SANGONeT is inviting all Cape Town based Nonprofits to attend their one day Workshop titled " How CLOUD will shape the future of the Nonprofits in South Africa" on the 21st June 2017. They will cover a range of general and technology related topics that could help shape your organisation for a brighter future.

Speakers for the one day Workshop include:

• Colin Habberton, Relativ Group > The Future of Non Profits.
• Wynand du Toit, Optimise CRM > CRM in the Cloud. (Customer Relationship Management)
• Pramod Daya, Mindspring Computing > Cyber Security – a dark Cloud?
• Sam Posselt, Phambano Technology Development Centre > How to use Social Media to reach more donors
• Sam Vos, U-turn Homeless Ministry > Pros and cons of an IT consultant
• James Hedley, Quicket > How to use Quicket to raise funds for your Non Profit
• Peter Adolphs, Project Isizwe > Innovation in community engagement bring Khayelitsha online
• Arnold Netshambidi, SANGONeT > How to access cloud solutions for NPOs?

Booking is ESSENTIAL as only 100 seats are available. To book your seat please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cost of admission: FREE

Date: 21 June 2017

Time: 10:00am – 12:30pm followed by a light lunch

Detailed Directions to the Workshop Venue | Isivivana Centre: NOTE: On Google Maps search for: Equal Education Khayelitsha or Home Affairs Khayelitsha (Isivivana Centre or Mzala Street NOT on Google Maps)Follow the N2 from Cape Town towards Somerset West. Take exit 29 (Spine Rd/M32). Turn right and continue for 0.8 km on Spine Rd, take a sharp bend to the right, continue a further 0.8 km. At the traffic light, continue straight for a further 0.8 km where you will find a roundabout. Take the first exit into Walter Sisulu Road and continue for 0.5 km to the next roundabout. Take the second exit and continue for 0.5 km to the next roundabout. Take the third exit into Steve Biko Rd and continue for 0.2 km until you reach a traffic light. Turn right into Julius Tsolo Street. Continue for 0.1 km and you will see the Isivivana Centre on your right. Enough parking will be available behind the building.

Cape Town’s families are invited to escape from the blistering cold into a fantastical world of magic as the College of Magic once again proudly presents its popular winter school holiday event, the 2017 Traditional Children’s Magic Festival from Wednesday 5 to Saturday 8 July 2017.

The four-day enchanting Festival programme will see more than 50 beguiling jugglers, clowns, mimes, escapologists, magicians, stilt walkers and more cast an entertaining spell on the young and the young at heart with magical workshops, thrilling magic shows and so much more!

The College of Magic’s warm Victorian manor in Claremont provides the perfect venue for this unique journey into a world of fantasy where untold surprises and mysteries await in every room. From amazing performances by special guest artists to hands-on interactive workshops where aspirant wizards can learn how to perform their own tricks and not-to-be-missed photo opportunities with our resident magical bunny, the affordable Festival experience is non-stop charming fun for the whole family.

Now in its 37th year of teaching the art of magic and its allied arts as well as vital life-skills to children and adults, the College of Magic is thrilled to be hosting this must-attend winter family experience:

“The Children’s Magic Festival has been a highlight on the magical calendar for both our performers and the public since 1994, attracting magic fanatics from all over Cape Town. This year, we’re excited to once again welcome all of you and encourage you to dress up to the Festival theme – a World of Fantasy! Fairies, magicians, princesses and superheroes, we want to see you all at our incredible event this winter school holiday!” says David Gore, director of the College of Magic.

The Festival will be held at the College of Magic, 215 Imam Haron Road in Claremont, with the 90-minute show programme running daily at 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm.

Book your tickets and join us in our World of Fantasy at the 2017 Traditional Children’s Magic Festival:

Tickets for the 2017 Traditional Children’s Magic Festival are available from R80 with a discount for family bookings. Book yours TODAY at www.collegeofmagic.com/tickets.For more information about the festival and the College of Magic, please visit www.collegeofmagic.com or call +27(0)21 683 5480.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- ENDS –

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

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

NOTES TO EDITORS:

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

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

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

750+ top power and water professionals gather to honour achievers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Technology of the Year
Winner:
Solar Turtle, South Africa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On 23rd May 2017 the inaugural TULA graduation ceremony for young leaders in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)/ Contact Centre sector will take place in Cape Town.

The ceremony will be attended by Cape Town Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille who will also award the graduation certificates to the students. 59 students from 4 companies have attended the TULA leadership course over the past 18 months. TULA Founder and CEO, Gareth Pritchard, explained the relevance of the new leadership programme: “TULA works with OnTrac , an Indian based training and consulting company. The programme aims to give students the tools to develop their leadership skills and improve their respective company’s operational efficiency. More than 60,000 students worldwide have participated in the programme. The programme is unique in that it is able to measure the impact of learning activities against each company’s individual business goals.” 

Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille commended the students who had taken part in the programme: “I would like to congratulate each and every student who successfully completed their course and graduated in the first graduation ceremony of the TULA leadership programme. The BPO / Contact Centre sector is contributing significantly to the development of our economy, with over 4,500 new jobs created in the last year alone. This growth will only continue if we ensure that our leaders are equipped with globally recognised skills.” 

Lufthansa InTouch was one of the participating companies. Their Site Operations Manager, Ian Ohlson commented: “Not only does this program unleash the individual’s leadership potential, it also works towards achieving your organisational goals by allowing employees to take control and influence the bottom-line through individual and group work.”  

Capfin Business Operations Manager, Jacques Loubser agreed: “We see such a positive shift in team and individual performance, purely because the learnings imparted during the leadership programme speak to the cornerstones that make up a successful contact centre and in turn our people are able to positively influence the customer value proposition.” 

Leading global customer experience and business process outsourcing company, Webhelp, who employs over four thousand people in South Africa, also participated in the programme. Chief operating officer for South Africa, Simon Garabette, commented: “The quality and expertise of our people are extremely important to Webhelp. Our people are our biggest asset and it is crucial for us to be able to offer our best people rewarding and meaningful careers. Engaging in training of this nature highlights our commitment to developing our people, which benefits them and our clients through the enhanced levels of customer experience we can deliver to their customers.” 

EXL Service is a global provider of decision analytics, operations management, outsourcing, business transformation and IT services. Their country head, Pratap Rao, welcomed the invitation to participate in the programme: “As we continue to grow our teams and to solidify our presence in the industry, the TULA program played a huge role in not just helping the participants understand the importance of building winning teams, but how to build them as well. I can see a program like TULA becoming integral to growth in this industry in any geography. 

TULA has also formed a partnership with the Zoe Incubation Centre in Delft to help establish a skills pipeline in Delft to enable access for township communities into the contact centre sector. 7 of Zoe’s students will also be present at the graduation ceremony. 

The graduation ceremony will be held on 23rd May at 14:00 in Cape Town’s entrepreneurial hub, Workshop17, at the V & A Waterfront where TULA has its offices.    

TULA provides consulting services and training in the area of Operations Management for the Contact Centre / BPO sector.  CEO and founder is Gareth Pritchard

email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; cell: 0837030822; website www.tulasa.co.za; Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethmpritchard Twitter @BPESACT   

First two shows sold out in record time, third performance tickets vanishing fast!

For Immediate Release

In a feat more magical than pulling a rabbit out of a top hat, the College of Magic’s must-see winter extravaganza, the Imagine! Family Magic Spectacular‘s first two shows have sold out in record time. Now, due to overwhelming popular demand, a third amazing performance will be staged at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town on Saturday 3 June, 2017 at 5pm!

Cape Town’s magic fanatics have been clamouring to get their hands on tickets for the family friendly Imagine! Spectacular, South Africa’s biggest magic show. With a cast of more than 50 - top children’s entertainers, illusionists, jugglers, mimes and more on stage and special guest magicienne Lee Cohen from Australia as her Fairy Lee persona dazzling audiences before and after the show, the Imagine! Spectacular is a fantastical event of incredible illusions and dazzling magic not-to-be-missed!

The College of Magic, now in its 37th year of teaching the art of magic and its allied arts, as well as vital life-skills, to children and adults, regularly hosts mega magical events.

A non-profit organisation, and the only one of its kind in the world, the College is astounded at the public’s hunger for the wonder of magic at its Imagine! Spectacular:

“We’ve never seen anything like it in the magical community in Cape Town! To have one year of sold out shows as we did for the Imagine!,Spectacular in 2016 was amazing but a second year running is just unbelievable. We look forward to dazzling families at not just one, but three amazing shows at the Artscape Theatre this June where the impossible is made possible”, says David Gore, director of the College of Magic.

Pick a seat, any seat, and book your Imagine! Family Magic Spectacular tickets TODAY at Computicket. Tickets are available from R160 with discounts for family bookings.

Proceeds from the show will be used in aid of the organisation’s Umlingo Outreach initiative which provides holistic life skills to young people in need.  

For more information about the College of Magic and the Imagine! Family Magic Spectacular, please visit www.collegeofmagic.com, call +27(0)21 683 5480 or follow the College on Facebook – www.facebook.com/collegeofmagic.

-Ends-

Issued by Fazielah Williams on behalf of the College of Magic (Interviews available on request)
Contact: 0839296999
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The energy sector will finally become ‘cool’“

I believe the energy sector will go through a big transformation that is going to surprise all of us and the energy sector will finally become ‘cool’!,” says Brian G. Williams, Industry Advisory Director, Utilities Industry, SAP EMEA. The global software giant has joined African Utility Week as a gold sponsor at the conference and exhibition that is taking place from 16-18 May in Cape Town. Brian is a featured speaker in the Transmission & Distribution conference track focusing on “Digital Transformation: What impact will the Internet of Things have on utilities?”

Says Brian Williams: “the SAP Africa message at African Utility Week will be that organisations need to focus on becoming a relevant digital utility of the future. SAP will focus on how new technology and big data can be used to significantly improve efficiencies and how the performance of utilities Infrastructure can be optimised, to prolong the asset life span, maximise energy production, minimise downtime and reduce maintenance cost.”

He adds: “SAP is investing in all Energy & Natural Resource Industries (utilities, oil & gas, mill & mining & chemicals) and in all African regions (South Africa, Sub-Saharan, Lusophone, North Africa, East and West Africa). We have studied the full map of the 53 African countries where we have identified the regions of high, medium and lower opportunities for transformation in each of the four industries. For instance, in utilities we considered that all countries are potentially capable to transform and use the power of digital, to improve their energy value chain, because every country has an electricity, gas or water champion.”    

More than 4,500 utility companies in 123 countries are innovating with SAP Solutions. Forty-five of the top 50 utility companies in the world run SAP solutions.

Award-winning energy platform
The 17th annual African Utility Week will gather over 7000 decision makers from more than 80 countries to source the latest solutions and meet over 300 suppliers. Along with multiple side events and numerous networking functions the event also boasts a five track conference with over 300 expert speakers.

The conference programme will address the latest challenges, developments and opportunities in the power and water sectors: ranging from generation, T&D, nuclear, renewable energy, metering, technology and water.

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

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

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

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

The full interview with Brian can be read here: http://www.african-utility-week.com/SAP-AUW-interview
Website: http://www.african-utility-week.com    
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities  #AUW2017   
Linkedin: African Power Forum

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

Former President Mandela’s PA Zelda la Grange guest speaker in Cape Town

This year’s African Utility Week Industry Awards in Cape Town on 17 May will have a distinctly feminine feel with an all women cast and a strong line-up of ladies amongst the finalists for the coveted awards for leading energy and water professionals.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s personal assistant, Zelda la Grange, is this year’s guest speaker at the awards. She currently serves as the Patron for the First for Women Foundation, is non-executive Director of the non-profit organisation Healing Hands and annually acts as a co-ordinator of Bikers for Mandela Day. 

The MC for the African Utility Week Industry Awards is Claire Mawisa, well-known media personality, broadcaster and Carte Blanche investigative journalist. Women are also well represented amongst the award finalists and this year four ladies grace the shortlist for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Huawei, the well-known global information and telecommunication giant, is the lead sponsor for the African Utility Week Industry Awards.

List of finalists
The fourth edition of the annual awards will once again honour pioneering utilities, projects and people in the energy and water industry on the continent. To reflect the evolution of the energy and water sectors, the following new categories are included this year:
- Small-Scale Sustainable Energy Project (under 5MW)
- Innovative Technology of the Year
- Deal of the Year

Lifetime Achievement Award
- Azeb Asnake, Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Electric Power, Ethiopia
- Barry MacColl, General Manager: Research, Testing & Development, Eskom, South Africa
- Dale Robertson, President, Enerscan Consultants Ltd, Canada
- Des Muller, Chairman, NIASA Supply Chain Development Sub-Committee, South Africa
- H.E. Dr. Elham Mahmood Ahmed Ibrahim, Commissioner for Infrastructure & Energy, African Union Commission, Ethiopia
- Fred Kabagambe-Kaliisa, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy & Mineral Development, Uganda
- Grania Rosette Rubomboras, Programme Officer: Power Projects, Nile Basin Initiative NELSAP, Rwanda/Uganda
- Helen Tarnoy, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Aldwych International Ltd, United Kingdom
- Oladele Amoda, Managing Director & CEO at Eko Electricity Distribution PLC, Nigeria
- Wim Jonker Klunne, Programme Director: Energy & Environment Partnership Programme, Southern and East Africa 

Outstanding Contribution Award: Power
- Akon, Founder, Akon Lighting Africa, Various Countries
- Charlotte Aubin-Kalaidjian, Founding Partner, GreenWish Partners, France, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria
- Hendrik Schloemann, Founder & CEO, Zonke Energy, South Africa     
- Lovemore Chilimanzi, Technical Director, Africa GreenCo, South Africa
- Michael Gratwicke, Head of Energy, Rift Valley Energy, Tanzania & Zimbabwe
- Sicelo Goodwill Xulu, Managing Director, City Power, South Africa        

Outstanding Contribution Award: Water
- Chris Heymans, Senior Water & Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme, Kenya
- Joyce Msiru, Chief Executive Officer, Moshi Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority, Tanzania
- Philip Gichuki, Managing Director, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, Kenya
- Silver Mugisha, Managing Director, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda
- Yolandi Schoeman, Managing Director, Baoberry, South Africa            

Outstanding Woman of the Year: Power/Water
- Agatha Nnaji, Managing Director, Geometric Power, Nigeria    
- Azeb Asnake, Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Electric Power, Ethiopia       
- Chantelle Abdul, Chief Executive Officer, MOJEC Meter Company & MOJEC Power, Nigeria   
- Eunice Ntobedzi, Innovator, EmPowered, Botswana      
- Rethabile Melamu, General Manager, Green Economy, South Africa    
- Rose Kaggwa, Director: Business and Scientific Services, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Uganda         
- Sandisiwe Ncemane, Manager: Business Development - Energy Projects, Coega Development Corporation, South Africa  
- Subha Nagarajan, Managing Director, OPIC, Côte d'Ivoire         

Young Energy Leader Award
- Astria Fataki, President, Energy Development, France/Togo
- Beatrice Muthoni, Renewable Energy Consultant, KTDA Power Company, Kenya       
- Faith Chege, East African Regional Associate, Factor[e] Ventures, Kenya      
- Fatima Oyiza Ademoh, Founder & CEO, Ajima Youth Empowerment Foundation, Nigeria
- Paseka Lesolang, Founder, Water Hygiene Convenience, South Africa 
- Samir Ibrahim, CEO & Co-Founder, SunCulture, Kenya   

Power Utility of the Year
- Ethiopian Electric Power, Ethiopia
- Geothermal Development Company, Kenya
- KenGen, Kenya
- Rwanda Energy Group Limited, Rwanda

Water Utility of the Year
- Lilongwe Water Board, Malawi
- Nairobi City Water & Sewerage Company, Kenya
- National Water & Sewerage Corporation, Uganda
- ONEA, Burkina Faso  

Large Scale Renewable Energy Project
- Bokpoort CSP Power Plant, ACWA Power, South Africa
- Gilgel Gibe III, Ethiopia
- NOORo, Morocco
- Senergy 2 solar PV plant, GreenWish Partners, Senegal
- Solar Capital De Aar 3 PV project, Phelan Energy Group, South Africa 

Small-Scale Sustainable Energy Project
- Off-Grid Pay-as-you-go Solar Home Systems, Mobisol, East Africa
- Kwa Mtoro, E.ON Off-Grid Solutions GmbH / Rafiki Power, Tanzania
- Mwenga Hydro Ltd, Rift Valley Energy, Tanzania
- PayGo Solar Home Systems, Azuri Technologies, Kenya
- Solar Turtle, South Africa
- Stortemelk Hydro, Renewable Energy Holdings, South Africa 

Innovative Technology of the Year
- Asset Management Framework, Globeleq South Africa Management Services, South Africa
- Gou Tou Prepayment Project, Umeme Limited, Uganda
- Ikeja Smart Metering Project, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Nigeria
- Jisomee Mita, Nairobi City Water & Sewerage Company, Kenya
- Solar Turtle, South Africa 

Deal of the Year
- 100MW Kathu Solar Park project, Engie, South Africa
- Innovative Solar Systems, Lumos Global, Nigeria
- Lubilia Kawembe Hydro Ltd, FMO, Netherlands
- Senergy 2 solar PV plant, GreenWish Partners, Senegal
- ZESCO New Electricity Connections, Standard Chartered Bank/USAID, Zambia 

Leading water and energy platform
African Utility Week takes place from 16-18 May 2017 at the CTICC in Cape Town, gathering over 7000 decision makers in the power and water sectors from more than 40 countries to source the latest solutions and meet over 300 suppliers. The expo will feature free to attend technical workshops and technology demonstrations. The event has won the Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO) award for the Best Trade Exhibition 6001-12000 sqm category. Part of the event is Energy Revolution Africa, a new platform for community scale projects, which will provide a unique forum for solution providers to meet with the new energy purchasers such as metros and municipalities, IPPs, rural electrification project developers and large power users, including mines, commercial property developers and industrial manufacturers.

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

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

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

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

First show at Artscape Theatre sold out, second show adde

The Imagine! Family Magic Spectacular, South Africa’s biggest magic show, will feature the enchanting magicienne Lee Cohen from Melbourne, Australia, when it dazzles Capetonian audiences at the Artscape Theatre on Saturday 3 June, 2017.

With tickets for the first show having vanished in the blink of an eye, a must-see second performance of the Imagine! Spectacular, once again presented by the College of Magic, Cape Town’s only magical arts organisation, will be staged at 2h30pm.

A magical extravaganza unlike any other and featuring an amazing cast of more than 50 top children’s entertainers, illusionists, jugglers, mimes and more, the Imagine! Spectacular played to sold-out audiences in 2016. This year’s edition of incredible illusions and dazzling magic is sure to be even more fantastical with the addition of the internationally renowned Cohen performing her special brand of walk-about magic as her enthralling onstage persona, Fairy Lee,

Cohen, a second generation magician and past president of the Australian Institute of Magic, takes her position as one of the few female magicians in the world very seriously.

In her quest to inspire young girls, she discovered parents and children alike perceive magic to be tied to their fascination with fairies and the Fairy Lee character, with an entire show built around this mystical character, was born.

A talented musician, makeup artist and TV presenter who has captivated crowds with her magic in Hong Kong, Korea and  the United States of America; this is the beguiling performer‘s second visit to South Africa.

Spectacular audiences are in for a magical treat as Fairy Lee will be roaming the halls of Artscape before and after the stage show where anything and everything is possible. She’ll charm families with her fairy magic words, fairy dust and a possible special appearance in the foyer by her very special best friend, a beautiful rabbit named Hey Presto.

Cohen is thrilled at the opportunity to share a touch of magic with Capetonian audiences:

“Magic fans around the world seem to love fairies as much as I do and I’m sure the Mother City is no different! I look forward to capturing their imaginations and getting to meet so many new friends at the Imagine! Spectacular. ”

The College of Magic, now in its 37th year of teaching the art of magic and its allied arts as well as vital life-skills to children and adults, regularly hosts international magicians at their mega magical events.

The College, a  non-profit organisation, and the only one of its kind in the world, is delighted to have Cohen join its Imagine! Spectacular as a special fairy guest at the Artscape this June:

“Each year, we dream up bigger and better ways of making the Imagine! show even more spectacular. What an amazing opportunity for young people to get to meet a real live magical fairy - this year’s show is one not-to-be-missed!”, says David Gore, director of the College of Magic.

Tickets for the second Imagine! Family Magic Spectacular show are disappearing faster than you can say “Abracadabra”! Tickets are available from R160 with discounts for family bookings at Computicket. Book yours TODAY!

Proceeds from the show will be used in aid of the organisation’s Umlingo Outreach initiative which provides holistic life skills to young people in need.

For more information about the College of Magic and the Imagine! Family Magic Spectacular, please visit www.collegeofmagic.com, call +27(0)21 683 5480 or follow the College on Facebook – www.facebook.com/collegeofmagic