Africa Outlook - Issue 71

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AFRICA

ISSUE 71

VISA 10 An interview with Aida Diarra on the rise of digital finance

BUSINESS TRAVEL GUIDE 22 Ethiopia: Africa’s area of outstanding natural beauty

CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GROUP 64

Transforming national oil and gas logistics

HUNGRY LION 76 Expansion through optimised operations and an admirable outlook

ALSO FEATURING: C A R G I L L | L U C A R A B O T S W A N A | F V C I N T E R N A T I O N A L

BUSINESS TRAVEL GUIDES A complete guide to Africa’s leading business travel destinations

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ETHIOPIA From stunning national parks and mountain ranges to an enormous array of cultural landmarks and traditions which survive to this day, Ethiopia is a gem of a destination Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Joe Palliser

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pic landscapes, historical wonders and a severely underrated wildlife scene, Ethiopia is a destination which has it all.

One of the world’s oldest countries, it is also the only African nation to escape the clutches of European colonial rule, evidenced in its array of monuments dedicated to a great many other faiths and powers which have imparted their influence.

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A nation brimming with culture, ancient customs and traditions from the likes of the Surmi, Afar, Mursi, Karo, Hamer, Nuer and Anuak all remain intact and are cause for a great many spectacular festivals.

Ethiopia is also one of Africa’s most beautiful landmasses, housing the vertical extremes of the Simien and Bale mountains and the Danakil Depression, the lowest place on the continent. Couple this with an

abundance of wildlife, and the country is an ideal destination for those looking to explore the best of what the region has to offer in terms of the great outdoors.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, is among the safest places in Africa and is its fourth largest city. Home to some inspiring cuisine and thoughtprovoking museums, it is well worth a visit here to complement any ventures in Ethiopia’s natural landscape.

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See page

22 Our Business Travel section not only gives executives the complete guide to the world’s most popular and populous locations, but also gives said locations the perfect opportunity to showcase their own businesses, events, venues and services to a truly international audience and readership of more than 185,000 each month.

To share in this unrivalled exposure and to put your own offering on our map, then please contact our Sales Managers, Joe Palliser, Jordan Levey or Matt Cole-Wilkin to find out more. joe.palliser@outlookpublishing.com

+44 (0)1603 959 676

jordan.levey@outlookpublishing.com

+44 (0)1603 959 668

matt.cole-wilkin@outlookpublishing.com

+44 (0)1603 959 669

W E L C O M E EDITORIAL Editorial Director: Tom Wadlow tom.wadlow@outlookpublishing.com Deputy Editor: Jonathan Dyble jonathan.dyble@outlookpublishing.com

PRODUCTION

Art Director: Stephen Giles steve.giles@outlookpublishing.com Advert Designer: Devon Collins devon.collins@outlookpublishing.com

BUSINESS Sales Director: Nick Norris nick.norris@outlookpublishing.com Operations Director: James Mitchell james.mitchell@outlookpublishing.com PROJECT DIRECTORS Joshua Mann joshua.mann@outlookpublishing.com Tom Cullum tom.cullum@outlookpublishing.com HEAD OF PROJECTS Callam Waller callam.waller@outlookpublishing.com Joe Palliser (Business Travel) joe.palliser@outlookpublishing.com TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Eddie Clinton eddie.clinton@outlookpublishing.com SALES MANAGERS Jordan Levey (Business Travel) jordan.levey@outlookpublishing.com Matt Cole-Wilkin (Business Travel) matt.cole-wilkin@outlookpublishing.com PROJECT MANAGERS Ashley Parfitt ashley.parfitt@outlookpublishing.com Donovan Smith donovan.smith@outlookpublishing.com Josh Hyland josh.hyland@outlookpublishing.com Krisha Canlas krisha.canlas@outlookpublishing.com Lewis Bush lewis.bush@outlookpublishing.com Vivek Valmiki vivek.valmiki@outlookpublishing.com

ADMINISTRATION Finance Director: Suzanne Welsh suzanne.welsh@outlookpublishing.com Administrative Assistant: Sophia Curran sophia.curran@outlookpublishing.com Office Manager: Daniel George daniel.george@outlookpublishing.com Digital & IT: Hamit Saka Helpdesk: James Le-May

AFRICA

Burning Bright Nigeria has long been Africa’s largest oil producer.

Despite fluctuations in commodity prices in recent years having an impact on production, the country continues to produce more than any of its African neighbours, the sector being an enormous contributor to its GDP of $376 billion.

An ongoing success story in this market comes in the form of Rainoil, incorporated in 1994 and later commencing business in May 1997 under the leadership of Founder and Group Managing Director Gabriel Ogbechie.

In an exclusive interview, Ogbechie tells the story of Rainoil’s rise, detailing the firm’s ambitious plans to expand its presence having celebrated 20 years in existence in 2017. “We couldn’t help but roll out the drums and celebrate our achievements,” he tells us. “The mortality rates for startup companies are very high in this industry, and when you start with as little as we did people don’t tend to rate your chances too highly.

“What is a true delight, however, is that we have not only managed to survive for over 20 years, but equally we have expanded to provide ourselves with the perfect platform to kick on and consolidate our position as one of the most influential players in the Nigerian downstream space.”

Also pioneering in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is Caverton Helicopters, provider of crucial air transport services. We speak to Rotimi Makanjuola, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, about plans for growth and the introduction of state-of-the-art simulator technology, among other exciting developments.

Before these insights you will find exclusive commentaries from agriculture giant Cargill and Standard Bank, both exploring the tremendous benefits to be reaped from digitising farming processes across the continent. Digitisation is also at the heart of Visa’s activity in Africa, the company’s SVP Aida Diarra revealing how it is teaming up with innovative fintechs to bring payment solutions to more consumers and businesses.

These are just a few of many exclusive features

OUTLOOK PUBLISHING Managing Director: Ben Weaver ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com CONTACT Africa Outlook 69-75 Thorpe Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 1UA, United Kingdom.

Sales: +44 (0) 1603 959 652 Editorial: +44 (0) 1603 959 657 SUBSCRIPTIONS Tel: +44 (0) 1603 959 657 Email: tom.wadlow@outlookpublishing.com

in another packed edition, which also covers industries from retail and mining to supply chain and transport.

Finally, be sure to read our business travel guides on Ethiopia and Djibouti, both containing comments from important tourism associations

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on their respective industries and trends Tom Wadlow Editorial Director, Outlook Publishing

impacting activities.

Enjoy the issue!

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In this issue...

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SHOWCASING LEADING COMPANIES Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world

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RAINOIL The Pride of Nigerian Petroleum A humble corporate citizen with ambitious downstream aspirations

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Transforming national oil and gas logistics

NEWS

Around Africa in seven stories

EXPERT EYE

African Infrastructure: A New Analysis

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FINANCE Power to the Payments

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AGRICULTURE Feeding a Continent

An interview with Visa on the rise of digital finance

Cargill on addressing Africa’s agricultural sustainability

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TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE Africa’s Need for Agritech

Standard Bank on the benefits to be reaped from data-driven digital technologies

BUSINESS TRAVEL

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ETHIOPIA

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DJIBOUTI

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Africa’s area of outstanding natural beauty The pearl of the Gulf of Tadjoura

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HUNGRY LION The Continent’s Progressive QSR Player Expansion through optimised operations and an admirable outlook

TOPICAL FOCUS

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CAVERTON HELICOPTERS Nigeria’s Aviation Enthusiast

SPAR NAMIBIA A Brand Built on Trust Meeting the FMCG needs of Namibian communities

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A G R I C U L T U R E

SUPERFOAM Kenya’s Retail Dream

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Energising a nation by simplifying good sleep

FVC INTERNATIONAL Growing as One

A united approach to competing on the global import and export stage

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LUCARA BOTSWANA A Diamond Legacy

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Inside the community miner in the heart of Botswana

TSHWANE RAPID TRANSIT Modernising Mobility Offering a rapid, accessible, more reliable and affordable public transport alternative

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METROBUS Transport Transfigured Upholding Joburg’s economy through unrivalled public transport efficiency

ENERGY & UTILITIES

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Implementing effective water and chemical management across Africa

T E C H N O L O G Y

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KLOMAC ENGINEERING Furthering Resource Efficiency

BROADBAND INFRACO Connecting Communities, Transforming Lives

Enabling empowerment in South Africa’s rural communities

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BASSARI RESOURCES Striking Gold in Senegal Making progress at the Makabingui Gold Project

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S U P P LY C H A I N

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DSM CORRIDOR GROUP Tanzania’s Cargo Curator

A mandate to provide universal access to electricity by 2030

Supporting industry at the port of Dar es Salaam

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STARZS MARINE & ENGINEERING LIMITED Nigeria’s Port of Call Realising the potential of the nation’s shipping industry

ELECTRICIDADE DE MOÇAMBIQUE (EDM) Lighting the Transformation of Mozambique

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E V E N T PAN AFRICAN TOWERS Prepped for Progress A new era for African telecommunications

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ANGOLA OIL & GAS 2019

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AFRICA ENERGY FORUM

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ZAMBIA INTERNATIONAL MINING AND ENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

Encouraging investment into Africa’s second largest oil producer An unparalleled opportunity for networking

The country’s longest running mining and energy event

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Around Africa in seven stories…

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ENERGY & UTILITIES

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Petra Diamonds recovers 209.9 carat Type II jewel

Tanzania wants 10,000 MW energy capacity by 2025 Government officials have outlined ambitions for Tanzania to increase its power generation capacity sixfold by 2025.

The East African nation is home to enormous reserves of natural gas, an asset which governing authorities want to utilise in order to boost revenues and support key industries.

Deputy Energy Minister Subira

Mgalu told the Tanzanian parliament: “Implementation of various power generation projects will increase the capacity of our national power grid from 1,602 megawatts presently to 10,000 megawatts by 2025.

“We need to have abundant and reliable power from an energy mix that includes hydropower, natural gas, solar and wind.”

GOVERNMENT

Sudan to receive $3 billion grant from Saudi Arabia and UAE Middle East economic powerhouses Saudi Arabia and UAE have agreed to grant Sudan $3 billion in support of various projects.

This includes a $500 million deposit into the northeast African country’s

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Operator of South Africa’s Cillinan Mine, Petra Diamonds, has discovered a 209.9 carat gem as it seeks to reinvigorate the site which yielded the world’s largest diamond in 1905.

The Type II stone has yet to be named and joins two other similarly large finds at Cillinan since March, one being the 425-carat diamond named The Legacy.

The news prompted a 4.5 percent share price rise, although the current price is still down by some percent this year.

central bank, with the remainder being spent on the likes of food, petroleum and healthcare products.

The grant into the central bank is designed to stabilise Sudan’s currency, the Sudanese pound, while the UAE and Saudi Arabia are also hoping their input will help to calm events following the ousting of leader Omar al-Bashir.

Sudan has been subjected to economic struggle since the secession of South Sudan in 2011, a move which saw much of the nation’s oil revenues taken away.

GO TO WWW.AFRICAOUTLOOKMAG.COM/NEWS FOR ALL OF THE LATEST NEWS FROM AFRICA

MANUFACTURING

OIL & GAS

Nissan to invest R3 billion in Gauteng production plant

Sonangol to divest 52 joint ventures to focus on core business

Japanese automaker Nissan has announced a R3 billion ($213 million) investment in its facility in Rosslyn, Pretoria to prepare the plant for production of the next generation Nissan Navara pickup.

The Navara will join the NP200 and NP300 models, which are already built at Rosslyn and sold in the domestic market, as well as up to 45 pan-African countries.

Nissan’s Africa, Middle East and India chairman, Peyman Kargar commented: “Africa is an essential

Angolan national oil company Sonangol has said it wants to focus on its core business after revealing plans to divest 52 joint ventures and reduce headcount.

Chairman Carlos Saturnino said at conference in Paris: “Instead of investing in Australia, United States, etc, Sonangol wants to become an oil company of reference on the African continent. This is major change for us.”

Angola is Africa’s second largest oil producer, with oil accounting for 95 percent of exports and 70 percent of the nation’s GDP.

HEALTHCARE

MPharma to acquire Kenyan pharma firm Haltons Ghana’s MPharma, a startup business in its sixth year of operation, has struck a deal to buy Kenya’s second largest pharmacy chain Haltons.

Subject to regulatory approval, the deal will see the company enter East

part of Nissan’s M.O.V.E. to 2022 midterm plan in which we aim to double our presence across the Africa, Middle East and India region.

“We already have a strong industrial footprint in Africa including plants in Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and a planned facility in Algeria.”

Africa for the first time.

MPharma specialises in the management of prescription drug inventories for both pharmacies and their suppliers, operating a network of more than 250 customers in several African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

It is thought that senior management at Haltons will retain a stake in the business once the deal is completed.

A G R I C U L T U R E

Ivory Coast records solid growth in cocoa production The world’s top cocoa producer has recorded a production output increase of 5.5 percent in the period from October 2018 to March 2019.

Data taken from exporter association GEPEX found that Ivory Coast’s six largest cocoa grinding companies produced 268,000 tonnes during this time.

Among the organisations included in the data are Barry Callebaut, Olam and Cargill, firms which account for much of the country’s 712,000-tonne capacity.

Last year Ivory Coast fell short of this total, reaching an output of 505,000 tonnes.

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African Infrastructure:

A NEW ANALYSIS

In anticipation of the publication of Africa’s first infrastructure performance index, here is a look at why such a disclosure of information could be key in encouraging investment Written by: Heleen Goussard, Head of Unlisted Investments at RisCura

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f one wish could be granted for the African continent, it would be a steady stream of investment capital destined for effective infrastructure development. Anyone who’s visited one of Africa’s 54 countries will agree that adequate infrastructure is sorely lacking – though of course some countries are better off than others.

So, why is investment into infrastructure lacking?

For institutional investors, among the main constraints holding back investment into infrastructure in Africa has been the lack of a benchmark.

Infrastructure performance indices are a common investment feature in the rest of the world, as they play a critical role in evaluating the risk return profile of investing in this asset class.

Africa has been lagging with no official benchmarks for investment managers to base decisions on, which means much needed investment in this asset class has been lagging too.

Aiming to fill this gap, boosting investment, RisCura has partnered with Africa Investor to launch the continent’s first infrastructure performance index on the first quarter results for 2019, with quarterly insight into investment in this sector thereafter.

The introduction of this index will facilitate increased investment into African infrastructure, which will benefit the people of Africa – and investors.

For years, those investing in African infrastructure projects have enjoyed

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ABOUT THE EXPERT

Unpacking the investment possibilities

Consider the case of an institutional investor in the process of making an asset allocation decision within alternative investments. The availability of a reliable performance index allows returns to be compared, not only against a benchmark, but between asset classes. As a result, when considering the investor’s risk profile, an optimal asset allocation can be made.

Over the last two decades, Africa experienced periods of per capita income growth that were higher than those seen in developed nations.

However, numerous factors have led to a recent slowdown in the region’s economic activity. Many would argue that the inadequate supply of infrastructure services is one reason for this.

The World Bank has quantified the potential impact infrastructure development would have on Africa’s growth trajectory. According to this research, increasing infrastructure development to levels seen in other developing regions could result in GDP per capita growth increases of at least 1.2 percent annually. Adding high risk-adjusted returns over the long- in enhancements to the quality of term. They say the default rate is low and infrastructure would contribute a the returns are attractive, in excess of further 0.5 percent, increasing growth risk. In other words, investing in African by a total of 1.7 percent annually. infrastructure presents an exciting This growth is even more impactful opportunity to generate alpha, but when compared to the world’s leading without historical data and benchmarks, nations. The impact on GDP growth, it’s not easy for newcomers to evaluate from making strides in both the quantity the investment case. and quality of infrastructure, rises to 2.6 Heleen Goussard works in RisCura’s unlisted investment advisory division primarily managing calculation of an independent unlisted valuation, highlighting any discrepancies in value and methodology, preparing of all numerical information used in quarterly reports and IRR calculations for both reporting and fund-raising purposes.

Goussard has performed and reviewed in excess of 50 valuations at RisCura and undertaken the valuation of infrastructure projects at both greenfield and brownfield stages of development. She has developed specialised skills in the valuation of infrastructure, including renewable energy, rail concessions, and refineries.

Goussard is a chartered accountant based in Cape Town.

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percent annually.

Simply put, the potential benefit of funding Africa’s infrastructure deficit is significant.

When looking for answers to Africa’s infrastructure financing needs, it’s easy to look at public investment as the main solution. However, with insufficient levels of infrastructure spend as a percentage of GDP and increasing debtto-GDP ratios, most African countries have little room in their fiscus to accommodate a higher spend.

The solution could lie with institutional investors. Pension funds’ long investment horizon make them especially suited to infrastructure investments. The potential for these investments to deliver a predictable cashflow stream over a sustained period, coupled with an element of inflation protection is attractive for institutional investors.

So, why are we seeing insufficient levels of capital committed to infrastructure funds?

The reasons are complicated. The investment ecosystem is not yet thriving as African countries are still working on developing significant pools of institutional capital, sufficient asset managers and robust regulatory regimes.

Shedding light, building hope

The introduction of infrastructure performance information for Africa is a simple step in the right direction, given that institutional investors often cite a lack of performance data as a constraining factor when considering infrastructure allocations.

As every investment manager knows, diversification is the only free lunch in investing. Africa is an important global diversification opportunity, and the infrastructure asset class offers further diversification. To date, most

international institutional investors have been missing out on the opportunities presented here, but we believe the access to historical information this index will provide is going to change this.

The RisCura Africa Investor Infrastructure Performance Index will release performance information for this asset class quarterly, with the first data anticipated to be released in Q2 2019.

The proprietary method and metrics by which we will calculate performance will include, but not be limited to: Internal rate of return (IRR); times money; Public Market Equivalent method, Steve Kaplan and Antoinette Schoar (2005); direct alpha method.

This initiative enjoys the support of the African Sovereign Wealth and Pension Fund Leaders Forum, the World Pensions Council, BATSETA, and official institutions such as NEPAD/African Union and the EDFI, the Association of bilateral European Development Finance Institutions, among others.

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V I S A

Power to the Payments Visa’s Aida Diarra discusses the rise of digital finance across Africa and how the company is engaging innovative startups in the payments sphere Writer: Tom Wadlow

The mobile money industry is fast-evolving against a backdrop of increasing internet access and smartphone adoption, and now more than ever, mobile’s unparalleled global scale provides a tremendous opportunity to reach the 1.7 billion people who remain financially excluded.”

These are the words of Mats Granryd, Director General of GSMA, the association which represents hundreds of the world’s largest companies operating in the mobile industry.

He speaks in response to the recent publication of the organisation’s State of the Industry Report for 2018, which found that $1.3 billion of transactions were processed daily by mobile money solutions.

In Africa specifically, there were other significant findings, not least that reforms in the continent’s three most populated countries (Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria) are expected to spark a wave of adoption which could see more

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than 110 million mobile money accounts being created in the next five years.

For payment giants like Visa, this represents an enormous opportunity and is tremendous cause for optimism.

“The variety of options available at the moment is just extraordinary,” says Aida Diarra, the company’s Senior Vice President and Sub-Saharan Africa Group Country Manager. “From basic card payments to risk management tools and new digital payment formats, there are many ways we can customise and tailor a solution for Africa.

“Add in the fact just 10 percent of what is spent here today is digital, and there is a huge opportunity for further growth.

“While the use of cash is also growing, what is fascinating for me is the role that mobile operators and fintechs are playing, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is still a place for traditional banking methods, of course, but we need to embrace digital across not just payments but the whole financial spectrum. How do we open up access?

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V I S A

That is our challenge and opportunity.”

Diarra served a significant stint at Western Union before making the move to Visa in November 2018, a journey she says has been one of discovery to date.

“For me this is about a bigger purpose and improving people’s lives by helping them to access financial services,” she says, “whether that means enabling them to set up their own business or simply visit a doctor.

“When the opening at Visa came along, I looked at the richness of its portfolio in the payments space and how this can make a broad difference in the region. There is a real willingness to invest in the continent, clients and ultimately the end consumer.”

FAST-TRACKING FINTECH In February, Visa announced an expansion of its Fintech FastTrack Program in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region.

Already rolled out in Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific, the scheme provides innovative fintechs with a faster and easier integration process with VisaNet, Visa’s global network, in addition to a suite of tailored digital solutions and growth capabilities.

Fintechs based in CEMEA can now onboard to Visa’s global network in as little as four weeks, and in Sub-Saharan Africa Visa will work with Global Technology Partners to design and enable turnkey end-to-end packaged solutions for the Fintech Fast Track Program.

Advancing access

Visa has already rolled out substantive mobile wallet-based solutions across several African nations, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania, opening up ecommerce opportunities for businesses and consumers.

In Rwanda, the company has joined forces with the Clinton Development Initiative to implement a digital payments pilot, empowering local farmers to grow their businesses securely.

During 2018, $1.3 billion of transactions were processed daily by mobile money solutions

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Not only is this removing the need to handle large amounts of cash, it also opens up small-scale farming enterprises to working with large agribusinesses and increases the likelihood of timely payments for their harvests.

Other partnerships, especially with fintech companies, are a key priority for Visa and Diarra.

“Fintechs are extremely agile and knowledgeable and can reach the smaller merchants and individual consumers, and we are looking to embed these smaller companies into an ecosystem by simplifying the onboarding process,” she explains.

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Diarra cites two recent examples of collaboration, the first being with Nigerian firm Paystack.

“Paystack builds technology which allows companies to connect to different payment options and platforms, from card-based transactions to mobile money transfers,” she says. “The company at the moment is mainly focussed on its home market but has ambitious plans to expand into other countries like Ghana, Kenya and Benin, among others.”

The second case study comes from Tanzania, where Visa is working closely with mobile wallet expert Halotel, the fastest growing mobile network operator in the country and into only its fourth year in operation.

In just three years, Halotel has gained four million subscribers with a million mobile money accounts, which are now Visa-enabled. This

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partnership has also enabled 40,000 retailers to process Visa payments, a key part of the ecosystem Diarra was previously referring to.

Another enabler of this ecosystem’s flourishment is education.

“This is vital, both in terms of consumers and merchants,” Diarra adds. “The more digital onboarding we can facilitate, the more lives will be made easier, and this requires education and legislation from government to formalise.

“For example, we signed an MoU with the Ivory Coast government in March 2019, a key pillar of which being the need to drive education of the country’s population in finance.

This is one of many examples of Visa contributing towards knowledge sharing across the region.”

This growing activity, both in an educational and practical sense, leaves Diarra confident about digital finance solutions and the multiplier effect this can have across Africa.

She concludes: “I am optimistic because of the sheer size of the opportunity and rate of adoption we are seeing. You can only be excited about the work lying ahead of us in Sub-Saharan Africa, and when I see the benefit of onboarding consumers into the digital ecosystem, I can’t help but feel that the sky is the limit.

“This is only the beginning.”

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FEEDING THE

Continent An advocate of collective action, tailored product development and state-of the-art technology, Cargill is helping to pave the way for agricultural sustainability on the continent

“There are a lot of practical challenges that we need to be mindful of,” reveals Guillaume Smeets, Managing Director of Cargill’s animal nutrition business in the Middle East and Africa (MEA). “These include the low market readiness of food products and the absence of basic infrastructure, such as transport, logistics and refrigeration.”

A company with 155,000 employees Writer: Jonathan Dyble situated across 70 countries, Cargill is an integral pillar of the global food chain, connecting farmers with aving experienced an markets, customers with ingredients average citizenry increase and people and animals with the food of 2.55 percent year-on-year between 2010 and 2015, the they need.

United Nations has forecast that more Standing as such, Cargill is on the than half of the world’s anticipated frontline when it comes to tackling population growth over the next three the challenge of Africa’s agricultural decades is expected to occur in Africa. sustainability. However, the firm views A host of potential challenges have the current predicament as more of come to the fore of socioeconomic an opportunity to thrive than a global discussions in the face of these burden that needs addressing. predictions, with questions having “Because animal protein been raised about the continent’s consumption in Africa is the lowest ability to sustainably supply agricultural per capita in the world, there are huge products and, more importantly, food. opportunities for growth to nourish

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Guillaume Smeets

Samantha Govender

the African population from a relatively small current base,” Smeets continues.

“At Cargill, we like to focus on what is important is to ensure that local food production is sustainable, as well as to create capacity.”

For Samantha Govender, Smeets’ colleague and the Regional Director for Cargill’s animal nutrition business in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), this optimistic outlook was a key motivation behind her ambitions to join the company.

“What attracted me to Cargill is its commitment to better nutrition for

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better lives, as well as the opportunity of making an impact on my home continent,” she reveals. “The agricultural sector accounts for more than 20 percent of Africa’s GDP, so working in this sector allows me to make a real contribution to improving lives.”

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When traveling through Kenya, you witness contrasting farming practices, where one farm is thriving and the adjacent one is failing”

Facilitating crucial collaboration

For Govender, Smeets and the wider Cargill group, this contribution comes through the creation of effective infrastructure that provides African nationals with a sufficient supply of safe, nutritious and affordable food.

Collaboration is key to this end in the eyes of the company, advocating that governments, the private sector, academia and civil society must work together to help smallholder farmers fulfil their growing role in feeding a hungry world in a sustainable way.

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“We find it very beneficial to create strong local partnerships with people on the ground, particularly in key areas such as distribution, who understand how to navigate the environment and its challenges,” states Smeets.

“Besides supply chain partnerships, we work closely with our customers to ensure that their businesses thrive, while our ongoing commitment to educational seminars speak strongly to this point.”

Asked to elaborate on these educational seminars and their importance, Govender highlights the role that they play in facilitating the sharing of knowledge and learning, offering helpful practices and solutions to farm management.

“When traveling through Kenya, you witness contrasting farming practices, where one farm is thriving and the adjacent one is failing,” she states.

“It’s a situation that shows the need for social capital building, which we are supporting, where the farming community shares and exchanges insights and practices so everyone can thrive. This was very evident from

Sharing of knowledge between farmers is an important way of spreading best practice and improving yields

Improving agricultural productivity is vital for Africa’s development as a continent, something which Cargill is working to deliver

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Working with Delacon, the pair have been able to successfully reduce methane emissions from cows by up to 20 percent’

the feedback from farmers at our seminars, who share knowledge and best practices after the seminar when they return home.”

An advocate of collective action on all fronts, Cargill has also signed a

THE HATCHING HOPE GLOBAL INITIATIVE As part of Cargill’s dedication to collective action, both globally and on a grassroots level, the company has joined forces with Heifer International to create the Hatching Hope Global Initiative.

This programme aims to improve the nutritional and economic livelihoods of 100 million people by 2030 through the production, promotion and consumption of poultry.

Hatching Hope will work directly with women smallholder farmers, initially in Kenya, India and Mexico. The programme helps farmers not only feed their families but also enables them to become part of the solution to bridging the global food and nutrition security gap, while boosting local economies and providing nutrition education.

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partnership with Delacon – a global leader in plant-based feed additives that help to bolster the gut health of animals. Working with Delacon, the pair have been able to successfully reduce methane emissions from cows by up to 20 percent and ammonia emissions from pigs and chickens by up to 50 percent, simultaneously bolstering environmental sustainability.

“When we invest in a region, we commit to doing things right the first time, and this includes sustainability through education, partnerships and compliance,” Smeets adds. “It is our view that we need to address a complex and interconnected set of issues related to agriculture, the environment, energy, government policy and trade together.”

Innovation fuelling optimism

Collective action aside, technology is equally important to the success of agricultural progress in the eyes of Cargill.

In line with this outlook, Oliver Wyman has predicted that by 2050 the world will need to produce 70 percent more food, emphasising the need for efficient and effective agricultural practices.

Cargill itself actively looks to ensure that both existing and new businesses in Africa don’t fail to understand to the importance of investing in modernised equipment and techniques as a means to achieving this, with Smeets citing the firm’s attitudes.

“At Cargill, we take this very seriously,” he reveals, “and believe that digitisation is closely linked to performance and productivity in the agricultural sector. Through our Digital Insights business, we are providing customers with data and digital innovation in order to do more with less, helping them maximise efficiency, improve animal wellbeing, increase yield and reduce natural resource use.

“The case of the adoption of mobile technology is a case in point, where

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Technology and digitisation has proven itself as a wise investment for farmers

product-enhancing tools such as farm management systems are now available on smartphones.”

Cargill’s own products are reflective of this innovative approach, the company having developed a new basemix concept that combines worldclass nutrition technology that’s been specifically formulated for the Kenyan market.

Govender adds: “What is important with using modern technologies is applying the principle of simplicity to ensure ease-of-use and rapid adoption.

We’re not only applying this to technology but also to our products, and make sure we customise our solutions to suit the market in which we operate.

“This ready-to-use mix not only helps customers streamline their mixing operations, it contains all the necessary vitamins, trace minerals, amino acids, macro minerals and Cargill’s health technologies, to ensure optimum performance and health of livestock, ensuring peace-of-mind and convenience for the farmer.”

From basemix to bolstering knowledge and collaborative agricultural initiatives, Cargill is

fundamentally transforming farming across both Africa and the wider world, owed to its aspirational efforts to make the most of this monumental market potential.

Asked whether he’s optimistic about the future, Smeets replies: “Very much so. From a high-level perspective, Cargill has ambitious plans and sufficient funds allocated to create a meaningful and sustainable footprint in Africa.

“What we focus on is creating an inspiring workplace in all the different countries in which we operate, where we prefer to employ local people where possible and develop these talents based on the model of training and onboarding talent.

“Cargill’s goal for the future? It’s simple – to build capacity through valuable partnerships with all stakeholders so that we can service the needs of the agricultural sector efficiently and contribute to economic prosperity.”

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Africa’s need for

AGRITECH

Why data and digital technologies are the key to unlocking the continent’s enormous potential to increase agricultural yields Written by: Abrie Rautenbach, Business Banking for Africa Regions at Standard Bank

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ith almost all available arable land in the Americas, Europe and Asia already productively farmed using the most developed agricultural techniques, Africa, with 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land, presents a major opportunity to meet the 70 percent increase in global food demand expected by 2050.

Land aside, however, Africa presents

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a further opportunity for growth – by dramatically increasing yield.

Currently the continent’s use of traditional small-scale farming techniques returns the lowest yield per hectare globally, especially amongst the cereals and pulses that underpin the foundations of global food security.

While fertiliser, improved agricultural cultivation and livestock practices as well as better seed (biotech) can

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help improve yields, by far the biggest opportunity within the grasp of African agriculture lies in ‘agritech’, the intelligent use of data enabled by new digital technologies.

In short, the excitement and the opportunity for African agriculture is in the data. Information is the key to realising Africa’s vast agricultural potential, and digital technologies are merely the tools that will deliver the information.

Given that information is key, what technologies are most appropriate to supply Africa’s largely small-scale, poorly-capitalised, infrastructurallyunderdeveloped and climaticallychallenged farmers with the

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information they need to transform yields?

Standard Bank’s satellite hostedremote sensing innovation, delivered in partnership with Origin Enterprises PLC and the European Space Agency, AgSpace Agriculture, is an aggregated remote sensing information platform with a complete suite of farm monitoring tools.

Using algorithms to analyse and interpret images, Contour/Grid shares data on local weather, soil moisture, field accessibility and leaf wetness, while also providing optical satellite monitoring of area planted, germination and growth progress. This enables growth stage assessments,

yield prediction and ultimately yieldenhancement through an easy-to-use three colour rating code – green for good, amber for middling and red for challenged, depending on the factor being measured.

This agritech innovation allows Standard Bank to monitor crop performance on all sizes of farms and fields in all geographic regions.

Contour/Grid also provides monitoring on an aggregated basis across regions, enabling portfolio tracking on total hectares under a specific crop and total tonnes of inputs used.

While this information is of huge value in driving the efficiency and productivity of individual farmers, Contour/Grid also enables Standard Bank to identify which fields in a farming area are the best performing.

This allows the bank to assess budgets against actual yield predictions and also enables the bank to aggregate this information across wide areas, and work this back to the portfolio of clients that we are supporting.

Contour/Grid further enables Standard Bank to manage the financial risks associated with delivering agricultural finance. Real-time visibility of crop performance affords constant updates of all Standard Bank agricultural clients and potential clients, including detailed information on crop development. This builds trust and transparency between the bank and customers, enabling the bank to correctly assess risk and accurately allocate capital and cover.

Origin Enterprises PLC is also developing an African crop growth index for maize, soya wheat and other crops to provide greater performance predictability over time.

Another Standard Bank agrictech innovation is Contour and Contour Mobile, a digital customer platform and mobile app providing precision farming tools facilitating customer creation, field mapping, agronomic planning and recording, and crop and

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input allocation. Clients can use the information to understand the health of a crop, do water and spray planning, determine flood areas, understand ground conditions – such as soil health and moisture levels – and also monitor weather. The data that Contour provides clients enables farmers to make better decisions while mitigating risks and improving yield through optimised operations.

‘From the farmer’s perspective, the data will dramatically increase yield and boost offtake while enriching the efficiency and relevance of Africa’s entire agricultural supply and value chains’

It is important for Standard Bank to be able to assist farmers in improving yield through relevant information that can provide a view on plant health or development issues with a specific crop. The weather module, able to predict the next 10 days’ weather, for example, is invaluable for making crop-enhancing decisions around planting time. These technologies ensure that the crop is protected and, from a banking perspective, allows any yield (and thus income) increases to be used for either credit repayment or expansion of the agricultural business.

Similarly, if agronomists or the extension officers of agricultural aggregators dealing with small scale

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farmers are able to receive digital information on soil moisture, fertility and type, historical rainfall patterns and yield per hectare, or if they are able to identify pests and diseases remotely, they can help small scale farmers to increase yield, boost income, access more capital and equipment, expand the area under cultivation or even identify new markets.

Beyond this, however, information can also inform appetite. For example, if banks and agricultural equipment sellers know what and how much is planted when and where, banks can extend loans, predict income, manage risk and insurance.

Similarly, agricultural suppliers can target informed equipment or irrigation product offerings, at the correct time, to the right farmers at the right price.

While the current technology appears sophisticated, it is very easy to use. As our experience in

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Africa has shown, there is a big opportunity for small scale farmers in outgrower programmes supplying large corporates. The corporate that has signed up for the service simply opens the service to all its small-scale suppliers who are then easily able to access all the information required via their mobile phones.

Even without changing existing value chains in Africa, merely having more and accurate information on what is going on in these chains presents an immediate opportunity to service, fund, support, risk-manage and supply Africa’s small-scale farmers with a range of services, insights and networking opportunities.

From the farmer’s perspective, the data will dramatically increase yield and boost offtake while enriching the efficiency and relevance of Africa’s entire agricultural supply and value chains.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Abrie Rautenbach joined Standard Bank in 1996 and is responsible for all agribusiness on the continent outside of South Africa (14 countries). He has 23 years in banking and financial services including long-term assignments outside of South Africa in West and East Africa, including heading up Business Banking in Ghana at Standard Bank.

Rautenbach started his career in the bank as an Agricultural Advisor for the Free State Province. Prior to joining Standard Bank, he was an Agricultural Economist, for both the Meat Board, looking after the pork industry, and then moving to the Wheat Board in South Africa.

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E T H I O P I A

ETHIOPIA

From stunning national parks and mountain ranges to an enormous array of cultural landmarks and traditions which survive to this day, Ethiopia is a gem of a destination Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Joe Palliser

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pic landscapes, historical wonders and a severely underrated wildlife scene, Ethiopia is a destination which has it all.

One of the world’s oldest countries, it is also the only African nation to escape the clutches of European colonial rule, evidenced in its array of monuments dedicated to a great many other faiths and powers which have imparted their influence.

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A nation brimming with culture, ancient customs and traditions from the likes of the Surmi, Afar, Mursi, Karo, Hamer, Nuer and Anuak all remain intact and are cause for a great many spectacular festivals.

Ethiopia is also one of Africa’s most beautiful landmasses, housing the vertical extremes of the Simien and Bale mountains and the Danakil Depression, the lowest place on the continent. Couple this with an

abundance of wildlife, and the country is an ideal destination for those looking to explore the best of what the region has to offer in terms of the great outdoors.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, is among the safest places in Africa and is its fourth largest city. Home to some inspiring cuisine and thoughtprovoking museums, it is well worth a visit here to complement any ventures in Ethiopia’s natural landscape.

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The Business End

FACTS & FIGURES ETHIOPIA’S ECONOMY HAS undergone marked changes over the decades, the communist Derg regime introducing nationalisation of all industries when it came to power in 1974.

Some liberalisation progress has been made since the 1990s, but the contentious question of land ownership remains and has hindered the development of commercial agriculture. However, the country’s farming land remains its most promising resource despite the damaging impact of soil erosion, deforestation and overgrazing.

Although agriculture contributes around half of Ethiopia’s GDP, the services sector is not far behind, generating approximately 40 percent of the nation’s income.

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A sizable proportion of this is derived from tourism, an industry which turned over $1.4 billion in the second half of 2018 according to the country’s Ministry of Culture. This is down on the $2.7 billion target, but nevertheless Ethiopia managed to welcome more than 380,000 tourists during the period in question.

Among the initiatives brought in by the government to boost tourist arrivals include a more liberal visa regime, with the issuance of e-visas seen as a catalyst for more visitors.

Indeed, Ethiopia’s Travel & Tourism economy grew by 48.6 percent through the whole of 2018, the largest of any country in the world, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s annual review of the economic impact and social importance of the sector.

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Capital: Area: Population (2018): GDP (2017): Currency: Time zone: Dialling code: Internet TLD:

Addis Ababa 1,063,652 km² 96,769,000 $77.3 billion birr East Africa Time +251 .et

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FOR THE TRAVEL ENTHUSIAST

ETHIOPIA TOURS AND TRAVELS An amazing travel experience into nature, history and culture.

Ethio Afro Tours has been providing quality service for leisure seeking tourists and business visitors to Ethiopia and it is an experienced private tour and travel agency providing quality service.

Staffed with a highly qualified team, Ethio Afro Tours specializes in coordinating tours for safaris, expeditions and birding throughout Ethiopia that are tailored to individuals or groups! Planning a vacation trip, that is unique and off the beaten track.

Well there is no other unique place like Ethiopia, a country with diverse landscape, 2,000 years civilization, unique wild life, various cuisine and welcoming people.

Visiting Ethiopia is lifelong dream for many people. If you ask around, it is most likely you will discover that others have the same interest in visiting Ethiopia as you do.

Just imagine sharing an incredible vacation with friends or family while traveling through some of the most breathtaking nature and a land of contrasts.

Ethiopia is Old, Old beyond all imagination. ‘Fair price, alwayss smiling, great service and hospitality. Please come and enjoy the spectacular sights Ethiopia has to offer-Afar, Lalibela, Simien Mountains,Tigray and more’

info@ethioafrotours.com www.ethioafrotours.com

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ETHIOPIA OFFERS BOUNDLESS opportunity to explore nature, and any visit to the country is not complete without a venture into Simien Mountains National Park in the north of the country. UNESCO-listed, it is one of Africa’s most stunning mountain ranges and perfect for those wanting a casual stroll or serious trek.

One will also be spoiled by the abundance of wildlife on offer, from elephants and crocodiles to hyenas and a tremendous variety of birdlife.

In terms of food, drink and entertainment, then Addis Ababa is a safe bet and where many visitors will set up basecamp for their stay.

The city is awash with restaurants

covering all cuisines, but it is particularly worth looking out for local-inspired food here, which is characterised by hearty stews, barbequed beef and fresh fish.

Addis Ababa is also home to many excellent museums, not least the National Museum of Ethiopia, which contains many precious local archaeological finds such as the fossilised remains of early hominids, the most famous being Lucy, the partial skeleton of a specimen of Australopithecus afarensis.

The Ethnological Museum, Holy Trinity Cathedral and Meskel Square are also worth a visit, especially if the latter has an event on.

Simien Mountains National Park

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PHOTO BY RICHARDAL - OWN WORK, CC BY-SA 3.0

Out & About

National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa

Holy Trinity Cathedral, Addis Ababa

Complementing the production of Africa Outlook, Asia Outlook and EME Outlook magazines, Outlook Publishing’s award-winning in-house team is now utilising these same specialist production

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Jonathan Dyble +44 (0) 1603 959 660 jonathan.dyble@outlookpublishing.com

E T H I O P I A

Addis Ababa Hotel Owners Trade Sectoral Association THE ADDIS ABABA Hotel Owners Association (AHA) was established in 1997 as a non-profit under the name of Ethiopian Hotels and Restaurants Employers Association. As Lude Abiy, the organisation’s General Manager explains, “the founders’ initial vision was to establish an association that would support the industry with the highest quality services and resources available.

“However, due to the enormous changes of the past decade, the association members felt the need for it to reform, anticipating and meeting the growing and changing needs of its members and the city. For this specific reason the association was rebranded in the year 2012 to Addis

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Ababa Hotels Owners Trade Sectoral Association.”

Abiy went on to answer our questions about AHA and the wider tourism scene in the city.

Africa Outlook (AfO): Since inception, how has the AHA developed and progressed in terms of its key objectives and the messages it tries to get across?

Lude Abiy (LA): AHA has developed greatly since its inception. There are many developments that have been accomplished by AHA, the first being the fact we have greatly grown our membership base.

The second major change is that we have started to work with government

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offices and other stakeholders to change policies which are not favouring the tourism sector, as well as fostering those that are promoting the sector. Thirdly, AHA has started to produce its own city hotel guide that shows the city capacity and its hotels. This enabled the association to promote members and the city throughout the world. AHA has also been offering training and workshops for members’ employees to develop the services and skills required to succeed. Further, we have created a platform/job fair and networking day that will be happening every year which enables member hotels to recruit qualified citizens who want to join the hospitality sector.

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AfO: How would you say Addis Ababa has developed in recent years as a business travel hub and what are the key reasons behind its growing appeal?

LA: Addis Ababa has developed in recent years specifically in regard to the number of hotels in the city as well as global international brands.

The number of rooms in the city has increased which means it is now possible for the city to host big conferences, expos and meetings. In addition, out of the 121 member hotels of the association, 95 of them have halls and function spaces to cater to business meetings and conferences.

Among these 95, there is a total of 293 halls varying in size to facilitate any event, boosting over 47,000 square meters of space. In addition to this, big convention halls are under construction which will make the city more preferable for many event hosts.

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Tomoca coffee house, Yod Abyssinia restaurant and Baata restaurant are well worth a try.

AfO: What trends are transforming the tourism industry in Addis Ababaat present? How are you responding to these trends?

LA: In my opinion the trends that are transforming the tourism industry in Addis Ababa at present are the growth AfO: Why, in your opinion, should of demand for a variety of services, someone visit Addis Ababa? and the attention of the government LA: In my opinion, Addis Ababa is a to the sector. great city for visitors in major ways.

The Association is responding to Just to mention some: one – it has the trends by giving more support to these best weather throughout the year; services, ensuring they are delivered as two – it has hotels for everyone, from smoothly as possible. small independents to big international Further, the arrival of more new hotels; three – the city has many global international and local hotels fantastic international restaurants, in the city and the completion of traditional restaurants, souvenir the convention centres that are houses, museums, and historical being constructed are positive places; and four – it is one the safest developments, and will be followed cities in Africa. by an increased number of events and expos being hosted by the city of Addis AfO: Are there any specific Ababa. attractions, landmarks or places to eat and drink that you would AfO: Are there any plans or recommend? projects in the pipeline that you LA: I recommend the Emperor wish to highlight?

Menelik II Palace-Entoto area, the LA: We have many projects in the National Museum, The Addis Ababa pipeline.

Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, One is to organise a hospitality Merkato Market and Shero Meda industry job fair and networking traditional cloth market, among other event that is being held every year – places. this is an event that gives a platform In terms of places to eat and drink, for unemployed people to be hired

“I am very optimistic about the future of the tourism industry in Addis Ababa, especially when it comes to MICE tourism” in member hotels in the fields they are qualified in. A second project is producing a hotel guide every year that can promote member hotels and the city, while another project involves establishing a tourism academy that will produce many professional citizens in the sector.

AfO: Are you optimistic about the future of the tourism industry in Addis Ababa?

LA: I am very optimistic about the future of the tourism industry in Addis Ababa, especially when it comes to MICE tourism. Addis Ababa has all the potential to host big exhibitions, meetings and conferences. Currently the city has more than 11,000 rooms and the biggest airline in Africa which gives us a great opportunity to work on MICE tourism. Moreover, it has conference halls such as the UNECA and AU and a big convention hall development on the horizon.

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Outlook Recommends “Ethiopia is like nowhere else on the planet, a beautiful country blessed with a peerless history, fabulous wildlife and some of Africa’s most soulful peoples” – Lonely Planet

TOUR OPERATORS

HOTELS

FOOD & DRINK

Tropic Air

Delano Hotel, Bahir Dar

Bait Al Mandi

Addis Regency Hotel

Yod Abyssinia

Agesha Tours

Capital Hotel and Spa

Abucci Restaurant

Ethio Afro Tours

Goha Hotel

2000 Habesha

Tropic Air, from its base at Nanyuki Airfield in the heart of Kenya, offers private flights and helicopter services.

The company has a strong East African footprint and 28 years of experience in the industry, offering heli-services and pioneering heli-safaris throughout the region, including Ethiopia.

A helicopter safari over Ethiopia is a highlight for any visitor, the trip exploring the medieval world of historical treasures and places of worship from above, as well as the high and low terrains found in the country.

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ETHIOder Tour and Travel Fax: (251-11)6631373 Tel: (251-11)6630363

www.ethioder.com

“Ethiopia - the best place to be…” explore it with ETHIODER TOUR AND TRAVEL.

NATIONAL PARKS

Simien Mountains National Park

T 251116630363 F:+251116631373 E logistics@ethioder.co | manager@ethioder.co

ZEIST LODGE is the first urban lodge in Addis Ababa CITY!

Mago National Park

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T: +251 913 644 316 | +251 941 699 861 | +251 915 536 730 +251 939 509 105 | +251 116 262 639/42 E: belaynehzerihun1@gmail.com | info@zeistlodge.com

Omo National Park

www.zeistlodge.com

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Transport Links

Bole International Airport

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Another popular means of exploring the country is by hiring a car with a driver, with costs starting at around $120 per day with anywhere between 50 and 75 kilometres offered for free before a charge kicks in.

For travelling within cities, most operate a minibus network which is a

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PHOTO: PASCAL KOBEH

BOLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT is Ethiopia’s only international air transit gateway, with airlines flying in and out of the country including Ethiopian Airlines, EgyptAir, Emirates, Kenya Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Sudan Airways, Turkish Airlines and Yemenia.

Once in the country, there are many ways to get around including a comprehensive domestic air transport network.

A solid long-distance bus network also covers much of Ethiopia, with new operators such as Selam Bus and Sky Bus offering a modern and comfortable service. Coupled with a growing network of paved roads, and travel by bus is becoming a more viable option for many visitors.

cheap and quick way of getting about, while taxis are another common mode of travel.

It is also worth mentioning the opportunities on offer for cyclists, although rough terrain and roads make taking spare parts and repair kits essential.

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Landmark Attractions

Northern Stelae Field

Bet Giyorgis

“When you think of Lalibela, you’re thinking of Bet Giyorgis. Resting off on its own, St George’s Church is Lalibela’s masterpiece. Representing the apogee of the rock-hewn tradition, it’s the most visually perfect church of all” – Lonely Planet

“Amazingly, about 90 percent of the field hasn’t yet been dug, so no matter where you walk, there’s a good chance there’s an undiscovered tomb with untold treasures beneath” – Lonely Planet

Debre Damo

“Debre Damo is magnificent in terms of its location and extensive collection of priceless manuscripts that have remained intact until today. It has become a prominent monastic and educational centre for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church” – Ethiopian Treasures

Bale Mountains National Park

“Located 400 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, Bale Mountains National Park contains a spectacularly diverse landscape. The high altitude, afromontane Sanetti Plateau rises to over 4,000 metres and includes the highest peak in the southern Ethiopia highlands” – balemountains.org

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D J I B O U T I

DJIBOUTI A country referred to as the Iceland of Africa, Djibouti is like no other on the continent, home to one of the world’s most fascinating landscapes Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Joe Palliser

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warfed by Ethiopia to the north, west, south and everywhere in between, Djibouti is renowned as being one of Africa’s smallest countries, yet equally one of its most fascinating.

Situated along the seams of the Afar Triple Junction where three of the world’s tectonic plates meet, the East African nation is a mashup of salt lakes, volcanic formations, expansive canyons and ceaseless plains, topped off by the stunning blue coastlines of

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the Gulf of Aden.

Often described as the Iceland of Africa, Djibouti is somewhat a continental anomaly compared to many of its neighbours and remains relatively devoid of the waves of tourists to match. This is not to say that the country is unwelcoming, however.

It’s not uncommon for travellers to be invited into locals’ homes for a pot of tea, while ecotravel and activities such as hiking and diving are becoming

increasingly popular. Further, other than pickpockets, crime rates affecting travellers remain low comparative to many other nations.

Djibouti’s stunning landscapes aside, Djibouti City remains the nation’s epicentre. Home to well over half of the country’s entire population, it is here that modernisation, progression and business travel are thriving, the capital dotted with high end hotels and varied restaurants – a far cry from its more remote corners.

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The Business End

KNOWN AS THE ‘Pearl of the Gulf of Tadjoura’, Djibouti City is the main driver of the nation’s economy. City port, for example, acts as the primary trade hub for not only Djibouti itself but equally for imports and exports to and from landlocked Ethiopia – a country 50 times its size.

Combined with the coast of Yemen being situated just 800 kilometres from Djibouti as the crow flies, this makeup has dictated that the

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country’s economy remains largely service driven, providing key transit and logistics solutions to the region while also acting as an international transhipment and refuelling station.

Owed to these tailwinds, accompanied by growing prosperity in many alternative industries such as construction, Djibouti saw a GDP growth rate of 6.7 percent through 2018.

Further, incomes from tourism are both on the rise and becoming increasingly widespread. Key landmarks and historic buildings are traditionally found in populated urban areas, yet the nation’s rising ecotourism is being shared amongst the country’s more rural regions.

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Languages: Area: Population (2017): GDP (2015): Currency: Time zone: Dialling code: Internet TLD: Climate:

Arabic, French, Somali 23,200 km² 956,985 $1.85 billion Djiboutian franc East Africa Time +253 .dj Tropical desert

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Out & About WHILE DJIBOUTI CITY itself offers a mixture of westernised comforts and cultural phenomena, whether it be beautiful beaches or historic buildings, many of the country’s true wonders can be found outside of the capital.

This in mind, it is highly recommended to set aside some time for travel around the nation during your visit.

From shimmering lakes to the Goda Mountains, there are a range of natural marvels present, the most

famous being Lac Assal. Renowned as the third lowest point on the earth’s surface at 155 metres below sea level, this stunning crater lake can be found right in the heart of the country, home to waters that are 10 times saltier than the sea.

The islands of Moucha and Maskali are also worth a visit, both reachable via a 45-minute boat ride from the port of Djibouti town. The waters surrounding these enclaves are idyllic for divers, providing the opportunity to see manta rays, sharks and other exotic marine life.

Tadjoura Bay is equally recommended for not only its fantastic beaches but also its diverse aquatic

flora and fauna, famed for unrivalled snorkelling and fascinating, relatively untouched reefs.

Coastal fishing, as you might expect, is a key life source for the country. As such, both markets and restaurants can be found in an abundance, offering the chance to taste many local delicacies such as grilled Yemeni fish.

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Outlook Recommends TRAVEL & TRANSPORT

RESTAURANTS

HOSPITALITY

Marill Automotive

Havana Café

Sheraton Djibouti

La Mer Rouge

Djibouti Palace Kempinski

Melting Pot

Hôtel Résidence de L’Europe

Penguin Travel

Intrepid Travel 40

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Djibouti, The Land of the Brave.

NATIONAL PARKS

While travelling to Djibouti, you can count on Marill Automotive with our car rental Europcar and our fleet of new rental cars to get you there in comfort.

Whether you’re looking for a small or medium car or sedan, an MPV or roomy family car, a luxury vehicle or an automatic rental, our friendly staff at our outlet can assist you.

Day Forest National Park

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D J I B O U T I

Djibouti National Tourism Office ONE ORGANISATION PROMOTING national tourism is the Djibouti National Tourism Office, headed up by Osman Abdi as the Director-General. Formed in 1969, the office has sought to develop the sector by supporting a number of industry-centric initiatives. Speaking with Abdi, we discover how Djibouti has become increasingly prominent on the international destination scene as a result.

Africa Outlook (AfO): How would you say Djibouti has developed in recent years as a business travel hub and what are the key reasons behind its growing appeal?

Osman Abdi (OA): Djibouti has considerable potential due to its geographical position. Located at the crossroads between East

Africa, the Arabic Peninsula, the Asian continent and Europe, Djibouti serves as a gateway to the Suez Canal.

In terms of business, Djibouti was ranked 99th in the Doing Business Report 2019, gaining 55 places compared to the previous year. This highlights the country’s positive economic climate and that Djibouti offers great investment opportunities, particularly in tourism and hospitality via the National Investment Promotion Agency which gives special incentives.

Further, the government has invested heavily in domestic infrastructure such as the reboot of Air Djibouti passenger flights in 2016, the inauguration of the new AddisAbaba-Djibouti railway, the ongoing construction of two new international airports and the modernisation of the current airport.

Calcareus chimneys and fumaroles near Lake Abbe in Djibouti

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AfO: Why, in your opinion, should someone visit Djibouti?

OA: Djibouti is one of the most fascinating destinations of Africa.

As a trading post where different cultures have historically collided, Djibouti is home to a heady mix of African, Arabic and French influences, giving it an exotic atmosphere.

The country offers diversified products, from diving to fishing, geological exploration to bird watching, and trekking to excursions.

In addition, Djibouti was named as the “World Capital of Tourism and Culture” in 2018 by the European Council of Tourism and Trade and was also recommended by Lonely Planet as the fourth best destination.

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OA: Yes, the Republic of Djibouti has numerous sites such as Lake Assal, one of the most unique places in Africa.

This meets an even rarer geological curiosity – the famous open-air fault where one can observe the meeting of two tectonic plates.

Also, you’ll never forget your first glimpse of Lake Abbé. The scenery is sensational, and the plain is dotted with hundreds of limestone chimneys, some standing as high as 50 metres, often described as ‘a slice of moon on the crust of the earth’.

Djibouti is equally one of the few places to swim with whale sharks, while other popular tourist attractions include the Ardoukoba volcano and the forest of Balho.

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AfO: What trends are transforming the tourism industry in Djibouti at present?

OA: In 2018, Djibouti initiated a new strategy for sustainable tourism to boost the industry through ecotourism and environmentally sustainable solutions.

It is recommended that industry operators now plan their priorities around socially and environmentally responsible tourism while creating income-generating activities for local communities. In the way of perseveration, the National Tourism Office in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment implemented a plan to make terrestrial and marine areas protected.

As part of Djibouti Vision 2035, the National Tourism Office has expressed that it hopes to attract 500,000 visitors by 2030.

AfO: Are there any plans or projects in the pipeline that you wish to highlight?

OA: The National Tourism office of Djibouti is planning to increase its participation at tourism fairs and launched a campaign under the slogan ‘Djibouti’ - a destination in the heart of adventures’.

We’re working to attract more tourists from Ethiopia which appears a significant potential market for Djibouti, cooperating with the Ethiopian Tourism Organization to promote joint packages.

Further, the construction of new hotels is planned, as is the transformation of the old port of Djibouti into a cruise port.

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PHOT BY EDUARD ONYSHCHENKO

Transport Links

Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport

Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport is located approximately six kilometres (four miles) from Djibouti City centre

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A group of traders en route with their camels trek through the Grand Bara Desert in Djibouti, Horn of Africa

and easy to spot with their bright green paint, these are easily found in and around the airport and the countries other urban areas. If you find a driver that you like, however, then it’s relatively common practice to offer them repeat business. Just make sure that you always negotiate and agree a price before hopping in.

Other ways of navigating the country include water taxis such as

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PHOTO: PASCAL KOBEH

PRIOR TO FRENCH colonialism, owed to Djibouti’s history as a nomadic nation, the only real method of transport was via camel. Times have moved on since then, however, with the country home to a thriving international transportation centre - the Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport.

Situated roughly six kilometres from the centre of Djibouti City, it is well-equipped to serve hundreds of thousands of passengers a year and will be the primary method of entrance into the country for most.

From the airport, the easiest method of transport is taxi. All state owned

the daily ferry services available to and from Obock, Tadjoura, Djibouti City, Moucha and Maskali.

Land-borne public transport is less reliable. No rail services are in operation and buses and minibuses, being privately owned, aren’t timetabled. Drivers don’t often speak English either, but fares can be as low as $0.25, making this a cheap and relatively attractive option of travel.

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Landmark Attractions Lac Assal

“Just over 100 kilometres west of the capital lies one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in Africa: Lac Assal. Situated 155 metres below sea level, this crater lake is encircled by dark, dormant volcanoes” – Lonely Planet

Khor Ambado Beach

“Watch green crabs and look for seashells at Khor Ambado Beach, a long stretch of brown sand gently sloping into the water. Clear waters and a diverse marine life provide good snorkeling, and you can safely swim in the calm sea” – Inspirock

Moucha Island

“Situated a few miles from the shore of Djibouti, this magical stretch of islands is just under two-miles long and surrounded by stunning coral reefs. It is frequented by travelers who are interested in snorkeling, fishing and diving” – Discovery Loyalty

Abourma Rock Art site

“This superb archaeological site features well-preserved rock engravings dating back to Neolithic times, which are striking both for their rich complexity and their incredible variety” – Lonely Planet

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Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world.

AFRICA OUTLOOK is a digital and print product aimed at boardroom and hands-on decision-makers across a wide range of industries on the continent.

With content compiled by our experienced editorial team, complemented by an in-house design and production team ensuring delivery to the highest standards, we look to promote the latest in engaging news, industry trends and success stories from the length and breadth of Africa.

We reach an audience of 185,000 people across the continent, bridging the full range of industrial sectors: agriculture, construction, energy & utilities, finance, food & drink, healthcare, manufacturing, mining & resources, oil & gas, retail, shipping & logistics, technology and travel & tourism.

In joining the leading industry heavyweights already enjoying the exposure we can provide, you can benefit from FREE coverage across both digital and print platforms, a FREE marketing brochure, extensive social media saturation, enhanced B2B networking opportunities, and a readymade forum to attract new investment and to grow your business.

To get involved, please contact Outlook Publishing’s Managing Director, Ben Weaver, who can provide further details on how to feature your company, for FREE, in one of our upcoming editions. www.africaout

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ISSUE 71

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Both ambitious in its downstream aspirations and humble as a sound corporate citizen, Rainoil Limited has risen to the fore of the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Gabriel Ogbechie, Founder and Group Managing Director, tells its story Writer: Jonathan Dyble Project Manager: Ashley Parfitt

Opportu ng nity

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ith the 60th anniversary of Nigerian independence fast approaching, a quick reflection upon the country’s modern history transparently unveils what can only be described as a nation on the rise.

Standing as Africa’s largest economy with an estimated population of 200 million and GDP of $376 billion, the continent’s western powerhouse has made monumental strides throughout the past half century, now outperforming the likes of South Africa, Ireland and Hong Kong.

Sweeping opportunities and prospering industries have paved the way for Nigeria’s surge, the African Development Bank citing a thriving service sector and sound economic and political reforms as consistent tailwinds in recent times.

Among the nation’s top performers is none other than the oil and gas vertical. Since the first discovery of commercially available hydrocarbons in 1956 in Oloibiri, a small community located just off the country’s southern coastal border, the industry has grown rapidly to displace the traditional role of agriculture as the nation’s leading economic mainstay.

Evaluating figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), such growth is clear to see, with the production of 0.184 billion barrels of oil and 2.260 billion cubic feet of gas recorded in 1958 having expanded exponentially during the latter part of the 20th century, with the nation producing 25.93 billion barrels of oil and 158 trillion cubic feet of gas by the turn of the millennium.

Fast forward to the present day and petroleum products now account for roughly 90 percent of all of Nigerian exports, while local oil consumption has similarly reached all-time highs in recent months, evident in the demand of 820,000 barrels per day during May 2018.

AFRICA RAINOIL

A humble corporate citizen with ambitious downstream aspirations

Gabriel Ogbechie

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An interview with Visa digital finance

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GUIDE 00 BUSINESS TRAVEL area of outstanding Ethiopia: Africa’s natural beauty

CAVERTON OFFSHORE 00 SUPPORT GROUP logistics national oil and gas

Expansion through admirable outlook operations and an

Transforming

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The Pride Petroleum W

Both ambitious in its downstream aspirations and humble as a sound corporate citizen, Rainoil Limited has risen to the fore of the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Gabriel Ogbechie, Founder and Group Managing Director, tells its story Writer: Jonathan Dyble Project Manager: Ashley Parfitt

ith the 60th anniversary of Nigerian independence fast approaching, a quick reflection upon the country’s modern history transparently unveils what can only be described as a nation on the rise.

Standing as Africa’s largest economy with an estimated population of 200 million and GDP of $376 billion, the continent’s western powerhouse has made monumental strides throughout the past half century, now outperforming the likes of South Africa, Ireland and Hong Kong.

Sweeping opportunities and prospering industries have paved the way for Nigeria’s surge, the African Development Bank citing a thriving service sector and sound economic and political reforms as consistent tailwinds in recent times.

Among the nation’s top performers is none other than the oil and gas vertical. Since the first discovery of commercially available hydrocarbons in 1956 in Oloibiri, a small community located just off the country’s southern coastal border, the industry has grown rapidly to displace the traditional role of agriculture as the nation’s leading economic mainstay.

Evaluating figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), such growth is clear to see, with the production of 0.184 billion barrels of oil and 2.260 billion cubic feet of gas recorded in 1958 having expanded exponentially during the latter part of the 20th century, with the nation producing 25.93 billion barrels of oil and 158 trillion cubic feet of gas by the turn of the millennium.

Fast forward to the present day and petroleum products now account for roughly 90 percent of all of Nigerian exports, while local oil consumption has similarly reached all-time highs in recent months, evident in the demand of 820,000 barrels per day during May 2018.

Gabriel Ogbechie

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Depicting downstream excellence

A buoyant market to say the least, Rainoil Limited is one company that is thriving in the current climate.

A petroleum products marketing and retail company that was incorporated in 1994, later commencing business in May 1997, Rainoil Limited has successfully risen from modest beginnings, now positioned as one of Nigeria’s leading oil and gas players.

“Rainoil was started from scratch, from ground zero you might say, and we have grown it step by step and brick by brick, a trajectory that has truly made it what it is today,” states Gabriel Ogbechie, the company’s Founder and Group Managing Director.

“We acquired our first petrol station in 1997, then launching a second outlet in 1999, and I am proud to say that we have not looked back since.”

Two decades on, the group now encompasses 70 petrol stations across Nigeria, simultaneously having diversified its portfolio through the

erection of two 50 million-litre storage depots – one in Oghara, Delta State and the other in the Calabar Free Trade Zone within Cross River State.

“Alongside these two depots, we are building a new integrated multi product storage facility in Lagos which includes storage of an 8,000 metric tonnes Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and also storage for jet fuels, gasoline and gas oils,” adds Ogbechie.

“Furthermore, Rainoil has developed a substantial logistics portfolio that includes a fleet of one cargo ship and around 100 tank trucks that are used to distribute our products across the country.”

Active in everything from shipping and logistics to storage and retailing, the company has worked tirelessly to position itself as a major player across the entire value chain of the Nigerian downstream sector, selling petroleum products both across its petrol stations and directly to some of the country’s prime industrial customers.

FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK About First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, the flagship of FCMB Group Plc, is one of the top eight lenders in Nigeria.

From its early origins in investment banking as City Securities Limited in 1977, FCMB, established in 1982, has emerged as one of the leading financial services institutions in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments.

Having transformed into a retail banking and wealth management-led group, FCMB continues to distinguish itself through innovation and exceptional service delivery. The bank offers simple products, reliably and helpfully by differentiating itself through highly professional and committed staff, a customer-focus culture, and an all-round performance-driven environment.

FCMB’s unique retail-lending capabilities help it to support the personal and business aspirations of its clientele.

It has also continued to work towards achieving its ambition to become a more convenient and accessible bank, through its electronic banking channels – mobile, USSD, internet banking, and network of ATMs and agents across Nigeria.

Over the years, FCMB has won several awards for outstanding performance.

Rated as the third most customerfocused bank in retail and (SME) banking in the 2018 report by KPMG Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Xxxxxxxx(BICSS); xxxxxxxxan xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx Survey improvement from fifth in 2017.

In 2017, FCMB emerged “Most Improved Retail Bank in Nigeria’’ at the BusinessDay Banking Awards and in 2018, was conferred with the “Excellence Award in Retail Banking’’ at the New Age Banking Summit.

Rainoil has diversified its portfolio to include large storage facilities

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Investment, diversification and LPG

Having established Rainoil Limited from the outset, it was apparent speaking with Ogbechie that he could look back at how far the business has come since its inception with a sense of pride, its 20th anniversary in 2017 having provided the perfect opportunity for such reflection.

“We couldn’t help but roll out the drums and celebrate our achievements,” he reveals. “The mortality rates for startup companies are very high in this industry, and when you start with as little as we did people don’t tend to rate your chances too highly.

“What is a true delight, however, is that we have not only managed to survive for over 20 years, but equally we have expanded to provide ourselves with the perfect platform to kick on and consolidate our position as

one of the most influential players in the Nigerian downstream space.”

Probed further about how Rainoil Limited was able to rise to the top in such unprecedented fashion, Ogbechie is quick to point to one of the company’s core differentiators.

“We never stop investing,” he states.

“From one petrol station, to two, to five, to 10, this strategy has remained a constant during the course of our history.”

Most recently this ethos has highlighted itself in the form of the firm’s aforementioned portfolio of storage depots, the organisation having commissioned its first such facility in 2011, then again in 2015, and finally the multi storage depot in Lagos which will hold the 8,000 metric tonne LPG storage facility and storage facility for jet fuels and others that is set to be opened this year.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS GABRIEL OGBECHIE, FOUNDER & GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR Gabriel Ogbechie is an engineer by profession, having studied Production Engineering at the University of Benin in Southern Nigeria, graduating in 1987.

Following this, after completing his National Youth Service in 1988, Ogbechie secured his first job, working at a vegetable oil company in Kano, Kano State as a Factory Engineer before moving to Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) and later Ascon Oil Company Limited in 1992 – an organisation he remained with until 1997.

“At Ascon, I learned the ropes of the oil and gas industry and began to notice the vast opportunities available,” he reveals.

“It was a sector that I quickly fell in love with and so five years after joining Ascon, I left in order to focus full time on making my own business, Rainoil, a success.

“I understood the climate, recognised where the industry was heading, and aligned my own strategies to this end in the downstream sector.”

VIBROFLOTATION & GEOTECHNICAL NIG. LIMITED (VGNL)

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ibroflotation & Geotechnical Nig. Limited (VGNL) was incorporated in May 2002 and has its head office in Lagos with branch office in Port-Harcourt.

VGNL is committed to being one of the leading deep foundation engineering and construction company in Nigeria and is currently one of the best and most equipped vibroflotation companies in Nigeria. Our desire is to bring excellent solutions to your engineering projects requiring ground improvement with world class success records.

With Rainoil Ltd/Promenade Oil and Gas Company Ltd’s berthing facilities situated at Ijegun Egba in Amuwo Odofin Industrial Estate Area of Lagos State, Nigeria provided us another opportunity to show case our specialist engineering knowledge and experience in the structural/geotechnical and marine works design and construction of a unique state-of-the-art berthing facilities and shoreline protection to receive between 20-30 tons DWT, LOA of between 125-185m vessel within project time frame, mitigating over all site, weather, tide and logistic challenges without overshooting the project budget.

The design and construction of the facilities were done in accordance with the relevant international codes of engineering practice to meet Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx international quality standards.

6/8 MICHAEL ADEKOYA STREET, ILUPEJU, LAGOS, NIGERIA P. O. BOX 6104, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS, NIGERIA T + 234 (0) 806 649 2227 T + 234 (0) 809 568 9332 E info@vibroflotation-ng.com

www.vibroflotation-ng.com Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx

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...Constructing Underground To Support What Is Built Above Ground

GENERAL SPECIALIST CAPABILITIES • DEEP SOIL IMPROVEMENT BY VIBROFLOTATION METHOD • SHORELINE PROTECTION AND JETTY CONSTRUCTION • DEEP FOUNDATION CONSULTANCY SERVICES

CORPORATE HEAD OFFICE VIBROFLOTATION & GEOTECHNICAL NIGERIA LTD (DEEP FOUNDATION SPECIALIST) 6/8 MICHAEL ADEKOYA STREET, ILUPEJU, LAGOS P. O. BOX 6104, FESTAC TOWN, LAGOS Tel: + 234 (0) 806 649 2227 + 234 (0) 809 568 9332 info@vibroflotation-ng.com www.vibroflotation-ng.com

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“This ideal in particular has given us the capacity to be able to weather any new storms as they have come,” Ogbechie continues. “Challenges are inevitable in any industry, from changes in asset prices to economic cycles, but these investments have allowed the company to not only remain ahead of the curve but similarly stand up to any tests.”

Diversification has been integral to this, the firm readily keeping on top of current trends and aligning itself accordingly – evident in the company’s rising emphasis on the growth of regional LPG market.

“LPG demand has more than doubled in Nigeria in the past two years,” explains Ogbechie, “owed to the government’s renewed policies that have been encouraging the populace to use it as a daily fuel for activities such as cooking as opposed to current, less efficient alternatives like firewood and kerosene.”

Acutely aware of this, Rainoil Limited has been readily positioning itself in line with this fast-emerging market, not only through the 8,000 metric tonne storage depot that is being finalised, but equally with its wider plans to develop a second such facility in Oghara, Delta State.

“If I’m completely honest,” the GMD explains, “we are seriously considering rolling out LPG schemes and bottling plants across the country, starting in Lagos and Benin City and then ramping this up in other regions.

In our eyes, the future is LPG. “Gasoline of course remains our main focus as it accounts for approximately 70 percent of our business, but we know that new prospects will always spring up where there are changes in market dynamics, and we will continue to work to ensure we are positioned to take advantage of any major developments.”

CAKASA (NIG) COMPANY LIMITED The Spirit of an Enterprise One may wish to discover the secret of Rainoil Group. First, it is identified by its spirit. Second, it sought synergy with an enterprise whose spirit stands in clear, unequivocal complementarity to its spirit.

This is where CAKASA, the Nigerian dream team of engineering, procurement, installation, construction, operation and maintenance (EPICOM) services in the oil and gas industry, comes in. Founded in 1974 and commencing full operations in 1979, CAKASA has worked with oil and gas giants to deliver on their broad vision and objectives. Proudly, we affirm Rainoil as one of our key clients.

Our collaboration saw the successful delivery, ongoing execution, of trademark projects for the company, including: • EPC of petroleum products cargo pipeline at the Calabar Free Trade Zone (CFTZ), delivered and commissioned in 2014.

• Successful delivery and commissioning in 2014 of the contracts for supply and installation of state-of-the-art equipment at the Fynefield Petroleum Facility at CFTZ. • Currently undertaking turnkeybased engineering, procurement and construction of a modern LPG depot with a total sphere capacity of 16,560 cubic metres for Promenade Petroleum at Ijegun, Satellite, Lagos.

Our collaboration with Rainoil is a Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx continuing and mutually rewarding one.

Thus, CAKASA is keenly involved in the planning, design and engineering of strategic upcoming gas projects across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

All point to the self-evident truth that when the spirit of two enterprises merge, align and complement, they become inseparable in interests, conjoined by purpose and melded by core values.

That is our story: CAKASA and Rainoil – two giants in the same industry bringing out the best in each other.

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Made by manpower

Hand in hand with this ethos comes the company’s network of esteemed staff, an employee base constituting approximately 800 innovative, dedicated workers that have each fostered the firm’s progressive outlooks and cultures.

“We are lucky to have such a committed team,” explains Ogbechie.

“We are very strategic in our hiring and, much like our training, we take it very seriously.”

Rainoil’s overriding emphasis on this front was ramped up approximately five years ago, 15 years after the business’s inception, as the company’s primary concern moved from profitability to that of sustainability.

Engaging Ogbechie’s former employer in the form of PwC, the group extensively re-evaluated its processes, financials, policies and operations, undertaking a number of restructuring initiatives that included a renewed

recruitment outlook.

Ogbechie adds: “The initial idea was geared towards looking at how Rainoil would be able to transition from being just another company to becoming a household name of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Working with PwC, we quickly recognised the importance of having coherent hiring and talent retention strategies in achieving this, and have since been striving to bring first class graduates and similarly promising individuals on board.

“Right now, I’m the Group Managing Director, but it is my belief that each and every member of our team should be willing and capable of doing such a job.

Any product or company is only as good as its manpower. It is not the petrol stations, it is not the depots, it is not the products – these things are of course important to our model, but the core successes are down to the staff. Once this comes, everything else follows.”

PEEJAY SHIPPING AND LOGISTICS COMPANY LTD

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igeria has enormous marine logistics potential.

The nation, located on the coastal corridors of the Gulf of Guinea and the Bight of Benin, is blessed with 850 kilometres of coastline and inland waterways of almost 4,000 kilometres.

Nigeria thus commands a vibrant shipping industry, one that can look to increasingly take advantage of the country’s estimated annual freight expense of $5-6 billion.

In terms of cargo throughput, 2017 saw 71,535,636 tonnes pass though Nigerian ports, a rise of more than a million tonnes on 2016, although this sits below the heights reached between 2011 and 2014.

In terms of industry growth, the maritime sector is thought to have grown by around 2.5 percent through 2018, with increases in demand for services expected for 2019 and beyond.

PARTNER POWER

One company serving this important industry is Peejay Shipping & Logistics Company Limited.

Despite standing as Africa’s leading contributor to global oil production levels, Nigeria is both the only member country of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting countries (OPEC) that imports petrol and the world’s largest automotive gasoline (PMS) importer.

Able to offer many services in the marine logistics domain, it prides itself on its customer-orientated approach and ability to provide international coverage, and one such beneficiary of the firm’s expertise to date has been Rainoil.

A contributor to these imports, Rainoil Limited previously typically worked with a number of foreign suppliers such as Vitol SA, Glencore and other large conglomerates. However, owed to government policy changes such as the removal of subsidies on petroleum products, Rainoil Limited now almost exclusively works with the NNPC – the country’s main importer of PMS. “Supply chain is very important,” responds Ogbechie, when asked about the firm’s relationships with these companies.

“If we do not have reliable access to crucial products then we can’t run our own business, so it is company policy to hold relationships with our partners, such as NNPC, in the highest regard. They are of upmost importance to the success of our brand and business.”

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the years, offering its expertise and finances in providing key infrastructure, community outreach programmes and the likes.

The firm’s 20th anniversary demonstrated a prime example of these practices, with Rainoil having engaged with a broad number of societies as part of its celebrations, Sound social responsibility Accentuating opportunity within its own while Ogbechie himself is quick to highlight that the business readily structure, Rainoil Limited also actively partakes in sports sponsorships and ensures that the local communities runs a corporate volunteer service in which it operates are beneficiaries programme focussed on caring for the of its presence in a multitude of ways, less privileged, elderly and disabled. operating as both an active and Asked about the motivations behind admirable Nigerian corporate citizen. these things, Ogbechie responds: “We From Lagos to Oghara to other believe every company should, as a cities, the company has supported matter of policy and principle, impact schools, orphanages, and healthcare for the benefit of local people.” institutions across the country over Advocating this outlook, Rainoil Limited remains competitive in what it can offer to both its existing staff and new talent, providing tailored and progressive career plans, ensuring that it has a team that can more than hold its own within the industry.

BLUESEAS MARITIME SERVICES

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lueseas Maritime Services has made rapid progress throughout the past 16 years, specialising in the provision of agency services to tanker and dry cargo vessels, visiting seaports in West Africa, particularly Nigeria, Ghana and Togo. This includes loading and discharge of crude oil, petroleum products, containers and dry cargoes.

We ensure professionalism, excellent service and quick turnaround time for vessels under our care. Apart from agency services, we also offer ship husbandry services to vessel owners, help with supplies and spares in transit, crew change and consultancy services.

T +234 1 280 5388 E opslagos@blueseasgroup-ng.com

www.blueseasgroup-ng.com

INTEGRATED SHIPPING SERVICES

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ntegrated Shipping Services has been in operations for over 19 years specialising in the oil and gas sector port agency for all crude/LNG/LPG terminals and petroleum jetties in all Nigerian Ports. We pride ourselves in offering our customers a responsive, competent, cost effective and excellent service.

The company has offices in strategic locations – Lagos (Head Office), Portharcourt, Bonny, Calabar and Warri – all manned by industry best hands and able to quickly provide assistance to clients at short notice.

Vision - “To be the premier maritime solutions company in Nigeria, setting high standards in the industry”

Rainoil takes part in a number of CSR activities, including sponsoring a local tennis tournament

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BLUESEAS MARITIME SERVICES NIGERIA LIMITED SERVICES: • Ship agency • Protective agency • Bunker supply • Vessel brokerage • Ship husbandry • Crew handling • Consultancy services • Freight forwarding practice

BRANCHES: - Port Harcourt (Nigeria) - Warri (Nigeria) - Bonny (Nigeria) - Calabar (Nigeria) - Tema (Ghana) - Abidjan (Ivory Coast) - Lome (Togo) - Lagos (Nigeria)

Corporate Head Office Maritime Complex, 1st Floor 34 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria T: +234 1 280 5388 M: +234 703 417 9967, +234 803 832 5147 E: opslagos@blueseasgroup-ng.com W: www.blueseasgroup-ng.com

...Redefining Shipping Service Delivery in West Africa

We are one of the leading providers of services to the Nigerian Maritime Industry

Intergrated Shipping Services Nigeria Ltd Our Services: • Full Agency Service • Owners Protective Agency • Charterer’s Protective Agency • Logistics support services • Defence Agency Services • Liner Agency • Maritime Consultancy services

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“As a rule, we try to follow this philosophy as consistently as possible, reflected by the healthy budgets that we regularly set aside for such initiatives. We recognise that our business has only been able to thrive from the support of the communities that we operate in, so it is only fair to share the spoils and help in upholding each of these regions.

“Personally, I am a firm believer in generosity. Sometimes a moment of reflection is all that is needed to see that your own needs are quite small in the way of the bigger picture.”

Having remained a wholly indigenous-owned company throughout its illustrious 22-year history, Rainoil Limited today still plays a fundamental role in bettering both

the local economy and society, further reflected by the business’s sound and responsible approaches to health, safety and the environment Maintaining excellence in each of these areas is critical to the long-term success of the business, a feeling that has resulted in the company’s compliance with leading safety regulations and industry best practices.

From driving awareness and emphasising that safety is a collective responsibility amongst both its staff and contractors, to ensuring that adequate contingency plans are in place and safety procedures are reviewed periodically to facilitate continuous improvement, Rainoil Limited truly remains responsible across the board, externally, internally and everywhere in between.

SIAO

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ince her founding in 2005, SIAO has grown to become Nigeria’s largest indigenous Nigerian professional service firm. With our crop of seasoned professionals, we remain a one-stop shop providing audit assurance, tax and advisory services to a plethora of organisations across several sectors.

We are proud to be auditors to Rainoil Limited. It remains both a pleasure and an honour to have mutually beneficial relationship with a prominent player in the Nigerian petroleum industry.

T +234 1463 0871-2 E enquiries@siao-ng.com

www.siao-ng.com

DELTEC ENGINEERING LTD

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e have a vision to provide purposeful leadership in developing and growing indigenous capacity in civil and structural engineering design, construction, and project management, thereby saving our host country valuable foreign exchange while at the same time creating wealth for our stakeholders, with due regard for the environment.

Rainoil has remained a wholly indigenousowned company throughout its illustrious 22-year history

For this purpose, we strive to attract, enthuse, train and retain talents, who will be motivated to give customerfocused, value-added, professional services in project teams with all due diligence, integrity and respect, using cutting edge technologies in an environment in which high quality work can flourish.

www.delteceng.com

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FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING & RISK ASSURANCE SERVICES Accounting Services IFRS Advisory Reporting Accounting Internal Audit

Our professional services go beyond the provision of nancial analysis and reports.

HUMAN RESOURCE CONSULTING Talent Sourcing & Acquisition Learning and Development Payroll Processing and Management Organisational Development Client and Employee Satisfaction Surveys

AUDIT & ASSURANCE SERVICES Statutory Audit Forensic Audit Special Audit Value for Money Audit

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We help organisations put in place vital checks and balances and make informed decisions.

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SIAO Assurance. Compliance. Taxation. Human Resource Consulting. Financial Advisory

Deltec Engineering Limited is a wholly indigenous, service-driven, multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy and project management company. The Company was registered in 1991 for the purposes of growing and developing indigenous capacity in civil and structural engineering design, construction and project management. Today, the company has strategic alliances with other professional organizations in the built environment with Deltec Engineering Limited as lead consultants in most cases.

Our consulting services range from investigations, feasibility studies / appraisals, economic and physical planning, construction supervision, project management and complete engineering design to the supply of special engineering skills and advice. Deltec has expertise and management of a wide variety of projects in the following areas: • BUILDINGS • TRANSPORTATION • POWER & TELECOM • ENVIRONMENT • INFRASTRUCTURE • OIL & GAS

• TRAINING AND MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT • ENGINEERING, PROCUREMENT AND CONSTRUCTION * PROJECT MANAGEMENT, SUPERVISION, AND QUALITY CONTROL

Plot 576, 14th Street, DDPA Estate, Ugborikoko, Effurun, Delta State, Nigeria.

T: No:08037262708 D-U-N-S Number 56-134-9595 E: delteceng@yahoo.com, samson.ivovi@delteceng.com

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Fostering the future

Rainoil’s esteemed employment strategies and sound corporate social responsibility practices aside, the group is expecting to experience one of the most expansive periods in its history to date through the remainder of 2019 and early 2020.

The firm’s ever-heightening ambitions have manifested themselves in the form of its Project 150 initiative, an aggressive growth plan that aims to bolster the brand’s existing presence across Nigeria from 70 to 150 petrol stations over the course of the coming 12 months.

“We are well aware that it is a really challenging project,” reveals Ogbechie, “but we are driving it assertively using substantial investments, and with our team at the helm we are confident that we can establish a footprint in all the major cities in this country.”

Indeed, Ogbechie himself is no stranger to challenges of such a scale having been at the firm from the outset. This being said, the Group Managing Director recognises that new opportunities are presenting themselves in the downstream sector, and that the business must act sooner

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rather than later to remain ahead of the curve and capitalise accordingly.

Looking at recent statistics from Standard Bank, for example, Africa’s share of total global oil and gas consumption is expected to increase from 4.3 percent to 5.1 percent by 2050, while demand for gas is forecast to increase by 128.4 percent prior to 2040.

He concludes: “Retail outlets will always be the interface between the industry and the consumer. Nigerian people won’t stop refilling their cars at petrol stations anytime soon, and it’s a segment where we want to expand our market share, and become a brand of choice for customers across the country.

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“We are working very seriously on our investment programme. It’s costing a lot of money as you can imagine, but we feel that every dollar that’s put in will show its worth as we move into a new and particularly exciting era for Rainoil.”

Rainoil Tel: +234 (0) 170 047 11/12/13 info@rainoil.com.ng www.rainoil.com.ng

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Control Systems International Company Limited (CSI) is a privately owned company incorporated under the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with its head office in Lagos and branch offices in Calabar and Oghara. The company is involved in the provision of services to the Oil /Gas and Associated Industries.

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C AV E R T O N

H E L I C O P T E R S

NIGERIA’S

Aviation Enthusiast

17 years in the making, Caverton Helicopters has helped transform the nation’s oil and gas logistics industry with its extensive aerospace expertise Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Ashley Parfitt

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ith November 1925 marking the first landing of any aircraft in Nigeria, the 93 years since have seen aviation become both a critical element of the country’s transportation network and a major economic backbone.

This period has played rise to rapid national development, Nigeria now showcasing the spoils of West Africa’s most innovative and modernised aerospace progressions as the home of 20 airports, 23 active domestic airline operators and a further 22 foreign carriers.

In tandem with this headway, as expected has come diversification, evident in the rise of sub-sectors such as helicopter logistics. A branch that is now integral to the success of the region’s oil and gas industry, this was previously dominated by international businesses prior to the turn of the millennium – a status quo that piqued the curiosity of local firm Caverton

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COLLABORATION IS KEY

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Caverton Helicopters’ partners include: Honeywell Aerospace, Airbus Helicopters and Leonardo.

Caverton Helicopters’ clients include: ExxonMobil, Total, Shell, Chevron, Amni Petroleum, Pacific Drilling, General Electric and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Offshore Support Group (COSG).

“An already-active player in the marine sector, we knew that the helicopter market was monopolised by two major players and that neither of them were Nigerian companies,” explains Rotimi Makanjuola. “We became intrigued to know why no national entity had ventured into the market, realising that infrastructure played a major part, and this really got the cogs whirring.”

With its interests firmly captured, COSG proceeded to apply for land to build a hangar and construct a heliport. It was from this exploration that Caverton Helicopters was born as a division of the COSG group, an independent business that Makanjuola himself helps to head up as the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer.

“We figured we were already in the oil and gas support sector, so why not give it a shot – the opportunity was there,” he adds.

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To find out more and to locate your local service center visit aerospace.honeywell.com/BetOnRed © 2019 Honeywell International. All rights reserved.

C A V E R T O N

A formidable player

H E L I C O P T E R S

Makanjuola’s role was fundamental to the organisation’s initial success, tasked with overseeing the construction of the aforementioned heliport, an initiative that the COO describes as the catalyst to kickstarting his passion for aerospace logistics.

“I was never an aviator,” he admits.

“I was fascinated by helicopters and flying but never thought this industry would shape my career.

“When I finished studying for my auditing and management masters at Cass Business School I returned to Nigeria to join the family business and was swiftly thrown into the shipping and trading of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that had little, if anything, to do with aerospace.”

Having helped facilitate the birth of Caverton Helicopters, however, the COO is able to look back fondly at how far the charter, shuttle and industrial

CAVERTON HELICOPTER’S FLEET IS COMPRISED OF SIX DIFFERENT VEHICLE MODELS: • H125 AStar – A single engine helicopter with the best performance in its category, accommodating five passengers.

• AW139 – Built by Leonardo Helicopters, this is designed with inherent multi-role capability, capable of carrying up to 12 passengers at very high speed.

• Bell 407 GXP – The most advanced light single-engine helicopter on the market, integrating speed, performance, reliability and manoeuvrability.

• Bell 412 EP – An advanced technology-designed twin-turbine helicopter with excellent reliability and dependability, derived from the Bell Huey series.

• DHC6-400 & DHC6-300 – Operating on a dedicated passenger transfer basis, these are high-winged, unpressurised, twin-engine aircraft that can carry up to 20 people.

• S-76C++ – Incorporates technologically-enabled safety and reliable performance day after day, mission after mission.

POST ASSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED

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ost Assurance Brokers Limited is the leading insurance services provider in Sub-Saharan Africa operating from Lagos, Nigeria.

We are integrated insurance professionals, providing cutting edge insurance services and consultancy for government and private organisations.

We specialise in provision of bespoke insurance services for the aviation and energy sectors, we also specialise in marine, construction, telecommunications and financial services as well as reinsurance services.

Our team of young professionals are arguably the best within the Nigerian insurance industry.

We work with our global partners, mainly in the London Lloyds market, including our major partner Lockton LLP. Post Assurance Brokers has been the broker of choice to Caverton Helicopters, providing insurance services to the company for the past 10 years covering all its operations from Lagos to Duala, Cameroon.

We are very proud of the growth and leadership position Caverton Helicopters currently occupies in West Africa, we look forward to more collaborations and further expansion of the organisation.

Our relationship with Caverton Helicopter is of partnership to cater for the insurance needs of the company withoutxxxxxxxxxxx any breakdown in Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx its operations. As an organisation that values professionalism we are confident in our future work together, as the company excels in all its endeavour.

Congratulations Caverton Helicopters.

E info@postassurancebrokers.com

www.postassurancebrokers.com Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx

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RISK MANAGEMENT & INTEGRATED INSURANCE CONSULTANTS

Delivering The Best Insurance And Risk Management Solutions

We are integrated insurance professionals, providing cutting edge insurance services and consultancy for Government and private organizations that value best.

The company was conceived and founded out of desire to be the best insurance services provider in Nigeria and across the globe.

Our professionalism, Relationship and Service delivery stand us out from the crowd.

OUR EXPERT SERVICES | AVIATION INSURANCE | OIL & ENERGY INSURANCE | PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE | AUTO INSURANCE | MARITIME INSURANCE | CONSTRUCTION INSURANCE | LIFE ASSURANCE | AGRICULTURE INSURANCE

Tel: +234-291-8531 | +234-802-3408-418 | +234-806-523-4875 info@postassurancebrokers.com | www.postassurancebrokers.com

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maintenance company has come.

“Officially founded in September 2002, the business currently operates out of a 10,000 square metre flight facility at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport and has positioned itself as one of the leading indigenous oilfield services companies in Nigeria,” he adds.

What’s more, the division also operates several purpose-built facilities such as the Ozumba Heliport in Victoria Island, its NAF Base in Port Harcourt, and two further sites in Warri and Cameroon.

Leveraging this expansive footprint, the business is able to provide a selection of dedicated helicopter offerings, from offshore and onshore logistics and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions to private charters and executive ground handling services.

“What differentiates Caverton Helicopters from other industry

providers in Sub-Saharan Africa is our ability to provide a formidable asset base, along with the right infrastructural support and technology to improve efficiency,” Makanjuola states.

Inspiring industry innovation

Alongside these facilities, Caverton’s asset base equally constitutes the soon to be completed world-class MRO centre, a secondary company site situated at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport and one that is set to be four times the size of the former.

“What’s really exciting for us, however,” reveals Makanjuola, “is that the brand new Caverton Flight Training Academy, a separate building housed next to the MRO centre, will host the first helicopter level D FullFlight Simulator to be installed in Africa, something that we’ve been working on extensively in partnership with Thales.”

AIR SEA FREIGHTERS LIMITED

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ir Sea Freighters Limited provides logistical support services to Caverton Helicopters Limited.

As a leading domestic aviation company in the onshore service sector, Caverton Helicopters Limited provides high quality helicopter logistics support to major players in the oil and gas industry.

We feel honoured to be one of its registered logistics vendors since 2014 and partnering with the company has been indeed interesting and rewarding.

Caverton Helicopters Ltd is also a major helicopter logistics service provider in the domestic aviation industry in Nigeria, which it entered into over 15 years ago – presently the company is making conspicuous, remarkable and satisfactory progress and is now the aviation operator of choice and market leader in the industry in Nigeria.

Air Sea Freighters Limited provides shipping, freight forwarding, haulage, distribution, warehousing and associated consultancy services and our clientele can be found across various industries ranging from oil & gas and electrical manufacturing to aviation, construction, government agencies and NGOs. Our hallmark is “customer satisfaction” as we guarantee efficiency, promptness and reliability. Our offices are located in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja and we offer a one-stop shop solution.

Air Sea Freighters Limited is proud to be associated with Caverton Helicopters Limited and wishes to maintain partnership in progress.

T +234 84 464535-6 GSM +234 805 1199 781 E asf@airseafreighters.net

www.airseafreightersltd.com

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Corporate head office Freight House Km 1 PH, Eleme Road PO Box 5532 Port Harcourt Nigeria T: +234 84 464535-6 F: +234 84 464 537 GSM: +234 805 1199 781 E: asf@airseafreighters.net www.airseafreightersltd.com Abuja office C/O Winners Medical Diagnostic & Research Institute #31 Okemesi Crescent After Old FERMA Office Garki II Abuja Nigeria GSM: +234 803 310 4977 E: abjairseafreightersltd@yahoo.com www.airseafreighters.com Lagos office Plot 7, Block 81A Amuwo Odofin Scheme Opp GMT/Classic Terminal Along Okota Link Road

By Apple Junction Lagos Nigeria T: +234 805 119 9784 E: airseafreighter@yahoo.com

For Efficiency, Promptness and Reliability in

Shipping | Freight Forwarding | Ship/Cargo Brokerage | Packing & Removal | Ship/Customs Agency | Transportation | Warehousing | Consultancy

Caverton Helicopters was set up to take on international players in Nigeria’s helicopter services market

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Named the Reality H Full Flight Simulator and renowned as the world’s most advanced commercial helicopter simulator, this is no less than a flagship investment for Caverton, set to be used to both meet the rising demand for helicopter pilot training and help eliminate related challenges.

“The simulator will enable pilots that fly AW139 twin-engine helicopters, one of the most popular models in the region, to be fully immersed in a realistic virtual environment representing Nigeria’s operational areas,” Makanjuola continues.

“Our staff will be able to learn to handle a multitude of system failures and overcome very complex malfunctions should they arise in the real world, and ultimately we believe this will increase the safety awareness of pilots.”

Coupled with this, the company’s existing training practices are rigorous, partnering with accredited and renowned overseas training providers to deliver courses that meet the necessary industry standards, while also working with the government to train pilots sponsored by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF).

The simulator in particular, however, will serve to uphold a large range of modern educational needs, from type rating, recurrent training and proficiency checks for both visual flight rules (VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR) that include offshore missions and VIP operations to unprepared landing sites.

Further, it will be certified to meet European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Level D standards, the highest qualification for any such simulator.

AVON HMO

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t Avon HMO, we’re fully invested in your wellbeing so we go the extra mile to keep you healthy. This has earned us a reputation as the most innovative and preferred HMO in Nigeria.

Caverton recently invested in a stateof-the-art simulator to meet the demand for helicopter pilot training

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Over the years, our top-class service delivery has earned us the trust of a client base that cuts across major Industries. Just like Caverton Helicopters, our clients have come to rely on us to take care of their healthcare needs.

Why not join our family of happy and healthy people?

Visit www.avonhealthcare.com to learn more.

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More than just your average HMO...

At Avon HMO, we care about the wellbeing of your workforce. We have a wide range of health plans designed with organisations such as yours in mind. Our focus on wellness and preventive health, together with a robust hospital network delivers uncommon value. This is why more than 95% of clients who experience our services choose to stay with us.

To see how we can help empower your employees to live healthier, fuller lives, visit avonhealthcare.com today.

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Reputable and responsible

Caverton’s emphasis on the importance of training in bolstering safety across Nigeria’s aviation sector is just one example of the firm’s esteemed attitudes in each of its endeavours, attitudes that are again reflected by its broad partnerships with many of the country’s leading educational institutions.

“We’ve worked with a number of universities, having constructed the Caverton Hall lecture theatre at the Federal University of Technology in Minna, Niger State, for example,” Makanjuola reveals, also citing the company’s construction of a 500-seat lecture theatre for the University of Lagos and a 500-seat lecture theatre at the Al-Sarudeen University in Illorin, Kwara State.

Education aside, the company also readily partakes in a broad variety of corporate social responsibility practices.

“We’re conscientious in

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implementing a CSR plan that’s geared towards improving the lives of disadvantaged individuals by partnering with credible private, government and non-governmental organisations,” Makanjuola adds.

Asked if any such initiatives spring

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to mind, the COO cites a number of programmes that Caverton Helicopters has been involved in of late: “We’re a partner in Standard Chartered Bank’s ‘Seeing is Believing’ project aimed at combating blindness, as well as the American Foundation for AIDS

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Heliserve is endowed with a combination of highly experienced and adequately trained Aviation professionals with broad based knowledge and qualification in key areas of specialization in the Aviation business.

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e nt ss m Sys sse tem sk A i afe R s e • He • ty A lac alth ures nal rkp and Sa oced ysis wo fety analysis • Policy and Pr • In th e n i ciden e tgu t inves tgaton • Training needs • Fa

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admin@heliserve.net | www.heliserve.net

It’s undoubtedly going to be a busy year ahead... and each of these initiatives will keep us flying in more than one sense of the word” Research (AMFAR) that undertakes AIDS prevention, treatment and research, and we donate to the National Sickle Cell Foundation (NSCF) to pay for joint replacement surgery for persons with avascular necrosis of the hip and shoulder joints.”

Nigerian sport is additionally a beneficiary of the generosity that is embedded into the corporate culture of Caverton Helicopters, the business also having sponsored a number of promising Nigerian athletes during the summer of 2015 at the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles.

Each of these activities combined, Caverton’s influence extends far

beyond the domain of Nigerian oil and gas logistics, standing as an admirable proponent of social upliftment and development across a range of different verticals.

And, for this reason, both local communities and Caverton Helicopters itself have good reason to be excited for the remainder of 2019 and beyond with Makanjuola relatively optimistic about the current climate.

“We’re hoping for continued stability in the price of oil,” he reveals.

“If it does, then we’ll definitely be expecting to see boosted investor confidence and increased exploration.”

Poised to take advantage of any progressive developments, the firm for now remains focused on the completion and inauguration of both its 40,000 square metre MRO facility and the accompanying full flight simulator training centre, two facilities that will consolidate the company’s position as a true market innovator.

“It’s undoubtedly going to be a busy year ahead,” Makanjuola reveals, “and each of these initiatives will keep us flying in more than one sense of the word.”

Caverton Helicopters Tel: +234 1 270 6644 info@caverton-helicopters.com www.caverton-offshore.com

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The Continent’s

Progressive

QSR Player

Stellenbosch-based fast food specialist Hungry Lion has found ideal footing for expansion over the coming years, owed to optimised operations and an admirable outlook Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Josh Hyland

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drian Basson is a selfdescribed Afro-optimistic.

“There’s no hiding from the fact that there are a lot of challenges in Africa, but retail is a promising sector when it comes to facilitating opportunities, creating employment and generally building a business that can have a widespread impact,” he says.

“When you reach a remote town with an empty plot, the local people don’t often have much. But as we’ve built new stores and helped to launch new shopping centres, we’ve been able to not only witness, but also facilitate the construction of new, thriving ecosystems. We’re proud to be a business that contributes to the success of these societies – I guess you could say we’re a capitalist business with a socialist outlook.”

Basson, now CEO, became part of the Hungry Lion story in 2001 and has seen

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the company come a long way over the past two decades to be the responsible, esteemed organisation it is today.

Having opened its first restaurant in South Africa in 1997, the business today proudly operates a network constituting over 200 stores across South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Angola, with over 4,000 Hungry Lion employees. Looking at the bigger picture, however, such statistics only touch the surface of what the brand is bringing to the region.

“In many ways I like to think that our product is an afterthought in what we’re looking to achieve,” explains Basson. “Yes, serving bigger portions, more chips and more smiles is key to our operations, but it’s just one part of our overriding goal – providing joy to our employees, customers and local communities through food, served with passion.”

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LEADERSHIP FOCUS ADRIAN BASSON Adrian Basson studied accounting at Stellenbosch University, moving to London in 1999 upon graduating to work for Compaq as part of its internet and ecommerce division.

From here, he then spent a year running his family liquor business before joining Shoprite in 2001 as the Hungry Lion Divisional Manager. Coinciding with this, his family purchased 50 percent of the Hungry Lion business, with Basson himself then working at Shoprite Holdings as a Director until 2017, including a stint as the company’s Chief Digital Officer.

Re-joining the Hungry Lion Division full time in January 2017, Basson’s family then purchased the remaining 50 percent stake in the business on July 1, 2018. Now a fully-independent company, Basson stands as the full time CEO of Hungry Lion, also running DigiCloud Africa – the sole distributor of Google Cloud products in Africa.

This ethos is relatively new to the firm, becoming more of a core focus during the company’s major rebranding process that kickstarted in 2014. Having originally been part of the Shoprite Group, Africa’s largest food supermarket chain, Hungry Lion is now a totally independent company in its own right with a unique brand and character.

“In the beginning, we weren’t really building a brand,” reveals Basson.

“We purely sold chicken and chips at an affordable price on a somewhat ad-hoc basis. However, we eventually found ourselves with 100-plus stores, and with the economic challenges that came around in 2008/09, we realised that stores without a brand, a story, and an experience would fail to deliver in the long term. It was a case of changing with the times and we invested a lot into the design of our stores, our product quality and consistency, together with the development of the brand itself.”

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HUHTAMAKI

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ounded in 1920 in Finland, the Espoo-based company has grown to encompass 77 manufacturing units and 24 sales offices in 34 different countries around the world.

As a global specialist in packaging for food and drink, Huhtamaki is a Key Partner to Hungry Lion.

Dedicated to making every consumer experience memorable, enjoyable and safe, the company’s overriding purpose is to help great products reach more people in a reliable and seamless manner.

Doing so, Huhtakmaki is able to successfully build brands, protect company reputations and help to open up new, fruitful opportunities in new markets.

Huhtamaki Foodservice technologies include paper and plastic forming, so you can always find the right solution to fit your specific needs. Our packaging is proven and tested in use by many of the worlds leading quick service , fast casual and coffee chains.

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Since transitioning from being a business-centric to a customer-centric brand, Hungry Lion has reaped the rewards with the business undergoing stratospheric growth over the past few years.

Adding a modern twist

Moving in this re-energised direction, strategy changes quickly followed for Hungry Lion, evidence of which can be found in the firm’s increasing use and the implementation of revolutionary technologies.

Fast forward to today, the company now benefits from artificial intelligence, automated system checks, cloud computing and live dashboards – technologies which serve multiple purposes in the way of driving the business forward. This together with an always connected workforce, makes executing operationally so much more efficient.

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QSR – AN INDUSTRY ON THE RISE According to a recent report from Analytical Research Cognizance, the global quick service restaurant market is expected to maintain a compound annual growth rate of 8.3 percent over the next five years, while the IMARC Group has revealed that West Africa’s food service market became valued at $5 billion in 2017.

African QSR is undoubtedly a sector on the up, owed to sweeping social and economic changes such as rising employment rates and GDP that are being witnessed across the continent, with consumers finding themselves with greater levels of disposable income and rising inclination towards purchasing fast food.

Demographic alterations are similarly contributing. Africa has experienced continual urbanisation since the latter half of the 20th century and its a region with one of the world’s youngest populations, a makeup that has paved the way for the widespread adoption of new lifestyles and greater access to a wider range of eating options.

Combined with rising exposure to digital media and a number of other factors, these trends are dictating the rise of quick service restaurants across the continent.

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“I’ve always had a connection with technology,” Basson reveals. “I used to work in the technology division of Compaq in London and also formerly as the Chief Digital Officer of Shoprite for a period. We live in an era where we can augment the people with technology to do the repetitive stuff, so that they can focus on the more human touches.”

In a space where most others in the fast food industry are franchised and owner-managed, Hungry Lion is unique in the African landscape, with almost all stores being fully-owned and managed from its Head Office. This is where automated systems and clever use of technology comes to the forefront in managing the business over vast distances and across borders.

“With technology comes data and with data comes insight,” Basson continues. “Using our systems, we’re able to see the performance of each of our stores in real time, have an overview of customer experience, and execute plans to fix problems at speed and scale.

These capabilities would never have been possible if we didn’t have the right

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technologies in place.” With full visibility of information comes accountability, since everyone can see what needs to be done and if it was done. Transparency is a crucial merit of these technologies, a cultural trait of Hungry Lion that is accentuated in other ways.

Basson adds: “We have a network of area, country and regional managers who act as an extension of our Head office in Stellenbosch. Head office employees pay regular visits to different regions to keep a finger on the pulse of local operations. Our area and country managers, in turn, come to Head Office regularly for updates to business processes, training, and meetings. This constant exposure in both directions ensures that best practises are shared and implemented to all stores quickly.”

Prosperous career planning

Combined with both these expansive technologies and a transparent, remodelled structure, Hungry Lion recognises that its staff are key to achieving the firm’s ongoing ambitions.

To this end, the company ensures

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www.freddyhirsch.co.za that it provides extensive benefits to its employees, bolstering its position as an employer of choice and equally its talent retention capabilities.

Such initiatives include the introduction of E-learning materials in five languages and the company’s live in-house training platform from LessonDesk, a comprehensive new employee assistance programme, access to affordable healthcare for employees and more specialised and tailored training programmes.

What’s more, Hungry Lion has a strong focus on career planning, testament to its culture of internal promotion.

“Typically speaking, joining a fast food business as the lowest level of employee, the pay isn’t fantastic and it’s not uncommon for these workers to have bigger aspirations,” explains Basson. “What we’ve realised is you can either listen to and facilitate these ambitions, or your workers will leave and look for opportunities elsewhere.

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A family of flavour ds” “Proud Supplier to Hungry Lion Fast Foo Founded in 1956 by current Chairperson, Freddy Hirsch, our company has grown into Southern Africa’s largest supplier of industrial spices, casings, and meat processing equipment.

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We like to pursue the former, providing clear career paths for our inspirational and aspirational workers.

From cashiers to controllers to junior managers to regional managers, and so on, this personal growth structure is in place at Hungry Lion.”

A core part of the company’s ethos, providing key opportunities to reward loyalty and ambition, Hungry Lion offers not just a job but an allencompassing opportunity to build a prosperous career.

A sound, responsible outlook

Such a humble and grounded approach is not only applied internally, but equally externally through a number of corporate social responsibility initiatives.

These are built around Hungry Lion’s three-pillar CSR strategy, with the organisation contributing towards hunger alleviation, championing change in local communities and promoting skills development.

Between February and March of this year alone, for example, the company provided food for the attendees of a seminar addressing the issue of domestic violence, pupils of an underprivileged primary school during a field trip and fire fighters in the Western Cape, while also supporting a Soweto children’s home and a local police station’s cricket tournament for rural schools.

“It’s an element to our business that we take pride in,” reveals Basson.

“We like to show that we care for our communities, customers and especially our employees and their families.

There’s a lot of need in Africa from a poverty standpoint and being in the food business we’re able to help local communities in addressing such issues. I wouldn’t say we have a set agenda – ad hoc opportunities arise, and we react accordingly in each of the locations that we’re based, helping to give people a sense of purpose and promote skills of local communities.”

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Asked about a particular such initiative that springs to mind, Basson is quick to highlight the company’s efforts in supporting the Zambian people during a cholera outbreak at the beginning of 2017.

He continues: “We immediately lowered the prices of our food, ensuring people could get nutritious, safe and affordable food, we donated money to the government that was used to help with the clean-up process.

We even provided sanitation kits to our staff, helping them clean their own living environments to ensure their family’s health.”

Having developed a culture that is firmly centred around providing benefit to all people, whether it’s supporting local communities or providing unrivalled, progressive career opportunities, Hungry Lion’s outlook is unique and admirable.

Opportunity is a word that is creating an atmosphere of excitement within the company at the moment, with continued expansion firmly on the table for Hungry Lion after experiencing double digit percent organic growth over the past two years.

“We’ve set 20 new stores as a benchmark, but realistically this is a ball-park figure on the conservative side,” reveals Basson. “If we can open 50 stores then we’ll do it – if we find a good site where we can profitably Overseas projects are particularly popular any trade, we will open.

There aren’t specific limitations.”

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New systems and optimised procedures in place, last year’s corporate action, focus on organic growth, and consolidation allowed Hungry Lion to not only transition into independence, but equally provided the platform for the company to gear up for full throttle expansion over the coming years.

“We’re realistic at the same time,” Basson continues. “We understand that we cannot conquer the whole continent in 2019 or 2020, but the plan is to grow as fast as possible. Africa has around 1.2 billon people but in the next three decades this number will double. Further, there are 54 countries across Africa, countries that we know we’ll have a good chance of being able to expand into, whether it be through franchises, joint ventures, or other kinds of partnerships. The opportunities are immense, and I feel our business is a prime example as to why it’s a great time to be investing on the continent right now. I just hope that others will come and join us in the fun!”

Hungry Lion Tel: +27 21 200 7777 talktous@hungrylion.co.za www.hungrylion.co.za

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BUILT on Trust SPAR Namibia has established a reputation for quality and affordability in the country thanks to its adherence to values of family, passion and entrepreneurship Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Josh Hyland

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ew countries rely on the fortunes of South Africa’s economy as much as Namibia.

Lying northwest of its more developed and densely populated neighbour, the nation’s little over 2.5 million population has borne the brunt of a recent economic downturn.

However, the green shoots of recovery are tentatively emerging, and the long-term prospects for the country’s role in the development of western Sub-Saharan Africa is cause for optimism among business leaders.

“We joke here that whenever South Africa sneezes, Nambia gets the flu,” quips Eugene van Wyngaard, Regional Manager for Nambia at international FMCG retail brand SPAR. “However, I am of the view that our economy is at the edge of a very

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significant turning point. It will take a little time to get out of the current situation, not helped by recent droughts, but there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel.”

A SPAR veteran of 19 years, van Wyngaard started out in Cape Town as a store manager, working his way up the ranks to manage 18 local outlets before moving to Namibia in 2010 to head up operations which have been in the country since 2004.

“The journey has been fantastic,” he says. “It was a bigger position than perhaps I initially thought it would be, but there are many facets that come with the territory beyond just the retail side that excite me. “I engage with the supply chain and government, for example, and get involved with conversations about the wider growth of the country.”

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One brand, many communities

Despite recent economic hardship, SPAR has maintained and is building on a strong presence throughout the nation, its current network comprising 52 stores of varying sizes, from small convenience shops to superstores (named SUPERSPAR).

This is supplemented by 24 outlets under the company’s Build It brand, specialising in the supply of building materials and related hardware.

Underpinning this network is SPAR’s model of owner-operated stores, a key differentiator for van Wyngaard who recognises the importance of each outlet being tailored to the community in which it serves.

“Each and every store is owned by a retail entrepreneur, meaning that each outlet has to be profitable and stand up as its own business,” he adds.

“This presents challenges in what is a difficult economic environment, but it is an important point of difference from our competitors here.

“Our owners are resilient and work extremely hard to ensure their business is successful and works for the community, but all of them are different and this is the biggest strength of our brand. Each individual knows their community and what they need.”

Such an approach relies on a rigorous vetting exercise to ensure SPAR sets up not only in the right locations, but with the right people.

“We can’t just open new stores without any due diligence and making sure they will be viable,” continues van Wyngaard. “This involves rigorous feasibility studies carried out between my team in Windhoek and colleagues in Cape Town.

“We look at each prospective outlet to ensure the site is right in terms of footfall and the local population.

Much of Namibia is rural, so it is vital we get the right data on things like the number of people in the area, their spend capacity and where they currently buy FMCG goods.

“This then allows us to estimate the size of the market and what we might be able to turn over from a store. If the numbers aren’t right, we will walk away or find another site nearby if we have an entrepreneur ready to work with us. Others we may earmark for the future.”

Prospective owners must also meet with a panel made up of five retailers who form a subsector of a retail industry guild covering western SubSaharan Africa, adding another layer of scrutiny and credibility.

CENTRALISED SUPPORT Van Wyngaard’s management team is made up of 16 people, a number he wishes to add to over the next year as the company enters its next phase of growth.

“We are a very dynamic team and are there to support retailers in their vision for what they want to create for their local area, and each store individually reflects this in terms of their look and feel,” he adds.

“Likewise, we centrally manage supply chain operations and provide support in that way, as a lot of our stock comes in from our warehouse and distribution centre in Cape Town.”

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The success of SPAR’s model to date is evidenced by the fact the company is undergoing an expansion exercise for both brands. It currently has six new SPAR projects in the pipeline for the next 12-16 months, spread all across Namibia, while Built It has seen two new openings over the past three months.

“We are successful because we are versatile,” van Wyngaard adds.

“Because of this we can react quickly to socioeconomic changes and other situations – there is no corporate red tape that dictates what our retailers have to do.

“For example, if there is a local event that they want to get involved with, then they are free to do so because they are a part of that community. As group we are involved in many activities up and down the country through our brand SPAR. “Our model is that we are a voluntary retail organisation. We partner with people who want to work with us.”

A joined-up future

van Wyngaard points to some exciting 2019/04/25 developments ahead as the firm looks to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of FMCG retail.

Speaking about this and his optimism for the country’s wider progression, he concludes: “I am optimistic about the growth of Namibia and the role our company can play in this.

“I see the nation becoming a big hub of distribution to other African countries, especially our landlocked neighbours who don’t have direct access to sea trade.

“South Africa is congested, and there is a lot of opportunity to use Namibia as a route into the rest of the

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A priority for van Wyngaard is to leverage the brand power and reputation of SPAR to build up the profile of Build It. “Most Namibian people probably aren’t aware of the link between the SPAR and Build IT brands,” van Wyngaard says. “We are in a process of co-branding to bring to the public’s attention the fact we are joined up.

“This is about brand trust, and SPAR is recognised as a premium brand across Namibia, known for quality at an affordable price and housed in top quality stores.”

The two brands operate under the same ownership model and with the same set of core values, these being family, passion and entrepreneurship, and van Wyngaard is eager for Build It to carry the same high level of trust and reputability as its fellow retailer.

This will help SPAR to realise its undoubted potential in Namibia, and

SPAR Namibia Tel: +27 21 690 00 00 www.spar.co.za

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S U P E R F O A M

KENYA’S

Retail Dream Testament to its innovative, competitive products, Superfoam is helping to energise a nation by simplifying good sleep Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Josh Hyland

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he importance of getting enough good quality sleep is often understated, yet it’s vital to allowing the body and mind to function effectively, acting as a natural safeguard of mental health, physical health and general quality of life.

On the flip side, sleep deprivation can lead to a range of complications, scientifically linked to anything from heart and kidney disease to depression and infertility.

“On average we spend a third of our lives sleeping,” reveals Mike Fischer, CEO of Superfoam, Kenya’s number one sleep solution product

retailer, a subsidiary of Mammoth Foam Africa . “However, unfortunately we do not tend to give priority to sleep, even though roughly 60 percent of health problems are indirectly related to our sleeping patterns.”

A company with 35 years’ experience in addressing sleep deprivation through the development of market leading products, Superfoam’s solutions are tailored to suit many different requirements and needs dependent on body type, age, medical history and alike.

“I like to think our products stand out because they are not only of great quality and priced correctly, but equally they keep in mind the specific lifestyles of Kenyan consumers,” explains Fischer.

“Different considerations have to be taken into account, whether

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it’s weight, sleeping position, health status.

“However, once these are considered and understood, you can purchase a quality mattress that can cater fully to individual needs, body types and any level of satisfaction required, contributing towards healthy sleep by providing adequate support for your spine and neck.”

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Intuitive innovation

From customised mattresses and foam sheets to orthopaedic pillows and children’s bedding, Superfoam’s catalogue covers a broad depth of verticals and meets a diverse range of sleeping desires, largely owed to the emphasis that the company places on its ongoing research and development activities.

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S U P E R F O A M

“One of our core company pillars is continuous development and improvement,” Fischer affirms.

“Our R&D team invents and revisits products at regular intervals, ensuring that new, state-of-the-art technologies are introduced systemically into the Kenyan market.”

Allocating substantial budgets to these efforts, Superfoam continues to pioneer market innovation, delivering creative, competitive products consistently through four major brand channels – Superfoam Premium, Morning Glory, Kilamanjaro and Sweet Dreams.

KENYA’S BEST BRAND During the 2018/19 edition of the Kenya Home Expo Awards, Superfoam secured two awards – first prize in the Interior Design Furnishing Supplies category, and the title of Overall Best Brand.

“These awards are a manifestation of the hard work that our employees put in every day in every department,” Fischer reveals.

“I think if it were possible, everybody in the company should have been awarded individually because it is through them that we receive such accolades.

“Secondly, it is a huge statement of our actual brand position in this competitive Kenyan market.

Despite the competition, we always strive to give our consumers affordable comfort, a fact that is evident from this award.”

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O

ne of the largest chemical distributors in the Middle East and Africa, Taj Al Mulook was established in 1989 by Mr. Irfan Mulla, currently Chairman and CEO. His vision was to become a leader in the industry for raw material distribution and a pioneer in providing customised solutions to manufacturers.

This has turned into a reality with its wide product range, expanding customer base and unique service offering prominent across the globe.

Today, Taj Al Mulook has grown into one of the top 10 distributors in the Middle

East. By catering to various industries such as polyurethane, construction chemicals, lubricant, oil and gas, water treatment and plastics, we have penetrated almost all basic consumer needs. Manufacturers are provided with tailor made products to suit their requirements along with specialised consultations on improving and expanding their current operations.

In recent times we have integrated with suppliers and clients, to add value across each stage of our client’s production process.

For polyurethane in particular, we offer clients guidance to upscale their operations in the most cost-effective manner, which is a key factor to compete in today’s market.

Helping customers benefit from economies of scale has enabled us to create long term relationship with them; Superfoam being a prime example. With Superfoam, many challenges have been overcome together; from growing their brand and ensuring quality products are delivered to their customers to becoming a leader in the mattress industry. We are proud of our role to assist them in turning their vision into a reality. Like all our clients, they have played a key role in our growth, allowing us to develop into a one stop solution for mattress manufacturers.

Our experience and commercial knowledge enable us to guide clients on which products are suitable and how to time their purchases to minimise inventory. Our technical team assists with formulation and production to ensure consistent quality is delivered for clients. Those who wish to enter the industry are provided with a blueprint from start to finish, including assistance for machine selection, installation and maintenance. We are with clients in every stage of the process to ensure minimum setbacks and maximum satisfaction.

Taj Al Mulook’s head office is in UAE, with branches in Saudi Arabia, India, Tunisia, Ethiopia and Canada and partners throughout Europe, Mexico, Latin America and across Africa. This allows us to cater to client needs closely and operate flexibly.

Mixed shipments from UAE or Asia ensure clients are covered in rare cases of shortages.

The availability is always immediate and includes chemicals, fabrics and accessories and many other products that allow mattress manufacturers to produce all types of mattresses.

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As such, with a variety of affordable, unrivalled commodities, the Nairobiheadquartered company has risen to the fore of Kenyan retail, now regarded as a household brand that spans the entire country through a vast network of distinguished partner outlets.

Fischer continues: “Our products are available in over 400 supermarkets outlets such as Naivas , Cleanshelf, Tuskys, Tumaini, Quickmart,

Magunas, Mathais, Society Stores and Chandrana, in both urban and rural areas in Kenya, while we also have four functional distribution hubs in Kisumu, Mombasa, Meru and Eldoret where supply is replenished on a regular basis, safeguarding the distribution of our products.

“Innovative and relatively new channels like Copia, Jumia and our own ecommerce platform also help us to achieve maximum distribution and

INDUSTRY ON THE UP The wholesale and retail industry is the fifth largest contributor to Kenya’s GDP, also acting as the third largest contributor to private sector employment across the country.

According to data measurement specialist Nielsen, it’s equally a sector on the rise, with 30 percent of Kenyan nationals now shopping in formal retail establishments. In comparison, this stands at just four percent in Ghana, two percent in Cameroon and two percent in Nigeria.

This is owed to rising GDP growth, increased purchasing power, shifting consumer habits and rising globalisation in Kenya, the country is now home to a broad variety of both local and international consumer brands.

Further, according to analysis from Cytonn Investments, the average value of any Kenyan shopper’s basket increased by $20, or 67 percent between 2011 and 2017, making the country the fastest growing retail market in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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availability of products countrywide, prioritising convenience to the end consumer.

“Furthermore, there are over 5,000 independent retailers stocking our brand across the country.”

Catalysing community upliftment

Testament to this expansive presence, Superfoam has been able to serve more than 20 million customers to date, not only selling its products on a business-to-consumer basis, but equally by catering to the needs of businesses, governments and NGOs, adhering to their specific requirements.

However, while this broadened portfolio and retail model has allowed the firm to become a fruitful enterprise, Fischer and the wider company remain grounded – attitudes that are reflected by extensive corporate social responsibility practices.

“CSR is a very important part of the company’s policies and engagements that are directed towards giving back to Kenyan society,” Fischer states. “We have an active CSR programme that specifically chooses institutions that are vulnerable and in need.

“We also partake in environmental conservation projects that are led by the Kenyan government and any other emergencies through charitable organisations.”

Asked about specific examples that spring to mind as particularly prideinducing initiatives, the CEO is quick to highlight the firm’s efforts to aid housing rehabilitation work in Laikipia County. He continues: “We donated 200 mattresses to these houses that will be used to help internally displaced people in the region.

“Additionally, we’ve recently provided special hospital mattresses for wards at the Provide International Clinic in Kayole, Nairobi, and constantly support children’s homes across the country.

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as a business that continues to make consistent strides in the Kenyan market, attitudes that the CEO doesn’t expect to change anytime soon.

Fischer concludes: “Over the last three decades, we have continually reinvented and strategically placed ourselves as the market leaders in the sleep industry as well as manufacturing products that address the specific needs of our market.

“I can confidently say that this won’t change moving forward, and our philosophies, values and cultures will continue to drive us forward in 2019 and beyond.”

Provide International Clinic in Kayole, Nairobi

“Our CSR programme is robust and structured so that transparency forms the backbone, making sure that all of our activities are genuine. This year we aim to donate over 1,000 mattresses,

again ensuring our contribution to society continues to be impactful.”

These societal ambitions alone highlight the optimistic aura surrounding Superfoam at the moment

Superfoam Tel: +254 755101731 info@superfoamltd.com www.superfoam.co.ke

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A Diamond

Legacy Lucara Botswana is mining for the nation at its Karowe resource, its large premium diamonds being extracted and sold using leading-edge technology operated by upskilled local experts Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Donovan Smith

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otswana’s affinity with diamonds stretches back many decades.

Serious exploration began in the 1950s in the Tuli Block along the Limpopo River, and in the years since the West African nation has become renowned for its diamond production capabilities.

Such ventures have also proven to be a vital economic contributor to Botswana, providing employment to thousands of citizens and generating enormous revenue which has funded important infrastructure projects.

“The market is stable and will not drop off,” observes Naseem Lahri, Managing Director of Lucara’s Botswana division, the first wholly private entity to be mining diamonds in the country. “Diamonds are so unique – there will always be a demand.”

Lahri is the first Botswanan woman to be promoted to the position of Managing Director in a national mining company, initially joining the organisation in 2013 following a long and fruitful journey with Debswana, the joint venture between the government and De Beers.

“I worked in auditing for a couple of different companies over several years when an opportunity to work with a colliery arose,” she recalls. “I enjoy working in challenging environments and mining certainly fits into this category, so I decided to give it a chance and stayed there for two years.

“The experience opened up my mind to the world of mining – the challenges, the opportunities, the excitement. After working for 12 years with Debswana, who owned the colliery I started at, I felt the time was right for a new challenge and took the opportunity to work for Lucara.

“The company had a lot of prospects with a new mine being set up, so it presented a chance to start a new project almost from scratch, and I have never looked back.”

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The Karowe resource

Lucara’s Karowe mine lies in the central eastern portion of Botswana, located around 20 kilometres away from the town of Letlhakane, which is home to approximately 26,000 people.

A state-of-the-art facility commissioned in 2012, it is known for its production of large Type IIA diamonds in excess of 10.8 carats which have included landmark finds such as the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona and the 813 carat Constellation.

“Our niche is that we sell exceptionally large stones,” Lahri says.

“It is a niche market and we don’t tend to sell finer diamonds, so we are relatively sheltered from ups and downs in the wider industry.

“In fact, our portion of the market – the Type IIA which only makes up one to two percent of the entire diamond population – is growing and remains a thriving business.”

In monetary terms, the company expects Karowe to generate $170-200 million in revenue this year, building on the 2.4 million carats worth of diamonds it has sold to date. This has included 180 diamonds each selling for more than $1 million and 10 stones fetching more than $10 million apiece.

The operation is therefore an extensive one, reliant upon a team of around 1,200 workers at any one

time, 300 of which employed directly by the company. Some 98 percent of these employees are Botswana nationals, a key priority for Lahri being the upliftment of the surrounding community and ability of Lucara to give back to the nation.

“Community engagement is vital to us,” she says. “For example, the name Karowe, which means precious stone in the native language, was named by the local people, and we have also engaged the population to name our biggest diamonds like the Lesedi La Rona.”

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rollope Botswana commenced operations at Lucara Diamond Corp. – Karowe Diamond Mine on June 26, 2018, and is the first step for parent company Trollope Mining Services towards expanding its geographical footprint into Africa.

Trollope Mining Services is a Level 4 BBBEE rated company which provides opencast mining, crushing and screening, plant hire and rehabilitation services while operating in the civil and mining industries.

Trollope Botswana is responsible for the mining of waste and ore material as well as the rehandling of ore material into the crusher from stockpiles, with a fleet consisting of 39 pieces of equipment mining a total of 600,000 bcm/mth. The current depth of the pit is approximately 132 metres deep and Karowe is planning to go to a total depth of about 326 metres.

Naseem Lahri, Managing Director of Lucara’s Botswana division

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Cutting edge technology

As well as supporting the community through direct employment, Lucara ensures 80 percent of its procurement activity is carried out locally, an approach which also involves encouraging international suppliers to establish a local base in Botswana.

This is no better demonstrated than by two recent technological investments.

The first is in the form of new XRT equipment imported from Germany, a first of its kind system which uses x-rays to assist the diamond recovery process, complementing the use of autogenous milling techniques to optimise revenues and minimise diamond losses.

“We have been investing in technology which has not been used in the diamond industry before, and this kind of XRT is one example,” Lahri says.

“We requested that the German manufacturer set up a local maintenance team, and this has helped to transfer the skills needed to operate and maintain these machines into our organisation.

By the end of this year our workforce will be ready maintain without OEM supervision and could be sought after around the world to train other miners.

“There are a lot of diamond skills in Botswana – this is just one example of us upskilling the local population, a key part of our strategy, which also involves promoting from within and detailed succession planning.”

MEDUPI PLANT HIRE

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edupi Plant Hire was incorporated in Botswana in 2010. Medupi concentrates on its core competency area which is plant hire, roads construction and mining and remains a focused enterprise in a highly competitive market.

Medupi is synonymous with Health Safety Environment and Quality and timely completion of contracts in Botswana. Our major clients are Lucara Botswana and Mupane Gold Mine, but in the past we have had successful and mutually beneficial working relationships with Botswana Ash, the former African Copper mine, Tati Nickel, and BCL mines.

Jakes Visser T +267 71784292

Lesedi La Rona diamond

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Medupi Plant Hire (pty)Ltd Jakes Visser | Cell: +267 71784292

Tel/Fax 4970205 Email serioussystem@gmail.com P O Box 11336 Pota, Palapye

Civil works, | Drilling | Earth works | Mechanical Engineering | Installations (Steel Structures / erection / design) Piping products | Vehicle loading (heavy) transport

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The same local onboarding process occurred when the company acquired Clara Diamond Solutions in 2018.

A pioneering digital sales platform and another first for the diamond mining industry, Clara uses proprietary analytics with the latest cloud and blockchain technologies to sell rough diamonds individually, based on polished characteristics and demand.

The system is transforming the sales process, driving efficiencies and unlocking value for diamond producers and manufacturers.

“From a market perspective, people

THE BENEFITS OF CLARA Lucara’s new acquisition provides many benefits to producers and buyers of diamonds.

• Eliminates diamond sales by assortments; facilitates diamond sales “stone by stone” achieving best possible pricing for producers.

generally buy stones in lots, meaning they often end up with diamonds they may not want,” explains Lahri.

“With Clara, buyers and manufacturers can buy exactly what they need, and likewise they can sell any excess stock through the platform to free up working capital.

“This system also cuts out the middleman, meaning producers of diamonds like us and manufacturers can save money by selling and buying in this way.”

A lasting legacy

In creating a cutting-edge operation at Karowe and with it a formidably skilled workforce, it is clear to see how Lucara is working to give back to both the local community near its mine and Botswana as a whole.

Indeed, for Lahri the notion of legacy is of paramount importance, not least because she is a Botswana national herself.

• Manufacturers purchase only the diamonds they want, eliminating the need to re-trade and finance unwanted inventories, achieving higher margins.

• Continuous sales versus fixed sales cycles – smooths out revenue streams.

• Clara is integrated with blockchain technology, so every rough diamond is tracked with a secure and immutable record of its origins and ownership, providing peace of mind for consumers.

Diamond sorting

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TOMRA SORTING MINING

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s the world market leader in sensor-based ore sorting, TOMRA Sorting Mining is responsible for developing and engineering cutting-edge technology made to withstand harsh mining environments. TOMRA Sorting Mining maintains its rigorous focus on quality and future-oriented thinking with technology tailor-made for mining.

Lucara and TOMRA forever changed the diamond industry with the introduction of TOMRA XRT solutions to replace DMS and XRL processes. After the recovery the 1109ct Lesedi la Rona and 810ct Constellation, their partnership forged a new gold standard approach that is now operating all around the world.

T +49 160 364 27 52 E geoffrey.madderson@tomra.com

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XRT DIAMOND SORTING SENSOR-BASED ORE SORTING SINCE 1988.

Contact us for more information: geoffrey.madderson@tomra.com // +49 160 364 27 52 www.tomra.com/mining

RESOURCE RELIABILITY

RENTAL & MAINTENANCE • Equipment Rental • MARC Contracts • Maintenance

CONTRACT MINING • Load & Haul • Drill & Blast • Crushing & Screening

P.O Box 1024, Orapa, Botswana T +267-297 6994 | M +267-71571566 | E sseaman8@gmail.com

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Karowe at dusk

“This country has given a tremendous deal to me and I want to give something back through our successes with Lucara,” she says. “Our Botswana first ethos is therefore at the forefront of what we do, evidenced by our corporate social responsibility activity.”

Lahri points to two recent examples in the farming sphere.

“In October 2018 we launched an integrated farm project in Mokubilo, another first of its kind in Botswana,” Lahri continues.

“This pioneering farm is managed

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by a board made up of members of the community and is already selling eggs, and will be supplying a range of other foods like cabbages, peppers and maize in a sustainable way. All of our CSR projects must be sustainable and have total community buy in and impact.”

The second development involved the construction of an abattoir facility in Letlhakane.

Handed over to the local council, the slaughterhouse enables local livestock farmers to utilise a safe and reliable asset in order to bring their goods to market.

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A key priority for Lucara Botswana is to go underground, the company looking to undertake a feasibility study in line with this

“Botswana is politically and economically stable. The government is very open to private investment and is willing to listen to companies like Lucara and welcomes what they can offer”

By continuing to invest not only in its own operations but also the wider community, Lucara is building on its already established reputation in Botswana, a reputation proven by the government’s embracement of its investment in the country.

“We want to invest even more,” Lahri adds. “The major priority for us is to go underground, and at the end of this year we will have a decision on a feasibility study which will tell us whether this is a viable option.

“I am cautiously optimistic the project will go ahead, and if it does

it will provide the opportunity to contribute towards the country’s vision for 2036, as it will extend our life of mine by another 10 years.

“We are also looking at other prospecting licenses and are carrying out some exploration with a view to adding more assets to our footprint in Botswana. This is very much my mandate.”

Looking ahead to the outcome of this year’s feasibility study, Lahri concludes by restating her wider optimism regarding the future development of her beloved country.

“Botswana is politically and economically stable. The government is very open to private investment and is willing to listen to companies like Lucara and welcomes what they can offer. I am therefore optimistic for a bright future.”

Lucara Botswana Tel: +1 604 689 7842 info@lucaradiamond.com www.lucaradiamond.com

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Striking Gold

in Senegal

Bassari Resources has made significant progress at its Makabingui Gold Project, the company looking to showcase the West African nation’s potential as a major mining player Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Donovan Smith

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enegal – one of Africa’s westernmost nations situated in the heart of an underexplored stretch of gold deposits.

The Birimian gold belt, which also extends into neighbouring Mali and Guinea, is beginning to see its potential uncovered as more and more exploration work yields promising finds.

This is very much the case for Australian-listed Bassari Resources, which holds permits covering some 312 square kilometres in the Senegalese portion of the deposits.

Alex Mackenzie is the company’s founder and CEO, and since 1985 has been consulting to the mining sector and held directorships in a number of industry players covering Senegal, Ghana, Solomon Islands, Ecuador, Brazil and Australia.

His confidence in West Africa’s mining industry, and especially Senegal’s, is unwavering.

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Thickner

A map highlighting the Makabingui Gold Project feasibility study

“There is huge potential in West Africa, and some very large deposits,” he says. “Wherever someone drills in the Birimian belt they find gold, and my prediction is that Senegal will follow Mali, which holds one third of the Birimian belt versus Senegal’s two thirds. This gold belt is likely to become one of the biggest in the world.

“Senegal has many plusses compared to other countries, including the fact it is a democracy with no security problems.”

MAKABINGUI GOLD PROJECT – AN INTRODUCTION The Makabingui Gold Project in Senegal is Bassari Resources’ most advanced project.

It is situated in the Kenieba Inlier, an area located in the east of the country and home to several multimillion-ounce gold deposits.

The feasibility study for Makabingui was completed in June 2014, shortly followed by an underground scoping study in September of the same year. In November 2016, Bassari and joint venture partner WATIC obtained exploration permits to develop the gold deposit from Senegal’s Ministry of Mines.

Another feasibility study was completed in 2017, confirming the potential highlighted in the first study and reaffirming the decision to bring the site into production, something which Bassari intends to achieve this year.

Makabingui marches on

Mackenzie knows what it takes to realise the potential of gold projects in the country, his main area of focus since 1993.

He unearthed the promise of the Sabodala gold and Grand Cote mineral sands projects and has worked closely with Mineral Deposits Ltd to bring these developments to fruition, at the same time building up a strong relationship with the Senegalese government.

This experience has been vital in bringing Bassari’s Makabingui Gold Project to where it is today.

Catching up after first speaking to Africa Outlook in early 2018, Mackenzie

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reveals: “Bassari has an outstanding technical team with experience in discovering and developing many gold deposits in Africa.

“Our key achievements at Makabingui in 2018 are threefold, the first being the discovery of substantial extensions to the gold deposit of 1,000,000 ounces at a grade of 2.6 g/t.

“The decision was also made to change the mining plan from a four-

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Proud to provide

Bassari Resources with a faster & smarter modelling solution

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pit programme so as to initially mine the high-grade pit containing 110,000 ounces at a grade of 7.6 g/t. Thirdly, we signed a project finance loan agreement with the Coris Bank of Senegal.”

This fund, worth $13 million, will run over the ensuing months and enable Bassari to bring Makabingui into production this year, a key priority for Mackenzie as it will generate substantial cashflow which in turn will allow the company to continue its expansive drilling programme both here and elsewhere.

“We believe further infill drilling, drilling to the east, and the eightkilometre strike to the south will convert Makabingui into a much larger deposit at very good economic grades,” he continues.

“In addition, we expect a drilling programme at our other deposit, Konkoutou, to develop into another Makabingui-size find.”

Indeed, Mackenzie believes the potential held within Bassari’s permits is almost unlimited.

“We have identified some 30 gold targets on our permits, of which we have only drilled two to date,” Mackenzie adds. “International consulting geologists have reviewed all our prospects and have reported that six of our targets have potential for more gold ounces than Makabingui’s one million-ounce reserve.”

In the meantime, however, Bassari’s overriding objective is to commence production at the aforementioned Makabingui before the end of 2019.

The securing of the project finance was a crucial step towards realising this goal, and the site is already welldeveloped in terms of infrastructure, the company having built a 300,000 tonne per annum process plant, a 500 megalitre water storage dam, 85,000 litre capacity fuel tanks, roads, communications infrastructure and

a sizable mining camp for up to 120 workers.

Bassari is also reviewing the option of solar power alternatives as a means to reduce its carbon footprint and energy costs, and will continue to build on its locally-based network of supply chain partners, something which has enabled the firm to established a sound reputation in the community.

In what is set to be a landmark year for the project, Macksenzie is also bullish about the gold price for the foreseeable future, all of which combine to set out an exciting, rewarding path ahead for Bassari Resources in Senegal.

Bassari Resources Tel: +613 9614 0600 admin@bassari.com.au www.bassariresources.com

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TANZANIA’S

Cargo Curator DSM Corridor Group continues to provide award-winning cargo handling services at the port of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s trading gateway Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Josh Mann

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he port of Dar es Salaam (DSM) – on the shores of Tanzania’s capital city and conduit for 95 percent of the country’s trade.

It is among the largest ports on Africa’s east coast, owing its development to German colonialists in the second half of the 19th century, and today provides vital access to six landlocked neighbours in the form of Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Eastern DRC. This is a sizable operation, and one that requires a multitude of parties to ensure cargo is shipped in and out efficiently.

DSM Corridor Group (DCG) is one such company. Operating several facilities both portside and inland, it has won a string of awards for its cargo handling services and is recognised as a safe pair hands for traders operating through DSM port.

It was in 2013 that Jesper Sorensen, DCG’s current CEO, first came into contact with Tanzania’s trading gateway.

Having worked in the country from 2009 on natural resource and agriculture projects, he began to appreciate the importance of efficient logistics to the overall financial viability of such industrial endeavours.

“I obtained an MSc in shipping and logistics in 2013 at Southampton’s Solent University in the UK and wrote my dissertation on efficiency measures in and around the port of DSM and their cost implications,” Sorensen recalls.

“I did my research with Tanzania Ports Authority but part of it was to interview private sector shipping and logistics companies with stakes in the port. This is how I came across DCG. “The ambitions, views and vision of the company’s management with regards to logistics management coincided with my own and, combined with the potential and prospect of the port of DSM, this was a natural fit and I never looked back.”

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DCG began life long before Sorensen discovered it in 2013.

The company started out in 2004 as an operation dedicated to discharging bulk vessels on the quayside of DSM port, and has since expanded its scale and scope to the betterment of many industrial players with interests in Tanzania.

The completion of a state-of-the-art, humidity-controlled and conveyordriven dry bulk terminal in 2011 was a particular turning point.

Connected to DCG’s quayside bagging facilities, it has been a game changer for the regional fertiliser industry both in terms of volume and, crucially, time. The discharge rates of a fertiliser vessel increased from around 1,500 tonnes per day (quayside bagging operation) to a guaranteed 3,000 tonnes bulk discharge operation, with lay time reduced by more than 50 percent. DCG also invested in specialist

tipper trucks to oversee transport from port to terminal.

“Today we can achieve discharge rates above 5,000 tonnes per day,” Sorensen says. “Our bagging machines produce 2,000 tonnes of bags per day in, five, 10, 25 or 50 kilo bags. We can offer our clients an end to end solution where we also transport the cargo to its final destination using both road and rail as modes of transport.”

This all-encompassing offering includes in-house cargo clearing, while the firm also has a custom bonded facility where transit cargoes are handled, strategically located close to DSM port and fitted with a TAZARA rail siding.

This ties into another key line of business for the company, namely with clients connected to the mining industry.

Export cargoes handled include copper products, cobalt, manganese and cobalt hydroxides, products which

BAGTECH

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ased in Durban, home to the busiest port in the country on the east coast of South Africa, Bagtech International is truly a South African company with a passion for Africa. At the helm is Fred Coelho who is at the centre of every project undertaken.

Bagtech International is in the unique position of running the equipment it manufactures and sells. We currently bag and blend approximately 400,000 tonnes per annum across South Africa. This mix of business allows us to understand our clients’ needs and has made us an efficient warehouse management company.

It is this background that has led to Bagtech International being a leader in fertiliser equipment in Africa. Over the past 24 months we have delivered, installed and commissioned equipment to the following countries: • Mozambique • Zimbabwe • South Africa • Kenya • Tanzania • Nigeria Manufacturing from our workshop based in the harbour complex our blenders, bagging units, screeners and coating plants are designed after extensive interaction with the client whereby we are involved in all aspects, from the warehouse design to the warehouse layout.

Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx Bagtech International consistently works on improving the speed, accuracy and efficiency of our machines for the client’s benefit.

No matter where you are, Bagtech International will provide a solution to your warehousing and equipment needs. Our mission is improving the speed, accuracy and efficiency of our machines for our clients and their clients’ benefit.

Bagtech International is your partner in the agribusiness sector.

www.bagtechint.com Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx

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are stored in DCG’s 7,000 square metre warehouse facility as well as stripping, stuffing and storing containers in its yard.

Sorensen adds: “Taking the strategic location into consideration, as well as the efficiency of cargo handling and the rail siding, DCG is regarded as one of the preferred cargo handlers in Dar es Salaam for mining products and volume-wise we are one of the biggest handlers of copper.”

Award-winning team

Perhaps the greatest testament to DCG’s ongoing drive to achieve operational excellence is the string of awards it has won over recent years.

In 2016, for example, the company was recognised with a Women in Transport Award for Best Port Operator or Terminal in Africa, adding to success at the Seatrade Maritime Awards and three awards attained from the Global Ports Forum in four years.

RAIL: A NEW LINE OF BUSINESS A big focus for DSM Corridor Group has been on developing deeper ties with rail freight operators.

In Kisarawe, around 36 kilometres southwest of Dar es Salaam, the company has a 100,000 square metre terminal complete with a 4,000 square metre warehouse for bulk cargo storage, office facilities, custom offices, a truck weighbridge and other staff facilities.

“The facility is located right next to the TAZARA railway which earmarks it as a strategically important terminal for handling cargoes transported by rail,” explains Sorensen.

“It has already been used to store and handle bagged fertilisers and maize, as well as machine parts, and has the potential to serve as an inland cargo hub helping to alleviate traffic in the very busy city centre of Dar es Salaam. It is a very important terminal in terms of our growth prospects.”

In another rail-related development, DCG, through its partner company Central African Corridor Company Ltd. (CACC), signed a build-lease-transfer contract with TAZARA in September 2018 on a public-private partnership basis.

“What it means in practise is that DCG’s successful cargo handling methods have been replicated by CACC and applied in Kapiri Mposhi,” Sorensen says. “Kapiri Mposhi dry port is a logistics hub for both Zambian and DRC cargoes imported and exported via the port of Dar es Salaam, as the dry port and sea port are directly connected by the TAZARA railway.”

DCG expects this to generate cargo output volumes in excess of 500,000 tonnes over the next five years, signifying TAZARA’s vision of promoting rail as a major mode of freight transport and deepening logistics ties between Zambia and Tanzania.

MANCHINCHI MARINE MOVERS LTD

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anchinchi Marine Movers Ltd was incorporated in 1991 and has since then marched on and excelled within East and Central Africa, priding itself with a trustworthy, dedicated, creative and innovative workforce.

Combined with an extensive business network and good relationships with our customers and regulatory authorities, we have excelled and prevailed to be one of the best freight forwarder and transport companies in East Africa.

Our mission is to provide world class services to our customers, and our in-depth knowledge of the supply chain industry requirements gives leverage to serving our clients better.

We have branch offices in all border frontier offices and have partnered with other foreign freight players like Latex Clearing Company of Rwanda and Fortis Freight Forwarder of Rwanda.

Our Services • Clearing and Forwarding - We offer clearing services within borders of Tanzania from ports to destinations, and we also provide consultation and advice to importers/exporters.

• Door to Door Delivery - International standard packing of house and office removals and delivery to site.

Forwarding to overseas, rearranging of utilities at site office or residence.

• Port Captaincy - With several years of experience, our team prepares stowage plans,xxxxxxxxxxx sharing loading Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx sequence with terminal /port, supervising stowage and securing of cargo.

• Transport - We have world class standard trucks equipped with 24hour tracking technology and access to cargo insurance coverage to destination.

• Export Shipments - One of our main services is clearing of export goods.

We receive cargo and shipping instructions from the exporter (shipper), arranging booking with respective shipping line, stuffing and exporting.

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Timely Freight Solution Clearing and Forwarding Agency Shipping Agency Port Captaincy Door to Door Services Transport Logistics Transit

www.manchinchimovers.co.tz

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“The Global Ports Forum Award for Terminal of the Year 2019 was special in the sense that it was awarded on the basis of our recent involvement in transporting cargo via the TAZARA railway from Dar es Salaam to KapiriMposhi in Zambia, and vice versa,” adds Sorenson, who is quick to praise his team of dedicated employees.

“In our quality statement it mentions that staff are our most important asset,” he continues, “and we can confidently say that our employees are the main reason for the success that we have achieved over the years.”

Sorenson also describes how DCG adopts practices to ensure its people remain motivated and happy, thus making them more likely to deliver a quality service.

“We are interested in developing and furthering their careers with us and provide various internal and external training to support that, including promoting awareness of

workplace harassment through our Yellow Card initiative,” he says.

“We have also implemented systems such as grievance forms and suggestion boxes to ensure that any concerns are addressed and attended to immediately, while our open-door policy means that there are no barriers for staff to communicate at all levels.”

Health and safety is another central element to staff wellbeing. This is evidenced at DCG through initiatives to comply with the international standards for occupational health and safety (ISO 45001:2018) and the environment (ISO 14001:2015).

The firm is further implementing 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption under the UN Global Compact framework for businesses.

Social events like football tournaments are also supported, the company’s team bringing back numerous trophies from its endeavours.

The company’s award winning management team

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Overseas projects are particularly popular

The Global Ports Forum Award for Terminal of the Year 2019 for the company’s involvement in cargo transportation on the Tazara railway

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Power your growth!

SGR PETROPOWER ENGINEERING LIMITED, is a leading Top Class 1 specialist mechanical engineering contractor in Tanzania, East Africa.

Specialising in steel fabrication & steel structure erection, bulk steel storage tank and pipeline construction, fire fighting systems, gas turbine and power station engine & power plant mechanical installations, the company is a major service provider to the petroleum, power generation and mining industries in Tanzania and the East Africa region.

Together, we enhance Tanzania’s industrialisation development, transferring technology, improving lives, and empowering growth!

Plot 13A, Potwe Street Nyerere Road, P.O.Box: 12927 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

T 00255 789 451 899, 00255 783 099377, 00255 784 498077 E enquiry@petropowerengineering.com www.sgrpetropower.co.tz

Looking ahead

This all adds up to a loyal cohort of workers, many of them enjoying an ongoing service of 10 or more years and building up a formidable pool of industry knowledge in the process.

Such experience will no doubt serve DCG well as it looks to build on its first 15 years of successful operation. With an eye on the future, Sorensen outlines several priorities in terms of laying the foundations for the company’s next growth phase, which is expected to see a doubling of revenue inside four years.

“We are building further capacity in CACC, increasing efficiencies on the turnaround time of the trains, adding trains and also expanding the capacity of our DCG terminals,” he says.

“Another major priority is to add to our existing ISO certifications of 9001 and 14001 by obtaining the 45001 in 2019.

“In order to successfully cope with the growth, we will increasingly

become a more process driven company governed by our integrated management system. We will, via that system, ensure better internal communication and more efficient operating procedures which again will enable us to create tools to react better to dynamics in both the internal and external environments.”

The end result will be a superior service for customers. This in turn will encourage more business through the port of Dar es Salaam, which itself is also undergoing something of a growth phase thanks to a World Banksponsored project to deepen seven

dredging births to 14.5 metres.

“This will enable larger vessels to call the port,” Sorensen adds, “and the government is also keen on utilising the rail to a greater extent.”

And it is this mode of transport which the CEO believes will form a central part of Tanzania’s freight future.

He concludes: “This goes hand in hand with DCG’s strategy of shifting cargo transport from road to rail. Rail transport is traditionally a more reliable, secure and efficient way of transferring cargoes across hinterlands, and our ultimate purpose of opting for rail is to significantly reduce the logistics costs which are traditionally high in this part of the world.”

DSM Corridor Group Tel: +255 (0) 22 2127190 dcg@dsmcorridor.co.tz www.dsmcorridor.com

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NIGERIA’S

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igeria has taken significant strides to protect its indigenous shipping industry.

In 2003, the country’s government passed the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act, which put into law several conditions relating to participation in shipping activities, chiefly that vessels must be built and registered in Nigeria and owned and manned by Nigerian citizens.

This has served to benefit local industry operators such as Starzs Marine & Engineering, with Founder

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Starzs Marine & Engineering has become a go-to shipyard operator for vessel owners calling in and out of Rivers State, the company embarking on an ambitious project to expand capacity

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Writer: Tom Wadlow Project Manager: Josh Mann

and Managing Director/CEO Greg Ogbeifun having witnessed the development of the sector during his long and illustrious career to date.

“The requirement that vessels must be built in Nigeria presents a huge opportunity for shipbuilding activities in Nigeria which is presently at a low,” he says. “However, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has made plans to invest $3.5 billion in vessel acquisition for local shipowners.

“And with the ExxonMobil’s Ibot,

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LEADERSHIP FOCUS GREG OGBEIFUN Ogbeifun first came into contact with marine engineering when he saw an advert from Shell looking for scholarship applicants in 1970.

Having won a place from a pool of 4,000 candidates over a two-year process, he learned his trade in the UK with Shell Tankers before securing a British D.O.T, First Class Marine Engineering Certificate of Competency.

“It was while in Kuwait that I was employed by Ocean Inchcape Limited UK and brought to Nigeria to work on operations which included overseeing a fleet of over 20 offshore service vessels,” Ogbeifun recalls.

“This was in 1983, and in 1986 I resigned to setup Starzs.

“Between 1985 and 1992 I also worked independently as a NonExclusive Surveyor for Germinisher Lloyds of Germany and Bureau Veritas of France, as well as an acting surveyor for Lloyds Register of Shipping of London.

Total’s Ikike and the NLNG Train 7 projects due to have final investment decisions signed off before the end of the year, the Nigerian shipping industry is set to get a boost.”

Despite these promising signs, Ogbeifun is the first to admit that more work needs to be done if Nigeria is to fully realise the potential of its shipping industry, not least when it comes to expanding port infrastructure and training up locals to operate more ships.

“As more vessels get acquired and

operate in Nigeria waters, they will require bigger and more efficient ship repair yards for dry docking services,” he continues. “Bigger vessels call for bigger ports, better cargo handling services and terminals and deeper, well-maintained channels, among other things.”

Responding to demand

It was while Ogbeifun was at Ocean Landscape in the 1980s that he realised the sizable reward to be gained from developing Nigeria’s docking facilities.

“I subsequently established Starzs Investments Company Limited which is a ship owning and managing company, marine logistics providers and private maritime security providers, where I serve as the Chairman and CEO. I also established Starzs Marine & Engineering Limited, the first privately-owned indigenous shipyard in Nigeria where I am the Managing Director and CEO.”

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“While there are a significant number of vessels operating within Nigerian waters, there is a lack of adequate dry docking facilities and repair infrastructure to service its home market,” he explains. “For ship owners this translates into long waiting times, operational disruptions, high charges and significant loss of operating income.”

This in turn led to many vessel owners taking their ships to neighbouring countries, some even as far away as South Africa and the Canary Islands.

“It was on the premise and the need to close this gap that Starzs Marine & Engineering Limited (Starzs Shipyard) was established to provide world class ship repair services to the Nigerian shipping industry,” Ogbeifun says.

Today the shipyard stands as the oldest privately-owned indigenous ship repair yard in the country, located in the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, Rivers State.

It operates with a 500-tonne lifting capacity floating dock and has so far carried out more than 950 dry docking and refits for clients including the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Navy, and a host of

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other commercial ship owners within and outside the country.

This work is conducted by a 70-strong workforce, while over 400 Nigerian cadets have been provided with training opportunities.

“Being a 100 percent Nigerian company with a 100 percent Nigerian workforce is an indication of the level of skill that has been acquired by the local workforce over the years,” comments Ogbeifun.

“In all our business and activities, Starzs Marine’s driving force remains our vision to constantly provide the highest quality service to the ship repair sector of the Nigerian maritime industry that supports the growth of the Nigerian economy.”

Bigger and better

While Starzs has emerged as a go-to for vessel operators, it is very much Ogbeifun’s ambition to build on the success enjoyed to date.

“The size limitations of the existing floating dock mean that Starzs can only service a small segment of the available market, and many of our existing customers have larger vessels which they are not able to service within the current yard facilities,” he adds.

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“Starzs therefore wishes to seize this opportunity and scale up its operations.

To this end, we have developed a proposed expansion plan with a capacity to dry-dock vessels of up to 89 metres in length and a maximum lifting capacity of approximately 7,500 tonnes.”

The project is already at an advanced stage – shiplift providers have been identified and the company is working on the civil designs. In order to make this happen, Starzs Marine is searching for a technical partner in the form of an experienced international shipyard operator, while it is also open to local and international contractors completing the construction work.

“This project will be the first of its kind in Nigeria and Africa and will be a turning point in the ship repair industry,” Ogbeifun adds.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS BRENDAN DUMPE Engr. Brendan Dumpe is the General Manager of Starzs Marine and Engineering Limited. With vast experience working in the maritime industry, he is a focused marine engineer and project management specialist with expertise in vessel management, ship repair, shipyard project development as well as leading complex teams.

He has an academic background in marine engineering and naval architecture from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology where he holds a B.Tech Degree in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture. He compliments that with an array of professional certifications from within and outside Nigeria cutting across various domain and expertise.

As part of his working experience in the Maritime Industry, Dumpe started his maritime career at the Nigerian Naval Dockyard Lagos. He later proceeded to work as the Technical/Operations Executive at the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping. He was the Technical Assistant to the Chairman/CEO at Starzs Investments Company Limited as well as the Project Engineer overseeing the Shipyard Expansion Project before he was deployed as General Manager in 2018.

He is a member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and the Society of Marine Engineers and Naval Architects (SMENA). He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Maritime Development Round Table of Nigeria.

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“It is estimated to create over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs with a capacity to dry-dock over eight vessels simultaneously. This will reduce downtime for vessel owners and improve overall turnaround time for ship repairs, and there will be a dedicated berth for new shipbuilding as well as a berth for shipbreaking.”

The shipbreaking area is another line of potential business, as it could serve as a facility for wrecks and other floating steel structures that require dismantling.

Honing skills

Starzs Marine’s completely indigenous workforce is a source of pride for Ogbeifun, who is determined to ensure the transfer of knowledge from any international expertise involved in the company’s expansion project.

The Founder also recognises the importance of education more generally to the socioeconomic development of Nigeria.

He adds: “As a critical stakeholder in the maritime domain, I have continued to lend my voice to the calls to upgrade the standard of learning

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“Beyond the conventional educational system, mentorship is another delightful approach to developing human capacity”

of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria in terms of infrastructure upgrade, curriculum review and recruitment of qualified lecturers for the institution.”

The Maritime Academy of Nigeria is the country’s maritime college responsible for providing training for nautical officers, marine engineers and electrotechnical officers, and is one of many organisations Ogbeifun supports.

“Beyond the conventional educational system, mentorship is another delightful approach to developing human capacity,” he continues.

“I have taken time to mentor quite

a number of people in the industry who today are highflyers in the areas of engineering, nautical science, administration and management.

“The current General Manager of the shipyard is a marine engineer who has been my mentee for over a decade. I have seen him grow into a fine engineer and he has been managing the shipyard operations for over a year now.”

A diversified future

Such a journey leaves Ogbeifun confident that his company is in safe hands as it enters the next chapter of its story.

With the impending expansion project very much a major priority for the near future, the Founder also points to the possibility of sister firm Starzs Investments Company Limited developing its own global trading fleet with an emphasis on crude affreightment.

This move would strengthen Nigeria’s overall shipping stature, and Ogbeifun is confident regarding the development of the sector in years to come, both at sea and inland.

He concludes: “The maritime environment in Nigeria will continue to be a veritable medium of transportation, global commerce, resource exploitation and recreation, and will remain relevant for the economic prosperity and development because of its abundant mineral resources and huge marine ecosystem.

“Her unique location in Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea between Benin and Cameroon, along with having the second longest length of waterways in Africa, creates huge opportunities for inland transportation.

“Nigeria has an inland waterways spanning around 8,600 kilometres, including Rivers Niger, Benue, Cross River, Ogun, Escravos and smaller rivers and creeks, backed up by an extensive coastline of about 800 kilometres.

“This elicits a variety of investment potentials cutting across mining, manufacturing and services industries, and of course the shipping elements required for these explorations.”

Starzs Marine & Engineering Limited Tel: +2348037048036 info@starzsshipyard.com www.starzsshipyard.com

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Modernising

MOBILITY Tshwane Rapid Transit is transforming the public transport scene in Pretoria and the surrounding municipality as it expands its efficient, modern BRT system Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Josh Mann

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The National Land Transport Act followed a decision made in 2007 to approve a new public transport strategy, one that envisaged the implementation of new and integrated systems across the country’s 12 largest cities by 2020.

While the full extent of this plan is yet to be realised, progress has been made in a handful of cities relating to bus rapid transit, more commonly known as BRT. Tshwane, a metropolitan

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municipality centred on the city of Pretoria in Gauteng, represents one such example of a BRT system in progress.

“In 2012 the Tshwane municipality created a plan to set up its own system, and this led to the establishment and registering of Tshwane Rapid Transit, which began operations in 2014,” recalls Samuel Matebane, CEO of Tshwane Rapid Transit, the company responsible for operating the city’s BRT system.

“The priority areas of operations within the BRT are decided upon by the City of Tshwane Municipality in conjunction with the taxi and bus Industry representatives within the

AFRICA city. It is ultimately aimed at becoming a mass mover of passengers from the townships into the city centre.

“This is a faster alternative to a conventional public bus or taxi because it has its own dedicated lane, and we can guarantee a reliable service throughout the day.”

The latter is a particularly important point, for it offers citizens greater choice regarding the time they travel and removes the difficulty of trying to find a parking space in Pretoria, which Matebane describes as an often-difficult undertaking. Further, Tshwane’s BRT is linked to a park and ride system, again offering an alternative to city centre parking.

BUS RAPID TRANSIT AN INTRODUCTION BRT, also known as a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system seen as more convenient than a conventional bus network.

This is because BRTs incorporate roads dedicated to buses and are given priority where they may interact with other road users. BRT buses are also generally larger than their counterparts and thus able to carry more passengers.

These systems are thought to be a middle ground between a high-capacity metro and lower-cost, simple bus solution.

It is commonly cited that the first BRT in the world appeared in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, in 1973.

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Lastly, the BRT helps ease traffic congestion in the CBD and immediate surrounding areas thus reducing air pollution.

Bigger and better

In November 2014, when Tshwane BRT began operating, the system comprised 17 buses, a number which increased to 30 by 2015 and 50 a year later.

“Today, we are operating 114 buses,” adds Matebane. “In the past six months alone, we have gone from transporting 5,000 people a day to 12,000 on the BRT and a total of 25,000 for the Tshwane Rapid Transit fleet.

“Half of our operations involve BRT and the other half is a governmentbased contract of a different nature, and despite our strong growth, we still have not exhausted the current BRT network that is set up. We are thus looking at ways to integrate our government contract into this.”

Tshwane Rapid Transit is currently contracted to add another 57 buses to its fleet, and Matebane wants the company’s total number of vehicles to rise above 200 within the next year alone.

Another important commitment revolves around sustainability.

“Of the 114 buses we own, 40 are green in the sense that they are powered by concentrated natural gas (CNG),” Matebane says. “We want to be the first public transport company in South Africa to operate 100 percent CNG buses and are setting up special filling stations in partnership with the private sector.”

Any further development or expansion of the BRT network will be informed by data, a situation made possible thanks to the system’s cashless, technological underpinning.

Not only is the company able to track routes that are busy and when, the cashless nature of the BRT also

Customer care and the experience passengers have with the driver is crucial, as this greatly impacts their overall impression of our service”

Samuel Matebane, CEO of Tshwane Rapid Transit Overseas projects are particularly popular

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In March 2016, MA Inc. was presented with an opportunity to provide legal services to Tshwane Rapid Transit (TRT). This was to be the beginning of a mutually beneficial professional relationship between MA Inc. and TRT. With the extent of our exposure to the operations of a bus rapid transit operating company, we have gained valuable knowledge within the industry, that has allowed us to service another South African BRT operating company.

We look forward to a continued relationship with TRT as it expands its operations and reach within the City of Tshwane.

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Our company was established in 2011 and is responsible for supplying fuel to and servicing 47 sites in our territory.

Our organisation is made of a team of competent and dedicated individuals.

Each and every one of us is committed to service excellence to both our retailers and motorists and to maximising the integrity of the Caltex brand.

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adds a layer of safety, for drivers do not carry cash and are therefore less likely to be targeted for theft.

A further advantage can be found in terms of efficiency, as a simple tap in and out requires much less time than the exchange of physical cash. This in turn means fewer ticket inspections are needed, again helping to speed up the process.

Customer-driven

The human side of the passenger experience is also a key priority, the importance of driver-customer interaction is not lost on Matebane.

THE CHAIRMAN’S VIEW Abner Tsebe serves as Tshwane Rapid Transit’s Chairman and is a key representative in South Africa’s taxi industry, the supporting of which being a major part of the company’s mandate.

“We are part of a transformation programme to assist the previously disadvantaged taxi industry,” he explains. “We are here to empower African drivers.”

The most important part of Tshwane Rapid Transit’s mission, however, is the provision of an efficient transport system for local people.

“This is about the mass movement of people and easing congestion in our cities,” Tsebe says. “We need to integrate modes of transport and BRT is one component of this. We are learning from examples in Johannesburg and Cape Town and want to be better, as there are major economic advantages to be had from reducing congestion as well.”

Indeed, it is Tsebe’s ambition for the firm to become a regional leader in the BRT field, imparting its expertise gained in Tshwane to other cities across Africa.

“We as a country must be willing to embrace change for the better and integrating public transport systems is one such change that is necessary,” he says. “There will always be a demand for reliable public transport – people will always need to get to and from work and from A to B. “Our aim is to become the best transport integrator in Africa. We have the knowledge and know how to move the masses.”

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Tshwane’s new buses are an African first. The Tshwane metro boasts of being the first Sub-Saharan city to run a public transport fleet completely propelled by compressed natural gas

“Customer care and the experience passengers have with the driver is crucial, as this greatly impacts their overall impression of our service,” he adds. “On the recruitment side, we look to offer employment opportunities to previously disadvantaged taxi drivers and will be hiring close to 90 new drivers in the next two to three months.”

The company has a dedicated customer care line that provides information to passengers as and when required.

“We keep a record of the complaints that we receive from our passengers and ensure that we resolve them within a reasonable period,” explains Matebane.

“The complaints are placed in categories and the turnaround time differs depending on the nature of the complaint. It is standard practise that thorough investigations are carried out by a relevant division on certain complaints, and that feedback with evidence is provided to both the complainant and the managers involved.

“TRT prides itself with excellent service on and off the bus to ensure that our passengers are safe and protected when commuting.”

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Placement and recruitment

The company’s recruitment and placement process is conducted by the company’s human resources team. The process includes written assessment, vetting through a private company contracted to TRT, and then a driving assessment. Once a candidate has satisfied the previous requirements, the company runs a two-week driving course in partnership with Gerotek, a government entity that also provides training for the military.

Once this programme is finished, a week is dedicated to the development of soft skills like customer interaction, a vital focus because many of Tshwane Rapid Transit’s drivers come from an informal taxi sector.

Recruitment and placement is a central part of Tshwane Rapid Transit’s future plans, its longer-term ambitions being to expand the size of

the network and growing all related operations like driver training and vehicle maintenance. “It should be borne in mind that more resources are invested at this stage as the drivers are the first point of contact with the company and they are the image of the company,” adds Matebane.

The CEO concludes on an optimistic note, outlining the importance of building on the firm’s progress to date.

“Our plan is to consolidate the

growth we have enjoyed so far, which means dealing with the increased flow of passengers and managing delays, making our service as efficient as possible,” he says.

“Second, it is our intention to be involved in other contracts and other businesses in order to become selfsustaining in terms of profit. We will then be able to invest and develop more quickly as an independent company.”

Tshwane Rapid Transit Tel: 012 323 1754/012 323 1753 inquiries@tshwanetransit.net www.tshwanetransit.net

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TRANSPORT

Transformed Powered by the City of Johannesburg, Metrobus is allowingthe municipality’s economy to thrive through the provision of unrivalled public transport networks Writer: Jonathan Dyble Project Manager: Josh Mann

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outh Africa’s bustling financial and economic hub, Johannesburg is no less than the heart of the country.

Over five million people call Gauteng’s urban epicentre their home, while Stats SA has recently revealed that if the province were a country in its own right, it would be the seventh largest economy in Africa, with Johannesburg itself accounting for almost half of this provincial GDP. Other predictions have suggested that the city contributes roughly 16 percent of South Africa’s entire economy and almost a tenth of that of Sub-Saharan Africa, despite being just 1,645 square kilometres in area against the backdrop of a sub-continent spanning 23.29 million square kilometres.

Looking at any of these statistics, it’s clear that Johannesburg is crucial to the success of South Africa, and unsurprisingly houses a modern cityscape to match – modernity that has been pursued out of necessity to meet the demands of Johannesburg’s crowded, vibrant scene.

Take its public transport, for example. The City of Johannesburg has invested substantial portions of its budgets in recent years towards the development of these networks in order support its thriving economy, Metrobus being one such prime example of this.

A company formed in 2000, the firm is wholly owned by the Municipality, acting as its primary bus operator with a range of vehicles in operation, from double deck and single deck buses to those equipped with hydraulic lifts and luxury coaches.

As such, Metrobus has become a crucial entity in furthering Joburg’s legislative mandate regarding transport.

This includes adhering to its Integrated Development Plan and Provincial Growth and Development Strategy that aims to make the city more responsive in the delivery of quality services,

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The System5 Technology™ traps and neutralises these contaminants, thus, significantly increasing the engines useful life. The unique System5 Technology™ forms a robust, evenly applied oil film, protecting components from wear and corrosion thereby extending engine component life.

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while also empowering the Corridors of Freedom initiative and Integrated Transport Plan.

“We don’t just drive buses, we transport and grow the economy,” the company quotes on its website.

“Customer time, safety, compart and satisfaction remain our highest priorities.”

Efficiency is key

Carrying such strategic obligations

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on its shoulders, the company has expanded extensively, now operating 330 scheduled routes and 128 school routes across the city, transporting thousands of passengers and commuters on a daily basis.

Catering to the needs of vast numbers of people, the organisation has remained innovative, recognising the importance of technology in bolstering transport efficiency. To this end, the Metrobus network has

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DIESEL DUAL FUEL – THE MERITS Continuing to transition its fleet from being dieselpowered to DDF-powered, Metrobus has enjoyed a variety of benefits. These include: • The use of cheaper fuel, resulting in cost savings.

• Cleaner sources of energy and less harmful emissions.

• Reduced carbon deposits in vehicle engines and prolonged engine life.

• Reduced vehicle running noise.

• Furtherance of meaningful biogas developments.

• Reduced dependence upon fossil fuels.

• Greater levels of employment creation.

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introduced the option to pay fares using prepaid tags and smart cards, an attractive option to regular uses due to their reduced costs.

These are individually tailored to differing needs, from monthly tags that last for up to 52 trips to weekly tags that can hold as little as 10 prepaid trips.

Equally, the network operates on an efficient and reliable timetabled schedule, with buses stopping at designated bays around the city centre as the vehicles themselves travel at a safe speed with dedicated drivers that pride themselves on upholding Metrobus’s esteemed customer service.

This expansive portfolio stems from seven major Metrobus depots around the city, located in Milpark, Village Main, Roodepoort, Ferndale, Fordsburg, Soweto and Eldorado Park.

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Further, despite the busy city environment, Metrobus ensures that it caters to all Johannesburg’s demographics, providing its services at highly reduced fares as part of its socially responsible service provision to students, pensioners, persons with disabilities and to those from previously disadvantaged communities.

Meanwhile, free transportation is provided to the South African Police Service, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department and the South African National Defence Force.

Advocating environmental sustainability

Corporate social responsibility forms a major part of the company’s operations and motivations, practices that have embodied themselves in a variety of programmes and initiatives

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such as its Going Green project.

According to the World Health Organization which conducted a worldwide study recently, transport accounts for approximately 23 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions and 27 percent of enduse energy emissions, while urban transport accounted for approximately 40 percent of end-use energy consumption.

This in mind, and in recognition of the impact that vehicle exhaust emissions are having on the increasing energy crisis and global warming, Metrobus has sought to convert its diesel buses to diesel dual fuel (DDF) vehicles that are more environmentally friendly, as well as procuring a number of new Euro-5 DDF buses.

Having converted 30 buses to DDF operation in 2014-15 and ordered 150 Euro-5 DDF buses following this, the company’s total DDF investments to this end currently stand at

approximately $355 million, Sandown Motor Holdings (Pty) Ltd, a MercedesBenz South Africa retail commercial vehicles dealership, having delivered the vehicles.

What’s more, as part of this initiative

the organisation has partnered with the University of Johannesburg to undertake a pilot project to develop DDF-related technologies that allow for the substitution of diesel with natural gas – a first in South Africa, and a project that will see Metrobus developing a centre of excellence on natural gas vehicle conversion.

A sound, responsible company and one that has become crucial to the success of Johannesburg’s thriving economy, Metrobus will undoubtedly continue to act innovatively to the betterment of the municipality and its citizens.

Built on five key transport values of accountability, cooperation, honesty, respect and ubuntu, the business’s people-centric approach will remain a key driver of performance through the company’s provision of efficient, conventional bus services as part of the city’s wider integrated public transport network.

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Connecting Communities, Transforming Lives South Africa’s Broadband Infraco is embarking on a landmark project to extend connectivity services into rural areas.

Andrew Matseke and Phumza Dyani tell us more Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Vivek Valmiki Connectivity is essential for all South Africans. In fact, it is a basic requirement for every person to be able to fully participate in social and economic activities in our country and needs to be classified as a utility like water and electricity.

“The provision of connectivity is an exciting space and requires innovative solutions to increase access to as many people as possible.

“Hence the attraction to Broadband Infraco, for me, is mainly due to its role in South Africa’s ICT sector, and its mandate of providing connectivity to areas that include underdeveloped and underserviced areas. The ability to make a difference in the lives of fellow citizens is fulfilling for me.”

Andrew Matseke is an ardent believer in technology’s power to do good.

Now serving as Chief Executive Officer for the aforementioned Broadband Infraco, he first came

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into contact with the industry during his studies at the University of Cape Town and is quick to appreciate the fast-moving nature of the telecommunications sector.

So too is Phumza Dyani, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer.

“What keeps on inspiring me is the dynamism of the industry” she says.

“There are shifts taking place all the time.

The country, as a whole, is making strides in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) capacitation at a national level, with government driving the social agenda of inclusivity for all.

“This implies deployment of massive infrastructure into rural areas, enabling all communities to be connected. This is important to us as we see the social benefits of the industry” On the commercial side, beyond the aggregation of the industry, there is a radical shift of the competitive landscape with former customers being competitors as well a move to

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expand the telecoms Service offering.

As an example, over the top (OTT) providers, who in the past have relied on operators, are now investing in their own infrastructure and changing the business models to include infrastructure commercial offerings.

“Further, as more content is becoming available in South Africa, there is an escalating demand for fibre as well as Wi-Fi hotspots in public areas.

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SA Connect

Indeed, this is the overriding objective behind Broadband Infraco’s SA Connect project, a programme designed to boost rural connectivity in partnership with the South African government.

This nature of work is, for Dyani, a standout characteristic of the firm.

“We have both the commercial and a social mandate,” she says. “SA Connect is one of our flagship projects

Andrew Matseke, CEO

Phumza Dyani, Chief Marketing Officer

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that achieves just that, connecting government facilities to improve people’s lives.”

Targeting health and education facilities in particular, the scheme aims to achieve universal access to vital services and has already been making profound progress in rapid time.

“The project is delivered in phases,” Dyani continues, “with 6,135 sites planned for phase one. By the end of the project, over 40,000 sites will be completed. Currently, more than 480 sites have been deployed, with a target of 700 to be completed by July 2019.

“Beyond the success of on time execution is the impact we see, tangibly, in the lives of the young learners and the prospects of change in health facilities.”

“I am also encouraged by the initiatives of private sector connectivity

providers, who are rolling out FTTX (fibre to the premises) projects that include townships and secondary towns,” adds Matsebe.

“This builds a foundation for digital inclusivity, and when we aggregate these private sector initiatives with the plans of entities such as Broadband Infraco, the outlook is good for the future of connectivity and the digital transformation of South Africa.”

Connecting rural areas also carries tremendous benefits for smaller businesses, a number of which have been engaged in the roll out of SA Connect.

“We have aspirations to develop our work with SMEs further,” says Dyani.

“We look at doing this in a number of ways, including allocation of existing work according to the capabilities of the SME, upskilling to benefit from

BROADBAND INFRACO AN INTRODUCTION Broadband Infraco provides terrestrial and undersea wholesale broadband connectivity products and related value-added services to public and private licensed or license-exempt entities across all industries in South Africa.

The company’s long-distance network covers all nine provinces and most major cities and towns, extending into bordering nations such as Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

This amounts to around 15,000 kilometres of fibre optic cabling.

Infraco is also a Tier 1 investor in the West Africa Cable System (WACS), which connects South Africa to the United Kingdom, with landing stations in Namibia, Angola, Congo, DRC, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Canary Islands and Portugal.

Another key activity of the firm is to develop skills in the industry.

Matseke says: “Broadband Infraco has a core complement of employees who have ICT skills that are required in our industry. So, when we recruit, we focus on acquiring skills that enhance what we already have. The areas that we are enhancing include IP (internet protocol) network skills and coding, which are critical requirements for most 4IR solutions. Due to the good skills foundation built over the years, we have not been impacted by skills shortages.”

Dyani adds: “We attract the most competent resources in the market. Additionally, we recruit interns which we develop through the various areas of the business. We are now embarking on our TechGirl programme, where we will be exposing girl learners from Grade 9 to 11 to ICT skills, with an intention of attracting skills into the industry.”

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outh Africa’s OS Holdings has been providing consulting services to customers since it was founded in 2012.

With a particular focus on local government and state-owned enterprises, its aim is to help organisations to become more efficient in areas such as reporting and compliance via automation of processes.

Four core values OS Holdings prides itself on its adherence to four key values, values which underpin its entire organisation.

These are: • Agility - Ability to adapt to new legislation and business changes continually and successfully.

• Innovation - Creating more effective processes, products and better solutions that meet our clients’ needs.

• Growth - To attract and retain customers by providing services that meets and exceeds their expectations.

• Excellence - Ability to deliver outstanding and extremely good results in everything we do.

The company also provides opportunities for young South Africans, chiefly in the form of internships and subsequent offers of full-time employment once such courses have been completed.

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Founded in 2012, OS Holdings is 100% black female owned and managed, level 1 B-BBBE company. We are a South African based technology solution development and professional services provider operating in the public and private sectors. OS Holdings is a Sage Super Platinum Partner, that has an established track record of excellence in implementing, deploying and supporting Sage. We are an ISV partner that has developed integrated solutions in a cross section of industry verticals.

We have recently launched two systems at OS Holdings. An end to end budget and performance management system, an IDMS (Infrastructure Delivery Management System) both systems caters for PFMA, MFMA and large organisations.

As an aspiring leader in technology, we are excited to launch a number of inhouse technology solutions under the banner of OS Holdings. Our focus is to ensure that we deliver our brand promise being at the pulse of our client’s need and delivering customer centric solutions.

As we gear ourselves towards the 4IR, it is clear that the future technologies will be founded on the availability of data, we’ve launched tools that make it possible to analyse and exploit data pools in new ways using AI. We are quite excited about our collaboration and partnership with Broadband Infranco, our goal is to assist them in achieving their technology strategic objective. It’s been a great honour and privilege working with their team and leadership.

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AN EDUCATION ENABLER As well as driving the SA Connect programme, Broadband Infraco helps schools to link up to its broadband network.

The company prioritises no-fees institutions offering maths and science subjects to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, and schools which lack a coherent ICT setup.

Infraco, once a school is identified, implements a telematics solution which provides live education content delivery to support the learning process.

“We have in recent times provided broadband connectivity, a cyber-lab and cybersecurity training to a school in Limpopo,” adds Matseke.

the value chain, and integrating their offerings as part of our product and service range.

“There are many competent SMEs in South Africa and we are doing all we can to ensure their success. These companies are instrumental to the country’s development, and we can give them access to markets which would not have been possible.

“In the first quarter of 2018, the SME sector provided employment to nearly 8.9 million South Africans. Imagine the success of this as more and more SMEs start to thrive due to improved access to markets.”

Matseke further adds the importance of working with multinationals who in turn support smaller enterprise and the upskilling of

“This year we provided a telematics facility for a school in the North West province. Also, when we launch connectivity networks at schools as part of SA Connect, we have been able to provide computers and tablets to the most needy schools that do not have such equipment.”

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local people, emphasising the need for public and private sector cooperation to make the most out of the fourth industrial revolution.

“This involves the development of niche solutions that serve specific market segments,” he explains, “and we are finding that some of the solutions that we are developing achieve success faster when we partner with local companies that are already involved in the development of digital solutions that address customer specific needs.”

Indeed, the SA Connect project has involved close collaboration between public and private entities.

Broadband Infraco is using private and public-sector network service providers for the last mile between its PoPs (points of presence) and the facilities being connected under the programme. This model has proven itself so far, and has provided a template that Matseke would like to see adopted by the industry for future connectivity initiatives.

Forward thinking

Expanding connectivity across the country is just one element of Broadband Infraco’s agenda, however.

Matseke highlights plans towards the organic growth of the company’s own network business, an initiative which is complimentary to the implementation of SA Connect.

A key part of these plans is to ensure that Infraco has redundancy on its core network routes, including the routes to the borders with all of the neighbouring countries it serves.

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Connectivity is one of the key drivers of economic growth and is an enabler of social and economic inclusivity” “We are also planning to deploy an IP Layer across our entire network,” Matseke says. “Currently this is only available in the ‘golden triangle’ between Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.”

Dyani also points to the need to monitor closely developments in areas such as IoT, big data and artificial intelligence, the company assessing what investments to make and strategic alliances to pursue in these subsectors.

But development of these technologies will join up with Broadband Infraco’s mission to open up connectivity solutions to all, and in

Broadband Corporate

some cases help to enable it.

Matseke concludes by outlining his priorities for the rest of 2019 and reinforcing the importance of providing these opportunities for all across South Africa.

“Our objectives include the rollout of SA Connect, the expansion of our network footprint to reach areas of South Africa that are not sufficiently covered, the upgrade of the capacity in our core network, the expansion of our IP network, and the use of these network enhancements to improve the service offering to our customers.

“We would like to use this foundation to make our solutions

relevant to the demands of the market. This is what will improve the success and sustainability of our business, which in turn will boost connectivity across the country.

“Connectivity is one of the key drivers of economic growth and is an enabler of social and economic inclusivity. If we are to prosper as a nation and to address the historical challenges of poverty and inequality, we need to have inclusive connectivity that covers both the urban and rural parts of South Africa.”

Broadband Infraco Tel: +27 11 235 1600 info@infraco.co.za ww2.infraco.co.za

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Working with telecommunications providers across Ghana and Nigeria, Pan African Towers is effectively, efficiently and technologically helping to ready Africa for a new-era Writer: Jonathan Dyble Project Manager: Vivek Valmiki

n many ways, Africa is best known as a continent poised for prosperity.

Home to four of the 10 fastest expanding economies in the world, the entire region’s GDP growth rate is projected to accelerate to four percent this year according to the African Development Bank, while forecasts are estimating that it will be home to an additional 1.3 billion people by 2050.

Faced with magnification on a multitude of fronts, sustainability in the form of economic development will be crucial to Africa’s success over the coming decades, from critical construction projects to the modernisation of telecommunications.

The latter has been deemed to be of particular importance, with 4G and even 5G technologies anticipated to power the expansion of progressive spaces such as mobile banking and ecommerce. This in mind, Analysys Mason has predicted that the telecoms service market in SubSaharan Africa will be worth $53.3 billion by 2023 – up from the $46.3 billion recorded last year.

Confronted with this rapidlychanging landscape, Pan African Towers is one firm helping to facilitate these major transformations.

“Undoubtedly, we are positioned for change and I’d even say we are leading it to an extent,” explains Wole Abu, the organisation’s CEO. “Simply, we’re enabling more companies to achieve their potential using our unique and innovative business model.”

An indigenous, licensed telecommunications infrastructure company, Pan African Towers is new on the scene having formally launched operations in Nigeria and Ghana last year, providing sharing services to internet service providers (ISPs) and

Wole Abu, CEO

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mobile network operators (MNOs) from its already extensive portfolio of sites, distributed antenna systems, fibre networks and small cell solutions.

“We spotted the opportunities available for a nimble, innovative, and affordable independent Towerco in the African market,” reveals Abu, “and decided to run with it. I’d say it’s been a successful venture in these relatively early days – we’ve already grown to have 1,000 towers and have to date supported numerous telecom operators in lowering costs and delivering high-quality services.”

Embodying quality and reliability

This already-expansive network has served to attract substantial attention across the region, Pan African Towers now working with all of the major MNOs and ISPs in Nigeria.

“We have grown organically and inorganically,” Abu reveals. “We acquired some existing towers and have also rolled out new such facilities under a build to suit arrangement with a leading MNO. At the end of this year our intention is to have doubled our sites adopting these same approaches.”

Expansion is a core ambition of Pan African Towers, the firm investing heavily in order to further bolster its position across a number of sectorrelated verticals. Abu continues, citing numerous examples of this investment plan: “We recently launched a $20 million upgrade of our power infrastructure collaboration with an international energy service provider.

“We are also working on expanding our footprint by the addition of 400 sites, recently deployed the largest

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WOLE ABU Starting out as an engineering graduate, Abu launched a number of entrepreneurial ventures with his friends prior to the turn of the millennium that included a business supplying and installing servers, security systems and communication systems.

Leveraging the skillset and platform gained from this experience, he applied his expertise to the telecommunications industry, joining Econet Wireless in 2001 as 2G technologies began to sweep the continent.

“I fell in love with the dynamic, fast-paced hypergrowth environment of the Nigerian telecoms Industry,” Abu explains. “I spent 16 years in the MNO environment where I was responsible for a diverse range of functions such as marketing, sales, network operations, finance and legal, progression through up until last year when I left Airtel as the company’s Vice President of Sales.”

Today, Abu stands as the Chief Executive Officer of Pan African Towers, hoping to take the company to a global leadership position over the next four years.

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DAS in Nigeria in collaboration with one of our key partners, and are also connecting about 300 of our key sites to fibre soon and testing out our small cell solution in two locations within Nigeria.”

Aggressively investing in both expansion and enhancement to this end, Pan African Towers has positioned itself as a key proponent of new technologies, capitalising on emerging trends such as 5G and the internet of things.

Its focus on small cell solutions in Lagos and Abuja, for example, is allowing the company to provide 4G and 5G technologies to network operators through active sharing as a neutral host. What’s more, it is ensuring that each of its sites remain upgraded to the highest of standards, providing data to the edge across many of its sites.

“Our key differentiator is innovation across the value chain of the business, equally creating value for all stakeholders in turn,” Abu adds.

“We have a unique site build and maintenance model that enables us to deliver superior quality and reliability to our customers at very competitive rates.”

Inside a Pan African Towers installation

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Upper double-digit revenue growth, doubling our network expansion, operational expenditure reductions and tenancy growth are all in the pipeline for the next 12 months”

Abu hopes Pan African Towers will continue to impart change across the continent

Driving change

There are, of course, challenges that come with being an industry innovator, often representing themselves in the employment sphere. Faced with skill shortages across both Ghana and Nigeria, the company has had to work tirelessly to ensure that it has the right team with the right skills so that it can readily undertake complex projects.

Abu reveals: “Staffing is naturally a major hurdle for us, but we have been able to develop a robust talent management programme internally that continuously identifies skills gaps

in line with industry demands. We are then able to ensure that any of these identified gaps are immediately addressed.

“Fortunately, we benefit from the last mover advantage, not making the mistakes of our predecessors in the industry, both in terms of business modelling and staffing.”

Practices such as these are crucial to the success of Pan African Towers, again evident in the form of its supply chain where the organisation works with a network of four major infrastructure partners, two integrated

site management partners and a host of other carefully selected independent contractors that offer the business fundamental materials, services and external expertise.

A consolidated player to this end, working with esteemed suppliers and housing the best staff in order to effectively serve key customers, Pan African Towers is primed for growth throughout 2019 and beyond, the firm eyeing several key milestones over the coming months.

“Upper double-digit revenue growth, doubling our network expansion, operational expenditure reductions and tenancy growth are all in the pipeline for the next 12 months. We have an Africawide growth strategy readied and we will continue to take the opportunity to drive change across the continent during the next couple of years,” the CEO concludes.

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Growing as One FVC International is helping to safeguard South Africa’s fruit and veg industry by balancing risk and developing long-term, sustainable partnerships with growers around the country Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Lewis Bush

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n an ever-connected, globalised world, consumers have more choice than ever over what food and drink they decide to buy.

Seasonality is no longer an issue as fresh produce is grown all over the world and transported en masse all year round.

This is particularly true of fruit and vegetables – products which are subject to intense aesthetic scrutiny by retailers eager to present perfectlyformed options to their customers.

Competition among growers and their exporting partners is therefore intense, and South Africa is just one of many prolific fruit and veg producing countries that is having to compete on a global stage.

Enter Fruit & Veg (FVC) International. Established in 2004 by Jaco van Tubbergh, the company is wholly owned by retailer Food Lover’s Market and handles all imports and exports

within the group, its major export product lines including apples, pears, citrus, grapes and plums.

Exporting to the likes of North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Southeast Asia, China and the Middle East, as well as other African nations, FVC is a hands-on one-stop shop

priding itself on quality processes, from growing and picking to packing and distribution.

“In order to navigate industry challenges, we have had to work smarter and with more energy,” says Ryno Palm, FVC International’s Head of Marketing.

“This is vital given the level of competition around the world, and we must go the extra mile to secure the right orders not only for us, but for our producers.

That few extra rand can make all the difference.”

Palm is no stranger to the importance of margins for farmers.

Ryno Palm, FVC International’s Head of Marketing

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“I grew up in a farming community,” he continues. “My great grandfather was a farmer in the Western Cape and my parents are still farming on the same farm in the Hex River Valley to this day. I have always been inspired and proud of what we produced and, as I got older, I learned about the industry and dealing with farmers, and the various challenges and opportunities they are presented with.

“After studying winemaking, I got involved in the export business, something which I have been doing since 2001. The opportunity to work for FVC International came a couple of years ago and presented a new challenge in many ways, including different products like citrus and the import element of the business, as well as the link to our parent retailer company.”

FACT FILE: FVC INTERNATIONAL

FVC International has a wide footprint of partner growers across South Africa which combine with its packing and distribution facilities to serve customers all over the world.

The following facts shed further light on the company’s operations: • To ensure that FVC packs its fruit to the highest local and international standards, we have enlisted the support of some of the country’s most state-of-the-art packing facilities.

• All farms and pack houses adhere to strict food safety and ethical standards and are regularly audited. This gives customers piece of mind that they are receiving produce that was grown and packed by people adopting best practices.

• Once the fruit has been packed, it is ready to go into the container and be transported to the harbour, where it will head to its final destination many thousands of kilometres away.

• FVC International, together with two leading growerexporters, runs its own logistics company, Horizon Fruits.

Together, 12,500 containers are shipped to more than 35 destinations worldwide.

• FVC is also the largest importer of fresh produce into South Africa.

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Passionate South African farming advocates, Palm and FVC are also grounded.

While operating as one of the country’s fastest-growing fruit and veg exporters and already its largest importer, the company is not aiming to conquer the global market. Rather, its formula which has proven successful to date is to balance risk and opportunity across its network of clients.

To ensure a year-round, reliable supply of produce, FVC has longstanding partnerships spread right across South Africa, helping to mitigate seasonal challenges associated with climate.

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“Over the years we have structured a system which has proven to be sustainable,” says Palm.

“For example, with citrus there are three major growing areas in South Africa – the Northern Province, Eastern Cape and Western Cape. Within these areas we have at least two or three dedicated suppliers that form the backbone of our citrus business, suppliers who have been on board with us since the start.

“The same applies to our grape growers – we are focussed on maximising our business with two or three producers in different regions.”

Such partnerships ensure both FVC

and its community of growers develop as one, what Palm describes as a family approach to navigating various market nuances.

“Working with growers is my major passion, and we are all working together to ensure we are farming again next year,” he adds. “The success of our business is in no small part down to the fact we have an incredibly loyal group of suppliers.

“In some cases, we have seen partner producers triple their volumes since being with us, and we also have a similar approach with clients in that we have long-term, loyal customers in regions around the world.”

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Responsibility

Built up over the past 15 years, the FVC network has become a champion of responsibility and standard setting.

In terms of environmental sustainability, parent company Food Lover’s Market has placed a large focus on recycling, reusing and reducing the amount of packaging involved in its operations, a scheme which has the full backing of FVC’s growers.

For instance, its grape packets are made from recycled plastic, and the firm is always looking to explore new ideas through a dedicated unit named Earth Lovers, a division which studies the entire environmental footprint of the business.

“Advocating good agricultural practice is also very high on the agenda for us,” Palm says. “We service retailers which demand high standards, and we ensure all the necessary due diligence is in place to meet these expectations.

“The growers bought into this many years ago and we have a dedicated team to look after the accreditations of our farmers, making sure they comply with rules in areas like chemical use.

We also check shipments before they are sent out to customers.

“This scrutiny applies to safety and ethical standards too, and we audit at farm level to make sure we are working with the right suppliers.

It is hugely important to us and our producers.”

Further, in the communities surrounding its network of partners, FVC apportions funds to charitable projects which include supporting institutions like nursing homes and special fundraising events.

Consolidation

This sustainable, balanced and responsible modus operandi has facilitated 15 years of development since van Tubbergh went into business in 2004, and for Palm the onus is very much on consolidating this progress.

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Inside one of FVC International’s packing facilities

“We came out of a challenging 2018 in terms of the South African citrus and grape industries,” he explains.

“Our focus is on the customer and supporting our growers, strengthening our relationships and making sure we continue to distribute high quality goods. This will stand us in good stead for the next five years.

“We need to analyse global supply and demand trends to the deepest detail and position ourselves to be a sustainable business.”

Indeed, Palm points to a recentlysecured agreement with a Middle Eastern retailer which involves an expansion into dried fruits, the new client seeking supplies of raisins and fresh juices to serve its customer base.

FVC has also undergone a rebranding exercise on its packaging, a key priority for the year ahead being to ensure product quality underpins this refreshed company image.

These developments leave Palm Overseas projects particularly popular bullish about theare rest of 2019 and beyond, both for FVC and South Africa

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as a fruit and veg exporter.

He concludes: “If we back up our brand with sustained product quality then we will always be on the high end of the demand.

“We have to compete with the world. We have to constantly offer quality at the right cost. This takes a lot of hard work, and we at FVC need to lead the growers, inspire them and show them that they can compete with those outside of South Africa.

“We have proven we can do this over many years and must continue to do so more than ever before.”

FVC International Tel: +27 21 505 5960 marketing@fvc.co.za www.fvci.co.za

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Here’s to 21 years of staying fresh together Since 1998 the Food Lovers Group of companies has managed to maintain a fresh, insights-driven approach to the industry in which they work.

As their proud banking partner for the last 21 years, we’d like to extend our most sincere congratulations to FVC International on their 15th anniversary.

We look forward to many years of shared success, growth and opportunity together.

Supplying fruit growers and exporters with all the requirements they need to deliver quality products locally and abroad.

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frica faces the daunting challenge of feeding 1.5 billion people by 2030 and two billion by 2050, but it’s one that the continent intends to meet having already made numerous strides.

“As most West African countries are net food importers, food security became a concern and the region went through a period of agricultural transformation around 2011/12,” reveals Siviwe Ngubentombi, highlighting the region’s evident awareness and the proactive measures being taken.

Drawn into this transformation, Ngubentombi himself began to parlay relationships to supply

mechanical agricultural equipment and enable agricultural modernisation, procuring licenses and partnering with international engineering firms to deliver decentralised flour mills, abattoirs and the like.

“I quickly sparked an interest in general infrastructure and supply chains, particularly regarding what interventions could be made to address the asymmetric transformative value of food and harness the socioeconomic multiplier dividend inherent in mechanised decentralised agricultural processing activities,” he adds.

“I also began to look at the water purification space as another catalyst for poverty alleviation. The

best western water purification technologies that I found were very expensive, mainly geared towards the oil and gas industry, and required a high level of re-engineering.

“This coincided with the onset of severe drought in South Africa, and I felt a calling to return home and get involved in an industry that would deliver practical and tangible socioeconomic and health benefits to the region through ongoing innovation and on the ground activity.”

Resultantly, Ngubentombi left behind his self-founded grains, foodstuffs and medical sourcing business in Cyprus and moved back to South Africa to join Klomac Engineering as its Managing

Furthering Reso Klomac Engineering has risen to the fore of African utilities, enabling the implementation of effective water treatment and chemical processes Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Krisha Canlas

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plants, pumps, pipes, telemetry controls and auxiliary equipment throughout Southern Africa.”

Tailored service Further, the firm’s services equally A company at the forefront of extend to process design, in-house helping South African municipalities machining and fabrication facilities, and private and public industrial reliable aftersales maintenance companies implement effective water services that includes the supply of treatment and chemical processes, hazardous water treatment chemicals.

Klomac Engineering has become a These capabilities are then focused fundamental player in the nation’s on the design, supply, installation, wastewater ecosystem. commissioning and maintenance of “Essentially, we’re a water solution water works, pump stations, steel engineering business,” Ngubentombi fabricated pipes, valves and water reveals. “We market a turnkey tanks. The firm’s quality assurance solutions package which includes the system is ISO 9001:2015 accredited, building, refurbishing and maintenance to ensure the best curated rural and of water treatment works, package urban clear and waste water solutions.

“By leveraging our dynamic workshop facility, we have the freedom, flexibility and propriety equipment to create fully integrated turnkey solutions across the hydromechanical and steel works spectrum,” explains the MD. “These involve the fabrication of products tailored to any client’s needs.

“What’s more, our commitment to excellence requires strong organisational and planning skills, often away from any resources.

We design, fabricate, assemble and thoroughly test all mechanical works at our facility in Durban. They are then disassembled and readied for transport with all the components to site for installation and commissioning.”

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Facilitating resource efficiency

Such emphasis on providing esteemed and extensive services has seen Klomac Engineering gain reputed status across the continent, status that has facilitated the firm’s seamless expansion into new regions.

This in mind, the company’s footprint now spans across Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, from Tanzania and Uganda to Mozambique and Mauritius.

Coupled with this growing presence is an influx of new, flagship projects, the latest being its work as the mechanical and electrical subcontractor to Stefanutti Stocks Construction for the installation of Hitachi’s advanced water treatment demonstration facility at the Central Wastewater Treatment Works in Durban.

“This particular project involves the construction of a demonstration plant for technology which combines seawater desalination and wastewater recycling. The technology is known to the market as the remix water system, and this is the first time that it’s being used in Africa,” reveals Ngubentombi.

“The purpose of the demonstration plant is to test the technology, prove its ability to reliably produce potable water quality and optimise the design for it to be considered for larger commercial-scale implementation.”

Set to help highlight South Africa as an exemplary resource economy, this goal is just one of five key ambitions that the Managing Director has outlined for Klomac Engineering for the year ahead.

He continues: “We’re also seeking to

further market our in-house electrical and automation solutions; implement a value chain strategy to increase eco-friendly water purification supply by 20 percent; seek new partnerships to address project funding barriers in the current economic climate; and optimise production and increase our supplier and emerging qualified subcontractor network.”

These are realistic albeit challenging targets in the face of multiple pressures on the industry, coming from commercial agriculture, cyclical droughts and increased resource demands from the continent’s growing population. However, in the eyes of Ngubentombi, water will be crucial to African economies becoming resource efficient – an ambition that Klomac Engineering will be key to achieving.

BESPOKE SOLUTIONS Klomac Engineering’s product range is compiled and continuously reviewed to provide its customers with turnkey solutions packages that consistently satisfy their individual water use needs and concerns surrounding energy consumption, asset efficiency and environmental sustainability.

The industries and institutions that Klomac Engineering serves include: • Rural water supply • Local, provincial and national government • Building and construction developments • Industry and general engineering concerns

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EMPLOYMENT EXCELLENCE Klomac Engineering offers employees with the opportunity to enrol in learnerships and skills training institutions that are externally facilitated and accredited with the South African Qualifications Association and Engineering SETA. The company views each individual member of staff as a key investment that requires considered career pathing in line with their personal aspirations.

“In 2019 we became labour intensive construction (LIC) accredited and remain one of very few mechanical engineering enterprises and an early adopter of the Department of Public Works policy of training and assigning local manual labour and local suppliers instead of typical machinery and external supply chains wherever practically possible,” adds Ngubentombi.

“This approach will leave an increased employment and skills legacy in the geographical theatre of our rural and peri-urban operations.”

• Leaders in Domestic and Industrial Electrical installation • LT /HT work • Cable fault location • Thermal imaging

45 Recreation Rd, Rossburgh, Durban Tel: +27 31 4658407 | Fax: +27 31 4655824

www.vinpower.co.za

He concludes: “Having spent most of my youth in the former Transkei Homeland in the Eastern Cape, I’ve gained an acute understanding and perspective of the reality faced by rural and peri-urban households and businesses.

“And, in my opinion, reliable water infrastructure will be fundamental in helping to build strong and sustainable rural communities, fulfil gaps in catalyst commodity value chains and transform life expectancy and hunger alleviation simultaneously.”

Klomac Engineering Tel: +27 (0) 31 579 6800 admin@klomaceng.co.za www.klomaceng.co.za

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Lighting the Transformation of Mozambique Electricidade de Moçambique has been connecting communities to the national grid for more than four decades, aiming for universal access to power by 2030 Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Krisha Canlas

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ccess to electricity is fundamental to the socioeconomic development of any country.

From simple domestic freedoms such as cooking, heating and lighting to powering industrial applications and being connected to the internet, energy is the key enabler.

Mozambique’s story of electrification is an evolving one. In 1995 little more than one in a hundred citizens had access to power, a figure which has risen markedly over the ensuing decades to around 25 percent today.

For electricity services provider Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), however, this is not enough.

Mandated to open up access to energy for all by 2030, the company has been operating under the slogan of lighting the transformation for more than four decades and has made some steady progress.

For example, 151 of the existing 154 district headquarters in the country are interconnected to the national power grid and the remaining three are in the process of their completion, while the company has on its books more than

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1,640,000 clients.

“We will continue with increasing determination for the attainment of the objectives set to us under different guiding instruments of the fight against poverty that we have today in Mozambique,” the company states.

“We are aware that the services that we are providing need increasing improvement. We have been doing a lot in this sense, ranging from huge investments in the rehabilitation and upgrading of our power grids, provision of more useful training to our staff and the improvement and expansion of our infrastructures.”

1995 – a turning point

EDM was established in 1977 but did not become a public company until 1995, a year which appears to have sparked the growth in access to electricity across the nation.

The restructuring was part of a wider series of economic reforms that aimed to repair Mozambique in the aftermath of the civil war, a series of conflicts which damaged many electricity generation and transmission facilities.

Four key strategic objectives were

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highlighted: Improve quality of service delivered to customers; expansion of domestic and regional electrical grid; EDM capacity building, especially with regard to establishing a productive and motivated workforce; and participation in the exploitation of the country’s hydro potential.

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EDM’s internal restructuring also carried some major objectives based around promoting competence, improved management and performance.

This included the establishment of regional operational units to devolve responsibility and increase transparency in the organisation, the

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formation of commercial departments and growth of invoicing systems, and measures to reduce electricity losses in generation, transmission, invoicing and collection processes.

Customer focus

One way EDM is attempting to reduce financial losses and make it easier for

customers to run their accounts involves making payments easier.

To this end, the company has introduced several quick and simple methods involving technology.

Customers have the option to pay via a direct debit agreement with their bank, or can make one off payments through using an ATM.

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More traditional methods, such as using a physical bank branch and filling in a paper form, can also still be used.

The rise of connectivity and online-based payments has led the firm to pursue other options such as purchasing electricity in petrol stations, vending machines in supermarkets and even a scratch card-style voucher system.

EDM also has its own network of branches, centres where customers can deliver metre readings, request information and voice any concerns about their electricity provision. Such services are also available over the phone thanks to the company’s call centre operation.

In terms of managing electricity consumption, EDM supplies prepaid meters designed to help customers track their usage and manage spend over a period of time.

Helping neighbours

As well as working to roll out electrification across Mozambique, EDM also supports neighbouring countries who are in need of power.

For example, in April this year it renewed a contract with Lesotho Electricity Company to provide energy for another year, a deal which will

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see 35 MW being sent, ensuring the landlocked nation housed in South Africa maintains a stable power supply.

The two countries have been cooperating on this since 2008, while another example of nation to nation collaboration comes in the form of an agreement with Malawi.

The project agreements signed with Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi include implementation, system operating, maintenance, wheeling and power purchase, and are subject to renewal every five years as Malawi is still developing its internal power generation capacity.

Once completed, the net result will see around 50 MW of electricity travelling to Malawi from Mozambique, with another 150 MW coming from South Africa courtesy of Southern Africa Power Pool’s participation in the programme.

However, the organisation’s primary focus remains on empowering citizens closer to home, its eyes very much on meeting its 2030 target.

“EDM is not a company for those working in it. It is for all Mozambicans and, in that way, all of them have the patriotic way of making their contribution,” the firm states.

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SCDS

Consultoria em Desenvolvimento Social Lda

SCDS is an independent firm with niche advisory services for resettlement, community and social development. SCDS has long experience in social analysis and environmental assessment.

SCDS builds on its existing knowledge, capacity and working tools in social and community development to respond to a wide client-base. SCDS has in-house capacity to meet the needs of clients in Mozambique and the region. It aims to continue enhancing local development by designing social and environmental safeguards for public and private sector development and investment projects and programmes, and strengthening capacity to plan, manage and implement these.

Outlook Creative Services

SCDS Consultoria em Desenvolvimento Social Lda. Rua do Parque nr 129, 2º andar – Maputo Tel: +258 21 48 9933 E-mail: admin@scdshub.com

Norconsult Moçambique Lda. is a company of Multidisciplinary Engineering consultants, with focus in Mozambique in the following disciplines:

Outlook Publishing’s awardwinning in-house team is now utilising its extensive production skills to offer a full and bespoke range of editorial, design and marketing services via its new Outlook Creative Services division.

· Project Management · Power System Planning · Distribution Network Planning and Electrification Design · Transmission Power Systems (HVAC & HVDC) Engineering

· Contract Administration · Construction Management · Construction Site Supervision · Testing & Commissioning · Geological Investigations · Infrastructure Engineering

Norconsult Moçambique Lda. combines its resources with Norconsult head office in Norway, other Southern African subsidiaries and local partners, in order to establish project teams fully capable of handling all aspects of project preparation and execution, presently focused on the power sector, but also on activities within infrastructure, environment and other economic sectors, as well as institutional development.

Norconsult Moçambique Lda. has maintained a permanent establishment in Mozambique since 1980, with a a local office in Maputo.

On a project to project basis, Norconsult Mocambique Lda. has longstanding and successful experience from associating with other local and regional firms as and when required.

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N V I S I T: www.outlookpublishing.com/creative-services

Avenida Armando Tivane 1853, Sommerschield, Maputo Telephone: + 258 21 48 50 58/9 Telefax: + 258 21 48 50 57 E-mail: Firmapost.Mozambique@norconsult.com

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Encouraging investment into Africa’s second largest oil producer

EVENT DETAILS WHEN: June 4-6 WHERE: Luanda, Angola WEBSITE: www.africaoilandpower.com/event/ angola-oil-gas-2019

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AFRICA OIL & Power is proud to announce that it will organise the first Angola Oil & Gas 2019 conference, to be hosted June 4-6, 2019 in Luanda.

Officially endorsed by the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Petroleum of the Republic of Angola, the conference will be the elite energy event for one of Africa’s premier oil and gas markets.

The conference will gather key governmental officials and C-level executives spanning the spectrum of the energy industry for a week of keynote presentations, moderated panel discussions, exhibitions, networking gatherings and investment facilitation. The event will put a premium on deal-making and

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relationship brokering as Angola aims to attract investment in all segments of the energy chain.

With a daily production of 1.6 million barrels of oil per day, Angola is the second largest oil producer on the African continent and a full member of OPEC since 2007. Under the new political leadership of H.E. João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola, and with oil prices stabilising, Angola’s oil and gas industry, based mostly on its proven deep-offshore basin, becomes once again a highly attractive investment destination.

The conference will feature discussion themes on the following: • The investment climate in Angola under the new leadership of H.E. President Lourenço and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum, H.E. Diamantino Pedro Azevedo.

• The role of the new National Oil and Gas Agency and the privatisation of some Sonangol subsidiaries.

• Acquisition of new licenses and continued exploration and development of the offshore basins.

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An unparalleled opportunity for networking

EVENT DETAILS WHEN: June 11-14 WHERE: Lisbon, Portugal CONTACT: AEF@energynet.co.uk WEBSITE: www.africa-energy-forum.com

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THE 21ST Africa Energy Forum (AEF) will take place in Lisbon, Portugal between June 11-14, 2019.

The Africa Energy Forum (AEF) is the global investment meeting for Africa’s power, energy, infrastructure and industrial sectors.

A pioneer of the industry, for the last 20 years AEF has gathered governments, utilities, power developers, financial institutions, power technology providers, EPC contractors and consultants from all over the world to discuss investment and projects in Africa’s energy sector.

The Forum has evolved into the number one platform to attend meetings, do deals and drive projects

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forward, all under one roof.

The 21st Africa Energy Forum will take place in Portugal, welcoming 2,000 delegates for four days of panel discussions and networking functions focused on Africa’s Energy Sector.

For more information about how to attend, visit www.africa-energy-forum. com or contact AEF@energynet.co.uk

Forum Sponsor

Africa

Energy.

In one place.

11 - 14 JUNE 2019 • LISBON All readers and subscribers of the Africa Outlook are entitled to an exclusive 10% off on registration. Email marketing@energynet.co.uk to claim your discount using the code: AEFAO19.

africa-energy-forum.com

ZAMBIA INTERNATIONAL MINING AND ENERGY CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

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The country’s longest running mining and energy event

EVENT DETAILS WHEN: June 13-14 WHERE: Lusaka, Zambia WEBSITE: www.ametrade.org/zimeczambia

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BUILDING ON nearly a decade’s worth of experience connecting senior mining and energy executives with Zambian policy makers, the Zambia International Mining & Energy Conference (ZIMEC) has always played an integral part in shaping a sustainable growth path for Zambia’s mining and energy sectors.

Over the years, the event has been providing an unparalleled opportunity for businesses to network and showcase to key industry stakeholders.

Organised with the full support of The Zambian Ministries of Mines and Energy, the Zambia Chamber

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of Mines and by AME Trade Ltd, the ninth Zambia International Mining and Energy Conference & Exhibition (ZIMEC 2019) will take place on June 13-14 in Lusaka, Zambia.

Over the two days of conference and two concurrent streams, ZIMEC 2019 will feature 50-plus industry experts addressing the hard-hitting topics crucial to advancing the mining and power projects, key to Zambia’s sustainable development.

The event will once again serve the region’s mining and energy communities with an authoritative and lucrative platform to brand, learn and synergise with the promulgators of the industry.

ThE LoNgEsT govErNmENT sUpporTEd miNiNg & ENErgy EvENT iN Zambia

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Zambia iNTErNaTioNaL miNiNg aNd ENErgy CoNFErENCE & EXhibiTioN

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13-14 JUNE 2019 radissoN bLU hoTEL | LUsaKa, Zambia

BRONZE SPONSORS

ASSOCIATE SPONSOR

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STRATEGIC PARTNER

ORGANISED BY

rEgisTEr Today at www.ametrade.org/zimeczambia @zimec_zambia #ZimEC