When aviation, technology, and creative vision converge, the result can reshape how a continent builds for the future. That was the premise on display in Cape Town this week, where industry leaders gathered to rethink infrastructure from the ground up.
Anna K Hecart, Founder and Director of Connected Group and visionary behind Runway to Railway, addresses the gathering. Photo: Elvis Nyelenzi
Gavin Rajah, closing speaker, addresses creativity and African identity in the airport experience. Photo: Elvis Nyelenzi
Smarter infrastructure, better connected transport systems and airport experiences that reflect African creativity were at the centre of Runway to Railway
Runway to Railway began with a belief that Africa’s progress depends on the connections we make between people, industries and ideas.”— Anna K HecartCAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA, October 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The conversation around smarter infrastructure and transport systems took center stage at Runway to Railway: Project Maverick, hosted at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town on 22 October 2026. The event convened voices from aviation, technology, and creative fields to examine how innovation can elevate both infrastructure quality and the user experience for travelers and citizens alike.
Operating under the theme Simply Connect Africa, the initiative stems from the broader Runway to Railway vision developed by Anna K Hecart, founder and director of Connected Group. The platform is designed to bridge disparate sectors, fostering dialogue about the intersections between infrastructure, commerce, and opportunity throughout the continent.
Dirk Ackerman, Chairman of RSA Aero, a prominent business leader and former CEO of the Airports Company Of South Africa (ACSA), moderated the panel discussion titled Raising the Bar for African Infrastructure. He was joined by Nicholas Ferguson, Executive Managing Director of RSA Aero; Hasnain Motlekar, Acting Chief Executive Officer of BCX; and York Ning, Director of ICT Marketing & Solution Sales Department at Huawei South Africa.
“Runway to Railway began with a belief that Africa’s progress depends on the connections we make between people, industries and ideas,” said Hecart. “We are pleased to announce the Runway to Railway Expo for November 2027. Our ambition is to bring the people shaping transport, infrastructure and technology together with investors and creative businesses to explore practical solutions and build partnerships that move Africa forward.”
The planned Expo is taking shape as a convergence point for professionals in aviation, rail, logistics, infrastructure, technology, tourism, and design, along with investors and public-sector representatives. For partners, this represents a chance to demonstrate their offerings and forge new alliances. For attendees, it promises a look at emerging innovations and a forum for discussing how integrated infrastructure can bolster African enterprises and communities.
The panel discussion merged the airport development perspective with the technological insights of BCX and Huawei. The dialogue centered on how deeper collaboration can enhance passenger journeys, ensure operational reliability, and deliver connected infrastructure in tangible ways.
“The decisions that shape a passenger’s journey are made across many different organisations,” said Ackerman. “Bringing developers, operators and technology partners together early helps us see how those decisions fit together and where collaboration can make infrastructure work better.”
“An airport is part of a much wider economic network,” said Ferguson. “Its development needs to consider how people arrive, how businesses connect and how the surrounding region benefits. Innovation should support that wider purpose while making the everyday experience more efficient and welcoming.”
“The value of connected infrastructure lies in what it enables people and businesses to do,” said Motlekar. “Reliable networks, secure systems and useful information need to work together. Planning these capabilities from the outset helps organisations improve services and respond as demand changes.”
Closing the event, award-winning South African designer and creative entrepreneur Gavin Rajah shifted the focus to the quality and character of retail environments in African airports. He made a compelling case for embedding more creativity and a distinct African identity into the spaces that form travelers’ first and last impressions of a destination.
“An African airport should give travellers a real sense of place,” said Rajah. “Our retail spaces can do far more to showcase the continent’s design, fashion, food and craft. We have the talent and the stories. The opportunity is to present them with imagination and the quality they deserve, while creating space for African creative businesses to grow.”
ABOUT RUNWAY TO RAILWAY
Runway to Railway is a platform conceived by Anna K Hecart of Connected Group to bring together perspectives on connectivity, infrastructure and economic opportunity in Africa. Project Maverick’s Cape Town gathering explored these themes through aviation, technology and the airport experience.
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Why it matters: As Africa accelerates its infrastructure ambitions, this event signals a shift toward holistic planning that pairs technological efficiency with cultural authenticity. The announced 2027 Expo could become a pivotal forum for aligning investment, innovation, and identity in the continent’s transport future.
