This October will mark the third year
Viridis Africa is to be held. It will be bigger, better, more defined and
refined in achieving its stated goal of bringing together both investors and entrepreneurs
from Africa to meet with their counterparts from around the world in order to
pursue the objective of setting up clean technologies businesses in the continent
holding commercial promise.
For African entrepreneurs and their businesses,
the Johannesburg held event will prove most beneficial in a much as it will
allow them to meet with potential global partners, both in technology and
finance so as to evaluate and execute projects in renewable energy, provision of
potable water, solid waste recycling, effluent treatment and other projects that aside of
their commercial merits would have even greater socio-economic benefits and impact
on the people and environment of the continent for years to come.
Much of the event this year would
concentrate on adaptive and appropriate solutions for particular instances.
Some projects in the past, although
technologically sound, could not be justified commercially, nor technically, as
support infrastructure – human resource and even reliable energy supply could not
be sustained.
As Africa is now becoming the focus of the
developed nations as far as inward investment into the continent, so as to
“fire up” economic development, there is much anticipation that infrastructural
development will ensue.
Thus, the provision of energy, water (for
drinking, agricultural and industrial use) as well as other objectives such as road
infrastructure and telecommunication will become a priority.
Therefore in Africa the concept of “clean
technology” is more about the ability to answer to the said needs in a more
independent manner, than what is currently possible - that is deploying energy
generating capacity that is not reliant on massive infrastructural setup, but
rather small scale and scalable solutions adapted to remote and rural regions
within a country.
Similarly innovative solutions regarding
water treatment and purification coupled with that of industrial effluents can
also be deployed on the basis of small
scale and scalable range of solutions, thereby commercially justified as per
community/regions’ needs.
In summation, Viridis Africa showcasing
Clean Technologies initiatives and innovative solutions is about appropriate
technologies which balance commercial promise with cost affordability to users.
For more information, visit www.viridisafrica.com or contact the organiser,
Spindle Communications on suza.adam@spindlecommunications.com