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Canon Central & North Africa to Launch its Revolutionary New Products from the Famous EOSR Line

Published

4 years ago

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Canon Central

Canon will also introduce for the first time in Egypt, its revolutionary mirrorless range of products – EOS R3, EOS R5 C, EOS R7 & EOS R10 in an endeavor to introduce a much wider array of technology solutions in Africa

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 15, 2022/APO Group/ — 

Canon’s (Canon-CNA.com) R-tour in Egypt – testimony to the company’s commitment and dedication towards bring a variety of technological solutions to Africa; Canon will also introduce for the first time in Egypt, its revolutionary mirrorless range of products – EOS R3, EOS R5 C, EOS R7 & EOS R10 in an endeavor to introduce a much wider array of technology solutions in Africa.

Canon Central and North Africa announced today of its highly-awaited R-tour which commenced from June 14th in Egypt, in line with the company’s continued commitment to Africa and its endeavor to bring the best in class for imaging technology solutions to the continent. The exclusive launch event brought together company executives, along with industry experts, professional photographers, videographers, and leading content creators from Egypt for an intriguing and interactive session that included panel discussions, video showcase, and cultural performances. The event witnessed Amine Djouahra, Canon’s Sales and Marketing Director as a keynote speaker whilst Mostafa Makram – Youtuber and Postproduction Trainer, Tarek Abdullah – Photography and Art Director, and Ahmed Waffay, Filmmaker who participated in an insightful panel discussion which was held on the trending topic of ‘The rising industry of content creators.

COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE

Canon’s commitment to Africa in ensuring a continuous stream of new products and solutions is consistently introduced in the market to meet its rapidly evolving needs and underpins the company’s objective of launching R-tour in Egypt. The R-tour kicked-off with the launch of cutting-edge products from the Canon’s much renowned EOS R system. These will include EOS R3, EOS R5 C, EOS R7, and EOS R10. The EOS R3 offers all the familiarity and speed of Canon’s renowned EOS-1 series, with the innovation and versatility of the pioneering EOS R System. With a brand new, innovative 24.1megapixel sensor, the EOS R3 gives an optimal balance of performance, resolution, and speed to offer news and sports photographers a camera to outperform and outpace the competition. Likewise, The EOS R5 C is a powerful, hybrid cinema camera which combines the professional filmmaking features of the Cinema EOS range with the EOS R System’s photo capabilities. A high-resolution, full frame CMOS sensor, DIGIC X processor and the RF Mount, are the crucial three elements that enable high fidelity 8K capture, and 45 megapixels still photo capture at burst speeds up to 20 frames per second, all in a single body of the EOS R5 C.

Amine Djouahra Canon’s Sales and Marketing Director (CCNA) at today’s R – Tour in Egypt

ONE BRAND, MANY SOLUTIONS

The R-tour is an embodiment of both these things, we want to showcase our cutting-edge technology through the launch of our new products whilst getting closer to people

“Canon as a brand has always been at the forefront of innovation and technology and as a company, we take pride in putting people first. The R-tour is an embodiment of both these things, we want to showcase our cutting-edge technology through the launch of our new products whilst getting closer to people. We are the only brand that offers all solutions from input and output to all segments of end user be it home user, business owner, beginner to professional photographer, content creators, videographers, filmmakers etc. Thus, it becomes essential for us to create strong channels of opportunities where we can directly interact and engage with our diverse set of audience to ensure we take these relationships a notch higher. We want our fans to come forward and experience the beauty of our products first-hand rather than just hearing or seeing these from a distance. The R-tour will allow us to do so in myriad ways, people can have a trial-run at our products on spot, provide us with valuable feedback and have their questions answered by experts. As I see it, the R-tour is a win-win for both the company and the audience. We are thrilled to be in Egypt, a market that’s growing rapidly and we are excited for our fans to unveil the brilliance of our new products from the EOS R system,” said Amine Djouahra, Director of Sales and Marketing, Canon Central and North Africa.

ENGAGE, CONNECT, LEARN

With the central theme of Canon’s R-tour revolving around building relationships with its various sets of audiences, the company has created experiential booths to promote the spirit of interaction, engagement, and connectivity. Audiences experienced seven different booths each highlighting a different theme, thereby allowing fans to immerse themselves in the Canon universe. The first booth, namely ‘Video booth’, focused on production shooting and cinematic set up with cameras such as Canon C500 Mark II and C300 Mark III being put on display. The second booth gave fans a glimpse into the world of virtual reality whereas the third one called ‘Green Chroma’ provided insights into post-production with Canon C70 + R5 C being put on display. Furthermore, the next booth was a hit amongst action and sports photography lovers with Canon’s illustrious EOS R3 +RF 15-35mm being put on display. The fifth booth was all about Canon’s complete mirrorless range of R system – RP, R, R6, R5, R7, R10 and RF lenses thus making it a hotspot for Generation R community members. The next booth shed light on the needs of gaming and vlogging community with Canon M50 Mark II. Last but not the least, the ‘Quality and Color’ booth captured a splendid show of Middle Eastern light in a bid to celebrate the spirit of Canon’s community in Egypt. Post the tour, Canon envisions to continue engaging with end-users through a series of events including Photo walks, Masterclasses, Competitions, and Generation R Community events among others.  The tour provided fans an opportunity to test-drive Canon products right on the spot, and get their queries answered directly through company experts.

CANON COMMUNITY – A DRIVING FORCE

Canon has been successfully represented in Egypt through distributors and partners that have built a solid customer base in the country. Through the launch of its new products incorporating cutting-edge and world-class technology, Canon aims to be part of Egypt’s digital transformation journey by elevating the imaging technology sector in the country. Canon’s relentless pursuits in enhancing the local distribution network in Egypt, supported by partners as well local Canon employees in-country, has been the driving force in successfully implementing the company’s closer to customer strategy.

To further strengthen the company’s focused approach towards a key industry vertical of System integrators & Value-Added Resellers (SI-VAR), Canon hosted an exclusive conference on June 15th, 2022 which provided an opportunity for SI-VARs to witness the wide range of Office Personal Printing (OPP) products & solutions that covered the range of Canon PIXMA G series, Inkjet printers, GX Model, Laser SFP, Laser MFP and TR150 printer.

The company has successfully launched its R-tour previously in Morocco and Kenya and intends to continue this journey of building relationships by getting closer to its customers throughout the African continent.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA).

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Master Power Technologies Unveils R50m State-of-the-Art Customer Experience Centre at New Midrand Premises

Published

21 minutes ago

on

July 20, 2026

By

Master Power Technologies

This milestone marks a significant step in the company’s continued expansion and commitment to advancing Africa’s data centre infrastructure

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 20, 2026/APO Group/ –Master Power Technologies (MPT) (https://kva.co.za/), a leading pan-African provider of turnkey data centre and critical power solutions, has unveiled its hi-tech Customer Experience Centre, also home to its new regional headquarters in Midrand.

Master Power Technologies Unveils R50m State-of-the-Art Customer Experience Centre at New Midrand Premises

This milestone marks a significant step in the company’s continued expansion and commitment to advancing Africa’s data centre infrastructure.

Founded in 1999 by electrical engineer Menno Parsons, MPT has grown from its origins as a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) provider into a diversified engineering firm that delivers end-to-end solutions for data centres across Africa and the Middle East. Today, MPT designs, manufactures, and assembles a wide range of products under its flagship brands, SURE and AIVA, tailored to withstand Africa’s demanding operational environments.

The new Midrand facility spans 6 000m2 and will serve as MPT’s African headquarters, housing approximately 200 employees. Strategically located between Johannesburg and Pretoria, the site is positioned close to major data centre hubs, ensuring accessibility for clients and partners.

Hands-on environment

At the heart of the launch is the Customer Experience Centre, a R50 million investment designed to showcase MPT’s engineering capabilities and provide a hands-on environment for customers, partners, and trainees. The centre features advanced test facilities, including a 2 MVA UPS test platform and a 400kW cooling systems test centre, which is the most comprehensive of its kind on the continent.

These facilities enable performance testing to European certification standards, offering clients confidence in the reliability and efficiency of MPT’s solutions, with the company having become the first African business to be officially certified as an Endorser of the European Code of Conduct for Energy Efficiency in Data Centres in 2025.

The Experience Centre represents a new chapter for Master Power Technologies

“The Experience Centre represents a new chapter for Master Power Technologies. It’s about creating a space where customers can engage with our technology, see it in action, and understand the depth of our capabilities,” says MD and Founder of MPT Menno Parsons.

“This centre will be the most impressive UPS and cooling training facility in Africa, allowing our clients to touch, feel, and work with real systems in a way that has never been possible before.”

Commitment to local

The Experience Centre also highlights MPT’s commitment to local engineering and manufacturing. MPT assembles and engineers complete modular data centre and energy centre solutions within Africa. This approach reduces logistical risks, supports local industry, and ensures solutions are tailored to regional requirements.

Beyond technical demonstrations, the centre will serve as a hub for training and collaboration, equipping engineers and clients with practical knowledge to optimise data centre performance.

It also integrates MPT’s proprietary Advanced Infrastructure Visual Analytics (AIVA) monitoring platform, which manages and records metrics across more than 200 data centres in Africa, offering advanced analytics and operational insights.

“Our business has always been about more than just selling equipment. We engineer solutions for Africa, by Africa. This Experience Centre is a testament to that philosophy, which strengthens our ability to train, innovate and deliver world-class infrastructure while remaining rooted in local expertise,” says Parsons.

The launch of the Midrand offices and Experience Centre underscores MPT’s role as a trusted partner in Africa’s rapidly growing data centre sector. With demand for resilient, efficient, and scalable infrastructure on the rise, MPT’s investment positions the company to meet the evolving needs of clients across the continent and beyond.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Master Power Technologies.

 

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Embracing an Intelligent Future: UnionPay Showcases AI Innovation at WAIC 2026

Published

23 minutes ago

on

July 20, 2026

By

WAIC

Release of Phased Achievements of the National Pilot Base for AI Application (Financial Sector) Held Alongside the Conference

SHANGHAI, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 20 July 2026 – On 17 July, the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) officially opened in Shanghai. UnionPay unveiled three proprietary AI technologies developed for the financial sector at the Shanghai exhibition area: financial transaction time-series foundation model, the Agentic Payment Open Protocol (APOP) framework, and a privacy-preserving large language model inference solution. As the AI era unfolds, the showcase highlights UnionPay’s continued commitment to accelerating the adoption of digital and intelligent technologies.

On 18 July, UnionPay hosted the Release of Phased Achievements of the National Pilot Base for AI Application (Financial Sector) at the UnionPay Center alongside WAIC 2026. The event brought together more than 100 representatives from commercial banks, Chinese and international partners, leading technology companies, academia, and research institutions. During the event, UnionPay released its “1+6+N” AI achievements framework, announced a series of industry partnerships, and launched a joint initiative calling for greater collaboration on the development and governance of the financial industry. These achievements demonstrate the progress of the National AI Application Pilot Base in building an open innovation platform that accelerates AI adoption across the industry.

Dong Junfeng, Chairman of China UnionPay and UnionPay International, attended the event and delivered a keynote speech. He noted that AI is rapidly reshaping the financial industry. Since the National AI Application Pilot Base was launched in 2025, it has delivered a number of meaningful outcomes through close collaboration across the industry. Mr. Dong elaborated on the vision for the development of the base from through three dimensions: sharing, collaborative governance, and mutual benefits. First, by pooling computing resources, data and models on a centralized public platform, the base helps address industry challenges such as the high cost of computing resources and data silos. This lowers barriers to AI adoption across the financial sector. Second, the base has strengthened AI security by building robust safeguards for large language models and applying AI to enhance transaction risk management and cybersecurity. Such efforts are made to support a safer and more resilient financial ecosystem. Third, the base is accelerating the AI adoption across real-world use cases. It has incubated a range of commercial AI solutions spanning agentic payments, credit risk management, consumption promotion and merchant digital transformation, turning technological innovation into tangible business value. Looking ahead, the future of AI + Finance holds enormous potential. UnionPay looks forward to working with partners across industries to build an open, shared, and well-governed financial AI ecosystem that supports the development of new productive forces through technological innovation.

A highlight of the event was the official launch of UnionPay’s “1+6+N” AI achievements framework.

The “1” represents a unified portal—the National AI Application Pilot Base. Built on a “One Portal, Six Centers” structure, it integrates six specialized centers covering models, datasets, applications, talent development, supply-demand matching, and financial services. Together, the platform currently hosts 11 models, 14 datasets, 59 demonstration applications, and 61 service offerings, bringing together 145 core resources in total.

The “6” refers to six independent and controllable capabilities, including computing resources scheduling through a trusted intelligent computing sharing platform, high-quality financial datasets, finance-specific foundation models, AI-powered financial security services, financial AI standards, and a pilot testing sandbox that supports model training and evaluation. Together, these six capabilities form the base’s shared technology foundation, providing ecosystem partners with the core technical infrastructure.

The “N” represents a portfolio of benchmark use cases, standardized AI solutions, and demonstration applications built on this technology foundation. These applications span five key areas—intelligent payments, inclusive finance, consumption growth, risk management and compliance, and operational excellence—building a multi-tier product portfolio serving consumers, merchants, local governments and financial institutions. This accelerates the application of AI capabilities across diverse use cases.

Together, the “1+6+N” framework of the base connects computing power, data, models, and use cases and forms an end-to-end value chain. By addressing common industry challenges—including limited computing resources, data silos and the high cost of AI deployment—it delivers standardized and widely accessible AI capabilities, providing the financial industry with reusable, highly secure and one-stop AI solutions for intelligent transformation. This also reflects UnionPay’s commitment not only to driving its own business growth, but also to enabling the industry through foundational capabilities and reinforcing financial infrastructure for the AI era.

These achievements have already been made available to industry partners and are beginning to create value. For banks, acquirers and other financial institutions, UnionPay’s shared infrastructure enables rapid access to mature financial AI capabilities without the need to build systems from scratch, significantly reducing both technical barriers and implementation costs. For merchants, UnionPay offers AI-powered marketing, digital analytics and intelligent risk management tools to support smarter operations, improve customer engagement and enhance operational efficiency, enabling even small and medium-sized businesses to benefit from AI innovation. For technology companies and other ecosystem partners, the base enables partners to rapidly adapt AI products for financial applications and complete compliance validation, accelerating the commercialization of technological innovations.

The event also featured six rounds of partnership signing ceremonies, covering areas including AI-themed card, cross-border agentic payment ecosystem development, AI-powered operational empowerment for merchants, joint commercialization of pilot base innovations, and broader ecosystem collaboration across the financial industry chain.

Following the signing ceremonies, UnionPay released the Initiative on the Collaborative Development and Governance of AI Applications in Financial Services, with representatives from participating organizations joining the stage to witness its launch. Building on the “1+6+N” framework, the initiative calls on industry stakeholders to collaborate in four areas: First, advancing trusted AI systems that serve the real economy by establishing governance mechanisms for traceable and explainable algorithms while safeguarding data privacy and security; Second, strengthening collaboration among industry, academia, research institutions and users, leveraging the base to jointly advance core technologies and develop independent and secure financial AI infrastructure; Third, promoting openness and inclusiveness by sharing mature AI models, testing services and implementation solutions to reduce the cost of intelligent transformation, particularly for SMEs; Fourth, improving lifecycle governance through tiered risk management, enhanced compliance standards and coordinated risk prevention. The initiative calls on all industry stakeholders to work together by jointly strengthening the foundation, unlocking greater value through shared capabilities, and reinforcing collaborative governance, with the goal of advancing the sound development of AI in the financial sector and driving digital finance through technological innovation.

 

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Energy

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Standard Bank and Africa50 Lead Finance Lineup at African Mining Week 2026

Published

3 days ago

on

July 17, 2026

By

Standard Bank

Leading development finance institutions, commercial banks and private investment firms will explore financing strategies that can unlock the continent’s estimated $29.5 trillion in mine-site mineral wealth at AMW 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, July 17, 2026/APO Group/ –As Africa moves to unlock an estimated $29.5 trillion in mine-site mineral value, development finance institutions, commercial banks and private investment firms are expanding financial support to help transform the continent into a globally competitive mining hub.

The growing role of financiers in unlocking Africa’s mining value chain will take center stage at African Mining Week (AMW) 2026, taking place October 14–16 in Cape Town. The event will bring together leading financial institutions – including Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), Standard Bank, Absa Bank, Trade and Development Bank (TDB), Africa50, Apeiron Investment Group and World Mining Investment – to showcase financing models supporting mining development across the continent.

AMW comes as momentum behind mining finance continues to accelerate. In July 2026, AFC, DFC and the Development Bank of Southern Africa reached financial close on the $753 million Lobito Corridor Railway Project, one of Africa’s most significant infrastructure investments supporting the mining sector. The project will rehabilitate 1,300 km of railway linking Angola’s Port of Lobito with the DRC and Zambia, creating a faster and more cost-effective export corridor for copper, cobalt and other strategic minerals.

At AMW 2026, Vibhuti Jain, Managing Director & Regional Head for Africa at DFC, is expected to discuss the institution’s growing investment portfolio and the U.S. strategy to strengthen critical mineral supply chains through Africa.

The event also comes as South Africa strengthens exploration finance through the IDC-managed Junior Exploration Fund. In June 2026, the IDC reached a new financing milestone, increasing the number of junior mining companies supported through the fund to 13. Earlier in the year, the IDC expanded the fund’s capital allocation to R600 million, advancing the country’s efforts to revive exploration, stimulate greenfield development and strengthen the participation of locally owned mining companies. Thabiso Sekano, IDC’s Head of Mining and Metals, is expected to discuss the fund’s progress alongside broader initiatives supporting the mining industry through investments in industrial infrastructure.

Infrastructure finance will also be a key focus at AMW 2026, with Simbarashe Chikarango, Head of Project and Infrastructure Finance at TDB, and Folaseto Akin-Olugbade of Africa50 expected to highlight investments aimed at addressing the energy, transport and logistics constraints that continue to limit mining productivity.

 

TDB recently partnered with several financial institutions to launch a $176 million energy investment platform that will accelerate private-sector electrification across sub-Saharan Africa. The bank is also providing a $150 million syndicated facility to Mota-Engil Africa to finance transport, mining and infrastructure projects across multiple African markets. Meanwhile, Africa50 is supporting Kenya’s $311 million electricity transmission public-private partnership, strengthening power infrastructure essential for mining and industrial development.

Commercial banks are likewise expanding their mining portfolios. Standard Bank and Absa Bank recently participated in a $130 million financing package for South African mining company Tharisa, supporting the company’s long-term growth strategy. Standard Bank also arranged a $150 million financing facility for Rosh Pinah Zinc Corporation in Namibia to support mine expansion, reinforcing its commitment to financing strategic mining projects across Southern Africa.

Deerosh Maharaj, Executive Head for Energy, Infrastructure and Mining at Standard Bank, and Shirley Webber, Managing Principal and Coverage Head for Resources and Energy at Absa Bank, are expected to discuss opportunities to increase capital flows into African mining projects.

Private investment firms are also stepping up efforts to channel international capital into Africa’s mining sector. Apeiron Investment Group and World Mining Investment are expanding initiatives to connect investors with the continent’s growing pipeline of mining opportunities, as Africa seeks to secure a significant share of the estimated $500 billion in global investment required by 2040 to meet soaring demand for critical minerals, including copper, lithium, graphite, nickel and rare earth elements.

Sebastian Wagner, Head of Natural Resources at Apeiron Investment Group, and Didier Rault, CEO of World Mining Investment, are expected to showcase financing strategies designed to connect global investors with Africa’s next generation of mining projects.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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