CAPE TOWN, South Africa, February 25, 2026/APO Group/ –As South Africa accelerates the expansion of its critical minerals sector – including plans to unlock an estimated R40 trillion in iron reserves – skills development has become a cornerstone of its long-term growth strategy. By targeting R2 trillion in investment over the next five years, the country recognizes that a well-trained workforce not only drives operational efficiency but also strengthens investor confidence, positioning South Africa as a globally competitive hub for critical mineral investment.

 

Skills Development and National Critical Minerals Strategy

Enhancing skills development supports South Africa’s broader agenda of increasing employment opportunities and strengthening economic resilience, while channeling mineral wealth into local industrialization. The country aims to tackle youth unemployment by creating opportunities for 1.8 million young people by 2030. As one of South Africa’s largest employers, supporting nearly 900,000 jobs, the mining sector plays a critical role in achieving this goal.

In his February 2026 State of the Nation Address, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasized the expansion of public employment programs, including the Community Work Program and Presidential Employment Stimulus, to provide skills development and employment for youth and women. “For too many people, life remains hard. Jobs are scarce and opportunity is out of reach,” stated Ramaphosa.

The expansion of these initiatives and the country’s 2030 youth employment target align closely with South Africa’s critical minerals strategy, which prioritizes human capital development as a key enabler of industrial growth and energy transition objectives.

International Research Collaboration Strengthens Long-Term Skills Ecosystem

A major boost to workforce development in critical minerals was announced in mid-February through a partnership between the European Union (EU) and South Africa’s Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The initiative includes €2 million in funding from the EU to establish a dedicated platform to strengthen skills development and research and workforce readiness across the critical minerals and battery value chain.

Part of the EU’s broader Clean Trade and Investment Partnership, under which €15.5 billion has been committed to strengthening South Africa’s critical minerals sector, the skills initiative aims to:

• Expand Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutional capacity
• Provide specialized training aligned with battery minerals, refining and recycling
• Facilitate internships and Work-Integrated Learning placements with industry partners
• Create employment pathways for graduates entering critical mineral industries

Complementing government and multilateral initiatives, private sector players are also investing in workforce development. In mid-February, mining major Anglo American announced plans to establish a Global Institute of Critical Minerals Research, bringing together universities and research institutions from South Africa, the UK and other global mining hubs.

“We want to contribute to South Africa’s agenda of empowering the next generation of miners while unlocking the country’s full mining potential,” stated Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad

With South Africa leading in terms of global production of platinum group metals, manganese and chrome – and now seeking to unlock its untapped iron ore potential – strategic skills development initiatives will strengthen the country’s position in the evolving critical minerals space.

African Mining Week 2026: Driving Collaboration and Investment

Against this backdrop, the upcoming African Mining Week conference, scheduled for October 14–16 in Cape Town, is set to play a key role in advancing dialogue on workforce readiness, investment and strategic partnerships. The event will convene policymakers, mining companies, academic institutions and global investors to assess Africa’s preparedness to meet rapidly growing global demand for critical minerals, which is projected to quadruple by 2040.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, February 24, 2026/APO Group/ –Converge Africa is proud to announce that Amazon South Africa has confirmed its role as a Diamond Partner of Converge Africa 2026, reinforcing its commitment to accelerating digital commerce adoption, marketplace growth, and seller enablement across South Africa.

 

Converge Africa has become South Africa’s leading digital commerce and retail technology conference, bringing together decision makers from eCommerce, fintech, fulfilment, digital marketing, cybersecurity, and customer experience under one roof.

At Converge Africa 2026, Amazon.co.za will deliver a series of seller masterclasses, hands-on workshops, and platform demonstrations aimed at both existing sellers and businesses exploring selling on Amazon for the first time.

These sessions will focus on helping South African entrepreneurs understand how to launch, operate, and scale successful marketplace businesses, from onboarding and compliance, to optimising product listings, leveraging fulfilment options, using advertising and analytics tools, and building operational excellence at scale.

“Our Diamond Partnership with Converge Africa reflects Amazon South Africa’s commitment to empowering small businesses through practical execution, seller capability building, and collaboration,” said Suzelle Abe, Head of Marketplace at Amazon South Africa. “By empowering local entrepreneurs to reach customers nationwide through our marketplace, we’re contributing to small business growth, innovation, and job creation across South Africa. This seller-first philosophy underpins our decision to align with Converge Africa as an industry platform that prioritises execution, and skills transfer, enabling South African businesses to deliver the high standards of service and reliability our customers expect.”

Marketplace success depends not only on access to customers, but on the availability of payments infrastructure, fulfilment and last-mile delivery, advertising technology, data insights, and customer experience capabilities, all of which form core components of Converge Africa’s agenda.

The event’s multi-track structure, spanning fintech and payments, eCommerce, fulfilment, digital marketing, security, and CX, closely aligns with Amazon’s marketplace enablement strategy and its focus on building a resilient, scalable seller ecosystem that can meet the expectations of South African consumers.

“This approach reflects Amazon’s broader commitment to supporting local businesses and fostering innovation, while ensuring customers benefit from a seamless, reliable shopping experience. By investing in seller education and operational readiness, Amazon aims to lower barriers to entry and enable sustainable growth across its marketplace,” adds Abe

Converge Africa 2026 will take place from 4–6 May 2026 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, welcoming commerce leaders, sellers, technology providers, and industry stakeholders from across South Africa and the continent.

 

• To attend, sponsor or exhibit, complete this form (https://apo-opa.co/4aNNYmC)
• View the live Programme (https://apo-opa.co/4qZbP9h)
• Visit the Converge Africa website (https://apo-opa.co/3P0iX7K)

 

Converge Africa 2026 4–6 May, CTICC, Cape Town

Frictionless digital commerce. Transacting seamlessly, without borders.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, February 24, 2026/APO Group/ —By Laila Bastati, Chief Commercial Officer at APO Group (www.APO-opa.com).

 

Most leaders think communication comes after decisions are made. In African markets, that is too late.

The moment a decision leaves the room, it starts being interpreted. Not when the statement goes out. Not when teams are aligned. Immediately. And once that interpretation sets in, it is hard to reverse.

A multinational restructured its operations across East Africa in late 2025. Rational decision. Operationally sound. They planned to announce internally first, then handle external communications once approvals were finalised.

But in markets where the CEO’s strategy session is discussed in regulatory circles before the memo goes out, there is no “once approvals are finalised”.

Employees in the regional hub heard it as validation. Employees in the office being consolidated heard it as abandonment. Local media in a third market framed it as disinvestment before the company had said a word. A regulator in a fourth market read about the restructuring in the business press before receiving official notification. The approval process that followed was slower, more cautious. Not because the decision was flawed, but because the foundation of trust had been eroded before the formal process even began.

Same decision. Four interpretations. All forming faster than the company could schedule town halls.

By the time leadership issued the official statement, they were not introducing a strategy. They were correcting narratives that had already shaped how stakeholders saw the decision. Talent retention became an unplanned cost. The partnership they were counting on in one market stalled because the initial framing stuck.

This is the pattern. Companies finalise decisions, plan the rollout, and assume silence buys time. It does not.

In high-context African environments, silence is not neutral. It is interpreted. And interpretation happens fast.

This is because information does not move the way most executives expect. A company will issue a statement in Lagos, Nairobi, and Accra and assume it lands the same way in each place. It does not.

In one market, the business conversation happens on radio. In another, it is shaped in WhatsApp groups before any official media picks it up. In a third, a press release without a prior face-to-face conversation is read as disrespect.

The company thought it was managing one narrative. It was navigating three different information ecosystems, each with its own timelines, trusted voices, and expectations.

And the cost shows up later. In talent walking out after an acquisition because the framing was wrong. In market access that does not materialise because the initial perception stuck. In partnerships that stall because trust was not managed early.

Leaders who operate well in Africa bring communication into the room while decisions are being made. Not to write statements. To ask the questions that prevent expensive mistakes.

What will this look like in a market where the previous government promised jobs? How will employees in the hub country hear this differently than employees in the market being consolidated? If we say nothing for three weeks, what story forms in that gap?

That discipline changes outcomes. Fewer decisions need explaining later because fewer are misunderstood early.

Africa makes this visible faster. Memory is long. Trust is local. Context is not optional. The gap between intent and interpretation closes quickly.

The problem is not that companies fail to communicate. It is that they measure success using the wrong scorecard.

Media coverage matters. But it does not tell you why the partnership stalled. Why talent walked. Why the regulatory process took twice as long as expected.

When things go wrong, those metrics leave you blind. You know the outcome was bad. You do not know what broke or where.

Bringing communication into the decision-making process solves a different problem. It is not about controlling the narrative after the fact. It is about designing decisions that account for how they will land before they are finalised. That prevents the fracture from happening in the first place.

In African markets, that is not a communications luxury. It is operational necessity.

Communication is not something that happens after strategy is set. It is decision insurance.

And in markets where narratives form fast and trust is built slowly, you do not buy insurance after the risk has materialised.