Brand Finance, together with Brand South Africa and Brand Africa, have launched Brand Finance South Africa 50, a study of the most valuable brands from South Africa.

Brand Finance South Africa has measured the financial value of the 50 most valuable brands from South African companies that operate both within and outside South Africa.

MTN has topped the list as the Most Valuable South African Brand with a global value of R43.3-billion and is also the only South African brand in the Brand Finance Global 500, the definitive guide to the world's Top 500 brands.

"The uniformity of the MTN brand and its ability to transcend all eleven of South Africa’s languages, as well as the multitude of international languages across the African continent, is one reason that it has succeeded so well," said Brand Finance South Africa MD Ollie Schmitz, at the launch of the study in Johannesburg this week.

MTN continues to expand both their presence and their brand across the African continent and now with a firm footing in the Middle East the Telecommunications giant is a brand that South Africa can be proud of.

"It is a truly South African brand but also a truly African brand and in that respect it is no surprise that MTN is such a loved and valued brand," Schmitz said.

Setting global standards

South African banks have also had a successful year in 2012 with Standard Bank ranked as the Most Valuable Banking Brand. Banks make up the majority of The Top 10 with ABSA, Nedbank and First National Bank also securing high places in the South African ranking.

As the European financial crisis continues, South Africa has proven itself an example of a stable financial environment proving once more that businesses should turn towards the African markets for examples of how best to thrive in difficult economic conditions.

"The results affirm South Africa's, and indeed Africa's, as being at the cutting edge of and setting global standards in building telecoms and financial services and brands," said Brand Africa founder and executive chairman Thebe Iklafeng.

"It is therefore not surprising that MTN, with over 100m customers across Africa is again the leading African brand that embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of great South African brands."

Vodacom and Standard Bank were found to be the second and third most valuable brands in South Africa (at R18.7-billion and R18-billion respectively), while MTN and First National Bank were found to be the "Strongest Brands", with both having a Brand Rating of AAA-.

Global brewer SABMiller were awarded the Brand Finance South Africa Special Award as its corporate brand as well as four product brands appeared in the Top 50 list.

SAinfo reporter

Janine Erasmus

After weeks of speculation, members of the Square Kilometre Array Organisation have announced that South Africa and Australia will jointly host the world's largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

"We have decided on a dual site approach," said SKA board chairperson John Wommersley at a press conference held at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, following a meeting of the SKA organisation's members in the Dutch capital.

This follows a meeting of the members at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, after weeks of waiting and speculation regarding the final outcome of the hosting bid, which came down to two rivals, South Africa and Australia.

South Africa will be the majority partner in the project, however, and will host 2/3rd of the antennae technologies of the SKA, while the remaining third will be built in Australia and New Zealand.

The announcement was initially expected early in April but was delayed. Various reasons were given for the delay, such as a number of objections raised by the Australian organisation that had to be resolved.

Members of the SKA Organisation then agreed that it was necessary to set up a small scientific working group to explore various implementation options that would ensure that there was an inclusive approach to SKA, as well as maximise the value from the investments made by both candidate host regions.

Brand South Africa CEO Miller Matola says that South Africa is thrilled with the opportunity to share the hosting of the SKA as the partnership with Australia will open up new avenues for skills development as well as ideas and cultural exchange.

"The SKA will bring advancements of astro-sciences to both countries and facilitate knowledge sharing between young and older astronomy and cosmology experts. The opportunity to share the SKA with Australia will also highlight the benefits of partnerships on a global scale, and will improve industry cohesion and co-development in astronomy and other related fields."

Driving scientific development in Southern Africa

The SKA in South Africa will be located mainly in the Northern Cape province, in an area protected by legislation from development that could interfere with the reception of radio waves from space.

It will comprise about 3 000 dish-shaped antennae spread over many thousands of square kilometres. The core of the telescope will lie in the Northern Cape's Karoo region, with outlying stations spread throughout South Africa, and in Namibia, Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya, Madagascar and Mauritius.

The instrument, which will be the world's largest radio telescope, is expected to be complete in 2024.

In South Africa scientists and engineers have been hard at work for a number of years in preparation for the SKA.

Already an array of seven radio telescopes, the KAT-7, is online at the Northern Cape site and bringing in valuable imagery from far-flung corners of the universe. The KAT-7 is the MeerKAT precursor.

When complete, MeerKAT will be the biggest radio telescope in the southern hemisphere. Although it's only due to become operational in 2012, the first five years of MeerKAT research time are fully booked, with astronomers queuing up to work on this important instrument

The team's goal is to complete 15 MeerKAT antennae by 2015.

To date, R55-million has been spent on developing the skills needed for SKA, with 398 postdoctoral fellowships, PhD, MSc and undergraduate bursaries given to deserving candidates.

An extensive bursary programme has seen hundreds of university students becoming interested in space science and engineering as a career, and, said Pandor, even more encouraging is that many of these are black students and women.

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

African and the Caribbean governments are set to invest more resources and energy towards developing and promoting stronger linkages between the two regions in the fields of trade and investment, science and technology and tourism.

These, and many other such ideas geared towards fostering a stronger culture of cooperation between the mother continent and her diaspora, are some of the ideas contained in the draft declaration document that will be taken forward to the Global African Diaspora summit, which will be held on Friday, in Johannesburg.

Over 60 representatives from various African countries and the diaspora, including the Caribbean and the Americas, will converge at the Sandton Convention Centre tomorrow - a day that coincides with Africa Day - for the eminent summit.

Ministers from countries represented at the summit on Wednesday gathered at South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation headquarters in Pretoria for a meeting that essentially set the tone for tomorrow's all-important summit.

Chief amongst discussions between ministers was the draft declaration document, which is envisaged to be adopted at the close of the summit.

The resolutions set forth, amongst others, the need for Africa and her diaspora to work together towards achieving the objectives of the African Union (AU).

The AU's vision is that of "an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in global arena".

Identifying areas of cooperation

The ministers identified areas of cooperation including education, health, culture and environmental issues as some of the crucial fields where Africa and her diaspora could build concrete relations in order to bring to fruition the AU's vision.

With global competiveness for skills, resources, land and other commodities being at an all-time high, the ministers resolved that more needed to be done through the various regional organisations to explore ways of harmonising international diplomacy and cooperation.

SA's International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said they would take these ideas contained the draft declaration to the leaders' summit so they can be considered for implementation.

Tomorrow's summit will be held under the theme, "Towards the Realisation of a United and Prosperous Africa and its Diaspora".

Amongst others, it will consider the possible inclusion of the diaspora as a sixth region of the AU and endorse an AU Diaspora Volunteer Programme, which would associate the diaspora directly with the development efforts on the continent.

In a statement issued at the end of the ministerial meeting on Wednesday, Nkoana-Mashabane said the summit was one of the vehicles through which the African Union and the African diaspora aimed to realise the vision of a united, peaceful and prosperous Africa and her diaspora.

"We are mindful of the fact that unifying Africa's people is a process; and we are of the view that this summit marks a significant milestone in this process of unifying Africa and her diaspora."

Funding Africa's infrustructure drive

The other resolution the ministers' meeting hoped would be adopted on Friday included the African Diaspora Fund, whereby Africans abroad would be able to invest in African development projects and an increase in spending on infrastructure development of the continent.

According to the AU, the continent would require about US$60-billion over the next 10 years to meet its infrastructure needs.

The ministers also hoped that there would be a creation of a database of professional skills in the African diaspora, as well as the adoption and promotion of the Development Market Place for an African Diaspora model as a framework to facilitate innovation and develop entrepreneurship to empower the youth of the continent and her diaspora.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Jean Ping, had indicated in his opening remarks that the draft declaration was a credible and important document that was adapted to the letter and spirit of the Diaspora Initiative. Equally important was that it was both a proposed law and working document.

Ping added that the process of rebuilding the African family was and would always remain a work in progress that could not be accomplished in one day. Concomitantly, he said focus must be on establishing appropriate structures that would facilitate more effective diaspora participation in the affairs of the Union.

The ministerial meeting, meanwhile, reinforced the call for Africa and its diaspora to unite in order to build a solid foundation for reviving the African family across the world - a move that will give impetus to the renaissance of the continent.

Source: BuaNews

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

With the uncertainty over supply of oil from Iran, South Africa is looking to Nigeria to purchase its oil, the Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said, following the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement with the Vice President of Nigeria, Namadi Sambo, in Cape Town on Wednesday.

South Africa may be forced to comply with a US order to cease buying oil from Iran - from which it sources about a quarter of its oil - or risk economic penalties from America. The Minister of Energy Dipuo Peters last week said government would decide on its response to proposed sanctions by the end of this month.

Motlanthe said PetroSA and private traders were expected to look at supply agreements for oil from Nigeria. "We would guarantee going forward to our Nigerian brothers (that there will be) demand for their liquid fuel, because we don't want to source our fuel in areas that are likely to be unstable.

"Indeed, we are quite confident that Nigeria will become one of our trusted suppliers of liquid fuel going forward," he said.

Ready to offer support

Sambo said Nigeria was ready to offer any economic support - be it energy or otherwise.

Motlanthe said the agreement he signed with Sambo today would help prepare the way for a more enabling business environment between two of the continent's biggest economies.

He said the agreement enabled both countries to rope in business people from both countries that had an idea for investment opportunities in both countries.

Nigerian companies with the wherewithal to supply infrastructure projects - including the supply of cement - would be invited to participate in South Africa's massive infrastructure programme.

Bi-National Commission

Sambo arrived in South Africa on Monday at the invitation of Motlanthe to attend the 8th South Africa-Nigeria Bi-National Commission. He is expected to depart the country today.

The two discussed several issues and reviewed the progress made since the 7th Bi-National Commission was held in Abuja in 2008. They also discussed the progress made on the seven working groups of the Bi-National Commission.

These workings groups are: foreign affairs and co-operation; trade, industry and finance; security and defence; agriculture, water resources and environment; minerals and energy; public enterprises and infrastructure; and the social and technical working group.

Today, a Memorandum of Understanding on economic and technical co-operation was signed between Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies and Nigeria's Finance Minister Olusegan Aganga.

Another Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between Aganga and the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan, to offer mutual assistance with customs administration between the two countries.

Sambo said Nigeria had put the incident that took place at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg in March - when several Nigerians were deported after a dispute over yellow fever vaccinations - behind it.

"Nigerians are happy about the way they are treated in South Africa," he said, adding that there was a plan to expand the number of years for which travel visas can be used for, while doing away completely with diplomatic passports.

Source: BuaNews

An eight-nation international under-20 football tournament, hosted by the South African Football Association (Safa) Western Cape, kicks off in Cape Town on Friday, with South Africa facing Argentina and Ghana playing Nigeria.

The competition runs from 25 May to 3 June, with matches taking place at the Cape Town and Athlone stadiums.

There are two groups: Group A consists of South Africa, Argentina, Nigeria and Ghana, while Group B includes Brazil, Cameroon, Kenya and Japan.

'Legacy'

"This event is continuing the legacy of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, and in this vein Safa is maintaining its contribution to Africa's ascendancy in world football," Norman Arendse, Safa Cape Town President, said in a statement.

"Initially, our vision was to ensure the presence of at least one country from each of Fifa's six Confederations at this year's showpiece, but it's more likely that we'll realise that ideal next time when we’re likely to pass the eight-team mark.

"The Cape Town International under-20 Challenge event will take on a Fifa Confederations Cup flavour as all the teams will be using the tournament to prepare for the 2013 Fifa under-20 World Cup in Turkey."

Safa support

Arendse says it was not easy though to get all the teams to the tournament, but said the work done had borne fruit. "Safa Cape Town was entirely dependent on its mother body to work the contacts with the federations around the world," he explained.

"Safa elicited such an overwhelming response that they also chalked up a few countries who want to be part of the 2014 tournament, after some of them failed to make the cut this time out.

"We are also indebted to the City of Cape Town and the Provincial Government of the Western Cape for their generous support. Their role in this joint initiative is in itself a statement of their support for the beautiful game.

"They've demonstrated their commitment, and as football administrators we know we can confidently lean on our 'Big Brother' whenever we called on to host an event," he concluded.

South African squad

A 25-player South african squad has been named for the event. Coach Solly Luvhengo, speaking at training ahead of the competition said: "The team is slowly gelling well and I have seen they have the hunger, commitment and determination to do well in this tournament.

"We don't want to put them under pressure, but, as hosts, I believe we need to come out with a medal in the end.

"This is a very important tournament and we need to give a very good showing because we are the hosts. It's been a long time since we last played a match, but I believe my players will have enough in their reserves not to disappoint.

"The first match is very crucial as it is the one that will give us direction and help us settle. A win will give us the confidence to tackle the entire tournament."

Five-time World Cup winners

South Africa's first match against Argentina is sure to be a tough test; the Argentinians have won the biannual under-20 World Cup five times since 1995.

Among the other teams, Brazil are the reigning under-20 World Cup champions and are also five-time winners of the event. Ghana won the title in 2009, while Nigeria has twice lost in the final and Japan was a beaten finalist in 1999.

FIXTURES

25 May, Athlone Stadium

• 18:00 South Africa vs Argentina
• 20:30 Ghana vs Nigeria

• 26 May, Cape Town Stadium
  

• 14:00 Kenya vs Japan
• 16:30 Brazil vs Cameroon

• 27 May, Cape Town Stadium
  

• 14:00 South Africa vs Ghana
• 16:30 Argentina vs Nigeria

• 28 May, Athlone Stadium
  

• 18:00 Brazil vs Kenya
• 20:30 Cameroon vs Japan

• 29 May, Cape Town Stadium
  

• 18:00 SA vs Nigeria
• 20:30 Argentina vs Ghana

• 30 May, Athlone Stadium
  

• 18:00 Brazil vs Japan
• 20:30 Cameroon vs Kenya

• 1 June, Athlone Stadium
  Semi-finals
  

• 18:00 Winner A vs Runner up B
• 20:30 Winner B vs Runner up A

• 3 June, Cape Town Stadium
  3rd Place Play-off
  

• 14:00 Loser 1st Semi-final vs Loser 2nd Semi-final

• Final
  

• 17:00 Winner 1st Semi-final vs Winner 2nd Semi-final

• SAinfo reporter

  Would you like to use this article in your publication or on your website? See: Using SAinfo material

  

The names of 19 bidders - who have been selected as the preferred bidders for Window 2 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers (IPP) programme that will contribute to South Africa's energy mix - were announced on Monday.

The bidding for window 2 closed on 5 March with the total 79 bids received. These bids amount to 3 255MW while the cap was at 1 275MW.

"In this window, the department received 79 bids of which 51 met the qualification criteria as per the Request for Proposals. Given the megawatts limitation and competition, only 19 bidders were selected as preferred bidders for Window 2," Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said in Pretoria on Monday.

Integrated Resource Plan

The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP2010) places specific emphasis on broadening electricity supply technologies to include gas, imports, nuclear, biomass, renewables (wind, solar and hydro), in response to both the country's future electricity needs as well as reduce its CO2 emissions.

South Africa wants to procure 3 725MW of renewable energy through this process.

According to the IRP2010 - which is a 20-year projection on electricity supply and demand - about 42% of electricity generated in South Africa is required to come from renewable resources. The department has set aside 100MW of the 3 725MW for smaller projects of less than 5MW.

The department has noted that under window 2, the level of commitment to economic development has improved compared to window 1. "More communities will benefit through employment or as shareholding in these projects," said the minister, adding that most bidders in window 2 will establish community trusts aimed at developing surrounding communities.

Projects allocated

Of the selected bidders, nine were selected for the solar photovoltaic technology, seven for wind, two for small hydro and one for concentrated solar thermal (CSP).

For Solar photovoltaic 417MW have been taken up by bidders with the maximum MW allocated for round 2 at 450; for wind 562.5MW has been taken up with the maximum allocation at 650MW.

For small hydro 13.3MW has been taken up from a maximum allocated for round 2 at 75MW while for CSP the allocated maximum 50MW has been taken up. In the 2nd window a total 1 043.9MW has been taken up by bidders.

Japser Power Company, Solar Capital De Aar 3 and Sishen Solar Facility were among the bidders selected for solar photovoltaic technology; while West Coast 1 and Grassridge form part of the 7 selected for wind and Stortemelk Hydro (Pty) Ltd and Neusberg Hydro Electric Project A were selected for small hydro. For CSP Bokpoort CSP project was selected.

A full list of bidders is available on the Independent Power Producers programme website.

Growing the economy

Peters said government saw the programme as an opportunity to grow the economy given the numbers of unemployed people while the procurement of alternative energy is also aimed at alleviating energy constraints.

The programme also seeks to make provision for local content in the provision of alternative energy sources while the bids were evaluated by technical, financial, legal and international reviewers.

What the department had noted, said Director General Nelisiwe Magubane, was that there were "significant" changes in several areas like pricing whereby in solar photovoltaic in window 1 on average was at about 2.75 per kWh. "We've seen a significant reduction in price of about R1.65 per kWh for window 2," she said.

Additionally there have been significant increases in the local content from 28.5% in window 1 to 47.5% in bid window 2 in solar photovoltaic technology.

"Job creation per province, we've seen a small reduction from bid window 1 but the bidders have indicated that on the total 7 059 jobs created in the construction period and 328 jobs created in the operation of the life of the plant," said Magubane.

In the first window some of the challenges faced by bidders were that they had trouble reaching the financial close, of which June is the financial close for window1 project proposals.

Appeal to financial sector

Peters appealed to the country's financial sector to provide financing to bidders.

"The success of renewable energy hinges on the financial sector," she said, adding that bidders that were having trouble before the financial close to speak up. "I would want to appeal to those bidders that are already experiencing challenges to come to the fore. It is an appeal for the benefit of the number of jobs that will not be realised if there's no financial support," said Peters.

The minister said there had been informal conversation regarding companies experiencing financial strain. "With them not coming to the fore this would mean that we're not going to deliver on the megawatts that we want," she said.

Last year, the Department of Energy announced 28 preferred bidders, out of a total of 53 applications for the IPP bid process in the first window.

Ompie Aphane, Deputy Director General for Electricity, Nuclear and Clean Energy at the department said the department was not sure of the amount of projects that were in financial strain.

In December, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) announced that it will finance 12 of the 28 preferred bidders to contribute to the country's energy mix. The financing will be to the tune of R5.2-billion. Meanwhile, Peters said the department has started talking to financial institutions.

The minister called on prospective bidders for the remaining three windows that they need not necessary own the land on which projects will operate on. Bidders could co-exist. "We don't want to lose arable land," said Peters adding that bidders could share the same piece of land with farmers.

The department has yet to decide on when bidding will commence for projects to take part in window 3.

Source: BuaNews

State oil company PetroSA has partnered with China's Sinopec Group to work together in pushing the building of the proposed Mthombo crude oil refinery project, PetroSA said on Monday.

Construction on project Mthombo project, which will be the biggest refinery in Africa, is expected to start this year, with the refinery to come on stream by 2015.

The US$11-billion refinery in the industrial port of Coega near Port Elizabeth will have a 400 000 barrels a day capacity and will ensure security of fuel supply in South Africa.

Market studies, business case

The agreement, according to PetroSA, will involve the commissioning of studies over two phases.

The first phase will focus on market studies, the review and selection of a business case, while the second will develop a business case that is expected to prepare Project Mthombo for the important Front End Engineering Design (FEED) stage.

FEED refers to the basic engineering which is conducted after the completion of a conceptual design or feasibility study of a project. At this stage, before the start of engineering, procurement and construction, various studies take place to figure out technical issues and estimate rough investment cost.

The agreement has made it possible for PetroSA and Sinopec to contract Sinopec Engineering Incorporation (SEI) to conduct the studies on behalf of the two companies. The two phases are expected to last 18 months.

In preparation for the studies, PetroSA says they have also established a steering committee to guide and manage the process. A working group will also be set up to work closely with SEI.

PetroSA Group CEO Nosizwe Nokwe said the JSA (Joint Study Agreement) with Sinopec would significantly advance the realisation of Project Mthombo.

"This JSA will align the partners and develop an integrated owner's team, in line with best practices for the planning and executing of this mega project. Project Mthombo will significantly gain from the experience and expertise of Sinopec," Nokwe said.

Liquid Fuels Plan

She added that as PetroSA, they are convinced that the results of this important study will be key in the development of the 20-year Liquid Fuels Plan and the work of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission.

Sinopec was ranked 5th in the Fortune Global 500 index for 2011. It specialises in industrial investment, the marketing and comprehensive utilisation of oil and natural gas, oil refining and transportation of petrochemicals.

In September 2011, PetroSA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sinopec Group aimed at creating the conditions for cooperation in the areas of developing a crude oil refinery, exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon opportunities and downstream activities.

Source: BuaNews

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

The most advanced, broad-based industrial sector on the continent.

Portia Modise marked her return to the Banyana Banyana side with a goal in each half as South Africa outplayed Tanzania 5-2 in an international friendly at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Sunday.

The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana will be satisfied with their performance, even though they will know that they could have scored more goals.

Banyana Banyana head coach Joseph Mkhonza started the match with USA-based goalkeeper Roxanne Barker in goal, while also giving game time to Mary Ntsweng on the right wing. Refiloe Jane, usually used as a right back, operated in the centre of midfield next to skipper Amanda Dlamini.

Game time

"We wanted to give all of our players some game time and not just have substitutes watching from the bench," explained Mkhonza before the match.

Back in the national team after a three-year absence, former captain Modise made the most of her 88th appearance for Banyana Banyana, scoring a soft tap-in goal in the 25th minute after an error by Tanzania goalkeeper Fatma Omar, who fumbled the ball to the feet of the striker, who slotted the 67th goal of her international career.

Two minutes into the second half, Banyana Banyana doubled their lead with Modise, nicknamed "Bashin" after Orlando Pirates legend Albert "Bashin" Mahlangu, heading home from a corner kick, which gave Tanzania substitute goalkeeper Maimuna Said no chance of pulling off a save.

Said was nearly beaten again eight minutes later when skipper Dlamini unleashed a powerful shot from 25 metres out only to see the ball return to play off the Tanzanian crossbar.

Penalty

To their credit, the hosts never gave up trying and Fatuma Bashiri scored from the penalty spot in the 65th minute after Janine van Wyk was adjudged to have fouled her. A slight remonstration with the referee Judith Gamba earned the tough-tackling South African central defender a yellow card.

Five minutes after coming on, striker Sanah Mollo fired home in the 75th minute after the home team's defence failed to clear the ball properly.

No sooner had Tanzania captain Asha Rashid netted after some poor Banyana Banyana defending to reduce the score to 3-2 than Mollo returned the favour at the other end, blasting her shot into the net from 10 metres out.

Van Wyk made up for her earlier infringement by scoring the final goal of the afternoon, to destroy any hopes the hosts had of a late comeback.

Elated

South African coach Mkhonza was elated with the performance of his charges and said he believes the time and effort put into training benefitted them ahead of their clash against Zambia on Saturday in Lusaka.

"The girls have done the nation proud," he said. "We put up a good fight against the Tanzanians on their home turf, in front of a very supportive home crowd.

Highlighting an aspect of Banyana's play that needs attention, he added: "We created plenty of goal scoring opportunities in the first half, but only managed to score one goal. With the upcoming training camps this will be one of the areas we will address."

Banyana Banyana used the fixture as part of their build-up to next week’s African Women Championship first leg qualifier against Zambia, and the bigger picture of the London Olympics, while the Tanzanians were trying to build on a recent 5-2 win over Namibia at the same venue recently.

Tanzania, known as the Twiga Stars, will travel north to play Ethiopia in an African Women Championship qualifier next weekend.

SAinfo reporter

South Africa is a culturally diverse country, one nation made up of many peoples.

The number of internet users in South Africa accelerated dramatically over the past year, driven by both smartphones and ordinary mobile phones, as the internet "finally arrived in the hands of the mass market".

This is the key finding of the Internet Access in South Africa 2012 study conducted by consultancy World Wide Worx.

The headline findings, released last week, showed that the South African Internet user base had grown from 6.8-million in 2010 to 8.5-million at the end of 2011 - no less than 25% growth.

World Wide Worx forecast that this strong growth would continue during 2012, taking South Africa's internet user base past the 10-million mark by the end of the year.

Demand for online content 'set to explode'

"These findings are a powerful signal that the demand for online content in South Africa is likely to explode in the coming years," said Justin Zehmke, executive producer of howzit MSN, which backed the study.

"The spotlight will not only be on online media, but also on social networking and electronic services in genera," Zehmke said in a statement.

"As the market grows and matures, we are likely to see a diversification in the landscape that will create space for successful niche media, a greater choice in information sources and a maturation of online services."

World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck said the internet in South Africa had "finally awoken, fully. Penetration is now approaching 20%, and for the first time we can see the mass market embracing digital tools on their phones."

According to the survey, 7.9-million South Africans access the internet on their mobile phones. Of these, 2.48-million access it only on their cellphones, and do not have access on computers. The remaining 6.02-million users access the internet on computers, laptops, and tablet computers.

However, 90% of this number - 5.42-million - also access it on their cellphones. This means that almost 8-million South Africans sometimes or regularly access the internet on their phones.

'Huge implications for media, social networks'

"This has huge implications for media and social networks," says Zehmke. "It means that, in the coming years, all services offered online will also have to be offered on cellphones."

While smartphones are the main driver of internet growth, the cost of data use is being driven down by the proliferation of undersea cables connecting sub-Saharan Africa to the rest of the world.

The study shows that undersea cable capacity to South Africa at the end of 2011 was 2.69 Terabits per second (Tbps), and due to rise to 11.9Tbps by the end of 2012.

"That capacity will double again in 2013," said Goldstuck. "While the industry position is that it won't affect prices, such an excess of supply must result in falling prices, which in turn will further drive up demand. The rapid growth we see this year will therefore be maintained through 2013."

The Internet Access in South Africa 2012 study was conducted using multiple methodologies, including primary research, interviews with providers, and market intelligence.

SAinfo reporter

South Africa outperformed the rest of Africa, as well as its upper middle-income economy peers, in a World Bank survey of trade efficiency, improving its previous performance despite a general slowdown in trade logistics performance in the wake of the global recession.

According to the World Bank's "Connecting to Compete 2012" report, released on Tuesday, countries that pursued aggressive reforms continued to improve their trade logistics performance, despite the global slowdown in progress over the last two years.

South Africa was among a group of countries - including Chile, China, India, Morocco, Turkey and the US - that improved their previous performance, according to the study, which is based on a comprehensive world survey of international freight forwarders and express carriers.

Top performer in Africa, BRICS

In the upper-middle income country category, South Africa was the top performer, followed by China and Turkey. South Africa's logistics performance indicators gave the country a score of 3.67, lifting it up to 23rd place overall out of 155 economies surveyed - up from a ranking of 28 in 2010.

China, ranked 26th, followed closest among South Africa's BRICS partners, followed by Brazil at 45th, India at 46th, and Russia at 95th.

Tunisia was the next best African performer, ranked 41st, followed by Morocco (50th), Egypt (57th), Benin (67th) and Botswana (68th). Economic powerhouse Nigeria placed 121st.

"Infrastructure stands out as the chief driver of progress in top performers, followed by improvements in logistics services, and customs and border management," Mona Haddad, sector manager of the World Bank's international trade department, said in a statement.

"All top performers show strong cooperation between the public and private sectors, and a comprehensive approach in the development of services, infrastructure and efficient logistics."

Role in reducing food prices, carbon footprint

At a time where food prices are at historic highs, the survey found that logistics is important for food security.

"Transport and logistics directly affect the price and local availability of food through the performance and resilience of food chains, especially in African and Middle Eastern countries that depend heavily on food imports," the World Bank said.

In developing countries, particularly landlocked and poor ones, transport and logistics account for 20-60 percent of delivered food prices, according to the survey. "For instance, they make up 48 percent of the cost of US corn imported by Nicaragua."

The survey, which for the first time included environmental indicators, also found that green logistics is quickly gaining prominence in high-income and emerging economies - "a positive development, since logistics and freight-related activities may account for up to 15 percent of human carbon dioxide emissions".

"Trade logistics is key to economic competitiveness, growth, and poverty reduction," said Otaviano Canuto, World Bank vice-president for poverty reduction and economic management.

"Unfortunately, the logistics gap between rich and poor countries continues, and the convergence trend experienced between 2007 and 2010 has stalled as events like the global recession and the European debt crisis shifted attention away from logistics reform."

According to the World Bank, the way forward is clearly demonstrated by the top performers in the 2012 survey: "Only by fostering cooperation between the public and private sectors, and by considering the impact of all agencies on the supply chain, can a country create sustainable improvements in its logistical capabilities."

SAinfo reporter

First-world infrastructure plus a vibrant emerging market equals huge investment potential!