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Last week Uchumi, this week Nakumatt, who are speaking to a few unnamed investors about raising $50million for expansion into Burundi, currently undergoing economic reform and South Sudan, darling of East Africa since it got going in 2011. Nakumatt currently has 40 stores across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.

Durban boykie Brett Latimer, who made a packet selling Cambridge to Massmart in the year 10 then rather cannily holding the right to still do his procurement through their Shield buying group, is looking to make a similar pile with Oxford, which will appeal to the high-street rather than the transport-hub shopper. And who knows, in a couple of years’ time Uncle Massmart may well come knocking again. They are, after all, still 8 chaps short of a boat race.

The People’s Jack Russell, Trade and Industry guy Rob Davies, has done an about face on the Wakro deal, saying that the supplier investment fund which was part of it has indeed started to produce jobs and that foreign investment is not in and of itself a bad thing. His only regret is that South African companies are not capitalising more abroad. But that sounds dangerously like capitalism to us.

And if you were entertaining thoughts of setting up shop in Botswana, move fast – the psychotically-named retailer Choppies just turned in a very impressive set of interims indeed, with revenue up 24% and gross profit up 20% for the six months to December. Choppies is apparently making inroads into the traditional wholesale market, and also attributes its pleasing growth to new store openings both in Botswana and a little place called South Africa.

In the Sandtontesque suburb of Westlands, Nairobi, Naivas are opening a new super to appeal to the better-heeled, who after a languorous afternoon on the verandah will be able to slope over there and pick up some smoked Scottish salmon and another couple of bottles of tonic to be on the safe side. They now have 18 stores nationwide, but this one will distinguish itself by staying open 24/7.

Just so’s you know, the Stellenbosch University study into incorrectly-labelled meat has named the retailers whose products were found wanting, if that’s the word. They include Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Fruit & Veg City, Woolworths and SPAR. Reasons given have ranged that the amounts are trace, that they probably come from very slightly contaminated equipment, and that labelling needs to be tightened up anyway, across the industry. So far, however, no one has explained the kangaroo.

Adcock Ingram is taking heart from the good fortune, believe it or not, of Aspen, which has had a ban on two of its drugs – Di-Gesic and Doloxene – lifted by the Aussie Appeals Tribunal, on the grounds that anything that helps with the daily pain of being Australian is a good thing. Adcock, you see, are appealing the decision by the MCC locally to lift the ban on Synap Forte, Lentogesic and Doxyfene. Now armed with the evidence from the Aussie appeal, they feel their chances significantly boosted, which is nice, because these big three are worth R200bar a year to the bidniz.

The Big Feller is looking to increase beer volumes in Africa by slashing prices, offsetting that with cheaper packaging, brewing from more traditional local grains and getting governments to cut them some slack vis-à-vis taxes. They will be spending some $400m – $500m a year outside SA to achieve this, opening breweries at the rate of a couple a year for the next three in geographies (ahem) like Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique and Zambia. But good luck with Mr Gordhan and those taxes, boss.

According to our old friend Colin Coleman of Goldman Sachs, there are three forces underpinning growth in Africa over the next how many years, and these are: China, whose government has apparently decided that our destines are intertwined; private equity, as those gallant swashbucklers notice our shy yet buxom beauty for the first time, and – get this – South African businesses, who are the manne with the planne for the continent right now. Let the good times roll.