BRafr-September2017

September 2017 

www.africanbusinessreview.co.za 

Africa’s TOP 10 

TECH START-UPS 

TRANSFORMERS: 

HOW PPPS ARE 

CHANGING 

UGANDA 

A SUGAR 

-FUELLED 

P 

WER 

SURGE 

INSIDE BIOCOM’S 

80,000-HECTARE 

SUSTAINABLE SUGAR 

CANE AND BIOMASS 

OPERATION 

TAL K ING 

BIZ 

WITH 

+

FOREWORD 

WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER’S African Business 

Review. We start with a special focus on Angola, looking in 

depth at Biocom, an enormous sugar cane producer which 

is reversing a trend that has seen unsustainable amounts 

of sugar imported in the years since the country’s civil war. 

Soon the project will pass the $1bn investment mark, 

allowing it to ramp up production and provide vital sugar 

supplies to the country, along with sizable amounts of 

electricity and ethanol byproducts. Find out more in 

our feature with Biocom Deputy General Manager Luís 

Bagorro Júnior and Mário Lourenço, CEO of Cochan, 

key financier and 40% stakeholder in the project. 

Also talking energy is Songas Managing Director 

Nigel Whittaker, who tells us how the company is 

supplying much-needed power to Tanzania. 

This issue also carries a mining focus, with 

exclusive insight from Kefi Minerals, Base 

Titanium and the Ministry of Mines in Kenya. 

Finally, make sure you read our other exclusive 

interviews, which include iSON Group, East 

Africa Data Centre and FNB Namibia. 

Enjoy the read, and as always, tweet your 

feedback @AfricaBizReview 

Enjoy the issue! 

www.africanbusinessreview.co.za 

www.bizclikmedia.com

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FEATURES 

08 

PROFILE 

POWERING ANGOLA’S 

SUSTAINABLE FUTURE 

TECHNOLOGY 

TRANSFORMERS 

- HOW PPPs 

ARE CHANGING 

UGANDA 

20 

TOP 10 

African 

startups 

26 

5

C O M P A N Y 

PROFILES 

38 

KEFI Minerals Ltd 

MINING 

50 

Ministry of 

Mines in Kenya 

MINING 

Base Titanium 

MINING 

58 

6 September 2017 

70 

iSON Group 

TECHNOLOGY

110 

Songas 

ENERGY 

88 

East Africa Data Centre 

TECHNOLOGY 

122ENERGY 

El Sewedy 

Electrometer 

100 

FNB Namibia 

TECHNOLOGY 

7

POWERING 

ANGOLA’S 

SUSTAINABLE 

FUTURE 

THE LARGEST PRIVATE 

INVESTMENT IN ANGOLA 

OUTSIDE THE OIL SECTOR, 

BIOCOM’S PROJECT 

IS CONVERTING HUGE 

SUGARCANE HARVESTS 

INTO VITAL ELECTRICITY, 

SUGAR AND ETHANOL 

W R I T T E N BY: 

TOM WADLOW

INSIGHT 

Biocom’s pre-sprouted 

seedling nursery in Cacuso, 

Malanje Province, Angola 

ANGOLA IS HOME to an estimated 

35mn hectares of arable land. An 

economy historically and still reliant 

on natural resources, agriculture 

represents an enormous opportunity 

for sustainable, diverse development. 

“Angola’s potential has always been 

remarkable, however, more than half 

the food products consumed by the 

Angolan population are imported,” 

remarks Mário Lourenço, CEO of 

Cochan, key financier and 40% 

stakeholder in Biocom, a massive 

harvester of sugarcane and producer 

of electricity and ethanol byproducts. 

The recent civil war and resultant 

mine-clearing operation caused a 

slowdown in agricultural investment 

in the country, meaning the sector 

only contributes just over 10% of 

Angola’s GDP. However, Biocom 

is a project already reversing this 

trend. Its 80,000-hectare site lies 

in the heart of the municipality of 

Cacuso, in the northern Malanje 

Province. Asides multi-industry 

investor Cochan, the group is formed 

of two other Angolan companies. 

Odebrecht Angola, which operates in 

the fields of engineering, agribusiness, 

mining and civil construction, also 

holds a 40% stake, while state oil 

9

INSIGHT 

Part of Biocom’s huge 

80,000-hectare site 

firm Sonangol owns the remaining 

20% share. So far investment has hit 

$750mn, with another $520mn to be 

spent on phase two of the project. 

“Biocom is more successful than 

we could have ever imagined and 

is the first Angolan company after 

independence to produce and 

commercialise sugar,” says its Deputy 

General Manager Luís Bagorro Júnior. 

“Angola’s potential 

has always been 

remarkable, however, 

more than half the food 

products consumed by 

the Angolan population 

are imported” 

Mário Lourenço, CEO, Cochan 

10 September 2017

POWERING ANGOLA’S SUSTAINABLE FUTURE 

“In 2016, we were able to save the 

country $25mn in sugar imports, 

which is equivalent to 52,000 tonnes.” 

STEMMING A SUGAR SHORTAGE 

Both Bagorro and Lourenço fully 

recognise that more production is 

needed, for Africa remains a sugar 

deficit region. In 2015, Angola spent 

$450mn on sugar, the third largest 

import of all foodstuffs and second 

only to wheat flour and rice. 

“However, the prospects are 

optimistic,” Lourenço adds. “Sugar 

output in the continent is projected to 

increase by 49% by the end of 2025 

as a result of production expansion 

in Sub-Saharan African countries.” 

Cochan and Biocom are no 

doubt playing a considerable part 

11

INSIGHT 

80k 

THE NUMBER OF 

HECTARES FARMED 

BY BIOCOM 

2k 

THE NUMBER OF 

EMPLOYEES AT 

BIOCOM 

12 September 2017

Biocom has invested heavily in 

sugarcane harvesting equipment 

and related staff skills 

13

INSIGHT 

in achieving this growth. Biocom 

forecasts production of 62,947 tonnes 

of sugar in the 2017/18 harvest, and a 

massive 256,000 tonnes in 2020/21 

season, a fivefold increase on last year. 

These are huge numbers and Biocom 

has room to maneuver regarding its 

acreage. At the moment, it only uses 

half of its 80,000 hectares of land, with 

around 11,000 to remain dedicated 

to environmental preservation. 

Bagorro adds: “When we 

commence with phase two of the 

project, we will use the remaining 

30,106 hectares of arable land. We 

continuously use technology to carry 

out tests in our seedling nursery to 

validate which variety of sugarcane 

adapts best to each of the areas of our 

farm, in order to maximise crop yields. 

“The planting and harvesting of 

Biocom lab 

sugarcane is already fully mechanised, 

and the facility is self-sufficient as 

it generates its own electricity. Our 

tractors are equipped with autopilot, 

which assist us in preparing the soil 

for planting, using modern technology 

to enable safer and more effective 

processes. Biocom is innovative 

as it is constantly analysing and 

using key learnings to continuously 

improve the quality of the soil and as 

a result the crops, and we have just 

announced a $ 12mn investment in 

new equipment to meet the demand of 

this year’s harvest. Bagorro goes on to 

detail Biocom’s impressive pedigree 

regarding agricultural research. 

“In May 2017 the Agricultural 

Laboratory of Biocom was awarded 

an international certificate of quality 

by Instituto Agronómico de Campinas 

(IAC), in Brazil, one of the world’s most 

renowned institutions in the field of 

agriculture. Biocom’s Agricultural 

Laboratory is equipped with the 

highest technology and precision 

equipment. It is able to analyse plant 

matter (foliar), organic fertiliser, mineral 

fertiliser and gypsum as well as 

provide agronomic advisory services, 

which supplies information on more 

accurate dosages of minerals and 

14 September 2017

Biocom’s processing plant 

fertilisers to be added to the soil for 

the various crops to be planted. This 

is important as better soil quality will 

ultimately result in better crop quality.” 

This clever use of technology 

and pooling of knowledge has 

allowed Biocom to harvest a 

much larger area this season, up 

from 9,272 hectares to 12,600. 

BOUNTIFUL BYPRODUCTS 

Crucial though the sugar production 

may be, it is the ethanol and electricity 

byproducts from the biomass that 

make the operation unique. In 2016 

Biocom produced 58,000Mwh of 

electricity and 14,000 cubic metres 

of ethanol. By the 2020/21 season, 

it expects to produce four times 

more electricity and more than 

double the amount of ethanol. 

“As Angola’s population 

increases, so does energy 

demand,” says Lourenço. “This 

is why increasing electric power 

availability is amongst the Angolan 

government’s highest priorities. 

It is committed to introducing 

15

INSIGHT 

16 September 2017

17

INSIGHT 

new renewable energy aiming to 

increase energy capacity and by 

2025 new renewables will constitute 

7.5% of all energy produced. 

“There is a huge demand for 

alternative energy solutions and 

we are happy to contribute to its 

supply and sustainability. both 

environmentally and financially. This 

is one of Cochan’s key priorities.” 

Bagorro adds that Biocom 

has an enormous opportunity to 

become the go-to company in 

Angola for processed alcohol. 

“Data indicates that the country 

imports about 80,000 cubic 

meters of alcohol per year, and we 

currently supply approximately 10 

to 15% of the market demand,” he 

says. “Biocom produces hydrated 

ethanol and it is our ambition to start 

the production of neutral ethanol 

within the next couple of years.” 

A SOCIAL VENTURE 

Asides the obvious economic focus, 

the venture is also one of sizable social 

value, with people at the heart of what 

Biocom plans to up 

sugar output by more 

than 500% by 2020/21 

18 September 2017

POWERING ANGOLA’S SUSTAINABLE FUTURE 

“Biocom aims to be 

amongst the five 

largest producers of 

sugar in Southern 

Africa by 2020/21” 

Luís Bagorro Júnior, Deputy 

General Manager, Biocom 

the project stands for. Indeed, one of 

the greatest challenges for Bagorro 

is the education of Biocom’s 2,500- 

plus workforce, which it expects to 

grow to almost 3,000 by 2020/21. The 

vast majority (over 90%) are Angolan 

nationals, who can all benefit from 

Biocom’s Individual Development 

Programme, which hones key skills 

to develop the leadership team 

both now and in the future, with 

plans to replace the expatriate 

workforce over the next few years. 

“Responsibility and sustainability 

are cornerstones of our project 

and drivers of our strategy,” says 

Bagorro. “Biocom invests thousands 

of dollars each month in corporate 

social responsibility projects and 

education of the local community 

is one of the key focus areas. 

“We promote a literacy programme 

for young people and adults which 

has already benefitted more than 700 

people to date. We also support a 

family agriculture programme called 

‘Kukula Ku Moxi’ (which means ‘grow 

together’), which is improving the lives 

of more than 700 families.” Biocom 

also supports sports groups aimed 

at young people in the community as 

well as the children of its employees. 

BURNING BRIGHT 

Fast forward five to 10 years and 

Biocom will hope to see the legacy 

of its educational work in action 

with the future generation. But what 

about the business ambitions for the 

project? Bagorro certainly sets a high 

bar. “Biocom aims to be amongst 

the five largest producers of sugar in 

Southern Africa by 2020/21,” he says. 

For Lourenço and Cochan, as with 

Bagorro, it is all about generating 

positivity for customers, suppliers, 

partners and communities. “Biocom 

shares this vision and its shareholders 

are totally focused on creating a 

benchmark project in Africa, where 

the potential for agriculture is 

enormous, but still undeveloped. At a 

national level, we want it to continue 

its remarkable growth trend.” 

19

WATER 

TRANSFORMERS 

- HOW PPPs ARE 

CHANGING UGANDA 

African Business Review looks at the 

amazing progress that can be achieved 

through public-private partnerships… 

Written by: GORDON FELLER

A COUNTLESS NUMBER of 

academic and government policy 

papers have been flowing out of 

printers recently, concerning the need 

for PPPs (public-private partnerships). 

However, there’s been slow and 

painful progress on that road, with 

only a handful of larger-scale success 

stories to show for all of the talk. 

But there is some good news. 

Micro-scale PPPs do make an 

impact. Succeeding in some tough 

environments, they help to show the 

way forward; lessons being learned 

in places where one might least 

expect to find them. The development 

of small-scale water PPPs in 

Uganda is a very good example. 

The back-story is about reforms, 

implemented by the national 

Ministry of Water. These changes 

were aimed squarely at facilitating 

both change and growth in the 

local water marketplaces. 

Spying some real opportunities to 

make a difference, the World Bank 

financed the development of smalltown 

water infrastructure, particularly 

in those types of towns where the 

national government began its 

programs. The effort was kickstarted 

by the introduction of one-year area 

21

WATER 

performance contracts (APCs) which 

remunerated local managers, but 

only based on actual results. One 

key to that strategy: bonuses and 

penalties (of up to 25% of basic salary) 

were intrinsically tied to targets. 

Under the APCs, the operational 

performance of the largest utility that 

implemented APCs in secondary 

towns rose strongly: non-revenue 

water decreased from 32% to 22% 

in fewer than three years, and bill 

collection dramatically improved. 

The introduction of APCs in small 

towns attracted private operators to 

the operation and as a consequence, 

there was improved management 

of water supply, service 

quality and 

‘Micro-scale 

PPPs do make 

an impact. 

Succeeding in 

some tough 

environments, 

they help to show 

the way forward’ 

customer satisfaction. 

In 2008, the Ugandan government 

started signing output-based 

aid contracts with these private 

operators to design, build and 

operate water systems. Under this 

scheme, 961 connections have 

been completed (out of 2,000 

planned), along with 450 verified 

yard taps benefiting 8,100 people. 

As of 2010, 18 private operators 

were running 95 water systems in 

small towns. The number of towns 

being serviced increased from 15 

in 2001-2 to over 90 in 2010-11. 

Since the launch of private sector 

participation sector reform, private 

operators in small towns improved 

tariff collection and achieved 

almost universal metering, while 

maintaining affordable tariffs.

One example is the town of 

Busembatia where the local 

PPP attracted the private sector 

in construction, operation and 

management of drinking water 

distribution networks in small towns 

and rural growth centres. The 

International Finance Corporation 

provided support for three program 

components: transaction advice, 

public sector capacity and access 

to finance. Due diligence identified 

contracts of short duration and 

varying performance. To address 

these shortcomings and ensure ease 

of management and administration, 

a generic contract with a minimum 

term of five years was proposed to 

both private operators and lenders. 

Following a prequalification 

process, three local companies were 

invited to submit a bid for a five-year 

management contract in Busembatia. 

The contract was awarded to Trandint 

Ltd, one of the largest local private 

operators in Uganda, managing 12 

small town water systems. Trandint 

satisfied technical requirements, secured 

23

WATER 

DEFINING PPPS 

A public-private 

partnership (PPP) 

is a contractual 

arrangement between 

a public agency (federal, 

state or local) and 

a private sector entity. 

Through this agreement, 

the skills and assets 

of each sector 

(public and private) are 

shared in delivering 

a service or facility 

for the use of the 

general public. 

24 September 2017

TRANSFORMERS - HOW PPPS ARE CHANGING UGANDA 

a financing arrangement with lenders, 

and offered the lowest total bid price 

of $270,000. The new operator agreed 

to install 400 new connections during 

the first two years while avoiding 

increased tariffs for the duration of 

the five-year management contract. 

The majority of the capital was 

invested by the ‘global partnership’ 

on output-based aid. However, the 

new operator needed to pre-finance 

the investment in order to access 

this output-based grant. The grant 

was released upon certification of 

commissioning and verification of 

output. 

‘The effort was 

kickstarted by the 

introduction of oneyear 

area performance 

contracts (APCs) 

which remunerated 

local managers, 

but only based on 

actual results’ 

The tariff level and the tariff adjustment 

procedures were predefined and 

included in the contracts with the 

private operators. For pre-financing, 

DFCU Bank, a Ugandan commercial 

bank, loaned approximately 

$100,000 to the winning bidder 

for the Busembatia contract. 

During the first year of the project, 

the residents of Busembatia have seen 

a dramatic improvement in the quality 

and level of water services. A total of 430 

connections have been installed, water 

production has increased from eight to 

21 cubic metres an hour and collection 

rates have increased from 70% to 85%. 

A significant achievement of the 

project was the access-to-finance 

component. This was the first time 

that a local bank had provided 

finance against water supply 

operations. Previously, private 

operators in Uganda raised 

financing by using overdraft 

facilities provided by the 

banks or secured loans 

using other existing 

business. Following this 

example, other local 

banks have now begun 

to offer financing for 

water operations. 

25

TOP 10 

TOP 

AFRICAN 

STARTUPS 

Edited by: ANDREW WOODS 

AFRICAN STARTUPS, particularly 

those involved in tech industries, are on 

a roll. According to a recent study by 

Partech Ventures, 2016 was a recordsetting 

year for African technology 

startups, as they raised $366.8mn in 

venture capital funding. We expect 

that 2017 will bring more of the same, 

and so we’ve compiled a list of the 

top 10 African startups for 2017, 

for your investing consideration

TOP 10 

10 PRINTIVO 

Country: NIGERIA 

www.printivo.com 

The first company up on our list sets the bar quite high, as Nigerian 

digital printing startup Printivo holds the title of 2016’s most investable 

startup in Nigeria. Printivo is looking to grow Nigeria’s $200mn print 

market by working with Nigerian startups, small and medium enterprises 

(SMEs) and international companies to ease the printing process. The 

company’s website is second-to-none and its early successes are 

attracting the likes of Google, Samsung, Stanbic, Honda and Uber. 

Print It Yourself with 

Printivo.com video 

28 September 2017

AFRICAN STARTUPS 

09 TRESS 

Country: GHANA 

www.tressapp.co 

Tress, from Ghana, is a social haircare app for black women. The 

company allows black women from around the world to collaborate 

and share hairstyles specifically for black women and includes 

detailed information on stylists, products and techniques employed. 

Given that the global black haircare market is estimated at more 

than $500bn, we think Tress is looking at the right space. 

29

TOP 10 

08 SPACEPOINTE 

Country: NIGERIA 

www.spacepointe.com 

Spacepointe is a Nigerian software developer focused on SMEs, 

especially in the retail space. The company raised $1.2mn from 

investors in 2016 and is poised to take the African SME retail market 

by storm with its in-store management and point-of-sale (PoS) 

software applications. Its CommercePointe platform is specifically 

designed for management in the informal sector and is bound to 

find tremendous utility throughout the continent. 

The SpacePointe 

corporate video 

30 September 2017


Dr CADx 

Demo video 

07 

DR. CADX 

Country: ZIMBABWE 

www.drcadx.com 

Dr. CADx is one of the newest companies on our list, having been 

formed only in August 2016, but the company’s technology is very 

exciting. The team at Dr CADx is developing computer-aided medical 

diagnostic tools that will improve medical diagnoses even in remote 

areas. The platform is particularly good at radiology diagnoses without 

the aid of radiologists – a prototype achieved 82% accuracy in a 

test of chest X-rays of people with tuberculosis and lung cancer. 

31

TOP 10 

06 TUTORAMA 

Country: EGYPT 

www.tutorama.me 

Egyptian startup Tutorama is another relatively new company, 

having been founded in January 2016. Tutorama is an educational 

technology firm that provides a platform for parents to connect with 

tutors in their nearby geographic area. The company won MIT’s 

Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition in 2016 and its platform 

has gone live with a clean, functional-looking customer interface. 

32 September 2017


05 

CUSTOS MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES 

Country: SOUTH AFRICA 

www.custostech.com 

South African tech startup Custos Media Technologies uses the Bitcoin 

blockchain to fight piracy of digital media. The company’s patented 

technology creates a sort of digital “watermark” to detect illegal 

sharing of videos, ebooks and other media. So while Bitcoin and other 

cryptocurrencies may be experiencing a global crash, Custos Media 

Technologies might have created a new market that could revive an old 

one, as industries such as music and other creative industries have been 

screaming about the effect of digital piracy on their markets for years. 

33

TOP 10 

04 

SOUTH AFRICAN CAPE 

Country: SOUTH AFRICA 

www.capenetworks.com 

South African Cape, rebranded from Asimmetric, was founded in 

February 2015. After becoming the first South African company 

to join San-Francisco-based accelerator Highway1, the company 

managed to raise a “seven-figure dollar funding round” from US 

investors. Cape’s innovative WiFi network monitoring product can 

help solve a stubborn, all-too-common problem across the African 

continent – poor WiFi connectivity. Cape describes their product 

as the simplest WiFi monitoring tool available and the company 

definitely seems to be on the upswing. 

34 September 2017


03 FUZU 

Country: KENYA 

www.fuzu.com 

Fuzu is an online career 

development platform launched 

from tech-savvy Kenya in 2015. 

The company helps users to 

learn new skills, access career 

counselling and search for 

jobs at all educational levels. 

Employers gain access to 

candidates who have been 

evaluated and ranked by Fuzu’s 

algorithm. We think they’re 

pretty great, but apparently 

we’re not the only ones – they 

raised a total of $1.88mn by 

December 2016. 

How Fuzu 

works video 

35

TOP 10 

02 FLARE 

Country: KENYA 

www.flare.capsule.co.ke 

Another Kenyan entrant comes in at number two. Flare is looking 

to revolutionise emergency healthcare starting in Nairobi by 

connecting ambulances with patients or hospitals who need them. 

Currently, Nairobi has up to a hundred idle ambulances at any 

given time, while needy patients can’t seem to find ambulances 

when they need them. If Flare is able to solve this problem, 

they’ll soon find a market in cities all across the continent. 

36 September 2017


01 JAMII 

Country: TANZANIA 

www.jamiiafrica.com 

Tanzania’s Jamii is our current champ. Jamii provides a mobile 

micro-health insurance product for low income and informal 

workers. The company has backing from none other than the 

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and won the Tanzanian 

leg of Seedstars World. While the US struggles with healthcare, 

Jamii is working to solve this problem through technology 

and the free market as the company looks to launch in Kenya, 

Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa this year. 

37

KEFI MINERALS: 

STRIKING GOLD 

WITH ETHIOPIAN 

EXPERTISE 

Written by: Laura Mullan 

Produced by: Richard Deane

39

As Ethiopia becomes 

the fastest growing 

economy in the world, 

KEFI Minerals looks set 

to lay the foundations 

for the country to 

become a major player 

in the mining market, 

all through its flagship 

Tulu Kapi Gold project 

Hidden in the remote hills of 

Western Ethiopia lies the 

Tulu Kapi Gold Project - a 

lucrative mining operation owned 

by KEFI Minerals. Thanks to the 

company’s hands-on business 

approach, Tulu Kapi Gold Project 

will not only generate an impressive 

gold yield once operational in 

2019, it will also make a lasting 

contribution to the local community. 

Executive Chairman of KEFI 

Minerals, Harry Anagnostaras-Adams, 

has an impressive portfolio of work 

- stretching from Europe to Africa, 

Australia, and the Middle East. But it is 

the company’s projects in the Arabian- 

Nubian shield, such as the Tulu Kapi 

project, which he believes are gamechanging. 

“Some of the team at KEFI 

Minerals are from Western Australia, 

an area which is geologically similar 

to the Arabian-Nubian shield, and 

so we feel we know what’s going to 

happen,” says Anagnostaras-Adams. 

“The Arabian-Nubian shield - 

including Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia 

- will go through a transformation over 

the next few decades to become one 

of the world’s major mining and metal 

production regions. Therefore, we feel 

that we are being focused enough, and 

40 September 2017

MINING 

980,000oz 

Open-pit gold output forecast 

at Tulu Kapi over 10 years 

careful enough, and successful enough to establish a 

platform there and be a part of that from ground zero.” 

Trenching work 

at the Tulu Kapi 

gold project 

Gold sample from 

the surveying work 

Ethiopia’s gold rush 

According to the World Bank, Ethiopia is now the 

fastest growing economy in the world, meaning 

that investment, particularly in gold, is high on the 

country’s agenda. “It’s a completely transforming 

country,” notes Anagnostaras-Adams. “It’s changing 

its education system, its infrastructure, it’s investing 

in energy, and industrialisation is booming.” 

Spotting the opportunity to invest in 2015, the 

Ethiopian government backed the Tulu Kapi Gold 

Project by granting it a mining licence and in doing 

so, became entitled to a 5% free-carry interest 

in the mine. It’s an alliance that Anagnostaras- 

Adams describes as “critical” to the success of the 

company and one which it strives to maintain. 

However, it’s not just the government’s financial 

push which is crucial to the London-listed firm. 

“Part of the relationship is about funding,” reflects 

Anagnostaras-Adams, “but another part of it is 

about dealing with social issues in the area. 

“We want to ensure the community is a strong 

www.kefi-minerals.com 41

KEFI MINING 

IAN PLIMER 

Non-Executive Director 

FABIO GRANITZIO 

Group Exploration Manager 

“The Arabian- 

Nubian shield - 

including Ethiopia 

and Saudi Arabia 

- will go through a 

transformation over 

the next few decades 

to become one of 

the world’s major 

mining and metal 

production regions” 

HARRY ANAGNOSTARAS ADAMS 

Executive Chairman 

42 September 2017

MINING 

KEBEDE BELETE Country Manager Ethiopia 

NORMAN LING 

Non-Executive Director 

JEFF RAYNER Adviser Exploration and Corporate Development 


MINING 

backer of the mine, not just tolerating 

it, but actually wholeheartedly 

supporting it and I think the 

government’s involvement as a 

partner is critical in that capacity. 

“It’s important that the local 

community and population recognises 

that it’s important for the country 

and it’s a true partnership. It’s not 

just foreigners coming in to exploit 

minerals but it’s foreigners coming in to 

introduce training and other benefits to 

the community and country at large.” 

Bringing about positive change 

KEFI Minerals and the Ethiopian 

government both strive to sustain 

this win-win relationship - however, 

ultimately, the key beneficiary 

from the partnership is the local 

community. Through workforce 

training, infrastructure development, 

and creating a local supply chain, 

KEFI Minerals has already begun to 

leave a lasting legacy in Ethiopia. 

“The community undeniably has 

more infrastructure, more livelihood 

Geologists 

taking structural 

measurements in 

the core yard 


KEFI MINERALS LTD 

opportunities, and more economic 

opportunities than ever,” says 

Anagnostaras-Adams, “but the really 

important thing that we provide is the 

supply chain and the employment 

because that provides a significant 

flow of money to the community. 

“Clearly from a social value point 

of view, our business wants to bring 

benefits, training and skills to the 

country, rather than just importing 

labour and exporting materials. But 

even from a purely financial point of 

view, you can see that the stability, 

cost base, and commitment of the 

workforce is far greater if you can 

source work and embed it into the local 

community as much as possible, rather 

than employing foreign workers.” 

A high grade and low cost project 

The emerging gold miner first acquired 

Tulu Kapi back in 2014; a significantly 

advanced project that had seen $50mn 

of investment from an English-based 

consortium. “We took the project back 

to square one,” notes Anagnostaras- 

Adams, “and that transformed 

the economics of it on paper.” 

From carefully tweaking the mining 

method to reviewing the data base, 

KEFI Minerals has significantly 

developed the mine plans further, 

aiming for a late 2019 production date. 

“For us, the key is to 

be hands on, embed 

ourselves in the 

country, and build 

relationships from 

the ground up” 

HARRY ANAGNOSTARAS-ADAMS, 

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, KEFI MINERALS 

46 September 2017

KEFI MINERALS LTD 

This notably enhanced the efficiency 

of the mine, which Anagnostaras- 

Adams says will establish Tulu Kapi as 

a high grade and low-cost project. 

Open-pit gold production is forecast 

to hit 980,000oz over 10 years, however, 

this development would not have been 

possible without the help of contractors 

Ausdrill and Lycopodium, who are 

viewed more as partners for the firm. 

The two heavyweights bring over 

20 years of experience working in the 

mining industry in Africa. “They are a 

vital key to the ongoing development 

of the project and the wider company,” 

says Anagnostaras-Adams. “They 

have such a long record of success 

in different African mining countries 

and therefore they are well equipped 

to bring their training systems and 

experiences to a new Tulu Kapi. 

“Their roles are very far-reaching 

1.0mn 

ounces 

Probable Tulu 

Kapi ore reserve 

1.7mn 

ounces 

The total mineral 

resources at Tulu Kapi 

48 September 2017

MINING 

In the remote 

hills of Western 

Ethiopia lies 

the Tulu Kapi 

Gold Project - a 

lucrative mining 

operation owned 

by KEFI Minerals 

for us - they are the foundations of our HR 

management, of our operational management, 

and our financial management - so our 

relationship couldn’t be any more important.” 

Forging relationships on the ground 

With two operational mines and a cost-effective 

portfolio to explore, KEFI Minerals has big ambitions 

for the region. But in an industry that is constantly 

evolving, how can KEFI Minerals stay one step ahead? 

“Our business style is that we run a very small 

head office in Cyprus, but everyone else is based 

at the sites where the action is. I spend more 

time myself in Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia than 

anywhere else,” says Anagnostaras-Adams. 

“For us, the key is to be hands on, embed ourselves 

in the country, and build relationships from the ground 

up which is where the relationship with the government 

comes in - they see the commitment of the people on 

the ground. So that’s our philosophy, that’s our style, 

and as we grow it will be our challenge to grow and 

still maintain that. I like to think that it sets us apart.” 

In the four years spent developing Tulu Kapi, working 

with local and national stakeholders, KEFI Minerals 

has developed the mine plans in a cost-effective 

manner and has done so whilst making an active, 

positive and long-lasting contribution to the locality. 

Through Tulu Kapi, KEFI Minerals laid the 

foundations for Ethiopia to one day become 

a major player in the mining industry. 


AN INTRODUCTION 

FROM THE KENYA 

MINISTRY OF MINES 

Written by: Dale Benton Produced by: Richard Deane

51

MINISTRY OF MINERAL RESOURCES 

Dan Kazungu, Cabinet Secretary, 

Ministry of Mining, Republic of 

Kenya, introduces our special focus 

on the growing mining sector in Kenya 

CAN YOU GIVE US A BRIEF 

HISTORY OF THE MINISTRY 

OF MINES IN KENYA? 

The ministry of mining was established 

in 2013 through a decision by 

president Uhuru Kenyatta to create 

a new ministry mandated solely to 

grow the mining sector after having 

been given prominence by vision 

2030 pillar seven, which identified 

mining or the extractives sector as 

a key contributor to a diversified 

economy with the potential for jobs 

and wealth creation for Kenya. 

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE 

MINING SECTOR IN KENYA? 

Traditionally, mining was not the 

primary focus for Environment and 

natural resources management 

- mining was largely ignored. Its 

therefore no wonder that Kenya never 

realized the full potential of mining 

until 2013 after President Uhuru 

Kenyatta’s administration whose 

transformation agenda included 

bringing mining to the forefront. 

With that, Kenya’s mining journey 

began in earnest and the country 

52 September 2017

MINING 

kicked off on a reform agenda 

to transform mining to be more 

inclusive, modern, ensure the sector 

attracts responsible investors and to 

legitimize artisanal and small-scale 

miners while having community 

(Kenyans) benefits taken care of. 

WHAT IS THE ROLE AND THE 

VISION OF THE MINISTRY 

IN TODAY’S INDUSTRY? 

The goal of the ministry is to transform 

mining to become a key contributor 

to the economic growth and 

transformation of the country. The aim 

is to see growth and GDP in the mining 

sector hit double digits. We see Kenya 

as a hub for mineral trading and value 

addition for east and central Africa, 

leading in technical expertise, logistics, 

funding for mineral projects and 

services. We have plans to consolidate 

leadership through the set-up of a 

regional mineral and metals exchange. 

To achieve this, the ministry is tasked 

to promote Kenya as a minerals hub for 

players across the board by carrying 

out the right reforms and creating an 

environment that ensures that mining 

investments thrive based on a win-win 

formula, i.e. for the investor, national 

government, county government 

and the communities. The ministry 

is making deliberate efforts in the 

spirit of inclusivity to Kenyans who 

have been excluded from the mining 

eco-system to now be a part of it. In 

addition, efforts are being made to 

attract large-scale mining in the country 

to bring in investment, technology 

transfer, technical expertise and highly 

specialised jobs and opportunities. 

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT 

THE CHANGING FACE OF 

KENYA’S MINING INDUSTRY? 

As a country Kenya is proud to state 

that in the first year of its reform, efforts 

to create a robust mining climate have 

started to bear fruit. According to the 

global mining investment attractiveness 

index by the Fraser institute, Kenya has 

jumped 16 places up to position 86 

in 2016 from position 102 in 2015 in a 

global mining attractiveness survey. 

Today, Kenyans are more aware of 

the opportunities in the mining sector 

(especially artisanal miners) that are 

www.mining.go.ke 53

MINISTRY OF MINERAL RESOURCES 

now claiming their space encouraged 

by the progressive mining law in place. 

Small and Medium Scale miners 

are showing increased interest too. 

Exploration and mining companies 

are in Kenya carrying out exploration 

leading to the announcement of what is 

considered the biggest gold discovery 

on the continent - 1.3mn ounces of 

inferred gold along the Liranda corridor 

in Ikolomani in Western Kenya. 

Large-scale mining investments 

are coming to Kenya for example 

Base Resources (Base Titanium) 

that is the single largest mining 

company in the country, Acacia 

Mining, Gold Plat, Tata (Magadi 

soda), Lafarge limestone project. 

WHY HAS IT TAKEN SO LONG, 

IN YOUR OPINION, FOR KENYA 

TO REALISE THE ENORMOUS 

ECONOMIC POTENTIAL OF 

ITS NATURAL RESOURCES? 

It all comes down to leadership and 

vision. Over the years industry players 

have been talking about mining 

opportunities. It takes leadership 

to transform this, to real worth. This 

is what formed the vision to grow 

Kenya’s into a medium sized economy. 

The other reason is socio-economic 

socialisation as over the years, Kenya 

was presumed to be an agricultural 

economy and so little attention 

was paid to mineral exploitation. 

YOUR MINISTRY’S WORK, 

LEGISLATION AND 

COLLABORATIVE APPROACH HAS 

BEEN PRAISED BY SOME OF THE 

MAJOR MINING OPERATIONS 

IN THE COUNTRY. HOW 

IMPORTANT IS TO MAINTAIN 

GOOD RELATIONSHIPS? 

As a country, we believe strongly 

that to create a robust investment 

environment, relationships are 

extremely key and not about shortterm 

gains. Mining projects are by 

nature long-term and therefore the 

relationships built should be longterm. 

This is the natural habit to adopt, 

not just to please investors but also 

to create a “win-win-win-win” in the 

sector. This is the only sustainable 

way; – win for the investor who 

takes the risk (sometimes massive 

54 September 2017

MINING 

“As a country, 

we believe 

strongly that to 

create a robust 

investment 

environment, 

relationships are 

extremely key 

and not about 

short-term gains” 

DAN KAZUNGU 

Cabinet Secretary Ministry 

of Mining, Republic of Kenya 

www.mining.go.ke 55

isks) and creates jobs, win for the 

national government that creates the 

enabling environment for investments 

to flourish and prosper, win county 

governments as that is where all 

mining projects are established and 

last win for the local community as 

Kenyans are the core beneficiaries of 

the mining activities in the country. 

WHAT OTHER WORK IS THE 

MINISTRY DOING TO SEEK 

OUT NEW POTENTIAL AREAS 

FOR EXPLORATION? 

Private companies such as Base 

Titanium carry out geological surveys 

that share data with the ministry, which 

is encouraged practice. The country 

has put in effort to do a comprehensive 

nationwide airborne geophysical 

mapping survey in order to identify new 

potential areas for mineral discovery. 

Both investors and government have 

been keen to have the latest data on 

minerals in the country. The finalisation 

of this survey will be a key milestone for 

Kenya’s mineral development, as it will 

drive key interest and attractiveness to 

Kenya as a modern mining jurisdiction. 

YOU HAVE CREATED AN 

AMBITIOUS 20-YEAR STRATEGY 

FOR THE SECTOR WITHIN THE 

2030 VISION. TELL US ABOUT 

56 September 2017

MINING 

IT AND WHETHER YOU FEEL 

YOU ARE ON COURSE? WITH 

ELECTIONS APPROACHING, HAVE 

YOU LAID A FIRM FOUNDATION? 

Kenya’s 20-year strategy is part of what 

we call the 6-pack initiative that was a 

realization that in order to promote an 

attractive and robust proper mining 

environment, six key components have 

to be achieved; the strategy itself that 

outlines how Kenya will leapfrog this 

mining journey to become a key player 

in the region and in the world, mining 

policy that aims at creating the right 

environment for reform, repealing old 

laws and building institutions while 

looking at issues of inclusivity and 

environmental concerns, Mining Act 

2016, the most progressive mining 

law in Africa, the mining regulations 

to enable the implementation of the 

mining law, a fiscal Policy framework 

to ensure Kenya has both an attractive 

and competitive tax and royalty regime 

and finally availability of the latest data. 

The idea here has been that for the 

country to get its basic right by laying 

the foundation for a successful sector. 

Kenya has also learned lessons from 

her peers in mining that if the basics 

are not in place, things can go wrong. 

CAN YOU DETAIL THE 

IMPORTANCE OF EVENTS 

SUCH AS THE KENYA MINING 

FORUM TO HELP PROMOTE 

THE SECTOR NATIONALLY 

AND INTERNATIONALLY? 

The Kenya Mining Forum and other 

such like events are designed to bring 

investors into the country and the entire 

region for them to experience first-hand 

Kenya’s mining sector. The first edition 

of the KMF in 2016, attracted close 

to 400 investors from 15 nationalities. 

The second edition is expected 

to be even bigger than the first. 

TELL US HOW IMPORTANT YOU 

THINK THE UPCOMING MINING 

FORUM IS IN NOVEMBER. 

I welcome you all to Nairobi for the 

second edition of the Kenya Mining 

Forum in November. We are ready 

to network, share thoughts and 

experiences and above all we want 

to do business because Kenya is 

open for Mining Business. 

www.mining.go.ke 57

KENYAN 

MINING 

ON THE RISE 

Written by: Dale Benton 


59

BASE TITANIUM, A CRUCIAL PLAYER 

IN KENYA’S EMERGING MINING 

MARKET, HAS BEEN FORMALLY 

ACCREDITED BY KENYA VISION 2030 

AS ITS FLAGSHIP MINING PROJECT 

The Kenyan mining industry is on the 

rise. Historically, the country focused 

on agriculture, tourism, services and 

manufacturing as its main economic pillars, but 

in recent years, that focus has begun to shift 

towards extractives – both oil and mining. 

“In the past mining was not seen as a significant 

sector of the economy – that is until Base Titanium’s 

Kwale Mine entered into production in early 2014,” 

says Joe Schwarz, General Manager – External 

Affairs and Development, Base Titanium. “The 

industry is now contributing around 1% to the GDP, 

but with increased interest in extractives and a 

friendly investment climate that will increase.” 

FLYING THE FLAG FOR KENYA 

In 2013 the Government of Kenya created, for 

the first time, the stand-alone Ministry of Mining 

in recognition of the emergence of mining, led 

by Base Titanium, as an increasingly important 

sector of the economy with real growth potential. 

“Establishing the Ministry of Mining has really 

given the mining industry in Kenya a new focus and 

impetus,” Schwarz says. “With the Ministry and Base 

Titanium working collaboratively to promote further 

60 September 2017

MINING 

An aerial view of 

dozer mining in 

the Central Dune 

at Base Titanium’s 

Kwale Mine. 

www.basetitanium.com 61

BASE TITANIUM 

“It’s absolutely vital that we play our part, we 

are guests in the community and must obtain 

a social license to ensure a harmonious and 

mutually beneficial operating environment” 

– Joe Schwarz, General Manager – External Affairs and Development 

Magaoni Secondary school built by Base Titanium. 

The company is investing heavily in local education. 

62 September 2017

MINING 

Sorghum – one of the 

crops supported under 

the livelihood programme. 

investor interest in the sector, we stand 

as a benchmark for others to emulate.” 

This relationship with the Ministry of 

Mining is important, not only for Base 

Titanium, but for any future mining 

projects in Kenya that will contribute 

to the achievement of country’s Vision 

2030 objectives of establishing Kenya 

as a middle-income country by 2030. 

For Schwarz, that relationship 

with the Ministry is crucial in jointly 

driving the mining agenda by 

attracting serious investment into 

exploration and development in 

a mutually beneficial manner. 

Collaboration is key and this has 

also allowed Base Titanium, through 

the Kenya Chamber of Mines, to 

work closely with the Ministry of 

Mining on formulating the Mining 

Regulations after the Mining Act 

2016 took effect in May last year. 

“We provided significant input 

to the public review process. 

With this positive relationship we 

are able to exchange views in a 

constructive manner to achieve a 

balanced outcome,” Schwarz says. 


BASE TITANIUM 

“As Kenya’s leading mining 

company, working with the Ministry, 

we have also had opportunities 

to jointly promote Kenya as an 

investment destination.” “Being 

the preeminent mining company 

in the country, we shall again be 

playing a leading role in supporting 

the November 2017 edition of 

the Kenya Mining Forum as its 

main sponsor,” Schwarz adds. 

“We fully support Mining Cabinet 

Secretary Dan Kazungu’s philosophy 

Building skills in 

mineral processing. 

of making Kenya a predictable, stable 

and attractive investment destination 

and work with the government to 

showcase the country at events 

such as this.” This forum is the 

premium annual mining investment 

event, showcasing Kenya’s potential 

and ‘open for business’ stance. 

LEADING FROM THE FRONT 

Construction of the Kwale Mine 

was completed in 2013 and the first 

shipment of ilmenite left its port 

facility in February 2014. Since then 

a number of process optimisations 

have been successfully completed to 

improve efficiencies and debottleneck 

the plant. Hydraulic mining has been 

successfully introduced and will 

ultimately replace dozer mining and 

the wet concentrator will soon be 

uprated to fully utilise the minerals 

separation plant capacity as mining 

moves to lower grade areas. 

In the fourth year of its 11-year 

mine life, 2017 proved to be a highly 

successful year for the project. Over 

10mn tonnes of ore were mined 

leading to a combined 671,000 

tonnes of ilmenite, rutile and zircon 

64 September 2017

MINING 

being exported as the market for 

all three products showed signs 

of significant improvement. 

The importance of Kwale to the 

Kenyan mining industry is amply 

illustrated by the fact that it now 

contributes close to 60% of the total 

value of Kenya’s minerals output. 

Regional exploration to extend the 

life of the mine is one of the company’s 

key future growth strategies. The 

initial phase has been successfully 

completed and plans are in hand for 

further exploration in the coming year. 

But for Schwarz, the success of 

the Kwale Mine and Base Titanium 

extends well beyond its core mining 

operations. He also measures the 

success of the company through 

its role in building the mining 

economy and giving back to its host 

communities by improving their 

livelihoods in a sustainable manner. 

“The cornerstone of our philosophy 

is the flow of mutual benefits,” he says. 

“It has to be win-win for everyone, all 

the stakeholders must share in the 

benefits – Government, investors 

and the local communities.” 

During the construction phase of 

Spirals in the wet 

concentrator. 


BASE TITANIUM 

the project Base Titanium spent one 

third of the $320mn capital cost with 

Kenyan suppliers and contractors. 

THE COMMITMENT TO 

MAXIMISING LOCAL CONTENT 

DIDN’T END THERE 

In operation, the company continually 

aims to maximise local procurement, 

spending $37mn annually (or 84% 

of the total) on spares, consumables 

and services purchased from local 

suppliers. In all, Base Titanium expects 

to contribute close to $1bn to Kenya’s 

GDP through the period of 2015-2025. 

“Viewing direct revenues from 

a mining operation of this scale in 

isolation is to see only a quarter of 

the picture” he says. “The indirect 

and induced economic stimulus 

generated beyond this through wider 

employment creation, the supply 

chain, consumer spending and 

taxation is enormous in comparison.” 

ENHANCING A COMMUNITY 

For any mining operation, the role of 

the local community can never be 

66 September 2017

MINING 

Ship loading at the dedicated port facility. In 2016 the Kwale 

Mine accounted for close to 60% of Kenya’s mineral output. 

underestimated. Base Titanium has 

proven that it is a key contributor 

to the Kenyan economy, but how is 

the local community benefitting? 

To date, the company has invested 

$10mn in four pillars of community 

development; social infrastructure, 

livelihood enhancement, health 

programmes and education. 

“It’s absolutely vital that we play our 

part, we are guests in the community 

and must obtain a social license to 

ensure a harmonious and mutually 

beneficial operating environment,” 

Schwarz says. “Such benefits need 

to be tangible and sustainable.” 

Base Titanium has built a number 

of schools and health facilities, sunk 

community boreholes and supports 

various medical campaigns such 

as immunisations and training 

community health workers. Provision 

of secondary and tertiary scholarships 

has so far benefitted close to 1,000 

students from needy families. 

“The centre piece of our 

community programmes right 

now is creating and supporting 


BASE TITANIUM 

opportunities for sustainable livelihood 

enhancement,” Schwarz says. 

This has seen the company work 

on multiple agricultural programmes, 

taking farmers, groups and 

communities from just subsistence 

towards sustainable commercial 

agriculture in cotton, potato and 

sorghum production. Base Titanium 

is working with governmental and 

non-governmental organisations, 

including international partners, 

to enhance these programmes 

and to connect the farmers with 

markets for their products. 

programmes to address competency 

gaps and enhance skill levels of our 

existing employees; also, a range 

of external programmes are run, 

including apprenticeships, student 

attachments, a graduate training 

scheme and imparting artisan skills to 

neighbouring community members.” 

Currently 970 people, including 

outsourced service contractors, 

are employed at the Kwale Mine. 

Reflecting the company’s commitment 

to prioritise job opportunities for 

THESE, SCHWARZ SAYS, ARE 

EXAMPLES OF THOSE REAL 

AND TANGIBLE BENEFITS 

Earlier this year, a report from the 

Zambia Chamber of Mines revealed 

that the global mining industry is 

facing its most significant skills 

shortage in decades, and Base 

Titanium is all too aware of the 

importance of providing employment 

and training opportunities. 

“One of our key programmes is 

training and skills development,” he 

says. “This includes internal training 

Cotton harvesting in full swing 

68 September 2017

MINING 

locals, 65% of these employees are 

drawn from Kwale County. A clear 

barometer as to the effectiveness of its 

training programmes is the reduction 

by 50% of its expatriate complement 

over the last three and a half years. 

“All this feeds into our succession 

planning. By empowering people 

with the right skills and experience, 

Kenyans are progressively taking 

over most technical and management 

roles from expats,” Schwarz says. 

“It’s a clear illustration of the success 

of our investment in training to 

empower the local community 

and Kenyans in general.” 

Mining needs to be at the forefront of 

economic growth if Kenya is to achieve 

its Vision 2030 goal of becoming a 

middle-income country in the next 13 

years. Schwarz says. “We fully support 

the endeavours of the government to 

transform the mining sector into an 

increasingly significant contributor to 

employment, exports and the socioeconomic 

growth of the country.” 


iSON GROUP: 

Enhancing lives 

of a continent and 

building communities 

through technology 


Produced by: Vince Kielty

71

iSON Group continues to innovate in 

the disruptive and volatile market of 

Nigeria to remain as a growing IT and IT 

enabled service provider. The company 

is continuously expanding its footprint 

and portfolio across all of Africa 

Many companies achieve 

substantial growth and 

success but the real test is in 

their resilience during turbulence and 

how efficiently they face and adapt 

to it. For Ramesh Awtaney, Founder 

and Chairman of iSON Group, one of 

the largest IT and ITeS company’s in 

Africa, discovering the joy of resilient 

and proactive employees weathering 

through disruptive markets proved to 

be a cornerstone moment last year. 

“It may not sound profound, but 

as the founder of the company, 

when you find your company can 

withstand these storms and has the 

resilience built into the system, it 

is extremely satisfying,” he says. 

So, Ramesh mush be contented 

surely? “As satisfying as it was,” he 

adds, “there is so much more to do,” 

Market volatility 

iSON Group’s African headquarters 

is located in Lagos, Nigeria. For 

Awtaney; the market volatility of 

Nigeria presented the company with 

the biggest test of its fortitude. A 

large part of iSON Group’s business 

and profit is generated from Nigeria 

and over the last 12 months the 

company suffered headwinds with 

major currency devaluation across 

the country and wider Africa. “This 

also meant that our customers 

cut down on their budgets” points 

Awtaney. He adds devaluation and 

reduced customer budgets meant 

substantial operating profit challenge, 

nevertheless the company weathered 

the storm and continued to grow. 

iSON Group’s ability to adapt, 

change and continuously innovate in 

72 September 2017

TECHNOLOGY 

Ramesh Awtaney 

Founder and Chairman, iSON Group 

Ramesh Awtaney, a dynamic entrepreneur, an Indo-African business magnate, investor 

and philanthropist has deep business interests across Africa and Middle East. He carries 

more than 28 years of rich experience in global technology, market development and 

business process outsourcing across Telecom Providers and other Verticals. 

Since 2014, Awtaney has embarked on a journey to create ISON 2.0, an innovation driven 

enterprise that would employ 40,000 people by the year 2017 and acquire an expanded 

footprint across 35 Sub Saharan African countries. 

Ramesh is married and lives in Dubai. His son has studied digital management and is 

currently working with 10 African Start Ups as an entrepreneur in residence for UX/design 

at Startupbootcamp, Cape Town, and his wife runs an up market boutique in New Delhi. 

www.isongrp.com 73

i SON GROUP 

these trying times with ears close to what customers 

want has enabled stronger relationships with key 

customers. iSON has also acquired a new base of 

operations in Durban, South Africa. This really broad 

bases the risk while representing a major step in 

expanding the company’s footprint throughout Africa. 

Expansion 

As Awtaney oversees a major expansion 

of the company’s national footprint, iSON 

Group continues to be a fast-growing 

company. iSON has four verticals, iSON 

BPO, iSON Technologies, iSON Innovation & 

Investments (i3) and now iSON Foundation. 

“Through our growth and resilience in that 

difficult period, we’ve really been able to 

diversify and expand our portfolio offerings 

for new IT solutions and customer services 

in different verticals,” says Awtaney. 

iSON Group has also embarked aggressively 

on iSON Innovations and Investments. 

i3 is a vertical through which the company seeks out 

and invests in small start-up companies, enabling 

them to grow and scale throughout Africa by 

providing infrastructure support, capital, mentorship 

and management support. Last year i3 invested in 

iSON GROUP 

IS BASED IN 

LAGOS, NIGERIA 

74 September 2017

TECHNOLOGY 

It may not sound 

profound, but as the 

founder of the company, 

when you find your company can 

withstand these storms and has the 

resilience built into the system, 

it is extremely satisfying 


Founder and Chairman 

www.isongrp.com 75

i SON GROUP 

Pravin Kumar 

Global CEO, iSON BPO 

Pravin Kumar is an industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience during which he 

has been credited with the creation of three large business empires. He is a widely respected 

name in the Business Process Outsourcing space and is regarded as a pioneer in call center 

services. Kumar is a Board member of iSON BPO - the leading ITeS services company in 

Africa. Under his strong leadership, iSON BPO now has operations in 16 countries in Africa and 

ASEAN regions with about 10,000 employees within three years of iSON BPO’s establishment. 

76 September 2017

TECHNOLOGY 

a taxi hailing app business: Mondo 

Ride, 2016 also saw investment in 

a hyperlocal search and discovery 

platform -Oliza, and a platform 

aggregator for golfers – Golflan 

. Recently, i3 has been evaluating 

investments in speech recognition 

technology enabling companies to 

support in growing BPO business 

followed by collaboration in the 

field of chat bots; thus, leveraging 

the power of natural language 

processing and Artificial Intelligence. 

The process of selecting these 

companies is no different to any large 

company investing in a start-up. 

For Awtaney, the differentiator 

is in one simple question. 

“How can we add value to this 

company, which in turn will add 

value to Africa?” he says. “We have 

a very significant presence in 25 

African countries, so we look at 

how these companies can benefit 

from that significant platform.” 

Smart investing 

One particular start-up 

that the company has 

invested in is a ride hailing 

service called Mondo Ride 

, in Kenya. With Uber already 

operating in Nairobi, Mondo will 

utilise the infrastructure and support 

of iSON Group as a platform on 

which it can build through its 

unique business model that aims 

at the corporate world of Kenya. 

Mondo has signed around 40 

transport rights contracts with 

several organisations, including 

The Kenya commercial bank. These 

corporate employees will also use 

Mondo for personal requirements. 

This is the added value that iSON 

Group seeks out in start-ups. Through 

investment and infrastructure 

support, iSON can enable Mondo to 

scale and expand beyond Kenya. 

“We feel that once Mondo is 

successful and gets its big business 

www.isongrp.com 77

TECHNOLOGY 

iSON BPO , the BPO business unit of iSON Group was awarded with 2016 

West African Frost & Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy, Innovation 

and Leadership during an awards ceremony at Growth Innovation and 

Leadership Event at The Table Bay Hotel, Capetown on 17th August 2017. 

Ramesh Awtaney, Founder and Chairman, iSON Group receiving the award 

from Hendrik Malan, Operations Director for Africa, Frost and Sullivan. 

10,000 

THE NUMBER OF 

STAFF WORKING 

AT iSON GROUP 

break in Kenya, then you can lift that up and move 

into different countries where we [iSON Group] are 

already operating – because our core system and 

infrastructures are already place,” Awtaney says. 

Having that national footprint spread across 25 

countries allows iSON Group to play the role of 

a “trusted advisor” with the knowhow to tap into 

the African market and help emerging companies 

with innovative technologies succeed. 

“We have supported global majors such as 

Huawei, Oracle, IBM, AVAYA as knowledge partners 

for doing business in Africa which is set to grow 

further with new partnerships to be announced 

with global technology majors and leading 

www.isongrp.com 79

i SON GROUP 

Akshay Grover 

Chief Growth Officer, iSON Technologies 

Akshay Grover is the Chief Growth Officer, iSON Technologies. He is responsible for 

formulating and executing the go-to-market strategy of the company. This includes 

new customer acquisitions, customer retention strategies, building technology-led 

partnerships, new product roll outs and inorganic growth initiatives. Akshay has been 

focused on the TMT sector across Europe, India, Middle East and Africa. During his stint 

as an investment banker and a private equity professional he has closed transactions over 

~USD 5 billion and led multiple strategic initiatives for several players in the sector. 

80 September 2017

TECHNOLOGY 

enterprise software vendors.” 

“Not many companies can add 

the momentum that we do from our 

footprint from Nigeria to Ethiopia,” 

Awtaney continues. “If a start-up 

wants to think about solving a Pan- 

African problem, it’s going to need a 

trusted confidant who can take it to 

25 countries. Similarly if you’re a large 

company in America or elsewhere 

but do not have the know-how to 

tap into Africa, then you need a 

trusted advisor who is present in 25 

countries and can execute for you.” 

Platform of growth 

This presence is what provides iSON 

Group with a crucial advantage. A 

pan continent footprint becomes the 

unique selling point above all else as 

the company has the understanding 

of local regulation, local challenges 

and the ability to successfully 

operate in 25 different countries 

with 13 new clients last fiscal year. 

“The real unique thing that iSON 

offers is the platform across those 

countries 

and the ability 

to combine that 

presence with these 

start-ups and build and scale 

from that,” Awtaney says. 

Throughout its four verticals 

iSON Group has made significant 

investments in order to grow as a 

smart technology company, but 

for Awtaney, one particular area of 

growth is something that is very close 

to his heart – iSON Foundation. 

Through iSON Foundation, which 

hasn’t been officially formalised just 

yet, iSON Group has partnered with 

a number of non-for-profit charities 

to work with and support local 

communities. Spearheading this 

mission jointly with the foundation is 

an organisation called Girl Effect . 

The Girls Connect pilot program, 

launched in July 2016 through an 

initial pilot phase, is a pioneering 

platform that allows girls to access 

information, conversations and oneto-one 

mentoring that is designed 

www.isongrp.com 81

iSON GROUP 

iSON Group wins ASSOCHAM India- Africa Champion in Biz Awards for 

"Disinguished Achievement in IT & ITeS category" during the Indo-Africa Summit in 

2015 and consecutively in 2016 during India Africa Trade and Investment Forum . 

82 September 2017

TECHNOLOGY 

If a start-up 

wants to think 

about solving a Pan- 

African problem, it’s going to 

need a trusted confidant who can 

take it to 25 countries. Similarly if you’re a 

large company in America or elsewhere but do 

not have the know-how to tap into Africa, 

then you need a trusted advisor who 

is present in 25 countries and 

can execute for you. 



www.isongrp.com 83

to enrich their lives. The pilot phase 

saw over 50,000 girls sign up over 

a two-month period and as the 

second phase of testing takes place 

this year, the target is over a million. 

Awtaney names this endeavour as 

“One Million Unheard Voices” 

iSON Foundation represents the 

company’s vision of adding value 

to Africa, not only through business 

foundations, but through programs 

and initiatives with Girl Effect. 

“Trying to transform the lives of 

marginalised people, through Girl 

Effect is very close to my heart and 

special. This is what life is really about 

and keeps you going. Take time, 

every day from your work and think 

about giving back” Awtaney says. 

Using digital innovation to go 

further faster and deliver change at 

scale, iSON Group and Girl Effect 

have come together to deliver 

Girls Connect: a breakthrough 

resource for vulnerable girls. 

“We’re proud of our groundbreaking 

partnership with iSON 

Group,” says Farah Ramzan 

84 September 2017

TECHNOLOGY 

Rahul Srivastava 

Chief Operating Officer, iSON Technologies 

Rahul Srivastava is the Chief Operating Officer of iSON Technologies and is 

responsible for key account management, project delivery, SLA based operations 

and support functions globally. His core expertise is managing large complex 

engagements and articulating a unique and compelling value proposition. 

www.isongrp.com 85

i SON GROUP 

With 

the iSON 

Foundation, 

the Group has 

partnered with 

a number of nonfor-profit 

charities to 

work with and support 

local communities. 

Golant CBE, CEO of Girl Effect. 

“Working with them has given us the 

technical expertise and infrastructure 

to make our pilot a real success. 

Girls have already told us that they 

have applied their learning from Girls 

Connect to open a bank account, to 

stay in school or even to become a 

trade apprentice. We’re challenging 

conventional beliefs in how effective, 

with the right training and support, 

distance role modelling can be.” 

As the company continues to 

grow and expand its footprint across 

Africa, Awtaney has ambitions for 

the company becoming synonymous 

with building local competence, local 

knowhow and bringing the efficiencies 

it has gained through other markets 

and locations and bringing them into 

emerging markets such as Africa. 

“Our mission is to use our services 

competence onshore to smartly 

transform and benefit customers. 

We’re not a company with billions 

of dollars at our disposal, we are 

a young company focused on our 

model, our training of people and 

adding true value to Africa and 

the countries we operate in.” 

86 September 2017

TECHNOLOGY 

We at iSON Group, are deeply 

committed in purposely enabling 

industries and societies with the 

help of technology. The upliftment 

agenda using smart technologies 

and customer centric theme is 

core to our principles and our 

hearts as we continuously 

evovle. Experience us and 

feel the difference. 



www.isongrp.com 87

East Africa Data 

Centre: critical 

connectivity 



89

EAST AFRICA DATA CENTRE 

90 September 2017

CONSTRUCTION 

EAST AFRICA DATA CENTRE is the most 

connected data centre space in East Africa. 

Its challenge is to continue to innovate 

and meet changing market demand 

DAN KWACH 

GM of EADC 

As the first commercial and carrier 

neutral facility built in Eastern Africa, at 

2,000sqm, East Africa Data Centre (EADC) 

remains the largest data centre in the region. 

The data centre market in Africa is growing 

as IT becomes an enabler for businesses 

to improve efficiency and introduce 

automation across their operations. 

This has seen major cloud and content 

players turn their attentions towards data centre 

providers in Africa. These include the likes of 

Microsoft, which has recently added data centre 

space in South Africa to host Microsoft Cloud 

as a direct response to market demand. 

Watching over this trend is the General 

Manager of EADC, Dan Kwach, who believes 

EADC is strongly positioned to meet the growing 

demand for data centre space in Africa. 

“Currently, larger data service and cloud providers 

www.eastafricadatacentre.com 91

CONSTRUCTION 

reach out to DC operators, like us, so 

that they can meet more of their client 

needs in Africa,” he says. “That’s why 

we must align what we do with the 

expectations of these large players.” 

EADC is located at Sameer 

Industrial Park, Nairobi. This is 

described as the “perfect hosting 

location” due to its access to 

carrier networks across 

Kenya, including 

Mombasa, Uganda, 

Tanzania and Rwanda. 

This location 

presented EADC 

with the opportunity 

to become the most 

connected data centre 

site in Eastern Africa, and 

was recognised for being so 

with a GTB Innovation Award in 2014. 

“Connectivity and security are 

critical components to hosting 

services. The EADC is carrier-neutral 

and having that open access model 

is also critical,” Kwach says. 

EADC hosts all of the local 

providers and ISPs in Nairobi as 

well as 20 international networks. 

This allows EADC to have the 

widest possible reach. 

2,000sqm 

Size of East Africa 

Data Centre 

“You cannot build a data centre 

without networks,” Kwach says. “The 

more network service providers you 

have, the better it is for customers.” 

The mystery of a data centre 

Kwach comes from a 

background in network 

engineering and 

core network 

configuration. 

This brought him 

into contact with 

various vendors and 

OEMs and he gained 

hands-on experience 

of critical network failures 

and problem solving. 

Confronted with the challenge 

to design and build a data centre, 

the first task for Kwach was to 

“identify and demystify” the very 

concept of a carrier grade or 

industry standard data centre. 

“What are the features of a carrier 

grade data centre facility? Which 

are the ideal industry standards and 



Inside the East 

Africa Data Centre 

what is meant by Tier I, II or even III? 

We had to really educate ourselves on 

what we were getting into,” he says. 

Part of this process saw Kwach travel 

the world and explore data centres 

in the UK, South Africa and Dubai. 

“My other challenge was to 

understand what the value in a 

commercial data centre was, not just 

from a technical aspect but to ensure 

alignment to a customer need.” 

As product manager, Kwach was 

tasked with developing a business 

plan and commercial strategy for 

EADC. The first task? Settling on 

a colocation site, which could host 

multiple network service providers 

and offer primary or secondary 

hosting to enterprise customers. 

EADC was the first carrier neutral 

94 September 2017

CONSTRUCTION 

“Currently, larger data service and cloud 

providers reach out to DC operators, 

like us, so that they can meet more 

of their client needs in Africa” 

DAN KWACH GM of EADC 

facility built in the region, and it just hit 

another milestone having joined an 

elite list of independently certified data 

centre facilities by Uptime Institute – the 

leading data centre certification and 

accreditation body. “This is a stamp 

of approval for EADC having met Tier 

III requirements as a concurrently 

maintainable facility,” says Kwach 

The facility is currently in the process 

of completing the requirements for 

ISO 27001 Certification – a globally 

acclaimed information security 

management standard that forms a 

basis of securing critical operations, 

functions and businesses against risk. 

Evolution 

But the work is not over for EADC. 

As competition heats up in the data 


CONSTRUCTION 

centre space, EADC must ensure 

it has a strategy to maintain its 

position as a regional market leader. 

“We are thinking more 

and more about our product 

development,” says Kwach. 

To ensure it has a long term strategy, 

EADC is finding ways to add value 

added services, build and offer 

enterprise grade IT services 

and meet the demands 

of leading content 

and cloud services. 

The company 

is also thinking of 

expanding into new 

geographies and 

markets to remain at 

the cutting edge of hosting 

services regionally and globally. 

Increasingly companies are starting 

to recognise the hosting opportunities 

in Kenya and the rest of East Africa. 

“We have the first mover 

advantage, which has presented us 

with a number of opportunities and 

helped us capture of a large chunk 

of the market share,” he says. 

Not only is EADC the most 

Nairobi 

The location of 

the East Africa 

Data Centre 

connected facility in the region but 

it also has a wealth of experience 

in the data centre space, which 

gives it an advantage in supporting 

customers and continuously 

upgrading its products and services. 

“It provides us with comfort 

now and in the near future with 

regards to our position in the 

market,” says Kwach. 

A hot topic 

As the data centre 

industry continues 

to grow so does 

the need for greater 

energy efficiency. 

More than 90% of 

the energy output in a 

data centre is through heat 

and power generation. EADC sources 

its power from Kenya Power; a supplier 

and operator of electricity distribution 

systems throughout Kenya. 

A large proportion of electricity 

in Kenya is generated through 

hydroelectric power generation. 

“The most critical element of 

our commercial success evolves 



around cost management,” Kwach states. “The 

cost of that power is very high, so we are often 

thinking about alternative sources of energy. 

It’s a really interesting space right now.” 

EADC is already looking at introducing solar 

panels and how it can improve its energy efficiency 

and carbon emissions. But it won’t stop there. 

EADC is also advising customers to use IT 

equipment that has been manufactured with 

biodegradable materials as part of a green initiative. 

So where next for the EADC? Kwach aims to keep 

it simple. 

“We go where there is opportunity and where 

there is demand,” he says. “Our connectivity and 

value-added services provide a one-stop shop to 

meet the already significant and growing demand 

that we see. Our challenge is to innovate and 

broaden our geographical reach so that we support 

all our customers, employees and governmental 

and non-governmental organisations in their 

digital journey. In doing this we are delivering our 

vision of “Building Africa’s digital future.” 

EADC is the 

largest in 

the region 

98 September 2017

CONSTRUCTION 

“Our challenge is to innovate and 

broaden our geographical reach so 

that we support all our customers, 

employees and governmental and 

non-governmental organisations 

in their digital journey” 

DAN KWACH GM of EADC 


FNB NAMIBIA 

Leading the 

way in Namibia’s 

modern banking

Written by: Leila Hawkins 

Produced by: Vincent Kielty

Namibia’s biggest bank is transforming 

how the population does financial 

transactions thanks to a digital revolution 

Namibia’s biggest bank 

is transforming how the 

population conducts 

financial transactions thanks 

to a digital revolution. 

The First National Bank of Namibia 

(FNB) was founded in 1907 as 

Deutsche Afrika Bank, and over a 

hundred years and many takeovers 

and mergers later, today it is the 

country’s largest bank, transforming 

how the population transacts 

through digital technology. 

The digitisation of banking 

One of FNB’s biggest innovations 

has been the introduction of the 

eWallet and, in fact, it was the first 

bank in Namibia to implement this. It 

makes transactions much easier for 

customers by enabling them to send 

and receive money instantly via their 

mobile phones. This payment method 

works on any mobile phone, at any 

time of the day or night, and means 

102 September 2017

Part of the FNB team 

www.fnbnamibia.com.na 103

FNB NAMIBIA 

> 

“With some systems you can only 

do so much, and then you have to 

hand it over to a vendor for support. 

In our case, the support sits with us, 

so we can chop and change it as the 

business and the market landscape 

prescribes. That gives us the edge” 

Reckliff Kandjiriomuini, Chief Technology Officer, FNB 

104 September 2017

TECHNOLOGY 

money is immediately available to the 

recipient. Customers can also check 

their bank balance, pay bills and buy 

electricity with it, and coupled with 

FNB’s extensive ATM network across 

the country that act as pay-out 

points eWallet has really moved the 

needle in driving inclusion of the 

unbanked and allowing access to 

money in a fast and efficient manner. 

Reckliff Kandjiriomuini, FNB’s 

Chief Technology Officer, explains: 

“eWallet has been a revolutionary 

change in allowing our customers 

to transact from anywhere and do 

instant payments. The product uptake 

and usage has been phenomenal 

and in accordance the resultant 

transactional growth pushed us to 

accelerate infrastructure refreshes to 

ensure the business is well positioned 

for growth and future demand.” 

The bank, as part of its digitalisation 

strategy, is introducing more selfservice 

outlets and enriching its 

offerings at self-service devices to 

allow customers the convenience of 

banking from anywhere and being 

empowered to do banking on their 

own, according to Kandjiriomuini 

It has a continuous focus on 

improving its customer service, and 

to this extent looks at where it can 

improve on processes and raise 

efficiencies. In the branch space 

it recently adopted a new system 

that enhances and shortens the 

time it takes for customer account 

opening, loans and other products 

significantly. This is underpinned by 

digitalisation and system automation. 

All of these products have been 

adopted and are in line with the 

bank’s approach of making banking 

easier, giving customers the ability to 

transact from anywhere and finally 

raising operational efficiencies. 

FNB Namibia remains committed 

to expanding its digital offering to 

clients, and the successful acquisition 

of EBank is an opportunity to 

expand services and solutions to 

all corners of Namibia through an 

affordable and convenient digitised 

partnership model, thereby including 

all business and consumer customers 

in the formal world of banking. 

Keeping banking local 

In the 1980’s the FNB Group acquired 


FNB NAMIBIA 

the rights to do its own development 

on its core banking system from 

Hogan, a company that creates high 

performance banking software. 

This allows FNB to drive innovative 

solutions and deliver these 

solutions to the market quicker. 

“In the past, our core banking 

system was hosted and run from 

our parent group in FNB South 

Africa,” says Garth Kleintjes CIO 

of FNB Namibia. “But in 2009 we 

localised this, which means we 

now host all infrastructure and 

run the day to day operations of 

this in country this has allowed 

for growth and new opportunities 

in the Technology space. 

“Being part of a bigger Group that 

embraces innovation has allowed 

us to leverage this, and through 

strong partnerships we can ensure 

new products and technologies are 

quickly adopted or tailored for our 

in-country needs. This will, in turn, 

help us to be a market leader in 

delivering cutting edge solutions.” 

Shifting away from challenges 

While FNB is Namibia’s biggest bank 

The Maltas Club at Namibia’s 

7th Can Run, in support 

of cancer awareness. 

with the greatest market 

share, the industry is extremely 

competitive. With a population of 

just over 2.5mn, Kandjiriomuini 

cites three major rivals as Bank 

Windhoek, Standard Bank and 

NedBank Namibia, and there are also 

a number of smaller banks that are 

currently establishing their footprint. 

“It’s an attractive market,” he says. 

“We do have economic challenges 

like the rest of the world, but are 

106 September 2017

favoured with political 

stability. Considering the regulator’s 

perspective, they want to introduce 

competition and attract new players. 

As a large bank in this competitive 

industry, there are naturally plenty of 

factors impacting its operations of 

which regulation and the economy are 

of the major ones. The political turmoil 

in South Africa has had a knock-on 

effect on the 

Namibian economy – an 

economy which is very dependent 

on South Africa due to it being 

Namibia’s biggest import partner 

Cybersecurity and financial fraud 

is a global concern that has not 

left Namibia unscathed. “In this 

connected age and by virtue of having 


FNB NAMIBIA 

108 September 2017

TECHNOLOGY 

various digital banking offerings the cyber 

risk is real for any bank and as such it is an 

important focus for us,” Kandjiriomuini says. 

To address the cyber risk, FNB Namibia 

has had to make certain changes to its 

security operations. “The bank has an 

extensive security programme that focuses 

on managing all the aspects of cyber 

security and hardening security on its 

internal systems, and included in this 

is driving awareness at all levels. The 

IT spend on security has significantly 

increased in the last years and these 

investments will continue,” says Kleintjes. 

Its unique use of technology means FNB 

is leading the way in shifting Namibia’s 

banking from traditional to digital. As 

Kandjiriomuini explains, this is the bank’s 

biggest driver. “We are known as the 

technology bank that delivers lifestyle 

changing solutions,” he concludes. 

FNB promotes products 

and services at the annual 

Rock n Run (used to raise 

awareness for Cancer) 


ELECTRIFYING 

TANZANIA 

Written by: Nell Walker 

Produced by: Greg Churchill

Nigel Whittaker, Managing 

Director of Songas, explains 

how the company is supplying 

much-needed energy to Tanzania 

“It’s very important for everybody 

to have access to reliable 

electricity, and I think that Africa 

generally suffers in comparison 

with the rest of the world.” 

Nigel Whittaker, Managing Director 

of Songas, holds these beliefs that 

mirror those of his company and its 

parent company, Globeleq. Songas 

is a major player in the electricity 

sector for Tanzania, and has been 

since it became operational in 

2004. The company uses natural 

gas from Songo Songo Island and 

processes it on location, before 

transporting it along a 225km 

pipeline to the Ubungo Power 

Plant in Dar es Salaam, owned 

and operated by Songas. The gas 

is then converted into electricity 

which is sold cheaply to TANESCO 

to sell on to its customers. 

In a nation which relies heavily on 

hydroelectric power 

via precious water 

supplies which are 

subject to droughts, and 

expensive fuel oil must 

be imported, Songas’s 

presence is a necessity. 

“Only around 30% of 

people in Tanzania have 

access to electricity, but the 

government has a plan to 

increase the industrialisation of 

the country,” says Whittaker. “In 

order for that to happen, reliable 

electricity needs to be available 

so that industry can thrive. 

“Currently there’s about 

1,100MW of electricity available 

in Tanzania, and the government 

wants to increase that to 5,000MW, 

to develop industrialisation and 

improve access to electricity. We 

support that. We want to be a part 

112 September 2017

AFRICA 

www.africanbusinessreview.za 113

Industrial gas turbine SGT-800 

Power generation: 47.5-54 MW(e) 

47.5 MW Version 

Gross efficiency: 37.7% 

Heat rate: 9,547 kJ/kWh (9,084 btu/kWh) 

Turbine speed: 6,608 rpm 

Pressure ratio: 20.1:1 

Exhaust mass flow: 132.8 kg/s (292.8 lb/s) 

Exhaust temperature: 541°C (1,007°F) 















siemens.com/gasturbines

Siemens’ SGT-800, a proven 

distributed generation 

turbine for Africa! 

Whatever the power generation requirements 

may be, Siemens, a global engineering 

powerhouse has the right combination of 

technology, solutions and skills to meet 

the requirements, and yes, often exceed. 

Siemens gas turbines are precisely designed 

to master the dynamic African energy 

market environment. Low lifecycle costs 

and an excellent return on investment right 

from the start are just two of the benefits 

that Siemens gas turbine portfolio offers. 

Mark Van Antwerp, Vice President of Power 

& Gas Sales for Southern and Eastern Africa 

at Siemens says: “Our gas turbines fulfil 

the high requirements of a wide spectrum 

of applications in terms of efficiency, 

reliability, flexibility and environmental 

compatibility. There has been a major 

shift in the market from centralised power 

generation to distributed generation. At 

Siemens we believe that this is a trend much 

to the benefit of Africa as the electrification 

levels are still low. One of our innovative 

products is the SGT-800. This machine is 

getting a lot of attention in the continent 

primarily because it offers broad flexibility 

in fuels, operating conditions, maintenance 

concepts, package solutions, and ratings.” 

The excellent efficiency and steam-raising 

capability make it outstanding in cogeneration 

and combined cycle installations. The 

SGT-800-based power plant, designed for 

flexible operation, is perfectly suited as grid 

support. The SGT-800 combines a simple, 

robust design, for high reliability and easy 

maintenance, with high efficiency and low 

emissions. With more than 300 units sold and 

over 4 million equivalent operating hours, it is 

an excellent choice for the African markets. 

Matthieu Cecillon, Vice President of 

Application Engineering for Sub-Saharan 

Africa at Siemens says: “The Siemens 

SGT-800 gas turbine is available in three 

versions with power output of 47.5, 50.5 

and 54.0 MW respectively. The gas turbine 

combines a robust, reliable design with 

high efficiency and low emissions. This 

makes it an ideal choice for municipal and 

industrial power generation, refineries, and 

the oil and gas industry. Its high exhaust 

energy content makes the Siemens SGT- 

800 particularly well suited for combined 

heat and power and combined-cycle 

applications. Reliability, environmental 

compatibility, and low lifecycle costs are 

the key features of the Siemens SGT-800: 

With up to 60,000 operating hours (EOH) 

between major overhauls, low maintenance 

costs, and an excellent electrical efficiency, 

the Siemens machine achieves the lowest 

lifecycle costs and the best combinedcycle 

efficiency within its class.” 

The Siemens SGT-800 is a single-shaft 

machine with 15 compressor stages. The 

first three stages have variable guide vanes. 

To minimize leakage over the blade tips, 

abradable seals are applied to stages four 

to fifteen. The three-stage turbine is built as 

one module and is bolted to the compressor 

shaft to provide for easy maintenance. The 

turbine stator flanges are air-cooled to reduce 

running clearances and improve efficiency. 

The overall design of the Siemens SGT-800 

gas turbine ensures easy service access to 

the combustor and the burners. The cold 

end of the gas turbine is connected to the 

generator via a reduction gear unit; this 

reduces the turbine speed from 6,600 rpm 

down to 1,500/1,800 rpm. The Siemens 

SGT-800 gas turbines are equipped with Dry 

Low Emissions (DLE) combustion system 

to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. The 

combustion system is designed to operate 

on both gas and liquid fuels and it’s capable 

of on-line switchover between fuels.

SONGAS LIMITED 

116 September 2017

AFRICA 

of that programme, because we’re 

part of the solution in Tanzania.” 

Whittaker has 35 years of 

experience in energy, including 

25 in power generation. Having 

worked for big industry names like 

Powergen, E.ON, and Sumitomo, 

Whittaker took on his current role 

with Songas in 2015, and 

has been applying 

his expertise to the 

well-established 

company ever 

since this time. 

When Songas’ 

business began, 

it was the only 

gas fired generator 

in the country and it 

supplied between 30-50% 

of the electricity in Tanzania. While 

it is more like 25%, the company 

remains an extremely important 

part of the local electricity 

generation sector. This is due in 

part to its very high availability 

(98%) and a load factor of 92%. 

“Songas is very important to 

Tanzania because it’s reliable and 

72 

Number of 

employees 

at Songas 

we’re constantly generating,” 

explains Whittaker. “We are 

running 24/7, and our electricity 

is the cheapest thermal generator 

in East Africa; we sell to TANESCO 

at about six cents a kilowatt.” 

This not only benefits citizens 

wanting electricity from a clean, 

reliable, cost-effective 

source, but ensures 

that Songas remains 

a top choice as a 

supplier. Globeleq, 

one of Songas’ 

shareholders, is 

dedicated to power 

development 

in Africa 

and works 

hard to supply 

electricity on the continent, 

a known driver for social and 

economic development. 

Using Tanzanian gas, Songas 

can continue to provide electricity 

more economically than the fuel 

oil generators which have to import 

the gas into the country; this has 

saved Tanzania billions of US dollars 



since its operations began in 2004. Songas uses 

reliable infrastructure which means that there is 

no need to constantly update its technology. 

“The company has not changed a lot since we 

went operational in 2004,” says Whittaker. “Prior 

to that there was a lot of time and effort involved 

in developing the gas process and the building of 

the pipeline, upgrading the old plant by converting 

it to gas, and adding new units. Since then the 

plant has been running in a stable operation.” 

While stability is something to aspire to, it 

can never be quite enough when a business 

can do so much more and with its excellent 

service in a nation with low rates of electricity 

consumption. So how can Songas keep 

doing what it’s doing, but do more of it? 

The challenges for Songas are external, and 

things which will take time to change. Both 

TANESCO and the Tanzanian government 

are dealing with struggles which affect 

Songas, but Whittaker is hopeful. 

“The government is hoping to organise a 

financial package with the World Bank which will 

alleviate TANESCO’s financial issues, making 

it financially viable going forward,” he says. 

“We’re anxious to see the outcome because it’s 

important not just for companies like Songas, but 

the whole financial electricity sector generally.” 

Songas is developing a plan to upgrade two of 

118 September 2017

AFRICA 

“Songas is a thriving 

business, it runs very well, 

the plant performance is very 

good, and the electricity price 

is low. We think we’ve been a 

fantastic asset for Tanzania” 

Nigel Whittaker, Managing Director 



120 September 2017

AFRICA 

its six units which will enable it to 

produce more electricity. It’s simpler 

for the company to upgrade existing 

units, as the site contain all of the 

necessary infrastructure already, 

than to build entirely new facilities, 

and generation capacity could 

increase from 180MW to 240MW if 

the government grants approval. 

“Songas is a thriving business, it 

runs very well, the plant performance 

is very good, and the electricity 

price is low. We think we’ve been 

a fantastic asset for Tanzania. Pan 

African Energy Tanzania (PAET) 

recently put some calculations in the 

newspaper saying that Songo Songo 

Island gas has saved the Tanzanian 

government $6.2bn since operations 

began – money that would otherwise 

have been spent on producing 

the same amount of energy with 

imported fuels. So Songas has 

been very successful, not just for 

the shareholders but for Tanzania 

as a whole.” 54% of Songas’ 

shares are held by Globeleq and 

46% are held by the Government 

of Tanzania through holdings by 

TANESCO, TDC and TDFL. 

Songas sees a future in 

which its generating capacity is 

expanded by about 30%, and 

its parent company, Globeleq, is 

extremely interested in pursuing 

other power development 

projects as soon as it gets the 

go-ahead. The gas at Songo 

Songo Island is sufficient to meet 

the needs of Songas’s future 

growth, and the infrastructure is 

not fully utilised. So while Songas 

does have to wait for precisely 

the right environment and the 

necessary approval, the future 

certainly looks bright. 

“There are enough 

resources on Songo Songo 

Island for us to introduce, 

improve, and increase 

electricity generation,” 

Whittaker concludes. “Tanzania 

will be a very interesting market 

for us once we can see there’s 

some stability returned to the 

electricity sector here.” 


THE POWER 

OF EL SEWEDY 

ELECTROMETER 

GROUP 

Written by: Nell Walker 

Produced by: Vincent Kielty 

123

El Sewedy Electrometer is well 

established as one of the world’s 

leading metering companies 

With 19mn meters running 

in 46 countries, and as 

one of the top 10 metering 

companies in the world, El Sewedy 

Electrometer Group (EMG) has 

come a long way from its wellestablished 

roots. Sixty years after 

parent company Zaki El Sewedy 

was formed, EMG emerged on the 

scene itself in 1998, and for nearly 

20 years it has slowly but surely 

built its brand and thrived where 

similar businesses fell behind. 

Zaki El Sewedy’s rise to prominence 

has been a lengthy process, 

with a rich timeline as follows: 

• 1938 – Zaki El Sewedy Holding 

(ZSG) was founded as a supplier 

of electrical materials in Egypt 

• 1962 – ZSG was appointed by the 

Egyptian government as the main 

supplier of all electrical materials 

for the largest hydro power plant 

in Egypt, the Aswan High Dam 

• 1980 – ZSG started investing 

in industry, starting with the 

manufacture of power cables, 

electricity distribution boards, 

electricity and gas meters, 

lighting fixtures, and energysaving 

lamps in addition to its 

turn-key electrification projects 

• 1998 – ZSG established El Sewedy 

Electrometer (EMG), the first private 

sector company specialising in 

the design and manufacture of 

electricity meters in the Middle East 

• 2004 – EMG founded Ghana 

Electrometer Ltd, the first metering 

factory in West Africa, followed by 

the successful implementation of 

the e-Cash pre-payment system 

• 2007 – EMG ventured with 

EEPCO in Ethiopia Electrometer 

to produce pre-paid meters in 

Ethiopia, as well as with ZESCO 

in Zambia Electrometer 

• 2008 – EMG partnered with 

124 September 2017

AFRICA 

El Sewedy 

Electrometer 

has 19mn 

meters running 

in 46 countries 

BMG bank in Electrometer do Brazil, 

in addition to Electrometer de Las 

Americas in Mexico with CICASA 

• 2009 – EMG established El Sewedy 

Electrometer India to supply Asia 

as well as the rest of the group with 

quality meters and modules 

• 2010 – EMG acquired an established 

meter manufacturer in the Czech 

Republic to supply Europe and the rest 

of the world with smart grid solutions 

EMG is fully-focused on production of 


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AFRICA 

meters, network management 

services, large electrification projects, 

and product aftercare. The business 

expanded facilities in Africa to 

cover Ghana, Ethiopia, and Zambia 

respectively. As its success spread, 

EMG began to globalise, extending 

facilities to India, Brazil, and Mexico, 

before penetrating the European 

market by acquiring ZPA Smart 

Energies in the Czech Republic. 

EMG has attained ISO 9001, 

ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001 

certification during its lifetime, and 

has become a sought-after partner 

for many other large businesses. 

Some of its major recent projects 

include the North Lebanon Project 

and the Ghana Ashanti BOT 

Project, both involving the design, 

manufacture, supply and installation 

of various metering systems. 

With a portfolio that covers 

residential, commercial, and industrial 

EMG is fully-focused on production of 

meters, network management services, 

large electrification projects, and 

product aftercare. 


EL SEWEDY ELECTROMETER 

EMG remains one 

of the key meter 

suppliers in the region 

AZAM FOOD LIMITED 

Manufacturing and selling 

chips in Bangladesh. 

Intelligent Card Limtied 

Manufacturing and selling Scratch 

card and SIM card to global market. 

Cardzglobal(Beijing) Limtied 

Manufacturing and selling RFID 

and smart card to global market. 

www.cardzglobal.com.cn 

No. 57, Gausual Azam Avenue, Sector 

# 14, Uttara, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 

Tel: +88-02 8933331 | Mobile: +88 01867888888 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/david.yu.7906 

Email: david@cardzglobal.com.cn 

TONGLI POWER 

TECHNOLOGY(BD)LIMITED 

Manufacturing and selling motocycle 

battery and Car battery. 

UPS/IPS battery to global market. 

128 September 2017

AFRICA 

market needs, EMG provides all kinds of meters 

from pre-payment products to smart meters that 

communicate with utility companies via GPRS. 

Productivity is optimised by utilising the 

latest techniques in lean manufacturing and 

Six Sigma. Calibration and testing systems are 

automated, allowing simultaneous manufacture 

of multiple products without sacrificing accuracy, 

and the ability to respond to customer delivery 

demands without risk of human error. 

The supply chain is strictly operated and El 

Sewedy Electrometer demands perfection at 

every step of the way. The company boasts a solid 

supplier management mechanism during which 

allows it to evaluate those suppliers and minimise 

wasted time along the way. Financial status, product 

quality, and costs are all analysed, and successful 

suppliers are invited into open dialogue with EMG 

to create engaged, powerful relationships. 

All of EMG’s products are heavily tested by worldrenowned 

labs, including OFGEM in the UK, MET 

Lab in the US, INMETRO in Brazil, LAPEM in Mexico, 

ERDA in India, and many more to ensure all products 

are of the highest quality. There are prestigious R&D 

houses in Egypt, India, and the Czech Republic, 

among other nations. Five percent of the company’s 

annual revenue is poured into R&D, as it refuses 

to buy ready-made designs and place its logo on 

them – EMG prefers to develop the concept itself. 

El Sewedy 

Electrometer 

smart meters 

come with a 

flexible design to 

communicate via 

GPRS, RF or PLC 

The EMG 

production line 


EL SEWEDY ELECTROMETER 

EMG meters undergo 

thorough testing 

‘EMG wants to 

enable its customers 

to manage their 

own utilities without 

difficulty, and offers 

comprehensive 

services to tackle 

that. The business 

consider itself 

a total solution 

provider with a 

focus on quality and 

customer service’ 

130 September 2017

AFRICA 

Mahmoud Shawky 

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR 

Mohamed Shawky is the Director of Operations 

and is a member of the management committee. 

He is responsible for overseeing Elsewedy 

Electrometer’s daily operational activities 

including manufacturing, quality, supply 

chain, and performance reporting. He plays 

effective role in the top management committee 

regarding the firm’s performance, day-to-day 

operations and overall strategic planning. 

El Sewedy Electrometer always 

keeps its eye out for growth 

opportunities, as despite being 

part of a specific market, it doesn’t 

have one single focus. Demand for 

meters is always there, meaning 

the business remains unaffected 

by the economic climate. Utilities 

and private companies alike require 

EMG’s services, and if anything, 

the requirements are growing due 

to the increasing connectedness 

of developing nations. 

El Sewedy Electrometer’s slogan is 

‘Manage Utilities Better’, which reflects 

its belief that its responsibilities lie 

beyond meters themselves and the 

aftercare thereof. EMG wants to 

enable its customers to manage their 

own utilities without difficulty, and 

offers comprehensive services to 

tackle that. The business consider 

itself a total solution provider with a 

focus on quality and customer service. 

What truly sets El Sewedy apart 

from other companies in the 

industry is experience. Its leaders 

have a great deal of experience in 

the industry, and EMG now has 10 

factories across five continents, 

cementing that global leadership 

with a production capacity of more 

than five million meters a year.

BRafr-September2017

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