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SolarAfrica and Starsight Energy Announces Merger Completion – Creating a Leading Pan-African Renewable Energy Solutions Provider

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3 years ago

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SolarAfrica

The merged group is now set to become the leading pan-African clean energy platform providing on- and off-site renewable energy solutions to commercial and industrial customers

PRETORIA, South Africa, August 1, 2023/APO Group/ — 

The merged group consists of an installed and contracted portfolio of 520 MW in solar power generation and 60 MWh of battery storage which, collectively, have led to a carbon offset of more than 360 000 tonnes of CO2; it also has an additional energy pipeline exceeding 2 GW, employs 275 people and operates in seven African countries; the merged group is now set to become the leading pan-African clean energy platform providing on- and off-site renewable energy solutions to commercial and industrial customers; the merger is backed by Helios Investment Partners (“Helios”) and African Infrastructure Investment Managers (“AIIM”); the merged group will provide serviced solutions including solar energy, battery storage, wheeling, and energy management, on a large scale, to customers across Africa; the group retains its existing regional management structure with in-country teams in each region.

SolarAfrica Energy (http://www.SolarAfrica.com/) and Starsight Energy (http://www.StarsightEnergy.com/) are pleased to announce the successful completion of their business merger. The merged group is now set to become the leading pan-African clean energy platform providing on- and off-site renewable energy solutions to commercial and industrial customers.

It is well-positioned to serve a wide range of customers with a comprehensive mix of cost-effective solutions, providing power security and carbon reduction.

The merger is backed by Helios Investment Partners (“Helios”) and African Infrastructure Investment Managers (“AIIM”), both of which have decades-long track records of bringing investment to support African innovation.

An expanded solutions portfolio unlocking simple and sustainable access to power

Customers across Africa can access fully serviced clean energy solutions through the merged group. This includes solar energy, battery storage, wheeling and energy management which are all operated and maintained on behalf of the customer.

The merged group’s mission is to make power accessible and affordable. The merger will unlock more efficiencies across the group allowing it to take more customers on a green energy journey that solves their power requirements and enables a sustainable future.

“The supply of renewable energy in Sub-Saharan Africa is relatively fragmented with several suppliers in the market. This merger is a substantial step for us and will provide a true pan-African platform to deliver clean renewable energy in key economies,” said Paul van Zijl, Group CEO.

The merged group consists of an installed and contracted portfolio of 520 MW in solar power generation, 60 MWh of battery storage and an additional energy pipeline exceeding 2 GW. The portfolio has led to a carbon offset of more than 360 000 tonnes of CO2 to date.

“This merger will enhance our current capabilities and allow us to deploy Energy and Cooling as a Service on a much larger scale. This is therefore a story of growth. Not only for Starsight Energy and SolarAfrica but also for the renewable energy landscape in Africa,” Van Zijl added.

Powering Africa through affordable, clean energy

This merger is a substantial step for us and will provide a true pan-African platform to deliver clean renewable energy in key economies

In addition to key markets Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa, the group is working on imminent expansion into Tanzania and Uganda. It brings a range of renewable energy solutions to the table, with solar energy, battery storage and cooling at the top of the list.

“We are excited about making a meaningful contribution to power supply on the continent through our on- and off-site solutions. This will help take pressure off national grids which have been under significant strain in many of the core African markets,” said Charl Alheit, Group Chief Investment Officer.

Providing these solutions to more businesses can also go a long way in developing distributed renewable energy frameworks in each region.

In-country focus unlocks continent-wide growth

The merged group will retain a strong presence within the various countries to further strengthen its footprint across Africa.

“We do not believe in a fly-in fly-out model and will have ‘boots on the ground’ in our geographies. Our country teams consist of dedicated in-country management as well as sales and technical teams who represent our ethos, whilst being supported by the wider group management,” said Van Zijl.

“It’s important to have strong representation in each geography with teams who know and understand their markets and are passionate about transforming these markets into green energy hubs. That’s something both SolarAfrica and Starsight Energy have always had in common: we know that the people in our business have always been the reason for our success, and this new chapter will be no different,” Alheit concluded.

Leveraging existing knowledge and capabilities

Both Starsight Energy and SolarAfrica are represented in the group executive management team, combining their expertise and experience.

  • Paul van Zijl assumes the role of Group Chief Executive Officer (formerly Group Chief Financial Officer of Starsight Energy)
  • Charl Alheit assumes the role of Group Chief Investment Officer (formerly Chief Investment Officer for SolarAfrica)
  • Max Rieg assumes the role of Group Commercial Director (formerly Commercial Director of Starsight Energy)

The group will also retain its regional management structures, with David McDonald (Southern Africa), Emmanuel Ayifa Baah (Ghana), Ladi Sanni (Nigeria) and Rupesh Hindocha (East Africa) leading their respective regions.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of SolarAfrica.

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RusselSmith Formally Transitions to Arridex

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3 hours ago

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June 15, 2026

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Nigeria

The change reflects the significant expansion of the organisation’s capabilities and the breadth of industries it now serves

LAGOS, Nigeria, June 12, 2026/APO Group/ –Arridex (www.Arridex.com), formerly RusselSmith, recently announced its formal change of name, registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission of Nigeria. The change reflects the significant expansion of the organisation’s capabilities and the breadth of industries it now serves, which extend well beyond the oil and gas services with which it began operations in the early 2000s.

 

Founded as an asset integrity company serving Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, the organisation has grown into a multi-sector industrial technology group operating across oil and gas, maritime, aerospace, defence, construction, and manufacturing. Its subsidiaries cover engineering and construction delivery, autonomous systems development, and advanced technology products, in addition to its industrial additive manufacturing and asset integrity operations.

Arridex is the name of the company built over two decades and raised intentionally to enable industrial resilience in Africa

The organisation holds Pioneer Status in additive manufacturing, granted by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), and is the first company qualified by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for additive manufacturing deployment in the oil and gas sector. Both represent formal recognition of Arridex’s capabilities and its role in building indigenous industrial capacity at scale. With more than twenty years of continuous delivery, Arridex holds certification to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018, underpinning an integrated management system that governs its operations across all sectors, and has recorded zero lost time incidents across over seven million man hours of operations.

The name change coincides with a significant operational milestone. The Arridex Omnifactory, West Africa’s first multi-technology industrial additive manufacturing facility, has been commissioned in Lagos. The Omnifactory integrates multiple additive manufacturing technologies including Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), Cold Spray, Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) under one roof, enabling on-demand production of industrial components, spares, and improved part designs for critical industries. The Omnifactory’s large-format additive manufacturing capabilities also enable the production of large-scale structures, including full-size marine components. Its commissioning is the clearest measure of the distance that Arridex has travelled from its origins.

Africa’s critical industries have for decades depended on components and specialist expertise imported from outside the continent, with supply chains that routinely extend across multiple jurisdictions and lead times that affect operational continuity for asset owners when dealing with legacy parts. The Omnifactory manufactures industrial components and parts on demand in Lagos, helping to build operational resilience in critical industries.

Kayode Adeleke, Group Chief Executive Officer of Arridex, said: “The name RusselSmith defined what we were at the start. Arridex defines what we have built. The dependency of African industry on fragile supply chains is a structural problem that this continent has accepted for too long. The Omnifactory is a concrete answer to the challenge of manufacturing sovereignty. Arridex is the name of the company built over two decades and raised intentionally to enable industrial resilience in Africa.”

Arridex is a Designated Strategic Partner of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) and serves clients across Nigeria and the wider African region. The organisation has a joint venture partnership with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) for military-grade additive manufacturing, is a member of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and is also a member of the Defence Industries Association of Nigeria (DIAN). With the Omnifactory commissioning in June 2026, Arridex enters its next phase of operations under a name that reflects the full scope of what it has built.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Arridex.

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New Quality, Shared Future – Beijing CBD Extends a Global Invitation for Cooperation

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3 hours ago

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June 15, 2026

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Beijing

If there are only three days to understand China’s economic development, Beijing CBD is a good place to start.
BEIJING, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 12 June 2026 – In mid-June this year, 2026 Beijing CBD Forum Annual Conference will be held as scheduled. Nearly ten thousand participants from five continents will gather here, with international speakers accounting for more than 50% of the lineup. Yet the Forum is but a window; the true landscape worth the world’s attention lies just outside – the central business district itself.

“International Density” on Seven Square Kilometers

In the core area of Beijing CBD – a mere seven square kilometers – nearly 16,000 foreign-funded institutions and 125 regional headquarters of multinational corporations (MNCs) are located. This represents half of all MNC headquarters resources in Beijing.

This is no coincidence. The district is one of China’s most internationally oriented, service-rich, and mature international business zones. From law firms and consultancies to financial institutions, the world’s top professional services firms have formed a complete ecosystem here.

What makes the area even more valuable for overseas companies and organizations is that policies here are not just written on paper – they are embedded in actual processes.

From pilot schemes on cross-border data flows, to facilitated access for foreign financial institutions, to one‑stop service desks for international talent – Beijing CBD has long served as a pilot zone for institutional opening‑up. Foreign enterprises find that issues they encounter here tend to be addressed and resolved more quickly.

During this year’s Beijing CBD Forum annual conference, the Ambassadors’ Roundtable Dialogue will establish a regular communication mechanism, and the “International Delegations’ China Tour” will allow overseas business representatives and zone managers to conduct in‑depth site visits and exchange experiences. What is even more noteworthy, however, is that such exchanges are not confined to the Forum – they continue year-round here.

Beijing CBD: A Sincere and Pragmatic Invitation

Artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green technologies – these areas, known as “new quality productive forces,” are not empty buzzwords here. The Forum includes dedicated sessions on technological innovation, financial opening‑up, law-business integration, cultural industries, and international consumption. Yet what truly deserves the attention of potential international partners is the industrial foundation behind these topics.

Beijing CBD is home to the densest concentration of foreign financial institutions and cross‑border capital in China. A large number of tech companies are engaged in cross‑sector collaboration with traditional industries here. High‑end professional services – international law, arbitration, compliance – are highly concentrated, providing support for both inbound and outbound business activities. Moreover, as the starting area of the city’s international demonstration zone for law-business integration, the district continues to focus on strengthening the rule of law in commercial affairs, improving its legal services framework, enhancing the resolution of international commercial disputes, and fostering a stable, transparent, predictable, and internationally competitive business environment. In the future, Beijing CBD will build a one‑stop legal and commercial service platform that integrates legal, auditing, intellectual property and other professional resources to precisely serve companies going global and managing cross‑border operations.

Here, you will find that its vitality derives mainly from genuine business judgments about market opportunities. For enterprises, the cooperation logic here is predictable, commercial, and sustainable.

Beijing CBD is not merely a striking poster – it is a real‑world district where hundreds of thousands of business people move every day, thousands of foreign‑funded institutions operate, and countless cross‑border transactions take place.

If you are looking for a stable gateway to the Chinese market, or a high-level hub to connect global resources with local applications, it deserves your consideration.

The Forum’s 2026 annual conference lasts only three days. But Beijing CBD is open all year round.

 

 

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20th Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Global Forum on Islamic Finance to Convene in Azerbaijan

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3 days ago

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June 12, 2026

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IsDBI

Marking its 20th edition, the forum serves as a flagship platform for high-level dialogue, convening policymakers, regulators, development practitioners, academics, and industry leaders to advance innovation and development in Islamic finance

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, June 11, 2026/APO Group/ —

The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) (https://IsDBInstitute.org/) will host the 20th IsDB Global Forum on Islamic Finance in Baku, Azerbaijan on 17 June 2026 under the theme “Achieving Sustainable Prosperity through Islamic Finance,” in conjunction with the IsDB Group Annual Meetings.

 

Marking its 20th edition, the forum serves as a flagship platform for high-level dialogue, convening policymakers, regulators, development practitioners, academics, and industry leaders to advance innovation and development in Islamic finance. This year’s forum will focus on strengthening regional integration and unlocking sustainable growth across IsDB member countries through Islamic finance solutions.

The forum will examine how Islamic finance can help address structural development challenges, including “development traps” that constrain inclusive growth and resilience. It will also highlight innovative Islamic social finance mechanisms, particularly Awqaf Free Zones, as tools for mobilizing sustainable resources to support food and energy security.

Key highlights of the forum include keynote speeches, launch of a new report on the prospects of Islamic Finance in Azerbaijan alongside other flagship publications, announcement of a memorandum of understanding between IsDBI and Labuan Financial Services Authority, distinguished panel discussion sessions, and unveiling of top achievers in the Applied AI in Islamic Finance Competency Challenge.

H.E. Taleh Kazimov, Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan, will deliver the first keynote speech, followed by Eng. Adeeb Yousuf Al Aama, Chief Executive Officer of ITFC, whose speech will be on behalf of the IsDB Group. Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, Acting Director General of IsDBI, will deliver the welcome remarks.

The first panel session will explore how Islamic finance can help countries overcome development barriers and achieve sustainable economic transformation. The panelists include Mr. Shahin Aydin Mahmudzade, Executive Director, Central Bank of Azerbaijan; Mr. Adnan Zaylani, Deputy Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia; Ms. Mihoko Kumamoto, Director, Division for Prosperity, UNITAR; Dr. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute; and Dr. Areef Suleman, Chief Economist, IsDB Group. The session will be moderated by Mr. Mustafa Adil, Head of Islamic Finance, London Stock Exchange Group.

The second panel session will examine innovative approaches to mobilizing Islamic social finance, particularly through Awqaf Free Zones, to address global food and energy challenges. The speakers include Mr. Valeh Alasgarov, Chairman of the Board, AFEZ Authority, Azerbaijan; Dr. Mansur Muhtar, Chairman of the Board, Bank of Industry, Nigeria; Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Azmi Omar, President & CEO, INCEIF University; and Mr. Orkhan Vidadi oglu Mammadov, Chairman, Small and Medium Business Development Agency of Azerbaijan (KOBİA). The session will be moderated by Mr. Yahya Rehman, Associate Manager, IsDBI.

The forum is expected to generate actionable recommendations, strengthen partnerships, promote stakeholder collaboration, and advance innovative, AI-enabled tools to support the growth of Islamic finance globally.

More information about the forum is available on IsDBI website here.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI).

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