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In today’s hyper-connected world, productivity has become the holy grail of business success. Inbox zero. Calendar blocks. Pomodoro timers. We’ve built an entire economy around optimising our to-do lists, but are we actually building anything that lasts? Or are we just busy? As a leadership strategist working with high-performing founders, corporate execs, and digital creators, …
CEM Africa today announces that NiCE, in partnership with iNOVO, has been appointed Lead Sponsor for the CEM Africa Johannesburg Edition, and the 2025 Customer Experience Africa Awards (CXAs), both of which will take place on Thursday, 20 November 2025 at the NH Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.
NiCE's leadership in AI‑driven customer experience, coupled with iNOVO's deep contact centre expertise, will power a high‑impact programme in Johannesburg designed to convert CX ambition into measurable business outcomes across South Africa's economic hub.
A day built for ROI: practical AI, measurable outcomes
Anchored in CEM Africa's commitment to create enterprise value from CX, the Johannesburg agenda features:
“We absolutely love attending CEM Africa and are proud to be the Lead Sponsor for the Johannesburg edition. CEM is such a brilliant place to connect with like-minded people who are thinking differently about how the market works. The level of engagement and the insights you gain from these conversations are incredible, and the team behind CEM always does a fantastic job bringing it all together.” - Keith Jackson, VP Partner Sales, NiCE International
Speakers from NiCE and iNOVO
Delegates will hear from a strong combined bench, including:
A day of high impact learning and connecting
The complete programme for the day spans a diverse set of workshops that will give attendees practical insights on measuring CX ROI, driving human‑centric digital transformation, and prioritising employee engagement.
Sessions explore keeping CX human in the age of AI, turning strategy into action with executive buy‑in, and leveraging smarter knowledge for better CX.
Featured contributors include Greg Jarvis (Connect SA), Tatiana Ndlovu (Nedbank Africa Regions), Palesa Nhlapo (FNB South Africa), Khwathelani Tshikovhi (Santam Insurance), and Grace Brown (JSE), to name just a few of the incredible CX leaders who will be sharing their insights in Johannesburg.
“CEM Africa has always been about more than great content, it is about cultivating a strong community of CX leaders who collaborate to raise the bar across the continent. Our partnership with NiCE reflects that spirit of collaboration, uniting innovation and expertise to drive measurable impact and elevate customer experience standards across Africa.” commented Terry Southam, Co-founder of CEM Africa
Event details - CEM Africa Johannesburg Edition
Why attend
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VUKA Group.
Registration and media enquiries:
Delegate and sponsorship enquiries: Here (https://apo-opa.co/3Ligu79)
Media contact:
steven.dennett@wearevuka.com
About CEM Africa:
CEM Africa is a brand built on the power of customer experience to drive meaningful change. Through market news, expert knowledge, and a series of digital offerings and in-person events across the continent, we bring together innovation, collaboration, and action to shape the future of CX. Guided by our commitment to “Excellence in Every Experience,” we are dedicated to advancing customer engagement and empowering organisations to deliver exceptional value to their customers.
CEM Johannesburg Edition Website - https://apo-opa.co/4hLfcO5
CEM Flagship edition website - https://apo-opa.co/47BrchP
About the CXAs:
The Customer Experience Africa Awards is an evening that recognises people, innovation, and transformation across the continent's CX community - from CX Leader of the Year to Best Use of AI, Best Enterprise Contact Centre Platform, and Best Customer Experience Team. The awards are proudly aligned with the CEM Africa Johannesburg Edition 2025.
CXA website - https://apo-opa.co/4hQBUo8
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Harmony Gold's roadmap: operational vision for water resiliency
Thigesh Vather, Senior Environment Officer-Water (Sustainable Development Department) Harmony Gold, opened the session by outlining the group's “water ambition roadmap”—a strategic framework designed to drive improved communication, accountability and performance measurement in water management. With operations across South Africa, Australia and Papua New Guinea, Harmony faces the universal mining challenge: water- and energy-intense production with heightened resource risk.
Their approach targets not only operational efficiency but also sustainability, emphasizing reduction in potable water dependency and elevated recycling rates. Critical investments include installing several reverse osmosis (RO) plants, collectively treating over 20 mega litres daily and offsetting considerable reliance on external supplies. A blend of clear metrics, such as tracking potable water dependency as a percent of total use and a focus on asset lifecycle risk (including mine closure and acquisition impacts) underline a forward-thinking strategy. Notably, from 2016 to 2024, Harmony achieved a substantial decrease in potable water dependency—primarily via recycling and sophisticated RO deployment.
Digital water governance: Innovation meets opportunity
Benoit Le Roux, co-founder of the South African Water Chamber, delivered a compelling presentation detailing the transformative potential of digital tools and market instruments for water governance. He highlighted two central threats: widespread water loss (non-revenue water) and persistent pollution—problems compounded by aging infrastructure and governance gaps.
Le Roux emphasized how digital transformation, using IoT sensors, big data analytics and distributed ledger (blockchain) systems, brings real-time transparency to both water systems and financing. Through tokenisation—the conversion of water savings or mitigation actions into secure, blockchain-based “digital assets”—water performance can be audited, traded and used to attract new investment. This model, proven in the US and Australia, holds promise for countries like South Africa where traditional municipal finances are constrained and require “de-risking” to attract pension funds and bond issuers.
The creation of ring-fenced, project-based entities (special purpose vehicles) ensures investments directly support tangible infrastructure, rather than vanishing into broader government coffers. Transparent digital markets and protocols allow for performance tracking, incentivizing both improved compliance and stakeholder trust.
Bridging Public-Private gaps: Stakeholder engagement and PPP models
The session also saw industry experts from mining and academia raise nuances around operational resilience, regulatory shifts and stakeholder engagement. Thiara Ratshibvumo, Environmental Manager, South Deep Gold Mine discussed the build-own-operate funding model for water plants—a contract structure where private operators build, finance and run assets, while the mine pays for actual water processed. This reduces up-front capital demands and operational risk for the mining company, providing flexibility and resilience in a volatile operating landscape.
Panellists underscored the importance of aligning water management with catchment requirements, climate resilience and community impact—factors that are drawing increasing investor scrutiny. The incorporation of digital performance measurement, contractual guarantees and transparent reporting is equipping the private sector and PPPs to better attract and manage blended infrastructure funding.
Towards a new water investment paradigm
The session's robust exchange distilled key lessons for water sector leaders: marry technology with transparent governance; build creative, risk-minimized funding models; and prioritize measurable outcomes over rhetoric. As digital tools proliferate, the potential to unlock both local and international capital for resilient water infrastructure is increasingly within reach. Public sector actors, industrial water users and financiers alike were called upon to harness these innovations to meet the evolving challenges of water security and sustainability.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VUKA Group.
About the C&I Energy+Storage Summit:
In its second year, the C&I Summit is a platform to unlock investment and speed up localisation, helping South Africa's energy-intensive sectors build resilience through innovation and resource security. Water Security Africa is co-located with C&I Energy+ Storage Summit. https://Energy-StorageSummit.com/
About ESI Africa:
Africa's leading power and energy journal is positioned as an impartial industry mouthpiece, delivering the latest technical developments, breaking news and analysis in both print and digital formats, on the web portal http://www.ESI-Africa.com as well as YouTube channel @ ESIAfricaTV (https://apo-opa.co/47pS2cu). ESI Africa is the proud Host Media Partner of the C&I Energy+Storage Summit.
About the event organisers:
VUKA Group connects people and organisations to information and each other across Africa's energy, mining, infrastructure, mobility, green economy and technology sectors via events, content and networking. Venture partners to The Global Trust Project, founders of WomenIN empowerment platform and leaders of NPO Go Green Africa. Discover more at www.WeAreVUKA.com
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