With the RockyRoads UCI MTB World Cup Pietermaritzburg fast approaching, downhill course designer Nigel Hicks is chomping at the bit to give the Cascades MTB park track a facelift.

The event will feature the world's leading mountain bikers, competing in downhill, cross-country and four-cross.

Renowned for the tough flat middle section, the Pietermaritzburg track may not always be international riders' favourite venue, but is one which brings balance to the UCI downhill calendar and sets a unique challenge for riders.

"The Cascades track is not a technical track by any means. However, due to the unfortunate lie of the land. it's one of the most physically demanding tracks in the world, particularly because of the lung busting pedal section in the middle," said Hicks.

"We may have been gifted leftover materials from the construction in the centre's car park, though, which, if this is the case, we'll use these to make a couple of changes to the finish and podium area and then a few subtle changes to the middle section.

Better flow

"It would make a big difference if we could make things flow better through the middle section, and even though it would still be very much a pedal section these changes should really help reduce the time it takes riders to get through this tough stretch," he added.

Smaller may well be better when it comes to the planned course alterations, with subtle variations of existing features potentially having a significant impact.

"We're going to be laying down granite overburden on the entire course which will make a massive difference when it rains and could even speed things up even further," he continued.

The Cascades course is one of the fastest tracks around and the apparent lack of numerous tight twists and turns adds to the uniqueness of the venue.

Average speed

"Our average speed here is a lot higher than elsewhere in the world. Usually the guys average between 30 and 35 kilometres per hour, but here they go at around 45 kilometres per hour," said Hicks.

"Last year's top speed recorded in the Speedtrap section was 78 kilometres per hour, significantly faster than the 50 kilometres per hour riders experience overseas.

"That's what makes it fun," said Hicks, who explained that riders are able to use semi-slick tyres on the Cascades course, while at most of the other venues studded tyres are necessary.

Hicks said the course will not differ that much from the 2011 World Cup track, but it will incorporate subtle changes.

Ultra-exciting

What Hicks calls subtle should prove to be ultra-exciting for spectators, especially those watching in the area of The Gully, which leads into consecutive table-top jumps. He's planning on moving both jumps 20 metres further down the track and extending the length of both of them. What it means is that riders will be able to take greater speed into the jumps and thus fly even further than before.

The home crowd will be hoping the likes of local hero Greg Minnaar, Andrew Neethling and their fellow compatriots will be able to capitalise on any home ground advantage they may experience. However, Hicks believes the eagerly anticipated event will be a fair one for all.

"I wouldn't say any one type of rider has more of an advantage than another, especially now that most of the guys have been here a couple of times in recent years and now know what to expect," he said.

"They now know physically its very demanding track and so they prepare themselves for it.

Top condition necessary

"I think it's a really good thing that it's the first race on the World Cup calendar because then the guys really have to work hard in the off season and make sure they're in top condition beforehand, but I wouldn't rule out anyone because of the terrain," he reckoned.

Being a season-opener is also exciting for another reason, Hicks said, as it unveils new talent.

"One needs only to look back on Aaron Gwin last year," he said of the American who came out of nowhere to win the season-opener.

The RockyRoads UCI MTB World Cup Pietermaritzburg takes place at the Cascades MTB Park from 16 to 18 March.

SAinfo reporter

Brand South Africa brought together global leaders from business and politics to discuss the role of Africa in the Global Transformation, the key theme of this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Hosted in partnership with TIME magazine, the event featured Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, alongside, Zurich Financial Services' Asia Pacific and Middle East CEO Geoff Riddell and TIME international editor Jim Frederick.

The session, which focused on Africa's role in an increasingly multi-polar world, reached a consensus that infrastructure development, the removal of trade barriers, more sophisticated financial markets and shifting from distributing raw commodities to exporting modified commodities are key conditions for creating more diversified economies across the continent.

"There is a huge opportunity for the continent to start picking up dividends as China moves up the value chain and releases jobs, enabling African countries to outbid countries like Vietnam for these jobs," said Gordhan. "However, people won’t come to Africa just because its Africa, we need to create the opportunity for people to partner; that is the great transformation.

"In the near future, we will need to create jobs for a billion people and we must ensure that there is political will, the institutions and infrastructure that enable us to move into the next epoch of developments and bringing more value to our exports, for example beneficiation."

Development at three levels

The panellists noted that because of its size - both in terms of population and land mass - development in Africa needs to be considered at three levels: country, sub-regional and pan-regional.

"The more we get cross-country initiatives, the more we get rid of some of the curses like over-politicisation and corruption," said Riddell. Echoing this sentiment, Gordhan added, "Only 10% of African trade happens in Africa, in Europe this figure is up near 60%. We need Africa to invest in Africa."

Gordhan noted that while the global economic crisis has put pressures on Africa, the current situation in Europe has presented Africa with an opportunity to learn and improve on regional economic integration.

"The world is looking at itself and saying multi-polarity is a reality," he said. "The recent crisis has shown us that despite the euro, in terms of identity, policy and financial structures, sub-regions in Europe still exist."

Corruption 'not unique to Africa'

Responding to a common perception that corruption with governments was a key barrier to development in Africa, Gordhan noted it is not a problem unique to the continent.

"Corruption exists in every country - it is just a question of degree," he said. "In Africa, it is an issue and one we take seriously. I believe there is an obligation on investors in Africa to help create a better climate.

"I am hopeful that we will challenge it more as new leaders emerge in business and politics."

Riddell agreed and pointed to the impact corruption indices had had on governments in the Middle East. He believed the same effect was taking place across Africa.

He also added that cross-border trade had less corruption, and noted that with an increase in regional economic integration he expects to see a parallel decrease in corruption.

"The economy is going in the right direction," said Riddell. "It will keep doing so, there will be bumps on the road, but Africa is where we see balance and growth in our corporate portfolios."

SAinfo reporter

South Africa is not only an important emerging economy in its own right - it is also a key gateway to sub-Saharan Africa.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged African countries to entrench civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights to boost stability and development on the continent.

"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a promise to all people in all places at all times," Ban told African leaders gathered in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, for the annual African Union (AU) summit.

Discrimination against gays and lesbians

He cited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity as one of the injustices that had been ignored or even sanctioned by many African states for too long.

"This has prompted some governments to treat people as second-class citizens, or even criminals. Confronting this discrimination is a challenge. But we must live up to the ideals of the Universal Declaration," Ban told the summit, held in a new conference centre funded and built by China.

"I salute your efforts to build African prosperity and grow intra-African trade. Our challenge is to transform Africa's potential into progress for all," he said.

Repression 'underlay Arab Spring'

The secretary-general noted that 25 African countries would hold elections at either the presidential, legislative or local levels this year, and urged them to ensure that the polls were well-managed, transparent and inclusive.

"The transition in Tunisia has been a model for other States. In Libya, our political mission is helping the new transitional authorities to organise elections and improve public security, rule of law and transitional justice," said Ban.

He once again encouraged the transitional authorities in Egypt to guarantee the peaceful and early handover of power to a civilian government, uphold human rights, release political prisoners and accelerate the pace of reform.

Ban pointed out that the so-called Arab Spring - popular protests for civil rights during 2011 - had takan the world by surprise because traditional indicators were showing that the affected countries were "stable".

"Yet below the surface, there was deprivation, exclusion, abuse. Events have proved that repression is a dead-end. Police power is no match for people power seeking dignity and justice," he said.

UN, African Union to deepen ties

Ban said he was committed to deepening ties between the United Nations and African Union, noting that the fruits of the two organisations' partnership had manifested themselves in the search for peace in Darfur, in common diplomatic efforts in Guinea and cooperation on Somalia.

"Where there are differences, let us continue to find common ground for the future. For example - let us review how effectively and how quickly we are able to respond to crises," he said.

He called for joint efforts between the UN and AU to improve the lot of women and youth in Africa, who account for 80 percent of the continent's population, pointing out that the presence of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, at the summit was an indication that women were not only victims of war.

"They are also champions of peace," said the Secretary-General.

Women and youth

He called for greater representation of women in parliaments across Africa, which he said currently stands at 20 percent on average.

"We must ensure that women are fully represented in decision-making bodies, including in Egypt and Tunisia, where they played a role in the recent pro-democracy protests.

"And we must restore hope and a better future for youth in Africa. Unemployment and poverty feed chronic instability and create tensions. I intend to appoint a special representative for youth, who will open dialogue with young people and lead our efforts," he added.

On the sidelines of the Summit, Ban had separate meetings with the leaders of African countries, including Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, with whom he discussed several issues, including the country's new institutions and the constitutional review process.

Source: BuaNews

Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) is initiating a technical learnership at the St Anthony's Centre in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, to help address the shortage of appropriately skilled technicians in the country's automotive sector.

The three-year pilot programme will see MBSA collaborating with the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (MerSeta) and St Anthony's to provide NQF level three qualifications for an initial intake of 24 learners.

MBSA and MerSeta will provide funding of R1.4-million per year, while St Anthony's staff will provide the training competence for the theoretical part of the programme.

In a statement this week, MBSA corporate affairs manager Nobuzwe Mangcu said the company shared the concern and commitment of the South African government to educate and equip the country's youth with skills.

"We want to focus on a sound skills base and a pipeline of technically-skilled individuals," Mangcu said. "The automotive industry is strongly driven by technological advancement, and we have a severe shortage of technical skills."

On the job training

MBSA has enlisted the assistance of their dealer network, which comprises 87 dealerships across the country, to expose the learners to the workplace, and provide on-the-job training.

Each learner will have the opportunity to be mentored by a dealership for four months. During this time they will complete their portfolio of evidence for their final assessments, putting theoretical studies into practise.

The learners receive a stipend during this practical training phase, which also includes a month's exposure to Mercedes-Benz's specialised, product-specific maintenance training.

Successful completion of the programme will equip learners with a certificate in automotive repair and maintenance, but the workplace exposure will give them a head-start in their future careers.

"This is an example of the private sector partnering with government towards meeting and addressing key challenges for South Africa," said MerSeta CEO Raymond Patel. "It also contributes to job creation, the enhancement of skills, socio-economic development and enterprise development."

SAinfo reporter

Paddlers from the ground-breaking Change A Life Academy in the Valley Of A Thousand Hills in KwaZulu-Natal are targeting five of the top 10 places in the latest edition of South Africa's Dusi canoe marathon.

The Unlimited Dusi, starting on 16 February this year, is one of the largest and toughest canoe marathons in the world, featuring plenty of portaging to go along with the challenges of paddling the 120 kilometres from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

Multiple Dusi champion Martin Dreyer heads the academy, which teaches children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who live along the Dusi route, about paddling. The development programme headed up by Dreyer helps transition the most promising paddlers from good to elite performers.

Title hopefuls

Spearheaded by the fancied title hopefuls Thulani Mbanjwa and Sibonelo Zondi, both of whom were part of the original core group that started the academy with Dreyer, the flourishing training group is bristling with talented K2 crews positive about their chances of racing into the top 10, and ideally onto the podium.

A careful browse through the academy's impressive list of top achievements and a quick glance at results from recent races around the country leads one to quickly realise just how formidable an outfit the Change A Life 2012 Dusi squad is and the pedigree they bring to this year's spectacle.

"Obviously Bungee (Thulani Mbanjwa) and Sibonelo (Zondi) are the most recognised guys to have come through our academy and we are hoping for great things for them in this year's Dusi, but there are many other really talented guys in our squad as well," said Dreyer, who earned the nickname "The Dusi Duke" for his impressive feats in the Dusi, which included seven victories.

Aiming for top 10

"The Cele brothers (Richard and Nhlanhlayakhe), Thomas Ngidi and John Ncgobo, and Lucas Mthalane and Mmeli Cele will all be hoping for a top 10 finish, while it will be very interesting to see just how Nkosi Cele and Skhumbuso Ngidi go.

"Then there's Kwanda Mhlope who, even though he's now part of the new professional team Team Best 4 Kayak Centre and will partner Lance Kime, we still consider as one of our own and are excited about their chances of finishing in the top five," he added.

The group have been hard at work in recent months preparing for the biggest event on the Change A Life calendar, and are optimistic that their efforts will be rewarded when all the action gets under way on 16 February.

Fantastic shape

"After the KZN river season last year a lot of the guys stayed fit and kept the Change A Life flag flying high by doing some multisport events mid-year, where some of them really did well. Then, once the rivers filled up a bit, the guys have been training really hard and are in fantastic shape at the moment," said Dreyer.

"We know the potential that some of these guys have and, without getting ahead of ourselves before the race has even started, we are definitely very excited for this year's Dusi," he added. "Hopefully now the guys can just go out there and have a really good race."

Under Dreyer's watchful eye, several of the Change A Life squad, many of whom are from the Valley of a Thousands Hills – the same valley through which the three day race twists and turns - have made phenomenal progress in recent months, and the academy now finds itself on the brink of potentially dominating the top 10 of this year's K2 race.

Anything can happen

The vastly experienced Dreyer knows all too well though that anything can happen on a river and is hesitant to make any predictions ahead of the gruelling three days of racing which lie ahead of his young hopefuls.

"There is definitely a lot of potential in our academy at the moment and we really are hoping to do well at this year's Dusi, but just how things will pan out one can be never be certain," said Dreyer.

"We would absolutely love to have five boats in the top 10, but we're trying not to focus on results too much just yet," he added. "The guys have the potential and have been given the tools, hopefully now they can go out there and drum out the tune."

The Unlimited Dusi canoe marathon from Camps Drift, Pietermaritzburg to Blue Lagoon, Durban takes place from 16 to 18 February.

SAinfo reporter

This is big sky country, with vast mountain ranges falling into lush river valleys.

The 18th annual Investing in African Mining Indaba takes place in Cape Town from 6 to 9 February 2012.

The event attracts mining executives and analysts, government representatives and financial decision-makers from around the world.

Organised by US-based Mining Indaba LLC, the African Mining Indaba opens at Cape Town's International Convention Centre. Its goal is to stimulate investment into Africa's mining operations.

Conference organisers say that in the years of the event's existence, billions of dollars in foreign investment have been channelled into African mining as a direct result of partnerships and initiatives that have arisen out of the indaba.

A record attendance in 2011, comprising some 6 000 mining professionals and members of government delegations, will be surpassed in 2012.

According to the organisers, 6 500 delegates, from over 1 000 mining companies in 100 countries and four continents, and 45 government delegations from Africa and abroad, have confirmed their attendance for 2012.

This year, a new addition to the African Mining Indaba will be unveiled – this is Investing in Asian Mining Indaba, dedicated to the development of mining interests in Asia. Like its African counterpart, this event will draw movers and shakers interested in accelerating Asian mining.

Top-level speakers

According to the organisers, the programme for 2012 features corporate, government and agency presentations; discussions on regulatory issues; economic development opportunities; panel sessions on sustainable development in the mining industry; and talks on how African nations can partner with foreign governments to boost investment in their regions.

As usual, there will be presentations, panels and plenary sessions galore, as well as numerous networking opportunities.

The specially selected speakers represent the best of the world's mining executives, analysts and economists.

In 2012 the keynote speakers include Tom Butler, the International Finance Corporation's global head of mining; economics professor Barry J. Eichengreen of the University of California, Berkeley; Australian mathematician and engineer David Evans; David Hale of David Hale Global Economics; and South Africa's Kobus van der Wath, MD of The Beijing Axis.

Other illustrious speakers include Chris Barnett, the premier of Western Australia; Peter Cunningham, MD for energy and climate change at Rio Tinto; AngloGold Ashanti CEO Mark Cutifani; analyst Walter de Wet of Standard Bank; Shri Dinsha J. Patel of the Indian Ministry of Mines; Mamphela Ramphele, chairperson of Gold Fields; Morné du Plessis of the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa; and Dennis Hosack of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

During the event, Brand South Africa will take part in a Financial Times round table.

First published by MediaClubSouthAfrica.com – get free high-resolution photos and professional feature articles from Brand South Africa's media service.

The Villa Zest Boutique Hotel in the Cape Town suburb of Greenpoint has been voted the trendiest hotel in the world in the TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice 2012 Best Hotels Awards.

The Travellers' Choice awards honour the top hotels, beaches and travel destinations worldwide based on millions of "real and unbiased" opinions from TripAdvisor travellers.

The Villa Zest Boutique Hotel offers luxury accommodation and is ideally located just a kilometre away from the Cape Town CBD. It is also within walking distance of the world-renowned Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

Table Mountain, the Cape Town International Conference Centre and the popular beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay are all in close proximity.

"An oasis of calm centrally located in Cape Town, the Villa Zest luxury accommodation in the Green Point suburb is perfectly placed to bring you everything the city has to offer," the hotel's website reads: "Palm-lined beaches, the vibrant business district, Table Mountain, and a variety of upmarket restaurants, cafes, bars and nightclubs ensuring guests an unforgettable experience."

The hotel offers a lounge that opens up into a balcony offering views of the V&A Waterfront, a quiet garden and pool area, a rooftop terrace offering 360° views of Cape Town, an object art gallery, and a media house that offers high-end technology and communications solutions to business travellers.

"The rooms at this Cape Town Boutique Hotel represent the ultimate fusion of style, luxury and comfort," says the website. "Each room is unique and has been individually decorated, with the greatest attention to detail, using only the finest furnishings and fittings."

The hotel is rated as "excellent" by 125 reviewers on the website, with 13 "good" and three "average" ratings. The majority of the reviews cite the hotel's good service and helpful staff as the reasons for the high ratings.

Comments include: "Excellent and great stay in Villa Zest", "Awesome little hotel", "This place is GREAT", "Oasis in the heart of the city", "outstanding customer service," "Modern design hotel and very helpful staff," "Fantastic hospitality and beautifully designed boutique hotel," "THE one & only in Cape Town," "Almost faultless. Staff were amazing," and "Best boutique hotel ever."

SAinfo reporter

Hank McGregor paddled his way into the history books on Sunday by becoming the first canoeist to win three back-to-back K1 titles in the Drakensberg Challenge, one of South Africa's premier canoeing marathons.

The two-day event takes place annually from Castleburn, near Underberg in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, to Early Mist Farm, not far from the Coleford Eco Estate and Lodge.

McGregor held off a spirited challenge from Len Jenkins, with whom he will team up in The Unlimited Dusi, while Robyn Kime finally bagged the women's title that had seemed fated to elude her.

McGregor and Jenkins raced the majority of the 70km of the race side by side, until world marathon champ McGregor powered his way to the front on the final corner to claim his third victory in as many years at the event.

A colossal battle

The duo finished the first stage together, with the tussle resumed on day two, and it wasn't long before things turned to into a colossal battle with neither willing to give an inch on the water nor, the slightest of psychological advantages.

With strong rains having arrived on Saturday afternoon and continued throughout the night, the mighty Umzimkulu River rose to the occasion and provided the perfect setting for the spectacle which developed between some of the country's top river paddlers.

"It was just superb out there today! It's always great to win the Drak, especially with it being the first major race of the season, so I'm really chuffed with the good start to the year, and to have become the first person ever to have won three titles in a row in a K1," said McGregor.

"Len (Jenkins) and I had a great race and spent a lot of time together on the water.

'Really chuffed'

"I always thought it would come down to an end sprint, so I just tried to keep my nose in front as much as I could today, and then, fortunately, I managed to get the jump on him over the last bit and get home first, which I'm really chuffed about," he added.

Judging by the pair's performance in the Drak Challenge, they're going to be tough to beat in The Unlimited Dusi.

"Len's a phenomenal competitor and it was great to be able to battle it out with him for the past two days. It was great to paddle through the valley with some company today and we definitely push each other throughout," McGregor said.

"We're both in great shape and this weekend just reinforced how strong our paddling is at the moment, and it was a huge confidence for us to have finished first and second.

"It just shows how similar our standard is and hopefully that can lead to good things at the Dusi."

Second step on the podium

Having dropped Jenkins on the compulsory portage at Mineshaft Weir, McGregor then held the lead for 30 minutes before Jenkins managed to claw his way back at the leader. It just wasn't enough and last year's runner-up once again had to settle for the second step on the podium.

"I couldn't have hoped for too much coming into this race. I've been doing loads of running recently and Hank just had a really good one today, so I'm not too disappointed," said Jenkins.

"Hank put in a little further down than I did after the portage and he managed to get ahead. I then managed to close the gap and tried to take it away at the end. but I was in the wrong position coming into the end sprint," he added.

"We're both feeling good at the moment, though, so hopefully now we can just have a good Dusi together."

Stormer of a second day

Having suffered in low conditions on the opening day, Team Best 4 Kayak Centre's Grant van der Walt had a stormer of a second day. After starting in fifth position, he powered his way to third place overall and in the process broke his own day two record time.

"I had a really had a bad day yesterday, but the water was just perfect for me today. I did my best not to worry too much about the guys behind me and just tried to focus on catching the guys in front of me," said van der Walt.

"I knew there was no point in trying to just finish third, so I went out there trying to catch Hank and Len and I just put my head down and went for it.

"I managed to catch Ant (Stott) and then my brother (Brandon van der Walt), but the top two were just too strong," he added.

Kime's first win

Brandon van der Walt crossed the line shortly after his older brother and completed another excellent day for the newly formed Team Best 4 Kayak Cent. They claimed all four top positions in the men's race before leading lady and fellow team member Robyn Kime claimed her first Drak victory.

Kime, after starting the day with a lead of over seven minutes, set her about her business early on and stretched her lead over her nearest rival by a further minute to finally broke her Drak hoodoo which had seen her finish second for the past three years.

"It's always really great to win a race for the first time and the Drak is one of my favourite races, so to have won today really is fantastic!" said Kime. "Hopefully it is a sign of things to come this year.

'Everything went so smoothly'

"Everything went so smoothly for me today. I didn't make any mistakes, which was great, and it was nice to be able to race against and work with the men.

"The guys work really hard and put in some really tough intervals over the flats, so I certainly had to work a lot harder than usual, but it was nice for things to be competitive and I definitely think I went a lot faster."

One of the performances of the day belonged to women's defending champ Abby Adie, another member of the powerful Team Best 4 Kayak Centre outfit. She managed to lift herself after a disappointing first day and work her way into a solid second place behind Kime.

'A great start'

"I had a great start today and just worked with the guys around me early, which helped me catch Abbey (Ulansky) at the first weir," said Adie.

"Once I caught Jen (Hodson), I just tried to race my own race and, besides a stupid swim right at the very end, which fortunately didn't cost me anything, I was very happy with how everything went.

"Yesterday was very disappointing," she continued, "but at the start of the weekend I was hoping for a podium finish, so I'm still very happy."

In the junior boys' section it was Emile Theunissen from Gauteng who managed to get ahead of KZN-based Murray Starr and Murray Haw, whilst in the junior girls' it was Brittany Petersen who claimed the victory ahead of Jordan Peek and Bianca Haw.

RESULTS

Men
Women

SAinfo reporter

This is big sky country, with vast mountain ranges falling into lush river valleys.

South African creativity is blossoming, and there's no better place to experience it than at the Design Indaba Expo 2012, SA's premier showcase of homegrown, high-end design - this year boasting an additional 1 000 square metres of floorspace.

Taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 2 to 4 March, the ninth annual Design Indaba Expo will see many designers launching new work to the South African public.

With just over 210 confirmed exhibitors, of whom almost 25 percent are showing their designs for the first time, the 2012 Design Indaba Expo is proof of the wide-ranging creative prowess of South African designers across various fields, including craft, product design furniture, jewellery, fashion, film, publishing, new media, architecture and graphic design.

'Only the best in SA design'

"We're working hard to bring only the best in SA design to the Expo and are gratified that our efforts have paid off with stands selling particularly fast this year," says Kelly Berman, manager of Design Indaba Expo.

"Expect a fresh new approach in the DStv Events Arena and artisanal food from the Neighbourgoods Market. And bring your wallet, as there will be lots of things to go home with," says Berman.

"We're confident this is going to be another example of how creativity can be an economic catalyst in South Africa."

For the fashionistas, there will be 10 daily fashion shows in the DStv Events Arena, hosted by the Cape Town Fashion Council (CTFC).

New ranges

Unveiling new ranges will be Amanda Laird Cherry, Suzaan Heyns, Lunar, Magents, Coast & Koi, Good Clothing, Ministry of Style, Silverspoon, Selfi and Mosewamosa. The designers will also show their work on the Expo floor under the CTFC umbrella.

Expo visitors have unlimited access to events in the arena, which will become a hub of creative activity with an exciting line-up of musicians, comedians, performers and Pecha Kucha-style presentations.

The ever-popular children's workshops – in the newly rebranded D.I.Y. (Design Indaba Youth) Zone – prove it's never too early to teach design thinking, with courses on robotics, poster design and graffiti art taught by talented practitioners in the field. The Emerging Creatives section, sponsored by the Department of Arts and Culture, will feature a diverse and promising group of talented graduates.

Visitors to the show will be able to vote for the Most Beautiful Object in South Africa. After visiting the stand and seeing all 10 objects nominated by design and style editors, from Suzaan Heyns' golden fish-scale dress to the angular copper-clad Hapo Museum, they will be able to SMS their choice.

Buyers' Day

This year also launches the first full Buyers' Day on Thursday, 1 March. "We made this a priority for 2012 after exhibitor feedback over the years indicated they needed a dedicated day to focus on making contact with buyers, taking wholesale orders and talking business," explained Berman.

Over 400 local and international buyers attended the Expo last year, placing orders totalling R141-million (up from R123-million in 2010).

In 2011, the Design Indaba Expo welcomed some 38 000 visitors through the doors, resulting in a GDP contribution of R261-million, the bulk of which comprised business orders. These impressive figures were determined by an external economic impact assessment undertaken by the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town.

The Design Indaba Expo 2012 is open to the public from Friday, 2 March, to Sunday, 4 March, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Tickets are available at the door or through Computicket, from 1 February.

HOURS

• Friday 2 March: 10:00 – 20:00
• Saturday 3 March: 10:00 – 20:00
• Sunday 4 March: 10:00 – 18:00

• COST

• Adults – R60
• Students – R40
• Pensioners – R40
• Scholars – R30
• Children under 10 – Free

• SAinfo reporter

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US-based Interactive Intelligence Group is to acquire some of the contact centre assets of its South African-based reseller, Atio, enabling it to set up a Johannesburg office serving the entire sub-Saharan African region.

The transaction sees a new company, Interactive Intelligence South Africa, being set up that will employ about 40 former Atio staff in serving nearly 40 Atio-Interactive Intelligence customers located throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

According to ITWeb, Interactive Intelligence, which offers an "all-in-one" contact centre platform, has agreed to pay R54-million in cash for Atio's assets.

The acquisition "lays a strong foundation for planned investments in the region that support our rapidly growing cloud-based communications-as-a-service business," Interactive Intelligence CEO Don Brown said in a statement on Friday.

The statement quoted Birgitta Cederstrom of consultancy Frost & Sullivan as saying that Africa was "increasingly popular as a preferred destination of contact centres ... South Africa specifically has been a natural choice for contact centres due to its large and articulate English-speaking population and service-oriented business culture.

"Another strength is its expanding broadband connectivity, thus ensuring that the latest unified communications and collaboration tools will run efficiently."

Brown said that Atio, which has been an Interactive Intelligence reseller since 2002, "has ranked among our top revenue-generating resellers of all partners throughout Europe, Middle East, and Africa each year since it first began offering our solutions.

"This successful track record, combined with a talented support and services team, mature infrastructure, and expertise in key industries such as financial services, telecommunications and government, makes Atio's Interactive Intelligence business an ideal acquisition choice."

SAinfo reporter