industry

Alexandra township in Johannesburg has been under threat of demolition many times in its 100-year-old history - particularly in the height of the apartheid period, when other "black spots" in the middle of white suburbs met their deaths beneath state bulldozers. Of these, Alex alone survived. Thanks to a friendship.

South Africa - an oil producing country? The opening of the Sable oil field, 150km southwest of Mossel Bay, has effectively tripled SA's oil production. Added to Sasol's coal-to-petroleum contribution, 45 000 barrels a day from Mossgas and 15 000 from PetroSA's two existing oilfields, it means that South Africa now produces roughly half of its petroleum needs.

Cape Town-based Roth Medical Components was named Africa's top small business at the first Africa SMME Awards function in Johannesburg.

The Northern Cape government has selected eight candidates from disadvantaged communities to undergo an intensive three-week course in bird guiding.

A government initiative called Technology for Women in Business is helping South Africa's female entrepreneurs get access to the applied science and technology they need to catapult their businesses into the big league.

Collondale Cannery, one of only two pineapple processing factories in South Africa, has installed a R7-million plant with a new evaporator for processing pineapple juice concentrate for the export market.

Local and foreign investors looking for black economic empowerment partners in the IT, telecoms and electronics sectors can now consult an online database of information on South African BEE companies, based on a solid, layered definition of empowerment, and growing all the time.

The days of selling their wares in the open will be over for arts and craft traders in North West province when a cultural village is completed within the next few months.

The Marketing Federation of Southern Africa was officially launched on Wednesday, with some 250 government dignitaries, marketing opinion leaders and journalists attending a breakfast event in Johannesburg.

Taxi operators, commuters and traders will benefit from a partnership between the SA National Taxi Council and property development company Taxiprop-BR in terms of which taxis and bus ranks will be transformed into retail and vehicle centre hubs.