Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 84 | Page 11

NEWS

Muggie van Staden

Obsidian , believes that there are several key trends and strategic initiatives that reflect this changing dynamic . According to him , the philosophy of open source is undergoing a significant transformation .

What is open source ? This question has become more complex , says van Staden . The best development model for software has evolved , and the poster child , Linux , has seen market changes that bring uncertainty . For instance , there has been a change in many licensing practices from open source companies with vendors also following suit in how open solutions are being adopted and used within their client base .

Furthermore , the emergence of artificial intelligence , AI and automation have started changing coding practices . Many companies are willing to leave these advanced technologies to do the heavy lifting and simply use their in-house developers to check the code and address more strategic business requirements .

Furthermore , from a compliance perspective , there are also significant changes coming . Even though open source remains a collaborative development model , the principles of community-driven improvement must adapt to the modern regulatory environment and external cost factors .

This is crucial given how quickly data is being generated and how carefully companies must curate that data to remain within the compliance framework of not only the country in which their main operations are but also in all territories where they have offices .

To this end , van Staden believes that Obsidian Systems is well-positioned to guide clients through the changing landscape with more agile contracts that account for price increases and licensing changes .

Proparco , and renewable fund manager Frontier Energy announced a co-investment of over $ 52 million for Planet Solar , a greenfield 50MW solar power project in Sierra Leone , developed by Frontier Energy and Planet One . The co-investment enables the development of a critical project that stimulates investment in renewable energy – responding to the urgent need for access to clean , affordable and stable power .

Currently only 23 % of the population in Sierra Leone have access to electricity . This project will increase the operational domestic electricity supply by 30 % in Sierra Leone , channelling it to commercial and industrial entities , public institutions , and households connected to the main energy- grid . This enables more power to flow to industries and communities in Freetown , Sierra Leone ’ s commercial capital , the Western Area , and beyond including four sites throughout the country .

The renewable energy potential in Sierra Leone is abundant , primarily in hydropower , wind and solar resources . However , it remains underutilised while up to 80 % of the country ’ s electricity is generated from fossil fuels .

Driving a diversified approach to addressing energy access in the country , Planet Solar will be the first large-scale grid-connected solar Independent Power Producer . The 50MW solar capacity is expected to help avoid 53,000 tonnes of annual CO 2 emissions .

Commenting on the transaction , Chris Chijiutomi , Managing Director and Head of Africa at BII , said : “ We are delighted to help bring clean and reliable energy to underserved regions in Sierra Leone . Our investment in Planet Solar highlights our commitment to climate finance and accelerating progress towards net-zero emissions by 2050 .”

Sierra Leone is one of the priority countries of the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator initiative co-led by BII and FMO , with Proparco and other DFIs as members . The initiative aims to unlock investment opportunities and mobilise commercial capital in frontier markets in Africa .

www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA 11