HiPipo Money

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Management at Qalaa Holdings (formerly Citadel Capital) and senior staff from five of the company’s subsidiaries gathered at the Green Investment Opportunities Conference held on 15-17 June to discuss how industry can work not just to mitigate its impact on the environment, but to reduce emissions going forward

Senior staff from Qalaa Holdings (CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Exchange; formerly known as Citadel Capital), and its subsidiaries joined other private sector leaders for the inaugural Green Investment Opportunities Conference, a national gathering on the environment and the economy. The conference took  place in El-Gouna, on Egypt’s pristine Red Sea coast, under the auspices of the Ministry of State for the Environment.

Qalaa Holdings, an African leader in infrastructure and investment with subsidiaries in energy, cement, agrifoods, transportation and mining, is a proud sponsor of the event.

The conference is establishing a framework by which ideas on sustainable and green development can be realized. Participants discussed scientific methods of implementing a green economy and explored the practical strides taken by the private sector (and Qalaa Holdings specifically) to combat climate change through green construction, sustainable transport, renewable energy, waste recycling, and alternative fuels. The conference investigated how endeavors in these fields will help grow the economy, develop the community, and protect the environment by drawing from the pool of experience available across Egypt and the Arab world.

“Economic growth, job creation and a healthier environment are by no means mutually exclusive,” said Ahmed El-Sharkawy, a Managing Director at Qalaa Holdings. “This means that Qalaa Holdings not only designs industrial and infrastructure projects to have as little impact on the environment as possible, but also actively looks for opportunities to create profit-making ventures that are pro-environment.

“Take, for example, the Egyptian Refining Company. It is not just a US$ 3.7 billion refinery that will create jobs and sharply reduce our nation’s reliance on diesel imports: It will also slash the country’s present-day sulfur emissions by nearly a thirdand reduce our carbon footprint by producing diesel to Euro-V specifications, the cleanest-burning diesel fuel in the world,” El-Sharkawy added.

In addition to El-Sharkawy, Qalaa’s participants at the gathering include Gen. Maged Farag, the Chairman of the National Company for Multimodal Transport (NMT), a Qalaa subsidiary in the transport industry; NMT operates river transport vessels and ports along the Nile River in Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan. Gen. Farag was joined at the conference by senior staff from Glass Rock (a producer of green insulating materials) and GlassWorks (whose product portfolio includes coated and reflective float glass). Also joining the Qalaa executives was Ahmed Gaber, Chairman of Tawazon, a subsidiary of Qalaa operating in the energy segment; Tawazon is a leading solid-waste management company and producer of refuse-derived fuels.

Speaking at the opening day of the conference, Mohamed Mashhoor, Managing Director of Nile Cargo (a Qalaa Holdings subsidiary), discussed the economic and environmental advantages of river transportation projects. Other Qalaa speakers included Hisham Wagdy, Managing Director of TAQA Power (a subsidiary of TAQA Arabia, Egypt’s leading independent energy distribution company), who discussed renewable energy sources and alternative fuels as a key component of Egypt’s energy and environmental security policies.

The inaugural day of the conference was concluded by Amr Al Samak, head of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), who thanked Qalaa Holdings for its efforts in supporting and sponsoring the conference and furthering the cause of environmental investments in Egypt.

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Actis, the pan-emerging markets private equity firm,today announced the successful conclusion of a two-part transaction that has seen the firm, through its subsidiary, Umeme Holdings Ltd (“UHL”),sella total 45.7% of Ugandan electricity distribution company, Umeme Ltd(“Umeme”) for $98m.

The sale of shares totalling 6.7% of the company and worth US$13mto Ugandan retail investors and Umeme management and directors was the final step in the transaction, which was led by Stanbic as Lead Transaction Advisor and Stanbic and Rencap as Joint Bookrunners.

The retail and management tranche follows the $85m institutional tranche, which was heavily oversubscribed by more than 20 institutional investors in May 2014. The institutional tranche represented 39% of the company. Following this latest tranche,Actis remains the second largest shareholder in Umeme, with a 14.3% residual shareholding.

On the retail tranche, strong demand from local investors prompted UHL to release additional shares.  Local investors were given the opportunity to purchase shares at the same price offered to institutional investors Ushs 340 and in addition benefited from one free share for every ten purchased. The sale was structured to ensure smaller investors were given their full allocation.

Umeme’s directors and managersinvested US$6min the share purchase and have increased their shareholding in the Company to approximately 5% from the previous 2%.In the institutional offer, Investec Asset Management increased its shareholding to 18% to become the largest shareholder, while the Ugandan National Social Security Fund became the third largest shareholder after increasing its shareholding from 8% to 14%. The overall transaction has been the largest offering of secondary stock to date on the Uganda Securities Exchange.

David Grylls, Partner at Actis, commented: “We have been delighted by the strong take-up of Umeme shares, first by heavyweight institutional investors, and now by retail investors and Umeme management and directors. Not only is this indicative of a healthy appetite for solid Ugandan companies, but also a commitment to Uganda’s powerful macroeconomic story, and can only be good for Uganda’s capital markets.”

Patrick Mweheire, Lead Transaction Advisor at Stanbic Bank, added:The Accelerated Bookbuild for Actis’ sale of a stake in Umeme was highly successful and the first of its kind. It signalled significant appetite from both institutional African investors and international investors who are keen to tap into the opportunity in these increasingly sophisticated and liquid markets, this was evident in the strong demand seen across all investor classes (including retail and management) for the transaction.

Since Actis invested in Umeme in 2005, the company has invested over US$ 224m in modernising its distribution system. By the end of 2013, Umeme had increased its customer base from 250,000 to about 584,000 customers, connecting over50,000 power-hungry customers to its network per year.  Umeme now directly employs over 1,300 staff.

About Actis

Actis invests exclusively in the emerging markets with a growing portfolio of investments in Asia, Africa and Latin America; it currently has US$6.5 billion funds under management. Combining the expertise of over 100 investment professionals on the ground in nine countries, Actis identifies investment opportunities in three areas: private equity, energy and real estate. Actis is proud to actively and positively grow the value of those companies in which it invests and in so doing contribute to broader society. www.act.is

About Umeme 

Umeme is the largest electricity distribution company in Uganda. As an electricity distributor, Umeme is mandated to:

• –           Operate, maintain, upgrade and expand the distribution network
• –           Retail electricity to its customer
• –           Improve efficiency within the electricity distribution system

Umeme continued to return strong results for the year ended 31 December 2013. Earnings before Interest Taxation Depreciation & Amortization (EBITDA) grew by 27% to UGX149bn in 2013 from UGX117bn in 2012.  Profit after tax grew from UGX 57 billion in 2012 to UGX 84bn in 2013. www.umeme.co.ug

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The 2014 edition of the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards is now open. We are calling all learners between the ages of 14 – 19 to write an essay or design a poster on the topic “Imagine you are a satellite, orbiting high above your own country or even above your own home or school” answering the following questions;

• What would you see?
• What would you like to tell the people below about what you see from up there?
• What would you like people to know?
• What would you like them to think about?
• If you could send them a message or an image, what would you like to say or show?

The DStv Eutelsat Star Awards is part of the ongoing partnership between MultiChoice Africa and Eutelsat since 1999. This pan-Africa collaboration has over the years created meaningful engagement with students, the academic community and the scientific world. The competition is geared towards students and encourages them to either write an essay or design a poster about the benefits of satellite technology on the continent. Since its inception, the competition has drawn over a 3000 entries across the continent and has invigorated a passion for science amongst the younger generation.

The Awards are open to all students from secondary (high) or combined schools in Africa where MultiChoice Africa maintains operations.  Entry forms can be obtained from any MultiChoice Resource Centres, the nearest MultiChoice office or copies can be downloaded from www.dstvstarawards.com. Entries may be prepared in English, French and Portuguese. The awards collateral will also be made available in 3 languages (English, French and Portuguese).  Competition closes on 27 October 2014 and only entries submitted on the prescribed entry form will be eligible.

The DStv Eutelsat Star Awards comprises national and international adjudication. The first assessment of entries is at country level with a panel of local judges selecting country winners and runners-up who go through a round of preliminary judging which culminates in the selection of the final winners. A regional panel selects the top four entries. Last year the panel was chaired by the inspirational European Space Agency Astronaut, Paolo Nespoli, assisted by a panel of industry experts who commended the standard of the competition.

Country winners receive exciting country prizes and go on to compete against each other for the overall continental awards.  The overall essay and poster winners are eligible for a once in a lifetime trip for two to the Eutelsat facilities in Paris, with the essay winner traveling onwards to witness a live rocket launch.  Runners up will win a trip to South Africa as guests of MultiChoice Africa.  Schools attended by the overall winners will also receive a DStv installation, including dish, television, state-of-the-art PVR decoder and free access to the DStv Education Bouquet.

The winners will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony in Zambia during February 2015.  

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Chinese government owned Exim Bank, the main financiers of the ongoing 600 MW Karuma Dam project has finally signed the much awaited advance payment guarantee for the funding of the project.

According to a document titled ‘Advance payment Guarantee No. BKD2014LG00120’ issued on 10^th June 2014, and addressed to Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development and signed by Zhang Dajin on behalf of Exim Bank Head office, the bank agrees to cover Sinohydro Corporation, Karuma Dam contractors with a guarantee.

SinohydroCorporation has already committed its own funds for the ongoing construction works at the project site ahead of the release of funding by the government of Uganda.

Last month the Chairman and President of Exim Bank of China Mr. Li Ruogu was in Uganda to meet President to confirm and present details of the project funding.

Sources within Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development have confirmed that a delegation of government officials from the two Ministries of Energy and Financeled by Ministers Maria Kiwanuka and Irene Muloni and including their Permanent Secretaries, Keith Muhakanizi and Kabagambe Kalisa respectively are in China to discuss the release of the balance of the 85% expected to be concluded by the end of this month.

Total cost of constructionof Karuma dam and power plant is estimated to cost approximately US$ 1.7 billion. That figure includes the cost needed to build a transmission line from Karuma to a location where the power will be integrated into the national power grid.

Last year, Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka said 85% of the funding will come from the Exim Bank of China while Uganda government will provide 15% of the funding adding that the concession loan from China will be repaid in the next five years.

The project currently being undertaken  by Sino Hydro Corp Ltd from China is expected to provide much needed relief to fast growing economy whose energy needs are outstripping production.

Sinohydro Corporation Chief Representative Mr. Deng Xiaoguan said in a recent report that construction of the dam is in full force and the release of the necessary funding will go a long way to enhance progress.

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MultiChoice Africa will join the rest of the world in celebrating Africa Day which takes place on 25 May to mark African success and diversity, and to highlight the cultural and economic potential of the continent.

MultiChoice Africa has over the years used this day to promote Africa’s notably rich history, growth and entertainment culture through its focus on homegrown channels which are available on DStv. Multiple Africa-rich and locally produced channels like Africa Magic, Channel O and SuperSport, have over the years unearthed African talents through a variety of exciting programming including Big Brother, Stargist, 53 Extra and Soccer Africa to name a few, whilst Channel O continues to promote African music and musicians. There are other channels such as e- Africa, History, BBC Knowledge, Discovery World, Vox Africa and MTV Base that have incorporated Africa-focused content in their shows.

Speaking at the Africa Day celebrations Ms. Tina Wamala, MultiChoice’s Public Relations and Communications Manager said “This day is not just about celebrating the continent’s growth and unity, it is more about celebrating who we are as Africans. As a company that was conceived born and bred in this continent, we at MultiChoice Africa believe that the dream of African pride and unity will only be achieved when we become proud of the common values we share based on our culture and heritage. It is with this vision in mind that we make a conscious effort to invest in African based talent and increase the amount of African viewer content that we carry on our various channels and bouquets.”

Not only has MultiChoice Africa recognised and celebrated the amazing talent that exists in the continent, it has also awarded  it through the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, and the CNN MultiChoice Journalists Awards which seek to recognise the sterling work of our African journalists. And the company has some exciting ventures in the pipeline that will further emphasise the company’s commitment to broadening its strategy of Africanisation.

 Africa is a strong emerging market and MultiChoice Africa strives to continuously be innovative in its offering. African viewers are able to view programming in HD and are able to navigate many other features while watching their favourite programmes. Products such as the Walka, Drifta and PVR are key examples of how the evolution of technology has provided different viewing options to subscribers.

The recent unveiling and introduction of the amazingly proficient Explora has also been a highlight for the pay-tv company, a symbol that we are always staying a step ahead and are leaders in technological developments.

In June subscribers will be transported to Brazil via SuperSport’s broadcast of all the live World Cup games on DStv, from the spectacle’s opening ceremony until the closing ceremony. Tune in to get all the latest on the World Cup, on the field and studio commentary from soccer greats and expert analysts on the sport. 

To celebrate the success, achievement and growth of our beautiful continent, don’t miss the great selection of African content that is available DStv!

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Are you ready for the drama, loads of laughter and tears? Big Brother Africa will never disappoint! Get ready to be dazzled when Africa’s biggest reality series hits the screens on 7 September 2014!

It’s Big Brother Time and since the first season, the reality series has attracted some funny, dramatic, weird and wonderful characters that have kept viewers glued to the screens 24/7. Some housemates who have been part of this huge show have had their talents realized and have gone on to grace TV screens; newspapers and have their profiles trending on every social media site, blog and website.

Season 9 is no different; in fact, housemates and viewers alike will be pleasantly surprised at how Biggie intends to rise to this one. And in true Big Brother fashion, fans of the show and potential housemates will have to wait and see how he will turn dreams of some deserving and eager youngsters into reality and transform them into household names.

Entry is open to the same 14 countries with the only exception being Angola which will be replaced by newcomers Rwanda. As a result of the change, participating countries this year are: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Entries are only open to persons over the age of 21, who are citizens of one of the participating countries and must have a valid passport. Producers are looking for persons who are entertaining and passionate about the Big Brother experience; and they have to be fluent in English.

Audition dates will be finalised in June and more information on BIG BROTHER AFRICA 9 will be made available over the next month, so stay tuned to DStv, follow the action on Twitter and Facebook and keep checking the website; www.africamagic.tv/bigbrother .

Below is the full list

No.1 Hon. Janet Museveni (Uganda) 7.90 Points out of 10

No.2 Mrs. Chantal Biya (Cameroon) 7.30
No.3 Mrs. Chantal Compaoré (Bukina Faso) 6.90
No.4 Mrs. Ana Paula dos Santos (Angola) 6.70
No.5 Mrs. Chantal Boni (Benin) 6.33
No.6 Dr. Christine Kaseba Sata (Zambia) 6.00
No.7 Mrs. Salma Kikwete (Tanzania) 5.90
No.8 Mrs. Jeannette Kagame (Rwanda) 5.70
No.9 Mrs. Grace Mugabe (Zimbabwe) 5.20
No.10 Mrs. Lordina Mahama (Ghana) 5.00
No.10 Mrs. Patience Jonathan (Nigeria)5.00

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Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) announced that its EUTELSAT 3B satellite is ready for launch by a Zenit-3SL rocket operated by Sea Launch AG from the ocean-based Odyssey Launch Platform in the international waters of the Pacific Ocean. The launch is scheduled for 26 May at 14:10 Pacific Daylight Time (21:10 UTC, 23:10 CET) at the opening of a 54-minute launch window.

The launch will be a memorable event for 16-year old Kenyan student Eva Chemngorem as the rocket’s fairing is decorated with her winning poster. Eva is one of the two winners of last year’s DStv Eutelsat Star Awards. The competition is in response to a growing need to popularise science and to create excitement about space technology in young people. This pan African initiative is a collaboration between MultiChoice and Eutelsat and is geared towards encouraging students to either write an essay or design a poster about the benefits of satellite technology on the continent. Since its inception, the competition has drawn over a 3000 entries across the continent and has invigorated a passion for science amongst the younger generation.

“These Awards have afforded young people the opportunity to not only grow their confidence levels but to represent the continent on the global stage. MultiChoice Africa is encouraged every year by the success of these awards to plough more resources into this initiative as it becomes more evident that the future and development of this continent lies in the hands of young people,” said Nico Meyer, CEO of MultiChoice Africa. Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat’s Chairman and CEO highlighted the growing value of space for technological advancement, social inclusion and economic growth and added. “Space is a fantastic environment for sparking interest in science by African students and for developing knowledge in the high-tech sector that will benefit the continent. A rocket launch is an exceptional moment that brings people together from around the world. We are delighted to honour the creativity of Africa’s young population and to see the artistic work of Eva Chemngorem, who we welcomed in Paris last year, decorate the rocket taking our latest satellite into space.”

Built for Eutelsat by Airbus Defence and Space, EUTELSAT 3B is designed to increase and diversify Eutelsat’s resources and footprint at its 3° East orbital position. The first satellite to assemble Ku, C and Ka payloads in a single platform, it will operate up to 51 transponders. Its innovative tri-band configuration will enable customers to select from three frequency bands adapted to data, telecom, broadband and professional video services that are connected to a wide range of footprints covering Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and South America.

The launch of EUTELSAT 3B will be video streamed live on www.eutelsat.com.

Visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/eutelsat_communications/ for pictures of EUTELSAT 3B getting ready for launch.

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MTN Uganda has confirmed that its Mobile Money service currently also enables its customers tosend, receivemoney and do all other Mobile Money transactions while roaming at the normal local transaction fees. The roaming customer is only charged an additional 80/- for each transaction message. The rate is with effect from Friday 23^rd May 2014.

Giving a background to the service, MTN Chief Marketing Officer Ernst Fonternel said “For every Mobile Money transaction, there are usually notification SMS messages during a transaction. These SMS’s are not charged when in Uganda however when these SMSs are generated internationally using external networks during roaming, MTN incurs a costs. While every effort is made to keep transaction costs to our customers as low as possible, we can’t ignore actual costs incurred and therefore effective 23^rd May 2014 MTN will be charging 80/- per transaction message.

He attributed MTN Uganda’s steady customer growth with 9.5 million customers to its excellent services like MTN Mobile Money, the fast and affordable Internet connectivity and most importantly to the innovations aimed at making the lives of customers a whole lot better.

“We always strive to simplify the lives of our customers by developing relevant and timely services.It’s from this background thatourMobile Money servicesare now made available even while our customersare roaming, to either send money home or to pay bills.

“We intend to continue coming up with offers, services and products that gives our customers a reliable and affordable way to stay in touch with their loved ones back at home, while away on travel. Roaming services are extremely important to our customers and we are focusing on making roaming simpler and more affordable to all our customers.

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Players in Uganda’s PR & communications sector are in for interesting times following the introduction of an innovative mode of disseminating and sharing information amongst themselves.

The campaign dubbed Public Relations over Coffee (PROC) is an organization that serves members directly through monthly PR meetings and special events, and virtually via rich web content, online resources and social networking community.

Just as the name suggests, the meetings that commence in Uganda starting June will be monthly series over a cup of coffee focusing on different sectors of the economy.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the company maintains satellite “Chapter” or “Group” locations in cities across the United States, Canada and the rest of the world.

Joseph Kanyamunyu the Managing Director, Hill & Knowlton strategies who heads the East African chapter intimates that “these series will give members &companies involved in the sector, both large and small platforms to share ideas in a formal setting. 

“Through PR over coffee meeting series the companies are better educated about and more prepared to successfully increase their publicity and media coverage, resulting in positive growth for both their business and the media outlets,” he says.

Commenting on the mechanics of the meetings, Kanyamunyu says that the meetings will work in such a way that each month, we host a Speaker Series, This one to one-and-a-half hour informative presentation is open to all, and consists of one guest speaker who are experts in various sectors including, ICT, Oil & Gas, public health,media and etc. members are invited to interact with industry experts and the media and get attention from the Media. For instance the SMEs learn from theSpeaker then pitch to the Media while the media come to get rich content from the Speaker and the SME’s.

“The speakers’ series will offer the market an innovative alliance connecting them with the local, regional & international media resulting in an increase of their publicity and news coverage efforts that result in a rich variety of stories that grows and expands their business through any kind of media.”

Adding, “For the members, there is always something they take out each time they attend,e.g.free webinars, professionals development tools, stay current on emerging trends, networking with more than 21000 members across the United States, Canada and the rest of the world and the climax of which will be a unique awards ceremony.” He concluded.