The 9th CII Exim Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership was held during March 17-19 at the Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi. The Tata group partnered the conclave and Tata International anchored group participation. This year the companies that contributed to the sponsorship included Tata Chemicals, Tata Projects, Tata Motors, and Tata Sons.
Syamal Gupta, special advisor, Tata International, and chairman, CII Africa Committee, spoke at the special opening and inaugural sessions. Senior Tata executives participated as panellists / moderators at the key plenary and country-specific sessions. These included Anil Sardana, MD, Tata Power; Raman Dhawan, MD, Tata Africa Holdings; Dr Mukund Rajan, Tata brand custodian and chief ethics officer, and Dr S Roy, group economic advisor. A special media session on Tatas in Africa was also organised.
The conclave was the largest ever event on India-Africa business engagement and underlined its importance as the platform for establishing business. Among those present included eight heads of state, 64 ministers and 38 parliamentarians from more than 40 countries. There were about 1,500 delegates of which around 900 were from Africa. More than 500 Indian delegates also registered. This proves that the idea with which the conclave was started in 2005 is being served and the agenda of South-South cooperation is truly moving forward.
Delegates from Tata International included Thamsanqa Mbele, MD designate, Tata Africa Holdings, and S Kundra from Tata Uganda. Other Tata delegates were from Tata Capital, Tata Power Solar Systems, Tata Services, Tata Consulting Engineers, among others.
A special Tata session was designed to present partnership opportunities with Tata Chemicals (replicating the successful model of Grow More Pulses) and Tata Projects (for a large gamut of projects in the EPC space).
The Nano that was arranged to be displayed at the hotel premises for the benefit of the African dignitaries turned out to be a major draw. Almost all the dignitaries including the Zambian vice president, the Cameroon prime minister stepped forward to enjoy a quick ride and expressed admiration for the compactness of the car.
The Tata group’s foray into Africa has been led by Tata Africa, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata International. Currently headquartered in South Africa, Tata Africa first set up base in Zambia in 1977 and has since established a substantial presence for the group over the past few decades, steadily expanding its footprint across sectors. It has a presence in more than 15 countries including South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Uganda, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cote d’voire, Ethiopia, Madagascar spanning sectors such as automotive, mining, leather, steel, telecommunication, power, healthcare, value-added trading, IT and hospitality.
Over the years, Tata Africa has entered into joint ventures / alliances / partnerships with several African companies to help develop local resources and talent. Tata Africa employs over 3,000 people locally and many more are indirectly engaged in major industrial sectors. It has facilitated collaborations for projects and businesses and has successfully created a niche for the Tata brand, its values and commitment to the larger community, sustaining relationships with cooperation and trust, creating employment opportunities, aiding capacity building efforts.
Syamal Gupta, special advisor, Tata International, and chairman, CII Africa Committee, spoke at the special opening and inaugural sessions. Senior Tata executives participated as panellists / moderators at the key plenary and country-specific sessions. These included Anil Sardana, MD, Tata Power; Raman Dhawan, MD, Tata Africa Holdings; Dr Mukund Rajan, Tata brand custodian and chief ethics officer, and Dr S Roy, group economic advisor. A special media session on Tatas in Africa was also organised.
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| Raman Dhawan, MD, Tata Africa Holdings, addressing the audience during the conclave |
The conclave was the largest ever event on India-Africa business engagement and underlined its importance as the platform for establishing business. Among those present included eight heads of state, 64 ministers and 38 parliamentarians from more than 40 countries. There were about 1,500 delegates of which around 900 were from Africa. More than 500 Indian delegates also registered. This proves that the idea with which the conclave was started in 2005 is being served and the agenda of South-South cooperation is truly moving forward.
Delegates from Tata International included Thamsanqa Mbele, MD designate, Tata Africa Holdings, and S Kundra from Tata Uganda. Other Tata delegates were from Tata Capital, Tata Power Solar Systems, Tata Services, Tata Consulting Engineers, among others.
A special Tata session was designed to present partnership opportunities with Tata Chemicals (replicating the successful model of Grow More Pulses) and Tata Projects (for a large gamut of projects in the EPC space).
The Nano that was arranged to be displayed at the hotel premises for the benefit of the African dignitaries turned out to be a major draw. Almost all the dignitaries including the Zambian vice president, the Cameroon prime minister stepped forward to enjoy a quick ride and expressed admiration for the compactness of the car.
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| Dr Mukund Rajan, Tata brand custodian and chief ethics officer, speaking at the conclave |
The Tata group’s foray into Africa has been led by Tata Africa, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata International. Currently headquartered in South Africa, Tata Africa first set up base in Zambia in 1977 and has since established a substantial presence for the group over the past few decades, steadily expanding its footprint across sectors. It has a presence in more than 15 countries including South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Uganda, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cote d’voire, Ethiopia, Madagascar spanning sectors such as automotive, mining, leather, steel, telecommunication, power, healthcare, value-added trading, IT and hospitality.
Over the years, Tata Africa has entered into joint ventures / alliances / partnerships with several African companies to help develop local resources and talent. Tata Africa employs over 3,000 people locally and many more are indirectly engaged in major industrial sectors. It has facilitated collaborations for projects and businesses and has successfully created a niche for the Tata brand, its values and commitment to the larger community, sustaining relationships with cooperation and trust, creating employment opportunities, aiding capacity building efforts.
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| Anil Sardana (centre), MD, Tata Power, along with other dignitaries at the conclave | The conclave was the largest ever event on India-Africa business engagement |
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Several Tata companies put up their stalls at the conclave
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The Tata Nano on display at the conclave was a major draw
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