A buoyant and promising pre-registration cocktail evening marked the beginning of ‘Realising the Growth Opportunity’ – the African Gases Conference of 2010.
Today marks the beginning of the eagerly anticipated African Gases Conference 2010, ‘Realising the Growth Opportunity’. The continent’s second ever industrial gases conference is being hosted in Kenya, at the Safari Park Hotel, just outside of Nairobi. This year’s event is already proving to be a global hub for industrial gas professionals, attracting attendees from as far afield as Singapore, as well as those far nearer such as BOC Kenya.
Though official proceedings begin tomorrow morning, tonight has offered delegates and sponsors the chance to both congregate and celebrate at the pre-registration cocktail evening, which this year took place in true African style outside, by the Safari Park’s ‘Mamta’ pool. Indeed, tonight’s entertainment had the added bonus of free beer, generously supplied by renowned CO₂ supplier, Haffmans.
Emmanuel Rurema, Global Sales Manager for Haffmans BV, opened proceedings and offered gasworld an insight into the appeal of ‘Realising the Growth Opportunity’. He commented, “This event represents a coming together for those in the industry and across the African continent. And as we, Haffmans, are specialists in CO₂ gas, Africa has been a major market and actually one of the most interesting.”
Rurema also described the potential available in this emerging region, “We see the African continent developing from the past to the current day and becoming one of the most economically growing continents. Africa used to be known as an unsafe region, but now that safety has returned to normality in Africa we’ve seen the African consumers becoming aware of global high quality service. This has triggered the influx of global companies to Africa, both as producers and suppliers.”
Rurema concluded, “We view this conference as a type of platform where we can update each other on the state of the region, the state of the economy, technologies and solutions. More than that we also see this as a platform where experts and professionals can exchange ideas and obtain the best solutions – It is a great forum for us to bring our current solutions to the African consumers.”
Indeed, the mood of tonight’s gathering seemed to typify that of the region; buoyant and exciting.
A look ahead
Within a matter of hours, the meat of this week’s conference will begin. Rumoured to open proceedings is a special guest from Carbacid, who promises to set the tone for a high-calibre day one agenda. Morning speakers include Nick Mbuvi from Barclays Bank, who looks set to discuss the economic and financial investment climate in Africa; and Moses Mosibo from the Ministry of Mining and Geology.
As always, gasworld endeavours to keep you informed providing coverage of the conference in real time. Live updates may be accessed on our website as soon as proceedings begin, from 9am… Stay tuned!
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