Category Archives: South Africa News

South Africa News

Two things I wish I had known when I started a small business

By Steven Cohen, Head of Sage One International (Africa, Australia, Middle East and Asia) One of the questions other entrepreneurs most often ask me is what I wish I had known when we first started the Pastel business in 1990. Looking back over the past 26 years, I can distil my answer into two key […]

Tourism an apex industry

The Tourism Indaba is the premier travel exhibition show on the African continent, hosted in the Indian Ocean city of Durban. The tourism industry has gained political mileage with the introduction of the visa regulations last year on the 01 June, which were later revised after intense lobbying by the tourism industry. The voice of […]

Continental Hotel Chain Developments

Following 142 new hotel development constructions in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) in 2014, Ethiopia is ranked among the top 10 largest markets for international chain hotel developments. North Africa has the largest hotel development pipeline with a lion share of 41.4% while West Africa with 34.1% closely follows. Nigeria ranks the highest in terms of […]

Interview with Gysbert Kappers, CEO of Wyzetalk

Gys’s enterprising technology spirit was clearly evident at a young age when in his 20’s he started an online and offline transaction platform company that was eventually sold to SourceCom when the family business beckoned.  What followed was a highly successful 18 years career in building the largest privately owned Concrete Masonry Business in South Africa. […]

Spur buys new gourmet brand, upping its niche market presence

More South Africans will soon get to experience a trendy, new fast but personalised  restaurant concept, now that the Spur Corporation (“Spur”) is set to acquire the majority stake in RocoMamas. The JSE-listed multi-brand restaurant group is buying a 51% share in RocoMamas, a Gauteng-based niche brand, fast developing a following for its customised but […]

Exclusive interview with Mr. Kresten Buch, the founder of 88mph

Kresten Buch, a Danish web entrepreneur turned investor, brought the accelerator model to Sub Saharan Africa nearly 3 years ago and to date has invested over $3million. How many startups do you have in your business portfolio? 35 What are the most interesting ideas associated with these startups? Ideas give some insight into the entrepreneurs […]

88mph startups meet with investors

Cape Town, South Africa – 88mph, a seed investor and accelerator operating in Nairobi, Cape Town and Lagos, is hosting this year’s Cape Town Investor Day at Crossley & Webb’s vintage car showroom. In February, seven startups received investment from 88mph and have been hard at work over the past 10 weeks. Besides the investment, the […]

Konecranes presents the world’s first hybrid reach stacker

Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses™ offering lifting equipment and services that improve productivity in a wide variety of industries. The company is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd (symbol: KCR1V). With over 12,000 employees at more than 600 locations in almost 50 countries we have the resources, technology and determination to deliver […]

AE-AMD Renewable Energy And Tenesol/SunPower Begin Work On Two Solar Projects In South Africa

Projects are Part of Government’s IPP Procurement Program   JOHANNESBURG and SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — AE-AMD Renewable Energy, a joint venture between the Spanish AMDA energia and the South African Alt-E Technologies, and Tenesol, a SunPower company (NASDAQ: SPWR), today announced two South African ground-mounted solar power projects totaling 33 megawatts (MW).  […]

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 •          […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Oil and Gas training for Western Cape province’s artisans

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Around the September month, Dormac’s first group of learner artisans commenced with their institutional training at Saldanha’s West Coast College, Western Cape province. The training forms part of the Accelerated Artisan Training Programme (AATP) in welding and concludes with the National Trade Test which, if successfully completed, will result in a trade […]

TE Connectivity joins IT Leaders West Africa Summit as Silver Solution Provider

The anticipated annual IT Leaders West Africa Summit will take place from 28 to 29 November 2012 in the heart of Ghana’s esteemed capital city, Accra. The summit is produced by international business-to-business conferencing company, Kinetic Events; key strategic information providers to the IT and telecoms sector within Africa. The summit is proudly endorsed by […]