South Africa Archives - Page 21 of 30

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...

The Impact of COVID-19 on China’s Belt and Road Initiatives in Africa

7Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Main

The Impact of COVID-19 on China’s Belt and Road Initiatives in Africa

A new report by Economist Corporate Network, supported by Baker McKenzie and Silk Road Associates, BRI Beyond 2020 (report), shows that the ripple effects of COVID-19 are affecting the nature, pace and scope of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) activity in Africa, mostly for the short term. The report also explains how the virus has led to an increased interest in digital programmes in BRI countries, as well as a heightened focus on sustainability, including workforce health. The BRI is China’s multi-billion dollar plan to link Asia, Europe and Africa. “The COVID-19 epidemic definitely has a dampening effect on BRI activities as Chinese companies focus their resources and efforts on dealing with the various types of impact caused by such epidemic. However, this effect will likely be r...

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...

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...

Financial Scams – How to avoid becoming a victim

15Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

Financial Scams – How to avoid becoming a victim

South Africa has significantly more financial crime than most other countries. With a rate of 77% compared to a global average of 49%, SA is something of a hotbed for fraud and scams. As consumers and insurance-seekers we need to understand the risks of economic crime and how to avoid becoming a victim, the risks of committing insurance fraud and how to avoid being inadvertent perpetrators of fraud ourselves, by for example, omitting information in an insurance application. Herman Lombard, Founder and Executive Director of financial services provider African Unity, explains that an intentionally fraudulent claim could result in cancellation of the policy as well as a negative reputation with the insurer and the industry in general. “Consumer fraud is the second highest ranking category of ...

How Barcodes are Transforming Healthcare:

14Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Science, South Africa News, Tech

How Barcodes are Transforming Healthcare:

Barcodes have become such a powerful piece of technology that it would be difficult to think of an industry that would not benefit from using them. This sentiment can also be applied to the healthcare industry – where barcodes are used in almost every step of the healthcare process. From the second the patient comes through the hospital doors, right through to when they fetch their medicine from a pharmacy, barcodes are used in order to help doctors keep a record of their medication, what is in inventory and even the location of their patients themselves! While it is obvious that barcodes are used in the healthcare industry for many different functions, the common goal is simple; to ensure the safety of patients. Let’s take a closer look at how, when hospitals buy barcodes, they are being ...

14Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Interview, Real Estate, South Africa News

Outlook for Cape Town property landscape – Where to invest

“As we end 2019, and reflect on some of the highlights, it’s heartening to note that banks were lending up to 105% and aggressively competing for business – to this end the sentiment was that this was a bullish move by the banks and likely to have been based on a sense that the market had bottomed out and that there is confidence in a market comeback in the future,” says Mike Greeff, CEO of Greeff Christie’s International Real Estate. “The repo rate was decreased and remained there, which we in the industry welcomed,” he adds. Greeff says that sentiment improved post election, and adds that Greeff Christie’s International Real Estate experienced a significant uptick in buyer activity. “Currently there is a noticeable increase in buyer interest and this has been the case following the Rugby...