Weekly meetings are underway to prepare for our mission. Our colleagues from IBM's Corporate Citizenship team have been fantastic in educating us about the program and coordinating logistics - IBM has deployed over 120 teams to more than 20 countries since it's inception so they have the process down pat!
We've met with the IBM South Africa Country General Manager who took us through the cultural, political and economic environment there. During our stay, we will be working with many local companies and officials so it's important to understand and be sensitive to the regional dynamics. South Africa represents almost 1/3 of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP and it is a member of the IMF, World Bank, WTO and United Nations. IBM first entered South Africa in 1952!
We've also been provided initial information about our project. Tshwane, like many African regions, has a water problem. Almost 25% of their consumable water is lost. We will need to investigate what is causing the water loss and how to reduce it significantly. Given that none of us are water experts, we must quickly get smart about smarter water management. Pun completely intended.
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