SWAN Cape Town 2026 Workshop – Shaping Africa’s Smart Water Future

Welcome Remarks

Keynote: “Why Commercially Viable Utilities Are Key to Improving Water Security in Africa”

Collaborative Financing for Climate Water Resilience

Moderator: Lubabalo Luyaba, Senior Water Specialist (World Bank – Water Resources Group)

Leveraging Private-Sector Water Risk Analytics to Unlock Resilience Capital

Led by Helen Hulett, Co-Founder of Resolve Water, ANDWATR.

Water scarcity and climate volatility are emerging as material business risks, yet decision-makers often lack clear, actionable insight.

Learn how private-sector water risk intelligence can turn basin-level data into prioritised actions and investable resilience pathways. Drawing on South Africa’s experience, this sesssion highlights practical approaches and blind spots to link water risk to operational and financial decision-making.

Rethinking Procurement & Contracting for AMI & Digital Water Delivery

Led by Rashid Khan, AMI Specialist Consultant (EY)

Traditional procurement and contracting models are struggling to keep pace with the complexity of AMI and digital water programmes.

Explore how utilities can rethink procurement to better enable digital transformation, operational readiness, and long-term value. Drawing on experience from South Africa, Kenya, and similar markets, understand common pitfalls to better align procurement with delivery outcomes in modern services.

Smart Metering: Comparing Pre-Paid, Post-Paid, Smart Wallet led by Pieter De Wet, Chief Operating Officer (Lesaka Technologies) & Shane Sing Head Meter Management, Commercial Services, Water and Sanitation (City of Cape Town)

Customer Engagement/Billing led by Hilton Smith, Chief Accountant Water and Electricity Billing (Drakenstein Municipality) and Danie Kotzé, Program Manager (Mezzanine)

Water-as-a-Service led by Peter Marota, Senior Manager, Water and Sanitation, Planning and Development (City of Mbombela Local Municipality) & Mike Smith, Partner (The Water Fund)

Translating Water Risk into Bankable Industrial Projects led by Theasha Naidoo, Strategic Consulting Lead & Boitumelo Matshediso, TalbotAnalytics Lead (Talbot) and Nkululeko Mabila, Senior Analyst Water Sector (GreenCape)

Energy Efficiency led by Mojabeng Monyamane, Coverage Head: Municipal Sectors (Development Bank of Southern Africa)

Water Quality Monitoring led by Lubabalo Luyaba, Senior Water Specialist (World Bank – Water Resources Group)

Leak Detection led by Dr. Zakhele Khuzwayo, Senior Manager: Innovation and Technology (Johannesburg Water) & Brynn Williams, Head of Digital Solutions Design (GWF)

Financing Advanced Pressure Management through Shared Benefits led by Peter Thompson, Managing Director (uMngeni Water Services) & Brett Nichol, CEO (JOAT)

Water Reuse led by Collin Mubadiro, Manager: Customer Services Water and Sanitation (City of Cape Town) & Keitumetse Molatlhwa, Public Sector Coverage Banker: Absa CIB (Absa Bank Limited)

Keynote: “Capabilities for Contagious Collaboration: Enhancing South Africa’s Water Resilience”

Workshop Summary

Keynote: “From Reform to Resilience: Governing Data, Digitalisation and Institutional Capability for Africa’s Smart Water Future”

Unlocking Workforce Innovation – Managing More with Less

Moderator: Nonhlakanipho Tau, Water Specialist (SALGA)

SWAN Update

Building Your Data Core: From Identification to Optimisation

Moderator: Tertius Rust, Founder & Executive Director (The Innovation Consulting Company)

Building AI-Ready Water Utilities

Led by Ruvimbo Delia Hakata, AI and Data Engineer (Aurora Tech, Zimbabwe)

Many utilities have extensive data, but is it being used effectively? This masterclass provides a practical playbook to close the insight gap in water-quality data, enabling you to make informed, actionable decisions powered by AI.

Practical Foresight Tools for the Water Sector

Led by Samista Jugwanth, Technical Director (Zutari)

This masterclass introduces structured foresight tools to identify key uncertainties, assess their implications, and translate future insights to improve strategic clarity and resilience planning.

Scaling Smart Metering: From Hype to High-Impact

Moderator: Shaun Mason, Strategic Programme Director (WRc Group)

Building on the SWAN Circular Model, we’ll break into different roundtables based on the following layers: (1) Physical Assets, (2) Sensing and Control, (3) Collection and Communication, (4) Data Management and Display, (5) Data Fusion and Analysis. 

Layer 1 – Physical Assets led by Christo Engelbrecht, Managing Director (aQco) & Terene Govender, Junior Water & Wastewater Industry Developer (Endress+Hauser)

Layer 2 – Sensing and Control (Water Networks) led by Charl Myburgh, Managing Director (Tydan Valves) & Andria Munien, Project Manager (ENsync Engineers)

Layer 2 – Sensing and Control (Sewer Systems) led by Benny Rousso, Research Officer/Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Barwon Water/Deakin University, Australia)

Layer 3 – Collection and Communication led by Sergio Lazzarotto, President (DLMS User Association) & Donald Taylor, Director (STS Association)

Layer 4 – Data Management and Display led by Fezile Solombela, SPO HRBP (City of Cape Town) & Petrus Van Heerden, Regional Manager – Africa (Kamstrup)

Layer 4 – Data Management and Display (Data Integration) led by Cebile Khumalo, Senior Solution Advisor (SAP)

Layer 5 – Data Fusion and Analysis (Digital Twins) led by Mogan Padayachee, Innovation & New Technologies Manager (Rand Water) & James Combrink, Technical Delivery Lead (Sand Technologies)

Layer 5 – Data Fusion and Analysis (AI) led by Vinit Mishra, Partner – Technology Consulting, Power and Utility (EY)

Keynote: “Embracing Digital Technologies for Improved Water Services: MUWASCO’s Smart Water Journey”

Bridging the Digital Divide in Africa

Moderator: Masheke Mukwamataba, CEO (IMQS)

Closing Remarks