Unsung Heroes

Not enough recognition is given to the people who manage knowledge centres in corporate organisations, partnerships, educational institutions, government departments, and agencies.

When I started my career in the information sector, they were called librarians; now they are called knowledge managers, and rightfully so.

Knowledge managers need to assess a myriad of information services offered by the industry, filter those needed by their users, and, critically, distinguish between suppliers of high-quality information and those whose quality does not meet their standards. High-quality information is essential for business decisions and processes; poor-quality information can be dangerous. Knowledge managers are guardians of quality, keeping us information providers on our toes.

Bravo to all of you!

The article below was originally published in Business Day and may be of interest to our users.

European Union FDI in South Africa

Who Owns Whom (WOW) conducted an exercise for the European Union (EU) to map EU countries’ investments in South Africa, first in 2020 and again in 2025.

The graphs below are drawn from the WOWEB ownership database of 212,000 companies. They show foreign direct investment (FDI) of 10% or more.

The EU remains the largest investor by a substantial margin, followed by the USA and the UK. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) did not feature in the 2020 research but recorded 63 investments in 2025. These include DP World’s R12.7bn acquisition of Imperial Logistics and Qatar Airways’ 25% minority stake in the local private airline Airlink. UAE-based Network International LLC also acquired the DPO Group, now known as DPO Pay by Network, which operates e-commerce platforms across 19 African countries.

China, including Hong Kong, expanded its investment footprint in South Africa from 187 to 217 entities. These investments include prominent companies such as Wesizwe Platinum, Shanduka Group, Standard Bank, AfriSam, and Safika Holdings (the latter two via Standard Bank), as well as Village Main, Buffelsfontein Gold, and Simmer and Jack Investments (the latter two via Village Main). The Chinese holding company is Heaven-Sent SA Sunshine Investment Co.

The graphs below show the percentage (%) increase in the number of holdings across EU countries from 2020 to 2025.

Italy recorded the largest increase in FDI share, rising from 3.6% to 9.4%. This was driven in part by Italy’s Guala Closures’ 2024 acquisition of the Southern African operations of Greece-based Astir Vitogiannis’ Coleus Packaging, a global manufacturer of bottle caps. Ireland increased its share of investments from 2.8% to 3.1%, with a significant transaction being the takeover of African Oxygen by Linde Plc.

Although Norway is not an EU member, it remains closely aligned through the European Economic Area Agreement. The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) has recently invested in South Africa, targeting the renewable energy and food sectors, and has acquired stakes in Nafasi Water Technologies (formerly Aveng Water), Anthem Group Holdings, Mulilo Energy, the Phatisa Group, and Langeberg Foods.

At the 3rd EU-African Union (AU) Ministerial Meeting in May 2025, the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Sikela, said that the EU Global Gateway investment strategy has raised R5.7bn since 2021 to fund investment in Africa across digital infrastructure, clean energy, transport, and pharmaceuticals.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has consistently emphasised the importance of the EU’s relationship with South Africa. In her address at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, she reaffirmed this partnership, stating: “South Africa can always count on Europe, just as we know Europe can count on South Africa.”