The organisers of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, have announced that they have entered into a media partnership with the weekly news publication and online portal, The Mail & Guardian, in the run-up to the event that is taking place from 14-16 May in Cape Town.

The South African Minister of Energy, Honourable Jeff Radebe, is heading up a stellar line up of expert speakers and will once again deliver the opening ministerial address on 14 May. The 19th edition of this leading conference and exhibition is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.

“The Mail & Guardian brand and tradition is one of quality, no question” says African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa event director Evan Schiff, “it’s a proudly and quintessentially South African weekly institution of quality, informed and unbiased political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular culture. Its pioneering role to migrate its news and content offering to the online space has also been unparalleled. African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa is proud to be part of the M&G’s special Energy Supplements to reach our target audience in the run-up to the event in May.”

International pavilions
Apart from the official U.S. country pavilion at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa showcasing specialised technology and services for the utility, metering, renewable and water industries, country pavilions from Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Poland and Russia have also already confirmed their presence at the 3-day event in May.

Industry and institutional support
A multi-award-winning conference and exhibition, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa has already secured early support from industry stalwarts including Conlog, Dromex, GE, Landis+Gyr, SAP, Sumitomo and Utility Systems as platinum sponsors and Aberdare, ADC Energy, Sulzer and Toshiba as gold sponsors. The South African Ministry of Energy is the host ministry of the event, Eskom the host utility while Cape Town is the host city.

African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa is the flagship energy event organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the energy, infrastructure, mining and agriculture sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, the Utility CEO Forums, Agritech Expo Zambia, Nigeria Mining Week and DRC Mining Week. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group and African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa form part of Clarion Energy, which runs over 40 events that cover the oil, gas, power and energy sectors, making it one of Clarion Events’ largest portfolios.

Dates for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa:
Conference and expo: 14-16 May 2019
Site visits: 17 May 2019
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2019   
Linkedin: African Utility Week

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. 

ESI Africa premium media partner at African Utility Week & POWERGEN Africa

"Whether you want to call it load-shedding, a blackout, load-shifting or load sharing, remember that this affects everyone. We are in this together so join your neighbourhood Whatsapp or Facebook group to stay informed.” So says Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl, editor ESI Africa, a leading energy industry journal.

Off the grid
“It is not really viable at this stage for the average suburban household to go completely off the grid to avoid the effects of load-shedding” says Mrs Pombo-van Zyl, adding “but, it is possible to develop a back-up plan for when the grid goes down. The ideal option is solar PV but this requires an investment, which will eventually pay off in the long run. One could just invest in a solar water heater system or take the route of rooftop solar with a battery storage unit.”

“Back-up generators are also an option, especially for businesses although they can be noisy and cumbersome to set up and prove dangerous for people not familiar with this type of equipment. Another off-grid option is to change to gas for cooking and lighting.” She continues: “some people may think that they are experiencing load-shedding when in actual fact their main has tripped. Invest in battery-operated torches and lighting and regularly check the batteries. Ensure that your mobile phones are charged. Also be more vigilant when driving as a lot of traffic lights are affected.”

ESI Africa at African Utility Week
The potential of renewable energy sources such as solar, storage solutions and mini-grid generation projects are some of the exciting focus areas at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa taking place from 14-16 May in Cape Town. The South African Minister of Energy, Honourable Jeff Radebe, is heading up a stellar line up of expert speakers and will once again deliver the opening ministerial address on 14 May. The 19th edition of this flagship conference and exhibition is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.

ESI Africa is the longstanding host publication of the event and also has an onsite studio on the expo floor to interview dozens of experts for its online portal. Says ESI Africa’s editor Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl:  “this annual event is marked in my diary as a ‘must-attend’ to meet with industry stalwarts and the up-and-coming young leaders. I’m keenly looking forward to three intense days of on-point conversations around what’s happening in the industry, what to expect in the coming year, and the solutions driving development. Also, as a moderator for one of the conference sessions, I’m excited by the prospect of debating risks and opportunities in a way that could very well deliver a primed solution to the attending delegates who have travelled from far and wide.”

She continues: “it’s going to be another superb year for the ESI Africa team as our bumper issue of the journal is being distributed in the delegate bags and VIP areas. As the official host publication, ESI Africa is the only media house with an onsite studio where on-camera interviews will be conducted over the three days of African Utility Week & POWERGEN Africa. Another activity is our sought-after roving camera team who will be visiting expo booths that have pre-booked an interview with us.”

The ESI Africa television studio is strategically positioned on the exhibition floor for easy access, says Nicolette: “this is where our team of editors will conduct professional on-camera interviews with conference speakers, VIP guests, and profiled attendees to reap their industry knowledge for our readers’ benefit.

“You can also rely on the editorial team to keep you posted on what’s happening as they will be reporting live from the conference sessions using the ESI Africa social media channels and website. We’re interested in connecting with as many people as possible, so look out for the team at the networking sessions, awards gala, and knowledge hubs.”

African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa is the flagship energy event organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the energy, infrastructure, mining and agriculture sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, the Utility CEO Forums, Agritech Expo Zambia, Nigeria Mining Week and DRC Mining Week. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group and African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa forms part of Clarion Energy, which runs over 40 events that cover the oil, gas, power and energy sectors, making it one of Clarion Events’ largest portfolios.

Dates for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa:
Conference and expo: 14-16 May 2019
Site visits: 17 May 2019
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2019   
Linkedin: African Utility Week

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. 

Water a key focus at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa in Cape Town in May

A Cape Town bottling plant has managed to reduce its waste water by over 60%, saving more than 90 million litres of municipal water since January 2017.

The Epping-based The Beverage Company produces over 1.5 million bottles of carbonated soft drinks per week and uses on average 30 000 litres of water per hour. According to the plant manager David Putterill, last year’s looming Day Zero for water supply in Cape Town had less impact on the business “due to the various actions we took in advance of the crisis. In mid-2016 we started various projects to save water and these are on-going. In the last year we have sustained our water saving so that even though the water restrictions have been partially lifted, we keep the same focus on saving water.”

World Water Day, a UN initiative, is celebrated on 22 March every year and focuses on the importance of water and this year’s theme is ‘Leaving no one behind’, adapting the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that as sustainable development progresses, everyone must benefit.

Water conference in May
Water also remains one of the key topics and discussion points at the annual African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa in Cape Town, where from 14-16 May, the conference will bring together experts from public and private sectors to support municipalities as they become more responsive and efficient in their water practices.

Part of this knowledge exchange are the technical site visits taking place on 17 May, including at The Beverage Company bottling plant. “Delegates will see the bottling plant and the water saving projects that were implemented that helped us reduce our waste water and saving million of litres of municipal water” says The Beverage Company’s David Putterill. “They will also see our alternative water supply project that we have initiated to reduce our dependence on the municipal water supply by installing our own boreholes and reverse osmosis plant.”

He adds: “it has been fascinating to see what can be achieved when a team applies their mind to a particular goal. It has also been a huge learning curve for all concerned, learning about water treatment, alternative water sources, geohydrology and many other topics.” 

See David Putterill’s full interview here and click here for a video of The Beverage Company facilities and their exciting water savings initiatives.  

More water experts and speakers at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa include:

- “The greatest challenge facing global water security is global transformation. The world is changing as we look on and this is happening at a very fast pace and impacting heavily on available natural resources, including fresh water.”
- Paul Yillia, Guest Research Scholar (Water Programme), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria, winner of 2018 African Utility Week Industry Award for Outstanding Contribution Award for Water and chairperson of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa’s water conference.

- “We have made a real and profound difference intercepting Day Zero, by helping the City of Cape Town fast track the use of intelligent water infrastructure“
- Shannon Vermaak, marketing manager for Utility Systems, platinum sponsors at the upcoming African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa. Click here for the full interview.

- “Utilities and municipalities need to operate more as a business. As the sector transforms, they can either be a hurdle or a catalyst for the private sector and the country as a whole” 
- Dhasi Naidoo, Chief Strategy Officer, Ontec, South Africa and speaker in the water conference.

- “Climate change impacts are imminent; however, most key institutions are not fully prepared to deal with such impacts”
- Sicelo N. Mashwama, Environment, Health & Safety Manager at Swaziland Water Services Corporation and Advisory Board member of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa.Click here for the full interview.

- “Cape Town is a good example that Africa has started to face the effects of climate change by investigating alternative water resources and minimizing the loss of non-revenue water and general water use.”
- Jan Kürstein, Hydrogeologist and Senior Consultant Water and Natural Resources at Rambøll in Denmark, even advisory board member and speaker. Click here for the full interview.

Session topics at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa’s water conference include: 

- Tackling the escalating drought threat: Embarking on climate change resilience
- Managing water conservation resources in light of the on-going drought
- Water technology innovation platform in Africa
- Demonstrating, applying and commercialising the required technology
- Water metering and monitoring
- Water treatment advancements
- Water sector funding and incentives
- Meeting municipal demand

The 19th edition of this flagship conference and exhibition is expected to attract more than 10 000 water and energy professionals this year.

International pavilions
Apart from the official U.S. country pavilion at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa showcasing specialised technology and services for the utility, metering, renewable and water industries, country pavilions from Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India and Poland have also already confirmed their presence at the 3-day event in May.

Industry support
A multi-award-winning conference and exhibition, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa has already secured the support from industry stalwarts including Conlog, Dromex, Landis+Gyr, Sumitomo and Utility Systems as platinum sponsors and Aberdare, ADC Energy, Sulzer and Toshiba as gold sponsors.

African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa is the flagship energy event organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the energy, infrastructure, mining and agriculture sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, the Utility CEO Forums, Agritech Expo Zambia, Nigeria Mining Week and DRC Mining Week. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group and African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa form part of Clarion Energy, which runs over 40 events that cover the oil, gas, power and energy sectors, making it one of Clarion Events’ largest portfolios.

Dates for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa:
Conference and expo: 14-16 May 2019
Site visits: 17 May 2019
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa
Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2019   
Linkedin: African Utility Week

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.

“Our mission is to deliver authentic African content”

The organisers of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, have announced that they have entered into a media partnership with African News Agency (ANA), a continent-wide multimedia content dissemination platform in the run-up to the event that is taking place from 14-16 May in Cape Town. ANA will also have a presence on the expo floor.

The South African Minister of Energy, Honourable Jeff Radebe, is heading up a stellar line up of expert speakers and will once again deliver the opening ministerial address on 14 May. The 19th edition of this leading conference and exhibition is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.

“We’re excited to partner with African News Agency” says African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa event director Evan Schiff, “over the last couple of years ANA has been able to fill a real need in the market for the effective distribution of news, particularly across Africa.”

“For ANA, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa is the perfect strategic forum to meet leading global and African professionals in the energy and water sectors” says ANA CEO Grant Fredericks. He adds: “our mission is to deliver authentic African content, in the form of locally produced stories, images, videos and valuable data, to the world and this event has proven to have been a consistent source of great news content and expert interviews over the years. Our strategic media partnerships across the African continent guarantee that we share and produce ground-breaking content on the hour, by the hour. We look forward to provide many of the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa sponsors, exhibitors and speakers with our services onsite.” 

International pavilions
Apart from the official U.S. country pavilion at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa showcasing specialised technology and services for the utility, metering, renewable and water industries, country pavilions from Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India and Poland have also already confirmed their presence at the 3-day event in May.

Industry support
A multi-award-winning conference and exhibition, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa has already secured early support from industry stalwarts including Conlog, Dromex, Landis+Gyr, Sumitomo and Utility Systems as platinum sponsors and Aberdare, ADC Energy, Sulzer and Toshiba as gold sponsors.

African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa is the flagship energy event organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the energy, infrastructure, mining and agriculture sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, the Utility CEO Forums, Agritech Expo Zambia, Nigeria Mining Week and DRC Mining Week.

Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group and African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa form part of Clarion Energy, which runs over 40 events that cover the oil, gas, power and energy sectors, making it one of Clarion Events’ largest portfolios.

Dates for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa:
Conference and expo: 14-16 May 2019
Site visits: 17 May 2019
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2019   
Linkedin: African Utility Week

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. 

African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa to feature unique case study in May

About a third of the food produced in South Africa gets wasted and 90% of this waste lands up in landfills. Growthpoint Properties have embarked on an exciting partnership with the Dutch green technology provider Waste Transformers by installing an on-site, anaerobic digester at its N1 City Mall property in Cape Town which uses organic waste to produce green electricity, hot water and fertiliser.

“Landfills produce methane gas which is worse for the environment than CO² emissions” says Gavin Jones, Growthpoint Properties’ Regional Retail Asset Manager for the Western Cape, “and the South African government is aiming to reduce at least half of that food wastage. The intention of this waste-to-power installation at N1 City with Waste Transformers is to look towards future regulation, particularly in the Western Cape, that will limit the removal of organic waste from operating buildings to landfill sites. Cape Town has announced that they want a 100% reduction of organic waste to landfills by the year 2027. And Growthpoint is trying to reach that target by 2020 while Cape Town is hoping to reach a target of 30% by that time.”

Check out the video here.

Modulated structure functions like a stomach
The Waste Transformers unit is a modulated structure comprising four large containers that are run by a number of processes and occupies about six or seven parking bays onsite at the N1 City mall.

“Within our shopping centre environment,” says Growthpoint Properties’ Gavin Jones, “we collect organic waste material from restaurants and from food supermarket operators in separate bins and separate it from the recycled goods. We then process it in the first stage of the machine, which is the macerator which chops up the organic waste matter into a usable size. A grey water mix is added and this mixture is then pumped into the anaerobic digester.  With added enzymes, this digester pretty much functions like a stomach which produces methane gas as well as a by-product of hot water.“

The hot water is used to clean the plant and the waste area. The methane gas is harvested, filtered and housed in the gas component of the installation. This gas is then used to run an electric generator which then places electricity back into the shopping centre.

Gavin continues: “the last product of the system is a liquid fertiliser and is distributed for landscaping at all of our properties in our portfolio in the area, and to a large number of non-profits and hospitals as well as to Parow Golf Course. We have an end goal in mind to begin a micro enterprise to sell this fertiliser into the market.”

“Currently the capacity of this Waste Transformers installation is about 6 kVA per day, which provides electricity to between 10 and 11 small line shops in the mall, which compared to what the mall normally uses, is still a very small supply. What’s exciting about this unit is that the generator runs the system by itself, so it is a self-sustained modulated system, it does not require an external power source for it to run. The main benefit of the system remains in the production of fertiliser, which is a sellable product which we can use in our own property portfolio and for external supply.”

African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa
During the Future Cities conference track at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa in Cape Town in May, a case study will be presented on South Africa's first Waste Transformer at the N1 City Mall in Cape Town and will be followed by a discussion on how waste-to-energy plants can be made more competitive.The 19th edition of this leading conference and exhibition is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.

African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa is the flagship energy event organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the energy, infrastructure, mining and agriculture sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, the Utility CEO Forums, Agritech Expo Zambia, Nigeria Mining Week and DRC Mining Week. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group and African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa form part of Clarion Energy, which runs over 40 events that cover the oil, gas, power and energy sectors, making it one of Clarion Events’ largest portfolios.

Dates for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa:
Conference and expo: 14-16 May 2019
Site visits: 17 May 2019
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2019   
Linkedin: African Utility Week

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. 

Global commercial giants descend on Cape Town for the continent’s largest ecommerce gathering.  

Cape Town, South Africa: More than 300 companies within the African ecommerce ecosystem will gather in Cape Town on the 19th and 20th March to review the latest technology influencing online retail and fulfillment. Attendees will learn how to leverage the rapid growth of cross border payments; customer security and how African companies can compete with the likes of Amazon.  

The experts guiding the 2019 event are global leaders and game changers shaping the ecommerce landscape well beyond Africa. Google, Naspers, DHL and Jumia are among the giants who will be shaping the discussion. “The collection of thought leaders and the topics under discussion this year are aimed at creating an immediate impact for African ecommerce companies. From marketing to fulfilment, the world’s best will be on stage sharing best practice and innovative hacks to drive online growth”   

“It is quite remarkable to have all of these industry leaders on the same stage not only willing to share but actively working to grow the industry and ensure African customers receive a world class online shopping experience.” Terry Southam, Kinetic Managing Director. 

DHL partners with the conference for the second year running, extending their commitment to driving innovation within the fulfilment space as Lead Sponsor of the Show.  

Steve Burd, Vice President Sales for DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, explains that the ongoing partnership between DHL and eCommerce Africa is a good fit. “As the market leaders in express logistics in Africa, we have extensive first-hand experience of the positive impact that ecommerce has on the continent. The massive growth in cross-border and international ecommerce in Africa sees DHL working with thousands more customers across the continent each year, helping them to expand their brand across borders.” 

He adds that the development of ecommerce in Africa continues to unlock major opportunities for growth. “E-commerce allows entrepreneurs and SMEs to connect with a large customer base and scale up rapidly which accelerates the need for support services. E-commerce growth therefore has a ripple-effect on many other industries on the continent.” 

“DHL’s partnership with eCommerce Africa provides us with an additional platform to connect with organisations and help them to understand key logistics considerations, and learn how to plan for and overcome any logistical challenges,” adds Burd. 

eCommerce Africa 2019 has taken additional care this year to ensure an event that is accessible to an extended audience, by offering an additional track agenda on the expo floor that educates business owners on how an effective ecommerce strategy can grow their business.  This agenda offers everything that startups and smaller businesses need to kick start and rapidly scale their business. These tickets are available at an inclusive price of only ZAR 350, to ensure every startup, small business owner and ecommerce dreamer has the opportunity to participate. 

Follow @eCommerceConfex on Twitter and join the conversation using the #ECO19 hashtag or register for the event here. 

For more information, please contact:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.+27 (0) 21 180 470014 Pickwick Road, Salt River, Cape Town. 

ABOUT KINETIC

Kinetic is a proudly South African conferencing company with an international footprint across East, West and Southern Africa. As the proud leader of the CX, ecommerce and IT conferencing industries, we strive to accelerate corporate and personal growth by connecting people, connecting companies and facilitating meaningful business connections.Established in 2008, we have produced over 100 conferences and exhibitions that have hosted over 100 000 delegates, 5000 speakers and 450 sponsors. Our mission is to inspire change in the industries we service, by leaving our delegates with fresh insights, new perspectives and real business opportunities. 

ENDS

Mother City to welcome back 10 000+ energy and water professionals

The organisers of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, have announced that they have entered into a media partnership with the global news organisation and broadcaster CNN in the run-up to the event that is taking place from 14-16 May in Cape Town. The South African Minister of Energy, Honourable Jeff Radebe, is heading up a stellar line up of expert speakers and will once again deliver the opening ministerial address on 14 May. The 19th edition of this leading conference and exhibition is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.  

International pavilions
Apart from the official U.S. country pavilion at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa showcasing specialised technology and services for the utility, metering, renewable and water industries, country pavilions from Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India and Poland have also already confirmed their presence at the 3-day event in May.

Industry support
A multi-award-winning conference and exhibition, African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa has already secured early support from industry stalwarts including Conlog, Dromex, Landis+Gyr, Sumitomo and Utility Systems as platinum sponsors and Aberdare, ADC Energy, Sulzer and Toshiba as gold sponsors.

African Utility Weekand the co-located POWERGEN Africa is the flagship energy event organised by Spintelligent, a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the energy, infrastructure, mining and agriculture sectors. Other well-known events by Spintelligent include Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, the Utility CEO Forums, Agritech Expo Zambia, Nigeria Mining Week and DRC Mining Week. Spintelligent is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group and African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa form part of Clarion Energy, which runs over 40 events that cover the oil, gas, power and energy sectors, making it one of Clarion Events’ largest portfolios.

Dates for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa:
Conference and expo: 14-16 May 2019
Site visits: 17 May 2019
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa
Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2019   
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. 

Cape Town get ready: ‘There is never a bad time to buy property…there are only bad investors who don't know how to take advantage of the opportunity.’

With pivotal elections on the horizon and a daily news stream fraught with negative economic sentiment, it is no surprise that South Africans are tiptoeing around potential investments and adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach.

Yet with recent claims from the City of Cape Town that homes in Cape Town have increased in value by 34% in the past three years, there is undoubtedly no time like the present for would-be property investors.

Wealth Alliance, an organisation that empowers individuals to change their perspective on traditional wealth creation, offer property investment seminars, masterclasses and mentorship programs. These programs will now be available in the Cape Town area, starting with ongoing free seminars* for anyone interested in the key to building wealth through property, regardless of industry experience.

These programs are carefully designed to assist entrants in the property sector, and therefore cover key aspects of the property market:

• Areas in South Africa where you’re likely to find the best property deals, and which finance strategies will help you finance your investment;
• Best Cape Town neighbourhoods to invest in as well as informal settlements ripe for investment
• Various investment strategies including back-to-back deals, capital flips and how to invest in property without any of your own capital
• Different types of properties to invest in, from residential to Airbnb and commercial
• Building your network, finding and financing property deals

According to property specialist and Wealth Alliance co-founder, Sylvia Koketso Milosevic, ‘there is never a bad time to buy property…there are only bad investors who don't know how to take advantage of the opportunity.’

As an entrepreneur who has boldly entered the property market and reaped the rewards, Sylvia now actively shares her learnings and provides people with practical tips and advice.  Drawing inspiration from Napoleon Hill’s legendary bestseller, ‘Think and Grow Rich’, she runs a series of dynamic property investment seminars and training sessions. The seminars apply the 13 classic principles of ‘Think and Grow Rich’ to the local property market, and demonstrates how new investors can successfully negotiate the property sector.  

“While it is certainly a difficult economic environment for investors right now, we believe that with the right tools and knowledge, South Africans can benefit from the current downward trajectory in property prices - and turn their financial goals into reality,” she says. “We teach our students that by applying the right strategy, regardless of the market conditions, they can achieve outstanding returns.”

According to Milosevic, “investors should combine strategies that will have you making money from day one, so it doesn’t matter if the market declines, you are still making money every single month, down the line, until there is an upswing again.”

Moreover, declining house prices are not necessarily so negative - as it allows first-time homebuyers to enter the housing market at cheaper prices. They can then benefit from the uptick when it comes. Notably, the recent budget speech highlighted some positive socio-economic investments on the horizon which speak to a brighter future ahead for savvy investors.

Regardless of the current political status quo, however, it is critical that potential investors arm themselves with the knowledge and know-how to turn property into smart investments – despite difficult macroeconomic conditions. “We are thrilled to be able to share our knowledge and experience with potential investors in and around Cape Town, and to unlock the infinite opportunities that lie within the local property sector,” says Milosevic.

Wealth Alliance seminars are now available in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Polokwane and Venda, with new markets to be launched soon. To find out more about Wealth Alliance and to book for a complimentary Think and Grow Rich property seminars visit http://www.wealthalliance.com and http://www.thinkandgrowrich.co.za/ 

Media Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Future Cities Hackathon will be held in Cape Town from 1 to 2 March by co-hosts, Startupbootcamp AfriTech (SBC) and RCS. The event underlines the Sustainable Development Goals and challenges citizen innovators to showcase disruptive solutions for water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, and smart mobility.

SBC AfriTech is a prestigious programme for Africa-focused tech startups. The programme supports the world’s up-and-coming pioneers including African tech startups, linking them to the fastest-moving corporates on the continent.

It is the only multi-corporate backed accelerator of its kind, powered by Old Mutual, Nedbank, RCS, BNP Paribas Personal Finance and PwC.

Last year, SBC AfriTech was named the Top Accelerator on the African continent by the Global Startup Awards.The accelerator is sponsored by some of the most innovative corporate partners in Africa and has proven to be a successful channel to scout, skill, and scale disruptive startups.

Regan Adams, CEO of RCS explains, “This year we will broaden our focus on the water crisis to include water sanitation and marine pollution. In addition, our focus on South Africa’s growing marine pollution, caused by rapid population growth and increasing industrialisation, is also in line with the global corporate investment strategy of our holding company, BNP Paribas. The second focus will be on finding sustainable and affordable transport solutions which is becoming a major issue in our cities. RCS is excited to once again be part of the Hackathon initiative and we unequivocally support and believe in our local startups in finding the most sustainable solutions for these challenges.”

Now in their third consecutive year, SBC is applying this powerful Corporate Startup Collaboration to solve municipal challenges.

Using Cape Town as a lab, the impact-orientated Future Cities Hackathon will focus on the following three UN Sustainable Development Goals:

SDG 6: Clean Water & Sanitation

SDG 11: Life Below Water

SDG 14: Sustainable Cities & Communities

“Startupbootcamp AfriTech has committed to championing Global Goal 11 (Sustainable Goals and Cities) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by connecting solution-makers with corporates, innovation ecosystems, thought leaders, investors and mentors,” states Motlhabane Koloi, Legal and Scouting Manager and SDG Initiative Lead for SBC AfriTech.

This Hackathon will bring together innovators and corporates to materialise three of the sustainable development goals and we are excited to be setting the standard for sustainable innovation in corporates and the broader innovation ecosystem.

The hackathon will feature several top-level keynote speakers discussing the daunting challenges brought about by pollution, water access and urbanization.

The event is open to citizen innovators, startups and anyone with ideas to solving the most pressing sustainable development challenges facing our world today.

Over the course of two days, the goal is for attendees to form five to 10 teams tackling different challenges. These teams will focus on practical solutions that could be further developed and implemented with the support of the sponsors and their partners.

The aim of the hackathon is to crowdsource solutions, talent, and business models from the Cape Town innovation and resilience enablement ecosystem.

By holding events in more than 100 cities each year, SBC supports the world’s most talented founders with hands-on mentorship and access to key industry connections. SBC is known for growing and scaling innovative solutions to modern challenges within the African continent. This hackathon in particular strives to solve pertinent issues such as the water crisis by embracing new technology and ideas.

If you or anyone you know has a tech-based idea or solution to solve the challenges as stipulated by the Sustainable Development Goals, attend the hackathon and see your solution come to fruition.

Get your tickets here: http://qkt.io/futurecity 

Cape Town-based CloudOne Technologies Pty Ltd, trading as CloudOne.mobi, has announced that it closed two funding rounds totalling R34m at the end of 2018. The investors include Investec Private Capital, through its Emerging Companies mandate. The investment will be used to help scale out and grow the business more aggressively. CloudOne.mobi was founded in October 2014 with the mission of re-inventing the Point Of Sale (POS) experience.

Founder and CEO Dana Buys has successfully started and sold a number of software businesses since launching his first business while studying at the University of Cape Town in the early 1980s. Subsequently a hospitality business owner, among other interests, he became frustrated with poor levels of technology, particularly related to POS. Buys is passionate about customer service and wanted a solution that would improve the speed and accuracy of serving customers.

 "Speed and accuracy deliver a win-win for both business and its customers,” he says. “Happy customers spend more and spread the good news via word of mouth. Accurate orders reduce costly mistakes and improve profitability. It’s hard to beat if you can make the solution easy-to-use and affordable to own!” He continues, “There is massive opportunity to deploy affordable Cloud and mobile technology in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Cloud solutions model allows us to eliminate many of the headaches experienced by SME businesses which often lack strong IT skills. We develop the , keep the systems up to date, manage the databases and integration to external solutions, perform regular backups, and enforce security.” 

CloudOne.mobi has developed an advanced cloud-based Point of Sale solution called TallOrder for SME businesses across the hospitality, retail and service segments. TallOrder delivers Cloud benefits, along with robust offline capacity to deal with the relatively slow, less reliable and costlier Internet prevalent throughout emerging markets. Buys explains that similar solutions developed in the United States and Europe assume an always-on, fast and low-cost Internet which is not yet the case in Africa and other developing markets.solution

 CloudOne.mobi says TallOrder is easy to deploy, easy to learn to run, and operates on Microsoft Windows, Apple's iOS, and Android devices. It is designed for traditional point of sale stations, tablets and even smartphone-sized devices. The system supports mobile use, which boosts the speed and accuracy of customer service. "TallOrder replaces expensive upfront license and installation fees with low monthly or annual fees, based on the number of devices in use. This opens the market to many businesses which previously could not afford nor cope with the older technology" says Anna Groenewald, COO and co-founder at CloudOne.mobi.

 According to Meiring de Wet, Chief Technology Officer at CloudOne.mobi, "SME companies by themselves will never generate enough data to be as truly useful as Big Data. We have built TallOrder in a way that allows us to aggregate the small data coming from SME businesses into Big Data".    

“This investment is an important opportunity for CloudOne.mobi to expand our software developments and allow us to rapidly scale our marketing and sales efforts and increase our future partnership opportunities,” stated Groenewald. Learn more about CloudOne.mobi and their hero products TallOrder Point of Sale and PageMan Digital Signage on their website, https://cloudone.mobi/ or contact them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it./ +27 (0) 728630116