Gauteng is a Sotho word meaning “Place of Gold”. Gauteng is the smallest province, but is the commercial and industrial powerhouse of southern Africa. Gauteng includes Johannesburg, Pretoria (Tshwane Metropole) and Soweto, and its primary attraction is big business. It is seen as the cultural heartland, where a multicultural mix of people converge for Global trade.

Gauteng has a legacy of larger-than-life heroes and villains, ancient civilisations, as well as turbulent political history. Johannesburg - also called Joburg - dates back to 1886 when the main Witwatersrand gold-bearing reef was discovered. Almost immediately, the Transvaal (as it was known then) was swamped by diggers from near and far. In 1900, Johannesburg fell to the British during the Anglo-Boer War. Around this time, the black townships were established - such as Sophiatown and Alexandra. The thirties gave birth to the township of Orlando - in the southwest of Johannesburg. This is the area around which Soweto evolved. Much of the history of the province was defined by apartheid and forced removals.

Gauteng is the most densely populated province in South Africa. It houses more than seven million of the country's people. Being the transport hub of the continent, the mix of people here is quite staggering, as is the level of integration amongst races.