If you’ve ever traveled in Southern Africa, I’m sure you’ve spotted a Shoprite store. Whether it be the bright red logo of their eponymous supermarkets, the upscale suburban Checkers stores, or their Hungry Lion fast food joints, the company’s dominant market presence is difficult to miss.

Clearly, Shoprite feeds a continent on the rise.

This reality is anything but revelatory to Africa investors. The company’s share price has risen exponentially as the narrative of the continent’s emerging middle class took hold.

The stock now sports a P/E ratio of 27. Is it worthy of the hype?

It’s time to stick my neck out.

I’ve talked a lot about the past performance of various African stocks, and I’ve asked a number of local experts for their favorite listings. But I haven’t often gone out on a limb and made picks of my own, and many of you have noticed.

So, it’s only fair that I go on record with my best bets.

Here are my top South African stock picks. I expect that, on average, they will outperform the Johannesburg Stock Exchange All Share Index over the next 12 months.

Let’s face it. For all the talk of “being greedy when others are fearful” and “buying when there’s blood in the streets” nobody delights in seeing their portfolio value swing southward.

That’s why I love stocks that pay a steady, consistent dividend, and this week I came across some generous South African firms whose shares currently yield more than 6%.