Industry 4.0 represents a breakthrough in manufacturing innovations, transforming product creation and company operations. The advent of smart devices enables manufacturers to communicate autonomously whereby machines communicate with each other via sensors to reduce defective products and waste. Companies can now gain access to critical, real-time data by tracking the productivity and efficiency levels of employees, machinery and business operations. This ultimately allows a calculated evaluation of the entire manufacturing value chain.
In today’s globalised world, companies and their industrial practices in both developed and emerging markets are urged to stay abreast of these exponential changes to remain competitive and relevant in the marketplace.
Due to inadequate accessibility and connectivity, the African continent is unable to embrace Industry 4.0 at a rate equivalent to that of the developed world. However, emerging markets are unrestrained by infrastructure legacy issues and are more versatile in dealing with change than their developed counterparts. This poses a considerable advantage for developing sub-Saharan African countries to adopt a more receptive outlook towards Industry 4.0.
The Indaba will address an array of other pressing issues within the sector, such as strategies dedicated to growth and competitive advantage in the sector, opportunities to provide industrial players with assistance and access to finance, international trends to support the development and maintenance of a skilled workforce, opportunities and challenges facing the South African manufacturing sector within the next five years, and Intra-African Trade in the SADC region.
This year's event will host 67 influential speakers, attract 473 conference delegates, 70 exhibition stands as well as 2283 expo visitors. In addition, 531 complimentary business matchmaking meetings will be facilitated to promote Intra-Africa trade to support Africa’s growth trend of 5,5% as forecasted by the International Monetary Fund.
With a bigger venue than ever before, this year’s event will see the launch of the Small Business Indaba Exhibition, aimed at small manufacturers that play a key role in the growth of sub-Saharan Africa’s manufacturing industry.
