Schneider Electric held its Xperience Efficiency event for the first time in South Africa at the end of August. Lauded as a great success, the two-day energy efficiency focused event was attended by both international and local delegates, and the 2500 attendees included industry and government representatives, academics, partners and customers.
The event opened with a handshake between Schneider Electric’s country president for southern Africa, Eric Leger, and BMW sales and marketing director, Antonio Antela Martinez, as they announced that Schneider Electric would be BMW’s exclusive partner in South Africa for the installation of the BMW i Wallbox Pure home charging unit for the car manufacturer’s i3 electronic vehicle.
During the plenary session, Leger highlighted that the South African operation was also focusing on expanding into Africa, and that it had a host of solutions to support the continent’s energy infrastructure plans. Initially targeting southern Africa, the company has already opened an office in Angola, with Zambia and Mozambique to follow.
Author of ‘Africa is open for business’, Victor Kgomoeswana delivered an entertaining keynote address. A self-confessed Afro-optimist, Kgomoeswana has a knack for interpreting the African landscape for foreign investment, and focused on the opportunities represented by Africa. In particular, he illustrated Rwanda’s rapid rise in the World Bank ease of doing Business Ranking – having now surpassed South Africa. He also highlighted that Africa does not want to be the dumping ground of redundant technology, but is looking for quality innovative solutions that are sustainable.
The event also offered more than 90 informative sessions delivered by both local and international speakers, focusing on a variety of subjects including smart metering in Africa, solar solutions, industry innovations, sustainable development, partner programmes and new products and solutions.
The spaza shop provided a colourful centrepiece to the technology exhibition.
Taking centre stage was Schneider Electric’s ‘Marketplace’, an efficiently designed exhibition space that showcased all of the organisation’s latest products and solutions. Some local flavour was added by the chic spaza shop – an informal convenience shop business in South Africa – at the heart of the exhibition space, which was used to show how Schneider Electric is aiming to close the region’s energy gap with solutions and channels that service rural people living off grid.
Reflecting on the event, Schneider Electric’s marketing and communications director for South Africa, Ntombi Mhangwani says, “Schneider Electric’s Xperience Efficiency successfully mirrored our ‘global specialist in energy management’ brand promise. In particular, the event presented us with the opportunity to showcase the future of energy efficiency as well as demonstrate how it takes real answers and solutions to create a sustainable energy future.”
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