The Manufacturing Indaba, being held in October, endeavours to promote positive changes in sub-Saharan Africa’s manufacturing landscape – a source of livelihood for millions of people and leading contributor to the region’s gross domestic product.

The tenth instalment of the Manufacturing Indaba, which is taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre from October 24 to 26, not only aspires to meet participants’ expectations but exceed them, by hosting an event that will achieve objectives integral to supporting the economy of sub-Saharan Africa.

The conference will focus on the growth prospects for African manufacturing and explore challenges and solutions to lead economic progress across the continent.

Organiser of the Manufacturing Indaba events marketing, and public relations house, Siyenza Management, says this year’s conference will feature discussions focused on numerous industry-specific topics.

The topics to be explored include the future of African manufacturing and means of accelerating financial solutions for sustainable manufacturing.

The event will feature a discussion named ‘From Vision to Action: African Manufacturing CEOs Discuss Manufacturing as a Powerhouse of Emerging Countries & Economies’, which will be held alongside a conversation on ‘Redesigning Supply Chains in the New Era of Manufacturing’.

The ‘Navigating Disruption’ talk will address the global economic, environmental and political developments that could potentially impact on the region’s mineral industrialisation, while other discussions include ‘The Game Changers’ Guide to Data Intelligence: Analytics to Insights’ and the ‘Journey from Globalisation to Glocalisation’ – the term ‘glocalisation’ refers to a product or service that has been developed to meet both local and global needs of intended customers.

Conversations on the key trends in the global automotive market and how these impact on African original-equipment manufacturers will also be held, note the organisers.

On the technology front, digitalisation will be addressed under the theme of ‘The 5G Wave Accelerates: A Framework for Smarter Manufacturing’, while issues pertaining to employment and job creation will be addressed in the ‘Unleashing the Potential of Your Workforce and Accelerating Operational Excellence’ discussion. The latter will investigate skills and changing requirements that arise, owing to technological changes.

Importantly, from an employees’ perspective, the event will also include a discussion titled ‘The Experiential Era: From Outputs to Outcomes’, while the segment named ‘The Manufacturer of the Future’ will provide insight into what manufacturing companies could look like in the medium term.

The advent of the hydrogen economy will also be unpacked in a discussion named ‘Hydrogen: A Pathway for Energy Transition – Will Hydrogen Revolutionise the Energy Sector and if so, How?’

Similarly, ‘Energy: Securing Energy Supply and Stable Delivery of Power’ will be spoken about as well.

Other topics, such as how China and Asia are transforming into an advanced manufacturing powerhouse will be touched on, raising questions that may be addressed in the discussion; ‘How Can Africa Do Business With Asia?’

Finally, special economic zones and industrial development zones in Africa will be discussed, particularly in terms of whether they are embracing and incorporating technological changes into their objectives and outcomes.

Siyenza concludes that the Manufacturing Indaba 2023 holding these focused discussions for current manufacturing business owners will allow them to explore strategies to amplify their competitive advantage and improve their bottom-line.