The South African companies on the list are Astral Foods, Grindrod , Northam Platinum, Reunert, Steinhoff, Truworths and Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon.
The 2007 class of S&P Global Challengers has representation across 37 countries and all 10 industry sectors. The country contributing the most members is Japan, followed by the United States and then the United Kingdom. Regionally, the Americas represent 22.67% of the list’s composition, followed by Asia/Pacific (41.67%), Europe (33.33%) and Middle East/Africa (2.33%). Looking at sector representation within the 2007 list, Industrials lead the charge, followed by Financials and Consumer Discretionary.
“In the Darwinian sense, mid-caps are truly positioned in an evolutionary “sweet spot,” having survived beyond their start-up phases and offering stability as well as rapid growth opportunities in the future,” says Srikant Dash, Index Strategist at Standard & Poor’s.
“Mid-cap firms can be thought of as having overcome the “growing pains” of small firms and thus a lot less risky than small-cap start-ups. The class of 2007 offers the best potential pool of companies that could become tomorrow’s leaders.”
A paper outlining the structure, methodology, and constituents of the S&P Global Challengers List can be downloaded by clicking here.
Steuart has done some 500 talks on South Africa's progress since 1994 and SA's prospects for the future' 
