Royal Philips announces its fifth consecutive pan-African Cairo to Cape Town roadshow continuing to focus on key challenges facing Africa today.
Philips is committed to significantly expand its business footprint in Africa in the coming years and enhance life in Africa with meaningful innovations. The annual pan-African Cairo to Cape Town roadshow is an important vehicle in Philips’ approach to enhance understanding of local needs and growing the market.
“As investment demand continues to grow in most of Africa, we are very positive about expanding our business footprint on the continent. In the past decade, 6 of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world were in Africa; Philips is therefore aiming for double digit growth in the coming years”, states JJ van Dongen, Senior Vice President and CEO Philips Africa. “Local entrepreneurship and talent development continue to be key in addressing the complexities of the African market and in developing locally relevant innovations that meet the needs of Africa’s growing middle class.”
Focus on Post-2015 Development Agenda and non-communicable diseases
Philips remains consistently committed to reducing child mortality and improving maternal health, linked to the current UN Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 (MDGs) . In contribution to the Post-2015 Development Agenda , Philips calls for improving universal access to healthcare and reducing the double-disease burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as additions to the current MDGs.
Figures from Philips’ latest Fabric of Africa Trends Report show that in 2008, nearly three million African deaths were attributable to preventable or treatable NCDs. That figure will rise by more than 25 percent in the next decade.
21st century technology to highlight iconic city monuments
Next to healthcare solutions, Philips will introduce its latest LED and solar innovations during the roadshow. More than 600 million people in Africa currently have no access to electricity; Philips has committed to installing 100 “light centers” to off-grid communities by 2015, over a third of these “light centers” have already been installed and more will be inaugurated during the upcoming roadshow.
Scaling innovations in technology and education
The recently launched Philips Africa Innovation Hub in Nairobi, Kenya, will be the center for developing innovations “in Africa-for Africa”. To increase the impact of newly developed solutions, Philips continues to combine the introduction of new innovations with dedicated focus on clinical education and training.
Addressing aspirational needs of the African consumer
Philips’ consumer lifestyle portfolio, through innovation and localization, will focus on the continent’s desire for healthier cooking as well as beauty and grooming solutions by introducing new products to meet the aspirational needs of the rising middle class in Africa.
Cairo to Cape Town Roadshow 2014
The roadshow brings together key stakeholders including governments, NGO’s, professional associations, and research institutions to exchange best practices, collaborate and develop public-private partnerships aimed at addressing key challenges in Africa.
“We have been in Africa for many years and have a strong installed base of our equipment, but we strongly acknowledge the benefits of dialogue during this roadshow and the need for our company to listen to the local market and understand how we can adapt our products to better serve this continent”, summarizes JJ van Dongen.
