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‘We Need Urgent Strategies for Energy Transformation’ –Says Mahmoud Mansi

Mahmoud Mansi is a Human Capital & Sustainability Consultant based in Egypt. He participated as a global Judge in the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards 2020, 2021 & 2022 and the GULF Sustainability Awards 2021 & the UK International Business Awards 2021. He has worked in the energy sector with major clients in the GULF region, including Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Alexandria Mineral Oils Company, and Oil and Gas Skills Company. Mansi is currently a member of the Afro-Asian Union as the Assistant Vice President for Sustainable Development Affairs. Recently, he visited Nigeria for the first time to attend the Nigeria International Energy Summit (N.I.E.S), during which he had a chat with VALUECHAIN. Excerpts:

How is your experience and what is your takeaway from the Summit?

Superb experience. I believe the topics discussed in the summit through the panels, presentations and workshops are profound, diverse and comprehensive. Different points of view were discussed regarding the future of energy in Africa, the workplace policies, the role of women in leading the energy sector, in addition to case-studies about the industry. What I loved most was the cooperation and unity between industry leaders in different African countries and organizations towards one shared vision for a better and sustainable African future. Also, His Excellency Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, shared an excellent vision towards processing resources in various ways, creating cleaner energy sources, developing strategic goals for sustainability, and initiating future jobs.

You were a speaker at the summit, can you share with us some of the insights from your presentation?

I was speaking as a representative of the Arab Institute for Leadership Development at the Arab Academy, and the Strategic Women and Youth Institute, and introducing a new postgraduate degree, which is the “Gender and Governance Diploma,” that is now available in Nigeria through this partnership.

My presentation was about “Analyzing Gender Gaps in Africa & Sustaining a Gender Balanced Workplace,” which is the essence of the gender and governance diploma. I spoke about initiatives that support gender equality, the role of education and work policies in sustaining gender balance, conducting gender audits, and analysis from the World Economic Forum 2021 Report about gender gaps in different regions in the world.

Can you tell us more about the report results of the gender gap, and how do you analyze them?

The World Economic Forum Report in 2021 showed that African countries scored least in gender equality, while European countries scored the highest. Yet, the variance in ratings is low; Western Europe 77%, African Countries 65%. Therefore, I consider this is an achievement because African countries started working on narrowing their gender gap way long after Western Europe did. This means Africa is able to generate quick results and milestones.

From your expertise in strategic management and sustainability as a consultant and a judge, give us a bird’s view of what should be the strategic focus areas during the energy transformation journey?

With any new change or transformation, we face new challenges to shift from point A, to point B, Future. Based on these expected challenges and the new vision of Nigeria and other African countries, the strategy is developed. Some of the expected challenges during the energy transformation phase are the following:

• Acquiring renewable energy know-how and technology

• Change resistance from stakeholders, consumers and employees

• Upgrading the current workforce and finding new talent requirements

The strategic focus should be on investing in know-how, equipment and technology, developing new policies with concerned stakeholders and experts, creating market awareness on sustainability, developing industry leaders and practitioners, upgrading educational programs in universities and, last but not least, building a new workplace culture that supports the implementation of such strategy and vision.

Can you share with us a brief on the pillars of some of the strategies you shared and tools of implementation?

On developing policies, policies are vital for setting the direction and minimizing threats. It is essential to continuously update politics and according to energy transformation policies regarding investors, environment, price ceiling, project management, health and safety, workforce development, quality management systems and audits.

For Market Awareness, this will minimize the resistance of change and will speed up the transformation process. Awareness can be created through corporate social responsibility, media, competition and grants, sessions in schools and universities, and most importantly partnering with NGOs.

Then, talking about updating the workforce, developing the human capital is essential, as people are the ones who create, manage, implement and lead policies and projects. This is conducted through analyzing new features of products and services in the age of renewable energy, what jobs and responsibilities are needed in order to fulfil these features, developing a competency framework that supports the new responsibilities, and tailoring specialized training programs that feed the competency framework.

Last but not the least, we want to thank you for dedicating a copy of your book to VALUECHAIN Magazine; but how was your book signing in Nigeria?

It was indeed a pleasure to meet with Mr. Danlami Nasir Isah, Head of External Relations at Valuechain, and having a deep conversation regarding several issues and being introduced to your insightful magazine, where I have been reading your articles and interviews.

During the N.I.E.S event, I was privileged to dedicate copies of my book: “Sustaining a 360 Agile Workplace,” to several delegates, speakers and VIP guests, all for my enthusiasm towards knowledge sharing, building robust relationships and empowering the African spirit and unity. I was even honoured to dedicate a special copy to H.E. Chief Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources in Nigeria, who was very kind and supportive.

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