CAPE TOWN, South Africa, September 16, 2026/APO Group/ –African Mining Week (AMW) 2026, taking place from October 14–16 in Cape Town, will feature senior United States (U.S.) and Argentine representatives in discussions examining mineral investment, value addition and international cooperation.

Ashley Ndir, Principal Commercial Officer with the U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce/International Trade Administration, and Raúl Santiago Ailán, Head of Mission and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Embassy of Argentina in South Africa, have joined the conference, signaling growing international interest in Africa’s mining opportunities.

 




 
 

Ndir will join the U.S.–Africa Roundtable on Advancing Local Beneficiation and Standardizing ESG Frameworks. Drawing on her role in expanding American market opportunities and economic partnerships, Ndir is expected to bring a commercial diplomacy perspective to discussions on U.S.–Africa market integration.

Her participation comes as the U.S. advances its African mining strategy, centered on facilitating investment in mineral development and exports. Through agencies like the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the U.S. Export–Import Bank and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency alongside private industry, the U.S. continues to back major project development across key mining jurisdictions, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Ailán joins the conference at a time when Argentina is accelerating its own mining expansion. The country is a major lithium producer and is seeking to expand copper development, while African mineral producers are similarly working to attract investment into exploration, processing and supporting infrastructure. This creates scope for greater cooperation between African and Latin American mining jurisdictions across investment, technical expertise and mineral development.

Ailán will join the panel discussion on Realigning National and International Goals to Advance Global Investment in Africa’s Value Chain. The session will examine how national development priorities can be aligned with international investment requirements to support greater value addition.

Under the theme Mining the Future: Unearthing Africa’s Full Mineral Value, AMW 2026 will bring together governments, investors, mining companies and international partners to advance investment across mineral exploration, production, processing and supporting infrastructure. The event offers a strategic international forum to foster engagement, strengthen mineral ties and advance development in Africa and across international markets.

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, September 14, 2026/APO Group/ –VUKA Group RDC (http://WeAreVUKA.com/) will participate in the inaugural edition of Makutano Mining, taking place from 22 to 25 November 2026 in Kinshasa, under the High Patronage of His Excellency the President of the Republic.

As the organiser of DRC Mining Week and the DRC Critical Minerals & Industrialisation Forum, VUKA Group RDC will showcase its platforms and programmes and mobilise its network of operators, investors and suppliers around the four-day programme. The two organisations will also jointly promote the forum across their respective channels, bringing Makutano Mining 2026 to the attention of mining industry stakeholders in the DRC, across Africa and internationally.

 




  

This collaboration brings together two complementary platforms. While DRC Mining Week has focused on operations and on-the-ground realities from Lubumbashi, Makutano Mining brings to Kinshasa a space for vision, strategy and national decision-making, in close proximity to the Presidency, ministries and governors of the mining provinces. Bringing these two levels together is what has been missing from the Congolese mining conversation.

“This partnership reflects our commitment to strengthening the bridges between platforms that contribute to the development of the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We are pleased to participate in Makutano Mining 2026 and to put our platforms and network at the service of this collective momentum.”

Papy Luzala, Managing Director, VUKA Group RDC

“Bringing VUKA to Kinshasa means bringing together in one room those who produce and those who make decisions. Our two platforms are complementary, and the Congolese mining sector has everything to gain from this collaboration.”

Nicole Sulu, Founder, Réseau Makutano

Beyond November, the two organisations intend to promote knowledge sharing, strengthen connections between stakeholders and support the development of more integrated mining and industrial value chains in the DRC. They share a common conviction: that the mining sector should be a driver of local value creation, industrialisation, skills development and employment.

Makutano Mining 2026 will take place from 22 to 25 November 2026 in Kinshasa. Four days bringing together the country’s highest-ranking government authorities, industry leaders and international financiers around the theme of mining sovereignty.

RİYADH, Saudi Arabia, September 15, 2026/APO Group/ –KoçSistem (https://KocSistem.com) and KoçDigital, two of the leading players in Türkiye’s technology ecosystem, have strengthened their growth plans in the Saudi market with two new strategic partnerships. The agreements were announced at LEAP 2026, held in Riyadh from August 31 to September 3. KoçSistem signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GAPP, a Saudi ICT and digital signage solutions provider, to accelerate the rollout of its digital publishing platform Pixage in the country. KoçDigital entered a strategic partnership with Mannai Information Technology Saudi Arabia to develop new opportunities in artificial intelligence, IoT, cloud and industry-specific digital transformation solutions.

 




  

LEAP 2026 brought more than 200,000 attendees to Riyadh, along with global technology companies, investors and public sector representatives. For KoçSistem and KoçDigital, the event served as a platform where technology and expertise developed in Türkiye met new applications in the Gulf market, and where new partnerships with the local technology ecosystem took shape.

A new growth opportunity for Pixage in Saudi Arabia

The Memorandum of Understanding KoçSistem signed with GAPP aims to expand the range of applications for Pixage in Saudi Arabia and to position the platform in a variety of digital communication projects. The partnership is intended to bring Pixage into wider use across Saudi institutions and projects, and to strengthen KoçSistem’s technology portfolio in the region. It forms part of the company’s strategy to broaden its operations in the Gulf and to increase the international use of the technology it develops in Türkiye.

Developed by KoçSistem, Pixage is a cloud-based solution that allows digital screens in different locations to be managed from a single central platform. It supports the planning, distribution and simultaneous publishing of content across settings such as airports, hospitals, retail outlets and corporate campuses. Its ability to integrate with IoT systems gives organizations a way to run large screen networks from one point and to vary content by location, time and target audience.

KoçDigital and Mannai focus on digital transformation

The strategic partnership KoçDigital has launched with Mannai Information Technology Saudi Arabia brings together complementary capabilities from both companies. KoçDigital’s expertise in technology, solution architecture and industrial transformation meets Mannai’s local market knowledge, integration capability and managed services experience. The two companies aim to develop new client opportunities in artificial intelligence, the internet of things, cloud technologies and industry-specific solutions, and to deliver scalable offerings for the digital transformation needs of organizations in Saudi Arabia.

A local partnership model for growth in the Gulf

With these two agreements, KoçSistem and KoçDigital are carrying the technology and expertise they have built in Türkiye into the Saudi market through regional partnerships, while building a closer relationship with the local technology ecosystem in line with their long-term growth plans in the Gulf.

Mehmet Ali Akarca, CEO of KoçSistem and Vice Chairman of KoçDigital, said:

“Taking the technology we develop in Türkiye and the experience we have accumulated into different markets around the world is an important part of our growth strategy. Saudi Arabia holds a significant place in that strategy, with its strong economic transformation, its technology investments and its digitalization vision. The two partnerships we announced at LEAP 2026 are concrete steps toward our goal of establishing a long-term technology presence in the Gulf by combining our strengths with the local ecosystem.

Our aim here is not simply to export technology. It is to build a structure that understands the needs of the region, develops solutions together with local partners and creates long-term value.”

The two agreements extend a regional growth strategy that KoçSistem has been pursuing through local partnerships and offices across the Middle East. KoçSistem and KoçDigital are part of Koç Group, Türkiye’s largest industrial and services conglomerate.