In 2020, Amazon launched the Africa (Cape Town) Region, the first AWS Infrastructure Region in South Africa. However, plans for the construction of a new Cape Town-based Amazon Africa headquarters were blocked earlier this year by the Cape Town High Court as Amazon had allegedly not gone through the proper process to acquire the land.

Meanwhile, retailer Pick n Pay migrated its entire on-premise information technology infrastructure to Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In a statement, AWS says Pick n Pay worked with Lemongrass Consulting, an AWS Premier consulting partner with migration and SAP Consulting Competencies, to migrate its on-premises SAP environment to AWS and implement a modern SAP HANA platform.

According to the US-based cloud computing giant, moving to the cloud will enable Pick n Pay to streamline its operations and modernize the supply chain network for its stores, develop new digital customer experiences in omnichannel grocery, and expand into …

Since the launch of VFEX in 2020, trading has mainly been dominated by institutional investors, and from the feedback received, retail investors would also like to participate in the VFEX. In the press release, VFEX CEO Justin Bgoni said VFEX Direct was mainly developed with retail investors in mind.

VFEX Direct will be accessible through the web portal and mobile application (Google Play Store and Apple App Store).

Investors wishing to participate through VFEX Direct will be required to hold an FCA (Nostro) account with any Zimbabwean bank.…

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote in his speech described the new plant as a game changer, as it can make Nigeria self-sufficient in fertilizer production, with spare capacity to export to other markets in Africa and the rest of the world.

While Dangote’s initial export targets were primarily Africa, current market realities mean there is increasing demand from outside the continent. Orders have come from far-flung places in the US, Brazil, Mexico, India, and the EU according to an article by African Business published on May 5, 2022.

According to the World Bank, the proximity of the new fertilizer plant offers a critical window of opportunity for Benin policymakers and the private sector to engage their Nigerian counterparts within the frameworks of the Economic Community of African States (ECOWAS), the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and other bilateral agreements to source fertilizer inputs for its farming population to …

The Central African Republic was the 186th largest exporter in the world in 2020 with a total export value of US$127 million. The country’s exports decreased by US$26.1 million over the past five reported years, from US$153 million in 2015 to US$127 million in 2020.

Rough wood which contributed US$51.9 million in export earnings, gold (US$34.7 million), diamonds (US$14.7 million), sawn wood (US$9.55 million) and refined copper (US$6.66 million) are the most recent export leaders. China (US$50.8 million), the United Arab Emirates (US$37.3 million), Italy (US$12.2 million), Belgium (US$6.84 million), and France (US$4.5 million) are the Central African Republic’s top export markets.…

Global consumer Internet Company Prosus, which is majority owned by South African Internet Company Naspers, disclosed that it has reached an agreement to buy the remaining 33.3 percent stake in iFood. With a market share of more than 80 percent in the country’s food delivery market, iFood is a Brazilian online food delivery service.

The stake was bought from minority shareholder Just Eat Holding Limited for €1.5 billion in cash plus contingent consideration of up to €300 million. Following the transaction, Prosus and its affiliate company, a Brazilian investor in technology companies, Movile will fully own iFood.

• Prosus, which is majority-owned by South Africa internet group Naspers, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining 33.3 percent stake in iFood.
• The stake was bought from minority shareholder Just Eat Holding Limited for €1.5 billion in cash plus contingent consideration of up to €300 million.
• Naspers has

If fully implemented, AfCFTA could speed up wage growth for women and lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035, the World Bank report has found.

An article by Namibia Economist, dated July 29, 2022, suggests that achieving these gains will be particularly important given the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is expected to cause up to US$79 billion in output losses in Africa from 2020.

• Real income gains from full implementation of the AfCFTA agreement could increase by 7 per cent, or nearly US$450 billion by 2035.
• AfCFTA would significantly boost African trade, particularly intra-regional trade in manufacturing.
• Manufacturing exports would gain the most, 62 per cent overall, with intra-Africa trade increasing by 110 per cent and exports to the rest of the world rising by 46 per cent.

COVID-19 has caused major disruptions to trade across the continent, including critical goods such as …

According to Refinitiv Data, the value of South African mergers and acquisitions increased by 958 per cent from the same period in 2020 to US$52 billion in the first half of 2021, from a total of 169 deals. When compared to the same period in 2020, deals involving tech businesses soared by US$160 million, or about 2000 per cent.

According to an article by Tech Cabal, acquisitions in South Africa can broadly be categorized into three:

Inbound inter-country acquisitions of South African startups by international companies (mostly US-based),
Domestic intra-country acquisitions of South African startups by well-established South African companies, and
Domestic intra-country acquisitions of South African startups by other South African startups.…

The value of the AI construction market was estimated to be USD 466.9 million in 2019. Projections estimate that by 2025, the market value will skyrocket to US$2312.8 million with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.87 per cent between 2020 to 2025.

Despite not gaining early adoption within the construction sector as in other areas, AI is now ideally positioned to lead transformative reforms within the sector.

According to an article by majesteye.com dated February 16, 2022, several studies and reports have shown that the adoption of AI applications within the infrastructure sector is growing at a rapid pace. Some of the major drivers of this growth include the following:…

In 2020, Wool was the world’s 653rd most traded product, with a total trade of US$2.5 billion. Between 2019 and 2020, Wool exports decreased by -31.4 per cent, from US$3.65 billion to US$2.5 billion. Trade in Wool represents 0.015 per cent of total world trade.

Wool is a part of fine or coarse animal hair, horsehair yarn, and woven fabric. They include greasy shorn wool, not carded or combed, Degreased shorn wool, not carded, combed, or carbonize, Carbonized wool, not carded or combed, Degreased wool, not carded, combed, or carbonized, and Greasy wool (other than shorn) not carded or combed. In 2020 the top exporters of Wool were Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

The fastest growing export markets for Wool of South Africa between 2019 and 2020 were China, Eswatini, and Uruguay. In April 2022, South Africa’s Wool exports accounted for up to ZAR205 million, …

The detection of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Botswana has sent shockwaves through the livestock sector and for good reason.

FMD is a highly contagious viral infection that affects cattle, sheep, and pigs. To be clear, the consequences of an FMD outbreak are significant; and, for those directly affected they are dire.

Botswana has suspended all exports of cattle and related meat products while authorities investigate a suspected outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

• Botswana has suspended all exports and movement of cattle and related meat products while authorities investigate a suspected outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease
• The ban on the movement of cattle follows a similar step by neighbouring South Africa to curb an outbreak of the highly contagious viral disease which affects cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and other cloven-hoofed animals
• China banned the import of all cloven-hoofed animals and their products from South Africa due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)