Huge volumes are not needed to justify either Afrikaans books or Tshivenda books as additional languages. The business is still printing and distributing the same number of books, whereas now they are available in more languages, not just English.
However, when translating a teacher’s guide, the cost can increase ten-fold or even considerably more, and with soaring costs greater volumes are needed.
With a consumer products company it is quite different. Whereas translation and typesetting costs can be roughly the same for product booklets as for educational material, extra languages may incur extra printing and distribution costs into new geographical terrain, making inclusive marketing less of a no-brainer.
More technology companies are avoiding print, as the cost of printing and distribution is huge compared to electronic delivery. However, this luxury is not an option for most schools in South Africa.
Different for different markets
Little is needed by way of localisation for a South African company moving into Namibia – where English is the official language despite being spoken as a first language by only 1 percent of Namibians. But in linguistically fragmented countries like Nigeria and Uganda (and South Africa), a more difficult situation presents itself.
When mobile operator Orange entered Uganda, the choice of local language fell on Luganda, the dominant language, despite being spoken by a third of the population, 10 million. As a first-choice alternative language the numbers justified the decision.
Which dialect?
Even the same language might present difficulties. While it may not be viable to translate into different variants of Afrikaans, French as it is spoken in Canada is a more enticing option.
But Metropolitan French is understood by French Canadians, so French multinationals need not translate for local consumption, whereas French Canadian companies setting up in France will have to translate their wares. The same choice comes into the reckoning with Portuguese as it is spoken in Portugal, Angola and Brazil, and Zulu as it is spoken on the coast and in Jozi.
Enviable problem
The problem of ROI is further complicated beyond translating static literature – if you’re going to translate product packaging or manuals or websites into a new language, you also need to avail yourself of the resources to provide customer service in that language.
Another issue is the proliferation of commercially translated languages in modern times, making the choice that much more of an enviable problem. At the height of Nokia’s dominance, its wares were marketed in 52 languages. Today, leading mobile vendors translate into 200 languages. How many languages are justified by your volumes?
What not to do
With such a wide choice, it would seem that market segmentation is the only way to predict viability of a service in a new language, but this is only affordable for companies with the clout of an MTN or Apple. It may not even yield reliable results – Steve Jobs called market segmentation a wasteful exercise, reportedly saying “it is not the consumers' job to know what they want.”
The only way to find out for sure is to test the waters first. The right language service provider can offer advice on which aspects of a content-rich product to translate to keep costs down, allowing projects to either fly with minimal input costs, or fail.
Written by Jonathan Williamson
Dubai is placing Africa centre stage as it emphasises the growing ties between the region and the continent, promoting itself as a stable, secure gateway to trade and investment opportunities by hosting the Africa Global Business Forum 2013 (AGBF 2013).
“Africa is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and offers the highest risk-adjusted returns on foreign direct investment among emerging economies,” said Director General, Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, HE Hamad Buamim.
“The continent has a middle class estimated to be around 313 million which is driving significant consumer growth. At the same time, 70 percent of its population is under 35, helping to power further economic development,” he added.
At the two day event, held between 1 and 2 May, a multitude of global ministers, delegates and high-ranking business executives presented a variety of seminars and discussions such as Buamim himself; President and CEO of PTA Bank Adamssu Tadesse; Republic of Seychelles Vice President Hon. Danny Faure; UAE Minister of State HE Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy; and Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry Chairman HE Abdulrahman Saif Al Ghurair.
Of the 48 other speakers, notable examples included Prime Minister of Uganda Rt Hon Amama Mbabazi; CEO of African Development Corporation Dirk Harbecke; Rwanda Minister of Trade & Industry Hon Francois Kanimba; Zambia’s Former Cabinet Minister & Leader of Opposition in Parliament Hon Felix Mutati; MD of Al Islami Foods Saleh Lootah; COMESA Secretary General HE Sindiso Ngwenya; and Founder of Astute Capital Stella Kilonzo.
In total more than 2,000 participants from across Africa, the GCC, Asia, Europe and beyond were expected to attend, all hoping to discuss the current challenges and business opportunities which exist in relation to the forum’s key pillars of trade, tourism, logistics, finance and agribusiness.
In reference to the key pillars, Buamim said: “Dubai’s position as an international re-export hub can be utilised for trade both to and from Africa, with trade being a major growth area for Dubai investors. Finance is an under resourced sector in Africa on the whole; opportunities exists for Dubai to export its expertise in Islamic finance.
“Logistics is a core economic driver in Dubai, with long distances and storage difficulties meaning that great opportunities exist for warehousing and distribution services across Africa. Dubai is a hub for tourist flows from all over the world; the city can be a hub for international passengers into and out of Africa, while simultaneously our tourism sector is booming an can accommodate increases in the number of African tourists.”
In regards to agribusiness, the Director General added: “Agriculture remains the biggest employer in Africa and agribusiness has the potential to drive the continent’s development. The UAE imports 80 percent of its food requirements, spending AED25.5bn in 2010, with Dubai alone having more than 13,500 food establishments.”
To better support its key pillars, as well as promote networking and dynamic interaction, three interactive zones play an important role in achieving the AGBF’s objectives. The African National Tourism Boards of Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Zanzibar are among those accentuating their industry in the Tourism Zone.
The Investment Zone showcases potential economic opportunities in Africa via representative Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), with the aim of promoting business growth, foreign investment and cross-border partnerships in countries such as Zimbabwe. And the Meeting Zone is on-hand to serve as an ideal private and comfortable location for delegates to connect and take their discussions further.
“Dubai is a gateway to global firms looking to do in business in Africa as the emirate’s close proximity and business-friendly climate is an ideal hub for the continent,” said Buamim. “Dubai offers international companies a safe haven to do business across the Middle East, African and South Asian regions. At the same time African entrepreneurs seeking expansion into European and American markets can use Dubai as a base.”
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the forum is organised by Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry and COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) Regional Investment Agency.
The origins of this year’s AGBF can be traced back to the 4th COMESA Investment Forum held in Dubai for the first time in 2011. COMESA is Africa’s largest economic community, comprising 19 member states from Libya to Zimbabwe, with the previous Investment Forums helping to create interactions between business leaders, policy-makers and experts from the six-member strong Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) and the various COMESA states.
Though hailed as a success, Africa has far more business communities than COMESA, so the decision was made to broaden the scope of the original forum resulting in this latest undertaking.
Under a far wider remit, the new forum encompasses the original COMESA and GCC organisations, as well as the East African Community (EAC), the South African Development Community (SADC), the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU).
At the time of publication, the event was due to be held in the stunning Madinat Jumeirah resort, a beautiful recreation of old Arabia meets contemporary luxury, a venue which perfectly encapsulates Dubai’s demonstration of ancient traditions combined with ultra-modern living.
]]>Social media is an incredibly potent tool for recruitment, but it is also more complex than other recruiting tools, requiring extra strategy and skills to master.
Introducing social media as a new tool in the corporate recruitment strategy requires proper funding and support. Companies also need to conduct some upfront work to make sure campaigns will fit the bigger HR strategy, be well received, and feed into existing platforms. Without proper planning and preparation, social recruiting campaigns can fizzle out after some initial excitement, or entirely fail to launch – not exactly the fireworks imagined…
Before setting up a social media profile, corporate HR recruiters need to get some key building blocks in place to ensure success.
Top 10 tips for a good kick-off
1 Begin by doing an audit of the different types of skills the company needs and determine which skills are the scarce ones. While job boards and corporate career websites are fine to source high-churn, non-specialist candidates, social recruiting can help you reach the scarce skills you’re not connecting with right now.
2 Conduct market research into the different job search platforms (like Indeed.co.za) and social networks (LinkedIn.com), identifying the right fit to engage with your scarce talent requirements.
3 Decide on your content strategy to engaging these candidates – what are you going to tell them and how are you going to tell them - aligning this to your employer brand
4 Determine whether the existing HR team has the social media skills to execute the identified strategy, and skill up accordingly if required.
5 Analyse your careers website to see whether it carries all the right content – is your Employer Brand positioned strongly enough to convince people to work for you? Rich media placement like video with staff testimonials and different landing pages for different skills can greatly improve the likelihood of specialist candidate registration and application.
6 Plan for maintaining ongoing communication with candidates and building your own talent community. For example, establish a blog on your career site to share interesting information, answer questions and facilitate communication within the community.
7 Make sure your careers website is optimised for search engines, specifically for the kinds of keyword skills the company is looking to attract – does your careers website even show up in online searches? A quick look at your web analytics will help you gauge trends on your website traffic.
8 Make sure you have a good Applicant Tracking System in place to capture and track your talent pipeline so no one falls through the cracks.
9 Ensure you have the measurement tools in place to monitor the outcomes and see what worked and what needs adjustment. Establishing some introductory measures will greatly help fine-tune the process over time. For example, tracking and reporting on the referring website of each and every candidate application is important to where talent is coming from.
10 Lastly, social recruiting is often a fundamental shift in the way an organization recruits, from manual recruitment processes. Buy-in from the top levels of your organisation is key to its end success
The ability to sniper-target top talent through social networks is a game-changer. Social recruiting supports relationship building that can reach far beyond the immediate hiring need, building up connections with interested individuals that can fuel future great hires.
Graylink is the leading provider of cloud-based recruitment software to corporate Africa.
Previously the Android-based Amazon Appstore was only available in the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan.
However Amazon's app distribution service will now cover close to 200 countries and territories including additions like Australia, Latin American countries including Brazil and Mexico, Canada, India, South Africa and South Korea.
The app store is also accepting submissions from app developers interested in creating content for these new markets.
Amazon is expected to implement this international roll-out over the coming months.
According to TechRadar, the last time the App Store expanded was in 2011 when it went from being US only to including European markets. This expansion was a precursor to expanding the availability of the Kindle Fire.
"It's unlikely that Amazon doesn't have a strategy to expand its hardware footprint outside of the US and Europe," the technology website said.
According to Liliputing, there are currently only 129 countries supported by the Google Play store.
]]>Soarsoft Africa, a specialist in archive, migration, collaboration and messaging services and the exclusive South African distributor of Binary Tree Exchange and messaging migration solutions, will be showcasing its skills and services at TechEd 2013.
TechEd is a four-day which will be held this year at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban starting next Tuesday.
The event is South Africa’s premier Microsoft technology gathering for IT Professionals and Developers, offering comprehensive education across Microsoft's current and soon-to-be-released suite of products, solutions, tools, and services.
Chris Hathaway, Director at Soarsoft Africa, said: “TechEd is all about helping delegates to solve real-world challenges, and with the growth of Exchange messaging and SharePoint Collaboration platforms and the mission critical nature of these tools, migrations to newer versions and Cloud based offerings are certainly a challenge in today’s business environment.
“This is an excellent opportunity for us to connect with clients and partners within the Microsoft network and showcase our evolving skills across archiving, migration, messaging and collaboration solutions.
“It is also an opportunity for us to highlight to the Microsoft community the pedigree of our services, solutions and partnerships with global leaders like Binary Tree.”
Binary Tree is a leading provider of messaging and collaboration transformation technology and solutions for the Microsoft platform in the cloud, on-premises, or in hybrid environments.
The global company offers best-of-breed people, processes and technology to help organisations mitigate the risks associated with large-scale IT changes, resulting in successful projects with high customer satisfaction and return on investment.
At TechEd, Binary Tree will also be unveiling its new best practice Exchange migration methodology, aimed at simplifying migrations and providing a roadmap for successful transformation in large and complex migration environments.
Hathaway said: “As the exclusive distributors of Binary Tree in South Africa, we are trusted by the organisation as knowledgeable, experienced advisors to our customers.
“One of the cornerstones of this new methodology is rationalisation, which includes many of our other skills and technology lines for Archiving, Archive Migrations, Email Continuity, Public Folder Migration, SharePoint, Messaging Management as well as security.
“The launch of this new methodology at TechEd is not only an exciting opportunity for Binary Tree, but will enhance our offering to our customers.”
Soarsoft Africa has offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town and has a successful track record spanning over a decade. It remains product independent, but supports and implements what it considers to be trusted and proven solutions to meet specific customer requirements.
]]>The power of social media is having a major impact on the business world in South Africa where companies both large and small are realising the ever-increasing need to harness it more effectively.
Rather than just jumping on the social media bandwagon, savvy brands are already using it as a customer service tool and trying to channel it more to achieving their business goals.
In the thick of the digital world is Lynette Hundermark, Head of Product Strategy for one of Africa’s most prominent, full-service digital agencies Prezence Digital.
She said: “Businesses realised they needed a presence on social media, but it was only when consumers found they had a platform to complain about goods and services that they really started jumping on the bandwagon.
“Now larger brands are using it as part of their overall business strategies and looking at the holistic picture rather than just adding social media as a bolt on.”
Impressive background
Hundermark, a self-confessed techno-geek , has an impressive 10-year-long career in IT which included working for the MIH Group before moving to Prezence Digital where she works to produce the best possible strategic long-term mobile solutions to meet client’s needs.
Established in the UK in 1998, Prezence Digital expanded into South Africa in 2002 and now has studios in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Initially, it focused on the movie and music industries.
The company launched its flourishing mobile division in 2005 and today it clients include leading and global brands including Ster-Kinekor, Computicket, Diners Club, Standard Bank, Soccer Laduma, Ndalo Media, Capitec and Investec.
According to Hundermark all the top social media platforms including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Yammer are well utilised in South Africa, as well as the homespun site Mxit.
“In South Africa, Twitter is widely seen as the more business-orientated platform and I know people in the digital world, which I am involved in, who are very busy so find it is much quicker and easier to read 140 characters than to say log on to Facebook,” she said.
Tweeting wins service
The power of Twitter recently helped her personally resolve an issue with her home internet connection after she complained to her provider Telkom.
“For weeks I had been having problems and it was becoming impossible for me to work at home so early before work one morning I tweeted a complaint.
“In the half an hour that it took me to get to work I had a reply from Telkom and by the end of the week they had redone my line. They also followed up to make sure everything was working OK.
“This is an example of how companies can improve their customer service just by monitoring social media platforms and responding to them. Using social media to keep the customers you have happy is really what companies should be leveraging right now.”
Poaching ground
Linkedin, more commonly known as a site for connecting professionals in the business world, does not receive such a favourable press from Hundermark.
“At the moment in South Africa Linkedin is acquiring a poor reputation because it is increasingly being seen as poaching ground for recruiters.
“Again I have some personal experience where people on LinkedIn I have never worked with or met before have sent me salary surveys asking me to rate their performance. How can you do that, if you have never even worked with them?
“I feel there needs to be some rules adhered to and people need to be more cognisant about LinkedIn before it is taken more seriously as a business platform.”
Prezence Digital is currently growing and developing its own social media department. “We do find it is a lot more effective to use social media for customer feedback on our products,” she explained.
Alert to problems
Hundermark was recently involved in developing new mobile booking apps for one of Prezence Digital’s largest clients Ster-Kinekor, South Africa’s largest movie theatre chain which boasts some 54 complexes across the country.
“I have alerts set up for all my product launches and just last week there was an issue with the payment service which had gone down and I was able to react immediately and notify the right people before the problem escalated,” she said.
As for the future of social media, Hundermark believes that it will become a part and parcel of the business world which will find ways to develop and add value to products and services.
But with the ever-changing pace of new technologies, there will undoubtedly be something new and different on the horizon.
]]>Garmin Southern Africa (PTY) Ltd, a unit of Garmin Ltd, the global leader in satellite navigation, today announced its new Essential Series devices as part of the new 2013 nüvi line-up of Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs)
The line-up includes Garmin nüvi 42LM and nüvi 52LM which makes it easier than ever to follow directions and stay on route.
Garmin’s nüvi 42LM (4.3”display) and nüvi 52LM (5”display) offer navigation at its simplest, and features spoken turn-by-turn directions and innovative, driver-friendly features.
Garmin City Navigator Southern Africa has pre-loaded maps which allow users to locate addresses and thousands of Points of Interest (POI) with ease.
Lane Assist with Junction View1 uses brightly coloured arrows and detailed images to indicate the proper lane for a turn or exit.
Garmin’s Essential nüvi range also displays your current speed, speed limit with warnings of upcoming safety cameras1 and accurate time of arrival.
The Essential Series is sleeker and thinner than before; with a re-designed mount that reduces visual clutter, for less distraction.
Mathys Thompson, Category Manager Automotive at Garmin Southern Africa, said: “Garmin nüvi devices are the gold standard of navigation due to their ease of use, reliability and feature richness.
“We are proud to introduce the latest market leading innovations for a lifetime of navigation. Our new Essential line-up significantly improves how navigation can help drivers find their way while keeping their eyes on the road.”
The Essential Series also comes with Free Lifetime Map updates for the lifetime of the unit. No activation or registration required.
However much the road systems change, users will still be shown the best way to get to where they want to go without ever paying for another map update again.
The simple and budget-friendly Essential Series is the perfect starting point for any journey with accurate turn-by-turn directions, spoken street names and Lane Assist with Junction View1.
]]>HP has unveiled in Nairobi, a new print offering built within select Samsung devices to provide users an easy way to print directly to more than 180 HP network printer models across the HP inkjet and HP LaserJet portfolios.
The collaboration demonstrates HP’s continued investment and leadership in the mobile printing space by satisfying a common need for today’s mobile user—on-demand, customised printing from virtually anywhere.
Muthoni Gitahi, Marketing Manager, Printers and Personal Systems (PPS) division – East Africa, said: “Customers continue to look for ways to print from their smart phones and tablets.
“This partnership with Samsung is the latest example of how HP is making it easy to print what you want from wherever you are.”
Different from current mobile printing apps on the market, the new embedded solution from HP and Samsung requires no setup, tools, drivers or network configurations to adjust on the phone, making mobile printing effortless and convenient.
In addition, the print offering is one of the only solutions to offer sophisticated printer settings and options that include duplex printing, colour, orientation and paper type. By offering these capabilities and much more, this new mobile print enablement will make printing on the go easier, saving time for the mobile worker and beyond.
Print functionality will be supported with the upcoming release of the Samsung GALAXY S 4 and will be available later this year as a firmware upgrade to the Samsung GALAXY S III and Note II, enabling built-in, wireless printing compatibility.
Users can print in two ways: by automatically connecting their Samsung mobile device and HP printer on the same local network via Wi-Fi, or by using HP technology via wireless direct print.
The Samsung print solution is HP’s latest feature for its mobile print portfolio that also includes HP ePrint.
]]>Small wind turbine manufacturer Kestrel is fulfilling a need in rural Africa with a cheap and effective alternative to grid electricity. It is helping to power homes and farms in outlying areas where Africa’s still poor infrastructure is unable to fully penetrate.
Now the company is looking to market its product in both the UK and US after gaining the relevant certification. African Business Review asked the company’s Sales and Marketing Director Leon Gouws to tell us more about the expanding business and the relevance of sustainable energy alternatives for Africa.
ABR:How long has Kestrel been trading?
Leon Gouws:Kestrel Wind Turbines was established in 1999. Eveready (Pty) Ltd. purchased Kestrel Wind Turbines in 2006 and it is now trading as Kestrel Renewable Energy (Kestrel).
ABR:Why was the company started?
LG:There was a need and opportunity for small wind renewable energy solutions.
ABR: How many people does it employ and where is its manufacturing base?
LG: Kestrel is based at the Eveready head office in Port Elizabeth. Eveready currently employs 400 people of which 39 are Kestrel employees.
ABR: What impact has Kestrel’s small wind turbines made in South Africa?
LG: With the ever rising cost of electricity, Kestrel offers an alternative, cost effective solution to grid electricity.
Kestrel has given rural off-grid communities access to clean water and power, and enabled off-grid farms to enjoy reliable electricity generation and supply.
ABR: Since gaining certification in the UK and US, what has the reaction been to Kestrel’s products?
LG: Since gaining certification, we’ve had a very positive reaction. Our daily enquiries have and it has also changed the way that Kestrel is portrayed – everybody now knows that we are a leading small wind turbine manufacturer.
ABR:How is Kestrel marketing its products overseas?
We market our products internationally, mainly through our website and by interacting with dealers who promote our products. We also attend international shows e.g. AWEA Windpower Conference & Exhibition and carry out international PR.
ABR:Are there other markets the company is hoping to break into with this product and if so where are they and when does the company hope to break into them?
LG: Since our e400nb turbine has been UK (MCS) and USA (SWCC) certified, our focus lies mainly in the UK and USA. We are currently in the process of breaking into these markets.
ABR:What makes Kestrel’s small wind turbine stand out from its competitors?
Unlike a lot of other wind turbines manufacturers, Kestrel is backed by an established company (Eveready (Pty) Ltd.) with a world class manufacturing facility.
Kestrel’s wind turbines are fitted with a unique, patented pitch control, which enables it to withstand wind speeds of more than 120km/h without cutting out.
Kestrel is the first turbine in its class to be MCS and SWCC (conditional) certified.
ABR:How important is renewable energy for the African markets?
LG: Reasons why renewable energy is important for African markets:
· Sub Saharan Africa, where 80 percent of the continent’s population resides, accounts only for a quarter of the electricity generated in Africa.
· The modular nature of most renewable energy technologies and the low investment levels makes them particularly suitable for capital-constrained African countries.
· Renewable energy technologies utilize locally available resources and expertise and would therefore provide employment opportunities for the locals.
· Rural areas have poor electricity access and remain overly reliant on biomass sourced from dwindling forests.
· The African grid connection is immature and there is a huge need for electricity. It is essential for Africa to make use of renewable energy to achieve growth.
ABR: Are governments doing enough to support the renewable energy market and if not what do they need to be doing more of?
LG: Currently there are no incentive programs in place for small wind. Eskom’s Independent Demand Management (IDM) program only caters for systems between 10 kilowatt and 350 kilowatt, which is too big for residential use. If government were to subsidise smaller projects, making it affordable for home owners, the reliance on grid electricity would be much less.
NERSA is prohibiting the feed of power generated by renewable energy onto the national grid. This is putting strain on renewable energy companies, as grid connected systems are significantly cheaper as there is no need for battery banks, etc.
ABR: How is technology aiding the design and function of small wind turbines?
LG: As technology comes along, it is used to constantly improve the wind technology.
ABR: How will technology change the turbines of the future?
LG: Turbines might become lighter, more robust and less noisy.
ABR:Are there any plans to expand Kestrel’s business if so what are they?
LG: Yes, definitely. From a sales and marketing point of view we would like to grow our international markets and set up service and training centres in other countries. We are also planning to expand our product range to include bigger and smaller sized turbines.
ABR: Are there any major capital investments planned for 2013 and if so what are they?
LG: We are planning some capital investment as far as blade manufacturing is concerned.
]]>South Africa’s Minister for Trade and Industry Dr Rob Davies will officially open the first exclusively African textile, apparel and footwear trade event, called Source Africa.
Trade delegates from around the world are expected to attend the event, which will kick off with an address by Mr Davies and a day of business seminars led by the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA).
The event will take place at the Cape Town International Convention centre from April 9-12 and has been organised in response to the growing demand for quality manufacturing and products from this sector.
Africa has long been a source of inspiration for fashion trends, but for the first time it is being recognised as a valuable producer of fashion, with major retailers already actively sourcing from the continent.
The trade show, which will take place between April 10 and 11, will promote African manufacturers to both local and international decision makers, with the aim to increase market share for the continent as well as develop regional trade between African countries.
Source Africa’s professional matchmaking programme pairs regional producers with regional and international retailers, brands and wholesalers. Last year this programme resulted in more than 450 meetings $2m in immediate sales and $10m in carry over sales.
International buyers that have already confirmed attendance at this year’s event include representatives from Hugo Boss (Germany), Ash City Worldwide (USA), PVH Corp, Edun (USA), Ralph Lauren (USA), Marks & Spencer PLC, New Wide Group Inc, Amer Sports (France).
Africa is increasingly sought after as a competitive source of textiles, apparel and footwear products, as well as being viewed as a viable contender in the luxury market. Source Africa provides manufacturers the opportunity to showcase the quality, creativity, and professionalism of African products.
The two days of trade show and business matchmaking will incorporate power breakfasts led by the African Cotton & Textiles Industries Federation (ACTIF) on 10 and 11 April. The event concludes with a further day of AAFA business seminars on 12 April.
The trade show will feature country pavilions as the centrepiece of more than 130 African exhibitors interested in growing their exports. Countries already represented at the event include Mauritius, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Madgascar, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
The trade show stands will include products ranging from fashion brands, accessories, clothing, footwear, textiles, home fabrics, through to interlinings, trims and threads, machinery, display products, and IT solutions.
The business seminar line up will address the benefits of sourcing from Africa, what buyers are looking for, and highlight investment opportunities in the region. The programme includes discussions on infrastructure, logistics, transportation and best practice - focusing on getting a product to consumers once it is manufactured in Africa. The seminars will delve into compliance issues, as well as sustainability, social responsibility and environmental impact.
With the African apparel and footwear industry emerging as a key stakeholder in the international market, Source Africa provides the perfect opportunity for manufacturers, wholesalers, brands and retailers to connect with this rapidly developing sector.
]]>Social media and other technologies are ensuring that employees are more empowered than ever to share whatever they think of the organisation they work for – but rather than fearing what might come out if their staff were to speak up, business leaders can let this work in their favour.
Samantha Crous, country manager for the CRF Institute in South Africa, said companies are becoming aware of the power of employees as brand ambassadors and those that are leveraging this to strengthen their brand are ahead of the curve.
She said: “Employees are the citizens of a business, and in this way, they can participate in their own form of ‘citizen journalism’. They are empowered to share information about their company in whatever ways they see fit. And while this may seem a little scary – as marketing managers don’t have much control – it is also an incredibly powerful source of credible branding.”
Based on her experiences at the helm of Top Employers (formerly Best Employers) in South Africa, Crous said there is often an overlap between a company’s brand prominence, and the happiness of its employees. Top Employers internationally recognises the HR policies of leading employers in 45 countries across the globe.
“Even the smaller companies in the index are well known, relative to their size,” she said. “This is not a coincidence. Companies that know what they are doing from a marketing perspective know that they need to market to their own people first and foremost.
“Repeatedly we see a significant overlap between brand prominence and good treatment of employees on the list of Top Employers each year,” she added. “Some of the best companies to work for in South Africa are also the best-known – hence the giants on the list like Sasol, Old Mutual, African Rainbow Minerals, Coca-Cola, Clicks and others.”
Further examples of recognisable names among the current class of Top Employers include Kimberly Clark, Estee Lauder, the Liberty Group, British American Tobacco, Procter & Gamble, Telkom, Unilever and Volkswagen.
Richard Branson, founder of Virgin, is a strong believer in branding through investing in the happiness of employees. Virgin is known for its solid HR policies, and Branson said this was a conscious business decision. “Some people might see Virgin’s 50,000 employees as a cost to be managed, but I see 50,000 potential passionate brand ambassadors,” he said.
Rob Frappier, community manager for Reputation.com, Inc., said: “The best way to turn your employees into loyal brand ambassadors is to treat them with dignity. A happy employee will speak favourably of your company both online and offline. Conversely, treating employees poorly could mean angry rants on anonymous review websites, which offers information on salaries, interview questions and other generally confidential details.”
The correlation between being a Top Employer and brand prominence is an easy one to make. These companies are providing working conditions that form the foundation of satisfaction of staff. “That’s not to say that working for these brands is easy,” said Crous.
Some Top Employer cultures are tough, boot-camp tough, 18-hour days tough and although flexitime is available there is simply too much work to be done to actually use the benefit. But if those organisations have hired the right people, with the right fit to culture then satisfaction is easier to achieve, and the good news will naturally spread word-of-mouth, by employees.
“All an employer need do is give the green light to the tools required to have the conversations – social media, use of smart phones, and above all, access to the internet
“Incentivise go a distance too, to encouraging employees to be active on your social media pages and encourage a culture of sharing positive working experiences at staff meetings,” said Crous.
Building communication goals into KPIs so that salary investment is also being directed towards positive internal marketing is another winning strategy according to Crous.
She said: “Above all, keep an open door policy, so that if your staff do have issues, they come to you first – this reinforces the positive relationship you have with your staff, and decreases the risk of negative representation to the outside world.”
Communication consultant Amber Avines agrees that the last point may be the most important. ““Break down the barriers,” she says. “Employees are people. They work their hardest and care the most when the people in power remember that. Create a culture shift in your company to ensure upper management is accessible, visible, and approachable – and you will reap the rewards in how your employees represent you.”
The 2013 Top Employer List can be viewed at http://www.topemployers.co.za/BESTEmployers/BestEmployers20122013.aspx
To read more about Top Employers visit http://www.topemployers.co.za/
]]>Rwanda’s tourism industry is buoyant with a significant rise in revenues, investment in new attractions and hotels reporting increases in business.
The industry has recorded a 17 percent rise on income generated from US$251.3 million in 2011 to US$281.8 million in 2012.
According to the Rwandan Development Board (RDB) establishing new visitor attractions has contributed to the growth.
Some US$323.8 million of investments were made in the sector during 2012, an increase of 175 percent compared to the previous year. These included new attractions such as the Nyungwe canopy walk and the Congo-Nile trail.
The RDB’s head of tourism and conservation, Rica Rwigamba, said: “The increase in revenue from tourism was also positively associated with the arrival of investors in the sector.
“Our focus has been on bringing more products in the market and how to package them so that it increases the activities a tourist can enjoy in the country.”
Hotels in Rwanda have seen a 30 percent increase in business. Denis Karera, the chairman of the Association of Hotel and Restaurant Owners, said: “This growth made it possible to surpass the target that was set to have at least 6,500 rooms and today, we can comfortably accommodate up to 8,000 people in Kigali,"
Some of the world-wide renowned hotel chains such as Marriot, Hilton and Radisson Blu have also established themselves in Rwanda thus increasing the number of rooms available and more international airlines such as KLM, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and South Africa Airlines are now flying into Kigali.
Furthermore, a drive by existing establishments to improve their products and service has also boded well for the sector.
Rwigamba said: “We are working hand in hand with the members of the chamber to improve customer service in the sector and solve the skills gap. They are playing a key role in ensuring growth of the sector.”
]]>Rapid Blue Digital (RBD) set up a state-of-the-art big screen at the Tygervalley Mall which allowed shoppers to enjoy an interactive game aimed at getting over Telkom’s convergence message.
Called the Telkom Convergence AR Project, RBD, which is an arm of television production house Rapid Blue, conceptualised, designed and developed the interactive marketing experience which was a big hit with visitors to the mall.
The big screen supplied by Pixel Displays is the first of its kind in Africa in terms of size and the launch at Tygervalley Mall saw consumers flocking to the activation where great interest was shown in Telkom’s Convergence offering.
Brett Levy, RBD’s Managing Director, said: “We are the market leaders in Africa in Augmented Reality and are truly proud of the work that everyone has put in to get this activation to the scale that it is.
“Most AR experiences of this nature are within a 2,5m viewing distance area – this monster places the consumer 6m away from the screen. This is only the beginning”.
The concept of Convergence which is known as FMC – Fixed Mobile Convergence is well adopted overseas – but quite new in South Africa. This is when you get your voice, data and mobile connectivity from one supplier.
After the highly successful Tygervalley experience, the Telkom Convergence Roadshow shifted to Durban’s Gateway Shopping Mall and by mid-February hits South Africa’s economic hub – Sandton City.
Levy said: “We are confident that there are other brands out there that will want to push this technology even further and we welcome them to engage with us to help them achieve it.”
]]>Written by Arthur Gillis, Chief Executive Officer of Protea Hospitality Group
It was in a conversation with an Irish business developer recently that a phrase he uttered struck home.
“Ireland spent a decade in the sun. Now unlike Greece we’re taking our medicine and people are doing without so much, but our economy is done for until at least 2020,” were his bitter words.
Africa has been though decades of tough times, but considering the global recession that has hit developed nations in hindsight we’re fortunate that this continent’s economy has not been that closely tied to Europe and North America.
There is no “medicine” for us to take, and as we start a New Year I cannot help but be optimistic about the economic future of Africa.
The hospitality industry in Africa in particular is unequivocally a barometer of economic wellbeing.
There are many unique logistical challenges on this continent, so the fact that some 200 hotels are under construction in what are often difficult circumstances, is a fair indicator that there is growing demand for business accommodation.
And make no mistake; this continent’s hospitality industry is built squarely on a foundation of demand for business travel.
The Protea Hospitality Group, which is the largest hotel group on the continent with 125 hotels in eight African countries, is developing some 14 of those properties and every single one is in a node that is experiencing economic growth.
Development in West Africa is being driven mainly by oil and supporting industries.
An Ernst & Young report recently named Nigeria and Ghana as among 25 global rapid growth markets that display strong expansion potential and are (or could be) strategically important for business.
The Nigerian economy, which was in recent years predicted to overtake South Africa as the continent’s largest economy sometime around 2020, might conceivably do so by the end of 2014 because its economic growth rate is likely to be greater than seven percent in 2013. In contrast South Africa’s growth rate is likely to struggle to reach three percent largely because of its historically close economic ties to Europe.
It’s therefore a no-brainer that West Africa is attractive to hoteliers, including the Protea Hospitality Group, and we aim to increase our presence from 10 to 15 hotels within two years, and up 20 within five years.
A number of countries in East Africa are also showing significant growth, despite troubled regions like Somalia and Sudan. Uganda is one of those countries with a predicated growth rate of around five percent this year, and our hotel development there underpins our belief in its political stability and growing economy.
The continent as a whole is in an exciting (business and leisure) tourism growth phase. The World Travel Organisation predicts that in-bound tourism to Africa will increase by more than 50 percent from 2010 to 2020.
Add to that the growth predicted of Africa’s combined consumer spending of $860 billion and one can’t help but feel bullish.
The latter figure should be one that African hoteliers take to heart, though. Much of the current business is trans-continental, but we need to develop a keen operational focus on catering to the developing local market.
An Accenture report on African consumers shows that since 2000, consumer spending in Sub-Saharan Africa has grown at a steady four percent per year and the market is expected to be worth $1 trillion by 2020.
The report says that the most significant contributors to growth are changing, with less reliance on exports and more reliance on domestic demand, giving rise to an emerging middle class that will become more demanding as income levels and spending increase.
This emerging middle class will increasingly become our hotel guests and only those hospitality companies with strong brand identity, an intimate understanding of the regional conditions and solid local partnerships will thrive in this changing market.
While Africa’s 2013 will not be all rosy all the time in every country, unlike Europe we have an opportunity to grow significantly this year and every industry should put in a 100 percent effort to help realise our collective continental goals.
The Protea Hospitality Group comprises African Pride Hotels and Protea Hotels, and is the largest hotel group in Africa.
]]>LOOPHOLD Security Distribution, a distributor of Barracuda Networks in Southern Africa, has announced that Barracuda Networks, a provider of security and data protection solutions, was positioned as a Champion in Info-Tech Research Group's Next Generation Firewalls Vendor Landscape Report.
The Barracuda NG Firewall was praised in the report as a highly comprehensive solution offering flexible deployment options and solid support.
Info-Tech Research Group Vendor Landscape reports recognise outstanding vendors in the technology marketplace.
Vendors positioned as Champions by Info-Tech receive high scores for most evaluation criteria and offer excellent value.
Champions also have a strong market presence and are usually the trendsetters in the industry. The Barracuda NG Firewall was recognised for its centralised management and offering flexibility of hardware, software and virtual appliance deployment methods.
As stated in the report, "each Barracuda model is managed by the same console, making them not only scalable, but easily integrated."
The Barracuda NG Firewall also garnered high marks in the overall Info-Tech NGFW Value Index and for its advanced features, such as identity-based control and WAN routing and optimisation.
Martin Tassev, MD of LOOPHOLD Distribution, said: “Barracuda Networks’ leadership is further illustrated with its latest accolade from Info-Tech Research Group.
“The vendor is not only successfully identifying specific security issues in the market but also assisting to resolve challenges around deployment and management of disparate environments.
“This delivers immense value to our resellers as they are able to identify their clients’ pain points and assist to resolve them with Barracuda Networks’ solutions.”
Barracuda Networks, which has its headquarters in California, USA, combines premises-based gateways and software, virtual appliances, cloud service and sophisticated remote support to deliver comprehensive content and network security, data protection and application delivery solutions.
Coca-Cola, FedEx, Harvard University, IBM, L’Oreal and Europcar are among the more than 150,000 organisations protecting their IT infrastructure with Barracuda Network’s solutions.
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