Author Archives: Africa Business

DHL Global Connectedness Index shows signs of progress for Africa and others

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa The latest reports on African Connectedness are showing great things for the future. And African countries are showing the largest increases in their global connectedness, according to DHL. While recent announcements from Cape Town, South Africa reveal: •          The countries with the largest increases are Mozambique, Togo, Ghana, Guinea and Zambia •          […]

Frost & Sullivan: Need for Increased Functionality Drives EMEA Contact Center Systems Market

Enterprises pushing for tighter integration between various contact center applications   LONDON, Dec. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Technology upgrades and migration to IP/SIP are key drivers for the contact center systems market in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Revenue growth in the analytics segment is robust, followed by the quality monitoring (QM) segment. Despite the presence […]

Higher Data Penetration Creates New Opportunities in South Africa

BOSTON, Dec., 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Cloud services, mobile advertising and mobile apps will be some of the highest growth segments in the South African market, contributing half a billion dollars in new revenue from 2012-2017, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com). South Africa Telecom Market Forecast analyzes the South African telecom market in […]

African Medical Device Market: Facts and Figures 2012

NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: African Medical Device Market: Facts and Figures 2012 Why look at Africa? With a population of over a billion people, Africa represents a vast potential market. The political and economic picture is improving in many […]

“Circum Central Atlantic, Northwest Africa and Mediterranean: Your Net-based Source for E&P Opportunities”

Oil & Gas Marrakech Conference and Exhibition will be held in the Marrakech Congress Palace, Morocco. As one of the most important technical events in Morocco, it is an ideal opportunity to focus on the progress of the oil and gas industry across this region, an area known for its diversity, opportunity and capacity for […]

Africa Energy Indaba 2013

Africa Energy Indaba 2013 Dates: 19-21 February 2013 Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg Website: www.energyindaba.co.za The Africa Energy Indaba, adopted by the World Energy Council (WEC) as the African regional event of the WEC, receives global recognition as the foremost event for energy professionals from across the globe and is rapidly gaining momentum as the energy […]

How will South African industry deal with tariff hikes and carbon taxes?

African Utility Week to assist Large Power Users to face energy obstacles The proverbial axe is falling on ‘business as usual` as every industry in South Africa, from mining to manufacturing to retail, is cringing at the thought of rising energy tariffs and the impending implementation of a carbon tax. Stemming the tide of rising […]

African Banking innovation sees AfDB approving multi-currency line of credit of USD 300m

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa The African Development Bank has extended the equivalent of USD 300 million to FirstRand Bank Limited to support projects across Africa This week an announcement from Tunis, Tunisia, revealed that the African Development Bank has approved a seven-year multi-currency line of credit for an amount equivalent to USD 300 million to FirstRand […]

JinkoSolar to Supply 81 MW WBHO-Building Energy in South Africa

SHANGHAI, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (“JinkoSolar” or the “Company”) (NYSE: JKS), a leading global solar power product manufacturer, today announced that it has signed a contract with fix price to supply WBHO-Building Energy (Pty) Ltd. (“WBHO-BE”) with 81 MW of photovoltaic (PV) modules for the solar PV park project in Gamagara […]

SunPower Corporation to Supply Toshiba with 20.1 Percent Efficiency Solar Panel for Japanese Market

New 20.1 Percent Efficiency Module Continues Toshiba’s High Efficiency Leadership in Japanese Residential Market SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) today announced that it will supply Toshiba with its new world-record efficiency solar panel beginning in December, extending Toshiba’s solar efficiency leadership in the Japanese residential market. SunPower’s new […]

Airtel and Ericsson making history in African network transformation

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Airtel has completed the largest network transformation in African Telecoms history – and is partnering with Ericsson for the comprehensive upgrade of a network to deliver superior service. Otherwise known as Bharti Airtel, the leading telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, recently said that it has […]

The call to make Cape Town a ‘Smart City’ is getting serious

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Further calls to make Cape Town a ‘Smart City’ continue to increase. One of the people in the forefront of these calls is Chris Whelan, CEO of business think-tank Accelerate Cape Town. Whelan says, “Developing a ‘smart city’, where information and communication technology (ICT) is leveraged to provide excellent service and which […]

Africa’s Energy Stakeholders Embrace “Global Technology for Local Solutions”

The timing of the first POWER-GEN Africa and Renewable Energy World Africa, which took place from 6-8 November 2012 in Johannesburg could not have been more favourable as the first contracts between the South African government and independent power producers (IPPs) to add 1400 megawatts of renewable energy to the national grid was signed during […]

Airtel introduces new service in Africa

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Bharti Airtel says its customers in Africa will now get Free incoming calls while roaming on its South Asia Network. This is the worlds’ first intercontinental roaming facility offering free incoming calls leverages Airtel’s network reach in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh To benefit African businessmen, tourists and students traveling to the […]

Air quality deteriorates in Zimbabwe’s main cities

by Wallace Mawire A report produced by the Institute of Environmental Studies (IES) on  the proposed National Climate Change Response Strategy in Zimbabwe has revealed that there is increasing evidence of deteriorating air quality in the country’s main cities. The IES, a department of the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) was contracted by the Ministry of […]

MITSUMI IT Distribution Africa concluded its GITEX 2012 debut on a high note

MITSUMI IT Distribution has concluded its GITEX debut successfully which run from October 14 – 18, 2012 at Dubai World Trade Centre.  GITEX is the ICT business gateway to the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region. This year, for the very first time, MITSUMI has exhibited its world-class product portfolio from renowned global […]

Frost & Sullivan Awards Invensys Operations Management for Growth Leadership in the South African ACS Market

Diversified product portfolio, focused innovation and exceptional customer service underpin continuous growth CAPE TOWN, Africa, Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Based on its recent analysis of the Automation and Control Solution (ACS) market in South Africa, Frost & Sullivan recognises Invensys Operations Management Southern Africa with the coveted 2012 South African Growth Leadership Award. “In a market facing […]

IBM Helps Senegalese City of Thies Plan for Economic Growth

THIES, Senegal, Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire/ — A team of experts from IBM (NYSE: IBM) presented recommendations to the City of Thies to grow the economic sector through measures to bolster entrepreneurialism, agricultural exports, and education. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO ) The 14-member IBM team of experts, with members hailing from ten countries, are completing a month-long engagement as […]

Affordable housing rental market looks increasingly attractive

  The South African residential market offers an attractive opportunity in the affordable housing rental segment largely driven by low and middle income earners who do not qualify for bonds and increased demand for housing located closer to areas of economic opportunity. Gerhard Zeelie, Head Real Estate Finance (Residential) at Standard Bank South Africa, says: […]

AfricaCom 2012 Oye

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Over 8000 people and those from about 2000 companies from across 112 countries around the world were part of the annual AfricaCom conference and exhibition held in Cape Town, South Africa this week. Africa’s largest and most recognised digital communications event took place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from Tuesday […]

Africare to outline essential role of civil society, small-scale farming and best practices at this year’s AgriBusiness Forum

Agri2012 – AfriCare (Microsoft Word) Leading American NGO spotlights small-scale farming for a result-driven future for Africa’s Agri-Food sector. “Across Africa it is the small entrepreneurs and businesses that drive community livelihoods and national economic development. Yet without adequate financing or access to buyers, producers associations are not able to sell their products to increase […]