Real-life African customer experiences and transformation journeys will be a strong focus at this year’s SAPHILA 2025, the African SAP User Group’s (AFSUG) local biennial SAP user conference. A number of leading local organisations will take to the stage to share their successes, challenges and lessons learned in leveraging SAP technologies at the upcoming event, which is set to take place from 01 to 03 June 2025 at Sun City in South Africa’s North-West Province.

Day one of SAPHILA features an Executive Fireside Chat, where Sergio Maccotta, SAP’s SVP and GM for Middle East Africa – South, will host a panel discussion with Aubrey Mochela, the City of Johannesburg’s Group Chief Technology Officer, and Mandla Ngcobo, Deputy Director-General: eGovernment and Chief Government Information Officer at the South African Department of Public Service and Administration.

Also on the first day of the conference Jan Harm Griesel, Head of Applications, and Eben Truter, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Dis-Chem, will discuss how the pharmaceutical retail group effectively de-risked and accelerated its S/4HANA RISE transformation. In addition, Bushy Thebehali, Aspen Pharmacare’s SAP Extended Services Manager, will highlight Aspen’s metamorphosis.

Day two of SAPHILA continues the customer-centric theme, with several prominent African organisations set to share their SAP journeys.

·      Dinesh Ramasamy of Said Salim Bakhresa & Company, the flagship company of the Bakhresa Group, will present on its experience in the deployment, consumption and adoption of SAP technologies. 

·      Sasol's Vice President of Supply Chain Services and Leverage Sourcing, Hendrik Steynberg, will unpack the company’s story in a session titled ‘Transforming Procurement: Sasol's Journey to Innovation and Efficiency with SAP Solutions’.

·      From Mozambique, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) – the country’s national energy company – will share its success with SAP S/4 RISE and SuccessFactors, presented by Director of Information Systems, Inácio Mateus Fumo. 

·      In the local transport sector, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (PRASA) Vukile Nduli will explore how it is leveraging SAP to digitise and track assets, creating a digital twin framework that enhances visibility and control.

·      Further insights will be shared by Nick Jackson, CIO of the Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation, discussing the expansion of the company’s public cloud ERP system with SAP SuccessFactors. 

·      Dis-Chem returns to the stage with Dawid Oelofse, Supply Chain Executive, revealing how the group has implemented over 100 automated warehouse management processes. 

·      Tatenda Mandeya, Group IT Manager at Northern Tobacco will co-present with Carsten Friedman of SAP on how IT supports sustainability in tobacco sourcing in rural Zimbabwe.

·      Tiger Brands’ Ntsako Ngobeni, S&OP Capability Manager, will explain how the food and beverage giant has reimagined its planning function to enable end-to-end optimisation and improved working capital efficiency.

·      Nedbank’s Justin Tobias will present with Felix Chebeli from Strafore Tech the bank’s success in test automation using Tricentis and SAP Solution Manager. 

·      Simon Marlin, GM of IT at Toyota South Africa Motors, will walk the audience through Toyota's S/4HANA transition. 

·      Ashlita Barlow, Head of Retail Technologies at the Shoprite Group, will showcase how SAP Fiori and BTP are driving business change by improving stock availability, ensuring transaction accuracy, and reducing waste.

·      Rounding out the customer stories, Regardt Wolvaardt, Solutions Architect at PG Group, will share insights on how digital supply chain planning has enabled unified operations. 

·      Finally, Chris Kien, Enterprise Solution Architect at Implats, will present on driving efficiency and agility through the organisation’s SAP S/4HANA transformation.

“SAPHILA has always been about more than just technology – it’s a space for meaningful collaboration, shared learning, and community,” explains Amanda Gibbs, AFSUG CEO. “In 2025, we’re placing an even greater spotlight on African success stories, because our local customers have such valuable experiences to share. It’s important that we learn from each other, celebrate progress and inspire the next wave of transformation across the continent,” she concludes.