“Embracing change in an era of ‘business unusual’” #ITLA18

The 9th Annual IT Leaders Africa Summit was recently hosted at the brand new, green star-rated CTICC East Wing in Cape Town on 9 & 10 May 2018. Over the past decade of existence, the event has quickly established itself as the premier gathering of CIO’s and business IT professionals on the continent. Attendees from across Africa congregated in Africa’s tech hub to share best practices, and discuss the strategic roadmap to managing the evolving challenges, opportunities and risks associated with the IT departments’ ever-increasing scope of technology implementation and its related oversight.

Brett St Clair, CEO of Siatik and renown international speaker – delivered a powerful warning to the audience; “disruption is happening incredibly quickly; especially in the IT space – there are so many technologies that are hitting IT, wave after wave – and each technology generates another wave of technology, which can be very scary as the rest of the world feels like it is doubling efficiency and leap-frogging ahead whilst we continue to lag behind in Africa – constantly having to catch up.”

A common thread shared by the audience and speakers alike was that digital transformation is turning the industry on its head, and the CIO of the future needs to be well ahead of the curve to be able to deal and effectively counter the effects of prospective disruption to organisations. Transformation was also discussed on a higher level and resulted in a robust and thought-provoking debate regarding the duty of leading IT professionals to not only upskill existing staff as opposed to looking outside for talent; attendees also challenged the IT industry as a whole to work towards the development, mentoring and nurturing of millennials and more importantly women in the IT field.

Nithen Naidoo, Managing Director of Snode, who participated in the newly introduced sponsor hot seat panel discussion, encouraged the IT industry to invest in the development of future IT practitioners as this will set organisations on a sustainable path to success, “Millennials are looking for purpose – they want what they do to mean something; they want to add to something greater than themselves - and if you give them that, your organisation will be able to attract the right kind of talent…desire and [corporate] cultural fit is really important”.

This was a sentiment shared by Jamie Whittaker, Deputy CIO at Discovery, who encouraged organisations that want to succeed where others have failed, to take an ‘out-of-the-box’ approach, “In order for organisations to be successful, they need to understand that they should embrace change – It’s not business as usual but rather business as unusual”. Whittaker further elaborated that “IT is not about technology; it’s not about apps, databases or mainframes, nor the cloud – what it’s about, is People – they are the most valuable resource – they should be mentored and nourished, when you find these individuals; they should be treated correctly from the very first interaction with your organisation. Make sure that we invest in developing our people, so that they can leave at any stage, but treat them well so that they choose to stay.” The overarching message was that, change may be scary, but it should be embraced and seen as an opportunity as opposed to a threat.

The array of IT experts present at the event discussed other critical themes which are affecting the IT profession, including improving organisational cyber resilience in a world of evolving and increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks through continuous collaboration between big companies and SME’s in order to create a sense of community around the issue of cyber security. Naidoo cautioned organisations to stop viewing cyber security protection as a grudge purchase “cyber security wins battles in boardrooms, it’s a competitive advantage”.

Harnessing the true potential of data was also on the top of everyone’s minds with Collin Mamdoo, Principal IoT Specialist at Vodacom calling for “data democratisation”, with many others echoing this sentiment and encouraging both anonymous and visible sharing of data between companies. Overall, everyone acknowledged that data analytics is a key part to business success; the question rather centers on how you put that data together; which is contextual to your environment, industry, company and maturity according to Peter du Plooy, CIO of Engen, futurist and former Visionary CIO of the Year Award recipient.“Organisations that are winning; are organisations that are doing immense amounts of data analytics – they’re understanding their broader ecosystem…their customers, understanding their business inefficiencies and they are improving all of these things”.

This was a sentiment shared by Greg Groenmeyer, Head of IT Strategy & Architecture at Sanlam, “it is important for IT to be aligned to the business agenda and the overall business strategy; IT departments must always evaluate whether anything that is introduced has a business narrative – activities must be centred around mitigating the risks or improving the bottom line”

The IT Leaders Africa Summit has been providing IT executives with practical knowledge from industry experts and thought leaders since its inception 9 years ago.  With the assistance of an advisory panel of experience C-level IT executives, the summit covered the most current trends translating business strategies into IT functions, as well as many controversial and interesting debates on the future of IT in business.

“It has been exciting to witness the growth of the event as the IT industry matures. Kinetic is committed to strengthening the IT industry across the African continent through our involvement as a key information provider and business facilitator. We are encouraged by the number of companies who have already expressed interest in anticipation of the next edition later in 2018 which will be co-hosted alongside the Afrisecure Cyber Security Summit in Johannesburg” says Terry Southam, Managing Director, of Kinetic – the conference organisers.

In closing, Whittaker cautioned attendees that “Companies need to be looking for a business strategy for the digital age; if there are companies that consider business and IT to be two separate elements; they’re ripe for disruption”. 

Follow @ITLeaders on Twitter and join the conversation using the #ITLA18 hashtag

For more information about IT Leaders Africa, visit: www.itleaders.co.za

About IT Leaders Africa
The IT Leaders Africa Summit has been providing IT executives with practical knowledge from industry experts and thought leaders since its inception 8 years ago. With the assistance of an advisory panel of experienced C-level IT executives, the summit encompasses the most current trends concerning translating business strategies into IT functions, as well as cyber security, governance, and disruptive technology. We have recruited the top IT executives in Africa to present on the issues concerning IT leaders in today’s rapidly evolving market to ensure that you are ahead of the curve. 

About Kinetic
Kinetic is an international conference and exhibition company established as a key strategic information provider to the IT and Telecoms sector, our mission is to equip senior management executives with knowledge, market intelligence and viable commercial opportunities.

Mozambican utility EDM (Electricidade de Moçambique), Azuri Technology, Siemens and two water sector pioneers were some of the big winners at the African Utility Week Industry Awards that took place in Cape Town on Wednesday evening. Hundreds of power and water professionals gathered to honour the top projects and people in the industries on the continent in the fifth edition of the awards gala as part of the African Utility Week conference and exhibition. EDM scored a double win with the award for the Power Utility of the Year as well as the Outstanding Contribution Award in Power for Dr Mateus Magala, EDM’s Chairman and CEO.

South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Ambassador Thembisile Majola, was the guest of honour at the awards gala which featured two new categories, namely Energy/Water Reporter of the Year and Digital Solution of the Year.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Winner: Prof Roland Schulze, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Roland Schulze pioneered formal scientific hydrological studies at South African universities by piloting the country’s first hydrology degree course in the early 1980s and then seeing the discipline grow from that of a single lecturer with a handful of students to a fully-fledged Centre for Water Resources Research.Schulze has initiated and been involved in national and international level hydrological research for the past 50 years, and in applied climate change research in the fields of agriculture and water for the past 30 years.

“I’m proud not only for myself but also for the many colleagues and my family that have helped me achieve this,” Prof Schulze said after receiving his award. “My vision for the water industry in general is that we become more efficient in the use of water, particularly in light of population increases and climate change, which might cause us to have less water than we are used to in the future. And that means efficiency in the main sectors that use a lot of water such as agriculture, industry and households.”   

Outstanding Contribution Award: Water
Winner: Dr Paul T. Yillia
Originally from Sierra Leone, Dr Paul T. Yillia has a broad understanding of water sector institutions, policies, strategies, and regulations with over 15 years of experience in operational and analytical work on water resources assessment and planning, as well as knowledge and experience in supporting institutions in operationalizing cross sector interactions between water, energy, environment and other global development themes.

From 2014 to 2017, he was recruited by United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) as Lead Policy Specialist to support the overall operational process of SEforALL. Dr Yillia is currently a guest research scholar with the Water (WAT) Program at IIASA and visiting scholar at Vienna University of Technology.

“I’m really grateful for this prestigious award, it’s really big”, said a beaming Dr Yillia, who also celebrated his fiftieth birthday on Wednesday. “I have a positive vision for the water sector in Africa although the challenges are huge. I believe Africa is growing, the population is growing and becoming more affluent and more resource intensive, and one of those resources is water. Combined with the climate change challenges, all of these need coordinated management, coordinated thinking and investment to address the water challenges in Africa.”

Innovative Technology of the Year Award
Winner: Azuri Technologies Ltd
AzuriTV was the first fully-integrated pay-as-you-go solar satellite TV package addressing rural off-grid consumers’ challenges of access to power, service coverage and the high up front cost of installation. Partnering with Mobicom Kenya, AzuriTV provides 58 satellite TV channels, 21 radio channels and includes a 24-inch television screen.

“Azuri is providing small scale solar power to thousands of households in Africa who don’t have access to mains electricity,” Simon Bransfield-Garth, CEO of Azuri Technology, said in a video message to the audience in Cape Town. He added: “this power gives people access to the basics of life: everything from lighting through to access to television with satellite content. This award is recognition of all the hard work, both in Azuri and our partners, and we are very honoured to have received the award and look forward to greater things to come.”

Energy/Water Reporter of the Year Award
Winner: Newton Sibanda, freelance journalist, Zambia
Newton Sibanda has been consistently and qualitatively covering energy and water issues for close to two decades, writing compelling articles for both local and international media. His work has not only had policy impact, but also inspired other journalists to cover the two areas. It is in this regard that in May, he was invited to attend the14th session of the UN Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD-14) at the UN Headquarters in New York where he presented a paper titled “Reporting on Energy Issues in Zambia.” 

“I’m extremely humbled, very happy, especially as this is a pioneer category and being the first winner” said the Zambian veteran journalist on Wednesday evening. “I have been covering water, energy, sanitation, environmental issues and climate change for quite a long time. I worked for the Zambian Daily Mail for over two decades and also for other international media. I had the opportunity to specialise in issues that are a passion for me.”   

Outstanding Contribution Award: Power
Winner: Dr Mateus Magala, CEO, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM)
Dr Magala has been the Chairman and CEO of Electricity of Mozambique (EDM) since 2015 and has been responsible for the introduction of numerous reforms in the company, including the introduction of the Code of Ethics, full review of the organisational structure and measures that made it possible for the company to provide excellent quality services to the public and to increase the income, construction and expansion of infra-structures and maintenance of sustainable projects.

Under Dr Magala’s leadership, as part of EDM’s strategic objective to reach universal access by 2030, new connections were increased successfully in the second half of 2017.  The number of connections increased from less than 200 per day in the first semester, to a peak of 5000 on the last day of the year, reaching a total of 150000. This push to connect revived a sense of pride and moved all workforces in the company to adhere to the transformation. 

Power Utility of the Year Award
Winner: Electricidade De Moçambique (EDM)
Electricidade De Moçambique started a process of profound changes in 2015 with the aim to guide it to a totally different level of efficiency and efficacy, a pre-requisite to deal with the challenges to meet its obligations, both for the Government and for the Mozambicans. The company intends to achieve the universal access of energy and make Mozambique a power hub in Southern Africa by 2030.

“The awards are a reflection of the transformation journey that EDM has undertaken during the last 2.5 years” said Noel Govene, Chief Financial Officer of EDM, who received both awards on behalf of the Mozambican utility, “and it has really taken on the challenge to really transform the utility in Mozambique to what we believe are the three key pillars of the corporate strategy: namely to achieve universal access by 2030, to become an energy hub in Southern Africa and to achieve gender equality. The awards are testimony to a number of reforms already undertaken in the company to where we are today.”  

Water Utility of the Year Award
Winner: Sénégalaise des Eaux (SDE)
The Sénégalaise des Eaux (SDE), a subsidiary of pan-African industrial group Eranove has been operating and managing the public drinking water service in urban areas of Senegal since 1996. The company's performances during these two decades (1996-2016) have greatly contributed to the achievement by Senegal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the field of drinking water service. The SDE’s expertise is a reference in francophone Africa today.

With nearly 1200 employees, the SDE supplies more than 6.5 million consumers each day through individual connections and standpipes. The SDE has a quality management system (ISO 9001) integrating the Safety (OHSAS 18001) and Environment (ISO 14001) dimensions. SDE was also the first QSE certified (Quality, Safety and Environment) water production and distribution company in Africa.

On Wednesday evening, Emmanuel Ndong, SDE’s Director for Information Systems said he was very happy and proud to receive the award on behalf of the Senegalese water utility and said it gave the company confidence to continue with its projects into the future.  

Outstanding Contribution Award: Young Leader
Winner: Dr Rebekah Shirley
Dr. Rebekah Shirley is the Director of Research at Power for All, a coalition of more than 200 distributed renewable energy organizations (companies, NGOs, banks, trade associations) campaigning to achieve universal electricity access. A passionate woman and expert scientist from the African diaspora, Rebekah is using cutting edge technology to lead a new generation of energy researchers to tackle some of the sector’s biggest challenges.

Launched in 2014, Power for All works in some of the least electrified countries in Africa and recognized that the lack of awareness on advances and impacts of DRE technology was a major impediment to strategic energy decision-making. Rebekah came to the campaign in late 2015 to address this problem head-on. Over the past three years she has built the Platform for Energy Access Knowledge (PEAK) - a novel DRE research platform forged through industry-academic partnership with a mission to make data accessible, understandable and useable by Africa’s critical energy influencers—policy makers, financers, regulators.  

Says Dr Shirley: “It is truly an honor to be recognized for the "behind-the-scenes" work my team at Power for All and I do. Research is not often an award highlight, but now more than ever, Africa needs innovators who understand how to make research, data and knowledge relevant to the public and leaders it serves. We have a huge opportunity to collectively address economic growth, climate change, poverty, food security, access to energy, water and healthcare, all of which are imminent and interconnected challenges. Sustainable solutions will require our institutions to deliver rigorous, applied, locally appropriate, interdisciplinary research and true partnership with industry. I hope to continue growing this capacity for critical thinking, bringing more African women into research to strengthen the gender voice, and fostering stronger communication and collaboration across the continent.”

Grid-Tied Renewable Energy Project Award (10MW+)
Winner: Xina Solar One Thermo Solar Plant, Abengoa, South Africa
Xina Solar One is located near Pofadder in the Northern Cape Province and is bordered to the north by Kaxu Solar One, the country’s first solar thermal plant in operation that uses parabolic troughs, which was also built by Abengoa. Both plants make up the largest solar platform in sub-Saharan Africa, reliably helping South Africa meet its ongoing energy demands.

The 100 MW Xina Solar One plant, completed in August 2017, features important technical improvements in its solar field and storage system which makes it a very competitive plant, using parabolic trough technology to generate renewable and sustainable and dispatchable power from the sun. It furthermore features a thermal energy storage system using molten salts that can store the necessary energy for a further 5.5 hour supply, and thereby assist in meeting the South African peak demand.

Abengoa’s Javier Payan said on Wednesday: “this project not only features very sophisticated technology but we have also created a community trust in Pofadder as well as socio-economic projects to improve the lives of the local community.”

Small-Scale Renewable Energy Project Award (Under 5MW)
Winner: Rafiki Power, Tanzania
Rafiki Power currently operates solar PV and battery mini-grid projects in ten villages in Tanzania, supplying electricity to more than 4000 people. Customers are connected to the distribution grid with pre-paid smart meters which enable mobile money payments and a fully automated control of the energy consumption. The solution provides electricity access for an average 24 hours, given expected demand levels.

Rafiki Power focuses on mini-grids because they are more cost-efficient, i.e. more than 50% cheaper than national grid extension and much faster to deploy. Furthermore, compared to other solutions, such as stand-alone systems, mini-grids provide reliable AC power enabling productive use and are long lasting (20+ years). 

“We are very honoured to be the winners amongst the other finalists that are also really good rural projects,” said Adrian Mapunda, the GM of Rafiki Power after receiving his award.  He added: “my message to prospective investors in small projects is that even though the PV industry is very capital intensive, it is still a solution to most of the African communities who do not have access to energy. Therefore, we as a company have done this, we know how it works, we’ve got the technology and the skilled people, and it can be done.”    

Deal of the Year Award
Winner: Albatros Energy Mali
Albatros Energy Mali will build, own, operate and transfer a 90 megawatt (MW) thermal power station in Kayes, western Mali and it will be the West African nation’s first independent power project (IPP) to feed into the national grid, increasing effective baseload installed electricity capacity by circa 30%. The project’s shareholders are AIIM Seed Partnership (AIIF3), Redox Power Solutions, Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC) and Denmark’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU).

Ruth Beckers of Albatros Energy Mali: “This project is going to change the lives of the people of Mali enormously, as the demand for electricity is huge. We are also doing quite a substantial corporate and social responsibility programme because we don’t want to just build a white elephant.”

Ashwin West of AIIM: ”As the first IPP in this country this is a groundbreaking project for the team and the government of Mali.”

Their message to other prospective investors in energy projects in Africa? “Don’t be  scared,” says Ms Beckers, “do a good analysis of the country and find the right strong local partners.”

The Digital Solution of the Year Award
Winner: Siemens
Siemens South Africa installed a micro grid solution at its headquarters in Johannesburg. The main aim of this is to showcase to customers a reference project that is enabled on site as well as to provide a basic and cost effective solution which will be a benefit to customers. This has also created an energy efficient campus generating its own green energy and providing a cost effective energy mix, including a combination of PV, diesel generators, the utility infeed and batteries.

“I have been promoting micro grids for rural areas all over Africa for several years now and it is nice to get an award and recognition for a project,” says Marco Rahner, Head of Technical Sales of the Digital Grid Division at Siemens South Africa. “We’re currently bidding for a project to do the same in Burundi for rural hospitals so that those communities can have a better life.”   

Industry support
The awards received major industry support in the form of sponsorships from Aberdare Cables, Eaton, ESI Africa, Lucy Electric, Mazars, SBS Tanks, Siemens, Standard Bank, and Steinmüller.

African Utility Week 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 and Future Energy East Africa. More events include Agritech Expo Zambia, Property Buyer Show, DRC Mining Week, Eduweek, Farm-Tech Expo Kenya, Nigeria Mining Week and the Mining Baraza in Kenya.

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2018  
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.    

“India’s power sector is one of the most diversified in the world”

“Indian utility vendors and services will find a huge market and scope in Africa, especially in South Africa’s energy sector” says Dr. Rajeev Singh, the Director General and CEO of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The ICC represents India at the upcoming African Utility Week from 15-17 May in Cape Town, hosting a pavilion of more than 45 suppliers of specialised technology and services for the energy sector.

Dr Singh says “the primary objective of the ICC is to connect with over 7000 industry professionals across the full spectrum of the sector to address today’s challenges and implement tomorrow’s solutions.”

He says visitors to the Indian pavilion at African Utility Week will be able to “interact and network directly with Indian vendors who have specialized in the energy sector. Visitors can also see the products and services covering generation, transmission & distribution, metering, renewables and new technologies. Visitors can furthermore establish distribution channels.”

Vibrant entrepreneurial culture
Asked what the African continent can learn from the experience of the Indian utility sector, the ICC CEO says: “Indian power sector is undergoing a significant change that has redefined the industry outlook. Sustained economic growth continues to drive electricity demand in India. The Government of India’s focus on attaining ‘Power for all’ has accelerated capacity addition in the country. At the same time, the competitive intensity is increasing at both the market and supply sides (fuel, logistics, finances, and manpower). Total installed capacity of power stations in India stood at 334,146.91 Megawatt (MW) as on February, 2018.”

He continues: “the Ministry of Power has set a target of 1,229.4 billion units (BU) of electricity to be generated in the financial year 2017-18, which is 50 BUs higher than the target for 2016-17. The annual growth rate in renewable energy generation has been estimated to be 27 per cent and 18 per cent for conventional energy. African nations can get a lot of trade benefits if they consider investing and doing business in India.” Dr Singh adds: “India’s power sector is one of the most diversified in the world. Sources of power generation range from conventional sources such as coal, lignite, natural gas, oil, hydro and nuclear power to viable non-conventional sources such as wind, solar, and agricultural and domestic waste.”

Founded in 1925, the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the leading and only National Chamber of Commerce operating from Kolkata, and one of the most pro-active and forward-looking chambers in the country today. Its membership spans some of the most prominent and major industrial groups in India.

The full interview with Dr Singh can be read here: http://www.african-utility-week.com/IndianPavilion-interview

Award-winning energy platform
The 18th annual, multi-award winning African Utility Week will gather over 7000 decision makers from more than 80 countries to discuss the challenges, solutions and successes in the power, energy and water sectors on the continent. Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event also boasts a seven track conference with over 300 expert speakers.

The African Utility Week expo offers an extensive technical workshop programme that is CPD accredited, free to attend, and offers 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
African Utility Week has also already secured other important industry support including Lucy Electric as diamond sponsors, Eskom Rotek Industries, Hexing, Landis+Gyr and Sensus as platinum sponsors and Aberdare, Empire Utility Solutions and SAP as gold sponsors.

African Utility Week 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 and Future Energy East Africa. More events include Agritech Expo Zambia, Property Buyer Show, DRC Mining Week, Eduweek, Farm-Tech Expo Kenya, Nigeria Mining Week and the Mining Baraza in Kenya.

Dates for African Utility Week:
Conference and expo: 15-17 May 2018
Awards gala dinner:  16 May 2018
Site visits: 18 May 2018
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2018  
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.

The fifth annual African Utility Week Industry Awards received nominations from far and wide for the 12 different categories celebrating excellence in the energy and water industries. The finalists have been announced for the awards which honour pioneering utilities, projects and people in the energy and water industry on the continent during 2017/2018.

The awards gala dinner takes place on 16 May and forms part of the African Utility Week conference and expo taking place at the CTICC in Cape Town. This year, two new categories were added, namely excellence in energy or water journalism as well as digitally advanced utilities.

The finalists for the African Utility Week Industry Awards 2018: 

Lifetime Achievement Award
• Siengui Apollinaire KI, Secretary General, Western African Power Pool, Burkina Faso
• Alex Gisagara, Director of Engineering, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda
• Irene Muloni, Cabinet Minister for Energy and Minerals, Uganda Ministry of Energy, Uganda
• Roland Schulze, Professor Emeritus of Hydrology Centre for Water Resources Research School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
• Elijah Sichone, Executive Secretary, Regional Electricity Regulators Association of Southern Africa (RERA), Namibia

Outstanding Contribution Award: Water
• Anthony Turton, Professor Centre for Environmental Management, University of Free State, South Africa
• Paul Yillia, Research Scholar (Water Programme), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria
• Silver Mugisha, Managing Director, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda

Energy/Water Reporter of the Year Award
• Emeka Anuforo, Senior Energy Correspondent, Guardian Newspaper, Nigeria
• Chris Yelland, Energy Reporter, EE Publishers, South Africa
• Fredrick Mugira, Coordinator and Editor Water Journalists Africa Network, Uganda
• Sally Ngakanyanga, Independent Journalist, Zimbabwe
• Newton Sibanda, Freelance journalist, Zambia
• Saya Pierce-Jones, Reporter, Smile90.4 FM, South Africa   

Outstanding Contribution Award: Power
• Mouhamadou Makhtar Cisse, CEO, Société Nationale d’électricité du Sénégal (SENELEC), Senegal
• Herta von Stiegel, Executive Chair, Ariya Capital, Kenya
• Ana Hajduka, Founder & CEO, Africa Green Co. United Kingdom
• Jean Bosco Mugiraneza, CEO, Rwanda Energy Group Limited (REG), Rwanda
• Mateus Magala, President of the Board of Directors (CEO), Electricidade De Moçambique, E.P., Mozambique
• Chris Prengels, CEO, Tiger Power, Belgium / Tanzania 

Power Utility of the Year Award
• Compagnie Ivoirienne D’Electricite (CIE), Cote d'Ivoire
• Société Nationale d'électricité du Burkina Faso (SONABEL), Burkina Faso
• Electriçidade De Moçambique, Mozambique
• Public Utilities Corporation, Seychelles  

Water Utility of the Year Award
• Office National de l'Eau et de l'Assainissement (ONEA), Burkina Faso
• National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda• Sénégalaise des Eaux, Sénégal 

Outstanding Contribution Award: Young Leader
• Beatrice Muthoni, Renewable Energy Consultant, KTDA Power Company, Kenya
• Edmand Aijuka, CEO, Kamata, Uganda
• Rebekah Shirley, Director of Research, Power for All, Kenya
• Rose Mutiso, Co-Founder & CEO, Mawazo Institute, Kenya 

Grid-Tied Renewable Energy Project Award (10MW+) 
• Access Power, EREN RE, Uganda
• Xina Solar One Thermo Solar Plant, Abengoa, South Africa
• Building Energy - Tororo Solar Power Station, Uganda 

Small-Scale Renewable Energy Project Award (Under 5MW) 
• InnoSun Energy Holding, Namibia
• Jiro-Ve, Madagascar
• National Department of Tourism - Robben Island Solar Photovoltaic Micro-grid project, South Africa
• Rafiki Power, Germany / Tanzania
• Solarkiosk, Germany / Zambia

Innovative Technology of the Year Award
• SENER, South Africa
• Azuri Technologies, United Kingdom
• I Drop Water, South Africa 

Deal of the Year Award
• Metito, United Arab Emirates
• Ministry of Energy, Zambia
• Albatros Energy Mali, Mali
• Africa Finance Corporation, Nigeria 

The Digital Solution of the Year Award
• National Water & Sewerage Corporation, Uganda
• Siemens, South Africa 

Industry supportThe awards have also received major industry support in the form of sponsorships from Aberdare Cables, Eaton, ESI Africa, Lucy Electric, Mazars, SBS Tanks, Siemens, Standard Bank, and Steinmüller. 

Award-winning energy platform
The 18th annual, multi-award winning African Utility Week will gather over 7000 decision makers from more than 80 countries to discuss the challenges, solutions and successes in the power, energy and water sectors on the continent. Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event also boasts a six track conference with over 300 expert speakers.

The African Utility Week expo offers an extensive technical workshop programme that is CPD accredited, free to attend, and offers 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.

African Utility Week 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 and Future Energy East Africa. More events include Agritech Expo Zambia, Property Buyer Show, DRC Mining Week, Eduweek, Farm-Tech Expo Kenya, Nigeria Mining Week and the Mining Baraza in Kenya.

Dates for African Utility Week:
Conference and expo: 15-17 May 2018
Awards gala dinner:  16 May 2018 – please note that seats are limited
Site visits: 18 May 2018
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities  #AUW2018  
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.

“Extracting value from data – the key to network management” 

African Utility Week has announced that Lucy Electric, a longstanding partner of the event, will be the exclusive diamond sponsor at this year’s exhibition and conference in Cape Town from 15-17 May. Lucy Electric is a highly respected industry leader in secondary distribution solutions with more than 100 years’ experience in the electrical industry.

“African Utility Week is a key conference which evolved over the years from an electrical measurement, generation, and transmission conference to a conference now dealing in energy generation, transmission, distribution and measurement, showcasing the latest technologies available to the African market” says Rick St John, Business Development Director Africa for Lucy Electric, “with the addition of renewables some years back, AUW is now the best energy conference on the African continent, giving exhibitors and delegates alike excellent value.”    

He adds: “last year we had great engagement with new and existing customers and identified more opportunities where we can truly add value across distribution networks in Africa. Our diamond sponsorship includes a conference presentation on how actionable information from network data can maximise the capacity of assets and increase the use of renewable energy.”  

Rick St John explains: “particularly this year, we will be focusing on the opportunities available from the collection and analysis of network data and the enhanced user interface for our Gridkey monitoring system will provide easily accessible and actionable information. Access to electricity is an enabler of economic growth and key to achieving this is to maximise the use of renewables. Lucy Electric will be presenting on this at African Utility Week and exploring how new technologies that enable greater renewables, flexibility and demand response are extracting added value for Africa’s networks.”  

African Utility Week event director Evan Schiff says: “Lucy Electric is without a doubt considered an industry pioneer and we are thrilled that such a longstanding partner of the event has this year taken such a prestigious, exclusive diamond sponsorship. As always, we look forward to their continued, valued contribution to the industry.” 

The full interview with Mr St John can be read here: http://www.african-utility-week.com/LucyElectricAUWinterview

Award-winning energy platform
The 18th annual, multi-award winning African Utility Week will gather over 7000 decision makers from more than 80 countries to discuss the challenges, solutions and successes in the power, energy and water sectors on the continent. Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event also boasts a six track conference with over 300 expert speakers.

The African Utility Week expo offers an extensive technical workshop programme that is CPD accredited, free to attend, and offers 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.

African Utility Week 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 and Future Energy East Africa. More events include Agritech Expo Zambia, Property Buyer Show, DRC Mining Week, Eduweek, Farm-Tech Expo Kenya, Nigeria Mining Week and the Mining Baraza in Kenya.

Dates for African Utility Week:
Conference and expo: 15-17 May 2018
Awards gala dinner:  16 May 2018
Site visits: 18 May 2018
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities  #AUW2018  
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.

STSA helps industry prepare for TID rollover at African Utility Week 

Approximately seven million prepaid electricity meters in South Africa need to be reset before November 2024 as the system that runs the credit tokens will run out of numbers at this time and all existing meters will stop accepting credit tokens.  

The South African metering standards industry body, Standard Transfer Specification Association (STSA), has embarked on an awareness programme to inform utilities to upgrade their vending systems to STS600 and visit each meter in its region to clear the memory and change the meter key before November 2024.

Don Taylor, director of STS Association, explains: “the token identifier (TID) is calculated as the number of minutes that have elapsed since a defined base date of 1993 up to the time of creating the token. The TID has a limited range and will run out in November 2024, at which point all existing prepayment meters will stop accepting credit tokens. In order to circumvent this issue, the memory of each meter needs to be cleared of all stored TIDs and its cryptographic key needs to be changed before 2024.”

The new range of TIDs will then start from a new base date of 2014 and run out in 2045, thus extending the useful functional life of the meter. “In order to do this key change,” Mr Taylor explains, “it is necessary that each meter has to be physically visited, which can be performed either by dedicated employees of the utility or by the end customer.”

Concerned utilities may leave this too late
“There is thus a six-year window,” he continues, “within which the utilities have to complete this programme. Because we are concerned that utilities may leave this too late, we are embarking on an awareness programme by reaching out to all STS users and providing a platform that will facilitate technical support and guidance to users during the implementation of the TID rollover programme. We aim to establish a website for this purpose where users can interact by discussion of issues. In addition we are embarking on a communication effort with users by making use of media channels and conference events in order to raise awareness of the 2024 TID rollover. This programme is being managed by a specially mandated task team.”

STSA estimates that approximately seven million prepayment meters are currently installed in South Africa, which could still grow to approximately eight million by 2024.

STSA workshop on rollover at African Utility Week
Don Taylor adds: “we estimate there are approximately 50 million meters that are currently installed globally, which will definitely be affected by the rollover. If utilities are sufficiently proactive, then it is possible that all new meters being installed can be manufactured on the new base date of 2014, thus avoiding the 2024 event for these newly installed meters. It could well be that approximately 70 million meters in total will be affected between now and 2024.” 

STSA is a returning industry partner association and exhibitor at the upcoming African Utility Week exhibition and conference in Cape Town in May 2018. Don Taylor and STSA technical consultant Franco Pucci are both speakers at the event workshops and in the strategic conference. During the STSA’s metering workshop on “Standard Transfer Specification and token ID rollover event in 2024”, the industry will be urged to upgrade to STS600 as soon as possible, start manufacturing new meters on the 2014 base date and to start the TID rollover programme soonest.

Standard Transfer Specification
The STS was created in South Africa in 1993 as an industry standard to support the Eskom mission of "Electricity for all" and its electrification programme to connect 10 million households to the electrical supply grid by making use of prepayment metering technology. The STS Association was founded and became the custodian of the STS in 1997, which was then published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as IEC62055-41 and IEC62055-51 as open international standards for prepayment meters.

There are currently approximately 170 members from 36 countries, almost all of which are manufacturing STS compliant products.

The full interview with Don Taylor can be read here: http://www.african-utility-week.com/STS-DonTaylor-interview

Award-winning energy platform
The 18th annual, multi-award winning African Utility Week will gather over 7000 decision makers from more than 80 countries to discuss the challenges, solutions and successes in the power, energy and water sectors on the continent. Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event also boasts a seven track conference with over 300 expert speakers. The African Utility Week expo offers an extensive technical workshop programme that is CPD accredited, free to attend, and offers 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
African Utility Week has already secured important industry support including Eskom Rotek Industries, Hexing, Landis+Gyr and Lucy Electric as platinum sponsors and Aberdare, Empire Utility Solutions, SAP and Sensus as gold sponsors.

Dates for African Utility Week:
Conference and expo: 15-17 May 2018
Awards gala dinner:  16 May 2018
Site visits: 18 May 2018

Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa
Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com & www.african-real-estate-summit.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2018  
Linkedin: African Utility Week

Contact:
Senior communications manager:  Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone:  +27 21 700 3558
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

African Utility Week industry survey yields interesting results

Solar PV is overwhelmingly seen as the most promising generation source for Africa while corruption, skills gaps and access to finance are some of the biggest challenges that power and water professionals face in their industries. This is according to a survey by the organisers of African Utility Week among attendees of the annual event in Cape Town last year. Other questions in the survey included what respondents think will have the biggest impact on the energy and water sectors, what future technology excites them and what the biggest challenges are that they face in their industry.

Of the 834 people surveyed, 696 are South African (71%), 199 are from 24 other African countries (63 Kenyan, 85 Nigerian) and 40 from the rest of the world, including Europe, USA, China, India and Canada.

Most promising generation source
Asked what the most promising source of generation is for Africa, Solar PV scored more than 54% amongst the respondents while nuclear was second with 11%. “The reason could be that rooftop PV, when measured against the other technologies, is easy to execute as a project and photovoltaic modules are becoming very affordable,” says Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl, editor of the energy trade journal, ESI Africa.

She adds: “it is also the most obvious technology to use in mini- and off-grid projects as well as for use in hybrid models. However, what is interesting but not surprising is that 11% of respondents feel that nuclear energy is the most promising generation source. Nuclear has its merits. What is disappointing is how few are in favour of biomass as a promising source of generation capacity, considering that this technology offers a distributed model and a measure of reducing the mounds of waste that Africa’s cities are confronted with. Another concern is the lack of interest in wind energy – only 8% of respondents felt this technology a worthy source; however, it does rank slightly higher than hydro where the continent’s impressive potential capacity is recorded. Wind energy is likely to make tentative steps towards market growth now that South African, Kenyan and Moroccan wind farms are making good headwinds.”

Nuclear scored the lowest amongst power and water professionals when asked what they think will have the biggest positive impact on the energy and water sectors in Africa within the next 5-10 years:  (Respondents were allowed to select more than one of the 12 options provided.)

1. Technology innovation 59%
2. Government commitment and transparency 55%
3. Uptake of renewables 47%
4. Expansion of mini grids 28%
5. Distributed generation 25%
6. Cross border partnerships 24%
7. Investment in capacity building 21%
8. Local investment 21%
9. Direct foreign investment 20%
10. Roll out of ICT systems 9%
11. Nuclear 7%

“Even though nuclear made a spectacular appearance in the previous question, here it ranks lowest, with technology innovation taking the prime spot” says ESI Africa’s editor, adding that “Tech R&D in all spheres of energy, power and water are already advancing with enthusiasm. And sometimes the simplest of solutions can be developed for the specific needs of a local community making the most impact. This is made possible by various organisations that are investing in entrepreneurship programmes and providing support to local innovators.”

She continues: “the other key area that respondents are hopeful will make a positive impact is around government’s commitment and transparency. Now that there has been an increase in public and industry association monitoring groups, such as OUTA and SAWEA, along with the ongoing Eskom Inquiry and South Africa’s leadership changes – this area is set on the right path to make a noteworthy impact.” 

Future technology 

Asked which future technologies most excite the respondents, the results were as follows:

1. Smart Grids 54%
2. Energy storage 49%
3. Energy trading 49%
4. Connected/smart cities 37%
5. Electric vehicles 36%
6. Energy trading 14%
7. Blockchain 14%

“These results show an interesting grouping around smart grids, energy storage and energy efficiency, which are intrinsically connected,” says Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl. “It’s disappointing that energy trading and blockchain are perceived as too futuristic to be the technology that respondents are most excited about. The African continent was able to leapfrog landline telephony straight to mobile; countries can do this again by becoming the leaders in energy trading and the use of crypto currency to fund projects and transact in the utility, energy and water space.” 

That the market has a healthy appetite for the futuristic technology was confirmed in a separate question whether the market is ready for the digital utility with a focus on smart meters, grids, Internet of Things and ICT – the overwhelming reply was a yes from 84% of the respondents.

Biggest challenge = corruption
At 49%, corruption was indicated as the biggest challenge that power and water professionals face in their industries but issues such as skills gap, access to finance, regulation and policy clarity, red tape and  economic slowdown were also perceived as important hindrances, scoring from 36% to 28%. 

Says the ESI Africa editor: “corruption is still perceived as a major obstacle and this goes along with respondents’ strong call for government commitment and transparency. It will take concerted leadership from all levels of government to rid the continent of this deeply entrenched challenge. The skills gap is also pinned as a high concern, putting development at risk – the loss of engineers, technicians and managers who are now retired or close to retirement age is a real factor; perhaps reviving apprenticeships along with attractive offers would make inroads to solving this risk.” 

The future lies in…
When asked the question: “The future lies in:” and given four choices only, namely distributed generation, mini grids, utility scale grids and storage, distributed generation was a clear winner at 40% with storage second at 27%, then mini grids with 22% and utility scale grids scoring the lowest with 11%. 

According to Pombo-van Zyl, distributed energy resources (DER) are top of mind as an imminent risk to the traditional utility and municipality business model – and not just in Africa. She explains: “it is being discussed at all levels of the utility business from its executive boards to internal auditors as it poses a threat to traditional revenue streams. However, the good news is that utilities have acknowledged a future that includes distributed generation – the challenge is in how to manage the technicalities around accommodating this on the national grid and its impact on revenue.” 

She adds: “it must have been a tough choice for survey respondents to choose between distributed energy, mini grids, utility-scale grids and storage. This is evident in the close percentages, with the obvious outlier being utility-scale grids; probably due to grid connected generation having made little inroads on increasing electrification rates across the continent.”  

Skills deficit in power and water sectors
Skills in finance, engineering/technical, people management and leadership all scored high (29%-33%) in a question on what power and water professionals perceived to present the biggest skills deficit in their companies. The ESI Africa editor’s take on these results: “it is a concern that there is a joint winner from this question: finance and engineering/technical skills. Without these two significantly important skills being resident within the utility market it is no wonder that companies’ cash flow is untenable and technical losses along the value chain are present due to maintenance challenges. A potential solution lies in leadership and people management, which also scored very high in this question.”  

Award-winning energy platform
The 18th annual, multi-award winning African Utility Week will gather over 7000 decision makers from more than 80 countries to discuss the challenges, solutions and successes in the power, energy and water sectors on the continent. Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event also boasts a seven track conference with over 300 expert speakers.

The African Utility Week expo offers an extensive technical workshop programme that is CPD accredited, free to attend, and offers 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
African Utility Week has already secured important industry support including Eskom Rotek Industries, Hexing and Landis+Gyr as platinum sponsors and Aberdare, Africa Utility Solutions, SAP and Sensus as gold sponsors.

Dates for African Utility Week:
Conference and expo: 15-17 May 2018
Awards gala dinner:  16 May 2018
Site visits: 18 May 2018
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  & www.african-real-estate-summit.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2018  
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.  

Released by AUX Studio in January, TapOff is a free mobile app that not only provides Capetonians with real-time updates on the city’s water consumption, but inspires them to make positive changes that will have a lasting impact.

While Cape Town’s ongoing drought will certainly break at some point – and with it, the current watercrisis – it’s equally certain that the amount of water available will decrease over the long term. This means residents must permanently change their water-saving behaviour.

“Information alone doesn’t drive behavioural change,” says Trevor Swart of AUX. “The key is to summarise and frame it in a way that’s meaningful for the individual.” Besides displaying the city’s overall consumption for the week, TapOff enables residents to log their own water usage and compare it with the maximum amount prescribed by city authorities. In this way, individuals see how their efforts can make areal difference to a community-wide issue.

The app goes even further to encourage participation, gamifying water-saving with suburb leaderboards where residents can ​display their consumption figures. “The response has been great so far,” says Trevor, “with growing numbers of users posting their water usage to neighbourhood leaderboards on a monthly basis.”

AUX has also produced a public API that delivers Cape Town’s latest water statistics. This has opened up opportunities to drive awareness beyond the mobile app. “In partnership with Tractor Outdoor, we’ve created digital billboards to make a clear emotional connection with the viewer about Cape Town’s overall water consumption, putting the city’s progress quite literally front and centre. It’s also a friendly reminder to keep up water-saving efforts – whether you’ve downloaded TapOff or not.”

TapOff has featured in both the Play Store and the App Store as a top app in the Free Education category. AUX is currently looking for more partners and sponsors so that they can offer real rewards to water savers and engage hundreds of thousands of residents.

Download the TapOff app at http://www.tapoff.co.za

Contact AUX Studio at www.aux.co.za

TapOff has been featured on the following websites:

MEMEBURN: https://memeburn.com/2018/01/tapoff-cape-town-water-app/

FINANCIAL MAIL: https://www.businesslive.co.za/fm/fm-fox/gimme/2018-03-01-gimme-every-single-drop/

WHAT’S ON IN CT: https://www.whatsonincapetown.com/post/waterwise-initiatives-capetonians/

ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE:

https://www.pressportal.co.za/it-new-media-and-software/story/14326/tapoff-app-summarizes-the-latest-water-crisis-stats-for-cape-town-it-also-invites-residents-to-post-their-water-usage-leaderboard.html

African Utility Week to focus strongly on water solutions for continent"

Nature or Water, exploring how we can use nature to overcome the water challenges of the 21st century“ is the theme of this year‘s World Water Day which is on 22 March. The scientific discipline of biomimicry employs the same approach.

Biomimicry = nature’s genius
"Every so often an idea comes around that is a game changer. After we hear it and understand it, we never see the world quite the same ever again. Biomimicry is such an idea,“ says Claire Janisch, the founder of BiomimicrySA. She adds: "it shows us that genius solutions to our challenges already exist. Right outside, in nature. Tested over eons.“

Claire is a keynote speaker at African Utility Week, taking place from 15-17 May in Cape Town, with a presentation entitled: Biomimicry: Learn from and emulate nature’s genius to create more sustainable designs. She explains: "when you realise that the simple act of learning from and emulating nature’s time tested genius is so profoundly impactful, it’s one of the most inspiring approaches to Africa's big challenges. I will share case studies and core principles to illustrate this.“

"Our vision is that the designers of our world - and particularly the designers of our infrastructure - look to natural systems as model, measure and mentor to design abundant and resilient cities that function like natural ecosystems.“

Cape Town not unique
African Utility Week will also focus strongly on water challenges on the continent, including investment needed in water solutions by the public and private sectors to enable universal access, water security and resilient societies. The water conference will furthermore showcase how partnerships, financial models and latest technological advances can make the greatest impact in meeting Africa's water demand.

“What is happening in Cape Town could happen anywhere,” says water expert Paul Yillia about the current water shortage in the Mother City. A guest research scholar (Water Programme) at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and formerly part of the Global Facilitation Team at Sustainable Energy for ALL (SEforALL) focusing on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus, Paul returns as chairman of the water conference track at African Utility Week.

He explains: “as populations in cities grow and economic activities increase, the demand for water will continue to increase. If we now factor in climate change and extreme weather events such as prolonged heat waves and droughts, all of this will put additional pressure on water availability both on the supply and demand side. This is not unique to Cape Town. Utilities worldwide should take the threats posed by climate change much more seriously and focus additional resources on adaptation measures to cope with water security challenges that will be exacerbated by climate change.”

African Utility Week’s water conference programme topics and highlights include:

-  World Bank Report on latest status on water infrastructure projects
-  What is the impact of conflict and governance towards meeting Africa’s water demand?
-  Exploring the impact of climate change on Africa’s water demand
-  Panel discussion: How is the City of Cape Town working towards shifting cultural behaviour of water consumption?
-  Roundtable with country spotlight sessions, sharing investment opportunities and projects that are making the greatest difference to Africa’s water sector. Countries in focus will be Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Egypt, Botswana, Namibia, Ghana, Singapore, Dubai, Denmark, Singapore and Israel.
-  A debate on the pricing methods for the continent’s water
-  Panel discussion: What does a bankable project look like in the water sector?

The full interviews with Claire Janisch, Paul Yillia and more expert speakers can be read here: http://www.african-utility-week.com/expertinterviews 

Event going ahead as planned Meanwhile, the organisers of African Utility Week have assured all stakeholders in this long running conference and exhibition that the event will go ahead as planned despite the current water restrictions in Cape Town. “As a major event in the City, African Utility Week plays a crucial role in contributing towards the in-ward bound travel market,” says event director Evan Schiff, “by holding the event as planned, African Utility Week will continue to support the Cape Town economy as we cannot allow for there to be massive job losses on top of a water constrained situation.”

Award-winning energy platform
The 18th annual, multi-award winning African Utility Week will gather over 7000 decision makers from more than 80 countries to discuss the challenges, solutions and successes in the power, energy and water sectors on the continent. Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event also boasts a seven track conference with over 300 expert speakers.

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
African Utility Week has already secured important industry support including Landis+Gyr, Hexing and Eskom Rotek Industries as platinum sponsors and SAP, Sensus, Utility Systems and Aberdare as gold sponsors.

Dates for African Utility Week:
Conference and expo: 15-17 May 2018
Awards gala dinner:  16 May 2018
Site visits: 18 May 2018

Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa
Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com  & www.african-real-estate-summit.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities    #AUW2018  
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.

As support gathers for Africa’s first Artificial Intelligence Expo, top names in the AI field have signed up for the event that will allow C-Suite Executives from across all industries to understand, embrace and implement AI in their businesses.

AI ExpoAfrica will take place on 9 – 11 September 2018 at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. It is focused on real-world applications and trends driving the Artificial Intelligence economy in Africa and seeking to build an AI Business-focused community across the continent.

AI ExpoAfrica 2018 is aimed at the C-Suite and Enterprise decision-makers who are grappling to understand how AI applications can add value or impact their business today. With emerging technology breakthroughs in AI now going mainstream, understanding the business opportunity from both a supplier and client perspective has never been more paramount.

In attendance at the event will be 400 delegates, 27 speakers with 5 keynote addresses, as well as more than 28 AI exhibitors. There will also be Innovation Café housing more than 20 AI startups.

Companies and organisations at the forefront of research, investment and implementation in Artificial Intelligence across Africa such as SAP Africa, TransUnion Africa, Data Prophet, LARC AI, Siatik, MIIA (Machine Intelligence Institute of Africa), Clevva, Knife Capital, Startupbootcamp Africa, Cortex Logic, Sw7, Silicon Cape, Mint and Amani Business to name a few have already signed up or endorsed the event:

Lee Naik, CEO TransUnion Africa & Digital Transformation Expert stated: “Technology will always be one of the biggest disruptors in our industries. As a business leader myself, I have seen first-hand how the power of disruption can either cause chaos for a business or provide it with an opportunity to innovate and differentiate itself in new and exciting ways. This is why platforms like AI ExpoAfrica are so valuable: it brings CxOs, investors and innovators together to engage in real-world discussions around technologies disrupting enterprises, markets and clients. Together with my fellow speakers I look forward to sharing my perspective and some insights around what these disruptors mean for our industries.”

Frans Cronjé, MD of DataProphet said: “We are really excited to be part of AI ExpoAfrica - to showcase some of the great results of AI we have implemented in the manufacturing environment and share our experiences in seeing AI integrated into business processes, both in the local and international market. AI often goes unmentioned in Industry 4.0 conversations - but is a critical component in giving a factory its own ability to learn from its mistakes.

Keith Jones, Sw7 Co-Founder, who will be leading the Plenary and case study track as moderator at AI ExpoAfrica said: "As we see the effect of connected markets, digitisation, mobility, IoT, interoperability and big data drive access to, and increase the quality of, data business will increasingly be driven by machine-assisted decisions. The ability to leverage the available data assets to make informed decisions quickly will be what drives strategic advantage in the future. This will affect all market sectors, not just the digitised markets. AI ExpoAfrica is creating a platform to connect businesses with the community that is driving this exciting sector. The goal is to educate delegates about what is possible and connect them with people in the sector. The real-world aspect of this event will have great appeal to any business leader seeking to explore and acquire both innovative and proven AI-based solutions.”

Dr Jacques Ludik, Founder & President of MIIA & Cortex Logic CEO, will be serving as Track Moderator at the event and stated, “It’s great to see AI ExpoAfrica focusing on the real-world applications of AI. Their novel approach to include large enterprise platform and service vendors, alongside AI startup innovators coupled to a CxO audience containing decision-makers and investors makes for a perfect mix. It’s a great opportunity to see how AI is now impacting many aspects of Commerce and Enterprise in Africa, and delegates will gain great value from attending.”

The event will showcase AI Cloud platform providers, Tier 1 and 2 deployment and service providers, AI startups, investors, educators, government and AI ecosystem community builders. The event will give those attending a real feel for what’s available now or in the near future.

With six themes and three tracks, the event is focused on real Enterprise AI case studies and the application of AI in Business, AI deployment challenges, ethics and skills plus the business innovation driving current deployment trends across all industry sectors.If you would like to join the event as a delegate or if you’d like to be an exhibitor, join the Innovation Café or apply for a speaking opportunity, please visit our website: www.aiexpoafrica.com.  

ENDS 

Notes for Editors:

For more information on this press release or AI ExpoAfrica 2018, please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | 081 534 6237 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.