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Gauteng Business 2025

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The 2025 edition of Gauteng Business is the 15th 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 national and provincial policies underpinning Special Economic Zones is included in this edition. SEZs form an important part of the strategy of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) in promoting sustainable economic growth across the province’s designated development corridors. This edition of Gauteng Business is supported by the GGDA, which is the implementation arm of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development. All of the main economic sectors of the provincial economy are reviewed, ranging from agriculture, transport and logistics, energy and manufacturing through to education and training. A plan to develop a large solar farm in the western reaches of Gauteng is proceeding, with mining company Sibanye-Stillwater having made land available for the project and various contractors having been identified to carry the project forward. In addition, the Provincial Government of Gauteng has revived an inner-city open-cycle-gas turbine and has begun a programme of equipping schools and medical clinics with solar panels. To complement the extensive local, national and international distribution of the print edition, the full content can also be viewed online at www.globalafricanetwork.com under e-books. Updated information on Gauteng is also available through our monthly e-newsletter, which you can subscribe to online at www.gan.co.za, in addition to our complementary business-to-business titles that cover all nine provinces as well as our flagship South African Business title and the new addition to our list of titles, The Journal of African Business, which was launched in 2020.

A REGIONAL OVERVIEW

A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OFGAUTENGBallooning near the Cradle of Humankind, a short hop from Muldersdrift.Investment is flowing into South Africa’s economic heartland assectors like tourism and conferencing recover, and the provinceturns to renewable energy.By John YoungMuldersdrift might not be the first namethat comes to mind as a conferencevenue of national significance, butGauteng is full of surprises.Of the nine venues listed by the South AfricanNational Conventions Bureau as having secured25 international business events between 2024and 2029, four are in Gauteng – and one of themis Muldersdrift. The others are predictably the threemetropolitan municipalities of Tshwane, Ekurhuleniand Johannesburg.The 25 big conferences will generate R240-millionfor the South African economy and will help thecountry retain its top ranking in Africa and the MiddleEast on the 2023 list compiled by the InternationalCongress and Convention Association (ICCA).Muldersdrift is a short distance north-west ofJohannesburg, near Lanseria Airport and it formspart of the Cradle of Humankind World HeritageSite. The Wonder Cave nearby is one the finesthominid fossil sites in the world and with 30wedding and conference venues, a brewery andthe Silverstar Casino and Entertainment Centre runby Tsogo Sun, Muldersdrift has much for visitors anddelegates to experience and enjoy.The metropolitan conference and exhibitioncentres are able to offer bigger meeting halls andvenues such as the Sandton Convention Centre andGallagher Estate, which often host large gatherings.The Gauteng Convention Bureau, a business unitwithin the Gauteng Tourism Authority, supports thebusiness-events sector.Among the biggest events hosted in Gautengwas the series of five annual South AfricaInvestment Conferences, the fifth of which washeld in 2023. Some R1.1-trillion was pledgedaltogether, of which about R22-billion will find itsway to Gauteng.In the course of the 2023/24 financial year,more than R68-billion in investments from 261GAUTENG BUSINESS 20256PHOTO: Guvon Hotels/Kloofzicht Lodge

SPECIAL FEATUREforeign companies were made in the province,which created about 23 000 direct jobs. As ofFebruary 2023, about five-million people wereemployed in Gauteng.Gauteng accounts for 45% of South Africa’smanufacturing capacity and the sector makes up14.5% of formal sector output in Gauteng, making itthe fourth-largest. One in nine jobs in the provinceare created in the sector. According to the GautengGrowth and Development Agency (GGDA), six outof 10 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects inGauteng have flowed to the manufacturing sectorand its subsectors.The GGDA is an implementing agency whichaims to facilitate business enablement, developsmall, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) andpromote investment and job creation.Focussed support for these specific subsectorsis intended to spur other investments: automotivesector, mineral beneficiation, capital equipment,agro-processing, pharmaceuticals and tertiaryservices such as BPO, ITC services, tourism and theknowledge economy.GGDA subsidiaries include The InnovationHub (technology), the Automotive IndustryDevelopment Centre (AIDC), which manages theAutomotive Supplier Park (ASP), OR Tambo SEZ, VaalSEZ and Constitution Hill.The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA)plays a similar role as the City of Johannesburg’sdevelopment agency. JDA’s focus is on helpingcreate resilient, sustainable and liveable urban areasin identified transit nodes and corridors. In 15 years,387 projects have been implemented.Growth engineGauteng is South Africa’s smallest province in termsof landmass but in every other respect it is a giant.At 18 176km², the province makes up just 1.5% ofSouth Africa’s territory but its economic impactis disproportionately large. In 2023 the provincialeconomy was valued at R2.4-trillion and theprovince was responsible for 34% of South Africa’sgross domestic product (GDP).Gauteng is a leader in a wide range ofeconomic sectors: finance, manufacturing,commerce, IT and media among them. The Bureauof Market Research (BMR) has shown that Gautengaccounts for 35% of total household consumptionin South Africa.The leading economic sectors are finance, realestate and business, manufacturing, governmentservices and wholesale, retail, motor trade andaccommodation. The creative industries (includingadvertising and the film sector) contributesignificantly to the provincial economy.In Johannesburg, financial services andcommerce predominate. The JSE, Africa’s largeststock exchange, is in Sandton and several newstock exchanges have recently received licences.Tshwane (which includes Pretoria) is home tomany government services and is the base of theautomotive industry and many research institutions.Both of these cities are educational centres of note.The Ekurhuleni metropole has the largestconcentration of manufacturing concerns, rangingfrom heavy to light industry, in the country. Thewestern part of the province is concerned mainlywith mining and agriculture, while the south has acombination of maize farming, tobacco productionand the heavy industrial work associated with steeland iron-ore workings.Individually, the biggest Gauteng cities contributeto the national GDP as follows: Johannesburg (15%),Tshwane (9%) and Ekurhuleni (7%).Power plansAlthough the national utility Eskom improved itsperformance markedly in the course of 2024, stepsto increase and reduce the cost of electricity arebeing put in place. The need to transition to greenersources of energy is also urgent.The biggest of these is the private-publicpartnership taking place on land belonging toSibanye-Stillwater, a global resources company thatstarted life as a Gauteng gold miner. A photovoltaicpower station, also known as a solar farm cluster, willbe developed in Merafong Local Municipality withmore than one contractor building facilities. Theplant is expected to produce 800MW of solar powerto the grid.Public facilities such as medical clinics are tobe provided with solar panels and battery storagesystems. City Power will roll out a pilot microgridproject in Alexandra which is intended to meetbasic power needs for low-income households. ■7GAUTENG BUSINESS 2025

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