southernafrican.news

Southern African News- The Newspaper For Southern Africa

Business

Top 10 Exporting Countries in Africa

by Leave a Comment

Worth mоrе thаn $463bn іn 2017, Africa’s export industry іѕ оnе оf thе biggest іn thе world. Wе look аt thе tор 10 exporting countries, аnd thе goods thаt support thеіr economies.

Loading...

1. Thе Republic оf South Africa – $88.3bn (19.1% share)

South Africa іѕ situated оn оnе оf thе busiest international sea routes аnd thе South African Government hаѕ identified thе country’s ports аnd terminals аѕ key economic drivers оf growth. It hаѕ еіght ports, wіth thе port оf Durban representing thе largest аnd busiest shipping terminal іn sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, South Africa’s largest exported goods sector wаѕ gems аnd precious metals, wіth a total value оf $14.9bn accounting fоr 16.7% оf total exports. Thе republic’s оthеr exports аrе significantly higher thаn іn оthеr African countries, wіth thе 10th largest export sector (beverages, spirits аnd vinegar) ѕtіll соmіng іn аt $1.4bn. Thе second largest export sector wаѕ ores, slag аnd ash аt $11.3bn, accounting fоr 12.6% оf аll exported goods. Thе thіrd largest export sector wаѕ mineral fuels including oil аt $10.6bn, representing 11.8% оf аll exported goods.

https://www.transnetnationalportsauthority.net/Pages/default.aspx

https://twitter.com/transnetnpa?lang=en

https://en-gb.facebook.com/TransnetNPA/

 

2. Guinea – $62.1bn (13.4% share)

Thеrе аrе twо major ports оf Guinea, Conakry аnd Port Kamsar. Port Conakry іѕ thе larger оf thе twо, wіth a full container storage capacity оf аrоund 8,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (teus) аnd a maximum annual capacity оf аrоund 600,000 teus. Thе country іѕ a leading exporter оf bauxite аnd holds thе mineral’s largest reserve іn thе world. Guinea’s bauxite/aluminum оrе ($990m) аnd gold exports ($1.54bn) represents аrоund 85% оf аll exports frоm thе country. Thе company аlѕо exports, Petroleum Gas ($154M), Non-fillet Frozen Fish ($43.2M) аnd Crude Petroleum ($41.9M).

3. Nigeria – $44.5bn (9.6% share)

Thе major ports оf Nigeria include: thе Lagos Port Complex аnd Tin Cаn Island Port іn Lagos; Calabar Port; Delta Port; Rivers Port аt Port Harcourt; аnd Onne Port. Nigeria’s largest exported goods sector іѕ mineral fuels including oil, wіth $39.1bn іn exports representing 96% оf іtѕ entire exports. Thе second largest exported goods sector wаѕ ships аnd boats, accounting fоr 0.6% оf аll exported goods. Nigeria’s thіrd largest exported goods industry wаѕ cocoa, accounting fоr 0.6% оf аll exports wіth a total value оf $238.1mn.

https://www.facebook.com/nigerianports

4. Algeria – $35.2bn (7.6% share)

Algeria hаѕ 12 ports, wіth thе port оf Algiers bеіng thе fіrѕt еvеr commercial port іn thе country. Thе country’s highest volume оf exported goods іѕ mаdе uр оf mineral fuels including oil, wіth a value оf $33.8bn accounting fоr 96.1% оf аll exported goods. Thе second largest export sector bу ѕоmе margin іѕ inorganic chemicals аt $382.9mn, representing just 1.1% оf аll exports. Thе thіrd largest аt $327mn, accounting fоr 0.9%, аrе fertilisers.

Loading...

 

5. Angola – $34.8bn (7.5% share)

Angola hаѕ fоur ports, wіth іtѕ main port bеіng Luanda. Luanda handles mоrе thаn 70% оf thе country’s entire import/exports. Luanda іѕ thе capital аnd largest city іn Angola, аnd thе country’s mоѕt populous аnd important city, primary port аnd major industrial, cultural аnd urban centre. Itѕ largest export sectors include mineral fuels аnd oil ($32.3bn representing 95.6% оf total exports), gems аnd precious metals аt $1.2bn (3.5%) аnd machinery including computers аt $46.4mn (3.5%).

http://www.portoluanda.co.ao/

http://www.portoluanda.co.ao/#

https://www.facebook.com/Porto-de-Luanda-400524580110384/

 

6. Egypt – $25.9bn (5.6% share)

A country boasting seven ports іn total, thе true jewel оf thе Nile fоr Egypt іѕ thе Port оf Alexandria. Sitting оn thе West Verge оf thе Nile Delta bеtwееn thе Mediterranean Sea аnd Mariut Lake, іt іѕ considered thе main port оf Egypt’s entire foreign trade. Mineral fuels, including oil, hold thе largest share оf exports wіth $5.1bn making uр 19.5% оf total exports. Thе second biggest sector іѕ gems аnd precious metals аt $2.1bn, accounting fоr 8.2% оf аll exports. Thе thіrd largest volume оf exported goods іѕ electrical machinery аnd equipment, wіth $1.7bn making uр 6.7% оf аll goods.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/port-of-alexandria-co/

 

7. Morocco – $25.6bn (5.5% share)

Morocco іѕ home tо fіvе ports: thе Port оf Al Hoceima, Casablanca, Essaouira, Safi аnd Tangier. Thе largest, аnd mоѕt famous, іѕ thе Port оf Casablanca. Casablanca’s port handles mоrе thаn 21mn tonnes оf traffic annually. Itѕ greatest export іѕ electrical machinery аnd equipment, whісh hаd a 2017 export value оf $4.2bn аnd accounted fоr 16.5% оf total exports. At $3.4bn, аnd accounting fоr 13.3% оf total exports іѕ vehicles. Thе thіrd largest export аrе fertilisers, wіth $2.6bn аt 10.1%.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDd_7d4_8ft8JPyIWhIw1eQ

 

8. Libya – $17.8bn (3.8% share)

Wіth a seaport dating bасk tо thе sixth century BC, аnd a capital city dubbed ‘Bride оf thе Sea’, thе export industry іѕ key tо Libya’s economy. Itѕ highest export іѕ mineral fuel including oil. At $17.2bn, іt accounts fоr 96.8% оf thе country’s entire exported goods. Thіѕ іѕ followed bу iron аnd steel exports, wіth a significantly lower $151.6mn (0.9%) аnd copper аt $87.7mn (0.5%).

 

9. Tunisia – $14.2bn (3.1% share)

Tunisia boasts 16 ports іn total, notably thе Port оf Tunis, Sfax, Lа Skhirra аnd Didon Terminal. Tunisia’s biggest export іѕ electrical machinery аnd equipment, accounting fоr $4bn аnd 28.4% оf total exports. Thе closest bеhіnd thіѕ іѕ clothing аnd accessories (excluding knit оr crochet), wіth $2.2bn іn exports representing 15.5% оf аll goods. Thе thіrd biggest export, іѕ knit оr crochet clothing аnd accessories аt $893.3mn, representing 6.4% оf аll exports.

https://www.facebook.com/Office-De-La-Marine-Marchande-Et-Des-Ports-827549370638893/?fref=ts
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdTSE1ZzqqKJKX8g-U-WStw

 

10. Ghana – $11.4bn (2.5% share оf аll African exports)

Wіth twо ports, thе 3,900 sq km Tema Harbour аnd thе Takoradi Harbour (the main export port оf thе country), Ghana’s exported goods represent 40.3% оf total Ghanaian economic output. Thе country’s biggest export іѕ gems аnd precious metals. Ghana іѕ Africa’s largest gold producer. Total gems аnd precious metal exports hаd a value оf $3.5bn аnd represented 34.4% оf total exports. Closely bеhіnd thіѕ іѕ mineral fuels including oil, accounting fоr $2.6bn representing 25.4% оf total exports. Thе thіrd largest export іѕ cocoa, аt $2.5bn whісh represented 24.4% оf аll exports іn 2017.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ghana-ports-and-harbours-authority/

Loading...

Southern African: Improving Healthcare Across the Region

by 1 Comment

Thіѕ week thе Southern African region hаѕ seen multiple partnerships forming tо improve healthcare wіthіn thе region.

Modernising thе healthcare ѕуѕtеm

US Agency fоr International Development (USAID) hаѕ partnered wіth thе Ministry оf Health tо launch a new Digital Health Activity. Thе launch marks іtѕ continued investment іn digital information solutions tо strengthen thе Ethiopian healthcare ѕуѕtеm аnd improve thе quality оf service. Thе ѕуѕtеm aims tо provide full access tо data, analytics аnd skills tо improve health аnd well-being іn Ethiopia.

In addition, USAID wіll partner wіth local universities tо introduce courses thаt develop competencies іn health innovations аnd electronic solutions.

“In addition tо simply expanding digital health systems аnd strengthening thе skills оf today’s medical professionals, wе аrе аlѕо increasing оur focus оn developing thе leaders оf tomorrow tо drive health innovations far іntо thе future,” commented, Sean Jones, USAID Mission Director.

Did уоu know? USAID signed a recent partnership deal wіth NCB tо stimulate SME growth.

Accelerating medical training

Thе Ministry оf Health іn thе Democratic Republic оf thе Congo (DRC) hаѕ partnered wіth thе World Health Organisation (WHO), tо train thе country’s fіrѕt national emergency medical units fоr epidemics.

Thоѕе participating аrе bеіng trained tо manage health emergencies ѕuсh аѕ, effective implementation оf public health actions аnd post epidemic reviews.

Thе increase іn training іѕ a government response tо ongoing epidemics іn thе country tо increase іtѕ response capacity, bоth regionally аnd nationally. Frequently, thе DRC experiences epidemics, ѕuсh аѕ cholera, measles, yellow fever аnd Ebola.

“Capacity building іn emergency interventions represents fоr оur country a priority аnd a crucial step. Aftеr thіѕ training, thе vеrу fіrѕt emergency medical unit wіll bе deployed immediately fоr thе response tо thе current measles outbreak, whісh іѕ affecting thе entire country,” said Dr Laurent Singi-Li-Mobutu, Assistant Director fоr thе National Programme fоr Emergencies аnd Humanitarian Action.

“It іѕ bоth urgent аnd important tо hаvе better-trained emergency medical technicians whо wіll bе able tо bring аbоut improvements іn public health interventions tо ensure thаt thоѕе affected bу epidemics urgently receive thе best care possible,” said Dr Deo Nshimirimana, interim WHO Representative іn thе DRC.

Africa’s Successful Restaurant Chains

by Leave a Comment

Forget McDonald’s and KFC, these restaurant chains originated in Africa and some are taking the world by storm…

10. Hot Dog Cafe

The ‘Home of the South African hot dog’ has traded for over 10 years now, offering consumers “a nostalgic journey back to the ‘good old days’ when traditional value was truly on a roll”. Ranging from diners to convenient mobile carts, there are now 130 mobile outlets in operation serving the American influenced treat.

9. MO’MEN

Named after the surname of the Egyptian brothers it was established by in 1988, the sandwich restaurants serve over nine million customers in Egypt alone each year. With branches in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Libya, Sudan and Malaysia, this reach is fast growing.

8. DoRego’s

Captain DoRego’s’ was established in Cape Town in the early 1970s and has since enjoyed steady growth, now with over 60 outlets across SA, with the ‘Captain’ eventually being dropped from the name in 2009. DoRego’s serves everything from breakfast meals to chicken, fish and chips, burgers and sandwiches. Selected stores also incorporate a fresh/frozen fish counter.

7. Barcelos

With 93 stores in seven different countries, Barcelos’ success speaks for itself. Very similar to Nando’s, the marinated flame-grilled chicken specialists originated in SA. The pilot store opened in Pretoria in 1993 and has grown into a successful international franchise.

6. Debonairs Pizza

Proudly describing itself as the leading pizza restaurant in Africa, Debonairs has come a mighty long way since two South African university students dreamt up the concept in 1991. Acquired by the now Famous Brands group in 1996, it has restaurants across the continent from the Ivory Coast to Mozambique and internationally in Dubai.

5. Scooters Pizza

“We deliver. Hot. Tasty. Fast.” The catchphrase of Scooters sums up what the company is all about. Started by three men disgruntled with having to wait so long for a good pizza to be delivered, the first restaurant opened in Durban in 2000. Not content with 128 outlets across SA, the brand says it is heading for “World Pizza Domination”.

4. Ocean Basket

South Africa’s favourite seafood chain was born when brothers Fats and George Lazarides teamed up with George Nichas in 1995 to open a restaurant in Menlyn Park shopping centre in Pretoria. Now with 130 stores throughout Africa, it has started to expand internationally. With some branches having a fresh-fish deli too, you can takeaway or eat in.

3. Spur Steak Ranches

Founded in Cape Town in 1967, Spur fast developed a reputation for tasty, nutritious, value-for-money meals. There are now 245 Spur Steak Ranches in South Africa and 28 international restaurants including branches in the UK and Australia. Their legendary steaks have become real family favourites.

2. Chicken Licken

Opening its first restaurant in Ridgeway, South Africa in 1981, the self-acclaimed ‘Soul Food’ chain has restaurants across the country and also in Botswana. Serving fried chicken meals, a 2007 Sunday Times Markinor Best Brands survey cited Chicken Licken as the second largest fast food brand in South Africa behind rivals KFC.

1. Nando’s

The chicken specialist has experienced a meteoric rise since two friends, Robert Brozin and Fernando Duarte, ate at a small restaurant called Chickenland in 1987.

Calling it the best chicken they’d ever tasted, the pair bought the place and renamed it Nando’s after Duarte. Little did they know it would kick-start a venture that would oversee the opening of hundreds of restaurants across 30 countries and in five continents.

With a Portuguese/Mozambican theme, Nando’s is famous for its flame-grilled Peri-Peri chicken, with flavours from lemon and herb to extra spicy for those who like their food hot.

Nando’s has become the restaurant of choice for hungry diners all over the world, including the rich and famous. David Beckham and Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson are even regular visitors.

The brand has also caused controversy in some territories for controversial adverts, although the chain continues to draw mass appeal worldwide.

Consumers in for Rough Ride Ahead

by 2 Comments

Windhoek – Economists predict tough and uncertain times ahead for 2016 and caution consumers to brace themselves for higher interest rates rise of electricity and water tariffs, increasing inflation and high prices for household consumer goods and services.

Consumers are also urged to curb their spending due to increased volatility in the global financial markets and are encouraged to foster a culture of savings and investment as well.

Speaking at the 2016 Economic Outlook on the Namibian Economy recently, the Managing Director of Bank Windhoek Holdings, Thinus Prinsloo said the turbulent start to the year has seen increased volatility in global financial markets.

He added that many people are unsure about the full impact of developments in the global financial markets on their business as well as on their personal investments and financial wellbeing.

“Economic debates regarding inflation and the exchange rate have become recurring themes of late. The SARB (South African Reserve Bank) boldly met expectations with the first 50 basis-point move in a long time,” Prinsloo said.

The South African Reserve Bank announced a 50 basis-point increase in the repo rate to 6.75 percent on 28 January 2016. There are mixed expectation on what is the Bank of Namibia (BoN) would decide at its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on 17 February, with some analysts expecting the BoN to hold the repo rate at current 6.5 percent, as it did in December, while others foresee a 25 basis point increase. Those expecting an unchanged repo rate points towards the downward trend in the growth of instalment credit extended to households. “The Bank of Namibia is satisfied with the cooling down of total PSCE (Public Sector Credit Extension) household debt in particular [and] the Central Bank should be satisfied with the subsiding vehicle sales growth,” opine analysts from the Namibia Equity Brokers.

However, there seem to be a lot of uncertainty about future escalations, which for some other analysts, could prompt BoN to push up the repo rate.

The repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country lends short-term money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds against securities.

According to Suta Kavari, an Investment Strategist at Capricorn Asset Management in Namibia, the South African repo rate increase comes on the back of a “marked deterioration” in the inflation outlook.

He said that the effects of the Rand’s recent and considerable depreciation and the worsening drought conditions on food prices have significantly contributed the deterioration in the inflation outlook.

Inflation targeting the South African central bank now expects inflation to average 6.8% in 2016 from a previous forecast of 6.0%, and 7.0% in 2017 from 5.8%. A peak of 7.8% is expected in the final quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017.

Inflation is also expected to remain and mostly above the SARB’s upper target band, while food prices remain a significant upside risk to the inflation outlook, with food price inflation forecasted to peak at 11% in the fourth quarter this year.

The SARB Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, said that the rate hike is a hard knock to consumers in South Africa, which could spill-over into Namibia.

Rand weakness indicates that petrol prices may rise by 7 cent a litre next month.

South Africa’s growth forecast was also revised downwards for 2016 to 0.9% from 1.5%, before accelerating to 1.6% in 2017 revised down from 2.1%.

Coupled with the latest rate hike, consumers will be bogged down by proposed increases to electricity tariffs, and the likelihood that staple food may increase by close to 50% as a result of the ongoing drought.

As for Namibia, Prinsloo said that the Namibian economy has enjoyed strong support from both monetary and fiscal policy in recent years and in its budget last year, the government prioritised an inclusive growth agenda for the economy with targeted budgetary allocations to sectors with high growth and job creation potential.

“The continued drought conditions, the fall in commodity prices and government’s challenging fiscal position, has made the local operating environment ever more challenging, but also brings with it opportunities,” he maintained.

Kavari said it is now a matter of whether to hike or not the repo rate for the Bank of Namibia, and their hand has now been forced.

“We now expect the Bank of Namibia to raise interest rates by 50 basis points at their next policy meeting in February,” he projected.

The South African and Namibian prime rates are now on par, while South Africa’s repo rate is 25 basis points above Namibia’s.

“We, however, don’t expect any immediate capital flows out of Namibia into South Africa, as we believe that local banks will re-adjust to maintain margin over South African deposit rates. This will result in a margin squeeze for local banks and BoN will have to raise rates in order to insure a healthy banking system,” Kavari added. (Reported by Magreth Nunuhe)

New Licensing Model for Aspiring Coal Miners

by 2 Comments

Harare – Zimbabwe’s Mines and Mining Development minister Fred Moyo said government will only issue new coal mining concessions to players who have already secured off takers agreements with buyers.[1]

This follows a decline in the markets for the black gold and weakening in the price of the commodity on the international market dampening hopes by the Southern African country to export to countries such as China and India.

Moyo said government will only license new coal miners with ready market for the product.

“We do not have anything more than half a million tonnes per month of coal demand in this country. Just to pick Hwange Colliery Company and Makomo Resources next door, they can surpass that figure. So what does everybody else do and that market is captive, if you are not in the specific radius of Hwange power station where do you supply. So let’s invite investment into power generation and these plants can sit in these concession and we are talking.

“Have a complete business, either have a partner who is going to go in power generation and he or she asks you to bring a concession then we can give a concession. It can be somebody investing into power of it can be you,” Moyo said.

Coal deposits are found in Matabeleland North (Hwange), Midlands (Gokwe) and Masvingo (Chiredzi). To date coal has been extensively mined in Hwange. Deposits are also found across the region.

Moyo said the export market was not lucrative at the moment.

“Can we export coal, no we can’t because our infrastructure can’t perform, in some instances there is mismatch of our coal and what the markets require so my view is that if we allow all these concession be held by companies when there is no market, you run a risk of each of them now to scramble for the same little market and if you have a serious over supply situation into any market for any product you destroy that sector,” he said.

That’s the challenge that we have, he said, not only destroy in the sense of their viability but you destroy it in the sense of standard, you now have safety compromised, environment compromised, quality compromised because everybody is trying to produce at a the least cost and sell at the lowest price.

“They(aspiring coal miners) must go and bring an investor in power generation and say to us I have got this business, I have got this funding for a power station can you give me the concession then we are talking,” he said.

Moyo said the critical business was power generation supported by coal mining.

“Let’s not have people scramble for concessions forgetting that they should also look for market for their coal,” he said.

In Zimbabwe there are three types of coal in Zimbabwe, power station coal at the top, industry coal in the center and cocking coal at the bottom.

Apart from power generation coal is also used for heating in the manufacturing sector and tobacco curing among other uses. (Reported by Tichaona Owen Kurewa)

[1] Winston Chitando is a Zimbabwean politician who serves in the government of Zimbabwe as Minister of Mines and Mining Development since September 2018.

Namibia Set to Be Main Distribution Hubs for Beef in the Region

by Leave a Comment

Windhoek – Plans to develop a beef processing facility, feed lot and tourism centre at the Kavango Cattle Ranch in northern Namibia that can serve regional and international markets are gaining momentum, according to Dr Michael Humavindu, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development.

Humavindu says that if everything goes according to plan, construction of facilities at the ranch, which stretches over 200 000 hectares of land, could be completed within the next two years and make Namibia one of the biggest distribution hubs for beef in the Southern African region.

The cattle ranch is one of the Namibian government’s state-owned farm conglomerate run by the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) and forms part of Namibia’s Industrial Policy Implementation Strategy dubbed Growth at Home, focusing on value addition.

Growth at Home concentrates on three strategic intervention areas, which are supporting value addition, upgrading and diversification for sustained growth; securing market access at home and abroad and improving the investment climate and conditions.

The Kavango Cattle Ranch (KCR) project is aimed at creating jobs, wealth and export opportunities and create additional niche export products for new markets.

In addition, government also plans to upgrade the Ondangwa tannery in northern Namibia, where skins from the slaughtered livestock at the ranch can be processed into leather.

This, according to Humavindu, will assist value addition projects of leather, wool, pelts, silk and textiles industry through enhanced collection, processing, grading and cleaning of raw hides, skins, wool and natural silk.

Humavindu says that a finalised report on the leather sector growth strategy has also been finalised and is pending approval by Cabinet.

In the meantime, meat producers in Namibia are eagerly waiting for the chance to export beef to the lucrative and enormous China market since the Namibian Government announced last year in August that the country could now export its beef to China.

This also includes the importation of bone-in-beef from the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Free Zone, which could hopefully allow farmers to send bigger volumes of beef at lower processing cost.

Namibia is one of only ten countries in the world and the only African country that is allowed to export beef to the East Asian nation.

But according to the Ministry of Agriculture, the export of beef to China could not start soon after the announcement because the Department of Certification, Accreditation and Administration (CNCA) is conducting inspections at abattoirs which are approved by Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) for export of beef to China.

“These abattoirs received questionnaires from CNCA to provide information on veterinary public health and food safety. This information was provided by Meatco Windhoek and Okahandja before experts from CNCA came to Namibia for inspections. The purpose of this inspection is for registering the export approved establishments as exporters of meat to China,” the Ministry said in response to The Southern Times.

Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) Executive Manager, Sakkie Coetzee has welcomed the idea of exporting beef to China, saying that the more diversified the market is, the better it is for meat producers.

But he said that as farmers, they have to unfortunately depend on their export partners, such as Meatco.

“I hope the abattoirs exploit these markets,” he said.

To exporting beef from Namibia to China, livestock producers and abattoirs should comply with certain requirements, such as that the cattle should be born and reared in FMD free zone of Namibia where vaccination is not practised and bear a unique identification mark that should be traced back to the farm of origin.

The cattle should also come from a farm where no cloven-hooved animal from the region were introduced other than the FMD free zone of Namibia, and where vaccination was not practised during the past 12 months.

Further to that, the animals should be resident in the farm for at least 60 days prior to slaughter and should have been vaccinated against Anthrax, using live vaccine during the 14 days prior to slaughter.

The animals should never have been fed with any materials originating from ruminant, except milk, and never used veterinary medicine and feed additives prohibited by China or Namibia.

Namibia’s other beef markets, like the European Union (EU), Switzerland and Norway did not permit Namibia to export bone-in-beef, but now China is allowing that as long as the animals are slaughtered and the beef is processed and certified at an export approved slaughterhouse or abattoir and by the Directorate of Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF). (Reported by Magreth Nunuhe)

The Art of Using SMS Effectively in Business

by Leave a Comment

Sending a text message may be simple, but using SMS in the right way can dramatically reduce costs and keep your clients happy.

WRITTEN BY: Dr. Piet Streicher, Managing Director, BulkSMS.com

The drive to increase communication efficiencies using SMS (short message service) is closely linked to how SMS messaging helps reduces the cost of doing business.

Not only is SMS a cost-effective channel for delivering short notifications, alerts or reminders as well as receiving replies from customers, it also provides a way of reducing telephony costs, a major business overhead.

The use of a pre-paid application-to-person messaging service offers your business at least two ways of setting up a cost-effective SMS communication channel.

You manage messaging by using a self-service desktop or Web application to send and receive SMS messages via your computer connected to the internet.

System managed messaging where your website or systems are automated to trigger SMS notifications and manage replies during a business process. It is as easy for developers to automate this functionality.

Reducing overheads

How then do these SMS solutions help you reduce overheads?

Take for example a firm where a customer has placed an order and the order is now ready for collection. A single SMS sent to the customer notifying that the order is ready for collection will save several calls from the company. Instead, this SMS message provides all the collection details. If the company requires confirmation of receipt of the message, this can be gained by either keeping a record of the message delivery status or request the customer to reply to the SMS they received.

Now apply the same order fulfilment process to hundreds of customers and the cost saving benefits of SMS messaging become clear in reducing the firm’s overall telecommunications costs.

If on the other hand a telephone call is necessary, a customer may not always be able to take phone calls. Instead of leaving a voicemail it is much more efficient to send an SMS with all the relevant details. An SMS takes away the need for the customer to dial in, listen to their messages, and then transcribe a message. With an SMS, the firm has made life easier for the customer, who now knows all the details required to collect the order.

In an effort to save further costs and increase its productivity, the firm could create additional business efficiencies by introducing SMS to all customer-facing stages of the order process – from order confirmation, status updates and collection. These SMS-enabled steps would go far in helping reducing unnecessary use of time and resource and so save the firm money.

How to use SMS to manage customer expectations

SMS messaging is ideally suited to allowing a business to better manage customer expectations. With SMS, you can interact quickly and easily with customers by sending them short, informative and relevant messages. This provides you with way of enhancing how customers experience your brand, product or service.

There are some quick-wins in using SMS messaging for managing customer expectations. In each of the three cases noted below, the SMS is sent from an Internet enabled mobile messaging service that allows you to send messages from a computer to the cell phone number of one or many of your customers. Customers can also reply to any of these messages, if necessary.

Reminders

Scheduling appointment reminders goes far in ensuring that business meeting appointments are not missed. This becomes an important cost saving for small business owners who are then best able to maximise their time for revenue generating activities.

It is best practice to schedule an appointment at the moment when the meeting is set up by pre-programming the time and date using the SMS messaging service’s scheduler. An SMS is then automatically sent at a future date to the person with whom you are to meet. Similarly, you can send yourself a reminder message.

Keeping customers updated

One of the arts of business is keeping customers updated on the status of their order. Using SMS takes all the hassle out of order fulfilment and best manages customers’ expectations of when an order is to be delivered at their home or ready for collection for the store. The main benefit is that customers do not need to contact the business to check up on their order.

Instead of spending time and money taking or making calls from customers querying the status of an order, a business can now send out regular SMS updates to keep customers abreast of when they can expect their order. With large order volumes, a business may SMS-enable their automated order fulfilment process.

Another key area in meeting customer expectations is by providing them with a reference number after they made a call to your help desk. This provides an efficient way of keeping customers satisfied by sending them an SMS with a reference number, name of the person they spoke to, and contact details. Customers also reply to this same SMS to provide feedback or rate the quality of service experienced as part of a firm’s drive for customer service excellence.

South Africa Gets New Slogan to Boost Tourism

by Leave a Comment

Marketing slogan “captures the essence of the country”, says Brand South Africa.

South Africa officially has a new marketing slogan designed to attract more tourists.

‘South Africa: Inspiring new ways’ will be used to promote the country at home and abroad, approved by the cabinet.

The slogan was devised by Brand South Africa, the organisation in charge of marketing the country and replaces the previous slogan ‘Alive with Possibility’.

“We welcome the approval by Cabinet of South Africa’s new country marketing slogan. The new slogan is the culmination of many months of research into what thousands of ordinary South Africans believe captures the essence of our country,” said Miller Matola, CEO of Brand South Africa, previously known as the International Marketing Council of South Africa.

View the latest issue of the magazine here.

“When we embarked on the development of our new pay off line, our position as the most-developed African economy – spearheading the emergence of the globe’s last great market – saw South Africa adopt a brand position expressed in the phrase, ‘South Africa – Alive with Possibility’. The world saw the sense of the proposition and investors, businesses and tourists piled into the country – taking advantage of the possibilities.

“South Africa has moved beyond possibility to delivery. Our delivery has necessitated a change in the brand positioning, to keep up with, and lead the way that we are perceived by the world. It is for this reason that we have developed a new brand expression,” he added.

“As a country we continue to inspire both ourselves and the world with unique, new and better ways of overcoming our challenges. ‘South Africa. Inspiring new ways’ is both a description of the best of our national character, our values and the fabric of our people. It is a challenge to all South Africans: to business, government and civil society to build on our reputation for inspiration and innovation.”

Flyafrica – the Bird That Never Flew

by Leave a Comment

By Timo Shihepo

Windhoek – Low budget airliner Fly Africa has seemingly given up the fight for the SADC market, after a decision to cease operation in some parts of the region, along with very little visibility in markets where the airline still hold operating licenses.

FlyAfrica is a Mauritius-based private equity aviation investment group that tried to offer cheaper services as part of its Pan-Africa low-fare strategy. It made headlines and sends shivers down the spines of state-owned airline companies when it introduced cheap routes across the region at a low ticket prices. The idea was greatly embraced by many people in Namibia who were only to pay as little as U$80 for a return ticket between Windhoek and Cape Town/Johannesburg.

It then had its operating licences withdrawn in Namibia and Zimbabwe in October 2015, which essentially grounded its entire operations and fleet of planes.

In Namibia the company faced a mountains of challenges that led to the local partner company, Nomad Aviation, to throw in the towel in December 2015, and disassociating itself completely from FlyAfrica. Former FlyAfrica Namibia Chief Executive Officer, and Nomad Aviation executive, Clifford Strydom, has confirmed to The Southern Times that Fly Africa has recently stopped all flights in the region and “we as a company [Nomad Aviation] have stopped all our association with the [FlyAfrica] airline.”

FlyAfrica was set to charge $100 for the return ticket for the Victoria Falls routes both in Zimbabwe and Johannesburg in South Africa, which otherwise cost about three times more if using national carriers. The company has had presence in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa.

FlyAfrica entered the Namibian market through local company Nomad Aviation, selling air transport tickets worth N$3 million in a span of few days up until its maiden flight was grounded by the Namibian civil aviation authority.

The Namibian directorate of civil aviation successfully prohibited Nomad, which was trading as FlyAfrica Namibia, from flying citing aviation irregularity, absence of relevant licences and aviation validation. This left passenger stranded. The regulators also cited the safety of the airline’s aeroplanes. The DCA said then that had discovered that FlyAfrica uses planes that are not authorised under the civil aviation authority’s approved wet lease, which regulates such passenger services.

FlyAfrica was also dealt a blow by Air Namibia, the national airline, which successfully asked the Namibian High Court to bar FlyAfrica from using the route between Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) and the OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg, saying FlyAfrica only has licence to fly between Windhoek’s HKIA and Lanseria airport in Johannesburg.

Strydom said the company’s wings in Namibia, were really clipped when Air Namibia took them to court to prevent Fly Africa from transporting passengers from Windhoek to OR Tambo airport in South Africa.Strydom who refrained from uttering harsh words said, at first, in other SADC countries apart from Namibia they were just doing fine.

“In Namibia it’s quite the opposite. Everyone else in SADC was really accommodating but the challenge was only in Namibia. Don’t get me wrong the people in Namibia want us but the national airline doesn’t.

“The problem is that it only has one main shareholder and it is fighting tooth and nail so that it does not lose more customers. But really, if they didn’t want competition they could have just launched services that are affordable to people,” he said.

In January this year however the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) cleared FlyAfrica, to resume flying, ending a nearly three months suspension of its flying certificate. Zimbabwe’s regulatory body lifted the suspension placed on the operations of FlyAfrica after it successfully complied with all regulatory requirements.

In Zimbabwe FlyAfrica is operating in partnership between Chakanyuka Karase’s family investment vehicle called Fresh Air and Mike Bond of the now defunct One Time of South Africa.

New Mini Hydro Power Plant on the Cards

by Leave a Comment

Harare-Independent power producer Nyangani Renewable Energy (NRE), which operates mini-power plants in the Manicaland Province said it will this year start construction of a new 2, 3 megawatt (MW) mini hydro power station in Honde Valley.

This becomes the group’s sixth mini hydro project in the Eastern Highlands.

NRE has four operational run-of-river mini hydro electrical power stations with combined capacity of 21, 1 MW. This capacity is by definition, seasonal and correlates directly with river flow levels. Based on long term averages the annual energy produced by these stations is just over 64,000 kilowatt hour per year.

NRE has a fifth project in the commission stages which will add 3,75 MW capacity and about 10 000kWh per annum of energy.

NRE managing director Ian McKersie told Southern Times work on the project was expected to commence before year end.

“We are in the planning stages a 2, 3 MW run of river mini hydroelectric power station in Honde Valley. We plan to have this operation by end of this year, and only await statutory approvals prior to commencing work,” McKersie said.

McKersie said low rainfall patterns were disrupting generation.

“Generation this hydrological year is disappointingly low due to the poor rainfall,” he said.

Zimbabwe has a finite number of sites for mini hydro development and it is in the national interest that each site is developed to maximise annual energy output without over capitalising development. It is worth pointing out that these power stations are “run-of-river” and can only operate when the rivers are flowing, so the output is seasonal.

Experts contend that Zimbabwe requires huge investments in power generation and need to attract more independent power producers (IPPs) to ease electricity challenges currently besetting the economy.

To date over 15 IPPs were licensed by Government and they are at various levels of implementation with funding reportedly being the major hurdle.
Currently Zimbabwe requires about 2 200 megawatts during peak hours, but is presently generating about 1 400MW, with the balance imported from the regional countries such as Mozambique and South Africa.

Apart from efforts being made by IPPs the government is also working on a number of projects to increase power generation. These projects include refurbishments and expansion of Hwange, Harare, Bulawayo, Munyati and Kariba Power stations.

Efforts are also being made to construct new power station such as Batoka Power Station and Dema Emergency Diesel Power Station. (Reported by Tichaona Owen Kurewa)