Davies maps route for free trade area

CAPE TOWN: The first phase of setting up a free trade area across 26 countries in Africa is expected to come into effect in three years, trade and industry minister Rob Davies said on Monday, 13 June 2011. 14 Jun 2011 12:00

[Netprophet 2011] African ecommerce market has a long way to go

[Herman Manson: @marklives] A billion Africans and 50 million bank accounts. In South Africa, credit cards are used by only 16.5% of the population (2008). No African country comes close to 1% of total retail spend spent online - the magic figure which constitutes the tipping point for digital retail growth. No wonder, then, that the ecommerce market in Africa hasn't bloomed. 12 May 2011 18:55

School SMEs boost quality of education in Ghana

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] School infrastructure across Africa has, since the dawn of independence, been deteriorating at a faster pace as maintenance is almost non-existent and building of new facilities stalls. This, coupled with high teacher-pupil ratio, corruption and nepotism, lack of qualified teaching staff and basic teaching material, have pushed the African education system into the doldrums and plunged it into absolute chaos. 9 May 2011 10:07

Shoprite competition closes in

[Stafford Thomas] "Shoprite has taken advantage of the strong rand to invest in a lot of real estate in Africa by opening 16 additional stores in Nigeria this year and planning three new stores in Ghana," says Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson. 28 Feb 2011 09:30

Unemployment, inflation worries hit consumer confidence

NEW YORK, US: Consumer confidence fell in 25 out of 52 countries in Q4 2010 as hope for a global economic recovery evaporated at the end of last year, according to the latest edition of the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index, which tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among online consumers. 27 Jan 2011 11:00

Google launches online marketplace for Ghana

ACCRA: Google announced yesterday, 2 December 2010, the launch of Google Trader for Ghana highlighting the entrepreneurial opportunities presented by the internet. Trader is a free online classifieds service that allows Ghanaians to buy and sell products and services, as well as search for jobs among other things. 3 Dec 2010 10:32

Ghana to halt sales of second-hand underwear

Ghana plans to enforce a ban on the sale of second-hand underwear beginning in February, an official said on Monday (29 November 2010), citing the health risks involved in the hawking of the garments by street vendors. 30 Nov 2010 13:45

Mr Price takes aim at Nigerian market

[Michael Bleby] Retailer Mr Price is eying Nigeria, a market it says could host up to 100 stores, if it could only end its ban on the import of clothing. 22 Nov 2010 11:00

Hope for full global economic recovery in 2010 diminishes

NEW YORK, US: After an upbeat start to the year with two consecutive quarters of increases in optimism, global consumer confidence fell three points in September to an Index of 90 as consumers' hopes for a full economic recovery this year fades in most parts of the world, according to the latest edition of the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index. 27 Oct 2010 06:22

Parts Trader launches in Ghana

The Parts Trader website, an online automotive directory in the US and Europe has launched in Ghana making available its processing server to customers and car parts suppliers in Africa 4 Oct 2010 10:46

African investment in Princess Crossing Mall

The fully tenanted Princess Crossing Mall, situated in Ondekkers Road, Roodepoort, has been sold for close to R300 million to a West African investor - via a private property fund based in the Western Cape. 20 Aug 2010 08:39

Game still in the pink of health

Game Stores has come a long way since it opened its first store in Durban in 1970 in cramped premises in the city's CBD, ringing up sales of R78 000 in its first month of trading. Its founders believed that shopping had become a tedious and boring pastime. They wanted to create a fun shopping environment and so conceptualised retailing as a game. The signature bright pink prevails to this day. 19 Jul 2010 08:43

New money transfer facility for Ghanaians in SA

JOHANNESBURG: APRM Capital and a grouping of Ghanaian investors plan to, in March 2010, launch APRM Ashanti Capital Money Transfers, a money transfer facility allowing Ghanaians living in South Africa a better method of sending money home. 25 Jan 2010 11:11

Ghana: Tomato queens short-change farmers

ACCRA: When you meet Naomi Aframea, 60, in the streets of Accra, you could take her for any other Ghanaian woman going about her business. But step into her stall at Agbobloshie Market, one of the capital's satellite markets, and amidst stacks of the wooden crates used to ship tomatoes, you sense her power. 8 Jul 2009 15:39