Welcome to Africa

Brand South Africa commemorates Africa Day by reflecting on the dynamics of socio-political change. Johannesburg, Thursday 25 May 2017 – Today the world commemorates Africa...

The streets of Durban are burning; in Joburg the matches are ready. But the hate of xenophobia has been met with an outpouring of humanity and ubuntu from local celebrities and ordinary South Africans, who have added their voices to the hashtag #SayNoToXenophobia.

Social media is bringing health-, nutrition-, education-, and politics-related information to Africans’ smartphones at a phenomenal rate. Now, social media giant Facebook is investing in its 100 million-strong African fanbase to build new business.

For years Apple saw Nigeria as too poor for its products, so Samsung took the gap and now dominates mobile telephony in Africa’s most populous country. Global investors stand to lose if they ignore Africa’s potential, and the dynamics of its markets.

Self-taught and using patched-up, homemade and reverse engineered instruments, the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste is doing something extraordinary. The only all-black orchestra in the world – and the only orchestra at all in central Africa – it is revelling in the beauty of classical music.

Journalists record history and ensure transparency, a task that is rewarded through the SADC Media Awards. The awards seek the good stories about the region. They are driven by the desire to promote unity in the region and strengthen the economic, political and social ties that already exist.

When you leave Africa, you leave a piece of yourself behind. This yearning for the continent has sparked a campaign to show the passion Africans have for their land.

South Africa has the most powerful passport on the African continent, with its citizens able to enter a full 90 countries across the world...

"Poor countries are doomed to stay poor." That's a myth Bill Gates passionately debunks. The founder of Microsoft and, today, co-founder – with his wife Melinda – of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates has released a letter that explains why pessimism about the future of poor countries holds back their development.

During apartheid, Somalia took in South Africans fleeing from an oppressive government. In recent times, South Africa has had to pay back the favour, taking in Somali refugees running from a civil war. In Johannesburg, particularly, Somalis have found a home in a bustling neighbourhood where their entrepreneurial spirit can thrive: Mayfair.