Pictured (l-r) are: Nico Duvenage, Head of MATA (part of the Safomar Group), Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade, Charlie Flanagan T.D., Shai Shalem, CEO, Safomar Holdings Ltd., Brian Joyce, Executive Chair & Director, College Ireland (CIAS), Aidan Fox, Managing Director, College Ireland and Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland
Contracts worth €12 million for Irish companies are among the initial results of the trade mission to South Africa, led by Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan, TD.
Dozens of leads for Irish exporting companies have been created or progressed during the 4-day mission in which 34 Irish companies from all over Ireland participated in over 200 one-to-one meetings with South African companies targeting export opportunities across the technology, telecommunications, aviation, engineering, energy, food and financial services sectors.
Among the deals announced by Irish companies during the mission were:
College Ireland Aviation Services (CIAS) based in Leixlip, Co. Kildare, and Mega Aviation Training Academy (MATA) signed a significant agreement to form a partnership for the delivery of world class aviation training and academic programmes in Southern Africa. CIAS, originally an Irish Aviation Authority initiative, but now a standalone company, acts with over 20 Irish aviation companies and universities to provide a single solution in the areas of aviation training and education. The agreement will initially mean the provision of aircraft maintenance training to EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency Training) in Southern Africa but will expand to include elements of pilot training, cabin crew training, airline operations airport operations training, and under-graduate, post-graduate and Masters Programmes.
AuBren, Portlaoise, announced the introduction of its DAQs brand of precision air handling systems into Africa as an extension of the successful Voltas SUNWIND range. Targeted at public and private medical facility clients, the systems will be manufactured and supplied for Voltas Technologies, a leading South African provider of innovative integrated solutions for commercial HVAC projects. AuBren has worked extensively with Voltas Technologies to carefully localise the DAQS products to meet the commercial and technical needs of African markets.
FTI Treasury Systems, based in Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre, announced details of their partnership with Andisa Capital, South Africa whereby Andisa has taken a 30% equity stake in FTI’s South African subsidiary, Fikon Treasury. FTI brings its treasury software and Andisa brings its treasury expertise and knowledge of the South African market to this new venture. FTI’s treasury system is already used by a number of large companies in South Africa, including South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), LandBank, and the South African Post Office, for their treasury management. Fikon Treasury has recently been selected as ‘preferred bidder’ for a 5 year contract to provide treasury systems to a large South African company and expects to conclude negotiations very shortly. In addition Andisa has adopted the system for their treasury management business and have started to roll out the treasury system to its corporate clients.
Amawele has received indirect Irish Aid funding through the grant support (2013, €34,740 and 2014, €30,000) from the WorldWise Global Schools consortium which is funded through the development education budget.
