The main challenge entrepreneurs are facing in Africa is not the lack of great ideas but the fear of turning ideas into reality. With unemployment in South Africa at an all time high, more and more people are trying to make their own way in the economy.The Africa Digital Entrepreneurship events are about turning dreams into action. The series of events aims to enable digital entrepreneurship and the upcoming ‘Bitcoin Nights’ meet-up in Johannesburg on Thursday, 24 October at The Business Exchange Morningside, 150 Rivonia Road is a must-attend event for anyone interested in the digital assets space.

Business networking is the fast track to success and event sponsors such as Zcoin and OVEX believe that entrepreneurship is the way forward for South Africans. Jonathan Ovadia, Co-Founder and CEO at OVEX, a company helping to create an open, trustless and more efficient financial system says “the vision is to break down the barriers that prevent people from entering the traditional financial system. We believe that wealth-creating investment opportunities shouldn’t only be accessible to the wealthy, but should be available to all.”

The event is facilitated by the United Africa Blockchain Association (UABA), a non-profit leading blockchain education and adoption in sub-Saharan Africa. With the help of sponsors, The Africa Digital Entrepreneurship Series’ goal is to provide relevant content on business and technology that helps people learn and grow professionally and personally.The meet-ups provide a conducive environment for networking and ideas exchange, and attendees can look forward to free drinks, giveaways and prizes. Other sponsors include Divi, which makes it possible for anyone to participate in securing blockchains through their one-click masternodes, challenging the notion that you need technical expertise to participate in the blockchain ecosystem. Centbee, a digital wallet company that believes in the power of people to create an abundant future and æternity, a new blockchain technology, designed to deliver efficiency, transparent governance and global scalability are also part of the sponsors who see huge potential in Africa and are actively championing the digital asset revolution.

The theme of the Johannesburg event focuses on the Digital Asset Economy and anyone interested in tech is welcome to attend FREE of charge and benefit from the networking opportunity and inspiring discussions. Speakers will include Adi Kaimowitz, President and CEO of Virtual Actuary, Maushami Chetty of Novate Legal; Mpho Dagada – Commisioner, 4th Industrial Revolution at the SA Presidency; and Yaliwe Soko, Chairperson at UABA.The event aims to inspire participants to increase their appetite for entrepreneurship and get more knowledgeable about the growing trend in digital assets. Africa is a market ready to adopt new technology but lack of emphasis on digital entrepreneurship opportunities in Africa might result in missed economic opportunities for the next generation.

“It’s important to encourage the youth to explore the option of entrepreneurship as a career path instead of waiting for employment opportunities which may never be available to them.Initiatives such as the Africa Digital Entrepreneurship Series focus on creating awareness and demystifying what it means to run a digital enterprise,” said Heath Muchena, Founder of Proudly Associated, a company working with companies developing blockchain-powered technologies that have use cases focusing on emerging economy development to gain adoption across the continent.Whether you’re a student, professional or fledgling entrepreneur, this event will provide valuable insights and an opportunity to learn, grow, network and be inspired all in one. The meet-up will be a relaxed, no-suits-or-ties sort of event so expect to learn and be entertained. 

"The Africa Digital Entrepreneurship Series connects up-and-coming entrepreneurs in all fields. It’s a fantastic way for those interested in tech and online businesses to build a solid support network,” said Grey Jabesi, host of the Grey Ave Podcast, Africa’s top rated podcast which focuses on survival skills for the 21st century.

By attending this FREE event, attendees will:

Learn about new frontiers in digital innovation

Find out how to leverage technology to broaden participation in the global digital economy

Boost digital asset knowledge including digital asset acquisition and management

Learn how to build a fully remote businessDiscover mentorship opportunities

Interact with other entrepreneurs and build business networks

Meet like-minded innovators and go-getters

Be empowered!

GET TICKETS HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/africa-digital-entrepreneurship-series-tickets-77802321839

Event details: 

Admission: FREE (Limited space so make sure you get there early.)

Date: Thursday, 24 October, 2019

Location:  The Business Exchange, Block 4, 150 Rivonia Road, Morningside, Sandton, 2057 Johannesburg.

If you want to sponsor this event or for more information, contact:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On 22nd-24th October 2019, the South African Communications Industries Association will be hosting its not-to-be-missed, multi-track Conference and Gala Dinner at Gallagher Estate.

COMMTREND is celebrating the Association’s achievements over the past 10 years and bringing its members together in a gathering that aims to deliver relevant insight and real value to the broadcast, AV, technical production and content creation markets. COMMTREND has been under discussion for many months and the result is a comprehensive 3-day programme of curated, educational content, tailored specifically to the industry sectors within SACIA.

As the recognised professional body for the industry SACIA can attract some of smartest minds available, so members can expect high-level presentations across a range of pertinent topics. However, it is also an interactive platform giving guests the opportunity to dig deeper into the issues shaping the future of the communications industry. There is plenty of opportunity for face-to-face engagement with experts willing to share their extensive knowledge and insight.

The conference aims to provide content to stimulate strategic thinking to negotiate the extreme rate of change within our sectors, examine the influences on our industry and assist us with planning for future directions. The previous SACIA conference was run alongside a small conference with around 30 exhibitors. In 2019, the exhibition component has been removed and the conference expanded to offer multiple streams of content.

The venue has also changed to a space that can accommodate the 500+ delegates expected from across the SADC region. COMMTREND kicks off with the first day being dedicated exclusively to SACIA’s Youth Development programme and pre-conference workshops. The Youth Development programme will feature several presentations focused on career opportunities for young people.

SACIA is already actively working with several Universities active in the communications sector but the youth content at COMMTREND will strongly focus on SACIA's vision for the future of the youth within the Association, exploring how the changing work environment will require new skill sets and instilling a commitment to continuing professional development.

The next two days are aimed at members already active within the industry; starting with a review of the mega-trends shaping our future before drilling down into the five different breakaway streams keeping discussions industry and individual-specific. Delegates have the choice of attending whichever knowledge track is of greatest interest to them and which will give them the most valuable take-away.

There are also sponsorship packages to allow sponsors to engage and interact with a highly targeted audience hungry for information. SACIA has created bespoke packages, across different price-points, all of which will include both pre and post-conference engagement. The objective is to secure sponsors with whom SACIA can build a long-term relationship that benefits the Association, the members and the sponsors in a WIN-WIN-WIN package.

CNN’s Business Africa Correspondent, Eleni Giokos, will be the moderator of the opening session of the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition that is taking place in Cape Town from 14-16 May.

The keynote addresses will be delivered during the opening session on Tuesday 14 May by:

09:40-10:00: Host Utility Welcome address Phakamani Hadebe, Chief Executive, Eskom, South Africa
10:00-10:30: Swedish Ministerial Address Niklas Johansson, State Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden
10:30-11:00: Host ministerial and VIP opening addresses Hon Jeff Radebe, Minister of Energy, Department of Energy, South Africa

Debate on climate change After the break at 12:15, Ms Giokos will lead the panel discussion on: “Advancing global efforts to address and manage the impacts and risks of climate change.”

Panellists:

• Anton Eberhard, Professor: Management Programme in Infrastructure, Reform and Regulation, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Saliem Fakir, Head of Policy and Futures Unit, World Wide Fund, South Africa
• Mark Swilling, Programme Coordinator, Sustainable Development Programme in the School of Public Leadership, South Africa
• Kai Kaatra, DDG for Natural Resources in Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland

Earlier this year, the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa entered into a media partnership with the global news organisation and broadcaster CNN. The 19th edition of this leading conference and exhibition is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.

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

Industry support

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

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

Dates for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa:

Conference and expo: 14-16 May 2019
Site visits: 17 May 2019
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

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

BigFive Summit is coming to Cape Town from 13–15 May 2019, featuring headline talks and workshops that will challenge thinking, stimulate ideas and offer practical advice for those with the common goal of bringing to market digital solutions for SMEs throughout Africa & The Middle East.

BigFive Summit is the ideal networking and knowledge-sharing hub for media and technology companies, digital agencies, influential thought leaders, as well as disruptive startups and entrepreneurs across the Africa/Middle East (AME) digital tech ecosystem. The Summit’s agenda and content is constructed around the cornerstone pillars that support the local digital commerce ecosystem — Search, Social, Mobile, Location, and Payments.  

BigFive Summit is open to anyone seeking to play an active role in advancing SME participation via digital marketing, productivity improvement, transactional ecommerce, and back-office efficiency.

The event will highlight the enormous opportunities and challenges associated with bringing to market digital media and cloud-based business efficiency solutions for local merchants.

“In recent years, as a direct consequence of the explosive growth in smartphone adoption, literally millions of African & Middle Eastern consumers are experiencing the online world for the first time,” comments Thabo Seopa, Co-Founder and Chairman of BigFive Digital. “We created BigFive Digital to serve and support the growing community of media, mobile, technology and software companies who are providing the infrastructure that allows local SMEs to participate in this digital revolution.”

BigFive Summit ultimately sets out to promote and sustain the local commerce ecosystem by sharing best-practice and knowledge across topics of mutual interest, for the purpose of fostering mutually beneficial partnerships and business development opportunities. Attendance at BigFive Summit will provide delegates with ample opportunities for networking and business development.

“It is very much our intention to provide a platform for market-leading African & Middle Eastern media, marketing and technology vendors to learn, share and collaborate with their regional and global peers,” says Paul Plant, BigFive Digital’s Director of Operations. “We seek to build a multi-national community of like-minded companies who share our passion and objectives for helping local business owners to benefit from the digital economy.”

BigFive Summit will take place at Workshop 17 at the V&A Waterfront, in Cape Town from 13-15 May 2019.

For more information and to register as a delegate, visit www.bigfivedigital.org/summit

For speaking opportunities, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Or to exhibit or sponsor at BigFive Summit, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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For more information on BigFive Digital or this press release, please contact: Mika Stanvliet | +27 (0) 81 534 6237 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

“Our mission is to deliver authentic African content”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A case for the out-of-town conference 

Remember the days when going away on conference, whether it was an hour out of town or an international or domestic flight to a cool destination, when budgets were bold and bolstered and you could even take your other half, was ever popular?  Not anymore! The past few years have seen in-house conferences or those close-to-home getaways becoming the norm and with bottom-lines being paramount, groups got smaller and time spent out of the office less and less. 

But with business slowly gathering momentum the conference landscape is once again changing and the out-of-town conference is gaining popularity for businesses large and small.   Why?  Well, it has enormous benefits, apart from an increase in employee retention and improved motivation – there is less absenteeism which all contributes to a better bottom line and therefore bigger budgets to get your team out of the office.

Craig Scott, CEO of Langebaan Country Estate, a lifestyle estate and conference venue up the West Coast, says, “We have definitely seen an upsurge in conference bookings, particularly for destinations that offer more than just a room.  Conference-goers are wanting to be able to work while they stay and play, and venues are having to up their game in terms of their offering.” 

Conferences may be expensive – from venue hire, to the plane ticket, car hire, meals and the ever-burgeoning bar tab, never mind the time away from the office where you could be doing ‘work’; however, conferences provide a unique opportunity to learn, engage, uplift and have some fun in a single package, allowing staff to grow and challenge themselves.  And, if you are the boss man or woman, allowing your employees to get out of the office, gain confidence in their abilities and bring new ideas back into the business, is quite simply an investment for the company. 

Scott adds, “Many venues offer great specials and packages to  accommodate any pocket, so even if you can’t swing an overseas or long-distance trip, there are great spots on your doorstep that give you that out-of-town feel.” 

So, why bother with the time and expense of an out-of-town, in-person conference or workshop?  Well, here’s why: 

1. No distractions
2. A sense of camaraderie 
3. Greater focus and commitment to the project at hand 
4. Buy-in from the team 
5. Connection with your peers 
6. An ideas incubator 
7. Learning in a new space 
8. Investing in yourself 
9. Having fun  

Get outta here!

A case for the out-of-town conference 

Remember the days when going away on conference, whether it was an hour out of town or an international or domestic flight to a cool destination, when budgets were bold and bolstered and you could even take your other half, was ever popular?  Not anymore! The past few years have seen in-house conferences or those close-to-home getaways becoming the norm and with bottom-lines being paramount, groups got smaller and time spent out of the office less and less.

But with business slowly gathering momentum and a resurgence in the economy the conference landscape is once again changing and the out-of-town conference is gaining popularity for businesses large and small.   Why?  Well, it has enormous benefits, apart from an increase in employee retention and improved motivation – there is less absenteeism which all contributes to a better bottom line and therefore bigger budgets to get your team out of the office.

Craig Scott, CEO of Langebaan Country Estate, a lifestyle estate and conference venue up the West Coast, says, “We have definitely seen an upsurge in conference bookings, particularly for destinations that offer more than just a room. Conference-goers are wanting to be able to work while they stay and play, and venues are having to up their game in terms of their offering.”

Conferences may be expensive – from venue hire, to the plane ticket, car hire, meals and the ever-burgeoning bar tab, never mind the time away from the office where you could be doing ‘work’; however, conferences provide a unique opportunity to learn, engage, uplift and have some fun in a single package, allowing staff to grow and challenge themselves.  And, if you are the boss man or woman, allowing your employees to get out of the office, gain confidence in their abilities and bring new ideas back into the business, is quite simply an investment for the company.

Scott adds, “Many venues offer great specials and packages to   accommodate any pocket, so even if you can’t swing an overseas or long-distance trip, there are great spots on your doorstep that give you that out-of-town feel.”

So, why bother with the time and expense of an out-of-town, in-person conference or workshop? Well, here’s why:

No distractions

A sense of camaraderie

Greater focus and commitment to the project at hand

Buy-in from the team

Connection with your peers

An ideas incubator

Learning in a new space

Investing in yourself

Having fun 

Get outta here!

Cape Town, August 8, 2018:  Africa’s customer experience leaders gathered in Cape Town last week for the 2 day Customer experience Management Africa Summit. The delegation of over 600 customer experience professionals discussed pressing issues such as generating a return on investment in cx, practical application of data and driving emotion to create exceptional experiences.  

South Africa’s customer experience professionals are slowly emerging as some of the best in the world, and the data is there to back this up.  

Sarina de Beer, Managing Director of Ask Afrika stated in her keynote “As mentioned right up-front it is a celebration year. Service levels are at its best ever…with satisfaction ratings of 91%, delight ratings of 54% and very low dissatisfaction scores of 5%. This is largely driven by technological advances and progress, with systems, and technological solutions, self help channels and chat bots in place to deliver bigger, better, faster.”  

Looking into how these results have been achieved, much of it can be contributed to the work customer experience professionals are doing in designing deliberate customer journeys. Diane Magers, CEO of the world’s largest and foremost association for CX professionals, the CXPA, elaborated; “Designing these deliberate customer experience is like building a bridge. Just like any team sport, it takes coordination and a clear understanding of the goals and it requires collaboration and contribution by all team members to ensure the bridge across the support structures is solid and consistent.  Building in silos or vacuums creates an inconsistent experience for our customers. Inconsistent experiences are one of the key factors commonly identified as a factor of dissatisfaction by many other organizations, particularly B2B, as a key opportunity to improve CX.” 

“The results presented by Ask Afrika were for me a great reward and justification for what we do, but great customer experience is a double-edged sword. The better you get, the higher the customers’ expectation and that baseline sets a new bar. You have to keep improving, keep evolving and stay moving when it comes to delivering exceptional customer experience. Finding and nurturing talent in the CX profession will be the next great challenge businesses face within in this industry” Juan Mouton, Portfolio Director for the Customer Experience Management Africa Summit.  

Grace Sikapokoo, the Chief Customer Office for AIG, South Africa spoke on this topic in both her keynote and as part of a panel discussion on customer centricity. The AIG CCO shared five steps to remain relevant and continually skilled; understand your organisation, understand you customers, understand customer experience management, understand technology and most importantly understand your purpose.  

The future for Customer Experience in South Africa is bright and there is much to be positive about, but the challenge will continue to grow harder, and the search for CX talent will be a driving competitive advantage for businesses serious about customer experience through 2018 and beyond.  

Follow @CEMAfricaSummit on Twitter and join the conversation using the #CEMSummit18 hash tag.

ABOUT CEM AFRICA CEM Africa is a meeting place for CX professionals and innovative CX solution providers. The show took place on the 1-2 August 2018 at the CTICC in Cape Town, where like-minded customer experience experts and the top CX solution providers gathered for an informative and educational summit with the common goal of improving customer experience across Africa. The event provides a platform for like-minded CX professionals to showcase their industry knowledge as well as solutions to better the customer’s perception of the brand.

ABOUT KINETIC Kinetic is an international business-to-business conference and exhibitions producer based in Cape Town. Our mission is to equip senior management executives with knowledge, market intelligence and viable commercial opportunities. Kinetic are leaders in providing business facilitation platforms throughout Africa.

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Released by:  KINETIC SA
Juan Mouton:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Africa’s top customer experience experts are gathering Cape Town for the 7th annual Customer Experience Management Africa Summit, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on the 1st and 2nd of August. The African leaders from companies such as AIG, MTN, Naspers, Old Mutual and Comair, will be joined by global customer experience experts such as Diane Magers the CEO of the CXPA (Customer Experience Professionals Association).

The Summit will be addressing three of the most pressing customer experience issues facing corporations in Africa; driving customer emotions, establishing a return on investment from customer experience and putting insights from data to practical use.

Diane Magers will open the Summit with a keynote on guiding executives who are looking for a financial return on investment. Magers, CEO of the world’s largest CX association will show how value creation requires CX professionals to change their language and their value story.

Mike Joubert, a South African marketing rainmaker and Sean Drummond, screenwriter for the acclaimed Five Fingers for Marseilles will deliver a one hour workshop on the art of storytelling and how brands can use it to create emotional relevance within their customer journeys.

Clint Payne from Multichoice will be delivering a case study on how the right data and measurement tools can inform service design. This Multichoice experience team has won multiple CX awards around the world, including three of the five awards at last year’s African Customer Experience Awards.

“This Summit will showcase a powerful combination of customer experience leaders sharing best practice and debating on the future of the African customer experience. Whilst this is an African gathering, customer experience has no boarders and expectations are set on a global level. The content we have lined up is most certainly at the level of what is happening in Europe and the United States. What is discussed this week will resonate across the African consumer landscape over the next 12 months. It is a very exciting event to be a part of, the change initiated from the summit is lightning fast and a testament to how seriously these companies take customer experience” states Juan Mouton, Portfolio Director for the summit.

Follow @CEMAfricaSummit on Twitter and join the conversation using the #CEMSummit18 hash tag.

ABOUT CEM AFRICA
CEM Africa is a meeting place for CX professionals and innovative CX solution providers. The show takes place on the 1-2 August 2018 at the CTICC in Cape Town, where like-minded customer experience experts and the top CX solution providers gather for an informative and educational summit with the common goal of improving customer experience across Africa. The event will provide a platform for like-minded CX professionals to showcase their industry knowledge as well as solutions to better the customer’s perception of the brand. 

ABOUT KINETIC
Kinetic is an international business-to-business conference and exhibitions producer based in Cape Town. Our mission is to equip senior management executives with knowledge, market intelligence and viable commercial opportunities. Kinetic are leaders in providing business facilitation platforms throughout Africa. 

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.