Mara Delta Bats with Maasai Warriors to save last three Northern White Rhino  

SOUTH AFRICA, GAUTENG, SANDTON, 4 JULY 2017 - There is a unique thread linking Maasai Warriors, Grease Lightening, White Rhino, Cricket, hornï Underwear and Mara Delta Property Holdings, Africa’s largest and only SEM and JSE-listed real estate income group, and it’s driven by the courage to take on new seemingly-impossible challenges, to build the foundations of stability, and turn ambition into reality. Embarking, arguably, on the most important mission of their lifetimes, a global collection of accomplices could not have united at a more crucial time in their lives for the plight of the near-extinct Northern White Rhino. 

On the 18th and 19th of June, in the foothills of Mount Kenya in the OI Pejeta Conservancy, home to the world’s last three Northern White Rhino subspecies, saw an important fund-and-awareness-raising cricket event take place, signifying the launch of Mara Delta’s Rhino Anti-poaching corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign, which will continue into Africa over the next six months.  The Last Male Standing T20 Rhino Cup is an animal welfare event held annually in Ol Pejeta, Kenya.

This event helps to create funds and awareness of the plight of the Northern White Rhino and the greater risk of poaching and ivory/rhino horn trade out of East Africa. This is no ordinary cricket event. Here, in this iconic Kenyan Conservancy, a team of eight battle-dressed Maasai Warriors batted it out against the Ambassadors, a mixed team of eight corporates, including Mara Delta’s Director, Greg Pearson, all exhibiting the determination that is the backbone of Africa, and proving that despite all their differences, in culture, in achievements, in aspirations, they all share the will to build a stronger, more resilient world, where setbacks are stepping stones and victories are game changers. Last Male Standing is a collaborative effort between Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the British Army (BATUK), Fauna & Flora International, Australian High Commission (Kenya), the East Africa Cricket Foundation, Last Man Stands, the Primary Club of Australia, the Obuya Cricket Academy, and the Maasai Cricket Warriors.  Kenyan born and raised, Rob Stevenson is the organiser of Kenya’s Last Male Standing Rhino Cup (LMS) for the past 3 years, and set up LMS to help rhino conservation in Kenya and cricket development in the Kenyan region.

 Last Male Standing has approximately 6000 teams playing T20 cricket globally to raise funds and awareness for the OI Pejeta Conservancy.   Says Stevenson, “In the conservancy, they have the last three Northern White Rhino of which one is ‘Sudan’ a 100-year-old male Northern White Rhino, the last of his species, hence the name Last Male Standing. Last Male Standing supports the conservancy, and the region’s community and cricket development.  LMS has grown over the past three years to 24 teams playing from South Africa, Australia, Mauritius and local. Our games are T10 with 8 in a team.

This weekend, a strong local team, the Obuya Cricket Academy, chased down 73 runs to win the Last Male Standing Rhino Cup 2017.” Mara Delta Property Holdings, with real estate assets in Mauritius, Kenya, Morocco, Zambia and Mozambique, has selected this all-important, under-resourced Rhino Conservancy as one of its primary CSR projects.  In addition to this, Mara Delta has formed a collaboration with hornï Underwear, a London-based online underwear brand created by former BBC news anchor, Riz Khan, to spread the word far and wide. Journalist-turned-businessman, Khan, has also officially partnered with UK charity, Save the Rhino International, on its new range of premium, ethically-produced underwear that supports global rhino conservation efforts.  hornï pledges to donate a minimum of 10% of its pre-tax profits to leading rhino conservation initiatives.

The brand aims to raise awareness on key conservation messages through events such as LSM’s unique cricket match, the media, and special-edition collections reflecting its mission.  On how Khan came up with the brand name, he says, “I scribbled down the name, and it occurred to me that the brand name ‘hornï’ would have to have an honourable mission, and without hesitation, I was inspired that part of our profits could be donated towards global Rhino conservation. Also, hornï is an anagram of the word, rhino.”  Mara Delta’s CEO Bronwyn Corbett commissioned a team to document the event, as well as the last remaining three Northern White Rhino subspecies, and Sudan. Mara Delta CEO, Bronwyn Corbett says, “We have a committed team of people and partners who joined us to play this momentous match in this extraordinary OI Pejeta Conservancy to raise funds and awareness to help save these last three historical mammals that deserve all of our attention. We know what is possible when we work together, and our partners see the potential too. We know our future is already brighter than our past, and we know progress is well within our reach.”  ### endEditors NotesMara Delta is the largest and only pan-African focused real estate distribution group listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM).  

The Company focuses exclusively on real estate assets on the continent (excluding South Africa), underpinned by US Dollar denominated long-term leases with high quality tenants, delivering strong sustainable income.  Mara Delta manages approximately US$ 600 million worth of assets (post transfer of current acquisitions) with access to numerous acquisition opportunities. These include a strong pipeline of quality assets in Mauritius, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Morocco, and others.  The Company’s immediate strategy is to consolidate opportunities within current countries of operation before expanding into other geographies.  

Bronwyn Corbett, CEO - BCom (Acc) (Univ. of Natal, PMB), CA(SA), MauritiusBronwyn is the Chief Executive Officer of Mara Delta Property Holdings, the largest pan African focused real estate fund listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and in Mauritius. Corbett has significant corporate finance and deal making experience.She played an instrumental role in the JSE listing of Delta Property Fund Limited in 2012 where she held the positions of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer prior to taking up the leadership role at Mara Delta. During her tenure at Delta Property Fund Limited, Corbett spearheaded the diversification of the REIT’s funding sources into the debt capital markets, leading to the establishment of a ZAR2 billion Domestic Medium Term Note Programme (DMTN programme). She led the team responsible for obtaining a national scale issuer rating from Global Credit Ratings as part of the DMTN programme.

In addition, Bronwyn co-headed the team responsible for growing assets under management from ZAR 2.2 billion at listing to ZAR 11.8 billion in May 2016. Bronwyn is a founder member and served as non-executive director on the board of Delta International Property Fund Limited (now Mara Delta Property Holdings) where she played a significant role in the listing and conversion of the fund to its current pan-African focus, underpinned by dollar based leases. Under Corbett’s leadership, Mara Delta has consistently achieved dollar based distribution forecasts at a dollar yield in excess of 7%. The Company recently declared its fifth consecutive distribution.Corbett took up the position of Chief Executive Officer in the lead-up to the Company’s merger with Pivotal to form Mara Delta. She has been instrumental in growing the portfolio from US$220 million and two assets to approximately US$ 600 million and 19 assets across five jurisdictions since listing.

Greg Pearson (38), Head of New Business, MCMI, Elec Eng, MauritiusGreg’s hands-on experience in Africa for more than a decade has allowed him to develop an expansive strategic business network with local and global developers as well as influential industry role players on the continent and beyond. With an enviable track record over a magnitude of successful developments, Greg continues to focus on collaborating with global corporations, frontier and emerging market investors, as well as various funders on new real estate related opportunities in Africa.  As a former executive of AECOM (a global provider of design, development, engineering and construction services) Greg was responsible for expanding the footprint of the ‘Rest of Africa’ business from 2006 (outside of South Africa) to 2014.

His market sector knowledge includes: office, retail, leisure, education and healthcare schemes and he has experience in over 40 African countries. Greg is registered with the Chartered Management Institute and a graduate of Kingston University, London. Greg has been instrumental in sustaining the rapid growth of the Company since its inception in 2014 when the Company listed on the alternative exchange of the JSE with a market capitalisation of US$118 million and a portfolio valued at US$86.0 million.

Today, Mara Delta is the only property focused income fund with primary listings on both the JSE Limited and the Stock Exchange of Mauritius. Subsequent to anticipated corporate activity in the first half of 2017, the Company’s is asset portfolio is expected to be valued at approximately US$ 600 million. MauritiusA: 3rd floor, La Croisette Shopping Mall, Grand Bay, Mauritius T:  +230 269 7090 fE: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. A: Ground Floor, Block A, Nairobi Business Park, Ngong Road, Nairobi, Kenya T: +254 716 328 384  MoroccoA: Anfaplace Shopping Centre, Bureau de Gestion, Boulevard de la Corniche, Aid Diab, 20000, Casablanca T: +212 522 954 646MozambiqueA: S&C Imobiliária, Av. Julius Nyerere n 3412, R/C Maputo – Mozambique T: +258 212 44700South Africa A: 10 Muswell Road South, Bryanston, Sandton, South Africa T: +27 87 80 33582 

Thank you.Written and distributed by Vivienne Quann on behalf of Bronwen Blunden PR

Enquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 084 486 2136 or Bronwen Blunden at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 079 060 1905 

28 July 2017  Vibescout – SA’s Largest Movie Aggregator Listing Movies on 688 Screens In 94 Cinemas Vibescout, an innovative start-up that provides event listings and city guides, is now listing movies showing on 690 screens in 94 cinemas across South Africa. Vibescout is now officially the largest movie aggregator in South Africa and continues to take the country’s entertainment scene to new heights. 

Cape Town, South Africa, July 5, 2017 – Co-founded in 2015 by brothers’ Paul and Jonathan Myburgh, Vibescout’s vision is to provide an easy-to-use platform used to smartly curate the best things to do near you. This is done through event listings, comprehensive go-to guides and now, movie listings. 

The idea behind Vibescout was first born when Paul was travelling in Saigon, Vietnam in January 2014. After visiting all the regular tourist destinations, he scoured the hostel notice boards for more unique things to do and began to wonder how he could get better insight into truly local events and activities. After realizing there was definitely a void that needed to be filled in this space, Paul brought the idea back home to South Africa later that year and soon began work on Vibescout’s first version.

Vibescout officially launched out of beta and started providing event listing in October 2016; by April 2017 they reached over 100 000 users for the month! As of 27 June 2017, Vibescout became the largest movie aggregator in South Africa, listing movies showing on 688 screens in 94 cinemas throughout the country.  

“It took roughly 6 weeks to get a MVP release and from it we have had amazing user feedback. We are currently getting nearly 10 000 users weekly using our movie section to find the latest movies and locate cinemas around them. We didn't realize it at the time and such a goal wasn't even on our radar, but we are now officially the largest movie aggregator in South Africa.” - JONATHAN MYBURGH, CO-FOUNDER OF VIBESCOUT

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Jonathan Myburgh

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PANDORA’s exquisite universe of hand-finished, heartfelt jewellery makes popping the question more meaningful than ever before.

There is only one thing almost as exciting as getting engaged: asking your best friends to be in your bridal entourage. Picking your bridesmaids is also the perfect occasion to honour long-standing friendships and to show gratitude to the special ladies standing by your side before, during and after the big day.

As one of the world’s best-loved jewellery companies and affordable luxury brands, PANDORA offers a range of beautifully crafted, high-quality gifts that a bride-to-be can fall for without breaking the bank: timelessly stunning bracelets, necklaces and earrings – all made with love by skilled craftspeople.

The hand-finished sterling silver, 14k gold and PANDORA Rose jewellery can be can be mixed, matched and styled according to the preferences of the bride.

Each piece can also be personalised with a unique engraved message for each bridesmaid.

Launching just in time for the summer wedding season, the bridesmaid gift collection will be available in-store and online starting from June 2017.

#DOPANDORA        #DOFriendship

PANDORA Bracelets from R899, Charms from R499. Instore : June 2017

Shop online at www.pandorashop.co.za or visit www.pandora.net or to be inspired, join the PANDORA Club, view the sizing guide or for your nearest stockist.

South African Plastics Recycling Organisation (SAPRO) is inviting entries to this year’s Recycled Plastic Product of the Year Awards.

SAPRO is proud to announce the sixth prestigious competition, with the aim of acknowledging the wide variety of products that are locally manufactured using recycled materials.

History of the competition

The Recycled Plastic Product of the Year Awards were held for the first time in 2010 and has been dubbed “The Oscars of the plastics recycling industry”. Each year the competition grows both in the number of entries and in the variety of different products being submitted.

This biennial competition showcases the tremendous amount of ingenuity and creativity our local product designers have, and aims to encourage brand owners to seriously consider recycled plastics as a material of choice. Whether they are designing packaging or pallets, shoes or shopping bags, this competition has demonstrated that there is no limitation to where and how recycled plastics can be used.

Previous overall winners include the City of Cape Town and MPACT Plastic Containers with their Fifty/50 Wheelie Bin (2015), Unilever with their Sunlight Dishwashing bottle (2013), Lasher Tools with their Eco-Wheelbarrow (2012), Woolworths and Polypet with their 1.5 litre juice bottle (2011) and Tufflex Materials with their innovative railway sleeper made from mixed materials (2010).

Winners of this year’s competition will be announced at a gala dinner in Gauteng during Clean-Up and Recycle SA Week (11-17 September 2017).

Product categories and judging criteria

In order to encourage even greater participation and entries by local converters and innovators, this year’s competition will have the following five distinct product categories:

• Products made from 100% post-consumer recyclate
• Products containing a percentage post-consumer recyclate
• Products made from recycled mixed materials
• Novel and Artistic products - i.e. articles made from discarded plastics products
• And for the first time, there is also a “New Ideas” category - anything that can be made from recycled materials. It does not have to be a product as yet, just the idea clearly explained on a poster, mock-ups or a good explanation

A gold, silver and bronze winner will be announced in each of these product categories, which will also acknowledge the recycler of the material, the manufacturer of the product as well as the brand owner in front of the auspicious audience during the gala awards ceremony. The overall winning entry will walk away with the SAPRO trophy for The Best Recycled Product for 2017.  

Entries will be judged on a number of criteria by a panel of judges who are experts in plastics, packaging, recycling, product design and marketing. The criteria they will use when adjudicating each entry includes: the life expectancy of the product, the sustainability (i.e. long-term demand and market acceptance of product), the measures taken to ensure product consistency and customer satisfaction despite recycled material content, tonnage (or potential tonnages) of plastics that were converted and therefore diverted from landfill, technical achievements in manufacturing to overcome recycled material challenges, replacement of alternative materials and the so-called “Wow-factor” of the product. 

Although various weighting could be used to judge products objectively, we are looking for products that will grow the demand for recyclate, help to focus on the quality of products and to stimulate innovation – all aspects needed for a vibrant plastics recycling industry.

Rules, regulations and entry forms

Any company in the SADC region may enter the competition, provided that the recycled material originated in South Africa. Products that were entered in previous years’ competitions, but failed to win, are also eligible to enter again. The closing date for entries is Thursday, 10 August 2017.We look forward to receiving a record amount of entries for this year’s competition. The very fact that recycling industries both locally and internationally are under severe pressure and are fighting to survive, serves to highlight the importance of showcase events such as these.

We need to make sure that decision makers are made aware of the versatility of recycled plastics and the important role this industry plays in job creation, diverting waste from landfill and growing the economy. 

Entry forms and competition rules can be obtained online from SAPRO’s website (http://www.plasticrecyclingsa.co.za).

Do4SA, a non-profit and catalyst for the promotion of humanitarian efforts in South Africa, is producing a monthly online publication, The Altruist. Designed to provide readers with information on innovative, sustainable solutions to local problems, The Altruist aims to inspire entrepreneurs to support humanitarian efforts in South Africa Each edition of The Altruist will feature innovative approaches used by charities, NGOs and individuals to uplift communities and individuals out of poverty.

“There are some amazing people and organisations out there doing life-changing work,” comments Asif Mohamed who heads-up Do4SA development. “But there isn’t a platform for their work to be shared with corporates who are looking for sustainable solutions that make a difference to invest their CSR budget in.” 

Focussing on uplifting people and communities out of poverty, The Altruist covers stories relating to food security, healthcare, education, early childhood development, women’s issues, adult education, highlights the work of social entrepreneurs and more.  “

We want to become the go-to publication for the philanthropist,” adds Mohamed. “Now we’re live, we cannot wait to hear from people across the country and discover the work that’s benefitting the lives of millions.” 

Send your stories to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or to get more information on advertising opportunities. 

“Africa is increasingly important to the EU” says H. E. the Danish Ambassador to South Africa Trine Rask Thygesen at the BUSINESS BEYOND BORDERS event during African Utility Week that took place in Cape Town from 16-18 May.

The recent Business Beyond Borders (BBB) event at African Utility Week was praised by H. E. the Danish Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, Trine Thygesen, as a “project to help EU businesses, in particular SMEs and clusters, to operate internationally by engaging in business opportunities – and our doors are open for Africa”.

The Danish Ambassador represented the voice of the EU at the first BBB event to take place outside Europe – which was held at African Utility Week (AUW), Cape Town (16th – 18th May), and focused on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and clusters in the water, power and utilities sector.Speaking during AUW’s opening keynote session, Ms Thygesen said: “Africa is increasingly important to the EU. Major African markets with strong growth rates represent significant increased cooperation between our continents. May AUW be the platform for engaging in new sustainable and inclusive economic development in Africa as well as the EU.”

The Danish Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa also underlined the potential for private investment in energy and water, as Ms. Thygesen believes that “the answer to unlocking more potential lies in the formulation of PPP’s within the water sector”.

Joining Ms. Thygesen during AUW’s keynote programme, were high-profile governmental and entrepreneurial personalities such as Dikobe Ben Martins, South African Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises; and Ben Ngubane, ESKOM’s Board Chairman.During his keynote speech, Dikobe Ben Martins highlighted the fair’s potential to “share content and best practices” in the power and water sector: “

The conference comes at a time when Africa is dealing with mounting challenges with regards to access to sustainable, modern energy services, which are a prerequisite for meeting basic human needs and for economic and social development”.BBB is a European Commission-funded initiative which helps EU businesses to expand regionally and globally. By facilitating a series of Business-to-Business (B2B), Cluster-to-Cluster (C2C), and Business-to-Cluster (B2C) matchmaking events at the top international trade fairs around the world, the aim of the initiative is for new international business partnerships to be formed and deals to be brokered.

Over the course of AUW’s three days, BBB facilitated over 900 matchmaking meetings between more than 729 companies representing 60 countries.Besides the one-to-one matchmaking sessions at the BBB Connecting Platform, SMEs and clusters also had the opportunity to present their business and technology to a wider audience at the BBB Demo Zone stand. Other BBB-supported activities included a Workshop on Hydropower organised by the European Renewable Energies Federation (EREF), and the BBB Social Media Competition, which sought to help participating companies increase their visibility online.

Coming from South Africa, one of the BBB Demo Zone participants, Mark Williams of Folia Water, considered the BBB initiative to be positive for his company: “You get to meet like-minded people in the water business and find collaborators, investors and potential customers. I have had several meetings that went very well, and hopefully we will have some follow-up to do. I definitely recommend Business Beyond Borders to any SMEs seeking to internationalise their business.”

The next BBB matchmaking event will take place on 18-21 September at TEXWORLD, Paris, and will be aimed at companies operating in the textile and apparel industry.To find out more about how European businesses can benefit from this opportunity to grow across borders with a complete package of professional support, visit the Business Beyond Borders website at www.businessbeyondborders.info

- ENDS –

Contact: Ana Oliveira, LOWeurope: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Photos of the Business Beyond Borders (BBB) matchmaking event at African Utility Week are now available at BBB’s official Flickr account.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

African Utility Week
African Utility Week is the only global meeting place, conference and trade exhibition for African power and water utility professionals. African Utility Week offers a unique networking opportunity for engineers, stakeholders and solution providers alike. The 17th edition of African Utility Week took place from 16 to 18 May, 2017, and hosted thousands of businesses from across Europe and the world looking to trade and grow. The main sectors covered were products and services for the power, water and waste management utilities industry: power generation, T&D, metering, clean technology, finance, reliability, water supply or energy efficiency.

Future BBB events
African Utility Week was the second of ten BBB events planned for 2016-17. The previous (and first ever) event took place at Genera, Madrid on 28th February – 1st March. The next BBB event will take place at TEXWORLD, Paris from 18th-21st September 2017.For the full list of future events, please visit: http://www.businessbeyondborders.info/events/ The Business Beyond Borders Consortium manages the programme on behalf of the European Commission. It comprises:

EUROCHAMBRES: The Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry represents over 20 million businesses in Europe – 98% of which are SMEs – through members in 43 countries and a network of 1700 regional and local Chambers.
EMECA: The European Major Exhibition Centres Association unites 22 leading exhibition venues in Europe. They provide businesses with an excellent infrastructure and outstanding information networks. The 22 EMECA Members organise and host 1,769 exhibitions a year, both in Europe and all over the globe, with more than 350,000 exhibitors and over 41,5 million visitors.
UFI: The leading global association of the world’s tradeshow organisers and exhibition centre operators, as well as the major national and international exhibition associations. UFI represents 700 member organisations in 83 countries around the world. Over 900 international trade fairs bear the UFI quality label.
LOW: A strategic communications consultancy based in Brussels, with a network of associates across Europe. We specialise in creating policy-rich events; managing complex programmes; PR & all types of marketing communications; and EU related public affairs.

750+ top power and water professionals gather to honour achievers

Women are making an invaluable contribution to the power and water industries as reflected by the many ladies amongst the winners of the 2017 African Utility Week Industry Awards that were announced at the CTICC in Cape Town last week. Three of the awards, namely Lifetime Achievement, Outstanding Contribution to Power as well as Young Energy Leader Award, were won by women.

More than 750 top level power and water professionals attended the fourth edition of the African Utility Week Industry Awards gala dinner which honour pioneering utilities, projects and people in the energy and water industry on the continent.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s personal assistant, Zelda la Grange, delivered an inspiring guest keynote address with charming anecdotes of working with and for the legendary anti-apartheid activist and politician.

The complete list of winners of the African Utility Week Industry Awards:

Lifetime achievement award:
Winner:
Helen Tarnoy, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Aldwych International Ltd, United Kingdom, an engineering company that has been involved in some of the most successful independent power projects on the African continent.

“I first went to Africa in 1998 and I have never left; so I have almost 20 years of working in the independent power sector in Africa,” Helen said in a pre-recorded video acceptance speech. “I won’t say that it wasn’t a struggle in the beginning, it was. There was a lot of education to be done about how private companies could contribute to the economies of the countries in which they were working by providing sustainable power at an affordable price. That is still what we aim to do today. The difference today is that we are seeing more and more people coming into the market.”

Helen has been a passionate devotee to the African power market since her first contact with it in the mid-1990s. Her first major success was to lead the recovery and eventual success of the Songas Gas to Power Project in Tanzania. Following on the success of the Songas Project, Helen actively participated in all phases of several other AES successes in Africa including the acquisition and successful construction of the Ebute Power Project in Lagos, the privatisation and early operation of the Kelvin Power Plant in Johannesburg and the acquisition of a majority position in the Sonel vertically integrated utility in Cameroon.

Outstanding contribution award: Water
Winner:
Philip Gichuki, Managing Director, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, Kenya

“It is a great honour to win this award,” said an overjoyed Eng. Gichuki on Wednesday evening. He continued: “this is meant for my staff. It is this dedicated team that has made this happen. I look forward to continue to work with them every day in order to make a difference in people’s lives.”

As the Managing Director of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, Eng. Gichuki is responsible for running all facets of the business. He has a proven executive management track record and over 20 years of experience in managing growth in the water and sanitation sector.

Most notable in his management of the company is the innovative inclusion of low income (informal) settlement communities as partners (customers). In 2016, the company participated in the planting of over 150,000 trees in catchment areas to help deal with climate change. Eng. Gichuki has been instrumental in guiding the sector to develop county specific implementation plans.

Outstanding Woman of the Year in Power/Water
Winner:
Rose Kaggwa, Director: Business and Scientific Services, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda

“Women must aim to be the best they can be, because at the end of the day, the best multi-tasker is a woman,” Rose Kaggwa said after receiving her award, adding “in order for us to create change, when we say ‘water for all’ and we say ‘sanitation is a right’ it cannot be done without women. So women must rise up and begin to speak.”

Rose has spearheaded the development and implementation of vocational training and skills development of plumbers and Electromechanical technicians within the NWSC which has benefited over 500 staff and contributed to the operational efficiency of the organisation. Rose is the first African to sit on the UNESCO – International Hydrological Progamme Advisory Board for human settlement, water and sanitation and holds the position of Vice President. In 2017 she was awarded the Golden Jubilee Award for excellence in leadership in service delivery by His Excellency the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

Rose is very active in the International Water Association and was at the helm of the International Water Chief Executive Organization forum held in June 2016 that brought together 14 CEOs from various water utilities in Africa and 56 key stakeholders to deliberate on the strategic priorities of the water sector in Africa and efforts to strengthen collaboration. 

Power Utility of the Year
Winner:
Ethiopian Electric Power, Ethiopia

Mr Abeb Kahsay, Executive Officer of EEP received this very prestigious award for the company: “It is an honour to be here and hold this award. It is a sign of the success of what we have achieved so far. It will strengthen us for the future to work even harder to serve our people so that we can address the problems of the community.”

Ethiopia strives to be the hub of renewably sourced energy in the region and beyond. Ethiopian Electric Power is instrumental to this ambitious plan. EEP is a sole provider of bulk electricity to users, mainly to the Ethiopian Electric Utility; direct industrial customers; and exports to neighbouring countries. Djibouti and the Sudan are connected to Ethiopia by a high-voltage power line.

EEP operates and maintains more than 12 hydropower and three wind power plants distributed in different parts of the country with installed capacity of more than 4290MW, including the Gibe III plant (1870MW). There are two major hydropower projects under construction, namely the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (6000MW) and GenaleDawa 3 (254MW). 

Water Utility of the Year
Winner:
Lilongwe Water Board, Malawi

“We have made a lot of improvements and innovations in the last couple of years and this has made a difference in how we deliver our service in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi,” said a very pleased Alfonso Chikuni , CEO of Lilongwe Water Board, on Wednesday evening. “This award is for all the employees of Lilongwe Water Board who really took to the new institutional direction and approach that we had to take before we could produce results.”

The Lilongwe Water Board is a statutory organisation that supplies water to the residents of Lilongwe, the capital City of Malawi and its surrounding areas. Currently, Lilongwe City has a population of about 1,000,000 and the company serves around 70% of the population. There are about 65,000 metered customers and more than 700 water Kiosks (communal water selling points) within the City. The total pipe network for LWB is estimated at 1,600 Km.

Successes in 2016/17 include the significant strides it has made in the reduction of Non-Revenue Water from around 41% in January 2016 to 26% by December 2016 thereby offering a cheaper water source in a way and by increasing capacity to deliver services by initiation and completion of infrastructure projects. 

Large Scale Renewable Energy Project (10MW+)
Winner:
Bokpoort CSP Power Plant, ACWA Power, ACWA POWER, South Africa

Nandu D Bhula is the CEO of the power plant: “this is the second time we have won an award here, the first time we won for Community Project of the Year, now we are recognised for being the best Large Scale Renewable Energy Project. With CSP being a renewable project with some storage makes it a reliable load following operator, so it gives the best of both worlds which is fantastic. For Bokpoort it is just amazing to be the pioneer of, what I think, a revolution in the solar industry.”

ACCIONA, SENER and TSK built Concentrated Solar Power plant in South Africa set a new African record for the continuous, round the clock supply of electricity. Within the first month of commercial operation, the newly-inaugurated 50 MW Bokpoort CSP plant, produced electricity for a continuous period of 161 hours, equivalent to almost six days. Bokpoort CSP’s 50MW is equal to powering 21 000 households and has over 8 600 collectors at the plant with more than 136 000 mirrors. At its construction peak, over 1 300 jobs were created at the plant, filled largely by the local community previously dependent on farm work. 

Small-Scale Sustainable Energy Project (under 5MW)
Winner:
Stortemelk Hydro, Renewable Energy Holdings, South Africa

“It is a great honour for us to be recognised amongst all our peers across the continent. There are not many small scale projects such as ours around in South Africa so we sometimes feel a little bit on our own. We do our best to try and keep the standard high so for me and my team this is great encouragement that we are going in the right direction” – this is according to Anton-Louis Olivier, MD of Stortemelk Hydro.

Stortemelk Hydro RF is located in Clarens in the Free State, South Africa and has a capacity of 4.5MW. The Stortemelk Hydro will result in a reduction of 540 000 tons of CO2 emissions over its 20 year life span and was constructed on an existing dam. The Hydro is the first to use a vertical Kaplan turbine and air cooled indoor transformers in hydro power in South Africa. The highly integrated and compact design reduces operational risk and maintenance costs. The project was constructed on time and on budget with 98% availability in the first 6 months. 

Technology of the Year
Winner:
Solar Turtle, South Africa

“What is really unique about Solar Turtle are the safety features for women working in high crime rate areas such as informal settlements, rural communities or war-torn countries of the world. That is what we are really hoping to achieve. Not just making examples for the next generation of women to follow, but doing it safely.” So said James van der Walt, CEO of Solar Turtle, who accepted the award at the gala dinner on Wednesday night.

The SolarTurtle is an ultra-secure solar powered MU in a box. Shipping containers are converted into small, mobile solar power stations. These SolarTurtles are designed for off-grid schools where conventional solar PV solutions will not work. In crime-ridden areas across Africa traditional solar PV solutions have failed. The solar panels are typically stolen within a few months of deployment. The problem is so severe that the Gauteng provincial government was prepared to dismiss solar power as a possible electricity solution for schools and community centres.

The SolarTurtle is a solar kiosk designed for unparalleled security and maximum portability. These container-based solar kiosks are assembled off site then deployed by simply offloading the container and unfolding the panels towards the sun. In the morning when it is safe the panels are unfolded from their secure location to feed from the rays of the sun. In the evening when it is unsafe the panels are folded away into the hard shell of the container. The power from the SolarTurtle feeds the school and a small woman-owned solar kiosk business inside the container. 

Deal of the Year
Winner:
100MW Kathu Solar Park Project, Engie, South Africa

“This is really a great achievement by a large, multi-disciplinary team and we are very proud of this award,” said a delighted Maarten van der Horst, Director and Chief Business Development for power and gas investments at ENGIE Africa, after receiving the award. He continued: ”we are also very grateful and proud of the engagement we received from the local community and from the national government. At the moment the construction is very much underway, the financial close took place in May 2016 and the construction is on track within the timelines and COD is anticipated at the end of 2018. We are making every effort to deliver and stick to that timeline.”

In July 2016 a consortium led by French multinational electric utility company Engie achieved financial close on the 100MW Kathu Solar Park project in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Developed by the consortium, the park is sponsored by the SIOC Community Development Trust, Lereko Metier, Public Investment Corporation, Investec Bank, and the Kathu Local Community Trust. Lenders on the project are Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank Capital, ABSA Capital, Investec, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Once in operation, Kathu Solar Park will have the capacity to supply 80,000 households across South Africa and will help reduce carbon emissions by 300,000t every year.

The solar project is expected to be connected to the grid by the end of 2018, supplying clean and dispatchable electricity to the South African power utility Eskom under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Outstanding Contribution Award: Power
Winner:
Charlotte Aubin-Kalaidjian, Founding Partner, GreenWish Partners, France, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire & Nigeria

Charlotte thanked the award audience via video message: “We all have a duty to respond to Africa’s pressing energy deficit. Renewable energy together with innovative business models are at the core of the solution. By giving me this award you are proving that I was right in the path that I chose eight years ago. I am grateful for your trust, especially as a woman entrepreneur.”

Charlotte Aubin-Kalaidjian is founder and CEO of GreenWish Partners, the independent power producer dedicated to renewable energies in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past 12 months, GreenWish led the development, structuring and financing of the Senergy 2 solar PV plant, the first solar Independent Power Producer in West Africa. Charlotte’s commitment to the sustainable development of Africa is also demonstrated by her involvement and board positions in the R20 NGO dedicated to climate change actions, the Women in Africa Initiative, as well as sponsor and Jury Member of the Energy Generation Academy out of Lomé, Togo. She also acts as business angel and mentor with a focus on social and environmental entrepreneurs as well as young artists. She has initiated an ambitious Photo Project “Solar Magic” with Initiative for Global Development to illustrate the potential of solar on Africa society, economy and environment.

Young Energy Leader
Winner:
Fatima Oyiza Ademoh, Founder & CEO, Ajima Youth Empowerment Foundation, Nigeria

Fatima also spoke in a video message after she was announced the winner: “I want to thank all those who have believed in my quest to extend electricity access to off-grid communities, especially in the Waste-2-Watt (W2W) Project. And for all the young people out there, let’s keep being the agents for change in our communities.”

Fatima Ademoh is an energy and finance specialist and currently serves as the Project Developer in the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) funded off-grid Renewable Energy project being implemented by Ajima Farms in Nigeria. In this capacity, she led the preparation of funding proposal that secured US$150,000 grant in the USADF Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge.

Industry support
More than 170 entries were received for the African Utility Week Industry Awards. Huawei, the well-known global information and telecommunication giant, was the lead sponsor this year while other supporting partners were Aberdare, Eaton, Enel, ESI Africa, KPMG, Lucy Electric, SBS Tanks, Standard Bank, Steinmüller Africa.

Leading water and energy platform
African Utility Week is organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the infrastructure, real estate, energy, mining, agriculture and education sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Agritech Expo Tanzania, CBM-TEC, Kenya Mining Forum, Future Energy East Africa (formerly EAPIC), Future Energy Nigeria (formerly WAPIC), Future Energy Central Africa (formerly iPAD Cameroon), iPAD Nigeria Mining Forum, DRC Mining Week and EduWeek. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group.

Websites: http://www.african-utility-week.com    
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities   
Linkedin: African Power Forum

Contact: Senior 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.    

Six months of Trump, de-risking renewable energy investments and country project pipelines are just some of the key sessions during the upcoming African Power Finance & Investment Forum that is part of the African Utility Week conference and expo at the CTICC in Cape Town from 16-18 May.

Says African Utility Week event director Evan Schiff: “we developed the African Power Finance & Investment Forum in response to a strong demand from investors and project leaders, to provide a unique insider's perspective on the outlook for African energy. The forum will feature expert speakers who will identify the key trends impacting project finance in regional energy markets with updates on and insights into market opportunities, sources of capital, financing instruments and access to project finance.”

Some of the leading speakers and sessions at African Power Finance & Investment Forum:

African utilities in an upside down world
- Dr Jerome Booth, leading expert investor in emerging markets, author of ‘Emerging Markets in an Upside Down World’; Chairman of New Sparta Asset Management; co-founder of Ashmore, UK:
“I shall be talking about the failure of finance theory, which has led to massive distortion in risk perceptions and asset allocation globally. This has impeded capital flow to private markets in Africa, to the detriment of both African economies and global savers”.

The big three: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana
- Gavin Serkin, Managing Editor, Frontier Funds Consultancy, author of ‘Frontier: Exploring the Top Ten Emerging Markets of Tomorrow’, UK:
“When you compare against the UK and US, most of Africa is doing the right thing! It’s all relative. The biggest opportunities occur where there is opportunity to scale access by consumers to services taken for granted by the rest of the world, and in this respect nowhere comes close to Nigeria.”

Courting Capital: All investment dollars are not created equal
- Subha Nagarajan, Managing Director for Africa, OPIC, USA:
“Investors seeking opportunities in Africa should not have outsized return expectations, and should be willing to take a long term view of market evolution when balancing their risk-return expectations. One of the biggest challenges to investing in Africa continues to be the dearth of infrastructure required to support project construction and implementation.”

Understanding of risks and their pricing – how can the supply of long-term local currency financing and hedging be improved?
- Harald Hirschhofer, Senior Advisor, The Currency Exchange Fund (TCX), The Netherlands:
“I think there is too much fear about the uncertainty of some renewable business models which drive up credit spreads. For example, solar technology is well tested now, project implementation risks are low in many countries, and pay as you go schemes work with low default rates. Bankers do not yet fully appreciate this.”

The art of the deal (How Trump’s policies impact Africa)
- Andrew Moorfield, Head of Natural Resources, Exotix Partners, UK:
“We are finding that there is appetite for emerging and frontier market projects. They just have to be structured appropriately and hit the return requirement for investors” 

The full interviews with these and other speakers can be viewed here: http://www.african-utility-week.com/expertinterviews

Award-winning energy platform
The 17th annual African Utility Week will gather over 7000 decision makers from more than 80 countries to source the latest solutions and meet over 300 suppliers. Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event also boasts a five track conference with over 300 expert speakers. The conference programme will address the latest challenges, developments and opportunities in the power and water sectors: ranging from generation, T&D, metering, technology and water.

The African Utility Week expo offers an extensive technical workshop programme that are CPD accredited, free to attend, hands-on presentations that take place in defined spaces on the exhibition floor. They discuss practical, day-to-day technical topics, best practices and product solutions that businesses, large power users and utilities can implement in their daily operations.

Industry support
The leading global advisory firm KPMG is this year’s diamond sponsor for the event while industry stalwarts EPG, GE, Huawei, Landis+Gyr, Lucy Electric, Ontec and Shell are platinum sponsors. The gold sponsors are Aberdare Cables, Conlog, Oracle Utilities, SAP, SBS Tanks, SNPTC and Vodacom.  

African Utility Week and Energy Revolution Africa is the flagship energy event organised by the multi-award winning Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and part of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK. Other well-known energy events by Spintelligent are Future Energy Nigeria (formerly known as WAPIC), Future Energy East Africa (formerly EAPIC), Future Energy Uganda and Future Energy Central Africa.

Earlier this year, Spintelligent won four major awards at AAXO’s ROAR Organiser and Exhibitor Awards, with African Utility Week named the joint winner for Best Trade Exhibition 6001-12000 sqm category (with the World Travel Market). 

Dates for African Utility Week and Energy Revolution Africa:
Conference and expo: 16-18 May 2017
Awards gala dinner:  17 May 2016
Site visits: 19 May 2016
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities  #AUW2017   
Linkedin: African Power Forum

Contact:
Senior 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.

World Baking Day is coming up on the 17th of May, 2017, and GLAD products complement this occasion perfectly.

With so many uses, GLAD is a wonderful kitchen companion, brilliant for baking and exceptional for storage. Make sure GLAD helps you in your baking endeavours this baking day!

• Crush biscuits cake bases between two sheets of GLAD Bake and Cooking Paper to make cleaning easier
• When you need lemon or orange rind, apply a sheet of GLAD Bake and Cooking Paper to the outside of your grater - it will collect the rind and your grater will be easy to clean
• Set chocolate shapes or chocolate dipped fruit like strawberries on a sheet of GLAD Bake and Cooking Paper to keep them from sticking
• Homemade pastry placed between two sheets of GLAD Bake and Cooking Paper is easy to roll and doesn't stick
• Line dessert moulds with GLAD Bake and Cooking Paper to prevent your cake or dessert from sticking or for an interesting patterned effect

Please visit www.glad.co.za for more information and follow ‘GLAD SOUTH AFRICA’ on Facebook; Available in the GLAD aisle of most supermarkets.

South African regional company of the German photovoltaic system provider records initial successes in the distribution and project business

Cape Town, 09 May 2017 – IBC SOLAR AG, a global leader in photovoltaic (PV) systems and energy storage, has been active since January in the growth market of South Africa with its own regional company. Initial projects all over the country have already been successfully realised. From 16 to 18 May, IBC SOLAR South Africa (Pty) Ltd. will be showcasing its products at African Utility Week in Cape Town, one of the leading trade fairs for the African energy industry, where IBC SOLAR will exclusively launch the new SMA Sunny Boy Generation.

IBC SOLAR has been working together exclusively with its partner maxx | solar energy (Pty) Ltd. in the South African market since 2014. The two companies formed the new company IBC SOLAR South Africa (Pty) Ltd. based in Cape Town in January 2017. IBC SOLAR South Africa now offers its customers a perfect combination: over 35 years' experience of planning and realising PV systems of all sizes, together with an established partner that is familiar with the South African market and has access to a strong network of highly trained PV installers in South Africa.

The Management Board of IBC SOLAR South Africa consists of Albert Engelbrecht (IBC SOLAR AG) and Dieter Ortmann (maxx | solar energy). Locally, General Manager Daniel Haitzler is in charge of the regional company. Together with his team of four people at the Cape Town headquarters and Johannesburg, they are striving to a continuing market success.

“The South African PV market has substantial growth potential. Above all, there is a great need for self-consumption and storage systems for private households and the commercial sector,” says Daniel Haitzler. “In South Africa, we are taking a solution-oriented approach. Instability of the electricity supply and rising power costs are very challenging for private persons and companies alike. That's where we come in. We analyse, advise and offer customers a solution that meets their individual needs, which might be a diesel hybrid, off-grid or storage system.”

At the African Utility Week from 16 to 18 May, visitors to IBC SOLAR (Hall 1, German Pavilion, Stand B7-2) can find out more about the options for energy supply with solar power in South Africa.