Global business leaders are rushing to book tickets for this monumental first-of-its-kind commodity sector event that’s held in Cape Town on the 14th of July 2025.
An invisible industry, previously wrapped in secrecy and shielded by non-disclosure agreements has recently been exposed by a seemingly ruthless force that’s about to tear the veil off for good!
The International Commodity Summit 2025 is rapidly approaching, and for the sudden influx of global business leaders that are pouring in to the country, this presents an unparalleled opportunity.
Attendees hail from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania to bear witness to this behemoth of an event covering every commodity industry in existence. The event spans agriculture, chemicals, construction, energy, metals & minerals, manufacturing, recycling, textiles, and the supporting banking and logistics services.
Set to take place from July 14 to 17 at the CTICC in Cape Town, South Africa, the International Commodity Summit promises to be the largest commodity sourcing event in the Southern Hemisphere. Drawing over 10,000 visitors from around the world, this summit serves as a critical platform for businesses across the commodity value chain to network, collaborate, and drive innovation.
With the exclusive Exhibitors Gala Hosted by South African rugby legend Victor Matfield, the event includes 200+ high profile leaders, government heads, and influential figures. Attendees range from directors and CEOs to farmers and miners, with a strong representation of decision-makers.
What does this mean for South African businesses?
This prestigious gathering promises to be a pivotal moment for the entire commodity sector.
- Sponsors benefit from strategic brand placement, media exposure, and exclusive networking events.
- Exhibitors can showcase their products to an engaged audience, generate leads, and access new markets.
- Invite-only galas, industry awards, and thematic receptions ensure targeted connections.
- The event emphasizes rapid decision-making and trade facilitation, promoting global exports and production.
“Opportunity windows close. They last for a couple of days and then they’re gone,” says Hibarri CEO, Anje Kruger. “I always look for a gap in the market, and when I see one, I take it. Many people are sitting around and waiting for next year, next week, next month. This year, instead of waiting, we created a gap in the market, and if I tell you who has taken it so far, you’ll find ways to get your foot through the door.”
Farms, mines, energy, construction companies and everything in between will have an opportunity to sell their commodities to the rest of the world at this world changing event.
The Internaoffers unsurpassable opportunities for deal-making, brand promotion, and strategic partnerships. With a focus on innovation, collaboration, and trade.
50% of all South African farm produce is currently being exported, and a further 70% of all mining industry commodities are being sold to foreign buyers. These commodities are currently flowing through the hands of trading houses, otherwise known as “middlemen”. This significantly slows down the speed of sales, increases the price, and leaves the producer hungry despite their efforts.
The middlemen are based outside of the country with entities registered in foreign jurisdictions. Trading houses consequently absorb the majority of the profits into foreign countries, thus leaving South Africa impoverished through indirect profit absorption. This dynamic is about to change.
With the help of the International Commodity Summit, farmers will finally be able to sell their corn directly to the international buyer, and will not need the middleman at all.
- Iron ore mines can access trade deals that previously would only have been won by the major traders.
- Chemical manufacturers and fertilizer companies can finally make use of African Free Trade agreements to increase their footprint.
- Manufacturers can reach an international audience, and the world of commodities keeps turning.
“South Africa has the capacity to become a global procurement powerhouse,” says Vice President of Hibarri, Cherrylee Samson. “Hibarri is built around commodities and providing access to markets for farmers, miners and manufacturers of commodities. The event is not our gift to South Africa, it is our duty,” she continues. “Africa is a commodity giant. If you’re not taking advantage of the opportunities here, you’re losing out on the world’s richest continent, while literally sitting on top of a gold mine.”
South Africa, with its rich natural resources, and the largest economy on the African continent, stands ready to lead the world in this crucial domain. What has previously been recognized as a spread out system of unrelated industries, has been integrated and united as a result of the International Commodity Summit.
“We did not create the commodity sector,” says Hibarri CEO, Anje Kruger. “We simply integrated it. We amplified it. It has always been a matter of time. Trade is an ecosystem.”
This summit is more than just a conference; it’s a dynamic convergence of visionaries. Government officials, industry titans, and innovative thinkers will gather to explore the next stages in the commodity market.
The stage will be filled with known leaders having controversial discussions about the influence of AI in the commodity sector, government policymaking discussions and intergovernmental trade agreements, that will all be found on stage, as the whole world watches live.
From the integration of blockchain technology into supply chains to the harnessing of humanoid robots for resource exploration, the discussions will be both insightful and impactful.
For CEOs and business owners, attending the summit offers a unique chance to network, learn, collect leads, buy, sell, invest, launch their products, promote their commodities to a qualified audience, and contribute to a larger purpose.
With over 100 speakers, more than 15 ministries, 3 banks and a long list of exhibitors, this event stands positioned to be one of the largest South Africa has ever seen.
“We’re inviting smelters, foundries, power stations, fmcg, food and beverage companies, traders, wholesalers and other buyers from all over the world. Every buyer in the world will know and understand that South Africa is a competitive country, and that we ARE the country of origin,” says CEO, Anje Kruger.
What about sanctions, BRICS and other geopolitical tensions?
The purpose of the summit is to promote fair trade and exports. The ICS2025 team has pledged to provide access to markets for commodity producers of all kinds. There will be no intervention of geopolitical matters, but the stage is filled with heated discussions and promises to handle the supply chain disruptions that make trade difficult for commodity exporters globally.
The International Commodity Summit 2025 is a catalyst for change, both commercially and politically. It’s a testament to South Africa’s leadership in the commodity sector and a beacon for those who aspire to shape the future of this vital industry.
“This is definitely one of the most challenging things we’ve ever done. That being said, we’re positive about Africa, and we’ve been fortunate to receive support from so many powerful institutions that believe in Africa too.” Kruger continues.
What’s next?
The African commodity sector is being exposed as one of the most influential and prominent sectors in the world. With South Africa being one of the world’s largest commodity exporters by volume, we’re about to see a monumental shift in the country’s reputation, and the reputation of Africa as the Mother Continent, providing food and resources to the rest of the world.
As leaders from all over the globe rush to get access, we urge them to collaborate with fellow African businessmen and women, and find ways to access the abundant resources present on African soil.
The emergence of South Africa’s commodity sector has slowly and surely been growing for the past two decades. Today, this sector is rapidly expanding with a sudden upward trajectory, as the International Commodity Summit continues to give impetus to the movement, and has already secured attendance from more than 25 countries and continues to grow to a size that surpasses any event we’ve seen before.
International Commodity Summit 2025: a gateway to global trade opportunities
To secure a spot for the International Commodity Summit, visit https://internationalcommoditysummit.com and join the community on the Linkedin page.
For sponsorships, exhibitor options and government participation opportunities, contact marketing@hibarri.com.
Judge replied to text on GBV with picture of half-naked woman, hearing told:
Eastern Cape judge president Selbe Mbenenge replied to a request from the colleague who has accused him of sexual harassment for help with a study assignment on gender-based violence by sending her a picture of a half-naked woman.
The exchange is recorded in evidence traversed on Friday by the judicial conduct tribunal hearing testimony from Andiswa Mengo, a judge’s secretary in the division who testified this week that Mbenenge hounded her for sex over a period of several months in 2021.
Mengo responded to the picture of a muscular woman dressed in only a T-shirt by sending the judge president an emoji of a teary-eyed face.
She started weeping when evidence leader Salome Scheepers asked her how the photograph Mbenenge sent made her feel.
“I felt naked and my emotions were torn,” she replied when questioning resumed after an adjournment.
In the same conversation with Mbenenge on July 7, she later sent a sticker showing a man hanging himself with toilet paper.
“I wanted to tell him that these messages that he has sent are putting me under a lot of stress,” she explained.
On the morning of July 8, the judge sent her something he had written on gender-based violence, which he told Mengo he deplored, as she had requested.
Mengo has repeatedly told the tribunal that she felt and humiliated by the nature of Mbenenge’s WhatsApp messages and the fact that, regardless of how she responded, he invariably turned the conversation to sex.
The tribunal has heard throughout this week that her handling of the situation veered between firmly rejecting his advances and reciprocating with sexually-charged innuendo and, on occasion, flattery.
The same pattern was evident in the transcripts of text conversations from which Scheepers led evidence on Friday.
On 18 July, Mbenenge sent a flurry of messages that were subsequently deleted. This too was a pattern in their conversations and Mengo has testified that these were frequently pornographic images. She told the tribunal that, on 17 June, Mbenenge sent her a picture of his penis before asking for a sexual favour.
Mbenenge has categorically denied sending such a photograph and a number of explicit pictures the previous day which were followed by text messages in which, Mengo told the tribunal, he was enquiring about her favourite sexual position.
The texts from the judge president to Mengo a month later on the 18th, read as unambiguously sexual.
At the start of this conversation, there was a deleted image, which the complainant said was once again a cluster of pictures showing a couple engaged in sex. She responded with a raft of emojis depicting a woman running away.
Mbenenge went on to type “half insertion”.
To this, Mengo replied with the words “foreplay kindles”. The judge replied: “I mean eventually.”
The exchange continued in this vein with Mbenenge asking “slowly?” to which Mengo replied “please”. There was another deleted message which Mengo said contained the crude reference “Long Tom”, which she interpreted as a reference to the size of his penis. Her reply to this text, according to the transcript, was “Ofcoz”.
Scheepers asked why she responded in this manner.
“Did you want foreplay?”
Mengo shook her head and said not.
“I did not, me, myself, want to have foreplay with him.”
Scheepers asked: “Then why did you send this to him?”
Mengo replied: “I sent this to him because I did not know what to say and he is someone who just does not listen when I say ‘no’.”
The 37-year-old single mother has stressed throughout her testimony that she was keenly aware that Mbenenge held a powerful position and that she feared she could lose her job.
She has also noted that she was mindful of his age — 60 — and the fact that he is a father and a respected church figure. At several turns, with reference to his age, she said that she believed he should have been able to read between the lines in their exchanges and sense her reluctance and anger.
On Friday, she told the tribunal that she felt “like his victim, when he texted once in July to ask whether she was alone, because she was, although she replied in the negative.
What is striking about their text conversations, is not only the content, but the sheer frequency with which the judge president contacted at all hours, including on weekends and public holidays.
Mbenenge has told a judicial conduct committee of the Judicial Services Commission that their interaction was “flirtatious” but consensual.
His legal counsel, advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, is expected to argue this line when his client takes the witness stand at the tribunal.
In December, the chairman of the tribunal, retired Gauteng judge president Bernard Ngoepe, ruled that evidence that was not denied by Mbenenge would be heard publicly, but evidence on messages he denied sending would be heard in camera.
However, this changed earlier this week when Mbenenge dropped his objection to all evidence being open to the public, leading legal observers to speculate that Sikhakhane would portray the complaint as a manhunt on a senior member of the judiciary.
Mbenenge is the first judge in South Africa to face impeachment for sexual misconduct. Ngoepe has said the evidence being heard has the potential to do grave harm to the judiciary.
The hearing is scheduled to continue until 24 January.
The political transfer window is open, and Mashaba goes the full Motsepe:
Thursday.
The January transfer window is wide open.
From a footballing perspective, another crop of promising young players appears to be destined to spend the next part of their careers at best warming Mamelodi Sundowns FC substitutes bench.
It’s something of a biannual ritual in South African football.
Every window the club scoops up the best young talent the rest of the league has to offer, just as it is starting to flourish, to reinforce Sundowns’ already ridiculously star-studded squad — and ensure they don’t play against the club.
Extended benchwarming, unhappiness and departure follow, a twice-yearly chain of events and outcome as cynical, inevitable and at the same time unnecessary as the transfer ritual itself.
Politically speaking, the window is also wide open, although the quality of the talent on offer may be far different from that being poached by the club with the deepest pockets in South African football.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has gone full Motsepe in the January window, signing up the entire Forum?4?Service?Delivery (F4SD) to try to improve his party’s chances going into next year’s election.
Mashaba only contested a handful of municipalities in 2021 and hasn’t managed to establish the kind of presence he had hoped for in the intervening years.
ActionSA didn’t exactly shoot the lights out in last year’s national and provincial elections either — it got six seats nationally — so Mashaba has reached out to the F4SD going into next year’s local government election.
Local government is the F4SD’s thing: it was formed in 2015 to tackle service delivery failures and it has been doing so at council level ever since.
The latest signing will — on paper anyhow — give ActionSA an instant presence in five provinces, where the F4SD already has 38 councillors, along with 48??000 signed-up members across a variety of municipalities where the party has no presence.
In return, F4SD founder Mbahare Kekana has been appointed as deputy president of ActionSA, a position which the party’s senate — read Mashaba — has created by amending its interim constitution.
Sundowns may not have much of a fan base, but bulk-buying players has won the team plenty of titles, and Mashaba will be hoping that the same strategy works for him in the political arena.
Mashaba’s party isn’t the only one on the market for new signings.
The ANC in the Free State is understood to be tapping up former Economic Freedom Fighters MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi —politically speaking — despite him remaining a member of the Red Berets.
The governing party appears keen to make a high-profile signing of its own during the current transfer window, something it hasn’t done in recent years, perhaps even since floor crossing was abolished in 2009.
It has the space.
Most of the ANC’s KwaZulu-Natal members — and voters — left on a free transfer to join Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party last year, so its squad could do with some fresh talent.
Zuma has been on a spending spree himself, despite having problems with the constabulary and no visible source of income — a political Royal AM — and doesn’t seem to be planning to slow down.
Zuma’s party is understood to have set its eyes on former Durban deputy mayor Philani Mavundla and his Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) party as its latest acquisition.
Zuma apparently wants Mavundla, one of his long-standing allies, along with his party infrastructure, which comes with council seats and political infrastructure at council level.
Mavundla wants the mayorship of eThekwini next year in return for his support in the local government election, but is aware that if he collapses his party now, there is no guarantee that he will be the one who gets the mayoral chain if uBaba’s party takes a majority in Durban.
The old man does have form when it comes to dumping those who help him once they have outlived their usefulness, so Mavundla’s reticence is understandable.
Mavundla will also be watching closely the less-than-warm welcome received by leaders of other parties who have been parachuted into key roles in the MK party.
All appointments carry the MK presidential seal, but the pushback against KwaZulu-Natal convener Willies Mchunu and Busisiwe Mkhwebane, his Mpumalanga counterpart, is real — and growing.
A year is a long time in politics — even more so in the MK party — so Mavundla is currently emphatic that the ABC is not the party secretary general Floyd Shivambu promised in December would be next to join Zuma’s black unity project.
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