South Africa News Archives - Page 56 of 72

Commitment to sustainability opening doors to post-pandemic capital in Africa

8Nov

By Wildu du PlessisNo Comments

Commitment to sustainability opening doors to post-pandemic capital in Africa

By Wildu du Plessis, Head of Africa, Baker McKenzie The industrials, manufacturing and transport (IMT) sector is being hit hard by COVID-19 disruption, but commitment to sustainability could very well lead the sector to recovery. This is according to Baker McKenzie’s report "Sustainable Success: Exploring environmental, social and governance priorities for industrials through COVID-19 and beyond" which revealed that industrials have taken great leaps forward in relation to environmental, social and governance matters (ESG) in the past decade. The report outlines how CEOs in the sector have signed up to a new holistic definition of company purpose and most public companies now report on ESG goals. Access to funding is also becoming intricately linked to a commitment to ESG principles, with...

South Africa on a clear path to benefit from trade in manufactured goods with other African countries

18Oct

By Virusha SubbanNo Comments

South Africa News

South Africa on a clear path to benefit from trade in manufactured goods with other African countries

By Virusha Subban, Partner Specialising in Customs and Trade, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined the country’s Economic Recovery Plan on Thursday 15 October 202o, during which he explained that South Africa imported goods (excluding oil) are worth around ZAR1.1 trillion annually, and that if just 10% of these were manufactured locally, the country would add 2% to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Further he said that the rest of Africa currently imported ZAR 2.9 trillion in manufactured goods from outside the continent, and if South Africa could supply 2% of those goods to its African peers, it would add 1.2% to its GDP. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which entered into force on 30 May 2019, will streamline intra-African trade in manufac...

15Sep

By Yaskawa Southern AfricaNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

The Role Of Pick And Place Robots

In years gone by, manufacturing processes consisted of a line of workers being solely responsible for all the material-handling functions. Whether it was assembly, picking or packaging, it was largely a manual, laborious process. The detrimental effects to the workers’ health have been well documented in the history books, as many employees were subjected to conditions that sometimes resulted in serious illness, injury, and even death. As automation became widely accepted and implemented throughout various industries, robotics took it one step further with robots designed for specific applications, such as handling, packaging and palletising. Suddenly, these new pick and place robots allowed for more speed and consistency in throughput, while being customisable to meet production requir...

Africa needs the space industry to go forward

18Jul

By Anthony PenderisNo Comments

Science, South Africa News, Tech

Africa needs the space industry to go forward

The African continent is bound to become increasingly more dependent on the space industry for job creation, poverty alleviation and sustainable resource management. These were some of the findings in a paper recently published by an expert in the field of Earth Observation and Geo-Information Sciences. The paper titled “The status of Earth Observation (EO) & Geo-Information Sciences in Africa – trends and challenges” was published in the journal of Geospatial Information Science, by Prof Tsehaie Woldai* in February this year. Woldai is a Visiting Professor at the School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. In his research, he found that up to end of last year 28 of the 54 African countries were already engaged in the Earth Observation and Geo-In...

It’s Time For Africa To Invest In Education, Science And Technology

21May

By Mr. Bernard AnnanNo Comments

Kenya News, Main, Science, Senegal News, South Africa News, Tech

It’s Time For Africa To Invest In Education, Science And Technology

Africa produces just 1.1% of global scientific knowledge. There are 79 scientists per million Africans. According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) estimate for 2019 Africa’s funding for Research and Development is 0.4% of the continents GDP which is far below the global average of 1.7% and the lowest in the world. In 2006, the African Union Executive Council established a target for all member states to invest 1% of GDP in Research and Development. Data from the UIS shows that only South Africa, Kenya, and Senegal are close to meeting that target with about 0.8% of GDP dedicated to Research and Development. Africa will continue to be held back in development if we do not immediately invest in Research and Development. Science has the solution for most Africa challenges but we ar...

Telemedicine in Africa as a concrete way to solve some problems

21May

By VGNo Comments

Main, Medicine, Science, South Africa News, Startups

Telemedicine in Africa as a concrete way to solve some problems

Tools for innovation: mobile applications, medical specialized websites for medical personnel, scientists, and for educating people in the field of medicine, crowdfunding fundraising campaigns, mobile medical cars and other innovations The use of telemedicine can greatly help in solving the problems of medicine in African countries. The creation of special telemedicine websites within a specific country and a single telemedicine portal on the African continent will help the development of medicine and the solution of problems in this area. Thanks to this, an exchange of experience will be carried out between doctors, scientists both in a particular country and throughout the African continent. Joint remote conferences will create a plan for the development of medicine based on a real under...

Has the PE industry failed Sub-Saharan Africa?

10Mar

By Abhishek MittalNo Comments

African News, Kenya News, Main, South Africa News

Has the PE industry failed Sub-Saharan Africa?

African PE (Private equity) firms raised less than $20bn in the decade to 2018, equivalent to just 2.5 per cent of the capital raised by the world’s emerging markets, according to a Preqin report. Moreover, most of that African capital was invested into the relatively advanced economies of South Africa and North Africa, with very little flowing into the rest of the continent. This limited investment into Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is explained by investors in PE funds as a result of the low returns from such investments. The PE firms, themselves, acknowledge the limited returns, but claim these markets are still nascent and that returns will rise as these economies evolve. Yet the reality is that it may be the approach being taken by SubSaharan Africa’s PE investors that is causing them such...

The impact of COVID-19 on finance and investment in Africa

10Mar

By Morne van der Merwe and Wildu du PlessisNo Comments

Main, South Africa News

The impact of COVID-19 on finance and investment in Africa

By Morne van der Merwe, Managing Partner, and Wildu du Plessis, Head of Africa, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has resulted in mass production shutdowns and supply chain disruptions due to port closures in China, causing global ripple effects across all economic sectors in a rare “twin supply-demand shock”. With South Africa having just reported its first cases of COVID-19, Africa is beginning to feel its full impact and plans to control and manage the humanitarian challenges of the virus are underway across the continent. Economically, the effects have already been felt - demand for Africa’s raw materials and commodities in China has declined and Africa’s access to industrial components and manufactured goods from the region has been hampered. This is causing furth...

Why South Africans Are Setting Up Business in Dubai

29Jan

By Decisive ZoneNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

Why South Africans Are Setting Up Business in Dubai

The UAE serves as a key location for investors from South Africa. Whether it’s through Dubai mainland or a Dubai free zone, South Africans continue to reach out to UAE business setup advisors and Dubai business setup consultants for their company setup needs. It is estimated that 60,000 to 80,000 South Africans reside in the Emirates, and many iconic South African brands, such as Mediclinic, Nando’s, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Barloworld Logistics, Dimension Data, and SA Airways have established their presence locally. Government Incentives New business setup in Dubai and UAE by South Africans continues to be an important reciprocal strategy for people of both nations. The federal government has encouraged continued confidence shown in the economy and its potential wi...

How fintechs are making Africa a leading global Innovation Hub

24Jan

By Josephine WawiraNo Comments

Fintech, Kenya News, Main, Nigeria News, South Africa News

How fintechs are making Africa a leading global Innovation Hub

In a continent where over 60% of the adult population is unbanked and the financial sector is considerably underdeveloped, fintech has been a welcomed revolution that is seen to be boosting Africa’s financial infrastructure. With a growing population, an increasing rate of mobile and internet penetration, combined with a substantial need for financial inclusion, Africa is fecund ground for the growth of fintechs and tech giants. There exist endless possibilities, as entrepreneurs seek to use technological advancements to create a range of more reliable and customer friendly solutions to real-world problems. A sizeable number of fintech startups in the continent are closing existing gaps in various industries including healthcare, agriculture, transportation, e-commerce, and mobile money se...