SOUTH Africa, the world’s biggest orange exporter after Spain and Egypt, will avoid citrus shipments through Spanish ports to avert a possible ban after authorities there refused producers permission to inspect testing facilities for black-spot disease.
The fungus, which affects some South African produce, causes blemishes on the peel of the fruit, which accounts for about 40% of citrus imported by the European Union (EU).
The nation’s Citrus Growers Association (CGA) is disputing findings by the European Food Safety Authority that the disease can survive transport and storage and could establish in EU regions.
SA had to halt exports to the region last year after EU authorities intercepted 16 shipments with black-spot-affected fruit. More
Source: www.bdlive.co.za
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Firms need social media policy for staff
AN INCREASING number of people are engaging on social media platforms and they are also used by companies to promote their businesses. People are connected and are engaging with others around the world in a way that has never been possible before.
However, the inappropriate use or abuse of social media has also led to several legal battles, in SA and around the world. There have been many arrests for cybercrimes and an increase in the number of employees dismissed for social media misconduct.
The most popular social media platforms for business in SA are Twitter, followed by Facebook and YouTube. Their use is fraught with possible pitfalls and hidden dangers, especially because the laws regulating acceptable behaviour on them are underdeveloped.
People access their platforms of choice on their smartphones at all hours of the day or night, and often without a thought for the consequences of what they post. This has resulted in many public relations debacles, significant brand damage and costly litigation. More
Source: www.bdlive.co.za
Petrol and power price jump could push SA into recession
Fuel and electricity price increases may drive country into recession, according to economist, Dawie Roodt. The R1.62 a litre increase in the price of 95 octane fuel together with the 14.25% increase in electricity tariffs for municipal users could drive South Africa into a full-blown recession. Roodt said this was the largest fuel increase in history and was going to hit consumers like a ton of bricks. “If Eskom loses any more generating capacity, economic growth could slow to less than half a percent or even become negative plunging the country into recession. More
Source: www.businesstech.co.za
Source: www.businesstech.co.za
Enel gets R2.1bn loan to help pay for SA wind farm
Enel Green Power SpA, the renewable-energy unit of Italy’s biggest utility, received a loan of R2.1 billion to help pay for a wind farm it plans to build in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.
KfW IPEX Bank GmbH, the export finance unit of Germany’s state-owned development lender KfW, provided the loan for Enel to construct the 111-megawatt Gibson Bay wind farm that will comprise 37 turbines of 3 megawatts each, Enel said by e-mail.
Enel also has started an “academy” that will train South Africans to install and sell small solar-power projects such as on home rooftops. It expects to have trained at least 1,000 people by June, Enel said in the statement.
Source: www.moneyweb.co.za
KfW IPEX Bank GmbH, the export finance unit of Germany’s state-owned development lender KfW, provided the loan for Enel to construct the 111-megawatt Gibson Bay wind farm that will comprise 37 turbines of 3 megawatts each, Enel said by e-mail.
Enel also has started an “academy” that will train South Africans to install and sell small solar-power projects such as on home rooftops. It expects to have trained at least 1,000 people by June, Enel said in the statement.
Source: www.moneyweb.co.za
Friday, 27 March 2015
Survey of African execs shows growing importance of Nigeria for future prospects
A new survey of 206 African business executives shows that the revenue and profit contribution from the continent is expected to rise materially in the coming five years, while Nigeria’s importance as a primary market is likely to increase and South Africa’s decrease over the period.
Titled ‘Africa is the horizon: the 2015 African Business Outlook Survey’, the report has been compiled by The Economist Corporate Network, the business advisory service of The Economist Group, which canvassed executives based primarily in the four biggest sub-Saharan economies – Nigeria, South Africa, Angola and Kenya.
It indicates that ongoing economic growth is providing the underlying rationale for business optimism, with the Economist expecting sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 4.5% in 2015, making it the world’s fastest growing economic zone, ahead of Asia’s regional average of 4.3%.
The group’s global expectation is for growth of 3.6%, supported by a recovery in the US and continued, albeit more moderate, economic expansion in key developing countries such as China and India.
The survey estimates that, over the coming five years, sub-Saharan Africa’s share of global GDP will more than double, from 1.4% to 4% by 2020. More
Source: www.engineeringnews.co.za
Titled ‘Africa is the horizon: the 2015 African Business Outlook Survey’, the report has been compiled by The Economist Corporate Network, the business advisory service of The Economist Group, which canvassed executives based primarily in the four biggest sub-Saharan economies – Nigeria, South Africa, Angola and Kenya.
It indicates that ongoing economic growth is providing the underlying rationale for business optimism, with the Economist expecting sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 4.5% in 2015, making it the world’s fastest growing economic zone, ahead of Asia’s regional average of 4.3%.
The group’s global expectation is for growth of 3.6%, supported by a recovery in the US and continued, albeit more moderate, economic expansion in key developing countries such as China and India.
The survey estimates that, over the coming five years, sub-Saharan Africa’s share of global GDP will more than double, from 1.4% to 4% by 2020. More
Source: www.engineeringnews.co.za
NEPAD launches Agribusiness Programme
A Youth Employment and Women in Agribusiness Programme has been launched by the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD).
The new programme aims to support economic growth and the empowerment of women in Africa.
Women and youth have been reported as being responsible for 80% of food production in the agriculture industry on the continent.
Estherine Fotabong, NEPAD’s Programme Implementation and Coordination Director, said: “The programme seeks to empower the youth to be able to develop their necessary skills and get in the agribusiness skills and we it will also link youth to the private sector and create opportunities for the to be part of development programmes.
“Youth can go to the universities but they won’t have enough experience to secure jobs.
“We have long term programmers for women and youth until 2063 but we are not sure who will walk the talk we are doing, therefore women and youth capacity is key to guarantee continuity of all this, we also want to support these women and youth so that they can become vibrant driver of the continent’s economy.”
Source: www.africanbusinessnetwork.co.za
The new programme aims to support economic growth and the empowerment of women in Africa.
Women and youth have been reported as being responsible for 80% of food production in the agriculture industry on the continent.
Estherine Fotabong, NEPAD’s Programme Implementation and Coordination Director, said: “The programme seeks to empower the youth to be able to develop their necessary skills and get in the agribusiness skills and we it will also link youth to the private sector and create opportunities for the to be part of development programmes.
“Youth can go to the universities but they won’t have enough experience to secure jobs.
“We have long term programmers for women and youth until 2063 but we are not sure who will walk the talk we are doing, therefore women and youth capacity is key to guarantee continuity of all this, we also want to support these women and youth so that they can become vibrant driver of the continent’s economy.”
Source: www.africanbusinessnetwork.co.za
Thursday, 26 March 2015
Africa’s future billionaires will be farmers, says Nigerian minister
Africa’s future billionaires and millionaires will make their money from agriculture, says Akinwumi Adesina, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Adesina was named Forbes African of the Year in December 2013 for his reforms to Nigeria’s farming sector, according to a BBC report.
In his acceptance speech, Adesina said at the time he wanted to help people become rich through farming.
“My goal is to make as many millionaires, maybe even billionaires, from agriculture as possible,” he said, according to BBC.
African Development Bank is financing $170 million for a Nigerian project that aims to transform agriculture. The project aims to create agricultural entrepreneurs and producers by providing about 120,000 jobs along the value chain of priority commodities. An additional 20 million tons of key food crops including cassava, rice, and sorghum will be added to the domestic food supply each year, if all goes according to plan.
A significant part of the project is developing outreach models in agriculture with young entrepreneurs, aka youth agripreneurs. The plan is for agripreneurs to promote agriculture among other youth in their regions through peer education, training and demonstration of agricultural best practices, and business skills in value-chain development. More»
In his acceptance speech, Adesina said at the time he wanted to help people become rich through farming.
“My goal is to make as many millionaires, maybe even billionaires, from agriculture as possible,” he said, according to BBC.
African Development Bank is financing $170 million for a Nigerian project that aims to transform agriculture. The project aims to create agricultural entrepreneurs and producers by providing about 120,000 jobs along the value chain of priority commodities. An additional 20 million tons of key food crops including cassava, rice, and sorghum will be added to the domestic food supply each year, if all goes according to plan.
A significant part of the project is developing outreach models in agriculture with young entrepreneurs, aka youth agripreneurs. The plan is for agripreneurs to promote agriculture among other youth in their regions through peer education, training and demonstration of agricultural best practices, and business skills in value-chain development. More»
Source: www.afkinsider,com
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