Social – South Africa’s emerging “Black Diamonds”
In South Africa the emerging young, black middle class, sometimes referred to as Black Diamonds, have grown at an accelerating rate and have proven to have a strong influence on the rest of the country. The term was coined by TNS Research Surveys and the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing. SAinfo Reporter. (2013). It is worth noting that the South African black diamonds are a lot younger than the white middle class. UCT Unilever Institute. (2007).
In just 8 short years (2004 – 2012) the number of black people that were part of the middle class grew from 1.6 million to 4.2 million – a 240% growth in the middle class segment according to new research by the UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing. UCT Unilever Institute. (2013).
The annual spend of the South Africa’s black middle class has since risen to over R400-billion per annum compared to their white middle class counterparts whose spending power is estimated at R380 billion. Disposable household income has increased by 35% for the black middle class, since 2004, and will continue to grow in years to come. UCT Unilever Institute. (2007).
Reports show that “12% of South Africa's black population account for over half (54%) of all black buying power". SAinfo Reporter. (2007).
Company example: BMW
One company that seems to have gained popularity among Black Diamonds is German automobile manufacturer, BMW. When black diamonds started emerging, owning a BMW was almost a right of passage for them. McLaughlin, A. (2005). For many people in the black middle class, cars are a symbol of status and wealth. SAinfo reporter. (2013).
BMW SA reported to CNN that with the recent Eurozone crisis occurrence, BMW wou...
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Specifically, she found that members of the Black middle class still face income and wealth disadvantages, housing segregation, limited job opportunities, racial discrimination, family disruption, and crime victimization, among other social problems, at a higher rate than their White middle-class counterparts. As a result, Pattillo (2013) concluded that Black middle-class neighborhoods often “sit as a kind of buffer between core black poverty areas and whites” (p. 4). Otherwise put, the Black middle class are situated in a position between middle-class Whites and underclass Blacks, where they are not at parity with the former, and are only slightly better than the
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The history and popularity of diamonds in Africa all began in 1866 when the first diamond was found along the banks of the Orange River. In the next fifteen years, Africa became the leading supplier of diamonds in the world, exporting more than nations such as India and Brazil. The discovery of these highly valued and highly demanded diamonds brought an immense amount of trade into Africa, a continent known for its poverty. One diamond company in particular, De Beers, instantly became interested in African diamond mines. By 1888, the company controlled the entire market, connecting African diamonds to wealthy humans all over the world. In 1929, De Beers began marketing diamonds to the middle class as well and associated the diamond with engagement and marriage, increasing the demand of the diamond worldwide. Though the company felt they had a hold on the market, they were wrong. Soon Lebanese traders discovered the enormous profit they could make by smuggling diamonds out of the country. As a result illicit mining and trading increased throughout countries in Africa and especially in Sierra Leone. To make matters worse, the government seemed to overlook the problem, if not sometimes encourage it. One Sierra Leone leader, Siaka Stevens, encouraged illicit trading to gain more control over the diamond mines. Succeeding leaders did the same, and with a corrupt government, the country of Sierra Leone was very vulnerable for a rebellion. Instead of bringing the continent of Africa out of its years of poverty stricken hardship, the discovery of diamonds in Africa only brought more of a curse as it fueled civil war, created political instability between governments, and caused unimaginable human suffering for African citizens.
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Up until the 19th century, diamonds were considered to be one of the most prized possessions that could be found, hence they were reserved only for those who are the heads of royal families. However, this all changed when English-born businessman Cecil John Rhodes bought up diamond fields in South Africa as well as claims to the diamonds and began the company ‘De Beers’, named after two brothers who had found deposits of the commodity on their land, which made it possible for the general public to own a piece of this precious stone – at a high price.
What is generally misunderstood about Africa is the wealth available in its boundaries, and the misconception of the middle-class in the U.S. and other countries of a similar economic bent. Though nine out of the ten poorest countries are in Africa and all but three of the top twenty, there is a nearly zero homeless rate, and everybody seems to be doing just fine. However it used to be similar in every single so...
populous city in Nigeria. In this essay I am going to critically examines push and
Diamonds have been identified as being precious but expensive gems for many decades. Diamonds were extremely rare, only found in India and Brazil until the late nineteenth century (Vogelsang, 2005: 5). After the discovery of diamonds in South Africa, the diamond industry began to flourish. Diamonds then became very abundant and cheap to produce. In order for the value of diamonds to remain as high as they were during the phase in which they were still rare, a diamond cartel was introduced. A cartel is defined as a group of firms that gets together to make output and price decisions (Cartel Theory of Oligopoly, n.d.). Hence, the diamond cartel aimed to maintain high prices to maximise the profits of the suppliers by restricting the supply. This essay will analyse the history of the diamond cartel, including diagrams that illustrate what the price of diamonds would be with or without the use of a cartel. The notion that diamonds are the only suitable stone that can be used in engagement rings will also be commented on. Furthermore, specific attention will be placed on the role of the diamond cartel in determining the price of diamonds.
The business environment in Lagos, Nigeria and Africa generally, is evolving and changing at a great rate. Lagos is Nigeria’s commercial and industrial nerve centre and a focal point for key economic growth for Nigeria as a whole (BECANS Business Environment Report 2007). Over Fifty percent of Nigeria’s Industrial capacity is located in Lagos, with a variety of manufactured goods being produced in the city (Lagos State Government 2012).
South Africa had always have youth leaders with similar ideology in transforming the country into a non-racial and multicultural community. In addition to that, people like Nelson Mandela “African National Congress” (ANC), Steve Biko “Black Consciousness Movement, play important role on transf...
In Africa, one important feature of the urbanization process is that a lot of the growth is taking place in the industrial increase. Urbanization also finds expression in external expansion of the built-up area and the changing of prime agricultural lands into residential and industrial uses (Saundry, 2008). An alternate to the present expansion of the urban population across a wide area of the country in order to save crucial land for agriculture is to construct high-rise buildings and support commercial development in specific zones, which would depend on efficiency, and the right technology and resources (Hanson, 2011). In Africa, the urbanization processes are largely driven by market forces and government policies. This will lead to methods at the same time of change in incomes, land use, health and natural resources management including water, soil and forests and often reactive changes in local governments (The Economist, 2010). So this is saying that government development policies and budget divisions, in which urban residents are often favorites over rural areas and will tend to pull more people into the urban areas. I...
Diamond mining in Africa has turned many parts of the country into a war zone, especially Sierra Leone and. Many people were left wounded and without homes, people were captured by the rebel groups and turned into slaves. Forced to mine diamonds against their will. The Civil War had been going on for ten years, for many children mining became a way of life and many of them were turned into child soldiers.
There are many famous precious materials that the everyday person knows of. Gold, silver and in more recent times platinum are all known for their scarcity and desirability. However it is a crystalline form of carbon, not a precious metal, which carries more prestige than all three of them together. The diamond. Ever since the Kimberly diamond rush began in 1866, diamonds have played a very distinct role in our society. We are taught from an early age on that diamonds are extremely valuable due to their unrivalled beauty and apparent rarity.
Due to the apartheid, today black South Africans are angered towards white people. Crime and violence is now extremely popular in ...
... African government, but there are still discreet forms of inequality out there. Ishaan Tharoor states “ Protesters at the University of Cape Town, one of Africa 's most prestigious universities, dropped a bucket of human excrement on a statue of Cecil Rhodes, the swaggering 19th-century British business magnate” (2015). This article that is most recent shows how black students still feel unwelcomed at the university, because of the racial identity. The statue represents when the British colonized South Africa, which further lead to the apartheid. By black students standing up for themselves reveals they are tired of seeing this statue of a man who is some-what responsible for encouraging apartheid. However, the racial barriers black students face in South Africa will continue to influence a change for equal educational opportunities, and maybe some day they will.