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 […]
Tag Archives: South Africa
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) […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Africa Travel, Botswana News, Cape Verde News, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya News, Nigeria News, Rwanda News, South Africa News, Tanzania News, Zambia News, Zanzibar
Hotel Development Industry in Africa
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Business, Ethiopia News, Kenya News, Main, Rwanda News, South Africa News, Uganda News
Friday@Noon on Manufacturing 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. 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Energy, Green Energy, South Africa News
Loadshedding: why mini grids are the answer and why South Africa doesn’t have them (yet)
“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 […]
African News, Ethiopia News, Main, Nigeria News
Investing in Africa: An Outlook on Nigeria and Ethiopia
Itumeleng Mukhovha, an associate in the Corporate/M&A practice at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg One can easily assume that international investors are deterred from investing in Africa given the growing need to weather a global financial crisis, which has been distorted by Brexit, rising geopolitical tensions, tightened global liquidity conditions, leveraged loans and sketchy debts that […]
African News, Ghana News, Kenya News, Main, South Africa News, Uganda News
Towards a world without waste
The invention of plastic has changed the world in so many ways – for both better and worse – that it’s hard to picture modern life without it. Instinctively, we might think a plastic-free world could only be an improvement, but that would be to ignore the extent to which plastic is interwoven in almost […]
Easy of Doing Business in Thekwini (Durban) Easy of Doing Business in Cape TownSouth Africa is a country of a mixed economy. It has a relatively high gross domestic product than other countries in Africa. Despite having a mixed economy and high GDP, South Africa has a problem of poverty and unemployment. Business is a […]