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Bureau Veritas continues on its transformation journey to Shaping a Better Workplace

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Bureau Veritas

Making quantum leaps and bounds in gender equality as scientists make a difference to people and planet

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, September 18, 2023/APO Group/ — 

Bureau Veritas (https://apo-opa.info/3sZvaPr), a world leader in testing, inspections and certification services, is continually on a passionate drive to fulfil its mission of shaping a world of trust through its unrivalled expertise, independent and worldwide presence to benefit society. The company is fast gaining ground on its sustainability trajectory to meet its 2025 ambitions towards transforming the world we live in. Committed to creating better workplaces, a cleaner environment and improved business practices, Bureau Veritas (BV) (www.BureauVeritas.com) enjoys an enviable reputation for being a company that walks the talk.

2025 ambitions and gender equality

With a strong commitment to achieving its 2025 objective of leading the Testing, Inspections and Certification evolution towards sustainable growth in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), BV invests heavily in People and Culture, Organization and Governance and Innovation and Technology. Human capital enjoys the utmost regard, and the company focuses on attracting the best talent to develop its next generations and ultimately build its culture across the globe – these factors are critical to accelerating the 2025 strategic direction of the company. Organizational development is strongly underpinned by a robust Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment, a living extension of the company’s mission to create a world where trust and truth are respected and exercised in daily life. Gender equality is intrinsic to this commitment to change lives and thus ensure a fairer world. International teams with broad-based skills and diverse profiles, creating a more representative organization which is fast on track to achieve its goals. In line with its commitment and policy on inclusion, Bureau Veritas has aligned to the SDG of Gender Equality, setting itself ambitious targets for 2025 to reach 35% of female representation in leadership positions, which is supported through several initiatives.

Global and Africa statistics to date

Bureau Veritas has made strides in its commitment to a more efficient and gender balanced operation, with increasing numbers of women in management and executive leadership, with robust plans in place to balance the corporate landscape even more. Today, on a global level, 69% of employees are male, whilst some 31% are female against an ambition of 35% by 2025. Women are present in a range of roles from executive leadership to subject matter experts in engineering, artificial intelligence, nuclear innovation, digital technology, human resources, accounting, marketing, and communications, legal and a host of alternative specialties.

In Africa, women make up some 28% of the human talent; with some 28% of these women being female senior decision-makers.

Dr Beatriz Magalhaes, Country Chief Executive Mozambique:

“Study hard, that is the most solid foundation you can create for yourself, it will help you with the confidence you require to focus on your achievements and not that of others. Secondly, choose the right partner on your journey, one that will add and not subtract,” she advises young woman. Education and job creation lie close to Magalhaes’ heart, and she has made it her business to impact the communities around her by driving social responsibility.

Brazilian born Beatriz Magalhaes is the Chief Country Executive of BV Mozambique and has been in her role for two years. With a PhD in Structural Biology from the University College, London (UCL); Dr Magalhaes joined BV in 2016 to “reinvent herself”. Initially a consultant, she was drawn to the company values of truth and transparency, which aligned closely to her personal value system. Her career has been steeped in science, having been a university lecturer in Brazil before founding a green technology startup in her home country. A family woman at heart, with her mother firmly placed as her role model, she is motivated by the pleasure of a job well done. Key to her many accomplishments are adaptability and a keen understanding of a host of cultures, having grown up in various countries around the world and speaking several languages. Always putting her team first is part of her leadership style and is the secret ingredient to her success as a woman and business leader. The simple joy of encouraging a team to their own personal success motivates and inspires her. Caring for her staff is an invaluable characteristic that lies close to her heart, as evidenced by the impact of one of her recent leaders.

This humble, competent, and ambitious scientist enjoys working in a global business and looks forward to feeding her curiosity by working more closely with new technologies, artificial intelligence, and new innovations in the future. When asked what words of advice she would offer her younger self, she commented: “Don’t be afraid of taking leaps, of reinventing yourself if needs be. You need to first trust yourself, trust what drives you and head on straight.”

Dr Swarupa Deshpande, Oil & Gas Market Leader Africa:

As BV advances towards supporting our clients in creating cities of tomorrow: smarter, greener, and more human, it will persist in tackling its ESG goals with pride of place

“Transparency is vital, be committed to your objective and work collaboratively. We need to constantly upgrade our knowledge and technology prowess for innovative solutions. It is important to be firmly rooted whilst building strong teams and external networks with partners, clients, and stakeholders. There are no short cuts to hard work and dedication; and no alternatives for patience and compassion,” she says, sharing the key ingredients to her success as a woman and business leader.

Dr Swarupa Deshpande spearheads Oil & Gas in Africa, one of BV’s largest markets and has also spearheaded the team in South Asia. The soft-spoken Indian-born Deshpande has a PhD in Oil & Gas Management, an MBA, and a diploma in International Business Management. She was initially drawn to the company some 16 years ago because of its strict testing and quality control measures, it’s absolute values of truth and transparency; collaborative and highly ethical culture.

She is inspired by being able to use her abilities to help contribute towards a better society, building an improved living world through BV’s quality, health, safety, and environmental service support to the crucial energy sector to maintain the natural balance of the globe. BV’s ability to use technology, digital innovations, and sustainability solutions to improve the wellbeing of the industrial sector of the world further propels her to making a marked difference. She remains inspired by her Human Resources Director, as a dynamic and smart female role model with strong leadership qualities and team building abilities, with the innate ability to connect great minds.

Bureau Veritas’ sectors range from infrastructure, agriculture, high end technology, to molecular biology, marine, oil & gas, aviation, engineering, artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, and power. It is this wide spectrum that draws her to the business and keeps her curious, learning and tapping into various geographies and cultures. Given a magic wand, she would like to see the pace of knowledge transfer increase to every team member to expand their personal development, improving quality of life. Deshpande is most proud of carving a place for herself in the traditionally male driven oil & gas sector and securing many large contracts through excellent technical knowledge whilst always abiding by a high level of ethical practices. She encourages younger women who look up to her as a prominent engineer in a competitive environment: “Develop a deep understanding of your field, be bold and straight when giving your opinion, demand flexibility and specific needs as a woman and mother and be confident to lead.”

Continue to challenge, meet global targets, and equalize the landscape

As BV advances towards supporting our clients in creating cities of tomorrow: smarter, greener, and more human, it will persist in tackling its ESG goals with pride of place. The company will pursue a safer, fairer, and more sustainable economic system. Shaping a world of trust is crucial to the social fabric and values of the company, ensuring transparency and credibility as it encourages innovation, proactivity, and agility, keeping a watchful eye on women in the workplace whilst driving a client-centric organization. Gender equality targets will continue to climb as the company achieves its current objectives and then expedites even more ambitious goals.

Bertrand Martin – Senior Vice President Africa

“We will keep the capacity to continually challenge ourselves, to go beyond the comfort zone to innovate. We will embrace technology to develop new services and new ways to deliver the service.  We will continue to be catalysts for positive social change, to be part of the social compact that seeks to make a tangible difference to the lives of families and communities that we work and live in. We will ensure we support girls and younger women to secure a place at university to study the much-needed STEM subjects – to create illustrious careers for themselves and ultimately earn a seat at the boardroom table – this will form part of our legacy for generations to come.”

Bureau Veritas enjoys a geographical presence in 140 countries and unrivalled experience in certification processes, coupled with in-depth knowledge of local specifications and regulations are considerable assets the company provides to its clients, public authorities, and society as a whole.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Bureau Veritas.

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Africa gains governance momentum in the 2026 Chandler Good Government Index, but sustaining progress is the real test

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11 hours ago

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October 29, 2026

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Africa

Across Africa, average scores improved in six of the seven CGGI pillars over the past year, with the strongest gains in Helping People Rise and Financial Stewardship

This signals that stronger government capabilities are beginning to translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives

KIGALI, Rwanda, October 29, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa was the second best-performing region for governance progress in the 2026 Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI), with 71% of the African countries assessed in both 2025 and 2026 achieving higher overall scores. However, the continent remains the lowest-scoring region overall, highlighting the challenge of translating improvement in government capabilities into better outcomes for citizens.

 




 
 

These findings were highlighted by the Chandler Governance Group (CGG) at a joint session with the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) to launch the 13th edition of the Rwanda Governance Scorecard at the Kigali Serena Hotel on Thursday, 22 October 2026.

“This year, Africa’s strongest gains came in Financial Stewardship, followed by Helping People Rise, the CGGI’s outcomes pillar. This signals that stronger government capabilities are beginning to translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives, from access to quality education and healthcare to the public finances that fund them. The task now is to sustain that progress over the coming years,” says Dinesh Naidu, Director (Knowledge) at CGG.

Now in its sixth edition, the CGGI assesses government capabilities and effectiveness across 133 countries representing 94% of the world’s population, up from 120 countries in 2025. It measures 35 equally weighted indicators across seven pillars, providing governments with a framework to benchmark performance, identify gaps and learn from the experience of other countries.

Globally, the findings point to improving governance performance. Of the 120 countries assessed in both 2025 and 2026, 61% recorded higher scores, representing the highest annual share of countries improving since the Index launched in 2021. However, longer-term progress has been less consistent, with only 43% of the 104 countries tracked since 2021 recording an overall improvement.

Africa’s leading governments

Mauritius remains Africa’s highest-ranked country, placing 55th globally, followed by Rwanda (62nd), Botswana (70th), Morocco (79th) and Tanzania (80th). South Africa ranks sixth on the continent, in 85th place globally.

Rwanda features prominently in the discussion, ranking 11th globally for Leadership & Foresight and emerging as the highest-ranked low-income country in the Index. It ranks 61 places above where its income alone would predict. Across the Index, government capabilities track citizen outcomes more closely than national wealth does, suggesting that strengthening government capabilities matter in delivering better outcomes for citizens.

The joint session brings together the CGGI’s international benchmarks and the Rwanda Governance Scorecard’s assessment of governance in the Rwandan context, creating an opportunity to consider both global perspectives and country-specific priorities.

Progress across key governance pillars

Across Africa, average scores improved in six of the seven CGGI pillars over the past year, with the strongest gains in Helping People Rise and Financial Stewardship. These improvements point to progress in areas associated with public services, including healthcare and education, as well as the management of public finances.

Longer-term trends also highlight areas of progress. Between 2021 and 2026, nearly every African country assessed across the period improved its Data Capability score, with Morocco recording the largest gains. Ghana’s overall score improved in 2026, supported by stronger Financial Stewardship, while South Africa continues to show relative strength in Robust Laws & Policies, ranking 44th globally, and Attractive Marketplace, ranking 48th.

Despite these gains, the scale of the challenge remains clear. Africa’s regional average is still below its 2021 level, 23 of the 35 African countries in the 2026 Index rank outside the global top 100, and none is in the top 50. Seven African countries joined the Index this year: Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia and Togo.

“Rankings provide a useful starting point, but the broader value of the CGGI lies in helping governments understand where they are making progress and where further work is needed. Sustained improvements depend on the ability to strengthen institutions, manage resources responsibly and turn policy into meaningful outcomes for citizens,” says Naidu.

A tool for learning and improvement

The CGGI is designed as a practical diagnostic tool, helping governments identify gaps, track progress over time, and learn from peers facing similar constraints. The collaboration with the RGB brings international benchmarking together with locally grounded assessment.

“Every country faces its own governance challenges and is driven by varying priorities. Governments that are willing to take stock of the evidence and learn from peers to strengthen their institutions are well placed to achieve real improvements,” concludes Naidu.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Chandler Governance Group.

 

 




 

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Spiro brings electric motorcycles and battery-swapping technology to Ghana, expanding its pan-African footprint

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11 hours ago

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October 29, 2026

By

Spiro

The integrated offering aims to reduce daily operating costs and minimise downtime, with battery swaps completed in just two minutes and potential savings of up to USD 2 per day compared with petrol-powered motorcycles

ACCRA, Ghana, October 29, 2026/APO Group/ —

  • Spiro’s entry into Ghana introduces the Ekon 450 M1 V3 electric motorcycle and its battery-swapping solution, bringing a new mobility option to commercial riders and delivery fleets.
  • The integrated offering aims to reduce daily operating costs and minimise downtime, with battery swaps completed in just two minutes and potential savings of up to USD 2 per day compared with petrol-powered motorcycles.
  • Test rides and product demonstrations across Greater Accra will support the rollout and help riders experience the benefits of electric mobility.

 




 
 

Spiro (www.Spironet.com), Africa’s largest electric mobility company, is expanding its footprint in Ghana with the introduction of the Ekon 450 M1 V3 electric motorcycle and its battery-swapping solution. Combining electric two-wheelers with access to charged batteries, Spiro aims to make everyday transport more affordable and practical for riders while supporting Ghana’s transition towards sustainable mobility.

For commercial riders and delivery fleets, fuel expenses and time spent off the road directly affect daily earnings. Spiro’s integrated offering addresses both challenges: riders can exchange a depleted battery for a charged one at a Spiro battery-swapping station in just two minutes, while potentially saving up to USD 2 per day in operating costs compared with conventional petrol-powered motorcycles.

Ghana represents a major opportunity for electric mobility, with a rapidly growing two-wheeler market and increasing demand from commercial riders and delivery fleets

Designed to meet the everyday mobility needs of African riders, the Ekon 450 M1 V3 offers an alternative to petrol-powered motorcycles. Supported by Spiro’s battery-swapping technology, it allows riders to get back on the road without waiting for their motorcycle to recharge.

Auroasish Choudhuri Managing Director Central and West Africa, commented: “Our entry into Ghana is an important step in strengthening Spiro’s presence in West Africa. Our focus is on building a local ecosystem that riders can rely on, combining electric motorcycles with convenient access to battery swapping. By working closely with local partners and listening to riders’ needs, we aim to support the long-term adoption of electric mobility in Ghana.”

Kaushik Burman, CEO Mobility of Spiro said: “Ghana represents a major opportunity for electric mobility, with a rapidly growing two-wheeler market and increasing demand from commercial riders and delivery fleets. By bringing the Ekon 450 M1 V3 together with our battery-swapping solution, we are addressing two key barriers to adoption: operating costs and access to charging infrastructure. Our ambition is to build a strong foundation for electric mobility to scale across Ghana.”

To support its rollout, Spiro is engaging with prospective customers through test rides, product demonstrations and live demonstrations of its battery-swapping technology across Greater Accra. These activities give riders the opportunity to experience the Ekon 450 M1 V3 and understand how battery swapping can fit into their daily routines.

Mr Maxwell Dodd, Managing Director of Spiro Ghana, said: “For riders in Ghana, the value of electric mobility lies in what it can deliver every day: lower operating costs, less downtime and more time on the road. Through the Ekon 450 M1 V3 and our battery-swapping solution, we want to make those benefits accessible and support riders as they make the transition to electric motorcycles.”

Ghana forms part of Spiro’s wider expansion across Africa. Building on its recent USD 270 million equity funding round and an additional USD 18 million in debt financing from the Africa Go Green Fund, the company is scaling its electric mobility ecosystem with the ambition of establishing a presence in 20 African markets. Spiro is also preparing to enter new countries, including Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Spiro.

 

 




 

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Huawei Wireless Unveils Innovation Breakthroughs to Pioneer New Communications Networks

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11 hours ago

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October 29, 2026

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Huawei

The innovation breakthroughs for pioneering new communications networks include RetinaMIMO, new materials, and OSCAR solution among other root technologies. By tackling coverage, energy consumption, and capacity challenges, the breakthroughs drive ubiquitous experience, simplified and green networks, and superior spectral efficiency. The breakthroughs have unlocked a wealth of new capabilities, including the world’s first commercial U6 GHz device VitaAAU, GigaGreen Plus series, and UBBPi series.
Huawei promotes A2A-T standards and drives commercial open-source OpenAN through extensive partnerships to build an open telecom agent ecosystem.

 




 
 

SHANGHAI, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – At Huawei Decoding China 2026, Fang Xiang, Corporate Vice President and President of Wireless Network Solution of Huawei, unveiled a series of innovation breakthroughs to pioneer new communications networks. The innovation breakthroughs mark major leaps in root technologies focused on ubiquitous experience, simplified and green networks, and superior spectral efficiency. With the breakthroughs, Huawei has launched the world’s first commercial U6 GHz device VitaAAU, GigaGreen Plus series, and UBBPi series. Additionally featuring the new progress in open ecosystem for telecom agents, the breakthroughs will lay a solid foundation for new communications networks.

With booming intelligent devices and services, new devices, traffic, and applications are taking shape in the mobile industry. The new devices are expanding network connectivity from people to things and agents, increasing the number of connections by 100 times. Device-cloud synergy for intelligent services calls for stronger uplink capabilities to support training and inference, shifting network focus from downlink dominance to both uplink and downlink. With new applications, come a diversity of new interaction modes, calling for higher standards in experience and driving networks to support ubiquitous steady ultra-low latency with a high reliability.

As the world steps into an intelligent era, the value of connectivity is not only about quantity—it’s more about quality. This has been inspiring Huawei to convert cutting-edge breakthroughs into the commercial practices of new communications networks by focusing on root technologies for ubiquitous experience, simplified and green networks, and superior spectral efficiency.

Pioneering ubiquitous experience

RetinaMIMO is a new pioneering technology designed to solve the challenge of concurrent ultra-high bandwidth and ubiquitous coverage. It features the industry’s first Retina scanning system that allows RF link topologies to be reconstructed to eliminate coverage collapse in the vertical direction. It also adopts a reconstructed antenna array architecture to address the diminishing marginal gains as array elements (AEs) increase.

Based on RetinaMIMO, Huawei has launched the world’s first commercial U6 GHz device VitaAAU. Compared with similar products with 1024 AEs, VitaAAU widens coverage by about 30%, enabling U6 GHz to match C-band in both horizontal and vertical directions. This enables operators to deliver U6 GHz coverage for new communications networks on their C-band sites, minimizing overall TCO. To date, VitaAAU has seen commercial adoption in the UAE and other markets, with peak downlink speeds exceeding 10 Gbps, making ubiquitous premium experience a reality.

Pioneering simplified, green networks

Huawei’s pioneering EP power amplifier (PA) architecture capitalizes on new materials and technologies to solve the problem of energy efficiency decline on higher frequency bands, maximizing energy conversion efficiency. The industry’s first-ever multimode dielectric filters allow antennas to have small dimensions and low power consumption on multi-channel networks with high frequency bands. Powered by new materials, technologies, and architectures, VitaAAU antenna is reduced to 1.5 m in diameter while supporting “0 Bit 0 Watt 0 Loss”, delivering superior energy saving efficiency. These innovations enable Huawei’s GigaGreen Plus series products to achieve significant reductions in dimensions, weight, and power consumption, better positioned to power simplified and green networks.

Pioneering superior spectral efficiency

Multi-band, multi-cell, and multi-user interference is a major restrictive factor of capacity. The time scaling of the Tau (τ) law is introduced to base stations for the first time to realize optimal dynamic resource scheduling across all domains based on the OSCAR solution. With low-latency bus and high-speed interconnect technology, a high-speed architecture is built to enable the real-time exchange of massive data. Thanks to software and hardware synergy, new UBBPi series products improve average user experience by 1.3 times while reducing power consumption by approximately 40%, further improving spectral and energy efficiency.

Pioneering open-source autonomous networks

Autonomous networks have emerged as an inevitable choice to deal with the growing AI services and increasing network complexity. RANSpirit is another industry first from Huawei, implementing single-domain network autonomy based on the telecom foundation model and digital twins. To date, RANSpirit is serving more than 1.2 million cells across 25 networks around the world, providing assistance to more than 2,000 engineers.

Extensive agent collaboration relies on an open, win-win ecosystem. This galvanizes Huawei to join industry partners to develop ecosystem standards, communities, and industry alliances. In terms of standards, Huawei adapts to the TM Forum, building a cross-agent foundation on the A2A-T standard and framework agreed upon by the industry. In terms of communities, Huawei jointly promotes neutral open-source communities and donates open-source agent components to the Linux Foundation, driving global collaboration and innovation. With regard to industry alliances, Huawei has taken the initiative to pool ecosystem strengths to accelerate business implementation based on the GSMA industry platform.

Fang concluded with the reiteration of Huawei’s unswerving pursuit of dual-drive innovation to promote new breakthroughs in mobile networks and work with partners from around the world to deepen the OpenAN ecosystem, advancing new communications networks through technological innovation and open collaboration.

FAQs

Q1: Why is it challenging to balance ultra-high bandwidth and ubiquitous coverage?

Ultra-high bandwidth depends on higher frequency bands. As we know, a higher frequency leads to a greater propagation loss of electromagnetic waves and a weaker ability for them to penetrate obstacles, because high-frequency signals attenuate fast and have short coverage distances, while ubiquitous coverage requires signals to travel a long distance in complex environments. Inherently, the two priorities pull in sharply opposite directions.

  




 

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