Looking for investment opportunities can often be a difficult and annoying task, and this is even more difficult when trying to identify opportunities that others have not spotted. Untapped markets can lead to a lot of upside if invested in at the right time, but they also carry a lot of risk, so proper research and investigation needs to take place to reduce the likelihood of a failed investment as much as possible. Some of the best stock brokers in South Africa will have memorable tales of how such investments have panned out, either in a good or a bad way, but there is no denying that these can be some of the most exciting markets to invest in. Here, we will try to find some of the best and most high-potential markets for people in South Africa to consider investing in.
Real Estate
Being a young and rapidly growing country, there is a lot of demand for land, be it for houses, offices or other facilities, which makes the real estate sector one of the most lucrative ones in the South African economy. You can begin dealing in low cost units and houses with just a little capital, while larger plots and housing estates are available if you have a larger capital base.
Textiles and clothing
There is a lot of increasing demand for South African-made clothing in the country, which makes the clothing and textiles sector another interesting one to consider. At the same time, clothing and textiles are always in demand all over the world, and if you are able to set a good standard in terms of quality, you can begin exporting to neighbouring countries as well in Africa.
Agriculture
South Africa has wide expanses of land that can still be converted into agricultural use, and there is always demand for agricultural products. With an adequate workforce available, new investors can easily start businesses in this sector, whether at a small scale or a large scale, depending on their capital availability. You could grow specific crops on a small plot of land, rear animals and poultry, or combine the two on a larger plot if you have the funds available to do so.
E-commerce
There is a growing trend of e-commerce in the country, with more people becoming comfortable with buying products online. Thus, e-commerce is beginning to become more popular in South Africa, and this is therefore the right time to invest in the sector. Online retail can offer huge profit margins, and even those with low budgets can start with just one product category and expand as their business grows.
Foreign cuisine
There are a number of expatriates living in South Africa, while the country also attracts many tourists from all over the world, making foreign cuisine an interesting sector to invest in, since most local restaurants will not have too many foreign dining options. Thus, offering quality foreign cuisines like Chinese, Italian, Indian and so on can be a very lucrative business option, since the demand is definitely there.
By: Samantha Acuna
Samantha Acuna is a writer based in San Francisco, CA. Her work has been featured in The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, and Yahoo Small Business.
