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Cape Town – The World Economic Forum (WEF) announced its selection of Global Growth Companies (GGCs) regional finalists for Africa on Wednesday.
GGCs are fast-growing companies with the potential to become global economic leaders. The nominees exceed industry standards in revenue growth, promotion of innovative business practices and the demonstration of leadership in corporate citizenship.
The four African finalists are Ethiopian Airlines, retail and hotel group Meikles (one of the largest conglomerates in Zimbabwe), PPC (the leading supplier of cement and related products in southern Africa) and Waltersmith Petroman Oil (an indigenous fast-growing petroleum producing company in Nigeria).
The huge potential of Africa's aviation market was in the spotlight at the inaugural Aviation Africa summit in Dubai. The organisers said at the time that aviation in Africa supports more than 6.9 million jobs and over $800bn in gross domestic product (GDP) across African nations.
At the 44th annual general meeting of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa last year, it was said that the opportunities in Africa's aviation industry lie in forming partnerships.
According to the International Air Transport Association, aviation in Africa has the potential to add a further 155 000 jobs and $1.3bn in GDP annually through the effective opening of just 12 key markets.
Action against cement dumping
South African authorities recently imposed duties of between 14.3% and 77.2% on cement originating from Pakistan to curb dumping.
The levies follow an investigation by South Africa's International Trade Administration Commission and will run until November 13, after which the body will submit recommendations to impose permanent duties, PPC said in a statement.
The imported product had hurt the region's cement industry and led to job losses, under-utilisation of production capacity in South Africa and reduced returns, the cement-maker said.
One million tonnes of Pakistani cement was imported into the Southern African Customs Union in 2014, PPC said.
The finalists have been given the opportunity to join the larger GGC community at the World Economic Forum on Africa, taking place in Cape Town this week.
This is the first stop on their journey towards the annual meeting of the New Champions in September, in the People’s Republic of China.
“The World Economic Forum is proud to recognise these four companies, which are at the forefront of driving responsible economic growth, job creation and entrepreneurship in Africa,” said David Aikman, managing director and head of New Champions at the WEF.
