Gauteng Business 2022/23
The 2022/23 edition of Gauteng Business is the 13th issue of this highly successful publication that has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Gauteng Province. In addition to the regular articles providing insight into each of the key economic sectors of the province, a special feature on the growth and significance of the green economy is included in this edition. Every sector from agriculture to transport and logistics is referenced, with several Gauteng companies taking the lead in the field of creating a more sustainable future for themselves and for their clients. The fact that mining companies and others are starting to build facilities to generate power is significant for the country as a whole. Gold Fields’ 40MW solar project at its South Deep mine is one of the first of its kind and it is certainly a precursor of what we can expect to see a lot more of in the future. The unexpected fall from power in the province’s three big metropolitan municipalities in 2021 of the political party that is in charge at provincial and national level, the African National Congress, is noted in the Regional Overview. Whether this presages a change beyond the borders of Gauteng in elections to come remains to be seen, but the huge budgets which now fall under the control of coalition governments in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni will certainly serve to sharpen the focus of ANC election planners for national elections in 2024.
The 2022/23 edition of Gauteng Business is the 13th issue of this highly successful publication that has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Gauteng Province.
In addition to the regular articles providing insight into each of the key economic sectors of the province, a special feature on the growth and significance of the green economy is included in this edition. Every sector from agriculture to transport and logistics is referenced, with several Gauteng companies taking the lead in the field of creating a more sustainable future for themselves and for their clients. The fact that mining companies and others are starting to build facilities to generate power is significant for the country as a whole. Gold Fields’ 40MW solar project at its South Deep mine is one of the first of its kind and it is certainly a precursor of what we can expect to see a lot more of in the future.
The unexpected fall from power in the province’s three big metropolitan municipalities in 2021 of the political party that is in charge at provincial and national level, the African National Congress, is noted in the Regional Overview. Whether this presages a change beyond the borders of Gauteng in elections to come remains to be seen, but the huge budgets which now fall under the control of coalition governments in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni will certainly serve to sharpen the focus of ANC election planners for national elections in 2024.
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Information and<br />
communications technology<br />
Data centres are expanding and new ones are being built.<br />
OVERVIEW<br />
The biggest data centre on African soil is under construction<br />
in Ekurhuleni. Teraco Data Environments secured a R2.5-billion<br />
loan in 2021 to build the 50 000m² JB4 data centre on 6ha. The<br />
centre will have 38MW of critical power load. The company<br />
has five other centres, two of which are in <strong>Gauteng</strong>. Johannesburg is<br />
also one of two South African cities to host a Microsoft<br />
Azure data centre.<br />
With several global companies choosing to station<br />
their South African headquarters in <strong>Gauteng</strong>, the<br />
province is well connected. More than 1 500km of<br />
network fibre has been connected throughout the<br />
province, with 1 066 sites such as schools, health<br />
facilities, libraries and community centres giving<br />
community members and entrepreneurs the chance to<br />
be connect with the digital world. A <strong>Gauteng</strong> Growth<br />
and Development Agency (GGDA) subsidiary, The Innovation Hub,<br />
has a programme called eKasiLabs which supports entrepreneurs<br />
and young people with good business ideas.<br />
The biggest investors in new technology are banks and<br />
other players in the financial sector, where technology is rapidly<br />
lowering the barriers to entry for new businesses. This trend is<br />
illustrated by the rapid development of new exchanges which are<br />
based on sophisticated ICT hardware and software.<br />
One of the provincial government’s stated goals is to get<br />
several ICT initiatives to work together. If the work of The<br />
Innovation Hub, several eKasi laboratories, the Tshimologong<br />
precinct, universities and research institutes could be integrated,<br />
a more powerful ecosystem would be the result.<br />
A High-Tech Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is another idea that<br />
is being pursued. Making broadband connectivity and free Wi-<br />
Fi available to poor households in the province is another task.<br />
<strong>Gauteng</strong>’s Premier will appoint a Digital Transformation Advisory<br />
Panel to assist in driving these initiatives.<br />
Various large spatial plans for the province include an element<br />
whereby these new cities or settlements will be built as “smart cities”.<br />
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in<br />
Pretoria hosts a new body aimed at preparing South Africa<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
eKasiLabs: www.theinnovationhub.com<br />
Independent Communications Authority: www.icasa.org.za<br />
Technology Innovation Agency: www.tia.org.za<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
The CSIR has launched a<br />
4IR body.<br />
Teraco’s Isando campus, JB3. Credit: Teraco<br />
for the Fourth Industrial<br />
Revolution (4IR), the South<br />
African Affiliate Centre of the<br />
World Economic Forum.<br />
The “Tshepo 1 Million”<br />
campaign links the provincial<br />
government with the<br />
successful Harambee Youth<br />
Employment Accelerator and<br />
more than 40 large companies.<br />
Both Johannesburg and<br />
Tshwane have free Wifi<br />
networks with Tshwane’s<br />
covering 780 zones in places<br />
such as libraries, educational<br />
institutions and clinics.<br />
The Small Enterprise<br />
Development Agency (Seda) runs<br />
the SoftstartBTI ICT incubator in<br />
Midrand and Tuksnovation, a<br />
high-tech incubator, at Pretoria<br />
University. Several incentives<br />
relevant to companies and<br />
educational bodies in the ICT<br />
sector are available from the<br />
Department of Trade, Industry<br />
and Competition (dtic). ■<br />
39 GAUTENG BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong>
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