On American Independence Day, we hear that patriotism is the US plays a big role in consumers’ choice of automobiles.

According to the July edition of the Shopper Insights Report from the AutoTrader.com trend engine, 41 percent of car shoppers recently surveyed say that it is important to purchase a vehicle built in the US by US workers, versus 28 percent who say it is important to purchase a vehicle made by a US automaker somewhere else.

Richard Kelertas, senior vice president, corporate development, explains why the Dallol Project in Ethiopia is perfectly placed to satisfy the growing demand for potash.

The race is on to satisfy accelerating world demand for potash, and in this Olympic year Allana Potash is in gold medal position as its Dallol Project in the Danakhil region of Ethiopia has the finishing line in sight.

In the 16 years since its inception, Silver Star Auto has created and maintained an impressive market share for Mercedes-Benz in Ghana’s automotive market—and is now set to expand its network even further.

The Port of Beira, Mozambique, is playing a major role in the nation’s economic growth by delivering a cost-effective service for the region’s land-locked states.

BT is making a mark in Africa with a large expansion in its headcount, its footprint and its support for a communications network that will unite the continent.

With the discovery of oil in Ghana, the economic and business landscape of the country is changing beyond recognition. We talk to Mona Boyd, managing director of Avis Ghana, about how she is preparing her business for an explosion in demand.

Over the past two years, Kuwait-based Al Rashed International Shipping Company has seen significant international growth—and it relies on good quality staff to support its expansion plans.

London-listed Petra Diamonds has announced that the IFC has agreed to a $25 million loan to expand Petra’s Finsch Diamond Mine in South Africa.

Petra said that given the lead times between its now larger diamond tenders (after the acquisition of the Finsch mine) and the volatility experienced over the last 12 months of both the rand and diamond prices, the new revolving credit facilities will give it additional scope and flexibility to execute its capital expenditure programme and bring its stated production and revenue growth opportunities to fruition.

US-based Parker Hannifin Corporation has successfully completed its previously announced agreement to acquire the Olaer Group, headquartered in Deeside, UK.

The Olaer Group is a leading manufacturer of advanced hydraulic accumulator and cooling technologies for energy, mobile and industrial markets. The company has sales of approximately €150 million and 550 employees.

London-listed Heritage Oil has invested £541 million in a number of assets in Nigeria, it has been announced.

The company is buying a 45 per cent stake in OML 30, a producing oil mining lease in Nigeria, from Shell, Total and ENI, as well as a 45 per cent interest in other assets under the OML 30 joint operating agreement.

OML 30, located onshore in the Nigerian delta, includes eight producing fields and associated infrastructure, including a segment of the 850,000 bopd-capacity Trans Forcados pipeline.