that we drive network and cell phone growth on all fronts in the most appropriate ways. Subsequently, at this stage it is important to assess whether to outsource parts of the business or conduct everything in-house,” he discusses.

POWERMET

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Providers of opportunity

In addition, product pricing needs to be simple and communication needs to be made as accessible as possible to address the current market needs.

“It is necessary to make sure that MTN adapts to the cultural differences in South Sudan, therefore the business must be aligned to reflect this. Few companies such as ourselves have entered the market here. Therefore, MTN will have to play more than just a communications and connectivity role; we will embed ourselves into the community through an aggressive corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme,” Besiimire says.

In order to create a digital world for South Sudan, MTN will need to look at how it can use its footprint to connect people and bring the technology to them in vital ways such as enabling access to healthcare, clean water, financial inclusion and so on.

“In summary, we are looking at how to assist others by going beyond our traditional sphere of activity in the technology and telecoms space,” he adds.

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MTN adapts to the cultural differences in South Sudan

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It is necessary to make sure that MTN adapts to the cultural differences in South Sudan, therefore the business must be aligned to reflect this

he foundation of PowerMet International LLC stems from an initiative of Mets Energy SAL, a group of enthusiastic people who are passionate and committed to the highest standards of ethics, integrity and commitment to customer satisfaction through round-the-clock customer service and a genuine belief that after sales service is a core value that our customers’ expect.

PowerMet International LLC strives to be the major player in terms of selling, renting, servicing and maintaining Mets Energy Gensets, providing trouble free power solutions across the African region.

After consolidating its competitive position in the market and establishing a strong reference list in the telecom sector, Mets Energy SAL extended its focus and know-how into larger power solutions and new market boundaries.

Entering South Sudan in 2008 as a power generator supplier for Mets Energy, PowerMet have won various contracts to undertake power service provider work, most recently the supply and installation of 50 Mets generators for MTN South Sudan.

Our expertise with telecom operators throughout the country enables us to support them with power & telecom services around the clock in all 10 cities of South Sudan, satisfying their needs and to expand with them whenever they are expanding!

We are looking to expand our support and offerings to various commercial clients such as Kenya Commercial Bank, tying in with our ongoing expansion plans across Africa, which included opening our new branch in East Africa Uganda/Kampala in 2013 supporting MTN for 200 Mets Generators that supplied during 2012.

Whatever the job is, caring for the smallest details leads us to achieving our set objectives. Mets has reached a commitment to professional service through PowerMet network services all over 13 branches; Juba, Lebanon, Iraq, Kurdistan, Qatar, KSA, Yemen, Algeria, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uganda).

PowerMet deals with generators, power supply units, spare parts, power & telecom maintenance & associated services. Our network reaches throughout Africa and the Middle East.

PowerMet works in close collaboration with Mets Energy on the following: - PowerMet as network dealing with generators & services - Mets Energy (Manufacture & suppliers)

www.powermet.com T: +211 9550 22270-1 Juba Main Airport Road Hai Matar

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So far, MTN South Sudan has built three computer labs in local schools, and plans to replicate this across the country, achieving more than a dozen in the next two years. “This is just one example of how we intend to bridge the gap in the community.”

As lack of education is a factor in the country, Besiimire is aware that by moving into South Sudan, MTN has inherited a responsibility to develop skills. “By encouraging young people to attend school and adopt ICT at an early age, it will raise a level of interest in the telecoms sector.

“Simultaneously, this provides children who have felt cut off from the world a way to make the right steps forward in terms of education and get connected with the rest of the world,” he emphasises.

Developing professionals

In order to provide the business with the right tools for success, MTN South Sudan has an active national secondment talent exchange programme. “This means we are able to borrow professionals from neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa primarily, both on a short and long-term basis,” comments Besiimire.

Short-term training initiatives are

MTN South Sudan has an active national secondment talent exchange programme

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MTN embeds itself into the community through an array of CSR programmes

We are able to borrow professionals from neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa primarily, both on a short and long-term basis

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utilised when the company introduces a new product to the market, and long-term training is used to up-skill and equip South Sudan to become a sustainable business environment for MTN in the future. “At present, this method is not sustainable in the longterm. Therefore we are undertaking specific activities as a business to ensure the country has the right skills and its own resources going forward,” says Besiimire.

As a Group with a national presence, MTN South Sudan advantageously has the option to send people to other countries as another method of personal development. With a comprehensive student programme for African university students who seek employment in the sector, the company is also able to offer a three month internship scheme extending across most of its departments, with promise of a further graduate training programme coming in September.

The road to profitability

Besiimire says that a key element

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to the long-term success and sustainability of MTN South Sudan is to remain relevant and keep up with industry trends in order to set an example for other businesses considering operations in the country: “We have all the right strategies in place to make sure MTN remains in operation here and will provide a return for stakeholders and the government in the long-term. Most importantly for us, the company must meet market demand and keep up with the latest technological advancements to be able to give customers what they want and keep ahead of any competition that may enter the country.

“The digital revolution has only just begun for South Sudan, and we need to make sure we remain at the forefront of telecoms in the country, allowing customers to do everything they require from one device powered

by MTN.” Further to this, Besiimire is keen to explore financial services in the coming years after approval is given.

In a country where only five percent of the population uses and has access to banking services, there are clear advantages in connecting people to financial services and insurance via MTN technology. “We remain the only service provider that is able to service the vast reaches of the country, and this drives us forward as an enabler for countrywide communication in a simple and affordable way for the customer,” he says.

Despite the enormity of challenges undertaken in a country that is still recovering from outbreaks of civil war, MTN is proud to have invested its time and money in South Sudan, where organisations such as itself can really make a difference.

“Together with authorities we can tackle the many challenges in South Sudan and we hope our success will set an example to other leading businesses on the continent that we have achieved success, all it takes is tenacity and perseverance; two driving factors that are inherent within MTN,” Besiimire concludes.

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(L-R) Mr. Bhullar and Airtel Africa Executive Operatons Director cutting the ribbon to open one of the Airtel service centers in Kigali City

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of Choice As a company driven by the vision of making mobile communications affordable and accessible to all, Airtel Rwanda has major plans to increase its customer reach through rural network expansion Writer: Emily Jarvis Project Manager: Donovan Smith

irtel Rwanda has already made waves in the telecoms industry since entering the country three years ago. With big plans all-round to launch valueadded voice and non-voice services, expand the network and adopt seven new service centres, the company is positioning itself to gain an increased market share and accelerate growth in rural areas.

In 2014, Managing Director, Teddy Bhullar told Africa Outlook how network growth was being driven by consumer feedback in order to develop the company footprint in Rwanda. The response pointed

towards a desire for increased data services across a wider reach.

Speaking in 2015, Bhullar feels Airtel is on its way to accomplishing this: “The high mobile penetration rate of 72 percent in Rwanda has helped in our decision to add a further 126 sites for 2G and 100 3G/3.75G sites to our portfolio, and we recently commercially launched 4G alongside partners in the city of Kigali and soon in major towns around the country.

Similarly, our competitive packages represent our strong drive to connect as many people as possible through the power of Airtel,” says Bhullar.

Operator of choice

Boasting a 15 percent market share, Airtel Rwanda has become the operator of choice for data and affordable smart devices. The Airtel Money platform is also steadily taking centre stage. “Availability, affordability, innovation and speedto-market are the key reasons for our growth. By keeping ahead of the latest technological demands, we have been able to give customers what they want,” he adds.

In addition to data services, Airtel Money is another of major interest to Airtel Rwanda. The service is already present in 17 African countries and has become one of the leading financial tools that has revolutionised the

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continent by providing the means for more people to access a wide range of banking, insurance and payment options. “Mobile payment methods are fast becoming the norm in many African countries. Airtel Money service is equally as important for Rwandans as it brings the power of banking and the ease of paying bills directly to the customer via quick payments, even from rural areas. Currently, we have almost one million subscribers registered on the platform, a number which continues to rise in conjunction with transaction values,� emphasises Bhullar.

With the budget smartphone market in Rwanda, and Africa more broadly, booming, Airtel Rwanda is seeing great returns from its affordable data services and the financial services that are readily available to customers.

Moreover, the adoption of a connected social lifestyle means faster speeds for browsing, social media, streaming and download services.

Rural expansion

The Rwandan telecom sector witnessed particularly strong growth levels in 2014, testament to a sustained GDP growth of between seven and eight percent annually since 2008.

Consequently, the country is catching up with other markets in Africa and boasts a mobile internet penetration rate of 27 percent, signalling huge

Teddy R.V.S Bhullar Mr. Robert Muratirwa, Airtel Network Manager during a session with the RTUC students at the Airtel Operation Centre

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potential for growth. Although, challenges along the way are of course present, the main problem of access to data and voice services in the rural areas of Rwanda has since been addressed by getting the network up and running for the population living here.

Right now, more than 40 rural areas are receiving Airtel network upgrades and this will be complemented by seven new service centres and a range of value-added services with affordability in mind. “When we started operations in 2012, we did not have any service centres, now we have six with a seventh on its way,” comments Bhullar.

The most prevalent factor of these network upgrades is to make sure customers can access the network anywhere they may be in the country.

The hope is to grow Rwanda’s mobile penetration rate and continue to connect more people. “Through targeted voice and data services, we are driving the Airtel promise of affordable, tailored services into new waters in close conjunction with increased availability,” he says.

There is one challenge that remains for Airtel Rwanda as Bhullar explains: “It presents difficulties in making people see the benefit of changing their service provider to Airtel.

“As we have only been in the market for three years compared to some of the competition being here for 15, we hope that by demonstrating our innovative spirit through the

Airtel Rwanda HQ Customer Service Center

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An Airtel Rwanda worker during the staff volunteer day to support the housing project for Rwanda refugees evicted from Tanzania

application of data and other attractive products such as financial services, we can capture an even larger audience going forward.”

Airtel has a huge presence across Africa in 17 countries and there is ample opportunity to skills share with other countries via exchange programmes and expert support. A substantial part of our success can be attributed to this

Recruitment drive

Since last year, Airtel Rwanda has more than doubled its workforce jumping from 70 to just under 150 members of staff – and launched an e-learning portal for the whole Group.

Additionally, the company has made a conscious effort to support the local student population by working closely with universities and local schools to provide training programmes.

“Airtel has a huge presence across Africa in 17 countries and there is ample opportunity to skills share with other countries via exchange programmes and expert support. A substantial part of our success can be attributed to this as our staff are continuously learning and developing their skills,” states Bhullar.

In terms of initiatives to connect the staff and brand to the Rwandan

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BROADBAND SYSTEMS CORPORATION

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roadband Systems Corporation (BSC Ltd) is a Rwandan information technology company officially launched on 1st June 2012 to provide advanced technology in fiber optics 4GLTE internet solutions.

Mr. Bhullar signing the Rwf3m cheque to Impore Association for purchase of MAMA kits to aid mother-to-child transmission of the HIV Virus

At BSC it is our aim to lead the market from the customer’s perspective, by providing a balance between reliable, fast internet connection and value added services with a reasonable price to our customers.

We believe we are well positioned to significantly contribute to the realisation of Rwanda’s vision of becoming a regional ICT hub.

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JURO

Best Customer Care Award at the 17th Rwanda International Trade Fair 2014

community, Airtel is a known contributor to corporate social responsibility projects continent-wide.

“Filtered right back to Group level, Airtel has taken part in a generous amount of community activity over the years. Specific to Rwanda though, we have taken part in a number of activities over the past year across the education and enterprise development sector in particular,” highlights Bhullar.

Moreover, members of staff at Airtel Rwanda have been taking part in volunteering activities to help build a brighter future for the country and “bond with its people”. This year, the company is working on a number of initiatives such as going green and enterprise development for Rwanda’s

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disabled persons, which address key areas of need in society.

By next year, Bhullar hopes that Airtel Rwanda will have gained increased market share; a result of boosted data penetration projections in the country and the uptake of mobile financial services. “Over the past year our customer base has grown substantially to around 1.4 million and we command a 15 percent market share. Our value-add propositions combined with the best data connectivity speeds and extended rural reach, an increased number of staff and some great partners all behind the Airtel brand in Rwanda means we can only grow in the coming years,” concludes Bhullar.

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uro Trading CC is a SADEC registered South African Exporter,based in Cape Town South Africa. We specialize in the design, manufacturing and supply of innovative below the line advertising materials.

Recently we partnered with the Airtel Group to design and develop Airtel Mobile Money Fibreglass Kiosks. The kiosk is available with many optional extra’s, including portable solar powered solutions.

In addition to our kiosk, we have developed our mobile money vending trolley, and cost effective POS items for the Airtel regions in Africa.

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• Fiber internet connectivity • Office online collaboration services • 4GLTE services

Expanding your Possibilities info@bsc.rw | www.bsc.rw | 4141 / (+250) 788187408

MOBILE MONEY INNOVATIONS FIBREGLASS KIOSK

POINT OF SALE SOLUTIONS

VENDING TROLLEY

SPIN SIGN

STICK-OUT SIGN

WALL FLAG

SANDWICH BOARD

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JUROTRADING WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/USER/JUROTRADING

EMAIL: INFO@JURO.CO.ZA WEB: WWW.JURO.CO.ZA TEL: +27 21 7019868 WWW.AFRICAOUTLOOKMAG.COM

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Quality OVER Quantity ictoria Commercial Bank has been consistently ranked amongst the top three institutions in Kenya within its peer group for the past four years and is now looking to capitalise on its reputation through future expansion.

Starting in 1987 in the Great Lake region of Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria, Kenya, the bank has grown from humble beginnings; initially comprising just three people from a small head office in Nairobi.

The current CEO, Yogesh Pattni is part of the family who kick-started the evolution 28 years ago and is proud of the successful rise that the bank has enjoyed since then.

“Following the start of our operations, we converted to being a fully-fledged commercial bank in 1992, offering all the banking services that come with being a commercial bank, and we have grown over the past 28 years to now have three branches, with an intention to open a fourth branch next year, and a workforce close to 60 people,” he says.

“Out of the 43 operational licensed banks in the country, we may only be around the 25th biggest but we have been ranked as the leading bank for several years in our peer group.”

Reputed especially for its 100 percent loan performance rate,

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Victoria Commercial Bank has recently opened only its third branch in 28 years, but is recognised as the leading institution in the country through its unparalleled standards of customer service Writer: Matthew Staff Project Manager: Callum Philp consistently for the past 10 years – far above the industry average – Victoria Commercial Bank has been audited both internally and externally, domestically and by international bodies; all of whom confirming that the institution is one of the best performing in Kenya.

Pattni adds: “We have been attaining recognitions and quality rankings within the industry for a number of years, being ranked the third best bank in 2008.

“Thereafter, Victoria Commercial Bank has constantly been ranked amongst the top three positions within its peer group rankings and, in 2014, consulting firm, RSM Ashvir ranked us as the third best performing bank in the industry.”

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ISINYA ROSES

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sinya Roses is one of Africa’s innovative and leading exporters of world-class roses that has been in business since 2001, having grown its market reach across Europe, Australia, Japan, USA and the Middle East. Among the many varieties that Isinya is known for, Proud, Rhodus, Wedding Bell and Solaire are their leading ones that are farmed in Isinya town, located around 55km away from the City of Nairobi. The farms span 35 hectares in area, including a part that is dedicated purely to propagation, trial houses, packing areas and staff accommodations.

Robin Sharma event

In addition to its local recognitions, in 2014, Global Credit Rating Company (GCR) of South Africa affirmed the national scale long term rating assigned to Victoria Commercial Bank of BBB(KE) and upgraded the national scale short term rating to A2(KE); with the outlook accorded as ‘Stable’.

This effectively assigns an investment grade rating to the bank, a remarkable achievement for the institution.

Positive expansion

The business model undertaken by Victoria Commercial Bank over the course of its 28-year development has been one of methodical and organic growth, ensuring that each branch is performing to the highest standards, as opposed to opening numerous outlets and running the risk of poorer performances.

However, as a consequence of the institution’s recent successes and established notoriety, a third branch was opened in 2014, paving the way for a fourth to soon follow in 2016.

“2014’s new branch was a strategic decision because a good number of clients are based in the industrial area,” Pattni explains. “We saw it as a competitive need to have a branch in a place where our clients would want and need the services we can provide

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PORINI FLOWERS

2014’s new branch was a strategic decision because a good number of clients are based in the industrial area

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orini Flowers is a flower-export farm that was established only over a decade ago but has since established as one of the most soughtafter by auctioneers and wholesalers from around the world. Located in Kenya’s scenic Rift Valley town of Molo in Nakuru County, the farm sits at 2,856 meters above sea level – the highest of any flower farm in Kenya. Some of Porini’s most popular varieties are Zazu, Madam Red, Proud and Cabaret, among other premium quality flowers that are grown over 15 hectares of farmland.

BLISS RESORT

B Yogesh Pattni, Managing Director

liss Resort is one of its kind luxury hotel in Nyali that has become all the rave since its relatively recent opening. From corporates to the general public, Bliss is the ideal place to stay, work and relax for just about anyone that seeks a professional setting to both the working environment and a leisure one along the Kenyan coast.

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more local to them.

“We have had a very positive response to this branch because not only are our existing clients happy that we have moved closer to them, but we have also attracted several new clients from the surrounding area, so it has worked remarkably well for us.”

Adapting in line with customer demand has always been a key feature of Victoria Commercial Bank’s continuous improvement and expansion strategies, and this same approach will be taken with any future branches added to the portfolio, as Pattni continues: “The next branch we’re looking at is going to be located in an area where more affluent members of society reside.

“Our target market is middle to higher-end income earners and, with the current constraints in the infrastructure of the country, we know we need to be closer to where our target market is, and that is our aim in opening these new branches.”

Throughout this expansion, it is vital that the organisation maintains the same standards, design and service level that its clients have come to expect from the bank, and the very latest in technologies and niche aesthetic features have been implemented in its latest branch to ensure that continuity.

Secure services

In terms of the aforementioned services that are incorporated within all three of its current branches, Victoria Commercial Bank is also very adaptable and forward-thinking in making sure that the most modern and advanced offering is included.

Hosting the full spectrum of commercial banking services under its remit – including current and savings accounts, credit services, overdraft and loan offerings, and the full range of local and international transactions – the institution prides itself on the added value that clients receive,

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nisuma Traders Kenya Ltd was established in 2005 to distribute the whole range of SONY consumer and home entertainment electronic products into the Kenyan market. We bring to the local market all the latest innovative high tech products which include the latest ultra high definition 4K televisions, Alpha series DSLR cameras, Shake DJ sound systems, Blue Ray Home theatres and XPERIA range of mobile phones.

Not only do we pride ourselves on adding value to our clients but we also make sure we provide superior customer service as well

whatever their requirement is.

“Not only do we pride ourselves on adding value to our clients but we also make sure we provide superior customer service as well, in terms of turnaround times and the advice and information we provide our customers to help them improve their businesses,” Pattni says. “We’ve had several clients going on to enjoy much stronger balance sheets in the future as a benefit from the advice that we have given to them, and that’s where we make ourselves different from the rest.”

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We distribute to over 250 stores across the country which include all the mega superstores and independent electronic power retailers. We have a dedicated Business to Business team and our own six state of the art showrooms in Kenya which showcase all the latest products and also have a dedicated SONY hitech service centre operated by both expatriate and local technicians trained

by SONY. We have a dedicated website which showcases all the latest products currently available in Kenya with all the prices in local currency and a fully interactive Facebook page. Our company’s core management team has been in the electronics business for over 25 years and continues to look for growth and expansion in the country.

We are both privileged and honoured to be associated with Victoria Commercial Bank in Kenya, who have contributed immensely to our continuing growth and ongoing success. The dynamic team, headed by Mr Yogesh Pattni, are extremely warm, dedicated and efficient and give a high level of personalised service which is exemplary in today’s banking industry.

T 2227795/2227800 F 2227502 E anisuma@anisumakenya.com

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Providing a personalised experience and service to each customer has long been a philosophy of the bank, and given the demographic of its clientele, the levels of trust in regards to safety and security is also paramount in the relationship that is formed between the two parties.

This aspect becomes even more significant given the rise of internet banking’s influence and the challenging levels of fraud in the country.

“We need to be careful to monitor the value of transactions online,” Pattni states. “We still do call backs in certain circumstances to ensure the payment is going through to the designated party, for instance.

“So, while we do offer the whole spectrum of internet banking services, having good firewalls and security systems in place is extremely vital.”

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threat, Victoria Commercial Bank has developed its software systems to be entirely impenetrable; a facet which will be replicated in its new branches, and upgraded on a continual basis.

Quality over quantity

Enriching the lives of not only its customers, Victoria Commercial Bank has also endeavoured to improve the lives of those not so fortunate in the country through its independent foundation, the Victoria Commercial Bank Charitable Trust.

Acting as an entirely standalone entity, the trust has funded a vast range of projects covering aspects of malnourishment, homelessness, education, and healthcare to spread its financial influence beyond its typical class of clientele.

This is something that will be built upon extensively moving forward in line with the institution’s general

Victoria Commercial Bank has also endeavoured to improve the lives of those not so fortunate in the country through its independent foundation, the Victoria Commercial Bank Charitable Trust

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Makindu feeding station

expansion and adherence to the latest industry trends, as it looks to capitalise on the established reputation it has among its current peer group.

Pattni concludes: “In the years to come, I’d like to see the bank move into more of a mid-tier sized grouping, but all the while retaining the status of being one of the best managed institutions within the banking fraternity.

“We do see ourselves opening several new branches in the future but in line with this private banking business model. If you look at the history of Kenyan banks, many open a great number of branches in a short space of time, but Victoria Commercial Bank is now 28-years old and has only three branches.

“We’ve always maintained that we do not want to spread ourselves too thin, we want to manage things in a prudent way, and focus more in terms of quality than quantity.”

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Treating the

Customer as Access Bank Ghana continues to bring the latest in financial services to as many people in Ghana as possible, via its extensive footprint expansion and digital diversification Writer: Matthew Staff Project Manager: Donovan Smith ccess Bank Ghana was named Bank of the Year in the country, in 2013, in what industry watchers called a meteoric rise to the top of the sector. The Bank now looks to grow through its commitment to customer service, investments in innovative technology and a policy of sustainable banking practices.

Launched in 2009 as a full service commercial bank licensed by the Bank of Ghana to offer universal banking services, Access Bank recorded a profit in its maiden year; a first for a new generation bank in the country.

Since then, the institution has grown from strength to strength, adapting to regional and international finance trends and insuring it keeps ahead of the curve in providing the most extensive and fulfilling range of services possible.

“Since 2009, Access Bank has maintained an upward growth

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KING Dolapo Ogundimu showcasing the Sign Language Book

trajectory across key financial indicators to give value and returns to all its stakeholders,” says the company’s Managing Director, Dolapo Ogundimu. “Access Bank’s growth during the first three years of operations was largely organic.

The Bank expanded its reach to four locations in Accra and a first foray in

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Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region, bringing its total network to five branches.

“Given its strategic intent to become a market leader, the Bank was always looking for opportunities for growth.”

This opportunity came in the form of a takeover in 2011 of the erstwhile Intercontinental Bank Plc in Nigeria and its subsidiaries by Access Bank Plc, (the parent company of Access Bank Ghana).

Access Bank Ghana subsequently merged its operations with Intercontinental Bank Ghana (IBG), a development which resulted in a major shift in business strategy and focus.

“The merger benefits ensured that the Bank increased its footprint to 32 branches and seven agencies, after conducting a branch rationalisation in 2012,” Ogundimu continues. “This new scale and status attained has made the Bank one of the largest retail banks in Ghana, enabling it to play a more active

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Access Bank Support for Otumfuo Charity Fund

role in the retail banking segment while it also catapulted Access Bank to the league of 10 most profitable banks in Ghana.”

Technology at the forefront

Applying its acknowledged expertise in corporate banking to the retail segment of the market, and technological systems in general, has been a key factor in Access Bank’s growth in recent years, fitting into its proactive philosophy of benchmarking its processes, systems and policies in line with global standards.

“As a result, there have been several investments in technology and infrastructure to secure the needed backbone to provide timely and innovative products and services for the Bank’s teeming customers,” Ogundimu notes. “In line with its value change and inclusive banking strategy, Access Bank is focusing on deepening its Corporate Banking franchise and at

Technology is at the forefront of our banking business in Ghana. We have developed a bouquet of products that help our customers to stay ahead and manage their finances in real-time from the comfort of their home and office

the same time expanding its share of the retail banking market.

“Technology is at the forefront of our banking business in Ghana. We have developed a bouquet of products that help our customers to stay ahead and manage their finances in real-time from the comfort of their home and office.”

These solutions are available to corporate, commercial and SME clients who are all able to track and manage

their finances remotely through digital services such as Access Pay and the Access Trade Portal.

Ogundimu continues: “Our Trade Portal equips corporate customers with the ability to monitor their LC transactions and shipment from their offices; SME customers who also subscribe to our Access Pay platform are able to electronically manage their vendor payments and collections with ease and convenience.

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HYSEN DATA SYSTEMS LIMITED

H Access Bank supports University of Ghana Alumni Association

“Individual and corporate customers also benefit from a bouquet of e-products including email/SMS alerts, e-statements, internet banking and mobile banking, cheque scanning and the use of mobile money in partnership with selected telecommunication companies.”

Complimenting these core technological services is the growing private remittance offering which is currently boosting Ghana’s level of foreign direct investments (FDIs).

The Bank is at the forefront of championing Ghana’s “cash-light” economy being the first to introduce a local chip and pin card to boost transactions; an initiative subsequently supported by a vigorous roll-out of ATMs and POS across the country.

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Hysen’s knowledge of this market together with experienced management team and support staff ensure that products and services are delivered in a timely and efficient manner. The presence of these teams will ensure a quick response to requirements and the appropriate support for equipment supplied. Hysen is fully committed to supporting all equipment supplied.

Matilda Asante-Aseidu, Head of Corporate Communicatons presenting new products to customers

Customer as King

In deciding the services that Access Bank offers, the customer is always at the forefront of its considerations, beginning with its branch network and choice of locations as well as investments in its people and technology.

The Bank’s 43 business locations cover eight out of the 10 region of Ghana, while a further six are expected to open within the next 12 months.

“The strategy is to be present in all

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ysen is a leading provider of process automation and IT products and solutions to banking and financial institutions in Africa. Hysen ensures that it understand the customers’ problems and needs; evaluate the different solutions available and work with the customer to find the solution best suited to the customer’s immediate and future needs.

Hysen has linked up with world-class manufacturers who are market leaders in their respective fields. These solutions are geared to help clients provide a better service to their customers.

Hysen Data Systems Ltd (HDSL) is a member of the Hysen Group whose principle activities in the Ghana market have focused on working closely with relevant partners to deliver E-Banking, Digital Records Management, Security and Print Infrastructure and Solutions.

Leading companies have worked closely with HDSL to deliver unparalleled solutions to streamline their processes and delight their customers.

T + 233 30 2925731 | +233 30 2925730 E ghana@hysen.info

www.hysen.info Matilda Asante-Aseidu (right), receives the Best Bank in CSR award

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Access Bank head office

the 10 regions of Ghana, especially in all the commercial centres,” states Ogundimu. “But, in addition, the Bank is also investing in technology to use alternative channels such as mobile and internet banking, point of sale terminals and automated teller machines, to serve customers remotely.”

The Bank offers universal banking services to Corporate, Commercial, SMEs and individual customers. This is achieved through a blend of Corporate and personal loans covering Asset Finance, Working Capital Finance and Capital Expenditure. With its expertise in trade finance, Access Bank also support its customers’ trade transactions with Letters of Credit, Bills for Collections and Remittances.

Individual customers also enjoy a range of products and services including personal loans, salary advance, vehicle finance, overdrafts and a range of debit and credit cards with discount offers at selected partner retail outlets.

“At Access Bank each member of staff gives their best to treat the customer as King, to give customers an experience beyond service. The culture here is second to none,” Ogundimu adds.

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We believe that our continuing investments will help to create wealth, jobs and significant returns for our shareholders and the economy at large

Spintex branch

Growth strategy

This commitment to the customer and continuous improvement inevitably comes at a price, but Access Bank’s business model ensures that capital investments are targeted to meet customer expectations for maximum returns.

Thus far, the institution has invested GHs55.6 million ($15.4) into its online trade portal, online banking, mobile banking, cheque scanning, its data centre, ATMs, branch expansion, and its head office renovation; all to ensure it is keeping ahead of the industry curve.

“We believe that our continuing investments will help to create wealth, jobs and significant returns for our shareholders and the economy at large”, Ogundimu explains. “Additional investments have been made to support businesses operating in selected sectors of the economy.

“Last year, Access Bank secured a

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US$40 million facility from the French Development Bank, PROPARCO and its Dutch counterpart, FMO, to support its lending activities to the private sector in the Ghanaian economy; specifically in the export, manufacturing, agroallied, infrastructure and services sectors.”

Forming elite business partnerships with the telecommunications industry is another strategy Access Bank is employing to reach more customers and capture the underserved and unbanked communities in Ghana.

With its wide geographical spread and strategic business locations, Access Bank has partnered with mobile giant MTN to offer mobile money services.

A similar arrangement is in place with Airtel Ghana to further enforce this diverse growth strategy.

Sustainable future

The Bank is not just making strides to improve the quality of life for its customers but also has the same philosophy with regards to its workforce. Employees benefit from a variety of training programmes, internally and externally, to deepen their knowledge and skills in addition to the incentives and bonuses that support their wellbeing.

Access Bank Staff cleaning the Holy Trinity Hospital at Techiman

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We think of our communities, impacts of our activities and loans we give out on the environment, adherence to best practices and high ethical standards.

This sets us apart in many ways

So central is staff development to the Bank that Access is creating a talent pool to feed its ongoing expansion.

“In 2009, the Bank began a novel training programme to absorb student graduates from the country’s top universities and to develop a pipeline of talented professionals for the banking industry,” explains Ogundimu.

“The programme gives fresh graduates the opportunity to attend a fully paid residential four-month intensive training course in core banking at the Bank’s School of Banking Excellence, before they start working for the Bank.

“So far, more than 50 graduates have gone through the Access Bank School of Banking Excellence in Lagos, which has acquired an enviable reputation as a learning centre of excellence.”

Initiatives such as this along with the Bank’s Social Responsibility Projects over the years contributed to Access Bank being adjudged “Best Bank in Corporate Social Responsibility” for 2010 and 2013.

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Patients from the NPOC dancing with their new limbs

“We have instilled the principles of sustainability in all that we do,” Ogundimu concludes. “We think of our communities, impacts of our activities and loans we give out on the environment, adherence to best practices and high ethical standards.

This sets us apart in many ways.

“We have now entered the next phase of our growth with a new strategy and direction that will propel us to rank amongst the top tier banks in Ghana by 2018. By this, we intend to place amongst the top three across all measurements, financial indicators and market performance.

“We know that our ambition is bold and audacious, but we are certain that our new offerings will provide long term value to sustain the Bank’s competitiveness. We shall continue to invest heavily in our products, services and technology platform to deliver excellent and world-class banking services.”

Access Management congratulating sponsored patients

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Refined Focus for Niche

After identifying a gap in the South African market for short term insurance, Natsure has a solid business strategy that will take the UMA to new heights Writer: Emily Jarvis

Underwriters

Project Manager: Callum Philp

Executive Director, Tersia Davey

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atsure is a niche, specialist short term insurance business that operates predominantly through Underwriting Management Agencies (UMAs), with roots tracing back to underwriting in the hospitality and homeowner industries. The company has changed its whole structure from Natsure Insurance eight years ago to address a gap in the market for short term underwriting, which is an area that Executive Director, Tersia Davey believes is one of growing interest.

“In South Africa, you have the opportunity to be an underwriting manager and we do this via our whollyowned Guardrisk Cell Captive arrangement, which means we can inject our own style

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and formulate our own risk appetite into our product offering. We are also tribunalised by Lloyd’s and an underwriter for two Lloyd’s syndicates, Amlin and Marketform,” explains Davey.

The company has a myriad of niche insurance products including; aviation, engineering, renewable energy, construction guarantees and bonds, general and professional indemnity liability insurance, personal accident, goods and transit, marine, court bonds, liquidation bonds, cyber liability, short term rental deposit guarantees and insurance for the leisure vehicle owner (caravan and content insurance).

Due to changing legislations in insurance practices across South Africa, some companies are choosing to change their strategy towards UMA models including divisionalising

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these UMAs. However, Natsure holds a strong belief that backed by its principles it can strategically enter the right markets and do what others cannot. “We want to breathe fresh life into the industry, giving entrepreneurial UMAs the chance given the capital and framework to succeed.

“We focus on the niche business because the commoditised business in South Africa is mainly driven by shortterm insurance aggregators and direct business models. We believe that with specialised insurance solutions you need skill, complimented by good quality and experienced underwriters that can provide brokers with a comprehensive all-encompassing risk solution for each niche area of insurance. We support our brokers to enable them to give sound advice and to make sure that clients receive the best quality offering at the correct risk rate. Our products are not an ‘off the shelf’ offering or a ‘one size fits all’ offering; it is all quoted, rated and worded to suit each individual insured and its needs,” adds Davey.

The biggest success story for Natsure has been in the renewable energy sector, which has really begun to gather pace in South Africa. The company is seeing great returns in this industry and has underwritten 70 percent of the market share in round one of bidding and 40 percent in round two, celebrating a leading position in this sector. “The fact that we offer a cradle to grave solution and that we can offer the highest capacities in South Africa, makes us a true market leader,” she explains.

Moreover, Natsure has experienced great success in the aviation industry, rising to profitable levels in recent years.

Key business areas

In 2012, Natsure expanded its operations into neighbouring Namibia in order to test the waters across

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a wider geographical footprint.

In general, due to differences in underwriting legislation, entering a new insurance market can be a challenge as Davey explains: “Every country has different legislation, and company and statutory requirements can vary. South Africa’s is particularly strict; changes in remuneration have undoubtedly impacted the business and the operating model of an underwriting manager.

“On the other hand, these strict policies and our adherence to them strengthens our reputation when we look outside South Africa for business; it shows that we can adapt and not fold under the pressure, and that our business is built on strong sustainable and ethical work practises,” highlights Davey.

These niche markets operating in a highly regulated environment can be tricky to understand, which is why Natsure invests time and money into acquiring only the most talented and skilled staff that have a passion for the job, something which Davey says makes them stand out from the market. “Having the knowledge of the specific industry you are dealing with helps us manage the business better

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Its key features are: • Premium collection and disbursements • Claims management • Insurance commissions management • Reinsurance management

Qualification requirements are now much higher and people entering the industry needs to first acquire training

What is a UMA? A UMA is the agent of an insurer, it does not sell policies directly to the insured and sells its product offering to brokers only. The UMA performs binder functions and other services of behalf of an insurer as an expert in a particular type of business in question, for which they earn a binder fee and they are allowed a profit share.

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• MIS reporting and financial management

www.tial.co.za and makes for a better relationship with our brokers,” she says.

In South Africa, attracting the best and brightest young people to the underwriting industry is challenging due to it being a niche market, which has resulted in an ageing workforce, which Davey hopes will change going forward.

“Qualification requirements are now much higher and people entering the industry needs to first acquire training, qualifications and in a number of instances needs to work under supervision which in turn once again place additional compliance and additional operational cost pressures on the business.”

More and more international insurers view Africa as an area of potential growth, which means there is additional influx of international capacities which increases competition and drives down the insurer rating/ pricing. These all have an effect on the sustainability and growth of the UMA

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market and future competitiveness. “For Natsure it is crucial to limit these risks in our business by making sure we always offer innovative insurance solutions, based on strong underwriting principles and good qualified, and experienced staff. We focus on continuous training not only for our staff but also for our brokers and therefore continue to contribute to the maintenance of the professional standards of our industry,� Davey further explains.

Offering innovative solutions based on strong underwriting principles

The reputable and longstanding company is backed by good principles and ethics

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Davey says the key to identifying the right partners, or insurers to work alongside, is to develop not only a mutual understanding of each other’s businesses and regularly interact, but to also focus on securing long-term partnerships which must be based on strong relationships and profitable business growth for each partner. “We are in constant communication with our insurers, on a local and international level to ensure an understanding of our business

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strategy, which is to provide a platform for our UMA partners based on our four C’s: Capacity, Capability, Compliance and Capital.

“Further to this, once a year we attend a partner conference where we outline our strategy and give our partners the opportunity to interact with each other, to leverage each other’s business models or focused areas,” she comments.

As a reputable and longstanding South African company that is

backed by good principals and ethics, and the best highly skilled individuals deployed across all its operations, Natsure’s focussed UMA approach for the future is designed to make the company better than ever before; even implementing new technologies including a brand new interactive IT platform. “By streamlining the organisation we will become even more competitive, efficient and subsequently this will benefit our brokers and insurers,” Davey summarises.

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The company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Munir Sheikh Ahmed

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Bank on

Better

The National Bank of Kenya is focusing on heightened security and convenience-driven innovation in 2015 as it stays true to both its short and long-term goals Writer: Matthew Staff • Project Manager: Donovan Smith

he National Bank of Kenya’s ongoing strive for industry innovation and customer satisfaction continues to fuse short and long term goals as 2015 promises further physical and virtual expansion.

In 2014, the company was in the midst of a significant growth plan which incorporated not only the addition of 12 new physical branches and 20 new ATMs, but also a concerted move into online and mobile banking.

This overall distribution network expansion remains one of the institution’s core ambitions this year too, improving the level of virtual and physical access points for its customers, while also introducing new and futuristic solutions to keep ahead of the industry curve.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Munir Sheikh Ahmed explains: “We will look to grow the amount of products and services significantly this year, putting in place 15 additional branches to the 12 opened last year, but also in growing

new business segments in the form of microfinance and our Chinese business segment.

“The other unique strategy this year is to bring down the costs of operations by automating and digitising lots of back office works that are currently semi automated or entirely manual.”

Arguably one of the biggest introductions currently being initiated by the National Bank of Kenya though is the influx of agency banking outlets across the country, fusing both its growth strategy and its dedication to localisation and moving closer to its customers.

Munir Ahmed waters a tree during the launch of a tree planting partnership

Improved convenience

At present, 1,500 agents have been introduced in line with Central Bank’s drive to improve convenience to the people of Kenya.

“You have to access the whole population in rural areas, but part of that challenge has been sorted out on the distribution side by the introduction of agency baking,” Ahmed explains. “What this means is that every village and small shopping sector in the country has got some level of access to bank services via a local agent which could be located in nothing more than the local grocery, hardware or drug store.”

In line with this commitment to customers exists an extensive marketing and education effort to ensure that the width and breadth of Kenya are not only aware of the products and services being offered, but of the full range of benefits these services entail.

Ahmed continues: “Education is important because for the best part of the past 50 years, the general population has been running on cash,

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so to suddenly switch to cashless processes requires a certain degree of education.

“When ATMs were first introduced in the 1990s the general public had to learn they no longer had to come into a branch to withdraw money, and the same level of education is needed now to show people that they don’t necessarily need to have cash in their wallet at all.”

This strategy is especially significant in regards to the introduction of the National Bank’s cashless transaction system on public transport.

Cashless fares for public transport users is a new and progressive system, but nonetheless an important one in keeping ahead of future trends, and Ahmed fully expects to see the adoption of this rise as people learn of its benefits.

“The government is pushing for the transport sector to adopt these cashless or cash light solutions but practical solutions take time so we are working hard to educate people about the improved convenience we can provide,” Ahmed states.

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The more remote you go into rural areas, considering we are still largely a cashbased economy, the more logistical issues you come across in securely moving around large amounts of cash and liquidity

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Secure operations

Sameer Park branch, Nairobi

Innovations are always at the forefront of The National Bank of Kenya’s ongoing development, and this currently comprises niche offerings of microfinance and Chinese business segments to fill in the few remaining gaps in its service offering.

However, alongside this exists its drive for internal efficiencies and especially in regards to levels of security across IT and logistics.

“The more remote you go into rural areas, considering we are still largely a cash-based economy, the more logistical issues you come across in securely moving around large amounts of cash and liquidity,” Ahmed says.

“One of the things that softens that challenge is the robust expansion of fibre links into the rural areas which means at least seven counties of the country have secure links.

“However, as you branch out into really remote areas, there are

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Munir Sheikh Ahmed introduces the cashless system

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hundreds of unpaved roads even so we have to use light aircraft as well as local settlement arrangements between local banks to face that particular challenge.”

The CEO adds: “In terms of investing in security we also have to make ongoing investments into our IT systems to stay ahead of people with bad intentions. We have invested substantial amounts into this last year, improving our systems, especially having gone into mobile and online banking in a big way.

“This kind of banking brings elements of security risk with it, so we have to keep investing to counter that vulnerability in those areas.”

The National Bank of Kenya has subsequently introduced a specific department for IT security to ensure that comprehensive levels of protection are in place in regards to hardware, software, IT resources, firewalls and the prevention of hacking.

In terms of progress over the next 12 months, I expect our trading profit to be no less than 50 percent up on last year; an ambition being driven by a whole host of actions including doubling the customer base by the end of 2015

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Munir Sheikh Ahmed signing a cheque during a donation ceremony for the administration police staff welfare

‘Bank on Better’

Maintaining these high standards is imperative for a financial institution with national identity engrained in its history and customer appeal.

“This is definitely one of our differentiators, bringing an indigenous outlook to banking with the whole DNA from inception around bringing capital banking services to the population of Kenya,” Ahmed confirms. “Our second differentiator is our vast experience in the public sector.

“Although this is now open to all banks and therefore fully competitive, we have more expertise and are still the frontrunners and best service providers in this sector.”

The Bank’s final differentiator is its aforementioned commitment to innovation and the products that continue to develop from that; all the while staying true to its motto of ‘Bank on Better’.

Ahmed concludes: “We manifest the brand through those innovative products, relationship management, convenience of accessibility and

Islamic banking wing in Isiolo, Eastern Kenya

also the quality and pricing of our services in comparison to some of our competitors.

“In terms of progress over the next 12 months, I expect our trading profit to be no less than 50 percent up on last year; an ambition being driven by a whole host of actions including doubling the customer base by the end of 2015.”

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(L-R) GAB Board member Ahmed Said, a client Khalif, GAB CEO & Board member Abdalla Abdulkhalik, Chairman Jamal Al-Hazeem and Board member Alaga Raja during the official opening of the Mombasa Road branch

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Islamic Banking By re-focusing the bank’s business model on SME and insurance products, Gulf African Bank has continued to grow its name as the Kenyan leader in Islamic Banking

says that growth in different segments within the bank coupled with geographic expansion has contributed to maintaining its expansion levels.

“Our strong position has enabled us to engage in new partnerships regionally and internationally, engage in product diversification to include insurance, re-focusing the bank’s Writer: Emily Jarvis business model through the formation of a singular business unit for easier Project Manager: Donovan Smith delivery, especially for micro and macro businesses, improvement in ince last speaking to quality and quantity of marketing Africa Outlook in 2014, and a strategic shift in investment to the award-winning Gulf customer and business innovation,” African Bank (GAB) has says the CEO. gone from strength to With GAB’s Return on Assets (RoAs) strength, leveraging its position as currently standing at an impressive Kenya’s largest Islamic bank to grow 3.12 percent and a jump in after tax both the brand and continue to profit levels by 41 percent, a continued innovate its product range. Recognised focus on SME products and financing

by M & A Today and Islamic Finance services has served to firmly cement News as the Best Islamic Bank in the bank’s leading position in the Kenya, these triumphs have functioned market, even as more traditional to widen the profile of the Bank to Kenyan banks open their doors to emerge as the frontrunner in Islamic Islamic banking.

Finance regionally.

“The increased competition in this Showcasing its diverse offering once sector has prompted us to think of more, Abdalla Abdulkhalik, CEO and ways of improving our product and Board Member of Gulf African Bank service offering going forward,”

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Our branch network now stands at 14 plus two banking centres for women. The Mombasa Road branch is in an ideal location as a deposit and financing point for corporate as well as individuals seeking personal financing products Abdalla Abdulkhalik, CEO and Board Member of Gulf African Bank

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he adds. Accordingly, GAB has the best trade financing facilities for international traders that subscribe to the Shari’ah compliant economic model, with guarantees and bonds to cater for various customer needs.

Reaching even more Kenyans

SME products remain one of the key focus areas for GAB. In line with this, the bank has further consolidated all of its Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) into a singular business unit (SBU) for easier delivery.

This has led to a new range of MSME products and services, which is one of the major initiatives feeding into the bank’s broader long-term strategy.

Moreover, GAB has diversified into other insurance fields including Bancassurance via its new product GAB Takaful, which promises to integrate more services under the GAB umbrella.

“By targeting some of the more niche markets, we can add value and entice more clients,” says Abdulkhalik.

In 2014, GAB became a member of the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Finance Programme. The

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programme works with banks in 13 different African countries to increase lending to small-scale entrepreneurs that would have previously struggled to access banking. “A US $3 million investment by the IFC has gone a long way towards improving our product and service offering in this regard,” he adds.

In addition to enhancing its range of products, GAB has expanded its

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footprint in Kenya to include a further branch along Mombasa Road in Nairobi, a major highway synonymous with the manufacturing industries in the country and an area known as a key business hub. “Our branch network now stands at 14 plus two banking centres for women. The Mombasa Road branch is in an ideal location as a deposit and financing point for corporate as well as

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individuals seeking personal financing products,” Abdulkhalik explains.

Investments in IT remain a key part of GAB’s strategy in 2015, partnering with institutions like the IFC in order to proactively seek a boosted online presence. “Continued investment in IT, especially for our e-banking platforms, has resulted in continued uptake of online products and this has helped grow our income over time,” he adds.

The bank is currently reviewing various virtual banking models which it hopes to adopt in the very near future.

Strategic partnerships

Maintaining good relationships with various other institutions globally has enabled GAB customers to easily make transactions across a broad geographical reach. Over time, the bank has managed to leverage a variety of partnerships which have each contributed positively to overall growth levels. “Ensuring our partners’

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Return on Investment is high has meant continued interest in the bank.

The IFC, for instance, made a second investment into GAB due to our good performance over the years and our future outlook.

“As a result, we have also strategically engaged in several partnerships regionally for instance, our current partnership with Takaful Insurance of Africa has seen the bank venture into this sector successfully.

This is complemented by a number of loyalty programmes with various outlets in Kenya aimed at giving our customers additional value over and above our traditional product and service offering.

“We usually make certain that we meet our end of the bargain in our partner agreements and ensure our business partners get value, especially through good returns on investment amongst other things,” Abdulkhalik details.

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Talent management

In recent years, Kenya’s pool of professionals has gradually grown to include those well versed in the Islamic banking model and the accompanying products and services pertaining to Islamic banking. However, GAB has its own policies in place that encourage further opportunities for training and growth from within through the identification of the best talents.

“Our management team recognises the essential role played by staff in achieving the bank’s strategic objectives. In line with this, we have drawn up and implemented a policy on talent management which helps us to select key members of staff who we feel best support the current and future business goals. We aim to identify and grow succession from within where staff in the talent pool will be given support through mentorship programmes, training and attachments,” highlights Abdulkhalik.

We strive to be responsive to the broader concerns of the communities in which we operate and have a genuine desire to improve the quality of life for Kenyans With the appropriate training programmes in place for all members of staff, GAB upholds diversity and inclusion and practices as an equal opportunity employer.

“The bank’s performance-driven culture encourages teamwork and participation in company activities in order to keep staff morale high and

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ensure GAB keeps its competitive edge,” affirms Abdulkhalik.

Developing society

As a Kenyan bank and a good corporate citizen, GAB recognises that participation in and contribution to society is part of being good citizens and facilitating the positive development of society. “We strive to be responsive to the broader concerns of the communities in which we operate and have a genuine desire to improve the quality of life for Kenyans,” says Abdulkhalik.

The bank continues to be involved within the community through different facets; namely health, economic empowerment, education and environment initiatives. Over the Ramadhan period in 2014 for instance, the bank made donations to various institutions ranging from places of worship, schools, children’s homes and community based organisations in Nairobi, Coast and North Eastern regions of Kenya. During this period, the bank also participated in a dialysis fundraising campaign with Malindi Toa Donge Lako, a Community Based Organisation (CBO) in the Coastal region of Kenya. Furthermore, the bank has continued to provide access to education under its bursary scheme, besides participating in varied initiatives like the Global Money Week through job shadowing programmes with the youth under the broad economic citizenship empowerment banner.

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Long-term growth

In order to remain at the forefront of Islamic banking, GAB has in place several new strategic objectives which will help the bank grow its financing arrangements for customers, increase customer deposits and its asset base among other key segments which will move the bank “into the next tier” as Abdulkhalik summarises: “Some of these initiatives include strong partnerships with credible institutions (both financial and non-financial), product diversification, product and service revamping, enhanced customer incentivisation through loyalty programmes, increased selling via digital platforms and coming up with unique niche targeted marketing programmes.

“These are just some of the plans we are following through to ensure the bank retains its position as a leader and an authority in Islamic banking regionally.”

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Microelettrica South Africa:

Localisation

in Action Since gaining a presence in South Africa in 2002, Microelettrica Scientifica has successfully adopted a localisation strategy and BBBEE initiatives that will drive local content production Writer: Emily Jarvis Project Manager: Tom Cullum

eadquartered in Italy, Microelettrica Scientifica has been designing, developing and producing electromechanical equipment for some of the most advanced and demanding applications of railway transportation, urban mobility and industry around the world.

Since expanding its geographical footprint into South Africa in 2002, the company started small; assembling braking resistors for locomotives and importing contactors and relays from the Italian parent company. The market demand for Microelettrica products grew swiftly and product availability grew in conjunction with this to include high speed circuit breakers,

protection relays, switchgear, fans, power converters, transducers and metering equipment. “Our South African customer base rapidly grew and company success can be seen in our turnover, which has grown at an average of 25 percent a year over the past five years,” Microelettrica South Africa’s Managing Director, Senny van den Oever says.

Accompanying this high level of growth is a company mission to adopt both a localisation strategy and maintain a very high level of Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE), in which Microelettrica currently holds a level two status with 125 percent recognition. “The BBBEE initiative is taken very seriously in South Africa and there are strong demands from both regulators and customers, hence the continuing focus for us. Our high compliance level means that for any company that purchases from us, for every one rand

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Braking Resistor

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Microelettrica SA design and manufacture customised solutions for customers in the rail, energy, mining and general industries

spent, they get recognition of 1.25 rand towards its own empowerment levels. “For us, our high score is extremely attractive for state-owned companies and governments in particular as it meets a key South African business performance measure,� van den Oever explains.

In addition to embracing BBBEE practices and regulations set out by the government, Microelettrica South Africa achieved the ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems certification in 2014.

Localisation strategy

Historically in African countries, components with high levels of intricacies and particularly complicated technologies have been imported from overseas. In line with government industrialisation goals, Microelettrica has adopted a localisation strategy where the company has phased in and encouraged local content in line with

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Our order book has grown significantly to the point where we have now taken in orders in excess of R400m from these rolling stock projects

Braking Resistors are used to transform kinetic energy of the vehicle into heat by means of electric braking

the broader goals for the country. “The government has outlined local content as a key requirement for South African companies and our local content stands at an impressive 80-90 percent depending on the product.

It has been an immense challenge to find black-owned companies with highly technical components, but we are looking to foster relationships to develop their enterprise so they are able to supply us with the right

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Where everyone else sees a limit, we see an opportunity

Your specialists in electromechanical components and systems for rail, urban mobility, energy and industrial applications.

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quality product at the right price.

Our aggressive localisation strategy is one factor that sets us apart from the competition,” highlights van den Oever.

Moreover, local facilities allow Microelettrica to design and manufacture customised solutions tailored for the unique requirements of any customer in the rail, energy, mining and general industries; like a power resistor for a specific brand of

In South Africa, Microelettrica manufacture products for PRASA and Transnet primarily, but with substantial rolling stock projects from both these operators the company is now able to supply locally to international vehicle builders such as CSR, Bombardier, CNR and ALSTOM. In addition to this, the company has also supplied to various countries across sub-Saharan Africa including Cameroon, Nigeria and DRC. “Our order book has grown significantly to the point where we have now taken in orders in excess of R400m from these rolling stock projects,” says van den Oever.

locomotive for example.

“Also, our strategy will create more jobs and promote local skills development. Combine this with the improved lead times from local procurement and improved response times in the after sales cycle and we successfully contribute to South Africa’s challenges and transformational imperatives,” comments van den Oever.

Of course, the strategy does not

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come without challenge and additional cost attached. However, van den Oever believes staff at Microelettrica have a ‘can do’ attitude which makes the “seemingly impossible, turn into opportunity”.

In line with this, the company spends six percent of its payroll in order to equip people with the necessary skills to assemble and test products. “This is nearly double the normal spend on skills development in South Africa and our training plan is a culmination of inputs and agreement from all levels of management. Skills are generally in short supply and so we have to nurture what we have,” says van den Oever.

Aggressive expansion

With an eye on possible strategic acquisitions to add to the company product portfolio, Microelettrica continues to aggressively market itself to gain a bigger market share on the continent and really get the brand name out there.

“In support of this, we are launching our fans and power converters in the South African market which is only just the beginning. Further, our sales focus is on products that have not yet significantly penetrated the South African market in sectors that the company has not yet sufficiently explored, such as mining and energy.

This presents a great opportunity for Microelettrica as we target to achieve at least one third of our growth in African markets,” emphasises van den Oever, adding that further market research will be needed in order to ensure that new product launches work in conjunction with the Microelettrica localisation strategy.

“It is too early to say which countries will bear fruitful business opportunities, needless to say that where we identify a local content requirement we will look at the possibility of setting up subsidiaries in these countries to cement our localisation strategy in place from the

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Senny van den Oever, Managing Director Previously working for Transnet and Metrorail (today known as PRASA) for 16 years, Senny van den Oever was headhunted to join Microelettrica in 2006, with this year marking his tenth with the company.

We are making the right inroads at this stage to gain an extensive footprint in Africa in the long term

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Targeting one-third growth in African markets for its products

Microelettrica is an OEM garnering large local content percentage in SA

word go,” he further adds.

Continued dedication to its efficiencies, staff and products through comprehensive and well structured localisation methodologies, embracing BBBEE initiatives, is Microelettrica’s business proposition for South Africa and beyond. With an impressive outlook to treble its turnover, van den Oever fronts the South African arm of the business to secure at least a third of this growth from SubSahara African countries.

“We are making the right inroads at this stage to gain an extensive footprint in Africa in the long term.

By embracing the transformational imperatives of both our country and continent, we have become an OEM that garners a large local content percentage in South Africa,” he proudly concludes.

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Achieving Together to Become

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With an estimated consumer base of 24 million people in Mozambique, Coca-Cola Sabco has been increasing production capabilities nationwide by stabilising its distribution network and investing in state-of-the-art equipment Writer: Emily Jarvis • Project Manager: Josh Hyland

or the past few years, the Mozambican economy has been experiencing a prosperous GDP growth of between seven and eight percent; this is of course having a positive impact on businesses in the country, helping to provide much needed support to local infrastructures. Sabco, the South African-based flagship bottler for Coca-Cola’s African operations, has reaped the benefits and invested heavily in further developing its operations in Mozambique.

When Africa Outlook spoke to Country Manager Simon Everest two years ago, he had big plans to grow the Coca-Cola brand presence in Mozambique, expecting doubledigit growth figures and an increase in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) production locally. Since this time, the company has hit its targets thanks to closely examining its route to market approach by bringing distribution capabilities in house, significantly developing its warehouse and investing in people power.

“Traditionally, we have relied on third parties for distribution which was a costly exercise. Now this has changed, we have increased capacity and are on the lookout for new merchandising partners to invest in the business that will live up to our high standards and hold enough stock going forward,” says Everest.

Coca-Cola is strategically placed throughout Mozambique with three

Simon Everest, Country Manager, Coca-Cola Sabco Mozambique

plants – Nampula serving the north, Chimoio serving central regions and Maputo in the South. In relation to the changing nature of the beverage market in the country, Coca-Cola has a growing team of sales developers who undergo continuous on-the-job training in the field to push the brand forward.

“With more feet on the street so to speak, we make sure that the brand adapts to change and the market is made aware of our latest innovations and products,” comments Everest.

As a globally-recognised brand, Coca-Cola represents quality around the world. In Africa in particular, the drink is seen as a premium brand in the country. “In general, Africa offers significant growth potential in beverages and this is down to a rise in disposable income. Wherever you buy Coke, the ingredients and the label is the same. It is a truly global brand.

People like to be seen holding a drink that is recognised the world over,” cites Everest.

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Investments with SABMiller

In 2014, Coca-Cola Sabco announced a merger with SABMiller, which will see the production of SABMiller’s nonalcoholic beverages globally, launching under the name Coca Cola Beverages Africa. By bringing new beverage lines such as this to market, Everest believes that by building capacity ahead of growing demand will cement CocaCola’s position not just in Mozambique, but as a world-class market leading brand synonymous with quality and working in close partnership with others to achieve this.

The new bottler, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa will serve a number of markets and account for approximately 40 percent of all Coca-Cola beverage volumes in Africa.

“After phase one, we will be the 10th largest bottler in the Coca-Cola system with one billion cases of soft drink sales on the continent. The merger has seen us acquire many more brands including a number of water products and Appletiser,” explains Everest.

Coca-Cola Bottling Facility, Matola Gare, main building, eastern perspective

Stabilising production and distribution

In addition to plans for a new factory in Matola Gare, a brand new PET line and improvements to the RGB (returnable glass bottles) at the Chimoio plant has greatly enhanced output in the central region of Mozambique. Due to the success here, Coca-Cola is currently in the process of adding a PET line to the northern operations in Nampula. “This will give us returnable glass capacity and a PET line in all our centres.

We want to raise everyone’s sights within the organisation to achieve together to become world-class

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Combine this with our plans for a new plant in Matola Gare on the outskirts of the capital - which will be accredited to green sustainability standards - and this completes our growth strategy through to 2020-2022,” Everest surmises.

Back in October 2013, Coca-Cola Mozambique was due to launch BonAqua water and Everest recapped the success of the product over the past two years: “There was and still is a substantial opportunity for bottled water as the market in the country is fragmented, with regional players in all the regional hubs limited by transportation costs.

“Once we start producing BonAqua at all three sites, we will be the first nationwide producer of water who has made it economical to deliver across the country. We will be focussing on securing a solid distribution network that has an extensive reach,” he says.

Other products due to be released include a PET version of Minute Maid,

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which will join the already successful Minute Maid Nectar canned juice product. Furthermore, the company is a strong contender in the sparkling category, boasting an 85 percent share of the market.

Matola Gare development

Infrastructure remains a huge challenge, with frequent power spikes that will threaten the state-of-the-art machinery for the new site in Matola Gare. “There are signs that wealth is beginning to filter through the country, but the infrastructure has a knockon effect to progress in this regard,” highlights Everest.

With new machinery comes the need for training to ensure the business runs efficiently as Everest further explains: “It is one thing to invest in state-of-the-art equipment and facilities with sophisticated lines, but we must secure a team of multiskilled engineers to run the machinery.

Improvements to the RGB at the Chimoio plant has greatly enhanced output

www.rushtail.net Moçambique +258 21 73 0303/4 South Africa +27 13 744 3365/3195

The plant has four times as much capacity when compared to our other operations and instead of 18 members of staff per shift; we now only need five or six. It has been necessary to spend several million on training for our new plant and by working closely with the ministry of labour, we have tested every individual to make sure they are up to the challenge.”

As a fully-integrated player in the Mozambican market backed by global branding and the ability to supply the growing demand for non-alcoholic soft drinks, Everest says that Coca-Cola Sabco Mozambique strive to be not just the best in the country, but the best in the world: “We want to raise everyone’s sights within the organisation to achieve together to become worldclass. Although the country brings its challenges, there is ample opportunity and we are in a great position to capitalise on the changing fortunes of Mozambique,” he concludes.

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Reach With flagship SAPPI product, Galerie Art showing huge uptake potential, Papercor continues to make a name for itself in South Africa’s printing and packaging industries Writer: Emily Jarvis • Project Manager: Nick Norris

Trucks carry Papercor’s distinctive branding

apercor cc was founded in Johannesburg more than 28 years ago by Geoff Saks as a mini paper merchant, focusing primarily on the smaller printers and retailers of paper products in the Johannesburg and Pretoria areas. In May of 2013 Papercor Holdings (Pty) Ltd, under the ownership of Raymond Blake, Ian Falcon and Dean Le Touze, bought the business from Saks with the objective of expanding it with increased specialised products as well as growing the national footprint.

Blake, Managing Director, closely supported by Le Touze, Sales Director, have between them more than 50 years’ experience in the paper merchanting industry in South Africa. Falcon, Commercial Director, though not from the paper industry offers the company more than 30 years of business knowledge and experience. Under this management team, Papercor supplies paper and board products to the South African printing and packaging industries via its comprehensive paper and paper conversion services.

A paper merchant is best described as a company which buys paper products, warehouses them and then supplies them to the print and retail industries. For Papercor, the focus has

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been to buy from recognised major producers around the world that follow acceptable and acknowledged environmental practices and who are renowned for their quality, and sell paper and board products to the printing industry in South Africa.

“In essence, we supply the right size paper and board products which local print companies use, for example, in packaging, for the printing of magazines, company brochures, annual financial reports, flyers and business cards,” says Raymond Blake, Managing Director of Papercor.

In addition to its Johannesburg operation, Papercor has opened facilities in Cape Town and KwazuluNatal which enabled the company to become known as a national paper merchant. Both of these operations are managed by knowledgeable people who have a number of years’ experience in paper merchanting.

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Our three branches are fully staffed and we have an experienced national sales force, boast fully stocked warehousing facilities and all the logistical capabilities to assure our ‘just in time’ service promise

A commitment and drive for the Papercor brand is what separates it from the competition

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“Andrew Flack and Craig Stevens in Kwazulu-Natal became shareholders in Papercor in 2014. Further to this, our three branches are fully staffed and we have an experienced national sales force, boast fully stocked warehousing facilities and all the logistical capabilities to assure our ‘just in time’ service promise.

“The Johannesburg converting division has sheeting, slitting and guillotine capabilities while both Cape Town and Kwazulu-Natal are for the moment limited to guillotine only,” Blake adds.

Addressing the overcrowded market

Blake identified that the market for these kinds of paper and board products is very competitive which means Papercor has had to think of ways to make it stand out from the crowd. Its flagship coated-paper

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To a company that looks great on paper and in practice, we applaud you.

Congratulations to Papercor for your ongoing success over the past 17 years.

As an independently owned paper merchant and converter of boards and paper, Papercor supplies the South African printing industry with high-quality, environmentally-friendly products. We are proud to be Papercor’s bank of choice and look forward to a future filled with help, success and lots of paper.

Get more bank. Do more business.

For more information, call Richard Gunther on 079 890 3885, (011) 856 2395 or email rgunther@fnb.co.za First National Bank – a division of FirstRand Bank Limited. An Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider (NCRCP20).

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Papercor HQ

product, Galerie Art, has helped it do so: “Galerie Art is a diverse premium product that we buy from renowned South African paper company, SAPPI. As our flagship product, Galerie Art is a high specification triple coated paper. It is a product that reflects our two biggest selling points: quality and being mindful of the environment.”

Papercor’s Commercial Director, Ian Falcon details that SAPPI used to be the primary manufacturer of paper in South Africa, but over the past 10 - 15 years cheap imports from the east have secured a significant market share: “Customers are finding too many inconsistencies in print quality so the industry has been changing to reflect this. Ultimately, the industry is still price-driven in some areas, but quality and print efficiency are becoming a deciding factor in the final choice,” he says.

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The thing that adds value for us is our ability to go to agencies and present these high specification products that spread our credibility and try and get South Africans to buy into the Papercor brand and range that we offer

Warehouse

Historically the industry has allowed the printers to determine the print specification which, given the inconsistency of a lot of the product from the east, has led to frustration.

Papercor’s approach has been to involve the industry in the decisionmaking of the right paper for the print job in order to ensure quality consistency and customer satisfaction.

“The thing that adds value for

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us is our ability to go to advertising agencies and corporations, and present these high specification products that spread our credibility and try and get South Africans to buy into the Papercor brand and range that we offer,” explains Blake.

In support of this, SAPPI has given full merchanting rights of the Galerie Art product to Papercor for the South Africa market. As a premium coated art paper that competes favourably with the lower priced products imported from the east, it is the most environmentally credible coated art paper in South Africa.

Green production

Being mindful of the environment is a key aspect of Papercor’s mission and it strives to share its influence with others in the market. “We have a huge amount of experience among management and shareholders when it comes to environmental considerations. Our clients are recognising this and our focus on quality of service is a key element that sets us apart from the competition.

“An increasing number of brands are keen to be seen as green and environmentally friendly. Ultimately advertising agencies and corporates will specify to the printer what they want to use for a range of print runs, which is often in line with their own energy saving and environmental practices,” says Falcon.

To better address this need Papercor has been working with its sister company, Papercor Maratek to provide a solution to recycle solvents in the paper industry. “The technology, developed by our business partners, Maraket Environmental in Canada, is now exclusive to our South Africa operations and we are working with the printing industry to draw interest and make an impact,” Falcon adds.

Additionally, Blake says that a good relationship with suppliers on a local and international scale is key, and

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by working with the likes of SAPPI, Mondi and Singapore trader, Vital for importation, Papercor is geared to handle large volumes on request. “Of course, living in South Africa means we support our local suppliers as much as possible and we spend considerable amounts of time working closely with them,” Blake further adds.

Continuous improvement

In the future, Papercor will replace equipment with a view to implement

Recycling?

It’s in our DNA Papercor Holdings has a sister company Papercor Maratek which is a JV between the shareholders of PH as well as Maratek Environmental Inc. in Canada. PM is a chemical solvent recycling company that uses the technology developed by Maratek Environment to recycle solvents that are used in the printing industry.

The picture attached was used in an article that was published last year in a local advertising/printing/publishing magazine, GAPP.

Nadia Maguire, Operations and Marketing Manager and Learnmark Chirisa, Machine Operator

more automated techniques in its Johannesburg converting lines.

Moreover, Blake says the company will create extra capacity for the paper converting side of the business and take part in further learnership schemes to multiskill Papercor staff.

“We strive to get away from the historical belief that staff have one duty; everyone needs to handle the job and over time staff are realising the benefit of this.

“In line with this, we are continuing to look for partners who can bring the right demographics required to increase our BBBEE position,” he comments.

Through the introduction of the RISE (Respect, Integrity, Service and Empowerment) philosophy, Blake and his management team hope to demonstrate their devotion to the brand to emerge at the forefront of the industry.

“We don’t want to be number one in the market, we simply want to position ourselves in the correct sectors in the paper merchant industry, which will in return foster company growth. Our exclusive flagship SAPPI product, Galerie Art, is set to help us increase our market share in South Africa and has already made a big impact over the past 10 months. As a result, we expect to gain a 25 percent market share in this product category over the next yearand-a-half.

“Ultimately, our commitment and drive for the Papercor brand will be what separates us from the competition,” Blake concludes.

For further information on Papercor and its product offering, visit the company’s new website: www.papercor.co.za

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Senior Flexonics’ influence in South Africa has grown exponentially over the past 18 years, riding the economic challenges in recent years to remain an internationally renowned partner of choice Writer: Matthew Staff Project Manager: Nick Norris enior Flexonics is replicating its global successes in South Africa as it looks to master the art of being an international company, acting locally.

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Senior PLC, South Africa’s arm represents the Flexonics division of the wider organisation’s remit, operating primarily in the automotive manufacturing and energy markets.

While the wider Group also comprises an aerospace, defence, fluid conveyance and gas turbine entity, Senior Flexonics’ presence in South Africa was established with this specific automotive angle in mind.

“The Senior Group manufactures, designs and markets hightech components and systems for the major equipment producers in the aerospace, defence, land vehicle and energy markets,” confirms the company’s Managing Director (MD), Anthony Mancini. “We fall into the Flexonics division looking after land vehicle emission control systems as well as industrial process control systems.”

Under this strategy, South Africa’s subsidiary was initiated in 1997 to bring the company closer to an

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existing multinational customer.

In producing flexible exhaust connectors to tier one suppliers in the region, the company has since diversified and expanded, again in line with its customers’ own migrations and demands.

“What you find with Senior Flexonics today is that we’re looking at different customers who are operating on a global scale and who are looking for local operations where they’re based,” Mancini continues. “The initial impact of that is that there’s possibly a reduction in the geographical locations the South African operation is going to be supplying to in terms of our automotive business. However, at the same time, it also opens another door because we are now able to participate in global quotation processes and market our capabilities to companies across the world for different requirements.

“The potential opportunities increase and therefore the slice of the pie we would get for supplying into Europe becomes bigger and the group as a whole improves turnover and revenue streams.”

Senior integration

Traditionally each company within the Senior group has operated fairly autonomously, however the integrated nature of the entire Senior organisation is something that Senior Flexonics in South Africa has always been keen to optimise. The South African management team is very much aware of the benefits integration provides in terms of capital investments, flexible decision making and the ability to keep ahead of industry trends.

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In a saturated global market, Mancini attributes the company’s ongoing success to this balance of being an autonomous entity with global capabilities.

“Our access to the capabilities of our research and development facilities in Europe and North America – including our headquarters in London – as well as our marketing capabilities, is a big reason for the success of us as an autonomous unit,” the MD says.“Being part of a major group and people knowing that you have the backing to be able to invest in processes and technologies certainly does help us.

“During these times, you have to be investing to improve and to be reducing waste in products and processes in order to compete.”

To capitalise on this global influence even further, Mancini is now looking to bridge the slight gap between Senior Flexonics and its sister companies in order to bring the Group’s customers an even more comprehensive option in partnering with the company.

“What will change is that from previously working always as an autonomous unit, we want to move forward in understanding we’re part of a Group that has sister companies with a wide base of technologies and skills, and their products are sold in markets around the world and known as being class leading products,” he explains.

Collaborating with sister companies to further company growth in Africa

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By the end of this year, we should be using 80 percent local materials, drastically reducing lead times and carrying risks while also improving the sustainability of our operations for the benefit of our customers’ portfolios

“We want to collaborate with those sister companies and grow those markets, primarily in the energy, oil and gas and industrial markets in Africa. In the next three years we want to partner with some of those sister companies who are making different products to us, to be the catalyst for that further growth in Africa.”

Localisation

Senior Flexonics’ second major initiative over the coming months and years is to see it capitalising on its extensive global footprint by growing the overall business by at least 20 percent in its operating regions.

This inevitably requires a significant focus on its entire export footprint comprising Europe, the Americas and much of Asia, but will be supported by an underlying strategy of trying to become a more localised enterprise within Africa.

“When we started in 1997 most of

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our components and raw materials used in our manufacturing were imported; primarily from Europe,” recalls Mancini. “In support of the local manufacturing sector and the creation of employment, we initially targeted localising the purchasing of components that we would usually buy from companies outside of the Senior Group.”

By selecting a few key suppliers with the requisite capabilities and track record to carry out this function, Senior Flexonics has now reached a stage where 98 percent of its purchased components are done so within South Africa.

Mancini adds: “Our other opportunity in this area has included the local purchasing and sourcing of raw materials in the form of stainless steel, which we use to produce thin wall, 0.15mm thick, tubular products; a very specialised field we work in.”

This has been a timelier task in identifying the right suppliers and then bringing them up to speed to carry out such a complex activity, but the sustainability and long-term goals that will be achieved by establishing a local raw material supplier is certainly an investment worth making.

“Today, 60 percent of our raw material purchases come from Europe, which is an improvement on where we were,” Mancini notes. “However, in 2015 we are looking to complete the next phase and reduce the amount we import to less than 20 percent.

“By the end of this year, we should be using 80 percent local materials, drastically reducing lead times and carrying risks while also improving the sustainability of our operations for the benefit of our customers’ portfolios.”

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Over the years we’ve grown from producing locally to the one customer, to being an exporter to North and South America, Mexico, China, Europe and India as well

industries in 2009.

The international influence and flexible nature of Senior Flexonics’ operations has meant that the business has remained successful through both timeframes though, beginning with the dramatic and pleasantly surprising rise to prominence the organisation enjoyed in its early days.

“Over the years we’ve grown from producing locally to the one customer, to being an exporter to North and South America, Mexico, China, Europe and India as well,” Mancini explains. “Today, most of our products are exported with the number of employees also rising from 16 initially to 210 today.”

The most significant area of growth has been in regards to Senior Flexonics’ facilities though, quickly realising that its previous 2,500 square metre site in Cape Town would not be enough to cater for the business

Pre and post-2009

The company’s general growth can be split into two distinct time periods since the business’s inception in South Africa, before and after the global economic crisis that befell most

Induction annealing

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growth. A subsequent move to an 8,600 square metre facility, open 24 hours a day, five days a week, and incorporating the very best in health, safety and environmental standards, has ensured that the company is on top of the very latest industry and customer trends.

Post-2009 and Senior Flexonics’ drives have changed slightly to a more concerted focus on capital investments to improve internal efficiencies and developing its core capabilities in the form of thin wall tube forming and welding.

“This is with the view of improving our product quality,” Mancini adds.

“We’ve invested more into automation and error-proofing of key assembly processes to meet the customers’ demands for better quality, more consistent products, and a better value offering to them.”

Differentiators

Finding differentiators in one specific region is challenging enough but when taking on an international export market in the manufacturing sector, the pressure on Senior Flexonics to keep adapting and finding unique selling points is even more challenging.

Through its dynamic and flexible workforce though, the company is able to integrate new processes and techniques very quickly and efficiently;

Improving efficiencies with automation techniques

Tony Mancini

Managing Director Mancini oversees Senior Flexonics operations in South Africa and holds many years’ experience in the manufacturing industry.

Tube cutting

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an entrepreneurial attribute which Mancini sees translated to the service provided to its customers.

He notes: “The process layout is continuously being changed in order to be more lean and improve the visual management of our operations. This is done with a strong focus on improving material utilisation, tempo and throughput within the plant and making it easier to make decisions in an environment where the product mix and customer demands are constantly changing.

“However, our emphasis on processes and productivity is just one part of our approach. We have devoted significant attention to giving our employees opportunities for development and training and have been delighted to witness staff members who started off as operators qualify as artisans or engineers.”

Instilling the necessary work ethic and attitudes throughout the value chain, from employee to the supply chain, and through to its customers; Senior Flexonics is also especially proud of its work in enriching the lives of those in the surrounding South African communities via its corporate social responsibility efforts.

“One of the more notable things that happened

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back in 2009, while everyone was going through a tough time financially, was that the group CEO waived his bonus in its entirety in consideration of the difficulties that had been experienced across the Group by all employees,” the MD recalls. “The board then donated all that money to the various facilities to be donated, in turn, to a local charity in each area.

“Similarly, a number of times each year, and especially on Mandela day, the employees like to make a difference in the community by making food hampers or clothes parcels for those in need.

“In one respect, that has been our key differentiator over the years. What makes us different to our competitors is our people.”

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UNLOCKING VALUE

ACROSS AFRICA

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Already established as the packaging leader in Africa with operations in 11 African countries outside of SA, Nampak continues to take advantage of the continent’s upward growth trajectory Writer: Emily Jarvis Project Manager: Ben Wigger

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ince its inception more than 50 years ago, Nampak Bevcan has demonstrated its capabilities in the manufacture and supply of beverage cans across the African continent to become known as one of Africa’s leading lights.

Throughout this prosperous existence, the company’s footprint has gradually grown to include surrounding markets such as Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and most recently Angola and Nigeria.

Throughout its operations, the launch of the “buy better, make better, sell better” business improvement initiatives, as well as concerted efforts to improve the company safety record continue to drive Nampak forward. In 2014, the Group achieved a Level 3 BBBEE rating, an improvement on the Level 4 rating in 2013.

In South Africa, the business environment is set to remain challenging this year, however, Nampak will continue to focus on ways to unlock value from its base business. Efficiency gains from the conversation of many of its beverage can lines to aluminium from tinplate, as well as from the new glass furnace, are expected to contribute earnings in the year ahead.

Moreover, Nampak is strategically well-placed in the rest of Africa, with strong market positions and a growing presence. The Group is pursuing its strategic objective to accelerate growth in the rest of Africa to ensure that this side of the business contributes to sustainable earnings growth in the long term.

Bevcan Nigeria acquisition

The packaging company reported a 10 percent increase in Group revenue for the year ending September 2014, in line with growth expectations.

Furthermore, Nampak said trading profit from the rest of Africa increased by 25 percent to R616 million mainly due to the contribution of the newly acquired Bevcan Nigeria and the continued strong performance from the Angola beverage can operation.

Nampak’s CEO commented that “the acquisition will significantly increase Nampak’s presence in Nigeria which is Africa’s second largest economy”.

Alucan Packaging is situated in the Agbara industrial area which Nampak said was “an ideal location” close to Lagos and to major beverage producing customers as well as having “a reliable source of gas which will be used for heating and power generation”.

“Nigeria, with a population of more than 170 million people, has experienced good growth in demand for beverage cans and this is expected to continue. The acquisition and the potential to acquire the plastics company will further contribute to our stated growth strategy in the rest of Africa,” the CEO adds.

Not content with this regional dominance, Nampak Bevcan continued to increase its geographical reach. According to Erik Smuts, Group Executive of Beverage Cans at Nampak, the business aspires to be “the preferred supplier of beverage packaging in Sub-Saharan Africa”. Although this might sound like an ambitious statement, recent developments mean this target should become a reality.

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“We have built a plant in Angola, which has been operating for more than three years and as of last year has a second production line installed.

The newly acquired Bevcan Nigeria also plays an equal part in our success.

As there will be a lot of focus getting this business up and running, there are exciting times ahead,” Smuts highlights.

Competitive drive

Although continued growth across Africa will undoubtedly give Nampak Bevcan a distinct competitive advantage over manufacturing alternatives, the company has several other strengths to call upon. “We have proved in South Africa, where we do not always have ideal conditions to operate, that we manage to work with what is available,” explains Smuts.

“Despite our successes, we have huge respect for the other global can makers, and we know that we will have to be at our best in order to defend our position.”

This resolute and determined attitude has put Nampak Bevcan in good stead for its Angolan operation as Smuts explains: “We operate in a place where there is very little infrastructure. We generate our own electricity and tanker in all of the water we require. But we are used to operating in areas where it is tough and you can’t always rely

on external service providers other facilities or suppliers. This is critical to our competitive nature and we intend to drive this further to make sure we become even more successful in these areas.”

Despite the operational difficulties in Africa, Smuts believes that Nampak Bevcan has managed to position itself in line with some of the industry’s biggest beverage can manufacturers.

“In South Africa we are more competitive in our pricing than Europe and many other developed countries in the world.

“What makes us different is our strong relationships with customers, good service and a competitive offering. Our adventurous nature and an aggressive cost reduction attitude are also strong characteristics,” he reveals.

NOVELIS

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ovelis is the world’s premier producer of rolled aluminium and the global leader in aluminium recycling. Our unique combination of advanced technology, superior expertise and global footprint allows us to reliably meet the needs of our customers wherever they operate.

• Novelis is the largest single producer of aluminium rolled products with an estimated 14% of the world’s supply.

• We focus our expertise on the most demanding segments of the rolled aluminium market – can, automotive, consumer electronics and architecture – which uniquely positions Novelis as the partner of choice for new product innovation.

• In response to the growing demand for rolled aluminium in our premium markets, Novelis has invested more than $1.7 billion in global expansions in the past three years.

Positioned in line with the industry’s biggest can manufacturers

• As the leading low-carbon aluminium maker, we offer our customers the ability to make products with a smaller environmental footprint.

Our objective to reach 80% recycled metal input across our products by the year 2020 is a key component of our strategy.

Based in Dubai, Novelis MEA Ltd delivers premium material solutions and technical services to our customers in the Middle East, Africa and India.

T +971 (4) 3760 700 F +971 (4) 3760 701 E helio.lima@novelis.com

www.novelis.com

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f e a t u r e

Not just aluminum, Novelis Aluminum.

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Novelis is the global leader in aluminum rolled products and the world's largest recycler of aluminum. We operate in nine countries, have approximately 11,000 employees. Drawing on our expertise, commitment to innovation and world-leading technology, we deliver sustainable solutions for the most demanding applications, including automobiles, architecture, beverage cans and consumer electronics.

novelis.com

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AFROX

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frox is a leading supplier of gases, welding and safety products, operating in South Africa and 11 other African countries. Afrox is part of The Linde Group, a world leading gas, engineering and technologies company.

In April 2006, Afrox signed an initial contract with Nampak to supply Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to numerous operations throughout South Africa. The contract was extended in April 2014.

The supply of bulk LPG to the Bevcan operation in Cape Town accounts for the major percentage of the total Nampak volume.

Afrox is proud to be associated with Nampak and we value our wellestablished business relationship.

Enhancing the business

introduction of aluminium beverage Regardless of its current market cans, which have a higher intrinsic position, Nampak continually looks value, we expect that collection rate to to improve and enhance its day-toincrease.” day activities. “In South Africa, we Furthermore, Nampak Bevcan used to exclusively produce tinplate remains committed to sustainability beverage cans, but we started a in other areas of the business and has conversion to aluminium in 2013 due to gone through quite a large capital customer-driven industry trends and reinvestment programme to become technological advances,” cites Smuts. more environmentally friendly. “The For Smuts, this latest move will go introduction of new equipment has a long way to improving the recycling enabled us to significantly cut down on rate of beverage cans across South energy consumption.

Africa. In fact, he believes that South “The overall carbon footprint of the Africa can achieve levels similar to business is coming down rapidly and that of Brazil, which currently has we have very aggressive targets going a collection rate of more than 98 forward to reduce this even further,” percent. “We have a sister company Smuts emphasises. called Collect-A-Can, which is a Looking forward, Nampak Bevcan is partnership between ArcelorMittal and looking to expand its footprint in Africa Nampak that facilitates the collection even further and will consider wider of cans,” he says. opportunities too, as long as they “The recycling rate we have make good business sense for both achieved in South Africa for used our customers and our shareholders. beverage cans is more than 72 percent, Whatever the future has in store for which is the highest collection level Nampak Bevcan, you can be sure for any beverage packaging format in that product quality and customer Southern Africa, so we are very proud satisfaction will remain key concerns of this achievement. But with the for the business.

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www.afrox.com

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Africa’s leading gases and welding company The Afrox gases, welding, cutting and safety product range of equipment meets and exceeds international safety standards and is backed by decades of Afrox reliability. When quality, reliability and safety counts, select Afrox as your total solutions provider.

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Coatings perform a dual role in protecting both the beverage from the metal container and the container from the beverage, both aspects becoming increasingly important as more aggressive and flavour sensitive products are introduced into the market.

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Taking Businesses

Next to the

Level odestone Brands is aiming to apply the same, vast amounts of experience and expertise that helped initiate the company, to produce the next generation of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) entrepreneurs.

Incepted in 2009, with the initial investment from Standard Chartered Bank of $170 million, the company is a brainchild of former Tiger Brands CEO, Nick Dennis alongside partners John Seymour and Shaun Bruyns.

The idea was to achieve sustainability and longevity through the acquisition of a series of marketleading FMCG brands, to take them to new levels of success, and to establish Lodestone Brands as a top-two player in each of its core operating sectors; being sugar confectionery, beverages, and baby care. “When meeting with Shaun initially, I said I wanted to continue to work on something that had longevity,� CEO,

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Lodestone Brands is looking to expand its acquisition portfolio across Africa, building on an initial six years of success in the FMCG market Writer: Matthew Staff Project Manager: Callum Philp

Dennis recalls. “Shaun then spoke to John Seymour, and we decided to see if we could replicate, in a much smaller way, what had been achieved at Tiger.

“It was about building a branded FMCG business and using our experience, including learning from previous mistakes, to try and get things done in a far shorter time frame.”

Seymour adds: “The brief was essentially to combine Nick’s unparalleled strategic and operational expertise in fast moving consumer goods, with Shaun’s and my financial and investment skills, and to build a business by way of acquisition.

and Candy Tops; Dynamic Brands; and National Pride, respectively, are all pre-existing market players in their various fields of FMCG and, after being acquired by Lodestone over the past half-decade, are now undergoing the necessary expansion strategies to take them to new market levels.

Seymour explains: “When we acquired them, most of the businesses were mid-sized within their target markets and we identified that they needed a strategic partner to take them to the next level.

“What we have endeavoured to do is add a level of professionalism and invest in The next level requisite professional skills.”

The subsequent six years of This business model is applied development has comprised this in keeping with the existing philosophy to the tune of a three legged entrepreneurial spirit present in Lodestone Brand portfolio consisting the acquired business. A balance of four acquisitions under the industry is found between maintaining category banners of confectionary, the facets that made the company beverages and baby care. successful to begin with, while The acquisitions, being Mister Sweet facilitating future growth.

“The founding partners developed a statement of purpose to ‘take entrepreneurs to the next level’,” Dennis continues. “All our businesses were highly entrepreneurial but, as is often the case, the entrepreneurs haven’t had the advantage of working in big professional organisations which is what we brought to the table.

“What we are trying to do is professionalise these businesses without corporatising them, retaining a significant degree of entrepreneurship within the business. This enables us to act with speed; an essential component in building our group”

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Smart marketing

B R A N D S

After only six years of operating, the success of this model is already evident across Africa with its sugar confectionery category currently the third largest player on the continent.

In the category of disposable diapers, Lodestone is also market leader in Zimbabwe, Zambia and the DRC as well as number two in Angola, Malawi and Mozambique.

In the category of beverage concentrates, Lodestone’s portfolio boasts the largest brand in Southern Africa by both value and volume.

Being produced within South Africa and subsequently exported across these markets, this early success is a sign of things to come for Lodestone

Brands, but Dennis is adamant that this is just the beginning.

“Where we are in terms of our performance as an organisation at the moment, we’re a two out of 10,” he states. “There is so much to do and this includes actively marketing our brands.

“Prior to the acquisitions, none of these companies had ever had a conversation with a consumer which is fundamental in building a branded FMCG business.”

To counter this challenge, Lodestone has worked tirelessly in conducting qualitative market research in the relevant market categories. Areas where brands need support have been identified and this knowledge has been

E s s e nt i al s

National Pride is one of Lodestone’s most successful acquisitions to date

invaluable in brand building.

The CEO continues: “We’re still a relatively small player so have to work smartly in terms of where we put our money behind these brands.

“Because we have identified the brand positioning with the consumer we have been able to use these learnings in our strategic re-launches.”

World-class talent

Rascals is another brand being re-driven into the market place

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Key to ensuring the growth and ongoing entrepreneurial flair of each acquisition is the flexible ethos of Lodestone Brands itself, working on a decentralised basis and incorporating an owner-manager culture with no bureaucracy.

“This structure ensures the essence of speed, whether it is speed to market

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L O D E S T O N E

B R A N D S

for new product launches or the speed to make decisions,” Seymour emphasises.

Veering away from traditional midsized enterprise challenges, Lodestone has also encouraged an increase in the amount of exposure that people get across the wider group to further develop their own understanding and skills set within the FMCG sector; a general enhancement of industry knowledge that is also epitomised by the company’s supply chain management strategy.

Dennis explains: “We have moved significantly, especially in our biggest division – confectionary – towards the injection of world-class people who have also worked for the large multinational and local market participants.

“These people have fantastic experience and while it does take a while to adapt to midsized organisations, they have been attracted to working in the environment and especially the entrepreneurial culture that comes with it. We have been able to attract great, world-class talent.”

Unique culture

Engraining world-class partnerships and structures into the pre-existing entrepreneurial ideology promises to be a combination that ensures Lodestone achieves its goal of being the number one or two branded organisation in each niche category.

Seymour notes: “2015 will be a year of continuing to build on the success we’ve had in prior years and I expect to see more leverage of our brands across the categories as a key focus.

“We’ve made significant investments over the past three years in both people and capital and we need to make sure we are getting returns on these.”

In a market that holds potential

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for companies outside of multinational status, there are significant opportunities for Lodestone Brands.

Marketing itself as a flexible, entrepreneurial owner-managed business, the scope to partner with likeminded organisations across East, West and Central Africa – and beyond – is unlimited and Dennis is excited about the opportunities that these attributes will unearth over the coming years.

“We’re passionate about, and absolutely love our business,” he concludes. “If you cut into our veins, you don’t see blood, you see brands!

“What makes us unique? Our innovative capabilities, our unique culture and our speed; unfettered by bureaucracy.

“We are now keen to build our business in Southern Africa, and then selectively across the continent, where we expect our next meaningful port of call to be in East Africa.”

To find out more and to contact us visit the webpage: www.lodestonebrands.com

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The Right

Ingredients Business has remained steady for Kenblest over the past year and the increased capacities from replacing its ovens and machinery are sure to encourage future growth in the Kenyan market.

Writer: Emily Jarvis • Project Manager: Callum Philp

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for Success ith an extensive family-orientated company history, Kenblest has seen rapid expansion in recent years thanks to its investments in high quality machinery that allows for increased capacities, timely product delivery and generating added value through the use of local suppliers.

With roots tracing back to 1937, the incorporation of ‘Shah Kanji Ladha and Company’ in Thika, Kenya, by Kanji Ladha Shah marked the beginning of the company footprint in the country.

The shop located in the centre of Thika town, traded in textiles and general goods. Mayur Mohanlal Shah joined in 1981, having graduated as a pharmacist from John Moore University and completed a Diploma in Baking in the United Kingdom.

Given the company’s initial experience of baking and the Kenyan market, the directors identified a large gap in the industry for good quality bread; and so plans were drawn up to expand into the bakery industry, resulting in the incorporation of Kenblest Limited. In August 1982, the Kenblest bakery was commissioned with the prime objective to manufacture and deliver good quality and affordable bread to Kenyan consumers.

Food industry trends

Good quality, affordable bread products

Since this time, the company has focused heavily on combining international business practices into the inner workings of Kenblest bakery.

Through dedication and hard work, coupled with strong business acumen, Kenblest flourished and within four years the bakery expanded its capacity from 80,000 to 230,000 loaves a day.

Expansion in 2006 increased daily production capacity to 330,000 loaves a day, making Kenblest the single largest bread producer under one roof in Kenya.

Jinit Shah, CEO of Kenblest, is extremely proud of the company’s markedly improved growth year-onyear: “We have always been strong contenders in the market here, but now we find ourselves in an even better position. We are in the process of constructing two new 150-tonne wheat and maize mills in Thika, which will raise our milling capacity considerably. Going forward, we strive to continue this level of growth, as long as it is financially prudent to do so.”

Kenya’s food industry is one of the largest in terms of revenue, with the bakery industry considered the largest division. There has been a growing trend among the working population who commute into the cities each day to choose bread as the main staple for their lunch as Shah explains: “Eating habits have changed dramatically over the past few years in Kenya.

An increasing number of people are turning to bread and bread-related products for their lunchtime meal. It is easy to purchase and is considered a fast food by many, while remaining filling and cheap. It has been a big source of our rise in sales revenue,” he says.

In order to stay ahead of the industry curve, Kenblest has invested in much newer machinery which can handle greater capacities. “Some of our competitors are using machinery that is 30 or 40 years old and that breaks down on a regular basis. Our choice to invest in newer machinery last year and a further investment in brand new ovens in 2015 has been a serious enabler for the business.

“Additionally, there is now a much

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oy Afric Limited is an indigenously owned Kenyan agro-processing company that commenced operations in 1994 in response to the urgent need by NGO‘s for relief food.

The initial supplies targeted war ridden and disaster stricken areas in and around the horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region.

Since then, Soy Afric has become a recognised and reliable indigenously owned Kenyan partner to many bilateral and multilateral development organisations as well as to relief agencies in the supply of nutritionally enhanced food resources in East and Central Africa.

T +254 (0)20 556 740 E info@soyafric.co.ke

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People in Kenya are turning to bread as their lunchtime meal

bigger emphasis on making the manufacturing process as energy efficient as possible. With our new machines, we can now meet green targets,” highlights Shah.

Comprehensive logistics

Kenblest has built up an impressive workforce and supply chain management system including a logistics arm that distributes product all over the country. In 2014, the company purchased 100 new trucks from Tata Africa Holdings ranging from one tonne haulers to seven tonne movers. In order to ensure the company keeps up with supply and demand, the trucks are replaced every four years and receive regular maintenance. “The trucks will keep our products rolling out to Kenya’s cities so

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...there is now a much bigger emphasis on making the manufacturing process as energy efficient as possible. With our new machines, we can now meet green targets that we never fall behind on supply,” comments Shah.

Shah is keen to emphasise that Kenblest is a company which prides itself on hiring local talent. With a workforce of more than 700 and promising relationships with local

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vendors and companies, the company is very much focused on contributing to Kenya’s people and economy where possible. “We have worked closely with local communities and companies to ensure that the relationships we have built up over the years remain as strong today as they were 30 years ago. Our suppliers and partners are always local. It is crucial for us to manage and nurture our business relationships so that in times both good and bad, they will stick with us and we will stay with them,” he says.

With a strong family culture that filters through every facet of the business, Shah is confident that the new machinery and ovens will cement Kenblest’s position in Kenya as a leading supplier of high quality, affordably-priced bread that has the customer in mind. Loyal and local partner relationships combined with greater output capacities are sure to be the winning ingredients that will drive the business forward this year.

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Only the best ingredients for the best nutrition.

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Brand Forward As first-hand experts in the food and drink industry, Moldon continues to actively involve itself in the market in order to gain brand exposure and build a reputation for quality and efficiency Writer: Emily Jarvis • Project Manager: Josh Hyland

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hanging needs across the food and drink industry have depicted Moldon’s business strategy over the years, shifting from a steady bottle collection service for one of the leading manufacturers of alcohol in Zimbabwe, to a one-stop shop for distributors and end users in the foodservice industry in the country with more than 5,000 product lines available. Taking on virtually every aspect of the industry over the course of the past four years, General Manager Karl Klein is proud to say that Moldon now has solid foundations from which to grow its market presence: “We have shown the courage to invest and are looking to take on board more brands and product lines to get the Moldon name out there through our marketing focus.

“The company is continually approached by organisations who want us to provide distribution services for them,” he says.

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Karl Klein, General Manager After initially training as a computer programmer, Klein quickly developed an aptitude for sales and logistics. Within three months of starting at a leading transport company in the 90s he was earmarked for a managerial position.

This dedicated attitude saw him achieve four promotions during 13 months of employment, allowing him to demonstrate his commitment to the cause, securing the position of Operations Manager.

After an unfortunate motoring accident in 2001, Klein went into the transport industry and was headhunted for a senior position at Moldon as it began to develop its core business pportfolio.

Since undertaking the role of General Manager at Moldon he has overseen the company’s expansion and rise in notoriety across Zimbabwe’s food & drink industry.

prospering relationships with the distilleries, Moldon began to import and distribute popular alcoholic beverages such as Savanna & Hunters.

“We built up a portfolio of beverage products and decided to buy into the food industry as well, starting with Liberty Foods. Now, we work with some of the biggest international brands such as Unilever, Carte D’or, Knorr, Kelloggs, Tiger Brands and since 2014, Nestlé. Eventually, we took on every aspect from packaging to cleaning, glassware to kitchen essentials, to become a renowned multi-faceted and competitive player in the retail and wholesale industry.

“The liquor and beverage side of the business still remains the most dominant for us, and we see the food side as an enhancement to this,” explains Klein.

Strengthening the brand

For Moldon, it is all about making everything convenient for its customers and building the reputation of the brand. Consequently, the company heavily invested in improving its distribution last year to cope with orders in a more efficient manner. “As we increase our portfolio, distribution has to accelerate alongside this and other factors such as pricing and service efficiency also play a key role.

“This growth has seen our reputation in the retail industry grow tremendously,” he comments.

Accompanying this, Klein has a personal goal to increase company exposure by providing cold drinks in refrigerated units at outdoor events: “At the moment, there

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is no sure-fire way of keeping a drink ice cold here, and the public are crying out for this to become a reality. It is not good enough when you are paying a high price for a warm beverage that you waited in line for.

“This is where our cold room facilities come in; the drinks arrive at the event in a cold unit and will be served to customers at its very best,” he highlights.

Klein hopes that Moldon can become an events supplier with its own division dedicated to this valueadded service, securing tremendous exposure for the company while simultaneously providing a better service for the customer.

Grabbing local attention

In addition to this, Moldon is in the process of setting up a showroom facility in Victoria Falls, one of Zimbabwe’s attractive business areas.

“We will use this as an opportunity to

Supported by the family culture that we instil in our staff, there is no doubt we have set the bar high in terms of our targets this year

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Amolas Agencies is a licenced clearing agent and member of SFAAZ, specialising in customs clearing, shipping and forwarding. Additional services offered include, consultancy on customs matters, removal in bond and transit clearances, temporary importations, application for rebates and other customs tax concessions as well as application for import and export permits and licences. Since its inception, the company has recorded considerable operational growth through local and regional networking guided by its vision. www.amolasagencies.com E: operations@amolasagencies.com T: +263 2 862 8586 / +263 4 776 738 F: +263 2 862 3319

show our distribution efficiencies as our products will travel around 850 kilometres from our base in Harare, while showcasing our product in one of the country’s thriving areas,” Klein states. Once success is established, he hopes to look for a suitable site in Bulawayo to replicate the showroom strategy, which has the potential to lead to the construction of a new facility. “Only time will tell,” Klein adds.

Much of Moldon’s business plan is dependent on the economy in Zimbabwe, therefore the company will closely watch its bottom line and continue to update its new website and social media platforms in the meantime. “Supported by the family culture that we instil in our staff, there is no doubt we have set the bar high in terms of our targets this year, but after exploring the ways to improve our brand recognition, I am confident things will go well for Moldon,” Klein concludes.

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OF AFRICA

J.R. Goddard Contracting has diversified and expanded its services extensively over the past 32 years, but retains its commitment to sustainability and its people throughout Written by Matthew Staff Project Manager: Ben Wigger s the largest privately owned contracting company in Zimbabwe, J.R. Goddard (JRG) Contracting’s growth continues to run parallel to that of the country’s; a fact indicative of the indigenous philosophy that JRG has built its success upon.

The company was founded on traditional principles to provide turnkey solutions for site design and construction of dams across Southern Africa, and has diversified since its inception in 1982 to carry out a range of construction services to marketleading quality and safety standards.

The large-scale earthworks specialist states on its website: “With 32 years

of experience, we offer specialised expertise in the construction of reinforced concrete structures, rubble masonry and earth dams for both the mining and agricultural sectors.

“We are dedicated to the growth of Africa and value the protection of our people and the environment.”

Through continuous investment and diversification the company is largely seen as a contractor of choice across its areas of expertise: feasibility studies for new projects; construction of dams and reservoirs; masonry gravity structures; masonry arch dams; masonry buttressed weirs; reinforced concrete structures; zones and homogenous earth dams; sediment traps and gauging weirs; pollution control dams; tailings dams; the modification of existing dams; sewage works; pipelines and canals; bridges; and general masonry and concrete structuring including general mining and agricultural infrastructure.

the range of its services which sets the business apart most from its competitors.

This is especially the case regarding its large-scale earthworks where JRG has been particularly successful: “J.R. Goddard Contracting specialises in large-scale earthworks and bulk load-and-haul operations across southern Africa. It is the core of our business and the main contributor of turnover at any given time,” the website emphasises.

Core services

Having completed more than 200 contracts since its inception 33 years’ ago, it is arguably

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“We have recognised the potential for growth in this sector and have expanded our scope as the demand for work increases. As a result, we boast a modern fleet of earthmoving equipment in Zimbabwe, enabling us to meet the requirements of our many earthworks customers.

“J.R. Goddard Contracting is currently involved in several high profile projects across Zimbabwe.

These include bulk earthwork projects at Ngezi Platinum Mine, Murowa Diamond Mine and Freda Rebecca Gold Mine. We have also been active at Hwange Colliery, Bokai Mine, Unki Mine, Sengwa coalfield, several Zimasco chrome mines, three different Maranatha chrome mines, and at Colleen Bawn and Lafarge limestone deposits.”

Similar success has been achieved through its civil construction works, applying the same equipment and knowhow across complex reinforced concrete, masonry and building works.

JRG continuously invests in new equipment

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avis Granite are pleased to have been associated with J R Goddard (Pvt) Ltd for about the last 30 years, and the founder Mr Jim Goddard is to be congratulated for his intense drive and determination to succeed and expand his business even through some very challenging economic times experienced in Zimbabwe.

Davis Granite and their subsidiary, Premier Stonecrushers with operating quarries in Bulawayo (Head Office), Harare, Gweru and Marondera have been able to support J R Goddard with top quality granite aggregates for all of his various projects over the years no matter where they were located nor what the project was, be it construction, dam building or road making. In addition Davis Granite has mobile crushing plant which can be used to supply stone in more remote areas.

The company continues: “We serve as the main bulk earthworks contractor on a variety of mines across Zimbabwe and inevitably there are extra projects that require attention.

These range from the construction of offices and accommodation facilities, to the establishment of camps, to infrastructure and building of services as well as the foundations for incoming processing plants.”

The extensive JRG portfolio further incorporates roads and bridges, canals and pipelines, infrastructure development and further building works, but it is in the area of dams where the company can look back most fondly, having kick-started the business in that sector all those years ago.

“The construction of dams is our speciality,” the company adds. “J.R. Goddard Contracting has built more than 100 dams throughout the country to date and have many more in the pipeline.

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Over the years J R Goddard has contributed substantially to the development of infrastructure throughout Zimbabwe and Davis Granite are also proud to have contributed extensively to the overall development in Zimbabwe, with Davis Granite having been established in 1948, and now being the major supplier in Zimbabwe of granite aggregates of all grades from Rail Ballast, Concrete Stone, Road Stone to Crusher Run and Quarry Sand. We also manufacture concrete bricks, blocks and pavers.

We wish Jim Goddard every success in the future and we know that Davis Granite with its large production capacity will be able to support his business with our full range of products no matter where he is operating nor what he is constructing, and at the same time with their large stockpiles of finished product plus large production capacity, Davis Granite is confident of being able to supply all aggregate requirements within Zimbabwe.

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“Our history so far includes the construction of numerous earth embankment dams within the agricultural sector. Among these are the construction of the Bembezaan dam, Risitu Dam and Howe Mine Dam. We have also played a significant role in the construction of Biri Dam Manyame River and Mteri Dam at Hippo Valley.”

Health and safety

To ensure that the company maintains the high standards that have now become synonymous with the J.R. Goddard name, it must adhere to and continuously monitor all the latest industry trends.

This process culminates in a certain culture being engrained into its 1,500-strong workforce which the Group names as its most valuable asset and, as such, must be safeguarded at all times.

“At J.R. Goddard Contracting, the

...the health, safety and general well-being of our employees remains our top priority. Our staff members are our most valuable asset

health, safety and general well-being of our employees remains our top priority. Our staff members are our most valuable asset,” it confirms.

“They are the motivation behind our success and the lifeblood of the company.

“We recognise the need for all employees to be aware of the hazards that are involved in the work they perform and to respect their right to work in a safe and healthy environment. The company has enforced a strict safety, health and environment policy which is an integral part of all our business activities.”

Regular audits are carried out to this effect to ensure the prevention of personal injury and property damage; especially in line with new equipment and machinery and potentially hazardous areas of operations.

The core objectives of JRG to this end include: “To gain experience from other industry accidents outside of J.R. Goddard Contracting and the action taken to prevent similar reoccurrences; to develop safe working procedures that combine correct trade and technical practices with adequate training procedures; to establish goals for optimal safety performance; and to educate all on the legal requirements relevant to each particular industry processes and locations.”

Sustainable development

JRG is a renowned industry player across a number of services

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Commitment to the enrichment of lives does not just stop at the

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Electrical Contracting

www.facebook.com/belmontelectrical www.linkedin.com/company/belmont-electrical www.belmontelectric.com +263 9 60587 | +263 9 74574

We specialise in:

Spray and Chip Surface Dressing, Slurry Seal, Asphalt Paving, Road Patching Suppliers of Bulk and Drummed Bitumen, Bitumen Products, Plant Hire www.bitumenworld.net enquiries@bitumenworld.net

The team works hard to uphold company principles of integrity, passion and determination

company’s employees as it looks to involve itself in numerous corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities around the region.

This is especially epitomised by its HIV/AIDS programme aimed at taking control of the disease from the workplace, out.

“We implement preventative measures for all employees,” JRG states. “We aim to minimise the costs of HIV/AIDS-related illnesses and sexually transmitted infections and hope to educate all employees about the virus, its prevention and its treatment.

“We have worked hard to ensure all staff members are aware of their rights, duties and benefits related to the virus. We also strive to provide all HIV-positive employees with a supportive and helpful work environment, creating a culture of friendship, and genuine concern for one another.”

Integrity, hard work, passion, commitment and this evident protection of its people is what J.R. Goddard has been built upon over the years through sustainable development and the subsequent reputation that has been formed across Southern Africa.

The company concludes: “We pride ourselves on the reputation that we have built in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Our impressive work history and solid standing is not only attributed to our industry presence, but also to our company values and ethics.

“We remain solidly committed to their health, safety and wellbeing.

In turn our team works hard to uphold company principles of integrity, passion and determination.

Their efforts and dedication have contributed towards some of the company’s greatest achievements, earning J.R. Goddard respect and recognition within the industry.”

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Riding the

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Mantrac Nigeria is using its extensive reputation and expertise, as well as its international influence as Caterpillar’s sole dealer, to overcome Nigeria’s market slowdown Writer: Matthew Staff Project Manager: Ben Wigger

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antrac Nigeria is capitalising on its international reputation and experienced team in the country to successfully defend its market position in a sector that continues to challenge and test efficiencies.

With 2015’s general election within Nigeria leading to business dramatically slowing down across the wider industry, the need to improve internal operations and cement itself as a preferred partner for equally challenged customers has never been more significant.

A company as established and widespread as Mantrac though has been able to rise to the challenge in as positive a way as possible, and is in the process of maintaining and consolidating in the present, while keeping an eye on future growth.

“The significant growth we had experienced in previous years has helped us to maintain our market share during this period,” confirms the company’s Strategic Planning and Marketing Manager, James Agama.

“The pace at which the construction industry is growing at this time in Nigeria has been very slow since 2014 but we still ended that year well in terms of the numbers we achieved.

“We decided, going into 2015 as well, we will aim to maintain and defend our market share.”

Mantrac Nigeria has subsequently ensured that it makes the most of the 10 branches it has stationed in the country servicing the world-renowned Caterpillar brand, as well looking into new supply chain opportunities as part of an extensive drive for improved internal efficiencies and overall value.

overcome less lucrative periods in the industry.

This may not translate in terms of the scale of product sales at present but addresses aspects such as turnaround times on its delivery of machinery, as well as the levels of customer service provided.

Agama says: “We are looking at how we can support our customers much better than we used to because at times like this, they need to be a bit more creative about the use of their machinery as well, in order to get the best value out of them. That’s where we come in.

“It is critical for our kind of business to be there when the customer needs you. You need to make yourself available and be ahead in providing new information about machines and how to optimise efficiencies.”

This process begins at Mantrac’s central African office in monitoring global construction trends and identifying the best possible innovations for the continental market and, specifically, the company’s own longstanding customers in the region.

Agama continues: “It is critical at this time to work closely with our business partners, financial partners and customers.

“We operate on a global scale and have a lot of support and resources in place to assess our customers’ operations and introduce the right products to best help them, one of which is our ‘product link’.”

Product link

Despite the challenges befalling Mantrac Nigeria, the Group’s prime concern has always been, and still remains, its customers and how best to collaborate and work together to

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Caterpillar

Another key differentiator and advantage that Mantrac Nigeria holds is its role as the sole dealer for Caterpillar; a relationship that has formed the crux of the former’s growth in Africa. This partnership is, again, especially significant in more challenging times.

“They are the finest brand in the industry and come with levels of experience which helps in adopting global best practices,” Agama states.

“It is key to understand the market and to forecast where possible, and Caterpillar helps in sharing that information on what different products are needed and what is happening in general within the industry.”

This translates into the monitoring of global economic and industry trends, and how best to adapt these, both within Nigeria and within the company itself.

“We invest a lot into the training of our very experienced team of people, and also on things like IT systems, on a regular basis,” Agama adds. “Working for a brand like Caterpillar, it’s critical to keep improving our internal efficiencies through investments and we are indeed investing all the time in different areas like IT and our people.”

We want to be able to discuss with customers one-on-one and engage them and identify their needs because we know they will need some guidance as they run their operations

Best value possible

The company’s commitments to external partnerships and activities also comprises an ever-growing corporate social responsibility influence, including a comprehensive initiative to improve levels of education and skills growth within the industry.

This will help the level of skills entering the construction sector and Mantrac Nigeria itself in the future, as the company looks to capitalise on the eventual, but inevitable, revival of the industry following this year’s election.

“Depending on who wins the next election we expect the market to pick up in either the next couple of months

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or by the end of the final quarter of this year,” Agama explains. “As it is, we need to look at how much more we can do in 2016 - where we expect the market to be much better as infrastructural development improves.

Throughout the entire strategy though, the needs of Mantrac Nigeria’s customers remains paramount, leveraging the unparalleled levels of experience and knowledge that the company has to hand through being one of the industry’s major players on the continent.

Agama concludes: “We are committed to providing the highest level of support as we look for new ways to reduce maintenance and lifecycle cost.

“We want to be able to discuss with customers one-on-one and engage them and identify their needs because we know they will need some guidance as they run their operations.”

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Zoom Autotech Ltd has been serving the generator and automotive industry for over a decade. We deal in soundproof acoustic materials and other accessories applicable to the generator industry, like foam, fiber AVM, locks, hinges, exhaust material, rain caps, fuel gauge and many other such items. We also deal in tyres & batteries of all sizes, used by a wide range of industries. www.zoomautotech.com

E: info@zoomautotech.com T: +234 803 6667777 +234 816 3218094

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A Global Standard for

EXCELLENCE Brink’s Africa is following the successful international model of one of the world’s leading logistics companies through its commitment to customer satisfaction and reliable services Writer: Matthew Staff • Project Manager: Tom Cullum

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rink’s is replicating its globally successful business model in Africa as it strives to compound a recent Group restructuring in every operating region.

The company’s international expansion began, in earnest, in 1991 and reached South African shores in 1996. Nearly a decade on, and Brink’s’ influence on the continent now comprises offices in Botswana, Namibia and Kenya also; forming an extensive platform from which to build the notoriety that Brink’s Global Services (BGS) now enjoys.

“The international line of business has grown steadily since its inception.

In recent years the focus has moved to understanding and working within BGS customers’ value chain to drive sustainable growth and maintain our strong and trusted global position,” explains the company’s Operations and Security Director, Richard Lewis.

However, while established as a huge worldwide organisation, Brink’s’ operations in Africa resembles that of an SME business model with the ability to make entrepreneurial, flexible and quick decisions to best suit customer needs.

All of this ensures that the business is able to deliver on a promise and ethos that has been synonymous with the Brink’s Group ever since its inception in Chicago in 1859.

“The wider Brink’s Group allows us to almost work like an SME in Africa, being quite small and flexible which is important in an industry where things can change very quickly,” Lewis states.

“This is one of our main messages synonymous with the Brink’s name.

When the company first started, it was called ‘Money and Valuables, Safety and Dispatch’.

“Today it’s about end-to-end secured logistics worldwide, driven by people and information technology. What we need to do is differentiate ourselves

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GUARDING & SERVICES FOR AFRICA

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Our expertise includes: · Training and development · Guarding · Bodyguards/Interventions/VIP Transport · Cash and Valuables Transport · Nation-wide fleet of armored vehicles · 24/7 Monitoring “NOC” · Investigations · Diplomatic Security

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in terms of what we can offer our customers.”

We are an international logistics company so it’s not just about us moving valuables within South Africa but moving them internationally within our regions in Africa as well as outside of the continent

Secure services

Working alongside customers across finance, retail, mining, jewellery, pharmaceutical, security and many more sectors; Brink’s’ core services range far beyond its primary international secure logistics offering.

Vaulting, customs clearance and brokerage, inventory management, trade show services, walk-in service centres, Free Trade Zones and bonded warehousing to cash management, CIT, ATM, card payments, and cash processing all complement the wider Brink’s portfolio.

As a consequence, a similarly diverse range of solutions is required in order to meet the needs of all; a balancing act with creating as standardised a system as possible to maintain core efficiencies.

“As we are involved in secure

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logistics, this takes many forms; road, sea and air – using not only commercial airlines but also chartered aircraft and helicopters – where we use carefully selected and vetted partners,” Lewis notes.

This range becomes even more significant and necessary given the length of transportation often undertaken as part of its logistics services and its overall role as a global Group.

Lewis adds: “We are an international logistics company so it’s not just about us moving valuables within South

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www.gsardc.com Tel: +243 991556760 / 61 Email: info@gsardc.com

Africa but moving them internationally within our regions in Africa as well as outside of the continent. It is a huge worldwide network that we move things within.

“We have seen so many different influencing factors that have changed market needs and requirements.

These range from the emergence of the BRIC countries; huge geopolitical changes and the associated risk impacts and need for a trusted partner; environmental challenges; accessibility to new cultures, markets, technologies; and the ease of global movements for both products and people.

“These have all been key contributors to how we approach markets and the services needed to support them.”

Liability

Maintaining these high levels of customer support and collaboration

Brink’s is involved in secure logistics by road, sea and air

brings into play the company’s approach to capital investments also, with Brink’s putting the protection, skills provision and support to clients at the forefront of consideration.

To achieve this goal, as well as bringing the very best and quickest services, it is also of paramount importance that the business identifies optimum business partners to adopt the Brink’s way of operating.

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B R I N K ’ S

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“As part of our approach to provide solutions, given our reach and network, to put down operations and assets all over Africa would just accelerate cost for the customer, so we work with carefully selected partners,” Lewis confirms. “All of these are vetted to Brink’s’ risk standard, and are regularly audited, coached and directed.

“In terms of time, we look to minimise this through best and most cost effective route selection given that many commodities can change in value overnight and cannot afford to be sitting idle, potentially adding to the

customer cost.

“We live in a fast paced society that demands instant response and service delivery, and that is our target coupled with service satisfaction.”

Arguably Brink’s’ most telling differentiator when dealing with such valuable goods though is its promise to take liability throughout its service provision.

Lewis continues: “If the customer deems that the shipment is valuable, so do we, and we will take full liability for every shipment we handle.

“If we’re transporting goods for a client across any country in the world,

Our goal is to set the global standard for excellence in secure logistics and value chain risk management, through our commitment to innovation, quality, and investment in people

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ARMAGUARD SECURITY

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rmaguard Security Limited is a leading security service provider in Zambia. It has achieved preferred supplier status with many of it’s clients in the banking, mining, agricultural, industrial and commercial industries through it’s core services of cash management, cash in transit, precious metals / valuable asset movement, ATM first line management, intelligent safes, teller services, farmers payouts, electronic Security, alarm monitoring and rapid response.

Armaguard is the exclusive Brink’s Agent in Zambia. A strategic business partnership that we are proud of and has provided a platform for both parties to complement their security service offerings.

T +260 211 239 880 E security@armaguard.co.zm

www.armaguard.co.zm

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ARMAGUARD SECURITY Services • Cash-in-Transit / Asset Movement • Cashiering & Teller Implant Services • Cash Management • Smart Safe Solutions • ATM Cash Management • 24-Hour Monitoring • Rapid Response • Electronic Security Protection E: security@armaguard.co.zm

T: +260 211 239 880/+260 211 239 890 442

www.armaguard.co.zm

we take liability for that and that’s what stands us apart from a lot of other competitors.”

“Due to the nature of our business we have robust global screening programmes to ensure that, most importantly, our people are safe and Global standard for excellence protected to enable them to focus on looking after our customers’ valuable The philosophy to maintain this close relationship with customers and assets which they entrust to us.” business partners ensure that Brink’s is The sense of purpose, accountability not only ready to support their needs, and determination subsequently instilled but is also able to collaboratively into the Group has laid the foundations anticipate and forecast future industry for the next stage of Brink’s’ trends and cultural nuances. international expansion and especially its ongoing prominence within Africa.

The importance is then placed on “Our goal is to set the global standard engraining this entrepreneurial spirit throughout the Brink’s workforce for excellence in secure logistics and value chain risk management, through which Lewis attributes as being the company’s core asset: “Our people our commitment to innovation, quality, are the key to everything we do. We and investment in people,” Lewis concludes. operate strong staff engagement “The recent global restructuring throughout the organisation with a key led by our Chairman & CEO, Tom focus on learning and development Schievelbein, will ensure that the future needs, succession planning, and our ability to leverage and move of Brink’s, and our ability to share best key knowledge workers within our practices to provide agile solutions to our customers, will be realised.” operations around the world.

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E V E N T AIRC 2015 is a must-attend event for insurance industry professionals who want to stay on top of developments in the sector.

The intensive, two-day, fifth annual Africa Insurance & Reinsurance Conference is again scheduled to be held in Nairobi Kenya on 23-24 June, 2015. Don’t miss your chance to learn what lies ahead and connect with other regional leaders in the insurance and reinsurance sectors. AIRC has now become a regional platform where participants can gain insight into critical business issues with forecasts from regionally recognised experts.

New technologies, development of new client segments and the overall economic growth on the continent are not only forcing regional insurers to rethink the way they conduct business, but it is also contributing to an influx of global players identifying Africa as a strategic market for growth. In line with this, AIRC 2015 will keep you up to date with the latest industry developments, marketing strategies and product innovations relevant for the African market.

This year’s conference will feature sideline sessions hosted by leading institutions from the region and around the globe. These sessions will offer in-depth focused discussions on topical issues as part of AIRC initiative to generate take-home practical solutions that will see the industry reach its critical mass. As with past conferences, the programme will cover important case developments, critical practice issues, and notable industry trends.

F O C U S

EVENT DETAILS WHEN: 23-24 June, 2015 WHERE: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya REGISTER: http://aidembs.com/insurance_ conference

E V E N T EAST AFRICA PROPERTY INVESTMENT (EAPI) SUMMIT is the leading commercial property event for discussion and networking centred on the growing real estate sector in East Africa.

This year’s EAPI event will be held on 15-16 April at the prestigious Kempinski Villa Rosa Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. The EAPI Summit focuses on opportunities created by the overwhelming and sustainable real estate growth and structural changes witnessed in the region over the past decade.

The EAPI Summit provides a valuable opportunity to interact with

F O C U S

the best real estate minds in the business. Delegates get an unrivalled perspective of real estate investment, development and management in East Africa from the highest calibre of speakers and delegates active in the region.

If you are committed to an east African growth strategy, your brand will find value by aligning with this high profile property event. Whether through informative networking sessions, vigorous debates or hands-on site tours, the EAPI Summit provides the perfect opportunity to understand and engage in the latest commercial property trends.

The EAPI Summit has proven to be one of the leading events for discussion and networking around property investments and development in Africa

AT A GLANCE LEARN from an exciting line up of speakers and panel discussions with participants actively doing deals across the continent ENJOY a range of topics from economic overviews, global perceptions and key property drivers to in-depth country exposĂŠs, financing, legal and infrastructure issues and future trends NETWORK with industry players from all east African regions and the continent more broadly PARTICIPATE in quick-fire Q&A sessions and vigorous debate centred on east African development IMMERSE yourself in thoughtprovoking case studies from delegates who have active projects in East Africa

EVENT DETAILS WHEN: 15-16 April, 2015 WHERE: Kempinski Villa Rosa Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya REGISTER: raeesa@apisummit.co.za Tel. +27 11 250 2260

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081 777 0028 enquiry@africaninfex.com

MARKET BRIEFING

www.africaninfex.com

CORPORATE OFFSHORE INVESTMENT MAURITIUS

20 & 21 May 2015 Faircity Quatermain Hotel

- Answers to key questions around taxation, headquartering and assessing models that work for multi-jurisdictional businesses - Coming into effect 2015 - The New DTA agreement Mauritius – South Africa - New Developments - Strategic Tax Risk management including administration, reporting, structuring and exchange controls - New Insights - Comparing Seychelles and Mauritius as Regional Financial Centres of Choice - Brand New - Optimal offshore corporate structuring models

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Akilesh Deerpalsingh, Advisor to the Minister: Ministry of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms Mauritius