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Hyatt Announces Plans for Grand Hyatt Victoria Falls The Kingdom

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Hyatt Victoria Falls

Set to open in late 2027 after an extensive refurbishment of the building, Grand Hyatt Victoria Falls will be the second Hyatt branded hotel in Zimbabwe

We aim to create an elevated hospitality experience that celebrates the culture, energy and significance of Victoria Falls

VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe, July 8, 2026/APO Group/ –Hyatt (www.Hyatt.com) announced today that Grand Hyatt Victoria Falls The Kingdom is expected to open in late 2027 following the signing of a management agreement between a Hyatt affiliate and an affiliate of Albwardy Investments LLC. Located in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls, home to the world-famous waterfall of the same name, the hotel will become the second Hyatt branded hotel in the country.

 

Originally built in 1966 and redeveloped in 1999, the property will undergo an extensive renovation and design transformation in line with the Grand Hyatt brand, creating a captivating destination within a destination that celebrates both the iconic and intimate moments through thoughtful details and grand experiences. The hotel will give World of Hyatt members and guests the opportunity to visit and stay in another renowned leisure travel destination. Upon opening as Grand Hyatt Victoria Falls The Kingdom, World of Hyatt members will be able to earn and redeem World of Hyatt benefits.

Nestled in the heart of Victoria Falls, which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and locally known as Mosi-oa-Tunya or “The Smoke That Thunders”, the future Grand Hyatt Victoria Falls The Kingdom will offer a distinctive gateway to one of the world’s most iconic destinations. The location of the hotel will place guests within a vibrant and compact tourism hub, with only a five-minute walk to the Victoria Falls rainforest and easy access to regional safari circuits, guided tours, restaurants and cultural experiences.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Albwardy Investments to bring the Grand Hyatt brand to Victoria Falls,” said Ludwig Bouldoukian, Regional Vice President, Development, Middle East and Africa, Hyatt. “With its landmark location just moments from the Victoria Falls rainforest, this property represents a truly exceptional setting. This signing marks a significant milestone in Hyatt’s continued expansion across Africa, reinforcing our commitment on growing our brand presence in the region and providing World of Hyatt members more travel choice in inspiring destinations.”

“We are proud to collaborate with Hyatt on plans to introduce the Grand Hyatt brand to Victoria Falls,” said Mr. Ali Albwardy, Chairman, Albwardy Investments. “As one of the destination’s most established hospitality landmarks for more than 60 years, the property holds significant heritage and potential within Zimbabwe. Through its transformation under the Grand Hyatt brand, and with plans to reopen in late 2027, we aim to create an elevated hospitality experience that celebrates the culture, energy and significance of Victoria Falls, further reinforcing our commitment to Africa’s hospitality sector.”

The property is expected to feature 245 thoughtfully appointed guestrooms and an extensive range of facilities, including 1,800 sqm (19,375 sq ft) of meeting and event space, three dining venues, a spa and fitness center and a grand lobby lounge.  The hotel will offer a dynamic mix of culinary, leisure and wellness experiences along with welcoming service that creates an elevated experience for all guests. As the closest hotel to the entrance of the Victoria Falls national park on the Zimbabwean side of the border, the property is ideally located near the area’s key attractions. It is also a short 20-minute drive from Victoria Falls International Airport, making it well suited for leisure, events and business travellers alike.

To learn more about Hyatt, visit www.Hyatt.com


The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates.

 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Hyatt.

 

Business

Canon Central & North Africa Secures Gold at the Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management (HCM) Excellence Awards for Second Consecutive Year

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2026 recognition honours CCNA’s Management Team Development Programme for innovation in leadership development

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, September 9, 2026/APO Group/ –Canon Central & North Africa (CCNA) (www.Canon-CNA.com) has received a Gold Award at the 2026 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards for its Management Team Development Programme (MTDP), recognised under the category “Best Unique or Innovative Leadership Development Program”. This achievement marks CCNA’s second consecutive year of winning top honours at these global awards.

 




  

The Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards recognise achievements in human capital management, with entries evaluated by an independent panel of analysts, industry experts and experienced practitioners against criteria including business need, programme design, innovation, adoption and organisational impact.

Gaining competitive advantage and sustainable success in Africa’s dynamic, diverse and ever evolving business landscape, requires leaders who transcend functional boundaries, embrace agility, and lead through a shared organizational perspective, united by a common goal.

Winning this Gold Award for our Management Team Development Programme is a proud moment for CCNA

The award-winning Management Team Development Program (MTDP) was designed to help lay the foundation for this ambition. Anchored in Canon EMEA’s Leadership Principles, the program elevated enterprise leadership capability within the Management Team.

Somesh Adukia, Managing Director, Canon Central & North Africa, said: “Winning this Gold Award for our Management Team Development Programme is a proud moment for CCNA. It reflects the strength of our leaders and the work our HR team has put into creating a programme tailored to our business.

This program played a pivotal role in bringing the Management Team together in a development experience and laid the right foundation for the next decade of CCNA’s growth journey . This recognition reinforces our commitment to the continuous pursuit of leadership excellence.”

Deepali Arora, HR Director, Canon Central & North Africa, added: ” Capability is most powerful when developed within the right business context, aligned to organizational priorities. The MTDP program was intentionally designed and delivered fully in-house with an innovative co-facilitation approach.

The program enabled the Management Team to move beyond Functional excellence and strengthen collective organizational leadership. This what makes the recognition truly special.”

This latest recognition builds on CCNA’s success at the 2025 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards, where the organisation received two Gold Awards for its Future Leader Program and CCNA Clubs. Together, these achievements reflect CCNA’s continued focus on creating meaningful, locally relevant development opportunities that strengthen its people and leadership capabilities across the organisation.

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

 




 

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Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou Innovation Cluster in China maintains global lead

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WIPO

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 9 September 2026 – The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released its Global Innovation Index (GII) 2026 on September 8, revealing that the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou metropolitan cluster, located in Southern China, has once again secured the top position among the world’s 100 leading innovation clusters. This marks another triumph for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), solidifying its status as a global powerhouse for scientific advancement and technological entrepreneurship.

The annual GII ranking evaluates innovation activity through three core metrics: international patent filings via WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), scientific publications and the number of venture capital deals. For this year’s ranking, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster filed 2,259 PCT applications, published 4,060 scientific articles and had 138 venture capital deals, all per 1 million inhabitants over the past five years.

 




  

Welcoming the announcement, a spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government said the ranking reaffirms the outstanding innovative capacity and the innovation and technology (I&T)-supporting financing ecosystem of the GBA.

“Expediting I&T development has been a policy priority of this Government,” the spokesman added, highlighting the HKSAR Government’s continuous development of the original grant patent system and introduction of the patent box regime, which offers tax concessions for intellectual property income to promote innovation.

The HKSAR Government’s strategic investments are already yielding tangible results. The number of start-ups in Hong Kong has surged from over 1,500 in 2015 to more than 5,200 in 2025. The city’s two I&T flagships—Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport—have collectively nurtured around 20 unicorns to date.

A landmark development in this trajectory is the official opening of the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (the Loop Hong Kong Park) in December 2025. Over 100 technology enterprises and institutions have already signed leases and begun moving in. The Loop Hong Kong Park is poised to serve as an important platform for basic scientific research, commercialisation, pilot production, and international I&T collaboration within the GBA.

Furthermore, the establishment of the San Tin Technopole Company Limited in June 2026 is set to develop 210 hectares of I&T land in the San Tin Technopole, which is located in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis development. It will create a vital node for integrated upstream, midstream and downstream industrial development, alongside the Loop Hong Kong Park.

Hong Kong’s financial machinery remains a cornerstone of its innovation success. The city boasts a vibrant private equity market with assets under management nearing US$250 billion, ranking second in Asia after the Chinese Mainland.

Looking ahead, Hong Kong will proactively align its strategy with the National 15th Five-Year Plan to fortify its position as an international I&T centre. The city will also further deepen collaboration with GBA sister cities, and contribute to the nation’s efforts in building a modern industrial system and achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and strength.
 




 

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Sancorp Group Joins African Energy Week (AEW) as Platinum Partner, Deepening Its African Energy Footprint

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African Energy Chamber

The trading group brings vertical integration, investment and upstream services to AEW 2026, with operations spanning Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Angola

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, August 20, 2026/APO Group/ –Sancorp Group, the Dubai-headquartered energy and commodities trading group with active operations across sub-Saharan Africa, will participate as a Platinum Partner at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town from October 12-16. The partnership, AEW’s highest tier, reflects the growing commercial engagement between Gulf-based energy groups and African markets.

 




 

Sancorp operates across the full energy value chain, from crude oil and refined product trading through upstream asset participation and oilfield services. Its trading counterparties include Trafigura, Mercuria, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Dangote Fertilizers, Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR), PETROCI, the Tema Oil Refinery and Ghana’s Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST). To date, Sancorp has structured over $2 billion in oil and gas investments across the continent.

The group’s vast commercial network makes its presence at AEW a prime opportunity for operators, refineries and traders looking to build or expand supply relationships in West Africa. The Ivory Coast is Sancorp’s largest and most active market, with projected annual flows exceeding $600 million across refined products, crude, LPG and fertilizer deliveries into SIR and PETROCI.

Sancorp is built around relationships and execution in markets where both of those things are hard to get right

In July 2026, the group delivered more than 36,000 tons of gasoil into SIR’s Abidjan terminal. Sancorp also holds a government-certified license to import and distribute fertilizers in the country, supplying 500,000 bags of urea and NPK annually through the Ministry of Agriculture.

In Ghana, Sancorp supplied more than 300,000 tons of gasoil and gasoline in 2024, while in Nigeria its subsidiary SCP Energy maintains NIPEX-certified upstream service capabilities and is a certified export trading counterparty to the Dangote Refinery. The group is also expanding into Angola, where it is registered with Sonangol and in advanced discussions on minority interests in two deepwater production blocks and an equity stake in one of the country’s planned grassroots refineries.

For AEW 2026 attendees, Sancorp’s model represents the kind of Gulf-to-Africa commercial bridge that is becoming more prominent across the continent’s energy trading landscape: structured finance, physical trading capacity and on-the-ground presence across multiple West African markets, all housed within a single group. The Platinum Partnership gives Sancorp visibility across the full AEW program as it looks to scale its trading book and deepen its upstream and refining positions.

“Sancorp is built around relationships and execution in markets where both of those things are hard to get right,” says NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “This is a group that is actively trading, investing and building upstream positions across West Africa, and their presence at the event creates real opportunities for the operators and governments in the room.”

As a Platinum Partner at AEW 2026, Sancorp is expected to engage operators, refineries, NOCs and investors on trading partnerships, upstream investment and supply-chain development across West and Southern Africa.

 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

 




 

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