For being the second largest Continent on earth, Africa has a wide range of options for hotel development in many of its regions having more space for expansion and capital growth. The middle-class population is estimated to be near 350 million people by the African Development Bank. A portion of this population holds the probability […]
Tag Archives: South Africa
South Africa’s cloud market is showing good signs of growth and development as enterprise customers begin to take serious notice of multicloud and its benefits. As a result, it is imperative to develop and maintain a robust mutlicloud strategy that meets continuously evolving business demands. Andrew Cruise, managing director, Routed, a neutral cloud infrastructure provider, […]
Leading digital fintech enablement provider, Ukheshe Technologies, together with Infobip, a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected customer experiences across all stages of the customer journey at scale, have developed South Africa’s very first WhatsApp payment gateway for use by Telkom, one of the country’s largest mobile operators. In addition to being South Africa’s first digital […]
There has been a permanent change in the way that people shop and, in turn, the way that businesses need to operate. In the absence of brick-and-mortar stores being open during the lockdown, as well as a general fear of crowded malls when things were able to re-open, South Africa’s ecommerce sector exploded. According to […]
Panel of 25 economists unanimously predict the SARB will hold the repo rate Just over a quarter (28%) expect a rate hike this year 92% say South Africa is at risk of a sovereign debt crisis Unemployment rate to increase slightly by July The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is set to hold the repo […]
By Prenisha Govender, Associate, Tax, and Angelo Tzarevski, Senior Associate, Competition & Antitrust, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The South African Government recently approved a tax on South Africa’s exported chrome, although the tax percentage and further details are still to be announced. The ferrochrome ore industry has been severely threatened in recent years, mostly due to […]
By Caitlin Naidoo, Centurion Law Group In January 2021, WhatsApp announced that it would be altering its privacy terms to share data with Facebook causing panic among WhatsApp users. Users that want to continue using WhatsApp’s services have no choice but to agree to these new privacy terms. WhatsApp is a messaging platform used globally as […]
Debt repayment to funders in excess of R1 billion Reduction of R129.8m in finance costs 7m raised from disposal of portion of Equites and Phuthuma Nathi stakes 4m raised from disposal of portion of Life Healthcare stake Improved debt and liquidity ratios Brimstone’s shareholding in Oceana Group increased to 25.01% [Cape Town, 3 March 2021] […]
Business, Main, South Africa News
The top 5 reasons why investing in Ireland makes sense for African businesses
By Daireann Gibson, Managing Partner at Gibson & Associates Solicitors Ireland is becoming an increasingly popular destination for individuals from across Africa who are looking to move abroad. South Africa in particular has seen 3,000 immigrants choose Ireland as their new home, and for investors in particular, Ireland provides a wealth of opportunities. The relationship […]
By: Andrea Tucker, Director at MortgageMe We get it. The thought of paying off a house every month for the next 20 to 30 years isn’t exactly thrilling. But if managed carefully, you can use your bond to your advantage and build a nest egg of savings for life’s little and not-so-little emergencies. The why […]
Are you a 4IR Start-up? Have you been in operation for 3-7 years? Are you a company developing Smart City technologies and/or innovative solutions? Do you have a pilot-ready solution for a challenge faced by our city? The City of Johannesburg’s Smart City Office, in collaboration with Tshimologong Innovation Precinct, invites you to submit proposals for […]
Ethiopia News, Ghana News, Kenya News, Main, Mauritius News, Mozambique News, Nigeria News, South Africa News
Deal making slows across Africa but post-pandemic opportunities look interesting
Deal making activity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) dropped in the second half of 2020 (H2 2020), when compared to the second half of 2019 (H2 2019) and year-on-year, deals were also down in both volume and value compared to 2019. As the continent gears up for post-pandemic recovery in 2021, the opportunities presented by free […]
Pork producers in South Africa are forging ahead with innovation and optimism in uncertain times. The industry has changed drastically over the last few decades – with dietary concerns, disease outbreaks, climate change and other factors all playing a role. Brent Fairlie, CEO at one of South Africa’s largest pork producers, Lynca Meats, lets us […]
Tech
Inclusive design is transforming the customer journey as digital accelerates and expectations skyrocket
Embracing inclusive design is a pathway to innovation that organisations ignore at their peril says Reynhardt Uys, Chief Experience Officer, Immersion Group. “Before now, it was common for the industry to see accessibility and inclusion as a box to tick somewhere within the design or process, but as Covid-19 has accelerated the digital world, inclusive […]
The South African transport sector entered the age of Covid already beset by several major challenges. Ageing infrastructure; a lack of impartial regulatory bodies; an unfriendly environment for private sector collaboration; over-reliance on roads for both public transport and freight; and a skewered subsidy model are a few of the structural obstacles that were present. […]
UNEP’s Adaptation Gap 2020 report released last week found that with annual adaptation costs in developing countries alone estimated to reach $130-300 billion per year by 2030, public and private finance for climate change adaptation must be stepped up urgently. Financial institutions have the power to direct investment and project finance to help the world […]
While South Africa’s economy took a series of blows over the last year, business owners remain confident that things will slowly start to stabilise in 2021. This was reaffirmed with South Africa’s SACCI business confidence index rising to 93.4 in November of 2020 from 92 in October, above pre-pandemic levels. According to Trevor Gosling, Co-founder […]
Endeavor empowers entrepreneurs for business growth Despite prolonged global market uncertainty, Endeavor South Africa has reported significant growth in their portfolio of disruptive tech businesses. The local chapter of the global non-profit organisation, which supports high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets, reported collective raises of R2bn in 2020 alone amongst the portfolio of 29 businesses, compared […]
For a long time, the most common form of industrial painting required the use of human specialist coating teams, and typically, these jobs included the painting of warehouses, machinery or automobiles. It is a large-scale process that demands high levels of safety measures and protective gear and is prone to errors that waste resources, time, […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a drastic impact not only on people’s health and wellbeing, but on that of businesses too. This was especially poignant for many companies that had to venture into the online world for the first time. Unsurprisingly, the uncertainty that coincided with the sudden digital migration created the perfect opportunity for […]
Main, Nigeria News, South Africa News
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 […]
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 […]