Africa

“In the time since we last spoke towards the end of 2012 attendance at our Diving School has increased by around 40 percent,” states Bridget Thomson, Managing Director of SEADOG Commercial Diving School. “This increase sees us today operating at maximum capacity, which for a business that has been around for a relatively short period of time is extremely good news indeed.”

When Rod Webster established his company Weatherly in 2005 he and his partners had been casting around for that elusive beast, a company-making project. When some assets he had acquired in Zambia turned out not to be it he shifted his attention to Namibia, acquiring the assets of a struggling local copper producer called Ongopolo in 2006. In July that year Weatherly plc was admitted to London’s AIM market, and since then has been focused on Namibia.

The two diamonds, the 162.02 carat type II diamond and the 161.31 carat type I, were both recovered from the company’s Letšeng mine in Lesotho at the end of January 2014 and sold for $11.1 million and $2.4 million respectively.

In a press release the company noted that the two rough diamonds both achieved top prices, in accordance with their respective colour, clarity and expected  polished yield, at Letšeng’s February tender.

CG/LA Infrastructure Inc, which specialises in strategic infrastructure project identification, yesterday announced the recipients of its sought-after awards. The awards honour the leaders driving the next generation’s most transformative global infrastructure projects in five categories: strategic, finance, engineering, job creation, and green/new infrastructure.

“Across the business, we served 53 million meals in the financial year to June 2013,” states Chief Executive Officer, Pierre van Tonder. “That is almost one meal for every person in South Africa.” Such impressive numbers really speak for themselves and highlight just how iconic a brand Spur Steak Ranches has become in South Africa.

Plascon is a company with serious clout in South Africa, where it had its origins 125 years ago in 1889. Under his own name Herbert Evans, a new arrival to South Africa from Wales, set up a business in Johannesburg to produce polishes, varnish – and ready mixed tinted paints, a first for South Africa. During his lifetime, Evans, as well as the paint product introduced an excellent floor polish and a revolutionary Best Elastic carriage varnish that could accommodate the expansion and contraction of wood.

Aveng Trident Steel has its origins in a steel merchandising business founded in 1972 in the Germiston suburb of Wadeville. The company has grown steadily since then, making a number of acquisitions along the way and now covers all of South Africa. In 1998 Trident became part of the Aveng group, which listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange the following year.

Pedro Camacho is an entrepreneur with real vision. 16 years ago when he founded Blue Sky Satellite Communications, the industry was distinctly niche in character, though even then it was becoming obvious that it was going to be a key to growth in Africa. With very little in the way of fixed telecoms infrastructure on the continent, and that but poorly maintained and unreliable, cellphones quickly became the enabling technology, and Africa started to lead the innovative ways it is used today, famously making mobile finance mainstream.

Founded by current CEO, Clifford Elphick, in July 2005, Gem Diamonds has made significant strides in the years that followed to become a leading global producer of high value diamonds. The company is the majority owner of the well-known Letšeng mine in Lesotho and is also in the process of developing its 100 percent owned Ghaghoo mine in Botswana.