Philips drives growth in Africa by introducing relevant healthcare and lighting solutions
- The third consecutive Cairo to Cape Town road show focuses on mother and child care and energy efficient lighting
Royal Philips Electronics announces its third pan-African Cairo to Cape Town road show (from 14th May to 16thAugust, 2012) to raise awareness on how healthcare and lighting solutions can enhance life in Africa. Philips has been active in Africa for over a century, and has committed to an aggressive multiyear investment plan to significantly increase its business footprint in the coming years based upon locally relevant products and innovations that address the needs of the growing African population.
“We are committed to building a long-term sustainable business footprint in Africa”, states Ronald de Jong, Executive Vice President and Chief Market Leader at Philips. “Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to be around 6% in 2012[1] and our ambition is to gain a strong presence in this continent by building on local talent and organizations, setting up distribution and route to market and above all, by developing solutions and innovations which are relevant for the local needs.”
The Cairo to Cape Town road show covers 12,000 kilometers across eleven countries and seventeen cities. During the road show the Philips team will be showcasing its innovations and continues to engage with customers, governments, NGOs and media on topics relating to key challenges facing Africa today: Mother and Child Care, Women’s Healthcare, energy efficient LED and solar lighting solutions.
Woman and Child Care focus supporting Millennium Development Goals
The road show continues to build on Mother and Child Care and Women’s Healthcare, supporting the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Goals 4 and 5 aimed at reducing child mortality rates and improving maternal health. Philips provides a broad range of ultrasound, monitoring, clinical informatics and patient care solutions needed to care for mothers and children: from pregnancy, labor and delivery, to postnatal, neonatal and pediatric care, and the transition to home.
Clinical education strengthens success of the road show
Philips is delivering customized training modules around Mother and Child Care in all markets during the road show. “Education is really key, and that’s why we have a strong emphasis on clinical training throughout this road show”, says Juan van Dongen, Vice President and CEO Philips Africa. “It’s one thing having the equipment, but we are also committed to enabling clinicians to use it, through dedicated clinical education. While we work to develop the most intuitive systems possible, clinicians may still require tools that will help them better interpret fetal heart traces for example.”
Philips LED lighting offering key benefits to Africa
During the road show Philips also highlights the benefits of LED lighting, which offers solutions to some of the key issues and opportunities Africa faces today: energy efficiency, climate change, resource scarcity, safety in cities, productivity in offices, and an enhanced sense of health and well-being. New LED technology, when combined with the latest solar and battery developments, can also provide good quality practical light for rural areas where more than 500 million Africans currently live without electricity. Philips will be promoting its new solar powered LED Street and Area lighting solutions which offer cost effective and reliable illumination. A Pan-African soccer tour under solar-powered LED floodlights is also planned to highlight these developments.
“We have already been in Africa for many years and have a strong installed base of our equipment, but we strongly acknowledge the benefits of dialogue during this road show and the need for our company to listen to the local market and understand how we can adapt our products to better serve this continent”, Ronald de Jong summarized.
The road show kicks-off in Cairo on 14th May and will make its next stop in Alexandria on 17th May 2012, and ends in South Africa on 16th August.