trends

South African retailer Woolworths is set to buy Australian department store chain David Jones for R21.4-billion (A$2.1-billion), in a deal that will create a leading southern hemisphere retailer with 1 151 stores across 16 countries.

The South African government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have announced a R40-million partnership to develop toilets for rural and peri-urban communities that sanitise human waste, extract reusable water, energy and fertilizer, and operate completely "off the grid".

Aspiring filmmakers in densely populated Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, now have a real shot at making their movie dreams come true, with the opening of the first film studio in the township on Wednesday.

Working with households in the HaMakuya district in Limpopo province enabled the University of Johannesburg's Chris Bradnum to design a biomass stove for rural and low-income communities that is safer, more efficient, and kinder to the environment.

South Africa's massive infrastructure development programme will open up opportunities for the country's black industrial class to grow, says Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba.

The government has launched an updated bio-economy strategy that seeks to harness partnerships with industry and academia in order to accelerate the development of bio-based services, products and innovations in South Africa.