{"id":220246,"date":"2022-03-24T11:35:55","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T09:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/sa-offers-strategic-entry-point-into-africa\/"},"modified":"2022-03-24T11:35:55","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T09:35:55","slug":"sa-offers-strategic-entry-point-into-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/sa-offers-strategic-entry-point-into-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"SA offers strategic entry point into Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

South Africa\u2019s strategic position within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA), adds immense value to investors who want to benefit from improved access to large markets.<\/p>\n

This will be highlighted at the 4th South African Investment Conference (SAIC), which is currently underway at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

The conference brings together private and public sector decision-makers as they seek to showcase trade and investment opportunities in the continent.<\/p>\n

One of President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s investment envoys, Jeff Radebe, highlighted that Africa offers investors access to a market of more than one billion people with a gross domestic product that exceeds $2.6 trillion.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistoric trade barriers are coming down and economic activities are increasingly conducted seamlessly across the continent. Africa is growing fast into an integrated investment destination,\u201d Radebe said.<\/p>\n

Radebe added that at the root of the envisaged growth is the African Continental Free Trade Area, which became a reality in January 2021.<\/p>\n

The AfCFTA, which brings together 55 member states of the African Union (AU), aims to accelerate intra-continental trade and boost Africa\u2019s standing in the global market.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfCFTA adds a new dimension to the 2022 Investment Conference. Now we can demonstrate the significant advantages of investing in the South African economy and how returns can be multiplied through access to a much larger market.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Ramaphosa, who was the chairperson of the African Union during the AfCFTA launch, has described AfCFTA as a \u201cnew beginning with increased opportunities\u201d that it will attract more foreign direct investment to a continent with significant potential for growth.<\/p>\n

Radebe added that AfCFTA has created a free trade area, which will eventually develop into a continent-wide customs union and facilitate the movement of capital and people between countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfCFTA symbolises the emergence of a more assertive continent, which no longer merely exports raw material and imports finished goods. The bolstering of trade ties between countries also strengthens Africa\u2019s industrial base and opens opportunities for the continent to become more self-sufficient,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Growing the continent <\/strong><\/p>\n

He also noted that the UN Economic Commission for Africa has estimated that it will increase intra-African trade by more than 50%.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recent global turmoil in the northern hemisphere has also meant that South African assets are finding favour among foreign buyers.  South Africa\u2019s stock market is outperforming, returning 3.1% in dollar terms this year compared with a 10% drop for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe market has been buoyed by its exposure to the mining sector, which has benefited from soaring metals prices as importers steer clear of Russian products, and to precious metals stocks \u2013 a haven in times of volatility. Foreign inflows since the beginning of the year have now reached R20.76 billion,\u201d Radebe said.<\/p>\n

According to Radebe, Africa\u2019s wealth of natural and mineral resources can now be utilised to build industrial capacity, strengthen the growth of industries and create a large market, which can attract outside investors to locate their production facilities on the Continent.<\/p>\n

He said increased growth will inevitably lead to new prospects for emerging entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises.<\/p>\n

This will especially empower women and boost the potential of the youth \u2013 the fastest growing segment of the African population \u2013 to find work opportunities, he said.<\/p>\n

Radebe further highlighted that South Africa is an attractive destination for investors located outside of the continent, and many companies prefer to locate their regional headquarters in the country because of the \u201caccess to quality infrastructure and connections to global supply networks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur positioning within AfCFTA enhances our attractiveness to investors. Through our participation, we have preferential access to African markets and a deep understanding of business conditions on the continent.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvestments in South Africa immediately offer a strategic entry point into a much wider region with immense potential for future growth,\u201d Radebe said. \u2013 SAnews.gov.za<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa\u2019s strategic position within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA), adds immense value to investors who want to benefit from improved access to large markets. This will be highlighted at the 4th South African Investment Conference (SAIC), which is currently underway at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg. The conference brings together private […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":220247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[38678],"class_list":{"0":"post-220246","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-sanews","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/sa-offers-strategic-entry-point-into-africa.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}