South African Business 2025

CONTENTS South African

CONTENTS South African Business 2025 Edition Introduction Foreword 10 A unique guide to business and investment in South Africa. Special features An economic overview of South Africa 12 Potentially divisive national elections in 2024 instead produced a grand coalition that has committed itself to grow the South African economy in a way that creates jobs. Hosting the G20 Summit will allow South Africa to showcase its strengths. Provinces of South Africa 16 A snapshot of South Africa’s nine provinces. Time for action on infrastructure 28 It’s rolling up the sleeves time for South Africa as work is underway to fix and upgrade existing facilities and invest in new infrastructure in order to stimulate economic growth. Economic sectors Agriculture 38 An estate near De Rust has won a global prize for olive oil. Mining 42 Anglo American is selling. Energy 52 Solar is shining. Oil and gas 58 Plans to develop gas fields have been put on hold. Engineering 60 New engineering capacity is available in Richards Bay. Manufacturing: automotive 68 Carbon taxes present a challenge. SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2025 6

The NYDA recognizes that South Africa’s youthful population presents an opportunity to boost economic growth, increase employment and reduce poverty. It also recognizes that young people bear the brunt of unemployment and provide young people with broader opportunities which must be sought. It proposes the strengthening of youth service programmes and the introduction of new, community-based initiatives to offer young people life skills training and entrepreneurship training. The NYDA has achieved 100% of its targets for the year 2023/2024, anticipating achieving another clean audit once audit is completed by September 2024. Recent statistics paint a grim picture, however there are some encouraging signs such as the overall increase of jobs and a movement of discouraged work seekers to active work searchers. Only through a social compact of all sectors of society can our ambitious goals be achieved. The NYDA doors remain open to any individual or institution who is committed to giving young people the hand up they crave. NYDA Achievements for the year 2023/24 • A total of 2 200 youth owned enterprises were supported with financial interventions and targets were met and exceeded due to the interest that young people have shown in the Programme and the NYDA's willingness to assist and support these young people • A total of 43 163 young people were supported with non-financial business development interventions and targets were met and exceeded due to collaborations with local municipalities and provinces that we have MOU’s in place • Jobs that were created and sustained through supporting entrepreneurs and enterprises were 7 319 and target met and exceeded due to the Grant programme that was oversubscribed by young people and the interest shown by them. • A total of 1 203 beneficiaries supported with business Development Support Services offered to young people by NYDA and the overachievement was due to a partnership and Service Level Agreement established with FASSET to implement the project with 3 Universities: University of Pretoria, University of Free State and University of KwaZulu-Natal. • A total of 55 549 young people were capacitated with skills to enter the job market, through Life Skills and Job Preparedness and targets were met and exceeded due to a number of young people who shown interest in life skills and job preparedness offered by NYDA. • A total of 24 307 young people placed in jobs met and exceeded due to partnership established because of intensive focus on partnerships which increased the number of jobs for young people to be placed. Proud to serve NYDA Performance Achievement National Youth Service NPO Capacity Building Programme In the 2023/24 financial year, the NYS enrolled 68 youth-led NPOs, partnering with entities like the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) and the South African Association of Youth Clubs (SAAYC) to deliver training workshops and mentorship programs. These initiatives, which included themes such as leadership, life skills, and social entrepreneurship, were designed to improve the governance, compliance, fundraising, and networking abilities of the NPOs. The program also featured specific training opportunities, like the ICTage program funded by CISCO, which provided IT training and certification to participants. Revitalized Youth Service Ten projects were contracted under the NYS program, all in various stages of implementation. By the end of March 2024, a total of 22,306 participants had obtained paid service opportunities. Among them, 18,115 participants had finished community service, while 4,357 young people had successfully transitioned into other income-generating opportunities. The NYDA conducted a successful recruitment roadshow for the second cohort of the NYS program, targeting underserved communities across several provinces. This initiative enhanced the program's visibility and engagement. The Young Creatives Program (TYCP) is a collaboration with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture led to the enrolment of 270 young creatives in the NYS program, providing them with opportunities in Community Arts Centres. This program is set to extend through to March 2025, with R13 608 000 (Thirteen Million Six Hundred and Eight Thousand Rand) allocated by the department to support it. The report outlines the number of young people that participated in the Expanded National Youth Service over the year. Quarterly data shows fluctuations, with a notable increase in participation in the second quarter. For the period under review, we reported 16, 339 young people contributing to the unit meeting and over-achieving this specific target for 2023/24. The NYS unit primarily focused on voter education and activities initiated by partners. Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) enrolled in the incubation program played a crucial role in implementing NYS Expanded Volunteer Projects (EVP), contributing significantly to the target of youth participation in the expanded volunteer program. Impact of the Program • At an individual level, participants received comprehensive training packages that included technical skills, professional development, emotional intelligence, and patriotism. These trainings aimed to prepare them for future employment and self-sufficiency. • At the community level, the NYS participants contributed to their local economies and communities by engaging in various activities such as waste removal, child safety, and food security programs. The presence of NYS participants helped raise awareness and support community initiatives. BRICS Youth: The NYDA held a successful inaugural meeting of the BRICS Youth Council in December 2023 which approved a strategy document for the term of office of the Council. South Africa officially handed over the Chair of BRICS and the Council to Russia. The Executive Chairpersons Office has established a BRICS South Africa Youth Chapter whose views will continue to feed into the BRICS Youth Council. NYDA Amendment Bill • The NYDA Board and Management fully participated in the Committee meetings for the NYDA Amendment Bill during the third quarters which has ultimately resulted in recommendations of the Bill to the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The Bill has been recommended by the NCOP and the Bill has been sent to the President for signing into law. The NCOP Select Committee has met with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities and has no fundamental challenges with the bill. • The Board expresses its appreciation to management and all employees for their efforts, oversight and support in achieving satisfactory performance through another clean audit outcome. We look forward to a better year ahead as we place youth at the front and centre of the economic recovery. The impact would take into account a variety of elements, including the organization’s original status, the effectiveness of interventions, and the outcomes obtained. Through the survey conducted with GIZ, 15,6% of the respondents (NPOs) stated SARS education as most valuable intervention. Half (50%) of the respondents stated that they have a much more clear understanding of NYS after participating in the incubation program.