Africa's five major trends for potential growth

[Issa Sikiti da Silva: @sikitimedia] Population growth, rapid urbanisation, adoption of new technologies, unlocking of abundant resources and the deepening of the financial sector are the five major trends that are set to drive Africa's economic growth, Simon Freemantle, Standard Bank Africa senior analyst, told a media roundtable in Johannesburg, South Africa, yesterday, Thursday 6 October 2011. 7 Oct 2011 09:56

Bizcommunity.com

Bizcommunity launches new dedicated sectors, newsletters

Bizcommunity.com - South Africa's largest online B2B publisher - is set to grow even more with the introduction of 16 new content channels, with weekly newsletters, as from last week Tuesday, 20 September 2011. 20 Sep 2011 15:45

Africa, get it while it's hot

[Zeenat Moorad] We know about the beady eyes of multinationals lasciviously sizing up Africa. Their markets are just about fished out and they're setting their sights on the burgeoning middle class that will take consumer spending to the often-quoted US$1,4 trillion by 2020. 20 Sep 2011 14:57

BRICS stimulate Angola's economic awakening

[Issa Sikiti da Silva: @sikitimedia] From a sleeping giant disabled by the ghosts of war, socio-political intolerance, neo-colonialism and human exploitation, Angola has risen to become one of Africa's emerging economic heavyweights and is now at a crossroads of history. Research shows that BRICS - Brazil, (the main culprit), China, India, and lately South Africa and to a minor extent Russia - feature strongly in the list of countries that are driving Angola's rise to the riches. 24 Aug 2011 11:32

Kenya now brands its tea

[Carole Kimutai] Tea, Kenya's leading export, is set for a massive branding initiative that will be used to identify and promote the tea in local and international markets. Towards this end, the Tea Board of Kenya has appointed the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KeBS) to implement a globally recognised mark of origin for Kenyan tea. 10 Jun 2011 10:07

Nigeria: New refinery for Golden Sugar

Golden Sugar Company on Wednesday, 26 January 2011, signed a US$143.3 million, five-year syndicated multi-currency contract to finance the construction of a new sugar refinery complex in Lagos State, Nigeria. 28 Jan 2011 09:41

Zimbabwe ban hits Country Bird exports

[Michael Bleby] Country Bird Holdings had lost sales of 600 tons of chickens a month to Zimbabwe as a result of the reworked chicken controversy that broke out last month, financial director Robbie Taylor said Wednesday, 26 January 2011. 28 Jan 2011 09:17

Cocoa prices surge on Ivory Coast export ban

LONDON, UK: Cocoa futures soared to one-year highs on Monday, 24 January 2011, as the recognised winner of presidential elections in Ivory Coast, the world's biggest cocoa producer, ordered a halt to exports of the commodity. 25 Jan 2011 08:54

Logistics sector 2030: Africa and Asia to reshuffle the cards?

LONDON, UK: The dynamic economic development of emerging markets will fundamentally change world trade by 2030, leading to the emergence of new logistics service providers to challenge the market share of established companies. 30 Nov 2010 08:26

Drought-resistant maize could earn Africa up to US$1.5b

Researchers said on Thursday (26 August 2010) that distributing drought-resistant varieties of maize to smallholder African farmers could earn the continent between US$900 million and US$1.53 billion by 2016. 27 Aug 2010 10:39

Food cartels feast on Ramadan profits

[Cam McGrath] CAIRO: Opportunistic food traders have been blamed for soaring food prices across the Middle East that have added a financial burden on families observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. 18 Aug 2010 09:50

Africa might ditch Asian rice if prices increase

[Miriam Mannak] CAPE TOWN: Thailand and other major rice exporting countries are at risk of losing Africa as an important trading partner if they raise their rice prices. Half of the 10 million tons of rice exported by Thailand last year went to Africa. Nigeria, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire and South Africa were among the main buyers of rice in Africa. 4 Aug 2010 11:00

Zim contends with strong rand to avoid food shortage

[Dumisani Ndlela] To control or not to control food imports from South Africa has become the single major headache for the Zimbabwe government, now facing spiralling inflation after a disinflationary period in 2009. 16 Jul 2010 08:08

SA poultry producer invests in Zambia

SA poultry producer Astral Foods has expressed its commitment to doing business in Africa by investing further in Zambia. 14 Jun 2010 13:27