Christo Botes, a director at Business Partners, says the first two months of a new year are especially challenging for small businesses. “It may not always be possible to avoid the realities of a business cycle, but it is possible to plan and manage the effects of this difficult period.”

The sudden boom in the coal mining industry is driving infrastructure development in the country, with the transport and energy and power infrastructure sectors set to experience the greatest growth over the next decade.

According to Gugu Mjadu, executive manager of Business Partners Limited, marketing tends to be one of the first spending areas to be cut when times are tough. “Marketing is not only one of the most vital functions of a business but, counterintuitively, the slower the economy, the more your investment in your marketing efforts needs to be.”

"Production and Investment Forecasts for the Uranium Mining Industry in Southern Africa" notes that there are 13 uranium development projects in the southern African region covering Namibia, South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique – collectively worth $8.65 billion.

juwi Shizen Group, a new joint venture between Shizen Energy Inc. and the German juwi group, offers project development, EPC services, operation and maintenance, and project financing in the field of solar and wind energy.