GOVERNANCE FINANCE POWER...Europe €10, Ghana C1.8, Kenya Ksh200, Nigeria N330, South Africa R25, UK £7, USA $12 GOVERNANCE Progress is lagging behind expectations of population

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POWERInnovation at centre of meetingenergy demand P28

FINANCEOverall regional outlook from 2019and beyond P18

CONSTRUCTIONUsing 4D modelling in design projects P39

Europe €10, Ghana C1.8, Kenya Ksh200, Nigeria N330, South Africa R25, UK £7, USA $12

GOVERNANCEProgress is lagging behind expectations of population P15

DECEMBER 2018 / JANUARY 2019

LAGOS TO BOOST ENERGY SECURITYThe state in talks to acquire a FSRU to deliver off-grid power

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TOP TECH FIRMS TO PITCH AT MINING INDABAFour start-ups invited to present innovative solutions

“Major Ugandan enterprises are expectedto come to market by early 2019”Kwasi Kwarteng, Head Africa Regions, Debt Capital Markets, Standard Bank

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RISING FORTUNESWill the continent be the world’s next big growth market?

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SERVING BUSINESS INAFRICA SINCE 1964

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Cover picture: African finance© Adobe StockCover Inset: Kwasi Kwarteng, Head Africa Regions,Debt Capital Markets, Standard Bank© Standard Bank

Serving the world of business

Audit Bureau of Circulations -Business Magazines

Editor’s NoteWelcome to our final edition of 2018. It has been an eventful and action-packed year, with all

sectors continuing to go from strength to strength. The region in 2019, in fact, will be revealed asthe world’s next growth market according to a new book by McKinsey & Company, (page 16). This is inspite of the economic and political uncertainties surrounding two of the continent's major economies;Nigeria and South Africa.Interestingly, Lagos State is in talks with Golar LNG to acquire a FSRU to meet the city's power needs,

which could kick-start the deregulation of the Nigerian Power sector, (page 28). The formwork and scaffolding industry continues to respond to a lively construction sector in many

markets, especially with landmark projects, such as The Pinnacle in Nairobi, which will be the tallestbuilding in Africa when it is completed by 2020, (page 36).Finally, a quiet revolution is taking place across the continent thanks to the marvel of mobile

finance which is lifting thousands of people out of poverty. To find out more, turn to page 50.

Season’s greetings and a happy new year!

Samantha Payne, Editor

Contents14 Profile

Kwasi Kwarteng, Head Africa Regions, Debt Capital Marketsfor Standard Bank, explains why the continent’s debtcapital markets are expected to sustain the region’s abilityto import capital and manage debt.

15 GovernanceThe 2018 Ibrahim Index of African Governance hashighlighted that public governance progress in Africa islagging behind the expectations of a growing youngpopulation.

18 FinanceEconomist Moin Siddiqi looks at the opportunities andchallenges facing African economies in 2019 and beyond.

26 Onsite powerPortable power remains an important part of thecontinent’s energy mix. From small businesses to giantoffshore rigs, it is vital to maintain safe and stableoperations.

28 Gas-to-powerWale Oluwo, Lagos State commissioner for energy andmineral resources is in negotiations with Golar LNG toacquire a FSRU in order to help meet the region’s powerneeds.

36 ConstructionHow major formwork and scaffolding providers areresponding to the demand of projects in the livelyconstruction sector.

44 MiningFour emerging tech companies will have the opportunityto pitch their solutions at Investing in Mining Indaba on 4-7 February.

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Editor: Samantha PayneEmail: [email protected]

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Head Office: Alain Charles Publishing Ltd, University House, 11-13 Lower Grosvenor Place, London SW1W 0EX, United KingdomTel: +44 (0)20 7834 7676, Fax: +44 (0)20 7973 0076

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His Majesty, King Mohammed VI and PresidentEmmanuel Macron has inaugurated the Tangier-Casablanca high-speed train line.Alstom supplied the Office National des Cheminsde Fer Marocain (ONCF) with 12 very high-speedtrains for the Tangier-Casablanca railwaysection. “We are extremely proud to bring high-speed rail for the first time to the Africancontinent,” said Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Alstomchairman and CEO.

Morocco inaugurates high-speed line

BRIEFS

A delegation from the World Bank has visited Egyptto assess its sewage services programme.The first phase of the programme – costingUS$550mn – will help 150 villages in thegovernorates of Daqahliya, Sharqiya and Behaira,according to a report in Egypt Today.An additional US$300mn World Bank loan will coverthe second phase of the programme. Also, aUS$300mn loan from the Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank will assist in costs of the project.

World Bank visits Egypt’s sewage programme

Morocco, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeriaand Ethiopia were the dominant anchoreconomies within their respectiveregions, collectively accounting for 40per cent of the continent’s total FDIprojects, according to EY’s latest AfricaAttractiveness report.The Turning Tides report stated that

overall these four major sub-regionseach attract similar FDI when measuredby project numbers. For the first timeever, East Africa became the singlelargest beneficiary of FDI with 197projects (27 per cent of total projects).Southern Africa, by contrast, faredlowest of the four major regions, at 162projects (23 per cent).The 2017 data shows that Africa

attracted 718 FDI projects which is up six per cent from the previous year. This was in line with arecovery in the continent’s economic growth, following a difficult preceding year. The higher projectnumbers were driven by interest in ‘next generation’ sectors, namely manufacturing, infrastructure andpower generation. Despite the rise in FDI, project numbers remain below the 10-year average of 784projects (per annum).The report also highlights the countries with the strongest FDI gains, with Ethiopia, Kenya and

Zimbabwe experiencing a major uptick in FDI during the 2017 year. By contrast, South Africa, Egypt,Mozambique and Côte d’Ivoire experienced declines in FDI projects in the same year.Ajen Sita, EY Africa CEO, says, “2017 was in many respects a major year for the continent. We saw

multiple changes in leadership across a number of countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe andAngola. In addition, Kenya’s election was drawn out which created uncertainty at the time. Changes inleadership have in turn led to a renewed urgency to implement fresh policies as new administrationsmove to address slow economic growth.”

Eni has released the second volume of theWorld Oil, Gas and Renewables Review,following the first edition published on theoil market and the refining industry. Itprovides data and statistics on natural gas,biofuels and renewable energy sources thatare acquiring an important role in theenergy landscape by leading the transition toa less carbon intensive and more sustainableenergy system.In 2017, world gas reserves decreased

slightly, by -0.2 per cent. Russia remains thetop holder of gas reserves, with 25 per centof the world’s total. Among the top ten,seven are OPEC countries with 44 per cent ofthe world’s total. World gas production increased by 3.6 per

cent, the highest y-o-y increase since 2010.Pushed by new LNG plants, Australia’sproduction jumped by 21 per cent and ranksas the world eighth producer and sixthexporter. The output of Russia, the secondgas producer, strongly increased by 7.7 percent, but the USA is still the world’s largestnatural gas producer production, with anincrease of 0.7 per cent. In Africa, Egypt overtook Nigeria as the

second continental producer after Algeriawith a steep increase of 23 per cent thanks tothe Zohr field start-up. In Europe, Norway’sproduction hit record levels growing by 5.8per cent, outpacing the big drop inNetherlands, a decline of 12.8 per cent dueto Groningen field reduction.World gas demand has been strong in 2017

increasing by 3.3 per cent, growing in regionsexcept in America where the USA, the firstglobal consumer, saw levels decrease by 2.7per cent. Asia-Pacific led the growth with thestrongest increase of 41 bcm, (5.7 per cent),driven by the Chinese boom thanks to theBattle for Blue Skies policies supporting coal-to-gas switch. China became the third worldgas importer and the second LNG importer.

Morocco joins South Africa as leadinginvestment destinations

WORLD OIL, GAS ANDSOLAR REVIEW RELEASED

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said the Tunisian Cabinet’s approval of a draftlaw that provides for equal inheritance rights for women is a significant step towards gender equality in thecountry, and sets an example for the region.

The Council of Ministers in Tunisia has sent a draft law to parliament that would give male and femaleheirs equality, unless the deceased person had registered an explicit objection before a bailiff during his orher lifetime. “I warmly welcome this significant move to secure equal rights for women and men in Tunisia,”Bachelet said. “In many ways, Tunisia sets an example for other countries in the region. Over the past fewyears, we have seen the Tunisian parliament reform a number of laws to bring them in line with thecommitment to human rights, equality and non-discrimination enshrined in its constitution and itsratification of international human rights treaties.”

UN WELCOMES MOVE TOWARDS EQUAL RIGHTS

Morocco was one of five economies that collectively accountedfor 40 per cent of the continent’s total FDI projects.

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Alstom at the centre of the Tangier-Casablanca high-speed rail line.

The World Bank is giving loans up toUS$850mn to fund Egypt’s sewage works.

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Struggling South African Airways (SAA) needsUS$540mn from next month to fund its dailyoperations in 2019, according to a report byReuters. The airline revealed its dire financesduring a presentation to a parliamentarycommittee on 4 December.SAA is expected to make a US$383mn (R5.2bn)loss in the 2019 financial year and anotherUS$140mn (R1.9bn) in 2020 before making aprofit a year later, the presentation showed.

SAA needs US$540mn to survive from 2019 onwards

BRIEFS

South Africa and South Sudan have signed aUS$1bn deal to develop the oil industry in the eastAfrican country including the construction of arefinery, a new pipeline and the exploration of newoil blocks. “When this refinery is complete, it’llhave the capacity of producing 60,000 barrels ofoil per day,” said Jeff Radebe, South Africa’sminister of energy. “It is instrumental to have anew a pipeline,” added Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth,petroleum minister for South Sudan.

SA to invest US$1bn in South Sudan’s oil sector

The provincial permanent secretary ofMozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province, AntonioDomingos Mapure, has extended an invite to theSouth African businesses during a trade andinvestment seminar to come and do business inthe province.The seminar was the first leg of the week-long

Outward Trade and Investment Mission (OTIM).He thanked the businesses for joining the

province in writing the new story of oil and gas andexpressed confidence in the growth of the economypost the trade and investment mission.He said the mission came at an important time

when the province was getting ready to start the2018-2027 development programme, which includesattraction of investments of more than US$50mn in the extraction of gas in the Rovuma basin and as wellas the initiation of graphite exploration. All these activities presented a huge opportunity for SouthAfrican businesses, the permanent secretary added.Mapure commented, “South Africa has been a privileged partner of Mozambique for years. Its

participation in the agricultural sector is very active, which is a source of interest in this province. Wehope this meeting will provide opportunities and further create strong ties and the know-how for localbusinesses. Our priority areas are in line with the South African interest to invest in Mozambique andthey include tourism, fisheries, human capital, aquaculture, mining and energy.”He assured businesses of Mozambique commitment to share the business opportunities, create a

conducive environment for businesses with regards to laws and regulations and to encourage domesticand international investments.The South African High Commissioner to Mozambique, Mandisi Mpahlwa, said South African

businesses were aware the world was looking at Cabo Delgado Province’s oil and gas exploration, and thatthe volumes of gas were massive and attracting much attention from major energy foreign companies.“The implementation of investments of more than US$50mn with the exploration of gas in the

Rovuma basin presents important opportunities for South African companies and we would like topartner with Mozambique and the province as it builds its new future,” Mpahlwa concluded

Two of Africa’s largest mobile operators andmobile money providers, Orange Group andMTN Group have announced a joint venture,Mowali (mobile wallet interoperability), toenable interoperable payments across thecontinent. Mowali makes it possible to sendmoney between mobile money accountsissued by any mobile money provider, in realtime and at low cost.

Mowali will immediately benefit from thereach of MTN Mobile Money and OrangeMoney, bringing together over 100 millionmobile money accounts and mobile moneyoperations in 22 of sub-Saharan Africa’s 46markets. Mowali is ready to enableinteroperability between digital financialservice providers beyond MTN and Orangeoperations and markets, to support theexisting 338 million mobile money accounts in Africa.

Stéphane Richard, Chairman & CEO ofOrange, said, “By providing fullinteroperability between platforms, Mowaliwill provide an important step forward thatwill allow mobile money to become auniversal means of payment in Africa.Increasing financial inclusion through the useof digital technology is an essential elementin furthering the economic development ofAfrica, particularly for more isolatedcommunities. This solution embodiesOrange's ambition to be a leading player inthe digital transformation of the continent. Byjoining forces with another of Africa’s marketleaders, MTN, we aim to accelerate the paceof this transformation in a way that willchange the lives of our customers byproviding them with simpler, safer and moreadvantageous services.”

“One of MTN’s goals is to accelerate thepenetration of mobile financial service inAfrica, Mowali is one such vehicle that willhelp us achieve that objective,” said RobShuter, group president and CEO of MTN.

Mozambique invites South Africa to invest ingas-rich Cabo Delgado Province

ORANGE AND MTN LAUNCH‘MOWALI’ ACROSS AFRICA

Jeff Radebe, minister of energy, Republic of South Africa and Dr Fatih Birol executive director of IEA hassigned an agreement for South Africa to join the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In March this year, the minister approved South Africa to join the IEA as an eighth association countryafter Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Singapore and Thailand.

Signing the agreement at the 25th African Oil Week in Cape Town on 6 November 2018, the ministersaid, “I believe this decision positions our country at the centre of the global energy forum and will yieldpositive economic benefits to our country as we learn from IEA member countries and other associationmembers. This membership will provide South Africa with a form of regular dialogue with the IEA andassociation countries through the participation of standing groups, committees and ministerial meetings.”

SA JOINS IEA AS EIGHTH ASSOCIATION COUNTRY

The South African High Commissioner to MozambiqueMandisi Mpahlwa with the Provincial PermanentSecretary of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province,Antonio Domingos Mapure.

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It is predicted South African Airways’sfinances will not improve until 2021.

A new pipeline in South Sudan will servefield in the southern part of the country.


www.africanreview.com 7DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 | AFRICAN REVIEW OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY

REPORT | SOUTH

Johannesburg has emerged as the most popular destination city in Africa for the fifthconsecutive year, according to the annual Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index.

Johannesburg, dubbed the City of Gold,attracted 4.05 million international overnightvisitors in 2017. Close on its heels, Marrakech

in Morocco is the second most popular Africandestination city, welcoming 3.93 millioninternational overnight visitors last year.Polokwane (1.88 million), Cape Town (1.73 million)and Djerba in Tunisia (1.65 million) rounded outthe top five African cities ranked in the Index.Johannesburg also recorded the highest

international overnight visitor expenditure amongAfrican cities with travellers spending US$2.14bnin 2017, well ahead of Marrakech (US$1.64bn). Onaverage, international visitors stayed 10.9 nightsand spent US$48 per day in Johannesburg, withshopping accounting for more than 50 per cent oftheir total spend. “The City of Gold has once again topped the

ranks of this year’s African index, with its mix ofshopping and tourism offerings still hitting themark with international travellers,” says MarkElliott, Division President of Mastercard SouthernAfrica. “The ranking is significant for Joburg’seconomic prospects as visitor expenditurecontributes an important source of revenue to theretail, hospitality, restaurant and cultural sectors.”The Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index

ranks the world’s top 162 destination cities interms of visitor volume and spend for the 2017calendar year. It also provides insight on thefastest growing destination cities, and a deeperunderstanding of why people travel and how theyspend around the world. This year’s Index ranks23 major African cities including Cairo, Nairobi,Lagos, Casablanca, Durban, Tunis, Dar es Salaam,Accra, Kampala, Maputo and Dakar among others.As an indication of the importance of intra-

regional travel, just more than 57 per cent ofinternational overnight visitors to Johannesburgin 2017 originated from five Southern Africancountries. Mozambique was the number onecountry that sends visitors to Johannesburg,accounting for 809,000 visitors or 20 per cent ofthe total, followed by Lesotho (12.4 per cent),Zimbabwe (12 per cent), Botswana (6.7 per cent)and Swaziland (6.1 per cent).According to the City of Johannesburg, the

Index rating affirms Johannesburg’s position asthe major economic and cultural hub in Africa.“As the strong numbers of visitors from our

neighbouring countries show, Johannesburg is oneof the continent’s most significant metropolises forbusiness, trade, investment and leisure,” says Cityof Johannesburg executive mayor HermanMashaba. “The Index re-affirms Johannesburg’sstatus as a destination that continues to attractinternational overnight visitors each year due to itscontinually evolving tourism offerings – frompopular shopping destinations and our world-classmalls to a wide range of lifestyle, sporting andbusiness events.”

South African cities show strongperformanceCape Town and Polokwane ranked third and sixthin terms of the African cities with the highestinternational overnight visitor expenditure in2017, with visitors spending US$1.62bn andUS$760mn respectively. While visitors to CapeTown stayed 12.5 nights and spent US$75 per dayon average, travellers to Polokwane stayed for ashorter period (4.3 nights), but spent more perday (US$95). Shopping is also a drawcard forvisitors to both Cape Town and Polokwane,accounting for 22 per cent and 60 per cent oftheir total spend respectively. The Mother City attracted the largest

proportion of long-haul visitors in South Africa,with travellers coming from the United Kingdom(14.4 per cent), Germany (12.4 per cent), UnitedStates (10.9 per cent), and France (6.6 per cent).Cape Town’s highest number of African visitorscame from Namibia (6.2 per cent). Polokwane’stop three countries of origin were Zimbabwe(77.7 per cent), Botswana (6.9 per cent), and theUnited States (2.5 per cent).

The world’s top destination citiesWith roughly 20 million international overnightvisitors, Bangkok retained the top spot this year.Visitors tend to stay in Bangkok 4.7 nights andspend US$173 per day. London (19.83 million),Paris (17.44 million), Dubai (15.79 million) andSingapore (13.91 million) round out the list of topfive global cities by visitor numbers.Not all cities are created equal when it comes to

the amount visitors spend in the local economy.Dubai continues to be the top-ranking destinationcity based on overnight visitor spend, with visitorsspending a whopping US$29.7bn in 2017 or U$537per day on average. It is followed by Makkah,(US$18.45 bn), London (US$17.45bn), Singapore(US$17.02bn) and Bangkok (US$16.36bn).“International travel is crucial to many urban

economies, enriching the lives of both residentsand tourists. The bar is rising for cities to innovateto provide both a memorable and authenticexperience,” says Elliott. “We’re partnering closelywith cities around the world to ensure they haveinsights and technologies to improve how theyattract and cater to tourists while preserving whatmakes them so special in the first place.” �

Johannesburg is most popular city, index says

Johannesburg attracted 4.05 million visitors in 2017.

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Volatility in commodity markets is set to increaseover the coming months, leading to greater civilunrest and requiring military intervention, warnedUnleashing the Wealth in Nations, a blockchainbusiness. It cited what happened in Tanzania overthe pricing of its 2018 cashew nut harvest andwhere the army was ordered to buy the harvest todiffuse friction between farmers and buyers. UWINsays commodity-driven countries need to useblockchain technology to modernise operations.

Warning over volatile commodity markets

BRIEFS

Sahle-Work Zewde was named Ethiopia’sfirst woman president and Africa’s onlyfemale head of state. She replaces MulatuTeshome who resigned without anyexplanation, a report from Aljazeera said.Addressing parliament, she said,“Theabsence of peace victimises firstlywomen, so during my tenure I will

emphasise women's roles in ensuring peace and the dividends of peace for women,”adding that Malatu showed “us the way for change and hope”.

Ethiopia names country’s first woman president

Seychelles has launched theworld’s first sovereign blue bond– a pioneering financialinstrument designed to supportsustainable marine andfisheries projects.

The bond, which raisedUS$15mn from internationalinvestors, demonstrates thepotential for countries toharness capital markets forfinancing the sustainable use ofmarine resources. The WorldBank assisted in developing theblue bond and reaching out to the three investors: Calvert Impact Capital, Nuveen, and Prudential.

“We are honoured to be the first nation to pioneer such a novel financing instrument. The bluebond, which is part of an initiative that combines public and private investment to mobilise resourcesfor empowering local communities and businesses, will greatly assist Seychelles in achieving atransition to sustainable fisheries and safeguarding our oceans while we sustainably develop our blueeconomy,” said Vincent Meriton, Vice-President of the Republic of Seychelles, who announced thebond at the Our Ocean Conference in Bali.

Proceeds from the bond will include support for the expansion of marine protected areas, improvedgovernance of priority fisheries and the development of the Seychelles’ blue economy. Grants andloans will be provided through the Blue Grants Fund and Blue Investment Fund, managed respectivelyby the Seychelles’ Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) and the Development Bank ofSeychelles (DBS).

“The World Bank is excited to be involved in the launch of this sovereign blue bond and believes itcan serve as a model for other small island developing states and coastal countries. It is a powerfulsignal that investors are increasingly interested in supporting the sustainable management anddevelopment of our oceans for generations to come,” said Laura Tuck, vice president of SustainableDevelopment at the World Bank.

Sudan is ready to take off and experience a‘second boom’ after years of war and USeconomic and financial sanctions, says AzhariAbdalla Abdelgader, minister of petroleumand gas.

On the verge of having the USA embargoremoved, the minister announced on 6November during the 25th Africa Oil Week thatthe first oil field has come back on streamfollowing an agreement with his counterpartminister in South Sudan.

Sudan’s oil production has decreased to75,000bpd from 500,000bpd after SouthSudan gained independence in 2011, takingwith it 75 per cent of the country's oilresources.

But with the imminent lifting of sanctions,both governments have now agreed to put onstream oil fields which have been left idle sincethe civil war ravaged the country over the pastfive years.

Abdelgader said, “We put the first field backon stream in August, with 100 per centresources from the two countries. Our future isa lot brighter now and plans are in place.”

“Oil fields from South Sudan have started toflow to the systems and facilities of Sudan andoil prices have started to pick up. All reasonsare in place for Sudan to take off andexperience a second boom,” he added.The Sudan government has supported SouthSudan in the resumption of oil production atToma South, which had been offline for fiveyears. Oil output levels have risen to 135,000 bpd.

The promise of higher oil production andmore drilling activity has gained the interest ofinvestors including ONGC Videsh. GuillaumeDoane CEO Africa Oil and Power said, “Evenwithout new exploration, the country has thecapacity to become the third largest oilproducer in sub-Saharan Africa. With a peacedeal in place, South Sudan is one of Africa’smost exciting resource plays.”

Seychelles launches world’s first sovereignblue bond

“SUDAN IS POSITIONED FORANOTHER BOOM”

On the margins of its Africa Day in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the European Investment Bank signeda 15-year EUR 200mn (US$228mn) loan agreement with Afreximbank, aimed at supporting trade-relatedinvestments, including in renewable energy projects in Africa. The facility will support promoters in morethan 40 countries across Africa with long-term funding.

By improving access to finance for private enterprises, and specifically SMEs and mid-caps, this loan willenhance intra-African trade as well as trade with the European Union. It will enable smaller companies tosustain and create new jobs and will stimulate the expansion, diversification and development of Africantrade. At least 25 per cent of this financing will be dedicated to projects which will diversify the power mix inthe region, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and supporting climate goals. Werner Hoyer, President of theEuropean Investment Bank said, “The EIB is committed to supporting investment in Africa.”

EIB SIGNS LOAN TO SUPPORT ENERGY INVESTMENT

Seychelles’ sovereign blue bond will helpharness capital markets for financingsustainable use of marine resources.

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Tanzania suffered civil unrest folowing thepricing of its 2018 cashew nut harvest.

Sahle-Work Zewde who is Ethiopia’snew President, used to be head of UNON.



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The Africa Finance Corporation was pleased toannounce that it is to invest in the Nachtigal HydroPower Company, located north of Yaounde inCameroon. The US$1.3bn power project willconsist of a 420MW hydro-electric power stationas well as a 50km transmission line. Constructionis expected to commence by the end of 2018. “Weare pleased to be investing in the country'sinfrastructure that will help unlock economicgrowth,” said Samaila Zubairu, CEO to AFC.

Landmark power station investment in Cameroon

BRIEFS

Togo has become the 20th Member State of AfricaFinance Corporation. Togo's membership of AfricaFinance Corporation (AFC) also makes it the 12thWest African member of AFC after Nigeria, GuineaBissau, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Liberia,Guinea, Chad, Cape Verde, Benin and Côted'Ivoire. Togo has in recent years delivered one ofthe highest growth rates across the continent,averaging more than five per cent since thebeginning of the commodity downturn (2011).

Togo joins AFC as 20th member

Vantage Capital Africa’s largest mezzaninefund manager has announced it hasprovided US$21.5mn of mezzanine fundingto Pétro Ivoire, a leading distributor of oiland gas products in Côte d’Ivoire. Thecompany operates a network of 72 petrolstations across the country and is also thelargest gas distributor, with more than 1.7million gas bottles in circulation. It alsoholds a 40 per stake stake in Côte d’Ivoire’slargest gas storage and bottle filling facility,SAEPP. The company sold 230 million litresof petroleum products in 2017.

Vantage Capital’s funding has enabled thefounding family to regain a controlling equitystake in the company by facilitating the buy-back of equity from two exiting private equity investors, Amethis and the West Africa Emerging MarketsGrowth Fund. Founded in 1994 by Mathieu Kadio-Morokro, the company is now run by his son,Sébastien Kadio-Morokro, who was recently selected as one of the top ten Young Global Leaders in sub-Saharan Africa by the World Economic Forum. The exit of the private equity investors has made roomfor a French-based gas trading company, Geogas Entreprise SAS, to take a stake in the businessalongside the founding family.

Luc Albinski, managing partner at Vantage Capital, explained that, “Vantage is proud to havestructured the first-ever leveraged management buyout in Francophone West Africa. Vantage’smezzanine product provided the ideal solution to Pétro Ivoire’s shareholders: enabling the privateequity investors to achieve a successful exit and the founding family to acquire a controlling stake intheir business without having to write out a big equity cheque.”

David Kornik, partner at Vantage Capital, added that, “Pétro Ivoire is run by an experienced anddeeply talented management team. They have successfully established the business amongst theleading players in Côte d’Ivoire’s downstream oil and gas sector and we look forward to partnering withthem through the company’s next phase of growth.”

Bolloré Logistics has opened a new logisticshub in Lastourville, Gabon.

Connected to the railway operated bySociété d’Exploitation du Transgabonais,(SETRAG), the new logistics platform willstore, manage and carry processed wood incontainers from the production sites in theforest to the Owendo container terminal(OCT), 55km away.

With an area of 14,000 sq m, the hub willbe able to handle 4,500 TEUs per year duringthe start-up phase. It will streamline thetimber shipment process for the four mainforestry companies in the province ofOgooué-Lolo. The first train of 15 wagonsloaded with empty containers for theregion’s four forestry companies: PW-CEB,SBL, SBK and BH. By joining forces withBolloré Logistics and SETRAG, the fourcompanies are seeking to address thedifficulties in shipping their processedtimber by road, and to limit transhipmentsbetween the production sites and container terminal.

To further improve the efficiency of thenew site, Bolloré Logistics plans to set up acentral office offering administrative andcustoms services in early 2020. Thecontainers will be then cleared throughcustoms directly in Lastourville instead ofLibreville. As a result, the time required foroperations and shipment, including packingthe wood into containers and shipping it tothe port should fall by 15 days, bringinggains in productivity of between 15 and 20per cent.

“The hub in Lastourville has advantagesfor all the players in the timber industry.The opening of a customs office in 2020 willcomplete our existing services, making itpossible to cut transit times for gains inproductivity and reductions in cost,” saidJean-François Olliver, managing director ofBolloré Transport and Logistics in Gabon.

Vantage Capital provides a US$21.5mnmezzanine facility to Pétro Ivoire

BOLLORÉ LOGISTICSSTARTS NEW HUB IN GABON

Congo officially launched its phase II licensing round for 13 new open blocks during Africa Oil Week inCape Town. They are situated in two main basins; the coastal and culvette basins. Five blocks are locatedin the shallow, deep and ultra-deep areas, three onshore in the coastal basin and five in the culvette basin,covering Koba, Mbesse, Mboloko, Mboto and Ntsinga.The coastal basin produces 350,000 bpd and is the third largest in sub-Saharan Africa.Companies have until 30 June 2019 to submit their offers in Brazzaville. The results of the phase II

licensing round will be awarded in September 2019.Teresa Goma, director general, hydrocarbons also announced at the 25th African Oil Week the results of the

phase I licensing round. Marine 21 was awarded to Kosmos, Marine 27 was awarded to Perenco and Marine 20to Total. In 31 December 2017, oil reserves stood at 496,847,000 bbl (1P) and 2,613,793,000 bbl (2P).

CONGO LAUNCHES PHASE II LICENSING ROUND

Pétro Ivoire is a leading distributor of oil and gas products inCôte d’Ivoire.

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The US$1.3bn power project will consistof a 420MW hydro-electric power station.

AFC President Samaila Zubairu meetingthe Togolese minister of finance, Sani Yaya.


S03 ATR Dec 18 - Jan 19 Events Calendar_Profile_ATR - New Master Template 2016 07/12/2018 13:50 Page 11

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Upcoming Events Calendar 2019

EVENTS | 2019


FEBRUARY4 - 7

INVESTING IN AFRICA MINING INDABACape Town, South Africawww.miningindaba.com

19 - 20

AFRICA ENERGY INDABAJohannesburg, South Africawww.africaenergyindaba.com

MARCH12 - 15

PROPAK AFRICAJohannesburg, South Africawww.propakafrica.co.za

20 - 21

INTERMODAL AFRICAMombasa, Kenya10times.com/intermodal-africa-mombasa

28

TMT FINANCE AFRICACape Town, South Africawww.tmtfinance.com/capetown

APRIL8 - 14

BAUMAMunich, Germanywww.bauma.de

16 - 17

SECUREX WEST AFRICA 2019Lagos, Nigeriawww.securexwestafrica.com

MAY14 - 16

AFRICAN UTILITY WEEKCape Town, South Africawww.african-utility-week.com

14 - 16

POWER-GEN AFRICA/DISTRIBUTECHCape Town, South Africawww.powergenafrica.com

JUNE11 - 14

AFRICA ENERGY FORUMLisbon, Portugalwww.africa-energy-forum.com

11 - 12

2ND ANNUAL FUTURE BANKING EASTAFRICA SUMMITNairobi, Kenyawww.fleming.events/future-banking-east-africa-summit

SEPTEMBER4 - 6

THE BIG 5 CONSTRUCT NIGERIALagos, Nigeriawww.thebig5constructnigeria.com

Taking place from 8-14 April, the 32nd edition ofbauma in Munich will cater to the entireconstruction equipment sector including mining.In 2016, 20 per cent of the exhibitors came fromthe mining industry and interested visitors forthe sector covered 24 per cent of the footprint. As Saudi Arabia declares to invest US$22.6bn

in a new mining sector and Egypt prepares torevamp its mining strategy for investors, MareileKaestner, exhibition director of bauma, feelsthat the show will give the Middle East andAfrica companies an ideal platform to sourcesolutions from global players. To keep up with the evolving construction

sector, bauma 2019 will focus on three trends– digitisation, sustainability and efficiency.“Sustainable mining as well as workplacesafety is a huge part of our agenda at bauma.Apart from product showcase, we also havespecial mining halls for seminars and lectures,”she adds.Kaestner points towards another evolving

trend – alternative drives. “The constructionmachinery industry is increasingly opting forthese. In the future there will no longer be onesingle typical drive system but instead anincreasingly wide range of competing drivesystems on the market. Electromobility anddriverless vehicles in particular are seen as keyfuture drivers. The leading manufacturers will beshowcasing their developments and discussing

the opportunities and challenges presented bynew technology at bauma 2019.”She added that electromobility and

driverless vehicles are two areas that areincreasingly gaining traction withmanufacturers and service providers in theconstruction machinery industry. These willalso be the hot topics at the fair. Leadingexhibitors here include Doosan Bobcat,Liebherr, Perkins Engines and Bosch Rexroth.As always, there will be new introductions at

the show. bauma 2019 will see the launch of twonew halls. With these put together, the total areaof the event will cover 20,000 sq m. There willalso be a new lifting technology area inside as

well as outside the halls. A dedicated hall fordigital solutions will feature an augmentedreality and virtual reality technologies for the attendees. World’s seventh biggest construction

machinery market Canada is the designatedpartner country of bauma 2019. According toKaestner, this gives an opportunity to bauma,until now a Europe-focused market, to look forpartners as far as North America.“We have been preparing for three years

now and believe that such forward-thinkingagendas will help attract visitors from MiddleEast and Africa gain partnerships and procurenew products.”

bauma 2019 will create new prospects for MEA

bauma 2019 will focus on three trends; digitisation, sustainability and efficiency.

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REPORT | EVENTS

The 21st edition of AfricaCom – Africa’s largest technology conference in Cape Town – offered a glimpse of theconnectivity divide in Africa and new trends to connect the unconnected. Nancy Onyango finds out more.

AfricaCom was jam-packedwith stimulating paneldiscussions, networking

forums, product launches andshowcases. It was held at the CapeTown Convention Centre from 13 to15 November.The conference featured more

than 17,000 attendees from morethan 150 countries, ranging fromtelecom operators, governmentrepresentatives and researchers. Lanre Kolade, CEO of CSquared,

said, “Africa needs to showcasesuccess stories in the Africancontinent and AfricaCom providesthe opportunity for Africans to dojust that. African governments needto understand that we have restlessyouth across the continent whoneed to be empowered.”

More than 60 per cent of theAfrican population comprises youthbelow the age of 25. They are mostlyunemployed and live in rural andperi-urban poverty-stricken areaswhere the provision of services suchas health care, education andtransport are constrained due to alack of funding, infrastructural gapsand conflict. For the majority ofyoung Africans, mobile phones arenot just a communication device butalso a vital tool for accessing eitherlife-enhancing or life-changingservices and opportunities. Highlights and announcements

during AfricaCom 2018 aimed atshaping Africa’s digital future andclosing the connectivity gapsincluded MTN, KaiOS Technologies,China Mobile, and UNISOCannouncing a partnership to launchAfrica’s First Smart Feature Phone.The mobile phone will initially beavailable from MTN in Nigeria andSouth Africa. The handset will allowcustomers to upgrade from a featurephone with only voice and textcapabilities to a fully connected

handset with fast, 3G Internet. Ofthe partnership, Rob Shuter, GroupPresident and CEO of MTN, said, “AsMTN we are proud to be part of thispartnership that supports ourambitions to deepen digitalinclusion in our markets. Thisinitiative contributes to theachievement of one of our majorgoals to provide affordable dataenabled handsets to our customers,and by so doing, remove some ofthe barriers to mobile internetadoption in Africa.”

The handset will retail betweenUS$20-US$25 which is relativelyaffordable compared to the averageprice of US$40 of entry-levelsmartphones across the Africancontinent. MTN is aiming to sellaround 10 million of the devicesover the next three years.

Fiber connectivityAngola Cables, a multinational

telecommunications companyrunning a variety of internationalsubmarine cable systems announcedthat it had signed a Memorandumof Understanding with BroadbandInfraco, a wholesale state-ownedservice provider in the South Africantelecommunication space toprovides extensive regional long-distance network coverage andconnectivity in the SADC region.Broadband Infraco currently hasnearly 15,000km of fiber networksacross South Africa. Geographic and infrastructural

challenges are among thecomplexities faced by mobilenetwork operators when trying toexpand mobile connectivity in ruralareas of Africa. According to theAfrican Digital Outlook 2019, areport by Ovum, “Even as Africa seesprogress with broadband and digitalservices, basic connectivity remainsout of reach for many people on the

continent. The gaps in connectivityrepresent a missed commercialopportunity as well as an obstacle toachieving economic and socialbenefits that should arise asbroadband penetration increases.”Pan-African telecoms group

Liquid Telecom partnered withKymeta in a bid to extend its VSATservice in the most under-servicedand remote parts of Africa.

Broadband outlook Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopiaand Algeria are the biggest mobilemarkets in the African continent interms of subscriptions. Mobile datais the leading revenue growth areafor mobile operators in Africa. 5G is being punted globally, but in

reality, Africa will see a much largeruptake of 3G in the next few years.According to Ovum’s African DigitalOutlook 2019 report which waslaunched at the conference, “3G andincreasingly LTE will power thegrowth of mobile broadband inAfrica for the coming few years. Thenumber of mobile 3G subscriptionson the continent will rise from 456.6million at the end of 2018 to 697.6million in 2023.” Ovum expectsmobile 5G services to be launched inAfrica by 2021, but the number ofmobile 5G subscriptions will besmall, rising to 5.9 million by 2023.

Agriculture, education, healthsector are best positioned to benefitfrom digital connectivity in theimmediate future.According to the 2017 African

Futures report by the Institute forSecurity Studies (ISS), “Mobiletechnology uptake can help banking,health and education services toreach underserved populations, butincreasing business productivity andattracting foreign direct investment(FDI) will require investments inpricey ICT infrastructure.” �

AfricaCom 2018: Pathway to a connected Africa

3G and increasingly LTE will power thegrowth of mobile broadband in Africa forthe coming few years ”OVUM’S AFRICAN DIGITAL OUTLOOK 2019

AfricaCom featured more than 17,000 attendees from 150 countries.

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Kwasi Kwarteng, Head Africa Regions, Debt Capital Markets for Standard Bank shares the reasons why thecontinent’s debt capital markets are expected to sustain the region’s ability to import capital and manage debt.


Activity in Africa’s debt capital marketsremains remarkably resilient despite globaltrade wars, Brexit concerns and high

interest rates in a resurgent United Stateseconomy which is translating into emergingmarket jitters. Even as concerns around Africansovereign debt mount, increasing globalintegration and the internal capability of thecontinent’s debt capital markets looks set tosustain Africa’s ability to import capital andmanage debt through the current global cycle. As an example, for the Southern and Central

Africa region, the recent slowdown in US dollardenominated transactions in Southern andCentral Africa, excluding South Africa, has beenoffset by an increase in local currency debt capitalmarkets interest and transactions for certainissuers. Markets such as Namibia and Botswanahave experienced increased local currencyissuance activity in 2018 with Mozambiqueundertaking its largest listed metical transactionfor a non-government issuer ever. Zambia hasalso seen a local currency issuance in 2018, thefirst in more than a year and half. In addition,issuers in traditionally smaller markets, such asSwaziland and Lesotho, are pursuing significantlocal currency issuance initiatives, anddevelopments in Malawi present promising localcurrency opportunities in 2019 and beyond. The slowdown of US dollar denominated debt

raising in Southern and Central Africa istemporary and to some extent cyclical, with anuptick in US dollar denominated activity expectedacross the region in the first quarter of 2019.Despite regional and global macro headwinds,

East Africa is emerging from two years of slowerdebt capital market activity. The collapse of threefinancial institutions in Kenya drove warinessamong legislators concerned about the role ofdebt in driving instability. Combined withprolonged uncertainty over the Kenyan elections,this wariness drove a similar reticence among EastAfrican issuers. In recent months, however,confidence and appetite have returned to EastAfrica underpinned, for example, by a number ofpotential issuer/issuance related initiatives acrossthe region. In Tanzania there has been a recentfinancial institution transaction, while theRwandan sovereign has increased their interest indeveloping the regional debt capital markets with

improved infrastructure while providing openberth for regionally focused issuers. Lookingahead, major Ugandan enterprises as well assome of their larger corporate entities areexpected to come to market by early 2019pointing to a sustained period of debt capitalmarket activity in East Africa.The most significant indicator, however, that

East Africa’s debt capital market is bouncing backhas been Kenya’s issuance of 10 and 30-yearsovereign bonds. Kenya’s 30-year bond is, in fact,one of the longest dated US$ bond issued by anAfrican sovereign.In West Africa, Standard Bank acted as local

advisor for the sovereign of Nigeria’s 2017 and2018 Eurobond transactions. Major Nigeriancorporates Dangote Cement and Union Banksuccessfully raised local currency debt. OtherNigerian corporates pursuing local currencytransactions are expected to come to market inlate 2018 and 2019. Ghana has also recently

issued US$ denominated sovereign transaction.Additionally, Standard Bank has acted as jointlead arranger on all of Ghana’s longer datedtreasury bonds for the last two years or more.More broadly across the West African region, anumber of development finance institutions andfinancial institutions based in Francophone Africaare expected to approach the market with USdollar and local currency structures.The current uptick in West Africa’s local

currency issuance is expected to continue into2019 as various non-bank financial institutionscome to market.A common theme evident across all Africa’s

regions is that, increased debt servicing pressureis, in fact, creating the opportunity forexperienced debt teams to restructure, andextend US dollar sovereign debt. This samepressure is driving an increased interest in localcurrency issuance. This response very muchreflects, Africa’s ability to adapt challenges intoopportunity though the judicious combination ofinnovative policy and the application of newtechnologies to support rapid marketdevelopment.For example, the pressure to restructure debt

is, fortunately, coming at a time when manyAfrican economies are evolving deeper with moreliquid domestic markets – especially throughpension fund reform and other progressivelegislation driving the growth of new asset classes.This is happening at a time when Asia and otheremerging markets in the Middle East and the Gulfare making broader US dollar debt opportunitiesavailable to Africa. Certainly, China and widerAsia offer Africa a broader selection of capitalopportunities. Standard Bank’s institutionalrelationship with the Industrial and CommercialBank of China – and the access that this providesto the highest level of the Chinese banking andcapital system – presents yet another opportunityfor Africa to widen its access to global capital onmore competitive and extended terms.Since Africa has still a way to go in accessing

the size of local currency liquidity available tosupport large debt transactions and being able topartner with a global bank to identify the rightopportunities, picking the right windows toapproach traditional and new global US dollardebt markets remains essential. �

Debt capital markets resilient amid global change

PROFILE | REPORT

Africa has a way to go inaccessing the size oflocal currency liquidityavailable to supportlarge debt transaction ”KWASI KWARTENG

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GOVERNANCE | REPORT

Despite strong GDP growth over the last 10 years, Africa has failed to generate economic opportunities for itsbooming youth population, according to the 2018 Ibrahim Index of African Governance.

The 2018 Ibrahim Index ofAfrican Governance (IIAG),launched by the Mo Ibrahim

Foundation, highlights that publicgovernance progress in Africa islagging behind the needs andexpectations of a growingpopulation, composed mainly ofyoung people.

Over the last decade, overallgovernance has on averagemaintained a moderate upwardtrajectory, with three out of four ofAfrica’s citizens (71.6 per cent)living in a country wheregovernance has improved.

African governments have struggledto translate economic growth intoimproved Sustainable EconomicOpportunity for their citizens.

Since 2008, the African averagescore for sustainable economicopportunity has increased by 0.1point, or 0.2 per cent, despite acontinental increase in GDP ofnearly 40 per cent over the sameperiod. There has been virtually noprogress in creating sustainableeconomic opportunity, meaning itremains the IIAG’s worst performingand slowest improving category.Defined as the extent to whichgovernments enable their citizens topursue economic goals and prosper,the almost-stagnant SustainableEconomic Opportunity trend strikesa concerning contrast withdemographic growth and youthexpectations. Africa’s population hasincreased by 26 per cent over thelast ten years and 60 per cent of thecontinent’s 1.25 billion people arenow under the age of 25.

A diverging picture across AfricaAfrican countries show increasingdivergence in overall governanceperformance. Continental progress ismainly driven by 15 countries that

have managed to accelerate theirpace of improvement over the lastfive years. Progress is most strikingin Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco and Kenya.Divergence is also reflected insustainable economic opportunitytrends. While 27 of Africa’s countrieshave shown some improvement, in25 countries, accounting for 43.2 percent of Africa’s citizens, sustainableeconomic opportunity performancehas declined over the last 10 years.

There is no strong relationshipbetween the size of a country’seconomy and its performance insustainable economic opportunity.In 2017, four of the 10 countrieswith the highest GDP on thecontinent score below the Africanaverage score for sustainableeconomic opportunity and sit in thelower half of the rankings, namely:Algeria, Angola, Nigeria and Sudan.Meanwhile, two of the smallesteconomies on the continent,Seychelles and Cape Verde, reachthe fifth and sixth highest scores inproviding sustainable economicopportunity for their citizens.

Declining businessenvironment The trajectory of the African averagescore for business environment iscritical. Deteriorating by almost -5.0points over the past 10 years, this isa worrying trend given that thenumber of working age Africans (15-64 years old) is expected to grow byalmost another 30 per cent over thenext 10 years.

This will increase demand for jobsin an environment where onaverage progress in sustainableeconomic opportunity is almostnon-existent. Such demographicfigures create a further strikingcontrast with the drop of -3.1 pointsin satisfaction with employmentcreation since 2008.

Additionally, the indicatormeasuring promotion of socio-economic integration of youthregisters an average continentaldecline of -2.3 over the last decade.

Education outcomes are worseningFurther cause for concern is

education. While humandevelopment is one of the biggersuccess stories of the 2018 IIAG,driven by improvements in health,the stalling progress in educationseen in last year’s IIAG has nowturned to decline.

For 27 countries, education scoresregistered deterioration in the lastfive years, meaning that for morethan half (52.8 per cent) of Africa’syouth population, educationoutcomes are worsening. This dropis driven by a fall in the indicatorsmeasuring whether education ismeeting the needs of the economy,education quality, and citizens’expectations of education provision.

Civil society space is shrinkingProgress in participation & humanrights has been made on average.Almost four out of five of Africa’scitizens (79.6 per cent) live incountries that have progressed inthis dimension over the last decade.However, ‘free and fair’ executiveelections do not always translate intoa better participatory environment.Alarmingly, citizens’ political andcivic space in Africa is shrinking, withworsening trends in indicatorsmeasuring civil society participation,civil rights and liberties, freedom ofexpression and freedom ofassociation and assembly.

Although personal safety andnational security continue to showaverage decline over the lastdecade, rule of law andtransparency and accountabilityhave begun to register welcomeprogress. Rule of law is the mostimproved sub-category in the IIAGover the last five years. Africanaverage performance intransparency and accountability hasalso improved, though more needsto be done in this category. �

African governance lags behind vital needs

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A new book by McKinsey & Company confirms that Africa is poised for economic acceleration like the Asian boom.


In Africa’s Business Revolution:How to Succeed in the World’sNext Big Growth Market, Acha

Leke, Mutsa Chironga, and GeorgesDesvaux detail the research thatMcKinsey & Company have done andshare insights into Africa’s futuregrowth prospects. The conclusionsthey draw are distilled from 3,000McKinsey client engagements, in-depth proprietary research andinterviews with 40 of Africa’s mostprominent business anddevelopment leaders. The authorsreveal how companies can betterunderstand the African market andseize the opportunities for buildingprofitable, sustainable businesses.

Major trends indicate Africais poised for explosive growthAfrica has a fast-growing, rapidlyurbanising population with bigunmet needs. This means there is atrillion-dollar opportunity toindustrialise Africa, to meet risingdomestic demand and create abridge-head in global exportmarkets. In addition, there has beena big push by governments and theprivate sector to close infrastructuregaps. There is a continued resourceabundance in agriculture, mining,and oil and gas, with innovation andinvestment in these sectors unlockingnew production on the continent.The rapid adoption of mobile anddigital technologies could leapfrogAfrica past many obstacles to growth.

Leke and Desvaux, both seniorMcKinsey Partners and Chironga, anexecutive at Nedbank, say, “Withmore than 400 African companiesearning annual revenues of US$1bnor more, we can identify what works.The highly successful businesses areoften African companies, but manyare entrepreneurial firms withWestern, Indian or Chinese founders.The most consistently profitablebusinesses, which demonstrate ahigher tolerance for risk, are eager to

adapt their products, production anddistribution for African consumers,and commit to investing and buildingtheir businesses for the long-term.”

African success storiesThe book examines severalexamples of African businesses thathave translated opportunities intoenduring business value. Forinstance, it shows how Nigerian

conglomerate, Dangote Industries,industrialised to serve regionalmarkets through import substitutionand improved margins throughvertical integration. South Africanretail giant, Shoprite, adapted itssupply chain and distributioncentres for local logistics.Technology driven start-up, Kenya’sM-Kopa, is providing mobile moneyfinanced off-grid solar energy kits.

The authors study global companieswhich have succeeded in Africa,such as Coca-Cola, GE, and Total.

Four imperatives to achievelong-term sustainable growthLeke, Chironga and Desvaux believethat building a successful business inAfrica requires a long-term approachand four essential practices:• Mapping an Africa strategy –

setting a clear aspiration,prioritising markets, defining howto achieve scale and relevance andcreating an ecosystem to thrive.

• Innovating business models –truly engaging with customers,creating products and services tofulfil unmet needs, getting lean todrive down costs and price points,and harnessing technology.

• Build resilience for the long-term – riding out short-termvolatility, diversifying portfolios,integrating up and down thevalue chain, understanding localcontext and engaging withgovernments.

• Unleashing talent – developingskills in frontline workers, reating robust talent developmentprocesses and harnessing thepower of women’s advancement.

Leke says, “At the heart of these fourimperatives is a commitment to doing well by doing good. We’ve had the privilege of meeting andworking with many business leadersfrom around the world. They look atAfrica’s high levels of poverty; itsgaps in infrastructure, educationand healthcare, and its governanceproblems. But they don’t just seebarriers to business – they seehuman issues they feel responsiblefor solving. They show us thatcontributing to the social andeconomic development of thecountries within which their thriving businesses operate createsvalue for both shareholders and stakeholders.” �

Africa is the world’s next big growth market

BUSINESS | REPORT

The highly successful businesses are oftenAfrican companies ”ACHA LEKE AND GEORGE DESVAUX, MCKINSEY PARTNERS ANDMUTSA CHIRONGA, EXECUTIVE, NEDBANK

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Economist Moin Siddiqi provides a comprehensive overview of the opportunities and challenges facing Africaneconomies in 2019 and beyond.


The US$2 trillion-plus sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) economy,home to a growing urban

middle-class population and vastuntapped markets continues tostrengthen from a low point in 2016,thanks to domestic policyadjustments and improved globaleconomic activity. Growth wasprojected to increase from 2.7 percent in 2017 to 3.1 per cent in 2018(IMF data), exceeding growthoutcomes in the Middle East butlower than in emerging Asia. Thereremains a noticeable disparity ingrowth performances across sub-regions, with consistent solid growthattained in east Africa, whichattracts significant investor interest.

Energy exporters haveexperienced a growth revival, butstill below levels of pre-2014/15 oilprice slumps. In Nigeria, the non-oilindustrial sector is constrained bysluggish private demand, whilstrecent reforms in Angola bode wellfor non-oil activity. However, thepositive effects of high oil priceswere offset by lower crude output inboth countries due to capacityconstraints. By contrast, growthduring 2018 was buoyant amongnon-resource rich countries led byEthiopia, Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya,due to better agriculturalconditions, increased consumerspending and public investmentcoupled with abating inflation. In

South Africa, contractions inagriculture, mining and constructionas well as uncertainties over the2019 national elections and lowergovernment spending arepreventing sustained robust growthfor combating high unemploymentand boosting critical investments,notably in the energy sector andsocial housing.

Continued economic stagnation inSSA’s two biggest markets (Nigeria andSA) impacts neighbouring countriesthrough remittances, import demandand financial flows. According to theIMF, spillovers to Benin and Niger’sgrowth from non-oil activity inNigeria are estimated at 0.5 and 0.3percentage points, respectively.Similarly, workers’ remittances toLesotho and Swaziland dependheavily on SA. Nonetheless, the restof SSA has grown at 5.3 per cent onaverage in 2010-17 (IMF data), butwith wider heterogeneity acrosscountries. Hence, there are plenty ofopportunities for dedicated investorsin frontier markets.

The regional business climate isimproving, with 40 African countriesimplementing a total of 107 reformsin the past year, up 24 on previousyear, according to the World Bank2019 ‘Doing Business’ report. SSA ishome to five of 2018’s top 10improvers – Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti,Kenya, Rwanda and Togo.Strengthening governance, fightingcorruption and tackling obstaclessuch as inadequate electricity andfinancial services will supportfurther business growth.

Debt vulnerabilitiesOne area of concern is rising publicdebt and fiscal imbalances in theregion. In 2017, 15 SSA economieswere classified either in ‘debtdistress’ or at ‘high risk’ of debtdistress (compared to six in 2013),reflecting heavy borrowing and largedeficits, with refinancing cost ofdollar-denominated liabilitiesbecoming in future more expensivedue to local currency depreciationsin several cases.

The IMF 2018 figures showgovernment debt in 12 countriescould average between 70-to-100 percent of GDP, chiefly Angola, Congo(Rep), Ghana, Mozambique, Zambiaand Zimbabwe, while fiscal deficit ispredicted to hit 4-to-10 per cent ofGDP in 18 countries; Burundi,Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda,Mozambique, Nigeria, Zambia andZimbabwe, among others.

At the same time, foreignexchange reserve buffers are belowinternational threshold of three-months ‘import-cover’ in about halfof SSA countries. The share offoreign currency denominatedpublic debt in total governmentdebt increased across SSA from morethan one-fifth in 2011-13 to one-third of GDP in 2017. While theshare of concessional (i.e. soft)funding by multilateral and bilateral

Africa holds steady amid external uncertainities

FINANCE | REPORT

Rising US interest rates will increase debtservice burdens and hike the cost ofnew borrowing ”MOIN SIDDIQI, ECONOMIST

Moin Siddiqi.

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creditors is unchanged, African debtheld by private banks andbondholders has risen in recentyears. In the first-half of 2018, sixcountries (Angola, Côte d’Ivoire,Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal)raised US$14.3bn in Eurobondissuances (World Bank data),compared to US$7.8bn for the fullyear of 2017.

Moreover, a strong dollar andrising US interest rates will increasedebt service burdens and hike thecost of new borrowing, includingfor large amounts of maturing SSAglobal bonds in 2019-20 and in2024-25 – thus indications of future‘refinancing risks’ facing Africaregion. The IMF advised,“Improving debt managementframeworks could help bettermanage risks. Further revenue-based adjustment is needed toreduce debt vulnerabilities andgenerate resources fordevelopment.” Many countriesrequire new sources of finance toprovide more services to theirpopulations. Africa needsUS$100bn a year for infrastructureinvestment (World Bank data), butpresent capital spending across theregion is about US$50bn – leadingto a swelling infrastructure deficit.

Navigating against headwindsOverall, regional prospects arebenign, although greater economicdiversifcation would shield Africafrom commodity price shocks. RealGDP growth (excluding Nigeria andSA) could reach 5.4 per cent in2019, boosted by publicinvestments, high exports, increasedagriculture output and strongdomestic demand. Moreencouraging, the IMF expects 18 outof 45 SSA countries (two-fifths) togrow briskly at 6 per cent or morecompared to 10 in 2016 – wellabove global trends. While furtherfiscal consolidation in SSA is likely,double-digit inflation is expected inLiberia, Nigeria, Angola, Congo(DRC) and Sierra Leone.

Current account positions (i.e.net trade in goods/services) areexpected to stabilise in 2019, withprices of the region’s exports:

agricultural and energycommodities (oil, natural gas andcoal) plus minerals and preciousmetals trading slightly above 2017-18 levels. A modest external surplusis forecast among oil-exporters, butoil-importers (comprising three-quarters of SSA countries) face largedeficits as oil prices are projectedby World Bank to averageUS$74/barrel in 2019 – reflectinginadequate global supply and

depleting volume of spare capacityin major OPEC producers. Thoughprices could fall in coming monthsweighed by rising inventories andslower global growth.

Against this background, SSAfaces challenges to strong expansionwith the downside risks to globalgrowth over the past six months,reflecting geopolitical strains, risingprotectionism, greater volatility inassets markets and elevated policy

uncertainty in the UK over Brexit.Moderate growth in China and theEuro area (SSA’s major tradingpartners) would reduce commodityprices, export demand and foreigndirect investment flows to Africa. Anabrupt tightening of US monetarypolicy (i.e. higher financing costs) ora sudden reversal in capital flows toemerging markets also impacts SSA.This could prompt steep currrenydepreciations in countries with


REPORT | FINANCE

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3.2

5.4 5.35.9

6.3

0.5

2.73.2

3.6

1.41.8 2.0

2.9

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2016 2017 2018 2019

CEMAC *EAC-5 #ECOWAS //SADC ~

* Economic & Monetary Community of Central African States: Cameroon, Central African Rep. Chad, Congo, Rep ofEquatorial Guinea and Gabon.# East Africa Community-five: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.// Economic Community of West African States: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, The, Ghana,Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo~ Southern African Development Community: Angola, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar,Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.Source: IMF Regional Economic Outlook, Oct 2018.

Large disparity in growth performance across sub-Saharan African regions

SSA macro-economic indicators (per cent)

Projections2016 2017 2018 2019

Real GDP growth (per cent) 1.4 2.7 3.1 3.8

Nigeria -1.6 0.8 1.9 2.3

South Africa 0.6 1.3 0.8 1.4

Angola -2.6 -2.5 -0.1 3.1

Inflation, annual (per cent change) 11.2 11.0 8.6 8.5

Fiscal balance* incl. Grants -4.5 -4.8 -4.2 -3.9

Government debt * 43.8 45.4 48.5 48.2

External official debt* 20.6 22.2 23.0 23.1

Foreign reserves ** 5.2 4.9 4.9 4.8

External current account * -3.9 -2.3 -2.8 -3.4

Crude oil (US$/barrel) 43 53 72 74

Gold (US$/oz) 1,249 1,258 1,259 1,245

* Per cent of GDP; ** Month of imports of goods and services.

Sources: IMF database, World Bank Commodity Report, Oct 2018.


weak fundamentals. Equally, a protracted trade war

between the US and China can hitmetal-exporters hardest than oil-exporters since base metal pricescould drop faster than oil prices. Also,countries like SA, Kenya, Mauritiusand Ethiopia – more integrated inglobal supply chains would sufferfrom rising trade tariffs/barriers.

Escalating trade conflicts in thedeveloped world could lead to acumulative loss of 1.5 per cent inSSA’s economic output over 2018-21period (IMF data). The World Bankechoed, “Further escalation oftrade restrictions between major

economies could lead to largeeconomic losses and cascadingtrade costs through global valuechains.” Such adverse conditionshinder Africa from achieving theSustainable Development Goals andcoping with demographicpressures.

New policy approach With SSA’s growth remaining belowpre-crisis averages, nationalgovernments need to adoptpolicies/reforms to raise medium-term output potential and strengthenresilience to risks. The IMF said,“Creating strong, sustained and

inclusive growth will require severalsteps.” These include both ‘product’and ‘labour’ market reforms tounderpin structural transformationof the region. Policies under formerentail fostering private investmentand risk-taking by improvedregulation and open competition,ensuring reliable infrastructure

services, improving the efficiency ofparastatals in utility sectors andenhancing access to credit, as well asdeepening trade and financialintegration.

Major labour reforms includedeveloping human capital,promoting digital connectivity andbetter education and vocationaltraining (emphasis onscience/technology), and creatingmore productive jobs – thusdelivering on demographicdividend. The number of Africansreaching working age (15-64) mightexceed 100 million during 2030-35(IMF forecast). Furthermore, SSAshould boost domestic tax receipts –currently among lowest indeveloping world – and improve theefficiency of public spending to fundgrowth-enhancing investments.

In sum, Africa is a growing regionof colossal natural wealth, however,some years may see feeble growth asin 2016-17 caused by external factors.As growth momentum gathers pacedriven by increased urbanisation anddemand for supportinginfrastructure, future growth sectorsare wholesale/retail trade, financialservices (including fintech), housing,utilities and transportation.

“While there are a number ofopportunities across Africa, thebiggest opportunity is undoubtedlythe sizable and growing middle-class. They are an empoweredgeneration, looking to consumemore and more products andservices,” noted Africa-focusedprivate equity firm DPI. Large SSAcities remain ‘consumer hubs’ whereper capita consumption is morethan double the national average,according to Mckinsey GlobalInstitute. It predicted the business-to-business market inAfrica could reach US$3.5 trillion by2025, up from US$2.6 trillion in2015 mainly in SA and Nigeria. �

3.5 %

4.4 %4.6 %

5.4 %

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2016 2017 2018 2019

Source: IMF Regional Economic Outlook, Oct 2018.


Improving debt management frameworkscould help better manage risks ”IMF

FINANCE | REPORT

Sub-Saharan Africa GDP percentage growth (excl. Nigeria & South Africa)

Top 10 SSA performing economies of 2018-19

7.5 7.2

6.3

7.47.0

5.8 6.0 5.9 5.9 5.8

8.57.8 7.6

7.0 6.7 6.66.1 6.1 6.0 5.9

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Ethiopia Rwanda Ghana Cote d'Ivoire Senegal Tanzania Kenya Uganda Burkina Faso Guinea

Real GDP growth (per cent) 2018Real GDP growth (per cent) 2019

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S06 ATR Dec 18 - Jan 19 News 02_ATR - New Master Template 2016 07/12/2018 13:56 Page 21

https://www.rmb.co.za/


Customers from P & L Machine Moving and Rigging in South Africa madea special trip to Belgium and Luxemburg to visit Faymonville facilitiesand get first-hand training on its new six-axle MultiMAX semi-trailer.The fully steerable trailer on hydraulic suspension is equipped with

timber floor, outriggers and hydraulic double ramps, which significantlyreduce the drive-on angle for any type of machinery. Thanks to itsextendable loading deck, the company says the MultiMAX is a realversatile all-rounder, making it the ideal tool for P&L’s abnormaltransport and rigging activity.“I am very impressed with the facilities and quality of the product. We

are looking forward to putting this trailer to work and excited to keepbuilding a strong partnership with Faymonville“, says Gareth Lucas,directorfrom P & L Machine Moving and Rigging, who added he waslooking forward to the unit being shipped, so it can soon fulfil its firsttransport tasks on South African roads and job sites.

Four modular combinations of Cometto self-propelled trailers MSPE40t in side-by-side configuration have been involved in heavy dutymovements for customer Marine Maroc.The project consisted of the transport of six diesel engines each

weighing 215t and six generators each weighing 72t for the powerplant of Kayes in Mali. The transport company, Marine Maroc,handled this challenging project for its final customer BolloréLogistics on behalf of BWSC Denmark.“The MSPE convoy formed by eight axle lines has been coupled

side-by-side with other eight axle vehicles”, explains Daniel Delorme,the CEO of Marine Maroc. “We reached a platform width of fivemetres and a payload of about 600t always assuring the safesttransport conditions of the load. They were used for the finalmovement of the project to position the engines inside the powerhouse on the job site, alongside the foundations.”Marine Maroc, based in Casablanca, is a major player in international

logistics. The Cometto MSPE is part of their vehicle park since 2013.

Six-axle MultiMAX semi-trailer:all-rounder transport solution

COMETTO MSPE EXCELS IN HARSHCONDITIONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Faymonville’s new six-axleMultiMAX semi-trailer.

NEWS | TRANSPORT

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IVECO's updated list of sales and after salesdealers as of December 2018.AlgeriaIval S.P.A.Zone Industrielle D'Extension OuedSmar Lot 88, BP 140, Alger, AlgeriaTel:+213 217 548 94 Web: www.ival.dz

AngolaIVECAR S.AEstrada de Catete, Km 23 Av. Deolinda Rodrigues Sentido Viana, Luanda, AngolaTel: +244 916 652 751Web: www.vecauto.com

Burkina FasoATS Truck Solutions Burkina FasoParcelle 08, Lot 04, Section 118Secteur 30, ZAD Arrondissement deBodogodogo,13218, OuagadougouBurkina FasoTel: +226 66 59 80 80Web: www.africatruckservice.com

CameroonATS Truck Solutions CamerounRoute de la base Navale, BP 344Douala, CameroonTel: +237 650 10 51 52Web: www.africatruckservice.com

Côté d'IvoireATS Truck Solutions Côté d'IvoireBoulevard de Vridi, 18 BP, 3298Abidjan, Ivory CoastTel: +225 78 51 80 36Web: www.africatruckservice.com

Democratic Republic Of CongoSociete de Production d’Import etd’Export S.A. (Prodimpex)Croisement des avenues marche etBas-Congo N° 3419 Kinshasa, Gombe, D.R.C.Tel: +243 81 934 6432Web: www.prodimpex.com

DjiboutiAl Ghandi Automotive GroupDjibouti Free Zone BranchP.O. Box 6406, Pbt 41B Republic of DjiboutiTel: +25321356026 Web: www.alghandi.com

EgyptArmada Egypt Co.58 Syria Street, MohandseenGiza GovernorateArab Republic of EgyptTel: +202 3539 2411 / 12Web: [email protected]

EthiopiaAutomotive ManufacturingCompany Of Ethiopia (A.M.C.E.)Bole Subcity Woreda 06 House No.306, P.O Box 5736 Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel: +251-116 463352/53/54/11

GabonLibreville Service AutoBB3737 Zone, Industrielle NombaDomaine, Libreville, GabonTel: +241 074 096 69

GhanaTanink (Ghana) LimitedOff Accra Tema MotorwayLight Industrial Area Comm. 12 Box CE 11386, Tema, GhanaTel: +233 (0303) 310631/2Web: www.taninkgroup.com

KenyaGlobal Motors Centre LimitedP.O. Box 43021-80100, MombasaKenyaTel: +254 774 911 912Web: www.globalmotorscentre.com

LibyaEDRI - Import Iveoc Trucks AndSpare PartsFourt Round Road, P.O. Box 650Misurata, LibyaTel: +218 217 125 937Web: www.ivecoedri.com

MaliATS Truck Solutions Mali (AfricaMining Supply Equipment)Zone Industrielle de Sotuba BPE 4570, Bamako, MaliTel: +223 76 40 90 20Web: www.africatruckservice.com

MoroccoAtlas Vehicules Industriels S.A.Route Principal N°1 Km 6 Ain SebaaCasablanca, MoroccoTel: +212 5223 55070Web: www.iveco.ma

NigeriaMotor Parts Industry Ltd. 231, Moshood Abiola Way, IjoraP.O. Box 198 Apapa, NigeriaTel: +234 177 537 03Web: www.mpi.com.ng

SénégalATS Truck Solutions SénégalBP 313 Rocade Fann Bel AirCôté Felix Eboué, Dakar, SenegalTel: +221 777 400 706Web: www.africatruckservice.com

SudanAbbarci Engineering Company Ltd.Ghaba Street Khartoum Industrial Area P.O. Box 1190Tel: +249 183 472594 / +249 183 580650Web: www.abbarcigroup.comCTC Engineering LtdZubier Pasha Street P.O. Box 980, Khartoum, SudanTel: +249 187 144 000

TogoATS Truck Solutions TogoZone portuaire, Route A3d'Akodessewa, BP 13755 Lomé, TogoTel: +33 (0)1 53 83 32 22Web: www.africatruckservice.com

TunisiaItalcar S.A.Zone Industrielle Megrine 5.5 Km Route de Sousse GP1Tunis, Tunisia, P.O. Box 2014Tel: +216 31 363 240Web: www.italcar-sa.tnSociété Le Moteur Diesel1 Avenue de Paris, 2033 Megrine, TunisiaTel: +216 71 427 507Web: www.moteurdiesel.com.tnSociété Tunisienne Sotradies14, Rue du CommerceZone Industrielle La Charguia B.P. 54, Tunis, Tunisia P.O. Box 1080Tel: +216 71 771 188Web: www.sotradies.com.tn



https://www.iveco.com/uk/products/pages/stralis-x-way-on-off-road.aspx

CGN Europe Energy has chosen renewable energymanagement system Greenbyte Energy Cloud fortheir wind and solar PV farms.Greenbyte will be integrating CGN EE’s wind andsolar assets in Europe and Africa, amounting to atotal of 900MW. Olivier Texier, head ofengineering and O&M at CGN Europe Energy, said,"Greenbyte stood out for their service availability,their specialised features and for their worldwidevision, in accordance to our global mission.”

BRIEFS

Unity Bank has agreed to work with Daystar Powerto move the power supply of Unity Bank’sbranches across Nigeria from diesel to solar.Unity Bank is one of Nigeria's retail banks with240 branches across the country and the eighthlargest bank in Nigeria by business locations. Tomi Somefun, managing director of Unity Bank,said, “We believe that our transition to clean solarenergy solutions will help to provide a betterexperience to customers visiting our branches.”

Unity Bank moves to solar power

The Togo president Faure EssozimnaGnassingbé, Minister of Mines andEnergy, Marc Dederiwe Ably-Bidamonand Director General of Eranove MarcAlbérola signed a power generationconcession agreement for a 65MWelectricity plant.

The Kékéli Efficient Power plant,which will be located in Lomé port,will provide power for 263,000Togolese households. The Eranovegroup will develop and operate theplant while Group TSK will becarrying out the plant’s construction.Siemens, which plans to be involvedin the electrification of Togo, will be providing the turbines, technology and maintenance services.

The gas plant will use combined cycle technology which makes it possible to produce moreelectricity without extra gas consumption while limiting CO2 emissions. This is in line with thegovernment’s agenda to boost the economy and meet increasing demand for electricial power. Theproject will be financed by CFA Francs - the first for an independent electricity producer in Africa.

Marc Albérola, CEO of Eranove Group, said, “We are extremely proud to contribute in designing thenational strategy and implementing the National Development Plan by developing the new electricityproduction unit alongside the Togolese Republic, and we thank the country’s authorities for their trust.In order to ensure a successful quality public/private partnership, we have assembled an innovativepan-African financing mechanism denominated exclusively in CFA francs mobilised by regionalinstitutions, as well as by renowned pan-European technical partners with Eranove, Siemens and TSK.The project is a perfect illustration of the model we want to promote in order to meet the challenge ofaccess to electricity and water in Africa.”

Eranove already operates 1,247MW of generating capacity and is developing projects in Côte d’Ivoire,Gabon, Madagascar and Mali, with the aim to bring 1,000MW to the continent.

The African Energy Chamber reported it wasencouraged by the progress made in SouthSudan’s oil sector after the peace agreement.The success of the South Sudan Oil & Power2018 conference on November 20-22, whichwas attended by more than 750 participantsrepresenting upstream, midstream anddownstream sectors of the oil sector fromAfrica, Europe, North America and theMiddle East, is a step in the right direction,the chamber says.

It was encouraged by the ministerialdelegations from many countries such asEquatorial Guinea, Sudan, Somalia, SaudiArabia, Nigeria, Russia and Uganda. Thesuccess is an indication of South Sudan’sincreased attractiveness for African andinternational investors, as the East Africannation works to ensure a stable peace andhas doubled efforts to ramp up productionand drill more wells.

“The presence of several international oilcompanies in Juba was very encouraging andshows that South Sudan is doing its best torestore the trust of the internationalinvestment community and should beencouraged by all parties,” said ExecutiveChairman NJ Ayuk.

The chamber supported South Sudan’sefforts to build a lasting peace, whichresulted in a new peace agreement signed inOctober between rival factions.

“The local and international oilcommunity has an obligation to supportpeace talks and the South Sudaneseleadership to promote peace andreconciliation. We call on the government tocontinue its efforts in encouraging anenabling environment, promoting localcontent and prioritising the role of women inthe oil sector,” said NJ Ayuk.

South Sudan remains under-explored,despite being East Africa’s oldest and biggestoil producing nation.

Togo and Eranove Group sign an agreementfor a 65MW gas plant

SOUTH SUDAN’S OIL DRIVELEADS TOWARDS PEACE

Phanes Group has announced Mbaye Hadj and his Gossas Solar Farm Project (30 MW) as the winner of thesecond edition of its Solar Incubator. The announcement was made at the “Unlocking Solar Capital: Africa”conference in Kigali, Rwanda, where three finalists presented their proposal to a panel of internationalindustry experts from responsAbility, ECREEE, Hogan Lovells, Phanes Group, RINA, and AfricanDevelopment Bank.“We are proud to announce Mr Hadj as the winner of this year’s Solar Incubator. It was a difficult decision

as we received a strong response of project proposals with the potential to positively impact theircommunities. Our experience now in the second year of the incubator encourages us to continue with thisinitiative because there is a great deal of local talent on the continent who have the potential to benefit fromsuch a platform,” said Andrea Haupts, COO of Phanes Group.

SOLAR PROJECT IN SENEGAL WINS AWARD

The new Kékéli Efficient Power Plant will be situated in Lomé Port.

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NEWS | POWER


Greenbyte will be integrating CGN EE’swind and solar assets in Africa.

Tomi Somefun, managing director ofUnity Bank.

CGN EE chooses Greenbyte for wind assets



http://www.elsewedyelectric.com/FE/Common/Default.aspx


Onsite power remains an important part ofAfrica’s overall energy supply mix,something that looks set to continue for

the foreseeable future.For those industries seeking dependable power

in the face of an often erratic electricity supply –from small businesses right through to giantoffshore oil rigs – it remains a critical tool inmaintaining safe and stable operations.Moreover, with the development of mini grids

connecting isolated and rural communities acrossthe continent, it is also a niche that looks setfor expansion.The evolution of renewable technologies has

likewise provided a whole new array of productsand solutions for end users seeking a reliableonsite power supply.That includes solar-based micro generators

serving remote telecommunications outposts,which are now a relatively common sight in Africaand elsewhere.Even with the massive influx of funding for the

power sector in recent years from internationaldonors and lenders, the patchy coverage andgeography of Africa bodes well for onsite power.Agencies such as the African Development

Bank and US AID have prioritised investments inthe energy sector, especially in new generation,transmission and the renewables sector.Yet the scale of the onsite power business in Africa

is equally vast and, it seems, still growing.One major industry player,

Cummins Inc., has thousands of unitsin operation across the continent. It recently landed a new contract

worth almost US$500mn to producediesel powered generators for the USDepartment of Defense to bedeployed at military sites worldwide.Today, it says there are more

than 24,000 of its AdvancedMedium Mobile PowerSources (AMMPS) generatorsets in use in Africa,Afghanistan, South Koreaand the USA. And innovation likewise

continues at pace in thissector, driven by all theleading players.

East Africa Cummins’ East Africa joint venture, Car & General,demonstrated the group’s new gensets poweredby the QSX15G8 engine to customers in Nairobi.Car & General is the distributor for Cummins in

Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti,Seychelles, South Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, Eritreaand Burundi. The 500 kVA generator sets, manufactured in

China, feature reduced noise levels, efficient fuelconsumption, automatic synchronising, andremote monitoring which allows customers tokeep an eye on the performance of theirgenerator from a separate location.Another major player is Doosan Portable

Power, which also released a new range of fourgenerators from 20-60 kVA for the Africa andMiddle East regions, available in both 50 Hz and60 Hz versions. As well as construction, rental and agriculture,

the new generators extend the Doosan portfolioto a wider audience to cover applications such ashome standby, telecommunications and back-uppower for small businesses – underlining thestrength and depth of this market. The four new generators – the G20, G30, G45

and G60 – provide prime power outputs of 20, 30,45 and 63 kVA, respectively, and all four units areavailable as open units (XF) or sound attenuated

versions (XW). The equivalent 60 Hz versions arealso available in a range of voltages between220V and 480V.All are powered by Cummins diesel engines

and fully supported by the Doosan PortablePower dealer network for the region, from start-up to servicing, maintenance andtroubleshooting. “Sharing the same design and characteristics, the

new generators offer robustness and reliability, highperformance and a wide choice of features to meetthe needs of a very wide range of power applicationsfrom prime power in remote areas to stationaryunits in grid back up,” a Doosan statement read. Given the historical plight of Africa’s notoriously

unreliable power sector, it is hard to overstate theimportance of these and other similar units onday-to-day business activities. From small firmsand households, through to the multinationals,these gensets are keeping Africa ticking.

Finance sectorIndeed, one recent Cummins project is supportinga part of Africa’s critical financial sector itself. It provided standby power for the headquarters

of Standard Chartered Bank in Ghana, supplyingfour of its 630 kVA generator sets. The system will provide the bank’s head office

in Accra with standby power wheneverinterruptions to the grid supply require it.Despite massive investment in the nation’s

power infrastructure in recent years, it highlightsthe ongoing demand for onsite power solutionseven in one of Africa’s more dynamic economies. The four gensets – synchronised to come

online within three seconds of utility failure – areinstalled in a purpose-built room on the groundfloor of the Accra building.The main contractor for the project was

WBHO/MBS of South Africa, while CKR ConsultingEngineers acted as the electrical consultant to the

project. It represents just one part of Africa’sonsite power make-up – anarea that remains integralto the smooth functioning of the continent’s economy. �

By Martin Clark

Portable power remains integral to energy mix

POWER | REPORT

Doosan’s G45XF unit.

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The outlook for onsite power in Africa remains positive despite the huge injection of funding into mainstream energysupplies in recent years.



https://www.sollatek.com/

Wale Oluwo, Lagos State commissioner for energy and mineral resources, talks about negotiations to acquire anFSRU to meet the city’s power supply needs at the DLO Africa Power Roundtable event in London.


The Lagos State Governmentsays it is in discussions withGolar about providing a

floating storage and regasificationunit (FSRU) to deliver off-grid energysecurity for the region.A FSRU in the city’s free trade

zone could meet the vision of theregion’s US$3bn gas-to-powerprogramme.“A floating storage special unit

has the capacity to regasify 750million standard cubic feet of gasper day - that's enough to power3,000MW,” Wale Oluwo, Lagos Statecommissioner for energy andmineral resources, said at the DLOAfrica Power Roundtable event.The government was negotiating

with Golar to acquire one of itsvessels; the Tundra or the Golar Spirit.“We have got very far with our

negotiations with Golar LNG Ltd – amajor supplier of energy – whichparticularly deploys FSRUs in Africa.We wanted the best supplier and inthe case of Golar, they gave us theoption to either choose from theGolar Tundra which was in Ghanaearlier this year or the Golar Spiritwhich has finished its assignmentsin Brazil.” The Golar Tundra is able to

produce 750 million cubic ft/day ofgas and the Golar Spirit is able toturn out 250 million cu ft/d.Oluwo also said the state was

finalising talks with Nigeria LNG(NLNG) to buy liquefied natural gasfrom its facility in Finima, BonnyIsland.“We have gone into extensive

negotiations with Nigeria LNG,”he said.The commissoner added he is

hoping to capitalise on NLNG’s Train7 expansion project, involving twotrains with a total capacity of 8million tonnes per annum expectedto start in 2024, whereby a part of

that LNG could be used in Lagos.“The attraction for me is that I can

freeze the price for two to threeyears and NLNG are very receptive toit. We are working out the economicsso that they do not lose money andwe do not also pay too much.” It is hoped the region’s US$3bn

gas-to-power project, known as theEmbedded Power SupplyProgramme, which aims to provide3,000MW of electricity, will kick startthe deregulation of the NigerianPower Sector from Lagos. The statereceives about 25 per cent of thepower generated from the nationalgrid.The commissioner further

explained the FSRU’s location to themain gas line was importantbecause in the event of anydisruption in the Niger Delta due to

issues such as militant attacks, gascould be transported via a newpipeline into the city.“The intention is that if the FSRU is

pumping gas and the gas is comingfrom the Delta area as it enter Lagos,I have about of 20km of pipeline toconstruct. This means that anytimethat the gas from the southern partshuts down, we can close thepipeline and the FSRU can replaceproduction,” adding that anyone whouses gas in Lagos for whateverpurpose, power or manufacturing,can have 24/hr gas supply.The gas-to-power project, also

known as the Embedded PowerSupply Programme, aims to kickstart the deregulation of theNigerian Power Sector from Lagos.The state currently receives about 25per cent of the power generated

from the national grid.The programme involves also

expanding its energy mix with waste-to-energy power and deployingpower plants in strategic locations inthe state within three to five years.Up to 1,000MW will be deliveredduring the first phase within 12months and the remaining 2,000MWwill be delivered in the second andthird phase.

Mitigating financial risksOluwo said the Central Bank ofNigeria had put togethermechanisms to mitigate anyfinancial risks, adding “we have theeconomy to support the programmeand the capacity”. The commissioner praised the

DLO Roundtable event in London on30-31 October describing it as “aneye-opener” because it was lookingat how to bring power to Africa.“I know clearly that for

economies to develop you needthree major commodities in regardto energy, you need power,petroleum products and need gas.You need these three items to powerthe economy. Unfortunately, the

Lagos in talks with Golar LNG to acquire FSRU

POWER | REPORT

We have the economy to support theprogramme and the capacity ”WALE OLUWO, LAGOS STATE COMMISSIONER FOR ENERGY ANDMINERAL RESOURCES

The FSRU Toscana, which is permanentlymoored off the Italian coast in Tuscany, issimilar to the vessel that might be usedoffshore in Lagos.

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reality of is that these three areas inmost countries in Africa haven’tbeen managed in a way to enhanceproductivity and increase supply.” He admitted it was ironic in

Nigeria, as the eighth largestexporter of crude oil and major gasproducer, that until now it couldn'tinstall gas-to-fire power plantsdespite the country having11,000MW of installed power – only3,500-3,800MW reaches consumers.Providing some context to the

power supply problem, he said thatit was related to the mindset andthe models implemented afterNigeria and other African countriesgained independence. “In my owncountry we were made tounderstand that the governmentprovided for all the utilities;telecoms, energy, railway, aviationetc, and there was legislation toprevent competition, so consumersgot used to getting services withoutpaying competitive prices for them.As a result, sectors were destroyedand efficiency disappeared andbusinesses were not coming – this iswhere we are today.”That’s why he stressed it was

important to continue along thepath of reform such as aroundchanging mindsets and vehicles thatmake the sector unattractive. Inpower, he continued, pricing wasstill an issue.“For my country, leakages in

respect to the completion of thebusiness circle. You put money in itand dont get money to come out.Gas loss in technical andcommercial losses, gas loss in powerjets, gas loss in all sorts of thefts thatmakes the sector unattractive so wemust continue to improve thoseleakages and improve competitionin the power space and make surethat at every level of the chain,

investment opportunities arehighlighted in an environmentcreated for you to bring money in.Reforms don't make sense until theprivate sector in your country canstart to put its money into sectorsthat will create productivity,” addingthat local investors are important toattract foreign investors to come. He stressed the second major

issue the conference should addresswas how to handle foreign exchangechallenges as many Africancurrencies were not stable, relativeto international currencies. “Inmany African countries today, theyare subsidising it, which at the endof the day is not going to besustainable and we are going to gofull circle and come back fromwhere we started from,” he said.

“I’d encourage the conference tocontinue to look at those difficultiesthat makes it hard for Africa toattract investment in a quantity thatordinarily we should be attracting.We can do that in relation to themacro variables, particularlyexchange rates, inflation rate,interest rate, debt profile and thebalance of government issues. It iswhen we put this together andcompare it to the infrastructureinvestments that you begin to see amoderation of macro variables thatcan drive business into Africa, thepower sector and increase supply.”

Lagos is the most populous statewith 22 million people and is thecommercial hub of the whole ofWest Africa. It accounts for almost aquarter of Nigeria's US$493bn GDP,which is more than Ghana

(US$116bn) and Kenya (US$86bn). Itis the only oil and gas producingstate outside the Southern Delta.

Varying access to energylevelsMeanwhile, South Africa's deputyminister for energy, ThembisileMajola, said Africa's economicdevelopment, industrialisation andthe ability to create jobs wasintrinsically linked to access to energy.She warned the region’s access

levels by different countries werevery low in comparison to otherinternational countries and run therisk of not meeting the UN'ssustainability targets, butcommended the southern region forhaving an installed generationcapacity of around 68GW.“In 2018, a total of 3GW was

added to our generation capacity,which was funded through privateand public investors,” the ministersaid concerning recent solar, wind

and hydro projects. “The regionplans to commission 4,667MW – thisdemonstrates our investmentenvironment which has changed forthe better,” adding that gas isplanned to be part of the region'senergy mix. She said South Africa was open

for business and creating policycertainty was critical to attractinginvestors.“For example, we hope those who

want to produce components forwind towers that they wouldn’t beconcerned about what happens tothem if the bid window for wind wasonly going to happen in two yearstime. They should be able to say thatthey are going to bid in Botswana orAngola, so that the factory willcontinue to be operational and theywon't have to stop and start. Thisharmonious way of working is makingsure that we have the economies ofscale but also have some certaintyaround it, allowing people to bid inBotswana or Zambia. As long as youhave registered with the South AfricaCompany Registration (SACR) you canwork anywhere.”“Forums like the DLO Africa

Power Roundtable are veryimportant to us. You get to learnabout innovative solutions that havecome up in other areas and thepossible steps we can take to have awin-win situation. “The time for investment into the

energy sector in Africa is now. Energyis the golden thread that runsthrough the economy that stimulatesand sustains economic growth.” �

By Samantha Payne

Themibisile Majola, South Africa’s deputy minister for energy, and Wale Oluwo,Lagos State Commissioner for energy and mineral resources.


REPORT | POWER

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In 2018, a total of 3GW was added to ourgeneration capacity, which was fundedthrough private and public investors.”THEMIBISILE MAJOLA, SOUTH AFRICA’S DEPUTY MINISTERFOR ENERGY

Comparison of estimated power supply

Location Population (million) Power Generation (MW)

Egypt 88 30,000

South Africa 53 50,000

Ghana 30 3,900

Kenya 48 2,300

Nigeria 170 4,000

Lagos 22 900

(Source: Lagos State Government)


Yoven Moorooven, CEO of ENGIE Africa, discusses the central role that innovation is playing on the continent today.


The last decade has seen aquick succession of reports andspeeches on Africa’s “rickety

infrastructure, skills shortages and areliance on commodities”. Thisnarrative however has changed inthe last couple of years and thechallenges that previouslyhampered growth and developmentare now a catalyst for innovation. This is the result of thousands of

entrepreneurs and innovators inAfrica rising to meet the challenges.Among the 10 countries with thehighest number of start-ups in theentire world, five are in Africa(according to the GlobalEntrepreneurship Monitor), andinvestment into African tech start-ups hit the highest levels in 2017. Those positioned in the centre of

this innovation and positive changehave shifted in approach. While atfirst many innovators in Africa werereacting to the lack of jobs and werelooking for avenues to sustainthemselves, now innovators arechallenge-driven. “We are movingaway from creating jobs toidentifying challenges and solvingthem,” says Barbara Birungi, thedirector of Ugandan tech hub andincubator Hive Colab. This approachhas a wider impact on thebetterment of the population, asopposed to improving the livelihoodof the few employed. Many of these innovations rely on

developments in digital and newtechnologies. One of the most well-known innovation success stories inAfrica is, of course, the rapid spreadof mobile money. African countriesaccount for more than half of allmobile money services worldwide.This has in turn unlocked many newbusiness models and innovations,such as that of Fenix International,an ENGIE company which providessolar home systems on a lease-to-own basis. Customers make dailymicro-payments via their mobile to

finance their daily energy needs onan affordable plan. If Africa’ssunshine is the spark that gives thisservice life, mobile money is thelifeblood keeping it alive. Emerginginnovations in Africa, such as FenixInternational’s, have the potential totransform the continent. In much the same way that

mobile banking has catalysedgrowth, energy is critical to thistransformation and will unlockmany more innovations. When wespeak to our stakeholders who rangefrom African regulators andgovernments to lenders, banks andinvestors as well as domesticbusinesses and local communities –their message remains constant:there is an urgent need for reliable,safe and affordable energy solutionsand infrastructure. Innovation will be at the centre of

meeting this demand for energy.Africa is a place where uniquechallenges such as sparselypopulated regions, extreme climateconditions and political unrest havemade traditional energy provisionless possible. Hence, a dramatic costreduction in solar and battery

technology, as well as the spread ofmobile payment systems, havemade innovative renewable energysolutions increasingly viable. This islargely met with an eagerness andwillingness among customers toadopt innovative energy solutionswhich match their needs. The challenges and opportunities

in Africa are very different fromelsewhere, and African countries willneed innovation tailored to theirspecific needs more than anythingelse. Therefore the challenge forthose seeking to promotetransformation in Africa is to findand support innovations which arenot ‘imported’. These must be ideas,products and solutions which aredeveloped on the ground to meetspecific needs and constraints.African economies will also needinnovations that are about developingcompletely new business models. Innovation on the ground – by

Africans, for Africans – is vital tosuccess. This will involve largeenergy providers prioritisingpartnerships with local businesses todevelop a platform to boostinnovative business development in

Africa. The purpose of this platformwould be to capture both internaland external ideas for new solutionswhich focus on improving the livesand businesses of African customers.The platform will help to rapidlydevelop ideas in pilot applications,and bring them to the marketquickly. It will be a place wherechallenges become opportunities. One example where a uniquely

‘African’ character can be developedis when it comes to mobility inAfrica. This mobility is currentlycharacterised by extensive use ofcycles, motorcycles and smallcollective transport solutionstypically used for small distances inand around cities. The developmentof electric vehicles for instanceoffers the chance for masselectrification of these urbantransport choices. Another wayinnovation can be used is to address the growing water scarcityproblem in Africa – decentralisedenergy production could becombined with very small-scalewater desalination and purificationtechnology to offer not onlyelectricity but also drinking water.At ENGIE Africa, our core purpose

is to create shared value for all ourstakeholders by developing businessmodels that ensure sustainable energyaccess and meet the needs of Africancommunities, industries andhouseholds. Africa’s energy sector,with its enormous need for powerand its readiness to adopt innovativesolutions, presents a historicopportunity. The African continent isa perfect amalgamation of challengesand opportunities. As people withskills and enthusiasm are joiningtogether, the government andregulatory bodies are increasinglyadvocating innovation. Together,these factors combine to give hopethat countries across the Africancontinent can be in a position todevelop world-leading innovations. �

Africa is changing into an innovative region

POWER | REPORT

We are moving away from creating jobs toidentifying challenges and solving them”BARBARA BIRUNGI, DIRECTOR OF HIVE COLAB

Anchor cage II-11 (wind farm) in Ras Ghareb,Egypt was developed by Engie and otherplayers such as Orascom Construction.

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Engineered to provide the most compactcontactor solution, the WEG CWB range ofdevices offers a width space saving of up to 18per cent. Add to this that the range wasdeveloped according to IEC 60947 and UL 508international standards and you willunderstand why this new generation contactor is finding such favour with electrical contractors.

Developed in two frame sizes, the new WEGCWB line of contactors meets a range ofindustrial and domestic applicationsrequirements. The first contactor in the range,covering up to 38A, has a width of only 45 mmwhile the second contactor, ranging from 40 to80A, has a width of 54 mm. Two mountingoptions, standard DIN rail or oblong mountingholes makes interchangeability easy.

Significantly, the space saving offered by the WEG CWB contactors, especially when

compared to similar product ranges, will allowcontractors to use six contactors wherepreviously only five could be used.

Another innovative engineering feature isthe use of WEG’s Zero-Width mechanicalinterlocking system. Traditionally contactorsuse a mechanical interlock device which isexternal to the contactor. The Zero-Widthsystem facilitates quick and easy mechanicalinterlocking between contactors, without theneed for tools. In addition, this feature allowsthe user to build a reversing starter up to 38Awith a total width of only 90 mm.

Built-in front 1NO+1NC auxiliary contactsnot only further enhance the space savingbenefit of the WEG CWb contactors, but alsoeliminates the need for contractors topurchase additional auxiliary contacts. Thisfeature also offers greater flexibility as itfacilitates optimisation of the internal spacein electrical panels.

POWER | SOLUTIONS

At the Eima in Bologna, Motorenfabrik Hatz presented the NewSilent Pack for the H-series of three and four-cylinder engines for the first time.

The plug-and-play solution combines soundinsulation of more than 60 per cent withprotection against contact, rain, dirt orvandalism. It is based on open power unit (OPU)engines and can therefore be ordered ascomplete and ready-to-install variants ex works.The New Silent Pack can also be used to retrofitexisting machines.

The New Silent Pack has a modular structureand is suitable for the Hatz H-series engines3H50TI, 3H50TIC, 3H50TICD, 4H50TI, 4H50TIC,4H50TICD. Thanks to the universal design, it isvery easy for machine manufacturers to include theNew Silent Pack in the machine structure or to equip themachines with different engines with the sameencapsulation. Virtually all parts are identical for allH-series engine variations. A suitable cover for the

diesel particulate filter (DPF) is available for the EU Stage V-compliant Hatz TICD models. The maintenance hoods

are adapted to the dimensions of the three- andfour-cylinder engines.

The New Hatz Silent Pack hasbeen redesigned from the groundup and offers significant benefits toboth machine manufacturers andoperating companies: The lowweight of less than 100kg supportsin particular manufacturers whoneed to keep their machines as lightas possible. In the three-cylinder TI

and TIC model versions, theencapsulation weighs only 91kg, in thelargest version – the Hatz 4H50TICD –

the encapsulation weighs 98kg. Duringdevelopment, the encapsulationdimensions were reduced by more than 10per cent compared to the predecessor.

Hatz presents New Silent Pack at Eima


CONTRACTORS SAVE SPACE USING WEG CWB RANGE OF CONTACTORS

The WEG Zero-Width mechanical interlock specificallydesigned for applications requiring mechanicalinterlocking between contactors.

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The universally applicable Hatz H-series Silent Packrequires less space in the machine.


http://www.zestweg.com/

Contractor firm Julius Berger has givenassurances to the Nigerian Senate that the Lagos-Ibadan road will be completed by 2021.It was meant to be finished in 2017 but wasdelayed due to lack of funds. According to local media reports, Senator KabiruGaya disclosed the cost of infrastructure had beenincreased by the federal government fromUS$1.3mm to US$1.6mn. He added the ApapaWharf Road was due for completion in December.

Lagos-Ibadan road due for completion by 2021

BRIEFS

State-firm Kenya Electricity TransmissionCompany (KETRACO), has began plans to electrifythe US$3bn Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).It plans to start work on 12 transmission lines and14 substations along the SGR line.“The main purpose of this venture is to ensure thatwhen the SGR switches to clean energy powersource, the supply will be reliable and sufficient fornot only the train but other facilities along theMombasa-Nairobi economic belt,” said KETRACO.

Kenya electrifies SGR

The African Development Bank (AfDB)has approved two loans worthUS$267mn to complete theconstruction of the Thwake Dam onthe Thwake River in southern Kenya.

This is a strategic water supplyproject for the large semi-arid area ofMakueni county and surroundingregions, including the newtechnology city of Konza. The loans –US$218mn from the AfDB andUS$49mn from Africa GrowingTogether Fund (AGFT) – wererequested by the Kenyan authoritiesand were approved on 14 November.

This additional support follows aUS$86mn loan granted by the bank in2013 to start building the dam as partof the Thwake Multi-Purpose Development Programme (TMWDP), which aims to provide drinkingwater, hydroelectric energy and irrigation.

Completion of the 80.5 m high multi-purpose dam will enable the storage of 681mn m3 of water, ofwhich 625mn m3 will be used for electricity production and downstream irrigation of agricultural land;22mn m3 for upstream irrigation and 34mn m3 for human use. Construction in the initial phase of theTMWDP project should be completed in December 2022.

This will be followed by three further phases: The construction of hydraulic plants to treat up to34,600 m3 of water for household use for 674,700 rural inhabitants and up to 117,200 m3 for 640,000residents in the technology city of Konza, hydroelectric energy production and 40,000 ha of irrigation.

The AfDB’s US$3.6bn Kenya portfolio comprises 33 operations, of which 22 per cent account forwater and sanitation operations.

Despite the troubled times in the constructionindustry, Concor Western Cape continues witha range of quality projects in and around CapeTown, where the company’s legacy has beenstamped for more than a century.“Our close relationship to developers,

consultants and other clients over many yearsensures that we are always aware of what ishappening in the market, and what theindustry requires of us,” Mark Fugard,managing director of Concor Western Cape,says. “Even with conditions being depressed,we have secured work where we can delivervalue with some of the finest skills and teamsin the business.”Recently completed projects include the

Signature Lux 1 hotel, an 80-keyestablishment outside the waterfront area inan historic building whose situation precedeseven the reclamation of the foreshore. Workhas now begun on the Signature Lux 2, alarger hotel with 167 beds in the centralbusiness district.“Perhaps one of the most exciting current

projects is 16 On Bree,” says Fugard. This willbe the tallest residential building in the citycentre and is only slightly under the height ofPortside Tower, also part of Concor WesternCape’s legacy in Cape Town. It will include twolevels of retail and several levels of parking,and will reach 120 metres high, looking ontoBree Street. There will be 38 levels in total,accommodating 380 apartments of varioussizes.“On the Atlantic seaboard, we are busywith two exciting high-end residentialdevelopments which are really setting thestandard for luxury living in Cape Town,” hesays. One is a large seven-storey home onNettleton Road in Clifton, and the other is theAurum development in Bantry Bay. The lattercomprises eight Aurum PresidentialResidences along Victoria Road towards theocean’s edge.

Kenya receives new US$267mn from AfDB CONCOR WESTERN CAPEEYES TALLEST BUILDINGPROJECT

Accelerating solutions to Africa’s infrastructure gaps must be taken seriously if Africa is to realise theaspirations of its people outlined in the continent’s blueprint for development, Agenda 2063, and theglobal agenda for sustainable development, said the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa(ECA) in a statement during the fourth Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), inVictoria Falls, Zimbabwe.Zimbabwe’s state minister for Matabeleland North Province, Richard Moyo said the acceleration wouldadd impetus to the continent’s integration process. “We need to have the right infrastructure mix andalign our national infrastructural projects to the PIDA programme for collective gain,” he added.NEPAD CEO, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki stressed the need to, “continue holding a constructive dialoguewith all the partners, including the private sector so that we can deliver concretely”.The African Union’s infrastructure director, Cheik Bedda, emphasised the importance of goodgovernance to promote infrastructural development that will impact the continent’s economies.EU and GIZ representatives spoke in support of Africa’s quest for an integrated infrastructure network.

INCREASING PROJECTS TO MEET BUILDING GAPS

An artist’s impression of Konzo tech city in Kenya which will benefitfrom water supply from the Thwake Dam.

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NEWS | CONSTRUCTION


The Lagos-Ibadan road is due forcompletion by 2021.

KETRACO is planning to electrify theUS$3bn Standard Gauge Railway.



REPORT | CONSTRUCTION

Could a renewed climate of optimism push investment towards EPC projects, especially in North and West Africa?

The decline in the oil price hadmixed effects along theengineering, procurement and

construction (EPC) value chain – itincreased the profit marginsdownstream in Europe, while in theUS, it led to an over-supply of end-product downstream. Overall, theslump was not great news formidstream operators, but upstream,there were opportunities to acquireblocks cheaply and wile away thelow price era exploring in readinessfor when the prices increased again.With prices hovering at aroundUS$60, is the time right forincreased EPC investment?

For Africa, industrial growth,increased urbanisation, populationgrowth and a growing middle classin multiple markets are drivingdemand for oil and gas and thisshould, in turn, drive investment inEPC projects. The refinery sectors ofNorth and West Africa are lackinginvestment but a renewed climate ofoptimism could push more moneytowards these projects and facilitatetheir construction.

There are plenty of companiesacross the continent keen topromote their services to the EPCmarket and, for African-owned-and-operated companies, it represents

an opportunity to develop localtalent and meet local contentrequirements.

One such example is AECOMUganda, which deliversinfrastructure projects to a range ofindustries, including oil and gas. Thecompany’s managing director forUganda, Bridget Ssamula is upbeatabout the opportunities available.

“The largest opportunities are inthe oil and gas sector, whereAECOM’s global skills, expertise, andproject experience, coupled with ourlocal know-how, and a demonstratedcommitment to local content, arekey strengths,” Ssamula said.

Increased private sectorinvolvement is helping the EPCsector, according to Ssamula, “Thishas opened up opportunities forvarious sectors that support theconstruction and services industries.”

Another sign of optimism in the

EPC sector from Uganda comes inthe form of a joint venture led bythe Ugandan government and theAlbertine Graben RefineryConsortium (AGRC), and comprisesYAATRA Ventures, Baker Hughes, aGE company (BHGE), LionWorksGroup and Saipem. A projectframework agreement was signed inApril this year to construct a 60,000bpd capacity refinery with anestimated project value of US$3bn.The AGRC will have each memberundertake a specific role during pre-FID activities and EPC of therefinery.

Ronald Mincy, CEO and managingpartner of LionWorks, said, “This is aunique opportunity to work withUganda on a transformationalproject that will provide jobs andskills to the country throughimproved access to substantiallycleaner refined products for Uganda

and the East Africa region.”Meanwhile, in North Africa,

construction for the Algerian gassector received a boost when KBRwas awarded an EPC and projectmanagement services contract lastyear by JVGAS, an ambitious jointventure of Sonatrach, Statoil and BP.Under the terms of the contract,KBR is providing detail designengineering, procurement servicesas well as construction managementat the major gas developments at InSalah Gas and In Amenas.

Moving away from oil and gas,Angola, a heavily oil-relianteconomy is looking to increase theuse of renewables in the energy mixwith US$18bn of investment in thissector planned by the governmentbetween now and 2025. Thehydroelectric generation projectsprogramme will enhance capacityand provide opportunities in forconstruction contracts. Othercountries where constructionopportunities could grow in therenewable energy sector includeBotswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco,Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal,South Africa and Zambia. �

By Georgia Lewis

Population drives demand for oil and gas projects

This is a unique opportunity to work withUganda on a transformational project thatwill provide jobs and skills to the country ”RONALD MINCY, CEO AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF LIONWORKS

A 60,000 bpd capacity refinery willbe built in Uganda.

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To meet the asphalt needs of a newly-awarded road rehabilitation project in the Mpumalanga area, asphaltspecialist, Actop Asphalt invests in a new Ciber continuous mobile plant.


When contracted to supply38,000 tonnes of hot mixasphalt for the Bambi-

Lydenburg road in Mpumalanga ineastern South Africa, Actop Asphalt,part of the Actophambili Group,went straight into the market for anew asphalt plant and purchased anew Inova 2000 continuous mobileasphalt plant, manufactured byCiber, part of global roadtechnologies leader, Wirtgen Group.The unit is the first of the new Ciberrange to arrive in South Africa.The new plant, which can produce

up to 200 tonnes of asphalt per hour,is a contract-specific investment toservice the Bambi-Lydenburg roadrehabilitation project over an 18-month period. Actop Asphalt willsupply asphalt to its sister company,Actophambili Roads, a specialist roadsurfacing contractor that has beensubcontracted by the maincontractor on the project, Klus Civils.

Growing capacityThe new Ciber plant brings to fourthe total number of asphalt plants inActop Asphalt’s stable in the threeyears of its inception, which istestimony to the company’s stronggrowth trajectory in a very shortperiod of time, in the face of aconstrained construction market inSouth Africa. The company’s sturdygrowth over the past three years has

hinged on its relentless focus onquality asphalt production, accordingto managing director, Francois Kemp. “As a result, we have done

extremely well in the three years ofour existence. Our early success has,to a large extent, hinged on ouraffiliation to the larger ActophambiliGroup, a major player in the roadconstruction sector in South Africa,”says Kemp. While almost 90 per centof Actop Asphalt’s work stream hascome from Actophambili Roads inthe past three years, the pattern hasstarted to change in recent monthswith a sturdy flow of externalcontracts. Kemp reiterates that thequality of the product is thecompany’s major competitive edge. Quality is the mantra at Actop

Asphalt, the figure of merit – and isa core parameter that is sought inevery aspect of the company’sbusiness. And that also extends to itsequipment needs; Actop Asphaltnever compromises quality of itsmachinery, which is central to both

reliability and quality of its asphaltsupply. The very same core principleinformed the decision to invest in anew, technologically-advanced CiberInova 2000.

Critical driversA major driving factor in the buyingdecision was the plant’s “supermobility”. “We were looking for anasphalt plant that we could install in avery short space of time,” says Kemp.The Ciber 2000 fits the bill due to itshigh production capacity – 200 tonnesper hour – and its compact build; itcomes in just two units. This is in starkcontrast to some of the existing plantsin the stable, which come in six units,but only producing 120 tonnes perhour. “The compact nature of theplant translates into lower cost oftransport when moving from one siteto the other, as well as the lower areaand cost of installation,” says Kemp. According to Waylon Kukard, sales

manager at Wirtgen Group SouthAfrica, the Ciber 2000 is about 60 per

cent below the average of otherasphalt plants of its class size when itcomes to cost of transportation.“This is complemented by less timefor mobilisation and assembly onsite,” says Kukard. “The plant’smobility is its key strength. It cansimply be hauled to site on twotrailers, get plugged in, startproduction and easilydecommissioned and commissionedagain onto the next site.”Rudi du Toit, operations manager

at Actop Asphalt, has alreadyexperienced the benefits of the newplant. While full production is yet tostart, the commissioning of the plantonly took seven days. “With some ofthe competitor plants, you arelooking at up to a month to put it up.The Innova 2000 takes only sevendays to mobilise and commission,which translates into three weeks ofextra production when compared toother plants,” says Du Toit.Du Toit, who was recently part of

a South African contingent thatmade the trip to Brazil to witnessCiber’s innovations first hand, alsomakes special mention of theEasyControl system, an intuitivesoftware which affords total controlof all the production processes. “Itallows for automated control –without operator interference – ofthe burner flame and othercomponents,” concludes Du Toit. �

Investing in quality machinery to make roads safer

CONSTRUCTION | REPORT

Our early success hinged on our affiliationto the Actophambili Group – a majorconstruction player in South Africa ”FRANCOIS KEMP, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ACTOP ASPHALT

The new Ciber plant bringsthe number of total plantsthat are owned by Actop

Asphalt to four.

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The African Development Bank (AfDB) hasapproved a US$20mn loan to the Republic ofCameroon to finance the construction of aring-road project in the north west province ofthe country.The ring-road project, which falls under phase

three of the country’s Transport Sector SupportProgramme, aims to improve the movement ofgoods and people. It will also strengthen thefoundations for strong and sustainable growthby promoting domestic and regional trade, thebank said in a statement.The loan for the 365 km ring-road is the

bank’s third intervention in the implementationof this important road network rehabilitationand upgrading project. The loop road crossesfive of Cameroon’s seven divisions of the northwest region and includes several links to theNigerian border, it added.The project will include institutional support

for the transport sector and related works suchas the development of rural roads, therehabilitation of socio-economic infrastructurefor improving women and youth livingconditions.

The road project is in line with thegovernment’s Growth and Employment StrategyPaper (GESP) 2010-2020, to build an integratedand efficient transport network at low cost thatcovers the entire country opening the country toneighbouring countries to effectively enhanceeconomic growth and reduce poverty.The Transport Sector Support programme

under which the project falls is also consistentwith Pillar I of the Country Strategy Paper (CSP)2016-2020 for Cameroon.Cameroon’s northwestern region has

enormous economic potential, particularly inagriculture, which stands to benefit from theroad. Other lucrative sectors include livestockand fisheries; tourism, particularly the naturallandscapes such as the Menchum Falls, LakesAwing, and the Mbengwi Caves.The project is expected to have a impact on

transportation – reducing travel time; anincrease in traffic of passenger and goods; fosterjob creation for women and work for 30,000youths. The road will result in savings on vehicleoperating costs; an increase in householdincome and reduction in post-harvest losses.

African Development Bank grants US$20mn loan for ring-roadproject in Cameroon

African Development Bank has approved a US$20mnring-road project to improve socio-economic growth inthe north west province of Cameroon.

CONSTRUCTION | NEWS

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https://rock-plant.com/

With Africa’s construction sector showing ever greater ambitions, the challenge is onfor formwork and scaffolding providers to respond.


Adynamic economy acrossmany parts of Africa, and alively construction sector, are

together driving the demand forformwork and scaffolding solutions. These are essential services for all

major projects, or where any workat height is required. That includes flagship new builds

such as Kenya’s The Pinnacle inNairobi – set to become the tallestbuilding on the continent whencompleted.Work is also now getting

underway on what will be Morocco’stallest skyscraper, in the capitalRabat. The Bank of Africa tower,which will stand at 820ft tall, willbecome the second-highestskyscraper on the continent behindthe 984-feet Nairobi project.These are major showcase

projects for all involved, includingthe scaffolding teams making thework possible.The two buildings will both

outstrip the previous tallest buildingrecord held by the 732-feet CarltonCentre in Johannesburg, South Africa.The new Rabat skyscraper is being

built by construction firms BESIXGroup and Travaux Generaux deConstruction de Casablanca (TGCC),and was designed by architects Rafael

de la Hoz and Hakim Benjelloun.The 55-floor building is set to be

completed by mid-2022 and willinclude a luxury hotel, apartments,office space and a viewing terrace atthe top.And, it seems, while activity is

strong on all sides of the continent,North Africa has shown itself to beespecially attractive right now.After the tumult of the so-called

Arab Spring in 2011, businesses aremaking up for lost time with majorinvestment decisions being taken bybanks, hotel chains and other majorbusinesses to expand operations,resulting in an uptick of new builds. It’s good news for the region’s

major scaffolding suppliers.

Condor spreads its wings Among them, scaffolding andformwork firm, Condor, recentlyannounced that it would strengthenits presence in the area, with the

opening of a new operationalbranch in Sfax, Tunisia.It comes hot on the heels of

another branch in Algiers, where thecompany says it has had a ‘positiveexperience’ so far. Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and

Algeria are all seeing a revival ininvestment, most visibly with theopening of new luxury hotels by thelikes of Hilton, Marriott, and others. Announcing its plans for Tunisia,

Condor said that the general growthand development of Africa in recenttimes means it has been able to“commit to the latest constructiontechnologies, especially in theinfrastructure and civil constructionfields”.The company has been stepping

up its profile across the Africanregion generally over the years,working in cooperation with localcompanies in major markets and onselected projects.

That includes criticalinfrastructural works, such as theAlgerian section of the trans-Saharan highway connecting Algierswith Lagos, Nigeria, as well as theexpansion of Algiers port. Across the border, its activities

have also included work at Tunisia’sEnfidha Airport.Condor has also supported various

other civil works projects elsewherefrom the Gibe III dam in Ethiopia,right down to the construction of theNelson Mandela Children Hospital inJohannesburg, South Africa.Condor said in September that the

main driver for its African push wasto provide more timely and directengineering support, across an areareaching from the Mediterranean(Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco), to thethe Maghreb and out into WestAfrica (citing Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire,Benin, Cameroon, Guinea, Mali andMauritania, as markets).

Safety, standards andambitionOther major players with a strongfootprint in the Africa marketinclude Peri, Layher, ULMAConstruction and RS Group. At a time when Africa’s

construction industry is becoming

Reaching the heights

CONSTRUCTION | SCAFFOLDING

We are committed to the latestconstruction technologies, in theinfrastructure and civil construction fields ”CONDOR

Many contractors in Africahave used bamboo or wood

as an alternative tostandardised formwork.

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ever more ambitious, it seems goodtiming for all the major players. And this is an industry where

reputations count for a lot, with somuch at stake. Earlier this year, three South

African construction workers werehospitalised after being injuredwhen formwork collapsed on themin KwaZulu-Natal, underlining thepriority on safety at all costs. The roll out of more mega projects

is likewise prompting officials toregulate and set standards forformwork and scaffolding, as well asacross all other areas of construction,equipment and building materials.Many contractors in Africa have

traditionally used bamboo or woodas an alternative to standardisedformwork. Across the border, Mozambique

recently opened its Maputo-Katembebridge, Africa’s longest suspensionbridge at 3km long, another

showcase for the continent’s growingconstruction industry prowess.Standards look set to rise as

authorities respond to thechallenge, alongside deepeninginvolvement from the likes ofCondor and others.According to forecasts, the global

construction scaffolding rentalmarket is expected to grow ataround 5.32 per cent a year throughto 2022.While the more developed markets

of Europe, Asia and North Americawill provide the bulk of any work andactivity, it is possible that Africa willoffer the greatest growth potentialgiven the continent’s chronic long-term under-development. That opens the door for more

investment, competition and asector more committed to safetyand quality than ever before. �

By Martin Clark

An artist’s impression of ThePinnacle in Nairobi.


SCAFFOLDING | CONSTRUCTION

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http://www.carmix.com/

NLMK South Africa, based in Johannesburg,specialises in Quenched and Tempered steelsproduced in Belgium by NLMK Clabecq. Thelocal company offers merchant plates and cut-to-size steel plates to the market. Its operations started in 2012 as part of the

Duferco Group. It was acting then as agent forthe NLMK Clabecq products in the South Africanmarket, distributing abrasion resistant (Quard®)and high yield strength steels (Quend®) directlyfrom the mill.In 2018, NLMK acquired 100 per cent of the

shares of Duferco Distribution Services whopursued its activities under the name NLMKSouth Africa. As a sign of their success, the two flagship

products distributed in South Africa, Quard®and Quend®, have already been tested by alarge majority of OEMs. The approval by thelatter seems to praise the good quality of thesteel. And the colour of the plates – green forQuard® and blue for Quend® – make themeasily recognisable in the market. The twoproducts own also their reputation to theirincreased workability, due among others totheir tight thickness tolerances and superior flatness.NLMK South Africa keeps Quard 400, Quard

450 and Quend 700 in its local stock. An asset

for customers looking for stable supply ofquality steel to ensure a smooth running oftheir fabrication processes. Through its service centre operations, NLMK

South Africa offers high depth plasma cutting aswell as profile cutting. It completes its servicesto customers with bending, drilling, chamferingand rolling through trusted suppliers. Thecompany takes pride in giving to its clientsquality service from the first call to NLMK SouthAfrica through to the final product delivery. As amilestone of its service-orientated focus, thecompany is ISO9002 approved and work to SABSstandards throughout the company. This

approach has ensured its continuous growth,even in period of recession. NLMK South Africa vision is to keep aligned

to its customers growing needs, as well in termsof product quality, service and advice, makingsure that it makes it right the first time, everytime. NLMK Clabecq continually works onimproving the existing grades and ondeveloping wider ranges of products and as welldifferent quality steels. With this in focus, thecompany is keen to introduce new products andgrades into its offering in 2019, such as the highprotection armoured steel plate Quardian orlike thinner abrasion resistant steel.

NLMK SOUTH AFRICA MAKES IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME

BOBCAT LOADER DEVELOPMENTS INCREASE CUSTOMER BENEFITS


Bobcat has announced a number of newdevelopments in the company’s compact loaderrange for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA),such as Auto Ride Control, Heated Cloth Air RideSeats and several more, offering numerousadditional benefits for customers. The newdevelopments provide an increased choice offeatures for the Bobcat skid-steer, compact trackand all-wheel steer loader ranges. Complementing this, Bobcat has also

launched the S100E model for EMEA, an updatedversion of the company’s popular S100 skid-steerloader that meets Stage V emissions regulations.Like the S100, the new S100E skid-steer loadermeets customer requirements formanoeuvrability, size, weight, uptimeprotection, lift capacity and push force for thisloader class. In addition, customers benefit fromimprovements Bobcat has made in operatorcomfort, ease of operation, noise levels, runningcosts and asset management.These new advances come in the year that

Bobcat celebrates the 60th anniversary of theloader, forming part of a 60 year legacy incompact loaders that the company says is secondto none in the worldwide construction

equipment market. Over the last 60 years, thesame outstanding quality, workmanship andinnovation have helped to maintain Bobcat’smarket leadership, so that one in every two skid-steer loaders sold today is a Bobcat machine. Available as a factory option or as an

aftermarket kit, the new Auto Ride Controlsystem improves operator comfort when drivingwith a load in the bucket, especially on roughterrain. This feature lets the operator lock intravel at a speed of their choice, so that they

only have to think about where they are goingwithout feeling the need to avoid bumps or anyother surface level obstacles. Benefits include reduced spillage caused by

vibrations due to an uneven operating speedand/or irregular surfaces; more stability whenmoving up and down with a load/weight and theability to drive faster on rough terrain. The new Heated Cloth Air Ride Seat is

available on the Bobcat 600, 700 and 800 Seriescompact loader models. This is an alternative tothe previous Air Ride Seat with a vinyl surfaceand further enhances operator comfort with themove to the cloth surface. It is designed toenhance comfort and productivity, particularlyfor customers operating loaders in cold weather.On the 400 and 500 Series models, Bobcat has

also introduced the Cloth Suspension Seat, againreplacing the Air Ride Seat with a vinyl surface.The cloth surface improves the operator’scomfort all year round − in both cold and hotweather − and provides more comfortableseating on slopes and inclines.The Air Ride Seat with vinyl surface remains

available for Bobcat loader customers throughthe company’s Aftermarket service.

Bobcat has launched the S100E model for EMEA, anupdated version of the popular S100 skid-steer loader.

Quard 400 abrasion resistant steel.

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SOLUTIONS | CONSTRUCTION


www.africanreview.com 39

REPORT | CONSTRUCTION

Rhonita Patnaik attended Bentley's Year in Infrastructure (YII) Conference to find out more about the benefits of 4Dmodelling for designing and building construction projects.

As optimism renews with higheroil prices, the constructionindustry is picking up pace

across the globe as well as Africa andthe Middle East, which is eagerlycompleting projects for the much-awaited Expo 2020 Dubai. However,everywhere else the cost factorremains the primary challenges tocomplete projects on time due toinefficient workflow status.Developers are becoming more andmore conscious so as to not outdotheir financial budgets. Traditionally, construction projects

are based on 3D models that depicttheir current status. However, thereare a lot of concept projects that aresolely intended for design. Thatwould not show the real-time statusof the project. Today, the demand isinching towards timely projectdelivery as accurately as planned.As challenging as it may seem, the

good news is that it is not impossibleand with Bentley’s 4D modelling andSynchro, it is possible to achieve thedesired results at an optimal cost.In June 2018, Bentley Systems

announced the acquisition ofSynchro, a 4D modelling software, tohelp overcome project designchallenges as well as to smoothdigital workflow. This acquisitionbroadens Bentley’s ProjectWiseconstruction offerings, which alsoincludes ConstructSim, used mainlyfor 4D modelling of industrial plants.At Bentley YII 2018 in London on 15-18 October, Tom Dengenis, seniordirector, Constructioneering, ProjectDelivery, SYNCHRO Platform, spoketo Rhonita Patnaik about thesignificance of 4D modelling.“Construction is a natural

environment of 3D spatial modellingand then you incorporate time. It isour ability to visually see the projectas an animation. This means thatprojects can be scheduled on a day-

to-day basis. This can help ownersand developers gain control on thedelivery deadlines. Also, the trackingof progress of progress is visible. It isa very transparent process.”Accuracy is the major aspect of

Synchro. With a 15-min differencebetween the reality and the digitalmodelling, the turnaround time onthe project is identical. Now you cankeep track of the progress by theminute. As Synchro can be adaptedto 3D modelling at any constructionphase, the benefits of this tool areinfinite. “Synchro will analyse the

available plan and create a workplatform for construction planning.”Dengenis assures that it is an

extremely viable investment. It is apromise of a payback but it needsencouragement from the owners anddevelopers. Steve Jolley, V-P,Construction, adds that the next stepis to feed the right information into

the model. Once you have the spatialinfo of the model, it is much easierto adopt the technology. So do notunderestimate the value of data. The Synchro Software’s 4D

construction-modelling solution canbe augmented better with MicrosoftHoloLens. Users can now digitallyvisualise 4D projects with a highamount of accuracy and detail. TheHoloLens overlays the dimensionalSynchro graphics on the job site andusers can watch the structures andsystems being built and installedacross the timeline.Demonstrating HoloLens during

the technical presentations, GregDemchak, technical architect, BentleySystems says that the representationis almost identical as on the drawings.Microsoft is now working on Version2.0, which will be lighter and withimproved holographic displays.As Bentley moves to the future of

construction and engineering, it also

took a step back to leverage thepotential of aging and existinginfrastructure with digital twins. Thedigital twin concept refers to adigital replica of physical assets. Bentley Systems announced the

launch of iTwin Services forinfrastructure projects and assets:Bentley’s Connected DataEnvironment (CDE) for ProjectWiseand AssetWise users.Infrastructure asset owners and

their teams have recognised thepotential for leveraging digital twinservices from the application ofanalytics, artificial intelligence (AI)and machine learning simulationsto provide decision supportthroughout the design andconstruction lifecycle of a project.To realise this potential,representations of assets need to bedigital, but to be relied upon as atwin there must be practicalsolutions for their synchronisationto changing actual conditions in thereal world. Moreover, merelycapturing and representing physicalconditions, including IoT inputs, cannever be sufficient to understand,analyse, or model intendedimprovements, without alsocomprehending the “digital DNA”captured in the project or asset’sengineering specifications.Once synchronised through digital

context and digital components,iTwinServices deliver their benefitsvia Bentley’s open-source iModel.jslibrary for web-based visualisation.Keith Bentley, Bentley Systemsfounder and CTO, said, “I lookforward to working with users andexternal developers to create anecosystem of innovation for iTwinServices, leveraging the iModel.jslibrary. I expect Bentley Systems tolead the infrastructure engineeringcommunity, as the ‘infrastructuredigital twin’ company.” �

3D to 4D BIM: It's time to SYNCHRO (nise)

Construction is a natural environment of3D spatial modelling and then youincorporate time ”TOM DENGENIS, SENIOR DIRECTOR, PROJECT DELIVERY,SYNCHRO PLATFORM

Tom Dengenis at theYII Conference.

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DECEMBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019 | AFRICAN REVIEW OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY


NEWS | CONSTRUCTION

Raysut cement eyes acquiring ARM cement in Kenya


Oman’s largest cement manufacturer, RaysutCement Company is eyeing acquiring ARM Cementof Kenya as part of the company’s aggressivestrategy to expand in East and Central Africa.

ARM Cement, which is a producer and majorsupplier of cement in Kenya and Africa ingeneral, went into administration with a debt ofover US$140mn and Raysut has expressed itsinterest to the administrators to acquire thecompany, a statement released by the companysaid. The acquisition is estimated to be valued atmore than US$100mn.

The acquisition will complement Raysut’srevised strategy to manufacture clinker inproximity to the markets it supplies to in EastAfrica.

Raysut Cement Company is already in theprocess of setting up a grinding unit inSomaliland and Mogadishu, Somalia with aDubai-based partner. The company is also inadvanced discussions to acquire various cementproducers in Uganda and Djibouti.

Plans are afoot to build a one million tonneper annum cement plant in Berbera, Somaliaand the construction work could start as early asJanuary 2019. Raysut Cement Company is inadvanced negotiations with Kampala Cement.

Raysut Cement Company is one of the majorclinker suppliers to the East African region andthe ARM assets will fit very well with its plans for East Africa where in the last quarter alone itsupplied more than 300,000 tonnes of clinkerfrom its home plant at Salalah, Oman to Kenyaand Tanzania.

According to industry reports, Mr. Joey Ghose,the Group CEO of Raysut Cement had presented

a five-year strategy to grow Raysut CementCompany into a 20 million tonne company by2022. The proposal of the Kenyan-born MrGhose, based in Oman, has been approved at arecent board meeting with significant supportfrom all stakeholders of the company, includingthe government representatives.

The group is also building a one-million-tonne plant in Georgia, near Tbilisi.

The acquisition of ARM Cement of Kenya by Raysut Cement Company is estimated to be valued at US$100mn.

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Spedag Interfreight, the leading logisticscompany in East Africa, unveiled their real-timetracking solution PeriSpoor to more than 500interested stakeholders. This innovative productallows the tracking of cargo along its journey bysea, rail and road. From or to any seaport of theglobe to or from any location in Eastern Africa,Spedag Interfreight customers can track their

goods both by mobile app and web applicationshowing the position in real time on Google Maps.The new product was presented by Daniel

Richner, chairman, and Dilip Bhandari, CEO ofSpedag Interfreight, during the year-end events inKigali and Kampala. The service feature was developed by Periplus,

Switzerland, a start-up company focusing on

incremental innovation solutions for the logisticsindustry. “It is our first jointly developed solution withthis young start-up. The speed of its realisation inonly a few months is impressive and the potential forenhancements are enormous,” said Richner.Periplus creates the link to products based on

distributed ledger technologies. The company isworking on a private blockchain solution to verifyand provide signed delivery orders in real-time toSpedag Interfreight customers.The group also unveiled their expansion plan and

decision to open offices in Zambia, DR Congo andBurundi where they will continue to work closelywith their existing agents and partners. Bhandarisaid, “We need these primarily commercialpresences to serve our esteemed customers in theirrespective industries and country of operations,whether it is in energy and infrastructure on one sideor aid and relief on the other.“Spedag Interfreight is leading the way, offering

bespoke logistics solutions to the oil and gasindustry where they are working with manyprominent companies. Oil and gas activities aregaining momentum in East Africa and as a market leader, we are well positioned to embracethe needs.” To impress customers is a central objective of

Spedag Interfreight. These announcements showthe group lives up to its own expectations.

REAL-TIME TRACKING COVERING EAST AFRICA AND BEYOND

Daniel Richner, chairman and Dilip Bhandari, CEO of Spedag Interfreight East Africa.

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Extensive transport infrastructure is being builtunder the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), knownas the Chinese Marshall Plan.

From Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe and Africa,Belt and Road includes 71 countries that account forhalf the world’s population and a quarter of globalGDP. One Chinese firm alone is responsible for10,320 km of new roads. With many more roadprojects in the pipeline, SDLG presents five benefitsthat SDLG motor graders can bring to these jobs.

1. Lubrication and maintenance-freeBoth the SDLG G9138 and G9190 motor graders,the two models available in APAC and the latterin EMEA, have swing frames whose compositebearings are lubrication and maintenance-free.This offers greater durability and ease ofoperations over the machine’s lifetime.

2. Range of options for different project needs SDLG offers a variety of motor graders fordifferent project needs. In increasing order ofsize, the models available are the G9190 (APACand EMEA) and G9220 (EMEA).

3. Comfortable and safe cabsThe G9190 and G9220 both feature cabs that are

air-conditioned. Offering a comfortableenvironment for operators to work in helpsboost productivity, especially since they oftenchalk up long hours and are under high stressto meet the deadlines of Belt and RoadInitiative projects.

4. Precise grading The G9138 and G9190 graders have fully-digitalinstrument panels with three-stage alarmelectronic monitoring to ensure preciseoperator control.

5. Reliability in a cost-effective package SDLG motor graders, like the company’s otherproduct lines, are reliable and cost-effective.SDLG machines are simple to use, thereforeminimising the amount of training required.

Brokk, the world’s leading manufacturer ofremote-controlled demolition machines,introduces the Brokk 170. With SmartPowerTM –the company’s signature intelligent powermanagement system – the new machine offers 15per cent more power than its predecessor, theBrokk 160, but retains the same compactdimensions. The Brokk 170 is one of four newnext generation Brokk remote-controlleddemolition machines Brokk is launching at Worldof Concrete 2019 in Las Vegas.“Contractors work in some of the most

confined spaces, and to get their jobs donesuccessfully they can’t sacrifice power or safety,”said Martin Krupicka, president and CEO ofBrokk Group. “That’s why maintaining the samefootprint as the former model and boosting themachine’s power was a must. This new machinetruly tests the limits of compact power.” The Brokk 170 incorporates the revolutionary

new SmartConcept system, which ensuresimproved performance and uptime.SmartConcept consists of SmartPower,SmartDesign and SmartRemote. SmartPowersenses when the power supply is poor or faultythen compensates before damage tocomponents occurs. This allows contractors touse the machine with generators or unreliablepower sources. SmartDesign extends machinelife and provides ease of maintenance due to 70per cent fewer cables, hardened components,LED headlights and accessible grease points andhydraulic hoses. An ergonomic remote-control,the SmartRemote, incorporates adjustablestraps, controls and professional-grade radiotechnology with a 300m working range.

NEW BROKK 170 OFFERS 15PER CENT MORE POWER

CONSTRUCTION | SOLUTIONS

The design of new solutions for the 21LC1050 Flat-Top tower crane, allowed COMANSA’s R&D teamto apply some of these developments to two of the manufacturer’s most successful cranes –21LC660 and 21LC70 – used in Angola and Côte d’Ivoire. These models, mainly designed for largeindustrial projects, energy, mining and PPVC construction, improve their performance significantly,the company said.

The versions of 24, 36 and 48 tonnes (52,910, 79,360 and 105,820 lb) of both models haveincreased their maximum load capacity to 25, 37.5 and 50 tonnes (55,120, 82,670 and 110,230 lb).This improvement is achieved thanks to the use of a compacted wire rope, of smaller diameter, andan optimised design of the now lighter trolley-hook set. Such change does not only increase themaximum load capacity of the crane, but also improves the loads in all radius, including the jib-end load. During the design of the 21LC1050, space restrictions at construction sites that exist insome countries due to regulation were taken into account. That is why a highly modular counterjibwas created for such model, which allows up to six different configurations according to the jiblength. The advantages of this new counterjib encouraged COMANSA to apply this design to cranes21LC660 and 21LC750, which will improve the counterjib radius of both models when they areerected with reduced jib-lengths. Thus, when the 21LC750 crane is erected with a 50-metre jib (164ft), the counterjib radius is 25 metres instead of 31, of the previous design (82 ft instead of 102).

As a novelty in terms of jib length, COMANSA now offers an optional 90 metre radius (295.3 ft), forspecial applications. This option is available for the 21LC660 and 21LC750 models, as well as for the21LC1050 crane. COMANSA also added the Effi-Plus system to the 110kW hoist mechanisms (148hp).

COMANSA: 21LC660 and 21LC750 upgrades


COMANSA’s models 21LC660 and 21LC750improve their performance significantly.

The G9190 motor graderis available in EMEA.

SDLG MOTOR GRADERS SMOOTHING THE WAY FOR THE BRI

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Latest research and development is paving the wayfor a unique new mineral called Jadarite with thepotential to supply a significant portion of globaldemand for lithium and borates.Rio Tinto’s Technical Development Centre inBundoora, Melbourne in collaboration with thecompany’s team of global experts, is developing achemical procedure to process Jadarite, which wasdiscovered in 2004 with concentrations of lithiumand boron, known only to occur in Serbia.

Tech centre supports global mining solutions

BRIEFS

Two high-throughput X-Ray Transmission (XRT)ore sorters from De Beers Technologies SA havebeen installed at Debswana’s Jwaneng diamondmine, as key elements of its new Large DiamondRecovery Pilot Plant. According to Gordon Taylor,head of DebTech, the XRT Coarse ConcentratorPlus (CC+) units were developed for the Botswanamine to treat run-of-mine at combinedthroughputs of up to 500 tonnes per hour whileallowing for the recovery of large diamonds.

All sorted at Jwaneng diamond plant

Hytec has been commissioned to supplyR10mn hydraulic systems for the newbulk handling equipment at Assmang’sBlack Rock Mine Operations in theNorthern Cape. Black Rock MineOperations is being operated by AssmangProprietary Limited which is jointlyowned by African Rainbow MineralsLimited and Assore Limited.

This bulk handling system includestwo stackers, a bucket wheel reclaimerand a rapid load-out station – eachautomated using Hytec’s proportionallycontrolled hydraulic systems assembledfrom Bosch Rexroth technologies.

“The proportional control achieved by the system delivers precise remote flexibility in adjusting,varying and optimising the load handling characteristics of the machinery to accommodate anychanges in the nature of the material,” said Hytec System sales manager, Klaus Marggraff.

The two stackers, manufactured by ELB Engineering Services, were equipped with 7.5 kW hydraulicsystems that will control the stacking of manganese ore in the stockyard in various grades of material.

The Sandvik (now FLSmidth) bucket wheel reclaimer was supplied with a 45 kW hydraulic system andincludes dual luffing cylinders.

At the load-out station, Hytec’s hydraulic systems extend from the control of the exit gates of the loadingbin, across the weigh flask that divides the load into batches that are then transferred into the wagons below.

Up to 600 l/min of hydraulic flow is required at specific stages of the load-out station, which alsoneeds to deliver precise distribution control within each wagon with strict tolerances.

“The load-out station is also equipped with an emergency closure system, which, when activated inthe event of a power failure or an emergency stop, will automatically close each gate and park themachine,” continues Marggraff. “Each component used on the system, from valves, cylinders and thefiltration systems filtering the oil down to six microns to the control, is from the Bosch Rexroth range ofdrive and control products.”

Mining companies, including Anglo AmericanPlatinum (Amplats), need to disclose theimpact of their activities more consistentlythan they currently do in their sustainabledevelopment reports (SDR), according toBench Marks Foundation.

Speaking at the launch of its latest studyin its Policy Gap series, Critical analysis ofAmplats Sustainable Development Reporting(SDR) from 2003 to 2015, executive directorof Bench Marks, John Capel, said that thereport had highlighted many shortcomingsin Amplats’ sustainable developmentreporting. However, he hoped that the reportwould be seen as a “positive contribution” toassist Amplats and other mining companiesto develop an ever-deepening understandingof sustainability “so that, in the end, allstakeholders, including communities andtheir dependents, will benefit from theextraction of our natural resources.”

“Amplats, together with other miningcompanies, does not consider the widercontext of its mining activity. Instead, itsimpacts are judged from inside its owngates,” Capel added.

“Most mining companies regardshareholders and owners as the mostimportant stakeholders, and therefore theones to which special attention must bepaid. However, mining would not be possiblewithout the land from which the mineralsare extracted, the communities which live ontop of this land, and the workers whoselabour results in the extraction of theminerals. In the vast majority of cases, thesestakeholders are at the bottom of the pile ofpriorities, if they are on the list at all.

“If Amplats and other companies were toprioritise environment, communities andworkers, it would stand to create a stronglegacy that would go a long way to takingresponsibility for the privilege of being givena licence to mine,” the study says.

Hytec commissions hydraulic systems atBlack Rock Mine Operations

CALL FOR SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT REPORTS

MC Mining was pleased to announce the conclusion of a hard coking coal (HCC) agreement to be producedby the Makhado Project in South Africa’s Limpopo province. The parties in the agreement are MC Mining’ssubsidiary, Baobab Mining & Exploration, the owner of the Makhado Project and the Huadong Coal TradingCenter Co, a Chinese state-owned firm and a subsidiary of the China Forestry Group Corporation.The Makhado Project is expected to produce up to 800,000t of HCC annually as well as between

900,000t and 1,000,000t of export quality thermal coal. The development of MC Mining’s flagshipMakhado Project is expected to facilitate economic growth in the Limpopo province, and the agreement hasthe potential to generate significant foreign currency inflows for South Africa. David Brown, CEO said, “The signing of the first HCC off-take agreement is a significant step for

Makhado, reaffirming its world class coal qualities and international appetite for this type of coking coal.”

FIRST MAKHADO HCC OFF-TAKE DEAL SECURED

The hydraulics ensure that loads are evenly distributed,maintaining the integrity of the axle load to strict tolerances.

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NEWS | MINING


Rio Tinto’s development centre isanalysing a new mineral to meet globaldemand for lithium.

Two XRT ore sorters from De Beers havebeen installed at Debswana’s Jwanengdiamond mine.



Four African emerging technology businesses will have the chance to pitch their solutions at Investing in MiningIndaba at the Cape Town Convention Centre on 4-7 February.


Unearthed and Investing inAfrican Mining Indaba havepartnered to offer four African

emerging technology businesses theopportunity to pitch their innovativeindustry solutions at next month’sMining Indaba in Cape Town.

Startup Unearthed Africa is anonline competition aimed at raisingthe profile of African hardware orsoftware companies across theglobal mining sector, withapplications open to any businessacross the continent that has aprototype, product or service thatcan impact industry.

“Companies do not need to haveworked on a mining project before,they just need to have excitingtechnology solutions that can makea difference,” Unearthed andInvesting in Mining Indaba said in ajoint statement.

In addition to awarding fourpitching spots, each startup willreceive one full complimentary passto Mining Indaba that runs fromMonday to Thursday.

Holly Bridgwater, industry lead,Crowdsourcing at Unearthed, willmoderate the startup sessionshowcasing these up-and-comingtransformative mining technologies.

Bridgwater said, “I am excitedthat we have the opportunity toshare some of the amazing techbeing built across Africa with anaudience of potential customers andinvestors at one of the world’slargest mining conferences.”

Investing in African Mining IndabaManaging Director, Alex Grose, saidthe the mining industry has beenperceived as an old-fashioned sector,but this is not the case as technologyhas rapidly been changing the waythe sector operates.

“From AI and big data to newsatellite technologies and moreefficient production, mining

companies are embracinginnovation. We are very proud andexcited to be running this fantasticinitiative together with Unearthed,set to bring new ideas to one of theworld’s oldest industries as well asprovide four African tech startupswith exposure to the world’s largestmining companies.”

Other must-see opportunities atthe conference, will be GhanaPresident H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo’skeynote address where he will bediscussing plans to open up small-scale mining in Ghana, which is thesecond largest producer of gold. Thiswill bring lucrative opportunities formining companies and investorsalike. Ghana has 23 large-scale

mining companies producing gold,diamonds, bauxite and manganese,and there are also more than 300registered small scale mining groupsand 90 mine support servicecompanies.

Hon. Jean-Clude Kouassi, ministerof mines and geology from Côted’Ivoire, Hon. Winston Chitando,minister of mines and miningdevelopment, Zimbabwe, Hon.Abubakar Bawa Bwari, minister formines and steel development, andH.E. Oumarou Idani, minister ofmines and quarries, Burkina Fasoare also confirmed to speak at theevent, which has grown into theworld’s largest mining investmentevent since its inception in 2014.

Last year it saw a 15 per centincrease in its overall attendance,including 47 per cent more miningexecutives.

“We’ve seen attendance figuresgrow, lots of international investorcompanies are now attending. Ithink the perception of Indaba ischanging; historically it’s been seenas a tradeshow but investors arecoming back,” said Hanre Rossouw,former head of resources, frontierand emerging markets, InvestecAsset Management.

“Excellent networking conferencewith many government officials andindustry players of all sizes andinterests,” said Max de Vietri,principal advisor, African Geopolitics.

More than 200 CEOs and CFOs,190 junior mining companies and750 investors and dealmakers willbe attending this year’s show. Issues such as digitalisation,sustainability development goals,land reform and massive job cutsaffecting the sector, especially inSouth Africa, as well as investmentopportunities will be discussed byministers and investors.

There will be a new investmentpavilion combining the JuniorMining Showcase, a SustainableDevelopment Day and extra half aday to debate the tech andinnovations for futuristic operations,such as maximising explorationefficiency with big data and AI andthe impact of automation on yourfuture workforce.

Harry Chapman, director ofcontent said, “We are quicklybecoming more than just aconference – we are here to supportyour businesses. As a team we alsohave a long-term, laser sharp focus indriving investment into Africanmining and actively contributing toAfrica’s sustainable economic growth,to help your business thrive.” �

Emerging tech firms set to benefit at Mining Indaba

MINING | REPORT

Companies do not need to have worked ona mining project before, they just need tohave solutions that can make a difference ”UNEARTHED/INVESTING IN MINING IN INDABA

Ghana President H.E. Nana Akufo-Addowill be speaking at Investing in Mining

Indaba in February.

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Multotec introduces short courses so customers can understand how centrifugal washers work to improve highercoal tonnage per footprint, while still maintaining optimal separation efficiency.


The growing scarcity of water is placingpressure on the coal mining industry inmany countries. On the one hand, mines

must treat more lower quality coal as bettercoal reserves are depleted which coincides withincreasing tonnages, and on the other, theymust reduce water consumption. The coalpreparation process is normally water-basedand uses substantial amounts of water, sooptimising its performance will impactpositively not only the environment but also thebottom line.

One important response to this pressure hasbeen the move from the traditional technologyof bath washers to centrifugal washers such ascyclones, as this allows for a higher tonnage perfootprint while maintaining optimal separationefficiency. Depending on the coalcharacteristics, it may be possible to reduce themedium to ore ratio while still maintainingoptimal separation efficiency and by doing soreduce the water use in the medium circuit.These types of changes can, however, only bemade if the material characteristics, theseparation process and factors affecting theseparation process are properly understood.

To optimise the effectiveness of cyclones, theparameters surrounding the dense mediaseparation (DMS) cyclone must be wellunderstood. The cyclone’s efficiency isdetermined by the nature of the feed, by thecyclone’s dimensions and maintenance and bythe circuit’s influences on the equipment.

The cyclone appears to be a simple piece ofequipment, but the operator needs tounderstand the physics of how it operates, aswell as the mechanism of separation. For thisreason, Multotec introduced short courses forcustomers, addressing topics such as principlesof separation, operation and fault-finding.

An additional process that is incorporatedinto modern designs to reduce water loss is theuse of coal centrifuges which can reduce thesurface moisture content of the dense mediumcircuit product from eight to 15 per cent to fiveto 12 per cent depending of the size of particlesbeing processed. A proper understanding of thedesign of this equipment and factors affectingthe performance of centrifuges goes a long wayin helping to optimise this process.

The performance of screens is becoming animportant point of focus in coal washing, in thelight of rising tonnages per footprint and mediumvolumes. Factors such as bed depth, spray wateraddition and the open area on screen panels allaffect the performance of desliming screens.Here, it is vital to understand screeningprinciples, so that optimal screen performance isensured; this not only improves screeningefficiency but also conserves water.

With drain and rinse screens, it is crucial todrain higher volumes of medium associated withever increasing tonnages being processed, tominimise medium losses. While it may not bepractical to replace the screen with a largerversion, alternative screen panel designs may bean option to improve drainage capability.

When drain sections perform optimally, theyreduce the need to add more spray water on therinse section of the screen, saving water. TheMultotec short course on screening principlestransfers knowledge to customers and industry onhow to achieve this.

The fine coal circuit is also an area deservingof focus, especially with increasing feed tonnagesbeing fed to coal preparation plants. Not onlycan this circuit become a bottleneck if it isunable to process the full fine fraction streambut, as the separation process is mostly water-based, this is where much of the water is used.The objective here would be to minimiseexcessive water use without sacrificing separationefficiencies. To achieve this objective a properunderstanding is required of the limitations ofeach piece of equipment in the circuit as well aswhich process factors will contribute the mosttowards separation efficiency while reducingwater consumption.

Again, Multotec’s training courses focus onimproving the operation’s understanding of theequipment and how to improve its performance.

This kind of industry training can have aconsiderable impact on the sector’s waterfootprint, if operators take the knowledge intotheir working environments and look proactivelyfor opportunities to reduce water usage. �

Cutting water usage while optimising coal washing

MINING | REPORT

Multotec has optimised dense mediumseparation in the pre-concentration of

minerals, specifically in coal anddiamonds, for more than 40 years.

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Mines have particular logistical, safety andenvironmental requirements that need to beconsidered when designing concrete and thisis in addition to meeting demandingperformance specifications. Among theglobal leaders in concrete admixtures,CHRYSO has developed an extensive productoffering to meet varying operating

conditions.In addition to experience in designing shaft

lining concrete, CHRYSO formulates high-flow,highly accelerated concrete that can betransported through slick lines. This expertiseencompasses providing solutions forshotcreting, thin skin liners, tailings groutsupport and backfill.

Driven by the advances in admixturetechnology, the use of sprayed concrete as atemporary and permanent support elementon mines has increased significantly inrecent decades. CHRYSO admixtures controlthe workability of concrete and create longeropen times. They also lower cement-to-waterratios, improve early or late strengthdevelopment and reduce rebound.

Used extensively on copper, gold,platinum and diamond mines, the CHRYSOJet range of accelerators ensures earlyhydration of concrete. It allows the concreteto be formulated to suit the size of theshotcrete machine, as well as shotcretethickness. To reduce rebound and improveearly strength in dry shotcrete, CHRYSO HPBPowder assists with bonding in wetconditions.

CHRYSO’s expertise has made it the firstsupplier to develop the use of tailings shotcreteand concrete to help alleviate mines’ logisticalissues. Now, the bulk of the material can bepumped over long distances and stored beforebeing sprayed.

Concrete admixtures for mining applications

SOLUTIONS | MINING

FLSMIDTH TO SUPPLY ACID-BAKE KILN TO HASTINGS TECHNOLOGY METALS


FLSmidth has been chosen as the supplier of an acid-bake rotary kiln to theRare Earths Hastings Technology Metals (Hastings) Yangibana Rare EarthsProject in Australia. The agreement means FLSmidth will design and supplythe kiln and provide technical assistance for this essential component inrare earths processing.

The Acid-Bake Rotary Kiln incorporates concentrate mixing and feedingequipment, directs waste gas to a separate scrubbing facility, and provides anatural gas fired heating system essential for the processing of rare earths.Following receipt of tender submissions, Hastings awarded the Acid-BakeRotary Kiln contract to FLSmidth.

The deal is significantly strategic for FLSmidth as it recognises the depthof pyrometallurgical processing technology the company can provide forrare earths production of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr).

NdPr is an important ingredient in the production of Permanent Magnetswhich are widely used in electric vehicle (EV) motors, direct drive windturbines, medical equipment-MRI, and high-end electronics.

“The order of an acid-bake rotary kiln to the Hastings Yangibana Rare

Earths Project in Australia is significant for FLSmidth on a globalperspective. It recognises the ability of FLSmidth to provide technology forthe processing of rare earths. The growth in demand for battery mineralshas allowed us to use pyrometallurgical processing experience to facilitatethe needs of our fast-growing customers,” says Laurie Barlow, Head ofMining, Australia at FLSmidth.

Photograph of a typical kilnsection being installed.

Advances in concrete admixture technologyhas increased and CHRYSO has a range ofsolutions for shotcrete applications.

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INNOVATION | SOLUTIONS


In December 2017, Egyptian President AbdelFattah el-Sisi inaugurated several developmentprojects in the East Suez Canal developmentzone in northern Ismailia, including tunnels andtwo floating bridges to facilitate commercial andcivilian access to Sinai and the East Suez CanalDevelopment Zone.

The East Suez Canal development project,which is part of the larger Suez Canaldevelopment plans, was launched in 2015. Theproject aims to develop major residential and

industrial centres in the central Suez Canalgovernorate of Ismailia.

The Suez Canal tunnels project aims to easecongestion in the area due to industrialdevelopment and population growth. Instead ofspending up to five days in a ferry, crossing theSuez Canal via the efficient tunnels will only take10 minutes in future.

On both sides of the canal, the North Africancountry has invested in commercial andindustrial business parks and residential areas.

German tunneling expert Herrenknecht isproviding the tunnelling technology for theconstruction of the necessary undergroundtransport infrastructure: four large-diameterMixshields (13,020mm). From September 2015 toJanuary 2016, four Mixshields were handed overto the customer at the Schwanau plant beforebeginning their sea journey to Egypt by freighter.The four new highway tunnel drives under thecanal were excavated in 19 months by twoconstruction joint ventures, the ArabContractors/Orascom JV and thePetrojet/Concord/CMC JV. To help the project runsmoothly, Herrenknecht trained 40 Egyptianengineers at its headquarters in Schwanau,Germany, and on the jobsites in Egypt to provideon site support.

Herrenknecht’s role in the project includessupport for optimal jobsite with acomprehensive technology and service package;VMT looks after navigation and process datamanagement systems and HerrenknechtFormwork is equipping the lining segmentproduction plants with moulds. Multiservicevehicles at the jobsite are being taken care of byTechni-Métal Systèmes.

As early as January 2018, excavation wascomplete on the first of two new twin-tube roadtunnels being built under the Suez Canal at PortSaid. In addition to the transport infrastructure,Herrenknecht technology is also being used forthe construction of supply and disposal lines.Two HDD rigs from Herrenknecht are installingpipelines for the expansion of the power grid.Two AVND machines in turn are handling theconstruction of water pipelines for agriculture.

The Suez Canal tunnels projectaims to ease congestion in the area.

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THE PASSAGE TO DEVELOPMENT


More people are being lifted out of poverty thanks to mobile finance. Sergio Pimenta IFC Vice President, Middle Eastand Africa and Ann Miles, Thought Leadership and Innovation, Director, Mastercard Foundation explain why.


There is a quiet revolution underway in Africaand, like all of them, its success depends onthe beliefs and behaviours of ordinary

people. People like Constance Sampa, in Lusaka,Zambia. Seven years ago, she got a job as a tellerat a banking agent outlet for Zoona, a mobilepayments provider. Today, she owns 37 outlets ofher own and employs 47 people, almost all ofthem women.According to Constance, “Mobile finance has

grown rapidly, because it is easy to use, andpeople are very familiar with mobile phones.Since almost everyone has a phone, the future isbright for mobile financial services in Africa.”Constance’s story is an example of the

movement that is enabling more people acrossAfrica to access and use basic financial services.In fact, financial inclusion is one of thecontinent’s remarkable success stories of thisdecade. Thanks to new technology andinnovative business models, the financialinclusion rate on the continent has jumped from23 per cent in 2011 to 43 per cent in 2017,according to new data from the World BankGroup Findex survey.Mobile money facilities and banking through

agents now offer affordable, instant, and reliabletransactions to poor people in urban areas orthose people living in remote parts of a country.Savings, credit, and insurance services are nowavailable in places where no bank has everestablished a branch.This is, quite literally, banking at your

fingertips – for everyone. It is breaking theconventional ways of thinking about banking andit is certainly cause to celebrate. The goal of thisrevolution is to achieve universal financial accessby 2020, meaning all adults will then have accessto at least a basic transaction account or mobilemoney account.

Despite remarkable advances, many low-income people, small-scale entrepreneurs, andrural communities still lack the ability to storemoney safely, make swift and low-costtransactions, or access formal credit to invest in abusiness or provide for a family emergency. Thatis why it is now time for the regional financialindustry, investors, development financeinstitutions, and regulators to make a final pushand build on the gains made so far so that thebenefits of formal financial services extend to allAfrican adults.IFC and the Mastercard Foundation’s latest

report, Digital Access: The Future of FinancialInclusion in Africa, outlines challenges that need

to be addressed for further growth in Africa’sfinancial services sector. Expanding financialservices to the last mile will require investmentsin merchant and agent networks. There needs tobe greater innovation along agricultural valuechains. As well, new products and services areneeded to meet an increasingly nuanced demandfrom an even broader variety of users, such asentrepreneurs, merchants, smallholder farmers,youth and women.Regulators across the continent can now learn

from a decade of experience as the most maturemarkets have been leading the way to promoteinnovation and access while also protectingconsumers. Tanzania’s ground-breaking efforts toenable interoperable mobile money payments isone inspiring example.In Kenya, the leading market for digital

financial services on the continent, accountownership is now above 80 per cent and on parwith China. Other markets can follow. In Benin,Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central AfricanRepublic, Chad, the Democratic Republic ofCongo, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea,Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Niger,Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia, thefinancial inclusion rate has at least doubled since2011.With success it is easy to become complacent,

but it is now important and urgent to make aconcerted effort to cross the finishing line ofuniversal financial access. Ultimately, theopportunity for people like Constance to providefinancial services far and wide across thecontinent to reach the millions that still lackaccess to formal financial services depends on acollective and sustained effort of all private andpublic actors in the market. Together, we cantruly achieve change and proclaim success in thisquiet, but decidedly essential, revolution. �

When a revolution becomes a success

COMMENT | REPORT

The future is bright formobile financial servicesin Africa ”CONSTANCE SAMPA

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Mobile money banking through agents offer affordableand reliable transactions to poor people in urban andrural areas.

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Documents

GOVERNANCE FINANCE POWER...Europe €10, Ghana C1.8, Kenya Ksh200, Nigeria N330, South Africa R25, UK £7, USA $12 GOVERNANCE Progress is lagging behind expectations of population