While global economies and markets stag- nate in double-dip and even triple-dip reces-sion, Africa is on the rise, modernising, thriv- ing and rapidly developing into a major indus-trial market. Africa is ripe for exploration by technology businesses around the globe, par-ticularly in mining, oil, gas and petroleum, and the energy, water and manufacturing sectors.

“Governments and world business leaders are talking about Africa, calling it ‘The New Asia’,” says Exhibition Management Services (EMS) MD John Thomson.

EMS is hosting the South Africa Industry & Technology Fair 2013 (Indutec), a new ten-in-one industry and technology expo, which takes place at the Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand, in Johannesburg, from May 14 to 16, 2013.

Indutec’s ten combined events cover the industrial, technology and manufacturing sectors and include Pumps, Valves & Pipes Africa, Watertec Africa, Petro.t.ex Africa and Energex Africa, as well as the following exciting new additions: Inter-mac Africa (machinery), Manutec Africa (manufacturing), Smart Automation Africa (process automation), Afriplast Expo (plastics), Industrial Greentec Africa (sus-tainable technology) and Empowertec Africa (small business).

“Africa is not the last frontier – it’s the next frontier, with a fast-growing middle-class consumer population that will need water, fuel and energy,” says Thomson.

Besides the booming growth of mining exploration and new mining projects coming on line on the continent, Africa’s water-related technology market is expected to grow to $700-million by 2020 and its manufacturing market to $200-billion. The energy sector market will grow to $800-billion in the same period. That, however, is a drop in the ocean compared with the African market for oil and gas technologies, which will top $3.6-trillion by 2020.

“The South African government’s National Development Programme (NDP) has set aside R300-million for the improvement of the energy sector in South Africa in 2013/14, and R4.7-billion towards installing five-million solar water heaters by 2020.