December 2015

December has so far been quite an unusual month and we have witnessed the problems that result from indecision. Following the sacking of Nhlanhla Nene as Finance Minister and the appointment of the relatively unknown David van Rooyen, the Rand hit an all-time low against the Dollar. Astonishingly, van Rooyen was then replaced after just four days in the job by a man who had previously held the position, Pravin Gordhan. It all seems a little unusual and unnecessary and put undue pressure on the already strained exchange rate.

As we head towards the New Year, hopefully we will now see stability with the Rand and solidity in the government so that the business community can make decisions without having to worry about what is going to happen in what is already an economy that is dicing with death.

In this edition of Enterprise Africa, we have stories from another set of industry leading organisations including Transnet, SA rugby Union, Hyprop and Castrol SA. All of these companies are heading into 2016 with big plans and projects underway and will be looking for an explosive start to the year.

Our big interviews this month come from men’s fashion business John Craig and Managing Director Lily Moreira who explains more about expansion into Africa. We also talk to Mark Martinovic from HPA who details potential in the hotel market across sub-Saharan Africa. Robin Legg of Ferro SA and Uwe Boegl of Rako Tamperseal both tell us more about the potential of exports into Africa – such an important part of any SA business nowadays.

Enjoy reading, and have a fantastic Christmas and New Year!