Small businesses are struggling to grow, but optimistic about future – SBGI

The Small Business Growth Index (SBGI) shows that small businesses are experiencing a fragile recovery with deep-rooted challenges, with one-quarter of the 1 600 small and medium-sized enterprises... 

Dipula completes five strategic acquisitions for R700m

JSE-listed real estate investment trust Dipula Properties has made five strategic acquisitions totalling about R700-million, including the R480-million acquisition of Protea Gardens Mall, in... 

Africa fintech market set for growth, fuelled by demand for digital innovation

The African fintech sector is experiencing rapid growth, driven by a combination of economic expansion, high demand for financial services and innovative solutions addressing longstanding gaps in... 

PRO alliance relaunches waste picker registration programme

Producer responsibility organisation (PRO) the Paper and Packaging PRO Alliance has relaunched an upgraded South African Waste Picker Registration System (SAWPRS), which is the national... 

Veld fires can drive up food prices, especially meat – FNB Agriculture

The frequency and severity of veld fires are expected to continue increasing in South Africa and the damage could result in higher food prices, as this severely impacts on farm production costs,... 

Flash gala apple harvest rises 41% y/y to a record 1.48m cartons

Deciduous fruit marketing and distribution company Tru-Cape says the 2025 harvest season has delivered a record 1.48-million cartons of Flash Gala apples, which represents a 41% increase from the... 

Google for Startups Accelerator 2025 programme opens for South African founders using AI

Internet services company Google has announced the opening of applications for the 2025 Google for Startups Accelerator (GFSA) programme for South African founders. The programme will be a... 

WWF SA calls for responsible, sustainable mining to be top of G20 agenda

Local environmental and conservation organisation the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF SA) says the issue of the sustainable development of a transition minerals industry should be on... 

Accelerating reform momentum can deliver 3% growth in 24 months, says Mavuso

One in three, or 32.9%, of adults in South Africa are unemployed, highlighting that the economy is suffocating under the weight of structural inefficiencies that reforms could fix, says business... 

New Saliem Fakir book highlights inextricable link between climate, energy transition and development

Climate change is not only an environmental issue; rather, economic and social issues are at the core of the energy transition the world and Africa are grappling with now and, if these issues are... 

Step-change in grid construction seen as key to unlocking big renewables pipeline

South Africa can unlock an additional 53 GW of electricity generation capacity by constructing 14 000 km of transmission infrastructure – a critical step in enabling the electricity sector to... 

Step-change in grid construction seen as key to unlocking big renewables pipeline

South Africa can unlock an additional 53 GW of electricity generation capacity by constructing 14 000 km of transmission infrastructure – a critical step in enabling the electricity sector to... 

Redisa calls for new waste tyre management plan

Waste tyre recycling organisation the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa) has written to members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries... 

SA Canegrowers calls on food, beverage manufacturers and retailers to commit to buying local sugar

Industry organisation the South African Cane Growers' Association (SA Canegrowers) has called on food and beverage manufacturers and retailers to commit to buying mainly local sugar in order to... 

Agriculture outperforms rest of economy over 20 years despite margins being squeezed

The agricultural sector in South Africa outperformed the rest of the economy significantly over the past 20 years, despite input costs rising faster than inflation and, in most cases, rising faster... 

AgriSA calls for withdrawal of draft Mineral Resources Development Amendment Bill

Agricultural industry organisation AgriSA has called on government to withdraw the draft Mineral Resources Development Amendment Bill and subject it to a full socioeconomic-impact assessment... 

Salga comes out in opposition to energy trading, fears risks to municipal revenues

The South African Local Government Association (Salga) opposes the decision by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to grant electricity trading licences to private entities before... 

Nedbank acquires iKhokha to deepen SME services

Financial services firm Nedbank Group has entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100% of fintech innovator iKhokha in an all-cash deal for about R1.65-billion. The acquisition will see iKhokha... 

AMIE welcomes govt’s long-term trade resilience, competitiveness plan

Industry organisation the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) has welcomed the government’s “Plan A” for long-term trade resilience and competitiveness, which was jointly announced... 

Nersa approves new maximum price of gas for Egoli Gas to February 2026

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has announced that it has approved Egoli Gas’ application for a maximum price of R151.14/GJ for end-user customers and R143.58/GJ for resellers... 

Mpact signs five-year PPA with Enpower for 30 GWh/y of renewable energy

JSE-listed paper and plastics packaging and recycling company Mpact has signed a five-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with energy trader Enpower Trading, which will see it supply 30 GWh/y of... 

Two contractors shortlisted for R31.5bn Hiryo coal-to-fertiliser project

Two Chinese engineering companies, East China Engineering Science and Technology (ECEC) and Sinopec Ningbo, have made the final round of bidding for a basic engineering contract to build the... 

John Thompson, BECS to deliver biomass-based steam for Africa's industries

Industrial boiler engineering company John Thompson and commercial and industrial energy company Berkeley Energy Corporate Solutions (BECS) aim to accelerate the deployment of reliable, renewable... 

FNB to open smart ID, passport booking services to all South Africans

Financial services firm First National Bank (FNB) has expanded its collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to enable the reissuance of smart IDs and passports using its banking app... 

Necsa welcomes confirmation of site for next nuclear power station

The State-owned South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) Group welcomes the upholding of the decision to grant State-owned Eskom environmental authorisation to build a 4 000 MW nuclear... 

27four, dtic confirm support for Transformation Fund

Financial services firm 27four and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) have reaffirmed their shared commitment to unlocking South Africa’s full economic potential through the... 

BLSA to launch Reform Tracker to track government progress on Thursday

Business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) has reiterated its plans to launch the BLSA Reform Tracker – a publicly available online tool that tracks government reforms, assesses... 

ASP Isotopes opens secondary listing on JSE

Nasdaq-listed highly enriched isotopes company ASP Isotopes (ASPI) has opened a secondary inward listing of its common stock on the main board of the JSE. The board of directors of JSE-listed... 

Landlocked countries can unlock trade through regional cooperation, digital readiness and targeted reforms – Unctad

Landlocked developing countries can unlock trade opportunities through regional cooperation, digital readiness and targeted reforms, says UN Trade and Development (Unctad). With the right policy... 

Hulamin completes final phase of project to enhance canbody stream

JSE-listed rolled aluminium products manufacturer Hulamin has completed the final, and most critical, phase of its R500-million capital investment to enhance its canbody stream capacity and... 

AI changing procurement sector, supply chain management

The procurement and supply chain management profession will need to adapt to systems powered by AI, which can already perform a range of procurement subfunctions. Procurement and supply chain... 

George upholds decision to grant enviro authorisation for Duynefontein nuclear site

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George has upheld the 2017 decision to grant State-owned power utility Eskom environmental authorisation to build and operate a new nuclear... 

Metair’s interim revenue to grow more than 50% on inclusion of Hesto, AutoZone

JSE-listed automotive components supplier Metair has reported that group revenue for the six months ended June 30, is expected to increase by between 52% and 54%, compared with the revenue of... 

Johannesburg urban vehicle emissions initiative to generate data for clean air policies

The Real Urban Emissions (TRUE) Initiative Johannesburg project, launched by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) on July 21, will use... 

Non-resource-based African economies outperform resource-dependent peers

Market research and intelligence company BMI has lowered its forecast headline growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa for this year to 3.7%, from its earlier projection of 3.8%, but points out that... 

Local sourcing needs some type of concession to support local industry – Makhubu

Goods that are produced locally using locally sourced materials are likely to have higher production costs. This has a bearing on taxation and, if goods are to be sourced locally, there needs to be... 

Growthpoint and FlySafair launch SmartFlight for office tenants in Johannesburg

JSE-listed real estate investment trust Growthpoint Properties and airline FlySafair have launched SmartFlight, an initiative that allows businesses signing new leases of three years or more in... 

IZI Africa acquires G4S Cash Solutions South Africa

Cash management and cash-in-transit company IZI Africa has completed the acquisition of cash management company G4S Cash Solutions South Africa, following the receipt of all necessary regulatory... 

July PMI signals marginal improvement in South African business conditions

Market research and financial intelligence company S&P Global's South Africa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.3 in July from 50.1 in June, signalling a slightly stronger, but marginal... 

AI-powered Radiation Planning Assistant system being used at Universitas Academic Hospital

The Radiation Planning Assistant (RPA) – a Web-based AI-powered platform developed at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre (MDACC), in the US, has seen clinical integration at the...