Northern Cape Business 2024-25

OVERVIEW Banking and

OVERVIEW Banking and finance Northern Cape miners are listing on the JSE. New entrants to the copper-mining sector in the Northern Cape have recently listed on two South African stock exchanges. Copper 360, active near Springbok, listed on main board and AltX board of the JSE in April 2023. There are now 44 companies in the basic materials sector. Australian mining company Orion Minerals also recently listed on the AltX and the JSE main board. The company’s two main projects which it is financing are the Okiep Copper Project and the Prieska Copper Zinc Project, pictured. Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) is actively involved in several Northern Cape projects. A special purpose vehicle will be established, with development finance institutions, to tackle the backlog in school infrastructure and a similar idea underpins the financing of a rural roads programme. The launch by Sanlam Investments of a Sustainable Infrastructure Fund is a sign of the times. The South African state has promised a huge infrastructure drive but in the context of climate change caused by the use of fossil fuels, the investment community is increasingly putting emphasis on sustainability. Sanlam Group will invest R6-billion in the fund and aims to attract a further R5-billion from institutional investors. The Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa (Land Bank) is a major participant in the Northern Cape financial sector and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), as an equity investor, is another important player. In 2022, financial services group Old Mutual received permission from the prudential authority of the South African Reserve Bank to apply for a banking licence. The bank will spend R1.75-billion on setting up the bank and intends to launch in 2024. With the renewable energy sector booming in South Africa, a new sector in need of project funding has opened up for banks. The Northern Cape has attracted a large number of independent power producers. South Africa’s four big retail banks (Nedbank, Absa, Standard Bank and First National Bank) have a solid ONLINE RESOURCES Association for Savings and Investment South Africa: www.asisa.org.za Auditor-General of South Africa: www.agsa.co.za Banking Association South Africa: www.banking.org.za SECTOR INSIGHT Infrastructure is being funded. presence in the major towns in the province but Capitec is growing fast. Investment holding company PSG has reduced its holding in Capitec Bank from 32% to 4%, earning about R4- billion by selling those shares. Discovery Bank officially launched in March 2019 and is experiencing rapid growth with deposits of R3.7-billion. Discovery Bank is applying the behavioural model it uses in its health business to reward good financial behaviour. Most agricultural companies have financing and services divisions, as one would expect in a province with a strong and varied agricultural sector which exports much of its produce. ■ NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2024/25 56 PHOTO: Orion Minerals

ICT Broadband infrastructure is expanding. A Provincial Broadband Strategy has been compiled by the Provincial Government of the Northern Cape and will now move to implementation. Many state facilities have already been connected, with a focus on health and education. An electronic dispatch system is working at 91% of the province’s health facilities while every one of the public ordinary schools is connected for administrative purposes. The SA Connect programme is helping the province roll out digital connections for teaching: so far 98 schools in the Pixley Ka Seme District have been connected. Two pilot projects to introduce Coding and Robotics as a subject (at 173 schools) and to convert classrooms (at one school in each of the five districts) into cyber labs have been launched. Agriculture will also benefit from the Broadband Strategy through a partnership with the Vaalharts Agricultural Distribution Centre (VADC) and Farm Smart Technology. The aim is to improve access to markets and to assist with logistics. The major telecommunications operators, Vodacom, MTN and Telkom, have recently spent nearly R1-billion in upgrading broadband infrastructure such as base stations. The result is that the province can now boast of 98% cellular network coverage, a remarkable achievement for such a big province. Vodacom is partnering with the provincial government in the provision of digital call centres for emergency medical services (EMS) in Upington and Kimberley. Sol Plaatje University (SPU) is teaching data analytical skills to undergraduates and many of them are moving into the financial sector on graduation. Another area where these skills are in great demand is radio astronomy. One of the world’s great scientific Internet connectivity Total facilities Connected Health administration 159 145 Public schools administration 554 554 Free library Internet 223 215 Source: SOPA SECTOR INSIGHT OVERVIEW Health facilities are connected. 98% Cellular network coverage ventures, the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope project, has been established near Carnarvon and the amount of data that it will generate is so great that it is difficult to comprehend. Many data analysts will be needed. Another contribution by SPU to the acquiring of digital skills goes beyond the confines of the campus through Hackathons, VacWork programmes and skills development outreach projects. This is done in collaboration with lecturers, Geekulcha students and the NCDev ecosystem (the first app developer ecosystem in the Northern Cape). Galeshewe now has its own mLab for applications development, thanks to a partnership between the provincial government, the National Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the Northern Cape Community Education and Training College. ■ ONLINE RESOURCES National Department of Science and Innovation: www.dsi.gov.za Square Kilometre Array: www.ska.ac.za Technology Innovation Agency: www.tia.org.za 57 NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2024/25