Retail

For decades Egypt has been a significant energy exporter and one of the MENA region’s largest centres for manufacturing, with the latter having traditionally benefitted significantly from the former. Sizeable reserves of natural gas and crude have allowed the country to provide energy at low prices to large industrial consumers, such as steel and cement producers. However,...

Heavy industry has been one of Egypt’s traditional stalwart sectors, with a lineage dating back decades and several large capacity facilities, and nowhere is this more evident than in steel. Egypt produced 6.8m tonnes of steel in 2013, up from 6.6m tonnes in 2012 and 6.5m tonnes in 2011, and nudging it up to the word’s 23rd biggest steel producer, from 24th and overtaking the...

The most populous country in the MENA region has not only its second-biggest economy, but also one of its most diversified. The manufacturing industry is a central part of Egypt’s economic engine, producing goods for the huge domestic market and for export across the world. The sector was affected by the difficult post-revolution years, which slowed domestic market demand...

Home to one of the continent’s most sophisticated retail markets, South Africa boasts a wide variety of retail formats and distribution channels to match the diversity of the country itself. The retail sector has played an important role in helping South Africa rebound from the 2008-09 financial crisis relatively unscathed, as social grants, increases in public sector...

Accounting for 7% of GDP, 30% of national manufacturing output and 11.1% of all manufacturing exports, South Africa’s automotive sector is often referenced as a case study for dynamic industrial policy. With leading global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) including Toyota, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Ford, Nissan and General Motors all operate sizeable production...