Category Archives: Main

When the bottom line is booming but the output is barely-there. Are mines missing a golden opportunity in this commodity cycle?

By Arjen de Bruin, Managing Director at OIM Consulting  We’ve heard rumblings about the world being on the precipice of a post-pandemic ‘roaring 20s’. And — at least in the case of the mining sector — there are certainly signs that point to this. For commodities, in particular, the boom is very much, well, booming. […]

Trade finance and the efforts to boost intra-African trade

By Lodewyk Meyer, Partner and Head of the Banking & Finance Practice, and Lucy Stratton, Associate Designate, Baker McKenzie, Johannesburg As stated by President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi A. Adesina, “trade finance is an important instrument for influencing Africa’s long-term economic development and structural transformation”. According to a report by the AfBB and […]

Africa can adopt renewable energy on a massive scale and save billions along the way

Oped by Kenneth Engblom Vice President, Wartsila Energy, Europe and Africa Africa’s energy future at a crossroad When it comes to building the future of energy in Africa, the decisions facing the continent’s leaders today are nothing less than of historical importance. More than anything else, energy systems are the very fabric of business and society. […]

Going Greener for Workforce Health and Wellness

Author cottonbro: Pexels

By: Amber Sambo, Social Media Manager and Content Creator at Decusatio As the climate-change discussion peaks and people gain more knowledge, there is increasing pressure on employers to not only protect the planet but to also ensure that the health and wellness needs of their workforces are met by providing environmentally healthy workspaces for them.  […]

Global Climate Action is Accelerating and Early-Mover Companies Can Seize Significant Advantage

Timing, Pace, and Extent of Change Needed for Net-Zero Transition Are Still Widely Underestimated New Report from World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group Provides CEOs with a Guide for Navigating an Unprecedented Global Transformation  Early Movers Can Drive Outsized Impact, and Gain Competitive Advantage on Multiple Dimensions Companies Can Save Cash and Carbon: Emissions […]

Africa is leapfrogging into the future of retail

The bi-annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), which is a study of the global retailing landscape has revealed Africa is poised to move away from traditional retail models and become the fastest-growing, richest, and most sophisticated market in the world. Prashaen Reddy, a partner at management consulting firm Kearney says that this is thanks to the […]

ESG obligations leading to the risk of increased litigation for African businesses

By Darryl Bernstein, Partner and Head of the Dispute Resolution Practice at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg As African businesses begin to recover and build the resilience needed to successfully navigate COVID-19 disruption, a focus on Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) strategies is proving to be essential for long-term success. In order to stay competitive, organisations […]

Ten reasons to consider African trade and investment opportunities in 2022

By Lerisha Naidu,  Partner, Competition & Antitrust;  Lodewyk Meyer, Partner, Banking and Finance;  Mike van Rensburg, Partner, M&A; and Virusha Subban, Partner, Customs and Trade, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg 1. Visible green shoots – rising commodity prices The pandemic closed borders and stopped trade, other than for essentials, across the continent and was the principal reason […]

African Growth and Opportunity Act eligibility requirements under review in three African countries

By Virusha Subban, Partner and Head of Indirect Tax, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg On 2 November 2021, US President Joe Biden announced that three African countries would be terminated from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program, unless they took urgent action to meet statutory eligibility criteria by 1 January 2022. The three […]

Operational Challenges and Opportunities for Family-Owned Businesses in a Post-Covid World

By Faizal Bhana – Director Jersey Finance – Middle East, Africa and India. According to Asoko Insight’s FOB500 research, Nigerian family-owned businesses make up 36% of companies within the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS). These businesses have been vital to the socio-economic development of Nigeria and have been instrumental in the region’s back-to-business […]

2021 sees surge in fundraising by African infrastructure funds with $2.14bn USD targeted

Africa-focussed infra investment funds have set a record fundraising target in 2021 Majority of deals by infra funds are of ‘green’ assets, as climate rises up the agenda for asset managers Dry powder and assets under management by infra funds at an all-time high, signalling investment boom to come Africa-focussed infrastructure investment funds have set […]

Increasing competition policy enforcement across Africa

By Angelo Tzarevski, Associate Director, and Zareenah Rasool, Candidate Attorney, Competition & Antitrust Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg Competition policy continues to be viewed by regulators as a key driver of economic growth globally. Across Africa, competition policy enforcement is increasingly being employed as a tool to boost economic performance and promote the revitalization of trade […]

New global tax rules will help address imbalances in tax revenue in Africa

By Denny Da Silva, Associate Director, Tax, Baker McKenzie, Johannesburg One hundred and thirty six of the 140 members of the OECD G20 Inclusive Framework, including South Africa, have agreed on a new set of global tax rules that will reform the world’s tax system. Notably, two African countries that are members of the Inclusive […]

Africa: tax implications of digital transformation in the consumer goods and retail sector

By Jana Botha, Tax Consultant, and Prenisha Govender, Associate, Tax Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The pandemic-fuelled growth of the digital economy and unabated demand for online retail products across Africa have led to extensive disruption in the Consumer Goods and Retail Sector (CG&R) sector. Due to a growth in demand for online retail, CG&R companies […]

Increasing competition policy enforcement across Africa

By Angelo Tzarevski, Associate Director, and Zareenah Rasool, Candidate Attorney, Competition & Antitrust Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg Competition policy continues to be viewed by regulators as a key driver of economic growth globally. Across Africa, competition policy enforcement is increasingly being employed as a tool to boost economic performance and promote the revitalization of trade […]

Why the subscription economy is transforming B2B operating models forever

From Hello Fresh to the Spotify, subscription services are now so commonplace they’ve almost become the norm. Subscriptions started life in the media world, with newspaper and magazine subscriptions dating back centuries. But in the last ten years, the subscription business model has exploded in popularity across consumer industries including fashion, food and beauty, creating […]

Modernisation means more than simple mechanisation – it means people

By Arjen de Bruin, MD at OIM Consulting The latest figures from Statistics South Africa have revealed that in July 2021, there was a 10.3% year on year increase in mining production, which it has attributed to higher commodity prices and the recovery in the global economy. And while the sector appears to be on […]

Report shows young people earning livelihoods working in digital platforms

By Dr. Ehud Gachugu  The digital economy is expanding largely in Kenya. Covid-19 has accelerated the growth since Kenyans, especially youth, have now recognized the potential to earn a living in digital platforms. The pandemic led not only to a health crisis but also an economic crisis. The measures imposed by the Ministry of health, […]

The Sahel faces further destabilisation from the jihadi gold rush

Africa’s Sahel, a region separating the Sahara Desert to the north and savannas to the south, is notorious for widespread poverty and persistent conflict. In fact, Western Sahel, especially Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, is the most unstable area on the continent. For years, terrorist attacks have been a frequent occurrence but recently the region […]

Collaborating for the benefit of employee mental health

Sir Ian Cheshire Chair, The Global Business Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health Before the Covid 19 pandemic hit, mental health was already an issue on the rise around the world, with an estimated 13% of the global population, just short of 1 billion people suffering from some kind of mental illness. In South Africa, according to statistics […]

China’s trade with the continent grows to record highs

By Virusha Subban, Partner and Head of Indirect Tax at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, trade between China and Africa increased by 40.5 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2021, and was valued at a record high of USD 139.1 billion. The Ministry noted that African products were […]

Connecting in a time of Covid: Redefining the human experience

Three YPO leaders share their learnings from a time of no-contact – and what other organisations need to know about retaining human connection  It can be argued that the success of any organisation is based on the strength of its connection to its stakeholders, and the extent to which it can sustain that connection. Yet […]