“I still have a good laugh every now and then when I enter a meeting and they assume I am either our CEO’s PA or the ‘marketing lady’,” says Zelda Weitz, COO of Symbion Power LLC, an independent power producer on the continent. She has lived, worked and travelled in 29 countries in Africa and says while things are changing, there is still a certain perception of roles that women are expected to perform in the sector: 

“I was once at a project meeting where the client asked me to take the notes, because I was the only female present. He blushed afterwards when I gave him my business card. You develop a thick skin and maintain a good sense of humour. That said, I am not scared to make coffee for my colleagues and most of the time at meetings you will find the females taking minutes or arranging the logistics alongside their real day jobs. Women really are good with attention to details and are very good at adapting in challenging environments. “

She adds: “it is, however, a nice challenge to be in the sector and in Symbion specifically, women are given many opportunities to grow. Our Country Manager in Madagascar is a female and we have a lady in our control room at the Mandroseza power plant in Tana. In Kenya our team is 50% female, to mention but a couple of examples.  I remember the days of visiting our construction sites in remote locations and the guys being surprised that I visited those sites that the Construction Directors did not bother to visit.  I do see more female engineers, technicians and managers in the sector and at events nowadays. Things are changing.” Read full interview here.

The Symbion Power COO is a delegate at this year’s African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition in Cape Town from 14-16 May where women in the sector are celebrated and making a valuable contribution to the programme. This includes a “Women in Power Lunch”, hosted by the Canadian government and USA’s Power Africa initiative, focusing on “Capturing the Value of Private Sector Investment in Generation, Transmission or Distribution” and how women are taking the lead in the power sector.

Breaking new ground
Sindi Mzamo, Director at Divaine Growth Solutions, says “my journey started as a COO and Head of Marketing of the Edison Power Group and I was the first and only woman among the five directors on the board of the Edison Power Group. My vision has always been to break new ground for South Africa’s black people, particularly women in the business and economic arenas particularly in the energy sector.” Ms Mzamo is an event ambassador for and partner of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa. As part of this partnership, eight SMEs that are owned by women and are operating in the energy sector will be part of the Initiate! pavilion at the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa exhibition floor.

She adds: “Divaine Growth Solutions is currently running an 18 month Female Development Programme focusing on emancipation and empowerment of women-owned businesses within the energy sector. The vision for the programme is to provide needed support to these SMEs from industry related information, access to market, access to financial information, network and possible venture opportunities. I think having a programme like this will not only encourage the current women in the sector but will also attract the upcoming young women leaders to pursue careers within the energy space.” Read full interview here.

“Not so much an issue anymore”
Penny Herbst, Strategy Director at Africa GreenCo and a 30-year veteran of the energy industry says that based on her experience at Eskom: “women have been making a contribution in the utility environment across various disciplines for quite some time and I think it has got to a point, especially from the utility’s point for view that it is not so much of an issue anymore.”

She continues: “I am not sure I can say as much for the private sector especially as it pertains to my across-discipline remark, but I stand to be corrected. However, from a visibility point of view it still seems to be a man’s world. I would like to qualify this statement in one respect, I see far more women being entrepreneurial in the energy space and starting businesses as opposed to there being a real visible change in the energy corporate / IPP space.  Progress has to include mechanisms to measure and monitor sustainability and further define what exactly is meant by gender parity and remuneration thereof. Regarding my remark re the private sector, perhaps I will be proved wrong and I hope so – let’s see what the mix is like at African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa!” Read full interview here.

At the upcoming event in Cape Town later this month, Ms Herbst will moderate a conference session on financing renewable projects.

Diverse status quo
“Gender diversity is a no-brainer,” says Miriam Mannak, a freelance energy correspondent and event ambassador, “particularly considering the large numbers of women graduating from university. What applies to companies, applies to entire sectors. Africa's energy sector will not be able to develop, progress, and remain competitive and relevant if it refuses to transform and move on from being predominantly male-based structure to a diverse status quo. This is 2019, after all.” Read full interview here.

The 19th edition of African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, the continent’s leading sector conference and exhibition, is expected to attract more than 10 000 energy and water professionals this year.

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

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

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

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

Sub Saharan Africa Power Summit 2018 #SSAPOW18 | 17th – 19th October 2018 | Cape Town, South Africa.

“Alleviating Power Challenges in Southern Africa through Innovative Investments, Technologies & Solutions” 

In October 2018, Cape Town, South Africa will play host to Sub-Saharan Africa’s No.1 Business to Business Power event. The SSA Power Summit hosted by Vale Media Group will provide a platform to address some key challenges of improving ageing power infrastructure, developing new power infrastructure, renewable power innovations, gas to power technologies, transmission & distribution solutions, more cost-effective temporary power solutions and much more.

#SSAPOW18 will bring together Ministries of Power & Energy, State Power providers, Public-Private partnerships (PPP), Independent Power Producers (IPP’s) and key solution providers to tackle some of the most pressing issues within the African Power industry.

The SSA Power Summit separates itself from traditional conferences and exhibitions. There are no booths or exhibition halls at the summit. They focus on delivering extremely high quality, high-level gatherings with some of the most senior executives in the power sector in an intimate five-star environment. All the themes and topics of the summit are end user driven and are put together by their content committee which consists of a delegation and government relations team, who set the hot themes and issues that are currently facing the power industry.  

More information is available by visiting http://www.ssapower.com/ or contacting Vale Media Group by emailing Claire Hewitson. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.     

“Take-Care packages” support Premium Partners worldwide with the marketing of storage solutions 

Bad Staffelstein / Germany, July 13th, 2017 – IBC SOLAR AG, a global leader in photovoltaic (PV) systems and energy storage, supports its international Premium Partners with new service packages for lithium-ion storage systems. Installers in more than 30 countries are tapping into new business segments with the “Take-Care packages”. 

“We are an experienced partner with more than 7,000 installed storage systems of all sizes worldwide. Our international customers often express the wish to be supported when initially installing a lithium-ion storage system,” explains Albert Engelbrecht, Director Solutions International at IBC SOLAR. The company is now accommodating this request with the new service packages.

“The “Take-Care packages” help our partners with the planning, installation and maintenance of storage solutions and offer them important added value. The packages make it possible for our partners to implement the systems quickly and reliably and also ensure satisfied customers,” adds Engelbrecht. The customer decides which “Take-Care package” is the right one. Three versions are available “Essential”, “Empowering” and “Ensuring”.

The “Essential” basic package is also the basis for the two other packages. It includes an extensive pre-consultation session with technical pre-selection and sizing of the storage system. Fundamental questions about the application and expectations of the system will be resolved. It is important here to determine whether only the self-consumption needs to be increased or whether the storage system should also provide an emergency power supply.  The “Empowering” package involves IBC SOLAR also providing support with an extensive system design, circuit diagrams and parts lists as well as telephone support to help put the system into operation.

The “Ensuring” premium package also includes on-site support with a handover report and an optional workshop for service and maintenance work. IBC SOLAR has been active in the photovoltaic and battery storage sector for more than 35 years. The international partners will benefit from the company's years of experience in the storage segment with the new “Take-Care packages”. 

About IBC SOLAR
IBC SOLAR is a leading global provider of photovoltaic and energy storage solutions and services. The company offers complete systems and covers the entire product range from planning to the turnkey handover of photovoltaic systems. The product range comprises solar parks, self-consumption systems for commercial enterprises and private households, off-grid photovoltaic systems and diesel hybrid solutions.

As a project developer and general contractor, IBC SOLAR implements and markets major solar projects worldwide. The manufacturer-independent system house guarantees the highest quality for all projects and has currently implemented photovoltaic systems with an output of over 3 gigawatts worldwide. IBC SOLAR works with a close network of Premium Partners and supports them with their own software tools for planning and designing grid-connected systems including storage systems. IBC SOLAR offers customised packages for energy providers, municipal utilities and providers of photovoltaic solutions.

The company ensure the best possible output of solar parks through technical management and monitoring. IBC SOLAR was founded by Udo Möhrstedt in Bad Staffelstein in 1982 who has managed the company as the Chairman of the Executive Board to date. The system house is a pioneer of the energy turnaround in Germany and is especially committed to energy cooperatives with its own planned public solar parks. The company is represented internationally with numerous regional companies, sales offices and partner companies in more than 30 countries.

“Enriching lives in the era of energy intelligence”

Huawei, the well-known global information and telecommunication giant, has signed a platinum sponsorship with African Utility Week, the leading conference and trade exhibition for African power, energy and water professionals, taking place from 16-18 May 2017 in Cape Town. The company will also be the lead sponsor of the African Utility Week Industry Awards.

Additionally, Huawei will host its 5th Huawei Power Summit, where Huawei will demonstrate its industry-leading solutions. This summit will be co-located at African Utility Week on 17 May from 14h00 – 18h00. The main theme for Huawei’s showcase this year is “Leading New ICT, The Road To Smart Grid” and will host its exhibition area in Auditorium 2.

Mr. Jerry Ji (Xiang)  is President of Energy Industry at Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group: “Huawei hopes that through Africa's most influential energy expo, we will better understand the needs of our customers and integrate Huawei's latest solutions and practices into smart grids to help the African power companies achieve safe, efficient operations and green sustainable development, and thus enriching lives in the era of energy intelligence.”

“We have been honoured to have Huawei as a long-term partner with not only African Utility Week, but also our regional power shows on the continent,” says event director Evan Schiff, adding: “we are thrilled that they have chosen to expand their investment in the show, and we believe this is testament to the value we offer to our esteemed partners. We take our task of gathering the best in the industry to discuss the challenges, solutions and successes very seriously and as market leader, Huawei should be part of that conversation. We look forward to their contribution in May.”

Real world doers share their expertise
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 once again address the latest challenges, developments and opportunities in the power and water sectors: ranging from generation, T&D, metering, technology and water. These include two exclusive plenary keynote sessions featuring the most sought-after international speakers.

The African Utility Week expo offers an extensive technical programme sessions 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.

The fourth edition of the African Utility Week Power Industry Awards brings together 800 of Africa’s most renowned power and water industry professionals. The Power Industry Awards is the leading gathering to recognise, reward and celebrate the successes of Africa’s power and water sectors during 2016/17.

Energy Revolution Africa 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. The latest innovations and projects in the sectors of renewables, future technology, energy efficiency, micro/off-grid and energy storage will be showcased.

African Utility Week and Energy Revolution Africa are organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and part of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK. Huawei has also been a longstanding supporter of another flagship event of Spintelligent, formerly known as WAPIC (West African Power Industry Convention) in Lagos, and rebranding as Future Energy Nigeria and returning in November this year.

Other leading events in Spintelligent’s power portfolio are Future Energy East Africa (formerly EAPIC), Future Energy Uganda and Future Energy Central Africa.

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

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.  

“Education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty”

“Record attendances at our events are important to show growth and momentum but knowing that we are relevant to the industries that we serve and are also making a difference outside of our business is equally, if not more, important” – this is according to David Ashdown, MD of Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK.

During 2016, Spintelligent will host 15 events in the energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture, education and real estate sectors across the African continent. “The company is performing positively against a volatile backdrop after the first half of this year” says David Ashdown, “and we are looking forward to an even busier and equally successful second half of the year, including a number of exciting launch events”.

Reaching out
Projects that the Spintelligent MD is particularly proud of includes an outreach programme at the Golden Valley Basic School that is situated next to the massive Agritech Expo in Chisamba, in Zambia. Some 610 learners and 17 teachers have been reaping the benefits of the Agritech Expo Outreach Programme, from the renovation of school buildings, to a solar power installation and the mechanisation of the schools working farm, from which the profits fund the school. Furthermore, a new school build project in Lubumbashi, DRC, associated to DRC Mining Week, will provide a modern school infrastructure environment for up to 500 junior students.

“Education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality and lays a foundation for sustained economic growth, as such we have invested in schooling projects in both Zambia and the DRC. These projects are where the magic happens for us as a business, as we have the opportunity to give back to the communities that support our events. We are committed to these development projects,” says David Ashdown.

Other Spintelligent event highlights from this year so far include:

*  Most recently the DRC Mining Week hosted a record number of more than 1500 visitors in the mining hub of Lubumbashi, more than double compared to last year’s figures. During this conference and expo, the third annual DRC Mining Industry Awards also honoured the leading people and projects in the sector.In May, the 16th edition of African Utility Week, the flagship pan-African power and water platform organised by Spintelligent, took place in Cape Town and gathered a record 6445 attendees from 81 countries, including 27 African nations, as well as 250 exhibitors and 299 conference speakers  while 79 power and water utilities were represented.  

A notable presence at African Utility Week this year was Sierra Leone’s Dr Kandeh Yumkella, UN Under-Secretary-General and Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General and CEO, Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), who not only delivered an inspired address during the opening day’s keynote session, but also won the Lifetime Achievement category at the African Utility Week Industry Awards. 

*  The Copperbelt Mining Trade Expo and Conference (CBM-TEC) in Kitwe also performed solidly in May with more than 1400 visitors and 100 local and international exhibitions to retain its top position as full mining indoor and outdoor expo and conference experience in the region. High-level speakers included the Hon. Christopher Yaluma, MP, Minister of Mines and Mineral Development in Zambia and the Hon. Margaret Manakatwe, MP, Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry in Zambia.

*  The Zambian President H.E Edgar Lungu officially opened the third edition of Agritech Expo Zambia which in April attracted a record-breaking attendance of 17 605 visitors, a 50% increase compared to last year. The event is organised in partnership with the Zambia National Farmers Union and has firmly established itself as the leading outdoor agri event in the region.

*  All indications are that the upcoming 10th edition of the SABC Education EduWeek powered by Intel from 29-30 June at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg will also reach new attendance and participation levels from thousands of teachers and suppliers to the education industry. The Department of Education has also committed to a five-year partnership with the event.

*  In March, the fifth edition of Career Indaba in Johannesburg attracted 19,381 visitors over two days, up 160 per cent from last year.

Busy second half of 2016
During the second half of the year Spintelligent is hosting well-known and long running flagship events as well as launching new titles. Returning successful events include the East African Power Industry Convention (EAPIC) in September in Nairobi, iPAD Rwanda in Kigali in November and the West African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC) in Lagos in November.

New events that will be launched by Spintelligent include the Kenya Mining Forum in Nairobi in September, the African Real Estate Summit in November in Cape Town and Agribusiness Uganda in Kampala in November.

Publishing
The Spintelligent Publishing division, with market leading titles that include Metering International & Smart Energy, ESI Africa, Mining Review Africa and Mining Elites, has also been growing from strength-to-strength over the last six months.

Says David: “we have had an increase in the frequency of our ESI Africa magazine, our staff complement has grown and we have begun significant work on refining our database and building on our publication digital platforms with a view to continue to grow and align these with the growing trends in digital media.”

Training Academy
The Spintelligent Training Academy is in its second year of operation. According to the Spintelligent MD David Ashdown: “we have already seen a 33% growth in delegate numbers from year one, running public and in-house training courses every month throughout multiple regions. Currently, our most popular topics include; Effective Financial Modelling, Financing Power Projects, Power Purchase Agreements as well as Infrastructure Finance – all relating to current industry challenges. An exciting portfolio development is the leadership and culture change courses that are in demand across the African continent as economies develop from emerging to established market status.”

Website: http://www.spintelligent.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/spintelligent

Media 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.