The second Black Industrialists Energy Summit (www.BIES-SA.com) will be hosted in Cape Town from 11-12 December as part of ‘EnergyWeek South Africa.’  This meeting takes place alongside the International Gas Cooperation Summit (www.IGCS-SA.com) and the Southern Africa Renewable Energy Summit (www.SARES-SA.com) at the Westin Cape Town Hotel.

Localisation policies have become a permanent factor for energy development in South Africa, with the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice for the Petroleum and Liquid Fuels Sector forecast to be released later this year. The REIPPP Programme requires a 40% of South African entity participation, having already achieved black shareholding of 64.2% local ownership.

The Cape Town meeting will update delegates on Government’s plans for making the BIP a success and creating an environment where entrepreneurship in the energy sector can thrive.

Within two years of launching the Black Industrialists Programme (BIP) in 2012, 102 industrialists received funding while 48 companies were given assistance with market access. As recently as April 2018, the Black Energy Professionals Association was launched to increase ownership and build a base for Africa’s industrialists within the energy sector.

Director for EnergyNet’s Africa portfolio Valeria Aruffo commented; “With local content policies rolling out across the continent, we believe this is a key time to address the technicalities of delivering an empowerment programme which also needs to operate as a pragmatic growth strategy, supporting South Africa’s industrialisation efforts to achieve its economic potential.“

Delegates attending will learn about government strategies to achieve growth, what is expected of BIP participants and how Africa’s industrialists can create value, employment, revenue and innovation across the energy value-chain.

Participating organisations include the IPP Office, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA), Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA), Atlantis Green-Tech Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Standard Bank, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Solar Turtle.