Teraco builds the continent’s largest data centre in Johannesburg
Teraco has announced that it is constructing Africa’s largest data centre on the outskirts of Johannesburg to be housed in a 17 500sqm building.
The company already owns data centres in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.
Gys Geyser, Head of Operations at Teraco described the development as a milestone for the company and Africa’s data centre industry. “In this expansion of our footprint, we are achieving what few companies have; building the largest data centre in Africa in accordance with modern international standards.”
Geyser says the construction project brings the total size of the facility in Johannesburg’s industrial town of Isando to 9000 sqm of white space and 18 500sqm of utility space.
Teraco says it has noted an increase in demand based on the number of local and international cloud, content and network providers coming into Africa, as well as from existing clients since its founding in 2008, particularly from within the managed service provider segment.”
The company plans to conclude construction in 18 months time, although operations will begin towards the end of 2016. (IT Web)
Government ropes in CEOs to boost economic growth
Some of the country’s major business groups have been roped in to invest in specific initiatives aimed at avoiding a credit ratings downgrade for South Africa.
The initiative will also aim to accelerate the growth of small and medium enterprises and increase investment in key economic sectors, according to Business Unity South Africa president, Jabu Mabuza, who was speaking on behalf of the CEOs after meeting with Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and President Jacob Zuma recently.
Chair of the Nepad Business Foundation, Stanley Subramoney, will chair the initiative. He said in a statement on Wednesday, that South Africa is at a critical economic juncture with slow growth, high unemployment and real risk of a sovereign debt downgrade.
The business leaders who are part of the initiative includes Standard Bank joint CEO, Sim Tshabalala, CEO of the Public Investment Corporation, Dan Matjila and founder and CEO of Discovery, Adrian Gore.
Convenors of one of the key interventions of the initiative on empowering entrepreneurs and growing small businesses with big potential, Adrian Gore of Discovery and Bidvest‘s Brian Joffe, said if South Africa is to create jobs in the numbers SMEs need to be given a major boost in skills, capital and access to export markets, while still accelerating economic transformation and reducing inequality.
“Business is ready to invest money and skills to accelerate the development of high-potential SMEs and, together with government, will support a single vehicle which will co-invest with existing successful enterprise development funds run by the private sector.” (Media Club South Africa)
4th largest trade deficit in 6 years for South Africa
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) reported on Monday that SA’s merchandise trade balance swung from a substantial surplus of about R7.56bn in December to a deficit of R17.87bn in January – the fourth largest in at least six years, according to Bart Stemmet, an analyst at NKC African Economics.
He said substantial swings in monthly trade figures are relatively common as the timing of large shipments tend to have a marked effect.
“Moreover, the country has recorded bloated trade shortfalls in every January for the last five years and, therefore, the swing from December’s surplus to the deep January trough was widely expected,” said Stemmet.
“That said, policymakers will be particularly disappointed that the country’s export revenues dropped as sharply as they did in January, especially in a weak-rand environment where exporters are expected to flourish.”
SA’s import bill jumped by 11% month-on-month to R89.37bn in January, mainly due to increases in the machinery and electronics and original equipment components categories which accounted for R7.38bn of the monthly rise in imports.
In turn, export revenues dropped by 18.8% month-on-month to a three-year low of R71.5bn. Precious metals and stones and vehicles and transport equipment represented a combined drag of R9.76bn in January after falling by 36.6% month-on-month and 34.5% month-on-month, respectively. (Fin24)
South African coffee shop named best in world
South African enterprises continue to be celebrated globally, the latest is a Cape Town-based coffee shop, Truth Coffee, which has made it to the top of the list of best coffee shops in the world, according to the UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. The coffee shop features hand-roasted blends created onsite with a cool atmosphere.
The coffee shop is being lauded for its friendly and welcoming atmosphere and its food menu, which includes a wide selection of freshly baked confectionaries and light lunches.
Truth topped rival coffee shops in Turkey (Fazil Bey in Istanbul), Italy (Rome’s Sant Eustachio Café) and the Barista Parlor in Nashville, Tennessee, which was voted the best coffee shop in America by the Buzzfeed website.
Other contenders included coffee shops in Sweden, Singapore and Australia.
Truth enjoys a four-star rating on TripAdvisor, based on over 200 positive reviews, making it one of the top 50 eateries in the city. Situated around the corner from the District Six Museum and other well-known Cape Town attractions, the shop is popular with tourists and locals alike.
Truth also won the best coffee shop category in the 2015 Eat Out Mercedes- Benz Best Everyday Eateries for the Western Cape, and was nominated for the Boschendal Style Award in the 2015 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards. (Southafrica.info)
