Yangtze Optics Africa Cable (YOA Cable) is investing an additional R155-million in plant and machinery for the special economic zone of Dube TradePort Zone 2 in KwaZulu Natal.

Dube TradePort is a Special Economic Zone made up of a precinct designed to drive industrial development in South Africa through the promotion and attraction of domestic and foreign direct investment.

YOA Cable is a subsidiary of Yangtze Optics Africa Holdings, a joint venture between Chinese-based Yangtze Optical Fibre, Cable Joint Stock Company (YOFC) and JSE-listed Mustek.

It was announced in 2016. At that time, the company invested R150-million in establishing a manufacturing facility for optical fibre cable in Dube TradePort KZN. This further investment will begin in May 2023 and aims to be completed by April 2024.

Through the investment, YOA Cable will also open an additional 94 skilled and specialised employment opportunities for young South Africans. In addition, it will include upgrading certain key production processes to facilitate new product development and applications.

Currently, YOA Cable supplies optical fibre cable to the majority of fibre network operators (FNOs) in South Africa and neighbouring Southern African countries, directly or via key strategic distribution partners.

It has also been at the vanguard of the development of lower-end fibre products to help South Africa’s FNOs roll out fibre networks in underserved communities.

Diversity

YOA Cable also promotes diversity and describes itself as an equal-gender employer that actively recruits and develops female talent within the manufacturing field. As part of the company’s commitment to developing local talent, it introduced an active intern and learnership programme in 2017.

Over the course of the following two years, YOA Cable permanently employed 28 youths as part of the presidency’s YES programme.

Thanks to these significant investments in South Africa, YOA Cable was honoured at the fifth South Africa Investment Conference held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg last week.

The awards recognise entities that significantly contribute to South Africa’s national goals of socioeconomic development to drive sustainable job creation, reduce poverty and address inequality.

Pieter Viljoen, CEO of YOA Cable, says: “Building bridges and connecting communities is at the heart of everything we do, and we are honoured to receive this recognition. We are looking forward to future expansion and investment into Africa, to achieve an even more extensive network reach.”

About YOA Cable
Yangtze Optics Africa (YOA) Cable is a local optical fibre cable manufacturer located in the Dube Trade Port Industrial Development Zone in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Established in 2016 through the partnership of Yangtze Optical Fibre, Cable Joint Stock Limited Company (YOFC) and Mustek Limited (a JSE-listed company), YOA Cable has positioned itself as one of Africa’s leading fibre cable manufacturing facilities.