Janet Wilhelm
Siphesihle Banda
Siphesihle Banda joined TIPS in October 2025 as a Finance Intern. She holds a National Diploma in accounting from the University of Johannesburg. Siphesihle is a driven and collaborative individual who looks forward to developing her skills while contributing to the organisation’s operational excellence.
Vacancy: Internship - two positions
Internship at Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies
TIPS has two internship opportunities available for recently or about to graduate Master’s students. The aim of the internship is to give young researchers the opportunity to acquire work experience, improve their research skills, and enhance their understanding of the South African economy. The internship is structured to give exposure to issues of industrial development, trade and the green economy as well as work on policy-orientated projects.
The internship is for 12 months. The intern will directly participate in projects carried out by TIPS.
TIPS also offers the opportunity to conduct individual research, in line with the priorities of the institution. Our research is on generating and analysing evidence-based options for industrial policy as the key to more inclusive economic growth. You can see more about our work at www.tips.org.za
As an intern at TIPS, you will:
• Perform economic research under the guidance of the line manager, and provide research input and data analysis.
• Participate in and present research at internal discussions and workshops/events.
• Publish research reports through the TIPS website, other publications, conferences, seminars, etc.
You will need:
• A Masters (completed or in final stages of completing) in Economics; or a Masters (completed or in final stages of completing) in Development Studies, Environmental Sciences, or a related field, and should have also completed Economics III at undergraduate level.
• A passion for industrial policy, inclusive economic development and sustainable growth.
• A study background on trade, industrial policy, the manufacturing sector and sustainable growth.
• Strong communication skills in writing, editing and presentation, with an excellent command of written and spoken English.
• Strong computer skills, with a proven ability to manipulate data in Excel and knowledge of Stata or SPSS.
• Teamwork and an ability to handle tight deadlines.
Who we are:
Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) is an independent, non-profit, economic research institution based in Pretoria. It was established in 1996 to support economic policy development, with an emphasis on industrial policy, in South Africa and the region. Its areas of focus are trade and inclusive industrial policy, and sustainable development. TIPS approach is to integrate research and analysis, policy development, disseminating information, capacity building, technical support, and programme design and management. To support these activities, TIPS researchers are expected to provide world-class quantitative and qualitative socio-economic analyses.
Application details:
Closing date for applications: 17 October 2025
To apply, please send a short CV, a cover letter highlighting your interest for the position and how you match the requirements as well as a writing sample via e-mail to jobs@tips.org.za. Note that we will only consider applications with all of these components. Correspondence will be limited to short-listed applicants only.
Industry Study: Sustainability in the Clothing and Textile Industries
TIPS industry studies aim to provide a comprehensive overview of key trends in leading industries in South Africa. They aim to provide background for policymakers and researchers and strengthen our understanding of current challenges and opportunities in each industry, thereby enabling a more strategic response. This industry study evaluates the sustainability of the clothing and textile industries, including carbon intensity across the value chain, firm-level environmental impact and initiatives, as well as the policy landscape and sustainability risks.
Industry Studies are available for the following sectors: Automotive, Capital Goods, Clothing and Textiles, Electrical Equipment,
Electronics, Food Processing, Horticulture, Plastics and Steel
CLICK FOR A LIST OF COMPLETED STUDIES AND LINKS TO THE REPORTS
TIPS Tracker US Trade Negotiations September 2025
Since the Trump administration came to power, the US has sought fundamental changes in the international tariff regime. To that end, in April it announced both a much higher base rate for all US imports and extraordinarily high and arbitrary “reciprocal” tariffs on countries with which it ran a deficit. Its trade negotiations since then have been chaotic and fast changing. To enable more consistent understanding of the results and modalities of these negotiations, this Tracker summarises all of the tariffs and agreements reached, as well as some major disagreements, in both quantitative and qualitative terms.
The AfCFTA: From negotiations to implementation - A developmental regionalism approach
How can the cotton, textiles and apparel regional value chain drive the implementations of the AfCFTA?
The key message of this paper is that the AfCFTA should be implemented in a manner that addresses the existing asymmetries between the member states and the need for all members to benefit from the agreement. The questions that the paper sets to answer are the following: how can the 55 member states consisting of 33 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), 16 Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC) and six Small Island Developing States (SIDS) integrate in a manner that is mutually beneficial, sharing the benefits of free trade while compensating smaller economies and more vulnerable sectors – in both large and small economies – from adjustments and job losses? What trade and industrial policy measures and mechanisms are required to ensure that the benefits of AfCFTA are spread to poorer and smaller economies? What investments are required to support the development of cross-border infrastructure needed to advance intra-regional trade? How can the AfCFTA advance both democratic institution building and inclusive economic development to make democracies both resilient and sustainable? How can the Cotton, Textiles and Apparel Regional Value Chain drive the Implementation of the AfCFTA?
The Real Economy Bulletin - Second Quarter 2025
Main Bulletin: The Real Economy Bulletin - Second Quarter 2025
In this edition
GDP growth: The GDP climbed 0.8% in the second quarter of 2025, mostly due to a recovery in mining, manufacturing and retail. It was the strongest quarterly GDP growth since 2022. Still, value added in mining and manufacturing was well below their pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Read more.
Employment: Employment edged up slightly in the year to the second quarter of 2025, adding 154 000 jobs (less than 1%), with gains in informal work dampened by sharp losses in domestic employment. By sector, business services, logistics, and construction drove growth, while retail and domestic work contracted. Manufacturing saw only a marginal net gain, with losses in petrochemicals, food, and clothing dampening overall growth. Mining employment continued to decline, shedding 14 000 jobs. Overall, employment now stands 3% above pre-pandemic levels, driven by strong growth in business and social services despite persistent weakness in retail and domestic work. Read more.
Infrastructure: The second quarter of 2025 saw a sharp uptick in Eskom generation, although it remains low compared to a decade ago. Freight transport has inched down over the past year, reflecting slow overall growth. There was, however, a small shift from road to rail as Transnet freight recovered modestly. Read more.
International trade: South Africa posted its ninth straight trade surplus in the second quarter of 2025, but both exports and imports fell in real terms by around 5% year on year. Mining and manufacturing exports weakened, hit by falling commodity prices and high energy costs, while agriculture bucked the trend with an 8% rise. Imports contracted across all sectors, with the sharpest drops in agriculture (–20%) and mining (–15%). Both exports and imports were still higher than before the pandemic, mostly due to historically elevated prices for minerals despite the decline in the past two years. Read more.
Investment and profitability: Investment continued the downward trend that started in the second quarter of 2023. Over this period, both public and private investment declined. Private investment shrank by 0.4%; the figure for general government was 3.2%, while investment by state-owned companies plummeted 20%. In the first half of 2025, the data showed fluctuations between public and private investment, but the downward trend continued for gross fixed capital formation as a whole. Data on profitability are only available through the first quarter of 2025, when they showed some recovery for both mining and manufacturing. Read more.
Foreign direct investment projects: The TIPS Foreign Direct Investment Tracker monitors FDI projects on a quarterly basis, using published information. Monitoring added 17 projects in the second quarter of 2025, with 10 reporting on their value, for a total of R26.9 billion. Projects were registered across mining, manufacturing, services and utilities. In addition, 13 pre-existing projects were updated. Read more.
Briefing Note 1: The small business finance gap in South Africa - by Luthandolwethu Zondi, Saul Levin and Nothembi Mahlangu. Despite their important role in sustainable economic development, small businesses often face barriers to growth and sustainability, including limited access to formal financing. They secure significantly less external funding than large corporations, creating a persistent financing gap driven by supply and demand-side factors. This briefing note provides more detail on the funding challenges, drawing on a recent TIPS publication, Small business finance landscape and a finance gap in South Africa. Read the Briefing Note online: The small business finance gap in South Africa.
Briefing Note 2: Implications of the new US tariffs for the Southern African Customs Union - by Dylan Kirsten. In April 2025, the United States announced plans to impose so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on imports from Southern African Customs Union member states, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. The tariffs were announced unilaterally, with no prior engagement, marking a sharp departure from established multilateral trade norms and effectively ending preferential arrangements under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. This briefing note draws on a TIPS, Implications of the US reciprocal tariffs for the Southern African Customs Union. Read the Briefing Note online: Implications of the new US tariffs for the Southern African Customs Union.
Briefing Note 3: TIPS tracker on US trade negotiations - by Danae Govender and Neva Makgetla. This briefing note draws from a forthcoming TIPS publication, TIPS tracker: US trade negotiations, which summarises progress on negotiations as well as the actual implementation of tariffs by the US since the announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs in April 2025. Read the Briefing Note online: TIPS tracker on US trade negotiations.
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) recently released the Income & Expenditure Survey (IES) 2022/2023, which provides detailed insights into household income, consumption, and spending across national, provincial, and metropolitan levels.
Conducting an analysis of the IES 2022/2023 is worthwhile in terms of industrial policy as the survey offers critical data directly aligned with the TIPS Income and Expenditure Survey Analysis Project. This analysis explores trends in income and asset inequality across income and expenditure classes, and by gender of household head. This includes examining income from employment, business, financial assets, and imputed rent. The goal is to understand how inequality in both income and assets shapes household economic security and influences consumption capacity. Together, these components will contribute to our understanding of how household-level trends affect industrial development opportunities and constraints in South Africa.
Development Dialogue I South Africa's Manufacturing Subsectors: Findings from TIPS Research - Series: 1
TIPS is hosting a series of three Development Dialogues to present research on key manufacturing subsectors. The series will focus on three main areas: sustainability; technological change; and the evolving international trade environment.
The first Development Dialogue in the series presents findings on the main sustainability issues for the iron and steel, automotive, and plastics industries.
Invitation
Presentations
Nokwanda Maseko (TIPS) - Welcome and opening remarks
Lesego Moshikaro-Amani (TIPS) - Insights from paper: Sustainability in South Africa's automotive industry
Seutame Maimele (TIPS) - Insights from paper: Sustainability in the iron and steel industry
Dylan Kirsten (TIPS) - Insights from paper: Sustainability in the plastic sector
Nomqhele Dube (NAACAM) - Discussant
TIPS industry studies aim to provide a comprehensive overview of key trends in leading industries in South Africa. They aim to provide background for policymakers and researchers and strengthen our understanding of current challenges and opportunities in each industry, thereby enabling a more strategic response. This industry study discusses the clothing and textile value chain, emerging technologies, and technological change and processes at each stage of the value chain. Government support for the clothing and textile industries is also discussed.
Industry Studies are available for the following sectors: Automotive, Capital Goods, Clothing and Textiles, Electrical Equipment,
Electronics, Food Processing, Horticulture, Plastics and Steel
CLICK FOR A LIST OF COMPLETED STUDIES AND LINKS TO THE REPORTS
FDI Tracker Q1 2025
Monitoring added 15 projects in the first quarter of 2025. The total investment value, from the eight projects that published values, amounted to R17.7 billion. The Tracker recorded investments in manufacturing, services, mining, electricity, and agriculture for the quarter. Employment opportunities were recorded from one project – 55 jobs from the Soufflet Malt malting facility. The Tracker also updated 13 existing projects.