city guide

South Africa’s largest city promises if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find treasure.

Johannesburg, founded just over a century ago atop the greatest known gold reserves on Earth, is a young city. This youthfulness defines South Africa’s business and financial capital. “But for all its instability and contrariety, youth has great attractiveness and great power,” said J.H. Hofmeyr, one of the early architects of the republic. “Youth, like charity, does not always seek its own—and that is what accounts for the essential bigness of heart of Johannesburg, for its power of gripping a big idea, for its relentless energy in giving effect to it, for the fine flavor of its consuming enthusiasms.”

Like most kids, Johannesburg has many nicknames. The most common are Joburg, Jozi or Egoli—the latter translates as “place of gold.” And like all adolescents, the city offers pleasant surprises when you explore beyond its facade. Remove the rakishness, and you will see a place that transformed fairly drab grassland into the largest manmade forest in the world. Tear away its insubordinate nature, and you will find the character that fomented and sustained the revolution that rid South Africa of apartheid. The greatest eye-opener, however, is the sophistication that lies just below the city’s juvenile surface.


DOING BUSINESS IN JOHANNESBURG

“Johannesburg is a mystery for most Americans visiting for the first time,” says Richard Zurba, an American who has lived here for 15 years and is the local director of the Council of Great Lake Governors (cglgsa.org), which brings U.S. trade missions to South Africa. “They know of Nelson Mandela and the great natural attractions of Africa, but they are seldom prepared to discover an ultramodern city. [When you expect] something between El Dorado and a mining camp, it’s a revelation to find infrastructure of First World standards, a business environment and financial sector similar to those in developed countries, and a stock exchange that ranks among the best.”

South Africa is a vast country of 45 million people. Famed for its national parks and scenic beauty (southafrica.net), it is a land of diverse cultures, with nine provinces and 12 official languages; English is the lingua franca. It is a constitutional democracy with a stable government, macroeconomic environment and currency. As such, it is regarded as the gateway to Africa. Because of its pro-business policies based largely on the British liberal model, South Africa is also considered the key to the Indian Ocean Rim economies.

”South Africa, of all the countries of English influence, is the one where Americans feel most at home,” says Zurba. “There’s little red tape—much less than the U.S.—and documentation is usually more easily understood. Sometimes the procedures can appear a little chaotic to an American in terms of business issues, but this is more related to bureaucracy than anything else. Most importantly, outside investment is welcomed, and there’s no distinction made between local and foreign companies.”

Nearly 70 percent of South African business is conducted out of Johannesburg. It is one of the few major cities located on neither an ocean nor major river. The city does have an extensive inland freight container terminal at City Deep, which resembles a port. Then there are the modern office blocks, parks, Hilton and Sheraton hotels, malls, well-laid-out suburbs and championship golf courses. In short, it’s a home away from home.

Even so, there are potholes for Americans who want to do business in South Africa. The biggest challenges come from Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment and affirmative action to remedy the racial imbalances created by the country’s history of apartheid. “Most American companies, because of the tax and legal implications of these policies, either sign up a local distributor or come in through auditors and lawyers,” says Luanne Grant, executive director of the Johannesburg-based American Chamber of Commerce (amcham.co.za).

There are subtle considerations as well. “South Africans, like Americans, are very laid-back,” explains Zurba. “But there are cultural differences [that] Americans should be aware of. Much of business here is based on trust built over decades, because of the country’s remoteness from its traditional markets. This means [local businesspeople will] often stick with who they know, rather than switch to products and services that on the face of it offer better value. Because of this, it’s very difficult to dislodge a competitor. My suggestion is to approach smaller companies looking for a competitive advantage.”


THE RIGHT APPROACH

South Africa is a proud nation, so any hint of a hard sell or being railroaded into an agreement will be met with resistance. Decisions are made more slowly than in the U.S., but once their minds are made up, South Africans often want to move more quickly than their American counterparts.

However, the country’s business climate also offers great opportunities. South Africans, because of the smallness of their local market, tend to be entrepreneurial and global thinkers.

They often believe they can punch way above their weight—and often do. If you can show them how to do this better, the doors will open. South Africans also tend to be brand-conscious, especially when it comes to American icons.

American businesspeople are often dismayed at the coldness with which they are received when traveling,” adds Dean Kline, a director of Corporate University Xchange (corpu.com), which guides U.S. companies entering emerging markets. ‘It’s the exact opposite when arriving in Johannesburg. Because trust is so important, [locals] want to get to know you personally. They’ll take you into their homes, entertain your family and arrange tours of the city. Their hospitality is unmatched. Make the right impression, and you’ll have a contact and friend for life.”


ENJOYING JOHANNESBURG

Vibrant is the word most associated with Johannesburg. The city has top-rated theatres, trendy boutiques, arts and crafts markets, and live-music venues. Few cultures go unrepresented here, so eating out is a cosmopolitan treat. Try Moyo (moyo.co.za) at Zoo Lake, which offers authentic African food in a verdant setting.

Johannesburgers take great pride in their city, so it is a good idea to get acquainted with its history. Start with a trip to Gold Reef City (goldreefcity.co.za), a living museum that will take you back to the wild days when gold was first discovered here. But there was a dark side to this glitter, because apartheid was largely motivated by the need for cheap labor for the mining industry. To gain insight into the industry’s turbulent past, book a half- or full-day Struggle Tour (face2face.co.za or jmttours.co.za). It will take you to Constitution Hill, where many of the liberation heroes were imprisoned; the Apartheid Museum (apartheidmuseum.co.za); and Soweto (soweto.co.za).

One of the city’s most extraordinary sights is the Cradle of Humankind (cradleofhumankind.co.za), located on the city outskirts. This is where humans first emerged, and the caves in the vicinity have produced nearly half of the world’s hominid fossils. Here, the Maropeng Visitors’ Centre will take you on a journey in the footsteps of your earliest forebears.

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JABU NGWENYA is a freelance writer in Johannesburg.