Up to 66% more visitors at events so far

“Spintelligent has had a phenomenal year thus far with events that keep growing in content and visitor numbers, we are launching four new events later this year and our move to modern and larger offices is a sign that we are ready for even greater things to come”, says David Ashdown, Managing Director of Spintelligent (Pty) Ltd, the leading Cape Town-based publisher, trade exhibition and conference organizer in the power, mining, agriculture, defence and education sectors. 

The first seven months of 2015 was a very busy period for Spintelligent with the successful return of six of its leading events.  

Changing the face of education
Most recently the ninth edition of the SABC Education African EduWeek attracted  3309 visitors at the new venue at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg in July, a 15% increase on last year. The number of exhibitor stands was up 42%. The education portfolio director Nicole Muller says: “a definite highlight at African EduWeek was a presentation from educator and technologist Graham Brown-Martin, who introduced humanoid robot NAO during the E-tech Africa sessions.”  

During the same month, Land Forces Africa took place at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria and welcomed over 1000 attendees, a growth of 25% from the last time the show was held in SA in 2013. “The discussion of interoperability in African Union peacekeeping and disaster management operations was advanced at Land Forces Africa 2015” says event director Richard Stubbs, “we were honoured to welcome delegations from Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Namibia, Tanzania and Uganda at the event, and enjoyed the support of local defence industry partners”.

Presidential attendance at Agritech
In Zambia, the second Agritech Expo in Chisamba in April was attended by the Zambian President Edgar Lungu and the Vice-President Mrs Inonge Wina and drew more than 11 700 visitors, up from 8000 last year, with over 100 exhibitors and 150 members of the press.  “The President’s presence at Agritech Expo has taken this event to a whole new level”, according to Emmanuelle Nicholls, Spintelligent’s agriculture portfolio director: “we cannot be successful in what we do without the support and input from governments and industry experts in the countries that we work in.”

This year the event organisers also launched the Agritech Expo Outreach Programme to assist the Golden Valley Basic School, situated on the GART research farm where the expo takes place, with much needed building renovations, equipment supply and management of the school’s farm. Some 546 students and 17 teachers are already reaping the benefits of this initiative, thanks to donations from Agritech Expo sponsors and the African EduWeek event.

May was a busy month
May was a busy month for Spintelligent with its long running flagship power platform, African Utility Week, proving that it is the leading power and water conference and expo of its kind on the continent. Says Le-ann Hare-Keymer, commercial director for Spintelligent’s events division: “the event boasted a record attendance of 6000 people, the show was extended to three days, had the largest expo to date with more than 10 000 square meters featuring 250 local and global technology and service providers, including several large international pavilions from Germany, Norway, Italy, India, South Korea and the USA. Some 200 speakers addressed eight conference tracks.”

Also in May, the second Copperbelt Mining Trade Expo & Conference (CBM-TEC), took place in the Zambian mining hub of Kitwe and showed a 67% growth in new visitors with a total of 1449 visitors, more than 90 conference delegates that were addressed by 34 speakers, while more than 120 exhibitors showcased their products and services.

“The third event that took place in May was Career Indaba”, says Le-ann Hare-Keymer, “which saw over 7400 visitors, up a whopping 66%, 56 exhibitors, our first dedicated Parent Networking Evening, and 12 self-development workshops.”

New events for this year “Then as part of our ongoing strategy to identify gaps in the market and broadening our audiences at existing strong shows”, says Spintelligent MD David Ashdown, “we are launching four new events from August to December. The new Clean Power East Africa in Nairobi, Clean Power West Africa and iPAD Nigeria Mining in Lagos and the iPAD Power & Infrastructure Investment Forum in Cameroon are all extensions of highly successful Spintelligent event franchises.”

Other well-known Spintelligent events still coming up this year:
- East African Power Industry Convention, 27-28 August, Nairobi
- iPAD DRC Mining & Infrastructure Indaba, 15-16 October, Kinshasa
- Katanga Mining Week, 20-21 October, Lubumbashi
- iPAD Rwanda Power & Infrastructure Investment Forum, 5-6 November, Kigali
- Maritime Africa, 23-25 November, Cape Town
- West African Power Industry Convention, 24-25 November, Lagos

The big move
After 14 years in the Westlake Business Park in Tokai, Spintelligent will be moving to the Great Westerford office complex in Newlands in September. “We are all very excited and looking forward to the upgrade and having more space to grow”, David explains. “Our new home at Great Westerford will provide a beautiful, state-of-the-art and convenient working environment and which will enable us to become even more successful”.   

Training Academy
The new Spintelligent Training Academy, established at the end of last year to address learning and development needs in the energy, utilities and mining industries on the African continent, is gaining momentum with seven successful public courses run so far this year.  

Spintelligent Training Academy director Chanelle Hingston: “in July we held an informative workshop on behalf of the City of Cape Town to create awareness and buy- in for engineers and plant managers to take their Government Certificate of Compliancy. The course was well attended and provided tools and information to drive operational excellence and career progression of individuals.”  

Publishing Spintelligent’s Publishing division, with leading print and online titles in the power, metering, smart energy and mining sectors, has had a transformative year so far, including the launch of Mining Review Africa’s first annual Mining Elites in Africa: Suppliers & Service Providers Yearbook”. “We are really proud of this annual and the industry has embraced it,” says Publishing director Philip Vandergucht. “It has also paved the way for the updated editions of the next African Power Elites: Projects and People and Global Smart Energy Elites: Projects and People that will be ready in a few months’ time.” 

Furthermore, Metering International magazine officially changed its name to Metering & Smart Energy International and all the news portals are being redesigned.

Spintelligent is the African office of Clarion Events Ltd in the UK.

Contact:
Communications manager:  Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone:  +27 21 700 3558
Mobile:  +27 82 562 7844
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web:  www.spintelligent.com

About Spintelligent
Spintelligent (Pty) Ltd is an African media business, specialising in Exhibitions, Conferences and Publishing. Head-quartered in Cape Town with a team of 90 experienced professionals, Spintelligent is a dynamic and recognised organiser across multiple industry sectors and geographies. A specialist organiser with the ability to deliver key growth projects in the early emerging markets of the African continent.

Spintelligent is the African partner office of Clarion Events Ltd, the UK based organiser operating in 36 countries worldwide with 9 subsidiary offices delivering over 500 exhibitions and conferences annually. Spintelligent delivers projects in African growth industry sectors; Power & Utilities; Energy; Mining; Education & Careers; Agriculture; Infrastructure; Military & Defence. Spintelligent delivers projects in the emerging African markets; South Africa; Nigeria; Ghana; Kenya; Tanzania; DRC; Angola; Mozambique; Zambia.

Spintelligent is recognised for its print and electronic publications, with market-leading brands including Metering International, ESI Africa and Mining Review Africa. Its regular global events and exhibitions, as well as its critical business intelligence and integrated marketing services make it a leader in its field. The company’s highly skilled resources in management, marketing, research and production allow for unique products bridging the developed and developing markets.

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