Interview with Florence Mompo, Director of the BePositive exhibition, a partner of Eurafric, the forum dedicated to the water and energy sector in Africa.
The BePositive exhibition will host the Eurafric forum from February 13 to 15 in Lyon. Can you explain what prompted this partnership?
There are proximity factors, to which I will come back later, but, from my point of view, the very first reason is a market issue. BePositive has successfully repositioned itself since 2017 on the energy and digital transition of buildings and territories. However, this dual transition is the key to African growth. It is also around the “renewable energies and smart innovations” combination that energy efficiency, decentralised access to energy and the new economic models that position Africa as a very dynamic market for renewable energies, especially for solar energy and in particular for mini photovoltaic electricity grids, are at stake.
In addition, BePositive is becoming more international. In this context, the partnership with Eurafric was very natural. Especially since we are neighbours and the Eurafric forum is the result of a partnership with the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, the Lyon Metropolitan Area and the City of Lyon, which will also organise a visit to the Lyon-Confluence eco-district.
Most importantly: a dynamic and positive collaboration over many years with ADEA (African Business Development Agency, editor’s note), which organises Eurafric, has made us want to go further in 2019.
Can you tell us a few words on the profile of the expected African visitors?
ADEA’s knowledge and expertise are crucial on this subject. They will mainly be high-level decision makers, ministers and directors of government departments or major national agencies, responsible among others for the energy sector, and particularly renewable energy. Overall, we should welcome project leaders from 15 to 20 countries on the African continent. Moreover, we have already recorded the presence of decision makers from Chad, Cameroon, Congo, CAR, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali, Togo, Djibouti, Zimbabwe…
What are the main points of the programme that await African visitors to Eurafric?
In addition to the highly qualified BtB conferences and meetings organised by ADEA and INES (National Institute of Solar Energy in English, editor’s note), in partnership with ASI (International Solar Alliance, editor’s note), I think that the visit to INES will be a very important moment. The site, at the level of Savoie Technolac, is really exceptional. You know, a trade fair like BePositive does not just set up in a territory by chance. And around Lyon and the region, initiatives and solutions in the field of renewable energies are abundant. In this environment, INES is an absolute showcase for solar energy, which is at the heart of the projects led by the African delegations.
The entire upstream part is on site, with extremely advanced R&D, thanks also to the CEA’s power that supports INES, and then there is the visit of the external areas where the new technologies that operate directly are exposed. This is exemplary, as the engineers present, answer all the questions in an extremely concrete and educational way. I sincerely believe that this place is unique in Europe.
What is the uniqueness of the Eurafric forum from your point of view?
There is no doubt that ADEA’s perfect knowledge, network and practical ability can “match” the expectations of African project leaders with those of French and European entrepreneurs capable of providing them with solutions. The Eurafric forum is now in its 18th edition. The strength and intensity of the network created by ADEA are unparalleled. For me, it is the BtoB meetings that will add value to the forum. Knowing that the organisers are working hard in advance to collect, select and help present major projects carried out by African contractors. The projects presented have been validated for their seriousness, the reliability of technical and financial data and they will be discussed, in Lyon, with very high level decision makers.
Can you name some of these projects?
Some of them, from the Central African Power Pool, have already been formalised. These are the capacity building of the Chollet hydroelectric dam in Cameroon and the interconnection of the networks, the project to build a LPG gas thermal power plant and a photovoltaic power plant on the São Tomé and Principe islands, the interconnection and energy supply to the city of Oyem in Equatorial Guinea, the strengthening of the Ruzizi hydropower plant in Burundi, the development of hydroelectric power plants in the Congo. Those are the five projects that ADEA has sent us, but many more will be detailed in order to accelerate energy and digital transition projects in Africa.
Interview by
Christoph Haushofer
Are you interested in the Eurafric forum and the BePositive exhibition?
The best way for an African visitor to approach the Eurafric and BePoitive, is to follow the Eurafric forum programme and to contact INES, ASI, the Syndicat des énergies renouvelables (SER) or Enerplan, all of which are present at BePositive, and have them guide you towards the companies and people to be met at the fair. Otherwise, here are already the names of two French companies worth not missing in Lyon: Schneider Electric, a specialist in digital transformation of energy management, which is organising a conference on Eurafric and conducting the visit of its Savoie Technolac site. The company Ragni on the other hand, which will be present on BePositive and at the Lightning Days exhibition, which will be held in parallel and will be dedicated to lighting and LED technology. Ragni invests heavily in Africa, notably through a solar lighting offer.
CH
