Category Archives: South Africa News

South Africa News

How Black Friday is giving Africa’s economy a lift

It is quite phenomenal how in recent years, both ecommerce players and retailers have used Black Friday to sweep thrifty shoppers off their feet. So much that the shopping event is no longer restricted to a single-day shopping spree but has rather taken over the entire month to become Black November. If you drove around […]

How can barcodes help your small business? The Benefits explored:

When you think of barcodes, the first thing that springs to mind is probably shopping at a big supermarket. I bet you didn’t know that barcodes can actually be an invaluable asset to any business, big or small? This is because, while huge warehouse establishments have successfully implemented barcoding systems for years, it was only […]

Demand for African Talent is Increasing

Strategies to share talent between Africa and France By Kiné Seck Mercier A young woman spends her youth in Nigeria, leaving to attend a university in London. She goes on to work in the United States, Ghana, South America, Kenya and Zambia, finally settling in Paris. In many ways, she is illustrating an increasingly common […]

Introducing 180 Lounger – Cape Town’s Trendiest New Rooftop Venue

Introducing 180 Lounger - Cape Town's Trendiest New Rooftop Venue

 Nestled in an office park in Cape Town’s bustling Bree Street, 180 Lounger is a rooftop venue that is set to change the game when it comes to rooftop events in the Mother City. Cape Town is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It has gorgeous views of Table Mountain and the ocean and […]

Hotel Development Industry in Africa

Zanzibar

Introduction           The development of a country partly depends on the expansion of their hotel and tourism industry. Africa is facing a tough time economically and they are trying their best to fight back this economic crisis. They focus on the hotel management sector and try to develop this industry. A hotel is not only […]

How Industry 4.0 tools can aid property development

Greater Cape Town. January 2007. Photo Credit: Andrew Massyn

The property sector has a great knack for changing with the times. When the internet boomed almost twenty years ago, property development companies quickly integrated it into their services.  We have evolved and are thriving in this digital space. Auctioneering, in particular, has seen vast changes online, from merely posting properties up for auction to […]

How To Get Started Importing Goods Into South Africa

Map of South Africa, with provinces, neighbouring countries and oceans labelled in English. Author: Htonl. Source: Wikipedia.

Many business owners across the world want to import goods into South Africa. Unfortunately, many of these business owners are discouraged by South Africa’s complex import process, rules and regulations. For this reason, new-to-market importers like yourself refrain from bringing goods into South Africa. In turn, you miss out on profitable business opportunities. If you […]

The impact of Brexit on South Africa and Africa

View from the Carlton Centre, Africa's tallest building. Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Photo Credit: Adamina (www.flickr.com).

By Morne van der Merwe, Managing Partner and Head of the Corporate/M&A Practice,  Baker McKenzie Johannesburg  Countries in Africa are preparing for the reality that a hard Brexit could lead to increased risk aversion and reduced investor appetite for trade in the region. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), said recently that […]

Innovative funding models in EduTech help to eliminate skills shortages

According to the latest figures released by Stats SA, South Africa’s unemployment rate jumped to a staggering 29% in the last quarter – the worst it’s been since 2008. The unemployment rate for the youth in particular is one of the highest in the world – currently sitting at 56.4%. With all eyes on government […]

Fueling the future of oil and gas infrastructure

An aerial view of Cape Town in the Western Cape.

Stephan Burger, Vice President MOGS Oil & Gas Services  In this Op-Ed piece MOGS Vice President Stephan Burger speaks to the theme of Africa Oil and Power – the continent’s premier platform for energy investment. AOP’s theme #MakeEnergyWork  will showcase the energy sector as a key driver of economic growth, jobs and opportunity for Africa’s […]

Prioritise MRO strategy to manage costs for your company

By Brian Andrew, Managing Director South and Sub-Saharan Africa at RS Components It does not matter if times are good or bad – waste is never welcome at any proactive business. Business is primarily driven by profit and efficiency, and waste is an attack on both. But many businesses, particularly among manufacturers, overlook a major […]

Funding Africa’s Infrastructure Gap

Key to enabling African economies to make the most of their opportunities is developing infrastructure in the region. Across the continent, new laws are being implemented and alternative sources of infrastructure funding are being sought in order to kick-start direly needed infrastructure projects. At the centre of it all is China, which is providing alternative […]

Seven Things to Consider When Transacting in Africa

By Morne van der Merwe, Managing Partner, and Wildu du Plessis, Head of Africa at global law firm Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg  Ahead of the Baker McKenzie African Transactional Summit taking place in Johannesburg in May 2019, Baker McKenzie lawyers based in Africa, alongside the Firm’s global Africa specialists, as well as lawyers from our […]

A Thorough Assessment of Johannesburg – The City of gold

View from the Carlton Centre, Africa's tallest building. Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Photo Credit: Adamina (www.flickr.com).

Located in the second largest continent Africa, Johannesburg is the largest city of South Africa. It is the most populous city of South Africa as well. It is known as the city of gold, the modern day El Dorado. Popularly known as the home town of great leaders and activists like Nelson Mandela and Desmond […]

Investments into the South African hospitality sector

African Business News

JLL has released its 2019 SA Hotel Investment Outlook report forecasting that R1.9 billion will be invested into new hotels, and around R6.9 billion in total over the next three years. This translates into 3,900 new rooms across South Africa. The report highlights that there has been a clear shift in the way that capital […]

Trends and Events in Africa 2018

Map of the REC Pillars of the African Economic Community. Photo Credit: Wikipedia

by Johan Burger 2018 has been an interesting year for Africa, with various events and trends becoming visible. 2016 saw the effects of the slowdown of China’s economic growth due to its rebalancing of its economy and the end of the commodity price super cycle. 2017 brought some relief. In Africa, 2018 demonstrated a number […]

Friday@Noon on Manufacturing in Africa: 2018

African Business News

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. Manufacturing in Africa Manufacturing and industrialisation are the current buzzwords for transforming Africa’s economies. In order to reduce any dependence on the extraction and sale of raw […]

Friday@Noon on Economic Development in Africa: 2018

Along the east coast, north from Durban are huge sugar cane fields. Author: (WT-en) Fluglotse2000 at English Wikivoyage aka. User:Africaspotter Wikipedia.org

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. The year 2018 saw numerous cases of economic development on the African continent. This would include trade, etc. Africa The US$2 trillion-plus Sub-Saharan Africa economy continues to […]

Friday@Noon on Agriculture in Africa – 2018

African Business News

by Johan Burger This paper addresses events and trends in the agriculture sector in Africa for 2018. It is based on the media articles addressed in the Friday@Noon weekly newsletters of the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies in Singapore. These are by no means meant to constitute an exhaustive list of developments. General Agriculture in […]

Friday@Noon on Mining in Africa: 2018

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. Various mining initiatives and challenges occurred during 2018. Below is a snapshot of some of it. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Tanzania Tanzania wants […]

Friday@Noon on Regional Integration in Africa: 2018

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. Regional integration has become a high profile intervention and is seen as the route to economic integration and increasing intra-African trade. Some commentators are of the opinion […]

Loadshedding: why mini grids are the answer and why South Africa doesn’t have them (yet)

ENGIE starts operations of Kathu, a 100 MW Concentrated Solar Plant and one of South Africa’s largest renewable energy projects

“Whole communities and towns can become 100% energy independent” “Mini grids could very quickly sort out a lot of the biggest challenges that South Africa is having with its energy supply at the moment” says Dr Sam Duby, Africa Director for TFE Energy and mini grid expert. He adds: “deregulation would open a market for […]