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Jul 17, 2020 – MoneyWeb
Another Saffer makes it big in the US
Another South African is making headlines in the United States. Pierre Naudé is the CEO of the global fintech company nCino, which listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Tuesday. More »
Jun 24, 2020 – Project Syndicate
Africa Is More Resilient Than You Think
The short-term shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout will have a significant impact across Africa. But the continent has a newfound resilience and will come back stronger, especially if African governments seize the current opportunity for effective leadership. More »
Jun 18, 2020 – IT News Africa
Amazon Launches 3,000 Work-From-Home Jobs in South Africa
Amazon has announced that it will be hiring for 3,000 new customer-service jobs in South Africa. The positions are all work-from-home, come with benefits, and applications are open right now. More »
May 25, 2020 – Times Live
Innovative Primary Health Service on WhatsApp Costs Below R95pm
National HealthCare is at the forefront of innovating health care cover by partnering with Clickatell, a mobile communications and chat commerce company, to develop a product that provides all its members online interactive access to doctors on WhatsApp. More »
Mar 3, 2020 – IT News Africa
Top South African Smartphone Habits that You Should Know
GeoPoll conducted a study with 400 South Africans via a mobile web link to understand how they are using their phones, which apps they use most often and how they are paying for these features each month. More »
Feb 28, 2020 – Money 101
Taxpayers in South Africa, Slowly Killing the Golden Goose
Taxpayers in South Africa while this article is from 2105 this is something that is still very relevant and an eyeopener on who pays tax in South Africa, and the burden placed on the tax payers. More »
Feb 26, 2020 – Business Insider
Here are the Biggest Bombshells in the Budget — Including Taxpayers Getting R2 Billion in Tax Relief
As its debt burden grows at an alarming rate, government plans to slash its own spending instead of hitting embattled South Africans with more taxes. More »
Feb 24, 2020 – The South African
Africa's First Blockchain-Powered Freelance Jobs Marketplace Launched
MobiJobs.Africa lets start-ups and small to medium-sized businesses list jobs, search freelancer profiles, and establish an online presence without set-up, hosting, or development costs. More »
Feb 18, 2020 – South Africa: The Good News
During the 2020 State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa made special mention of the great strides being made by the Youth Employment Service (YES) in tackling South Africa’s youth employment crisis. More »
Feb 18, 2020 – Brand South Africa
South Africa to Draw Expat Goodwill and Expertise in Australia
Brand South Africa is rolling out the country’s 2020 international programme to attract and develop a network of citizens living and working in Australia. More »
Jan 8, 2020 – Moneyweb
South Africa's Problem of a Narrow Tax Base and High Taxes
One of the first paragraphs in the annual tax report published by National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (Sars) gives one of the main reasons why public infrastructure is deteriorating and living standards for a large section of the population are falling. More »
Jan 8, 2020 – Cape Talk
Only 24% of Companies that Filed Tax Returns Made Any Profits During the 2019 Tax Year
Fewer than 3 million South Africans pay 97% of all personal income tax. South Africa has a population of 56 million. More »
Oct 28, 2019 – Daily Maverick
Crunch the Numbers: The Tax Base is Not Dwindling
On 30 October 2019, Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni will deliver the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS), reporting on the progress made in achieving the revenue and expenditure targets set in the February 2019 Budget. More »
Aug 29, 2019 – Business Tech
South Africa's Tax Base is Shrinking
A declining number of South African taxpayers will be expected to fork out more as government introduces new initiatives such as the National Health Insurance. More »
Aug 15, 2019 – The South African
South African Artist Carrol Boyes Dies at 65
Carrol Boyes, renowned South African artist, designer and businesswoman, passed away. More »
Jul 12, 2019 – Statssa
Personal income tax has become more important as a source of government revenue in recent years. Stats SA’s latest publication provides a breakdown of the latest tax data from national government. More »
May 29, 2019 – BusinessTech
Here is Ramaphosa’s New Cabinet
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced his new cabinet, along with significant changes to how it is structured. More »
May 23, 2019 – The South African
Cape Town beats New York, London and Joburg in latest “quality of life” survey
Cape Town been chosen as one of the best 30 cities on the world, based on its quality of life. Johannesburg is also outmuscling some serious competition. More »
Apr 16, 2019 – BusinessReport
The next $1bn for African tech startups
AfricArena, known as the stage for Africa’s tech future, launched into it’s third consecutive year post a high-impact raise of $2 million+ for startups during it’s 2018 campaign. More »
Apr 15, 2019 – Brand South Africa
Appointment of Acting CEO for Brand SA
Brand South Africa has announced the appointment of Ms Thulisile Manzini as Acting Chief Executive Officer of Brand South Africa, with immediate effect. More »
Apr 9, 2019 – BusinessTech
Skilled Black South Africans are Voting With Their Feet and Leaving the Country
Not only have more than 400,000 high-income professionals emigrated from South Africa since 1994, but millions of remaining individuals are using the easing of forex controls to let their money emigrate. More »
Mar 6, 2019 – UNICEF
Opening Pathways for Girls and Women in Science
Two South Africa female leaders in the STEM field are joining team to create innovations in biotechnology to save lives, but also to bring opportunities to encourage participation of young female scientists and promote more diversity in science and technology. More »
Mar 4, 2019 – Business Insider
South African farmers have built the first floating solar park in Africa
Western Cape farmers have built Africa's first commercial floating solar park – that now let's them tackle load shedding and drought. More »
Dec 5, 2018 – IT News Africa
Internet Solutions to open Africa’s largest pre-fabricated data centre in South Africa
Internet Solutions (IS) gave IT News Africa a preview of what IS believes will be regarded as one of the most sustainable and energy-efficient pre-fabricated data centres in Africa. More »
Dec 4, 2018 – The South African
SA out of recession: Four factors which ignited the economy
After slipping into a recession at the start of September, Mzansi has made an instant recovery. The country's GDP has risen by 2.2 percent in three months. More »
Nov 30, 2018 – McKinsey & Company
Rethinking the African Business Opportunity
Hopes are high for Africa’s long-term growth, driven by technology and basic services rather than resources. Survey respondents in Africa report more optimism—and better business practices—than peers elsewhere. More »
Nov 19, 2018 – Africa Check
Does Gauteng make up a third of South Africa’s GDP? And is it Africa’s seventh biggest economy?
In 2016 South Africa’s total GDP was R4.35 trillion. Gauteng’s contribution was R1.5 trillion, or 34.64 percent. More »
Nov 15, 2018 – McKinsey & Company
Africa's Overlooked Business Revolution
Global business leaders who misunderstand Africa run the risk of missing out on one of the 21st century’s great growth opportunities. More »
Nov 13, 2018 – Ventures Africa
Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) make up 90 percent of all companies in Africa, and they provide 80 percent of its employment too. Unfortunately, the hostile business ecosystems in many African countries don’t support the growth of SMEs, resulting in their rapid death too. More »
Nov 9, 2018 – Forbes
How African Scientists Are Testing Cheaper, Faster Ways To Test For Malaria, Pregnancy, HIV Success
Longer-lasting and more cost-effective ways of testing for pregnancy and whether HIV treatments are working effectively, as well as checking for the top two strains of malaria, are being tested by scientists at Rhodes University in South Africa. More »
Nov 8, 2018 – IT News Africa
South Africa – a global destination for business
In October South Africa was named the Global Destination of the Year by the Global Sourcing Association. When you look at the rate of growth, this is hardly a surprise. More »
Nov 7, 2018 – UNICEF
Jump-starting innovative new tests for HIV, pregnancy and malaria
A new type of test that could revolutionise the way women and children are checked and treated for some of the world’s most life-threatening diseases and complications is being developed by scientists in South Africa, with support from UNICEF. More »
Nov 7, 2018 – Feature Africa
10 Reasons to Invest in South Africa
10 Reasons to invest in South Africa includes a developed first world economic infrastructure and a growing emerging market. The investment potential lies in its diversity of sectors and industries. South Africa is also a major trading nation, exporting and importing billions worth of goods every year. It is a gateway into African markets. More »
Nov 4, 2018 – IT News Africa
How alternative funders enable small business success
Up to 75 percent of South African small businesses fail within the first year. One of the biggest causes being a lack of funding, or poor financial management. Yet, many small businesses struggle to secure funding, either because they haven’t been in business long enough, or because they don’t understand the intricacies of the lending market. More »
Oct 23, 2018 – South Africa: The Good News
SA’s Global Competitiveness – What’s going on?
The WEF-GCR 2018 report evaluates the world’s 140 largest economies and compares their competitiveness. SA has never ranked lower that 56th (2014). In fact subsequent years saw us improve to 49th (2015) and then 47th(2016). This year we slipped to 67th (2018) – the lowest ever. More »
Oct 16, 2018 – The South African
Eskom Nearing Collapse, Senior Officials Jump Ship
Eskom, South Africa’s national power utility, may be unable to avoid a complete restructuring process in order to avert total collapse. More »
Oct 1, 2018 – Africa.com
10 Best Universities in South Africa
South Africa is known to have some of the best universities in Africa. Search any global university ranking and you’re likely to find at least two or three South African universities listed. More »
Sep 27, 2018 – Forbes
Revealed: The 15 Most Dangerous Places to Live
InterNations recently published the 2018 Expat Insider Survey, one of the world’s most comprehensive reports on what it's like to live abroad. South Africa ranks second. More »
Sep 14, 2018 – Mail & Guardian
President Cyril Ramaphosa has secured nearly R370-billion in financing from the Chinese government towards an economic stimulus package. More »
Jul 15, 2018 – engadget
Ultra-sensitive radio telescope debuts in South Africa
South Africa has officially switched on MeerKAT, billed as the most sensitive radio telescope of its type on the planet. More »
Jun 25, 2018 – UCLA Newsroom
UCLA global health program aims to boost neurological care in South Africa
Through a partnership, South African doctors train at UCLA then return to their home country. More »
May 30, 2018 – It News Africa
South African companies need to up the pace on data analytics
Analysing data and providing actionable insights from it has become a common phenomenon. More »
May 28, 2018 – It News Africa
Enhancing science and IT learning in rural South Africa
Mochudi Secondary School in Rural North West, South Africa has become the beneficiary of a mobile science and IT Lab which is designed to help teachers and pupils. More »
May 15, 2018 – South Africa The Good News
Education in SA: The Good, the Bad, The Ugly.
The report finds that, while there have been significant gains under the country’s democratic dispensation, serious negative features pose a real threat to socio-economic advancement, and are replicating instead of reversing unemployment, poverty, and inequality. More »
May 15, 2018 – South Africa The Good News
The Best Way to Stop Rhino Poaching?
Global technology giants, Dimension Data and Cisco, today announced that they are expanding their anti-poaching Connected Conservation programme into Zambia, Kenya, and Mozambique to continue protecting rhino, as well as help fight the war on the startling numbers of African savanna elephant being poached. More »
May 15, 2018 – South Africa The Good News
Handyman life-changing Experience
Aaron Matumbike, the handyman at Trinityhouse Little Falls Pre-Primary in Roodepoort, did not know that the purchase of Plascon paint last year would change his life. More »
Apr 23, 2018 – IOL
New marketing initiative set to help small businesses make big strides
Cape Town - The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday said it is rolling out a new initiative to help businesses market themselves at a fraction of the normal cost. More »
Apr 16, 2018 – All Africa
Africa: Schneider Projects Digitalisation to Fuel Future Innovation
Access to digital technology has emerged among the most critical energy trends reshaping the way the energy industry, among other key industries, does business. More »
Apr 9, 2018 – Ekasi Energy
Despite the fact that household smoke may be the world's deadliest environmental hazard, global campaigns have failed to change how poor people cook their food. More »
Apr 4, 2018 – Business Day
SA needs innovation to capitalise on growth promised by new era
Among other imperatives, local industrial manufacturing, including SA’s heterogeneous metals and engineering (M&E) sector, needs innovation to spur industrial growth. More »
Mar 29, 2018 – It News Africa
FinTech in South Africa: Accelerating the digital transformation of financial sector
The impact of Blockchain, AI, Mobile Money, Digital Wallets and Payment innovations are radically transforming the financial services landscape as FinTech disruptors intensify the challenge to Incumbent Banks in Africa and kickstart new growth opportunities. More »
Feb 27, 2018 – Daily Maverick
Cabinet Reshuffle: SA government gets a full makeover
Fierce lobbying by ANC deputy president DD Mabuza had paid off, and on Monday night he came a step closer to being president of the country by being appointed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s deputy. More »
Feb 21, 2018 – Quartz Africa
Startup venture funding jumped more than 50% in Africa last year to a record high
With African tech hubs, startups and founders starting to mature and gain deeper understanding of local markets after a few years of heady hype that was more about potential than substance, investors increasingly look towards the continent. More »
Feb 20, 2018 – The South African
Day Zero pushed back again for CPT into July, is a victory on the cards?
City of Cape Town Mayor Executive Deputy Mayor Alderman Ian Neilson has revealed on Tuesday that Day Zero has once again moved back, this time to 9 July. More »
Feb 20, 2018 – South Africa - The Good News
What will it look like when President Ramaphosa has delivered?
More South Africans, probably than ever before, watched the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Friday night, hoping that our new President, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa would deliver a message of hope, a message of clear priorities, a message of delivery, and a message of action. More »
Feb 18, 2018 – BIZNEWS
This is the future: Why facts-obsessed Frans Cronje is suddenly filled with hope for SA
Here’s a brilliant assessment of the state of South Africa by one of the country’s foremost analysts. Frans Cronje is the CEO of the respected Institute of Race Relations, which since its formation in 1929 has been acknowledged as the country’s leading political and economic think tank. More »
Feb 18, 2018 – Africa Check
Do 1.7 Million People Pay 80% of South Africa's Income Tax?
The deputy CEO of a South African non-governmental organisation recently tweeted that close to 80% of personal income tax is contributed by 1.7 million individuals. But, as with most things to do with tax, the truth is not that simple. More »
Feb 15, 2018 – CNN
Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed as South Africa's President after Zuma quits
Cyril Ramaphosa was confirmed Thursday as South Africa's new President hours after scandal-plagued leader Jacob Zuma resigned. More »
Feb 13, 2018 – The South African
Breaking: ANC officially decide to recall Jacob Zuma
After refusing to bow to weeks of mounting pressure, the fate of Jacob Zuma has been decided: The President is officially being recalled from office. More »
Feb 13, 2018 – The South African
#Zexit expectations keep the Rand firm ahead of ANC media briefing
As of 8:00 today, the Rand was trading at R11.93 to the Dollar, firmly below the psychologically significant level of 12 as expectations of #Zexit continue to lend strength to the local currency. More »
Feb 13, 2018 – The South African
White Zim farmers may soon be compensated after committee set up
Over the last few months, there have been multiple reports on Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s plans to rebuild the agricultural industry of his country. More »
Feb 13, 2018 – The South African
Startling one-off performances set to dazzle visitors at Design Indaba 2018
The line-up of world-class performers from a variety of genres will be presenting pieces created specifically for the event. More »
Feb 12, 2018 – The South African
Marikana: Officers on duty during the massacre reveal how workers were killed in cold blood
Members of the police’s special task force on duty at Marikana during the infamous massacre have told the City Press how officers were instructed to kill striking mine workers in cold blood. More »
Jan 30, 2018 – South Africa - The Good News
17 Reasons why 2018 will be a better year!
In breezing through the Sunday papers, notably the Sunday Times and City Press I was struck by Mavuso Msimang’s question “is the clean-up in progress?” More »
Jan 29, 2018 – Business Tech
South Africa is back – and you can thank Cyril: analyst
While developed market counterparts may have focused on the messages from China, Trump and Macron or perhaps even a new-found emphasis on the politics of inclusion and equality, for most South Africans, it was Cyril Ramaphosa that stole the show at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, says Shalin Bhagwan, head of fixed income at Ashburton Investments. More »
Jan 29, 2018 – Mail & Guardian
Is South Africa seeing a return to the rule of law? More evidence is needed
It appears as if the Gupta family, known for being politically-connected to President Jacob Zuma and accused of “state capture”, have not had a good start to the year. More »
Jan 29, 2018 – Mail & Guardian
There is more for South Africa in BRICS
Since joining BRICS, South Africa has enjoyed both trade and diplomatic benefits both regionally and internationally. More »
Jan 17, 2018 – Bizcommunity
How corporate SA can transition towards customer centricity, embrace the global paradigm
It's 2018 and if your company is not thinking about embracing the global paradigm towards customer centricity, then you should spend your remaining profits on building a time machine. More »
Dec 31, 2017 – Times Live
How SA scientists excelled in 2017
In the fight against climate change and environmental degradation‚ South African scientists truly excelled this year – not only through innovation but also through research which laid the groundwork for future innovations. More »
Dec 21, 2017 – Disrupt Africa
Top 5 South African startup developments in 2017
South Africa continues to grow its reputation as a leader in tech innovation on the continent over the course of 2017, with various new product launches, accelerator arrivals, and large funding rounds. More »
Dec 20, 2017 – Consuotancy.co.za
Regulation, tech and digital innovation to disrupt South African banking
In light of digital disruption to the financial sector across the world, major banks in South Africa are stepping up their game to remain relevant and competitive. More »
Dec 12, 2017 – The Huffington Post
Meet South Africa's 14 Most Influential People
"New African Magazine" has revealed its 100 most influential Africans of 2017 and South Africa is very well represented. More »
Dec 12, 2017 – South Africa - The Good News
Is Entrepreneurship Alive and Well in SA?
Young South Africans’ appetite for entrepreneurship is alive and well, if they are given the opportunity to turn passion into action, says the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). More »
Dec 7, 2017 – FOX Business
Steinhoff's CEO Resigns Amid Accounting Probe
Retail giant Steinhoff International Holdings NV, which owns American mattress brand Sleepy's and a string of chains across Europe, said on Wednesday its chief executive has resigned amid an investigation into accounting irregularities. More »
Nov 27, 2017 – It News Africa
South Africa needs to wake up, work together and innovate
We are living in an era of abundance – we have all the resources required to solve humanity’s biggest challenges. The activating ingredient is the ability to innovate. However, in South Africa, the r More »
Nov 13, 2017 – Moneyweb
Taking your SA business out into Africa
The African continent offers a number of opportunities for businesses looking to expand into new markets. More »
Nov 9, 2017 – Sandton Chronile
Open for business: How South Africa is delivering on its potential
Today, South Africa accounts for a fifth of all foreign direct investment in the region, and its strategic location, abundance of opportunities and solid infrastructure make it the gateway to the entire continent and its 1.2 billion people. More »
Oct 27, 2017 – Business Insider
Market competition for IT service providers in South Africa intensifies, says Frost & Sullivan
Banking and financial services firms look to focus on key areas for ICT spend More »
Oct 18, 2017 – IT Web
Vodacom's Virtual Teacher Goes Rural
Government is working with Vodacom to address some of the challenges facing the country's educationsystem, particularly in remote and under-achieving schools. More »
Oct 10, 2017 – South Africa: The Good News
Hey Mr. President, Sir, I'm Running Out of Ammo
South Africa ranks lowest in its history (61st) in World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report. More »
Oct 4, 2017 – Brand South Africa
South Africa can be a technology leader
The country – and the rest of the continent – has the potential to be a disruptor, by using ICT and the size of the African market. To do so, it needs to be innovative and produce its own technology. More »
Sep 27, 2017 – It News Africa
New tech can accelerate high-speed fibre adoption in South Africa
Demand for high-speed fibre Internet access is growing at a rapid pace among South African consumers and businesses as fibre to the home and to the business becomes available in more and more parts of South Africa. More »
Sep 15, 2017 – It News Africa
Digital Transformation: Can South African telcos capitalise on it?
South African telcos must start focusing on four key ingredients if they are to successfully own their part of the future telco market. More »
Sep 14, 2017 – The Good News
Hosting a Rugby World Cup – Make Money or Lose Money?
Hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2023 will bring South Africa R27.3 billion in direct, indirect and induced economic impact. It will also sustain 38 600 annual job equivalents – some temporary and some will be permanent. More »
Sep 4, 2017 – Disrupt Africa
Why innovation is vital for SME survival in SA
It has been a turbulent 2017 so far for South Africa, with the country’s GDP contracting by 0.7 per cent during the first quarter, pushing the local economy into a technical recession. Although this can have a detrimental effect on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurial prowess and innovation will uncover opportunities despite the doom and gloom. More »
Aug 21, 2017 – The Media Online
Creative, agile, and innovative: SA’s independent agencies ready for the future
In recent years we have seen many a big-name international agency accelerate their growth in the local market with surprising aggression. It seemed South Africa was destined to be just another outpost to be carved up between the likes of Publicis, WPP and Omnicom. In 2012 and 2013 they bought up some of what were considered South Africa’s most innovative independent agencies – promising an injection of resources, easy access to international markets, and greater economy of scale. More »
Aug 18, 2017 – Brand South Africa
Abalone aquaculture could end poaching
A Rhodes University research project is showing a viable way to build a commercial farm and save wild populations. More »
Aug 17, 2017 – BBC
Bursting with the energy and pace of a big city but with the friendliness of a much smaller town, Johannesburg attracts expats looking to accomplish a lot and integrate quickly. More »
Aug 6, 2017 – News Ghana
Infrastructure Africa gives women opportunities in Africa’s Economic Development
With Women’s Month taking place in South Africa this month, the Infrastructure Africa Business Forum in Sandton is providing a platform for women’s development in traditionally male-dominated infrastructure sectors. More »
Aug 3, 2017 – Business Tech
We saw what South Africa’s internet will look like in 5 years – and it’s incredible
BusinessTech was invited to “the internet hub of Africa” – Teraco’s massive new data centre development in Bredell, Kempton Park. More »
Jul 18, 2017 – Red Herrinh
Cape Town is Battling its Nation’s Economic Woes to Become Africa’s Tech Capital
South Africa is suffering an economic crisis, but the gloom has accelerated a shift towards entrepreneurialism and tech, that has been concentrated on Cape Town. More »
Jul 4, 2017 – South Africa - The Good News
SA in Numbers # 3 – People, Crime, Environment, War & Peace
Every year the Economist ‘Pocket World in Figures’ brings out a varied set of global rankings covering 190 countries. These range from fastest-growing economies to highest per capita consumption of marijuana to which countries imprison the most people. More »
Jun 29, 2017 – iafrica.com
Bright ideas at 10th SA Innovation Summit
Corporates, investors, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, academia and policy makers are invited to gather from around the globe to network, collaborate and discuss strategies that leverage technology to create and deliver African solutions to future challenges. More »
Jun 28, 2017 – Cape Business News
Maritime development drives new business opportunities for South Africa
With Africa’s overall port utilisation capacity exceeding 70%, ports authorities and terminal operators are actively calling for partners in development to equip Africa’s ports and harbours for post-neo-panamax shipping requirements. More »
Jun 27, 2017 – Xinhua Net
South Africa seeks to increase tourism's contribution to economy
Tourism has the potential to improve the country's economic performance and the people's livelihoods, said Sisa Ntshona, CEO of South African Tourism on Monday. More »
Jun 8, 2017 – allAfrica
South Africa: Oceans Working for SA's Economy
South Africa's grand plan to make the oceans work for economic growth has boosted job creation, in line with the objectives of the National Development Plan (NDP). More »
Jun 7, 2017 – Business Report
20 possible IoT trends in South Africa by 2020
African Analysis forecasts that the IoT installed base in South Africa will reach 35 million by 2020. The number of connected things will be unprecedented and IoT could solve many of the issues Africa is facing – especially those caused by social and economic challenges. More »
May 25, 2017 – ItWeb Africa
Africa, a continent seeing a digital boom
This is a reality. During the last few months, we have heard more about Africa's issues in the media rather than its vast potential. However, the continent, in general, is silently moving forward with a genuine transformation. More »
May 5, 2017 – IT News Africa
Technology to Drive Innovation and Skills into Africa
With a focus on encouraging intra-Africa business and the need to fast-track growth and development, there is no doubt that focus on key areas that form the cornerstone of all economic development is needed. More »
May 3, 2017 – Eyewitness News
6 Challenges to Financial Inclusion in South Africa
While financial inclusion – the adoption, usage and sustainability of financial services – is generally linked to socioeconomic development, it faces numerous challenges in South Africa. More »
Apr 5, 2017 – BizCommunity
Johannesburg Facebook Office Moves Premises as African Growth Accelerates
Facebook has moved its Johannesburg offices into larger premises, providing a new base for the company's work across Africa. The new office will continue to provide local support to Facebook advertisers, application developers and other key partners. More »
Mar 29, 2017 – IT News Africa
Say Goodbye to Third-World Communication
South African businesses increasingly depend on connectivity. This is because tech-savvy customers require businesses and service providers that meet their always-on needs. More »
Mar 20, 2017 – BizCommunity
#SeamlessAfrica: Tackling the Omnichannel Retail Reality
‘Omnichannel' is not merely a business buzzword, it's the new retail reality. At the Seamless Africa conference that took place in Cape Town recently, Amanda Herson, e-commerce director for the Cape Union Mart Group, shared her thoughts on “tackling the omnichannel beast.” More »
Mar 20, 2017 – IT News Africa
Nigeria Leads Africa’s 7 Highest Internet Using Countries
Access to the Internet is fast becoming a human right in the eyes of millions of people from around the world. This is because the Internet has evolved to a point where people see internet access as vital for them to exercise and enjoy their rights to the freedom of expression and other fundamental human rights such as education. More »
Mar 6, 2017 – Memeburn
Company Affirms Pledge To Africa’s growth
Cisco’s SVP Hilton Romanski and country manager Cathy Smith today opened Cisco Connect South Africa with a joint keynote, expressing the company’s acute focus on African technology growth and digitisation. More »
Mar 2, 2017 – Disrupt Africa
Why SA Banks Hold the Key to Mobile Payments
For the South African market to reach the critical mass that will drive the mainstream adoption of mobile payments, consumers need a system they can trust. This is arguably where local banks can – and should – play a pivotal role, writes Dewald Nolte, senior vice president for partnership and alliances at fintech company Entersekt. More »
Feb 24, 2017 – SAVCA
Private Equity in Southern Africa Fruitful Partnerships
A key consensus in the private equity community is that significant scope exists for private equity and venture capital managers to partner with businesses for growth, expansion and value creation in Southern Africa. This was a central theme of discussion amongst delegates who this week attended the annual Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) Private Equity in Southern Africa Conference in Stellenbosch, South Africa. More »
Feb 22, 2017 – BizCommunity
#DesignMonth: Is SA Smart-City Ready?
With the global smart cities market projected to reach $1.56tn by 2020, South Africa still has much to do in terms of meeting the necessary infrastructure and connectivity requirements to smarten up our cities. We interviewed Riaan Graham, sales director at Ruckus Wireless sub-Sahara Africa, on smart city design and development in South Africa, the possible benefits for businesses, and lessons we can learn from countries like Kenya. More »
Feb 17, 2017 – Willie Pietersen
Great Decisions: An Art of Sacrifice
Executives and their teams are charged with making momentous decisions that will shape the destiny of their organizations and impact, in some cases, thousands or even millions of people. More »
Feb 15, 2017 – SABC
South Africa Has To Promote Entrepreneurship
The National Small Business Chamber says South Africa has to promote entrepreneurship as a viable career option which will help lower the high unemployment rate in the country. More »
Feb 14, 2017 – South Africa The Good News
After the complete despair of SONA, the heartfelt emotion of Joost’s Loftus Versfeld Memorial Service and the gloom and doom of the Sunday papers – in 48 hours – I had difficulty dealing with my vacillating, schizophrenic, yo-yoing patriotism. I sat in bellicose despair as every parliamentarian attending SONA behaved appallingly; I sat with tear-filled emotion as every spokesperson at Joost’s memorial service showed the utmost dignity (some attended both). How will I ever forget Stephan’s stand-in rendition of the National Anthem (the official singers were late) or Amor’s extraordinarily sensitive eulogy, not to mention the genuine sincerity of all the speakers. More »
Feb 3, 2017 – BizCommunity
Benefits of Taking a South African IT Business Global
For many South African businesses, and particularly those in the fast moving and highly competitive world of IT, forming strong international partnerships is a savvy, but difficult, way of injecting new energy and IP into local operations. But for those who can get it right, the short and long-term benefits are numerous. More »
Feb 2, 2017 – BizCommunity
DesignMonth: Disrupt Your own Business Before Someone Else Does!
Behan is a social entrepreneur and brand builder who calls himself blessed to have worked with some of the best in global and local design while he’s lived in South Africa, but he believes that as an industry we could do much more. More »
Jan 25, 2017 – BizCommunity
Increasing the Impact of Business Communication During a Crisis
When an organisation faces a crisis, you expect it to act quickly to mitigate the reputational risk through strategic business communication tactics. More »
Jan 19, 2017 – BusinessTech
Top 5 Challenges for Small Businesses in South Africa
Half of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa are positive about the current state of their own business, according to a new survey. More »
Jan 11, 2017 – Business Tech
A New Way Scammers Target Small Businesses in South Africa
A Fin24 user almost fell prey to a scam targeting his small business. More »
Jan 2, 2017 – Business Tech
7 Predictions for South Africa’s Economy in 2017
Research and market analysis firm Nomura is predicting a relatively quiet first half of the year for South Africa, but expects things to shake up in the second half of the year as the ANC’s elective conference comes into view. More »
Dec 28, 2016 – Disrupt Africa
Top 5 South African Startup Developments in 2016
South Africa cemented its reputation as a leader in African tech over the course of 2016. More »
Dec 21, 2016 – BizCommunity
Entrepreneurs with Multiple Business Interests Become more Common
Many young professionals and entrepreneurs are embracing the idea of pursuing multiple professional interests in search of better earning power or satisfaction that is more personal. More »
Dec 15, 2016 – AFK Insider
Is Steinhoff Planning A Shoprite Takeover? Merger Could Create A Firm To Rival Walmart
South African furniture maker Steinhoff International and Shoprite, Africa’s biggest supermarket chain, are in talks to combine their African assets through an equity swap to create the continent’s largest retailer. More »
Dec 14, 2016 – IT News Africa
Tipping the Scales on Mobile Payments
According to the Mastercard Impact of Innovation Study, 73% of South African consumers are ready to pay with their mobile phones. That’s why we are seeing the rise of innovative payments apps that enable you to use QR codes or contactless technology to make payments – whether you’re paying a municipal bill, buying prepaid airtime or purchasing a cappuccino in your favourite coffee shop. More »
Dec 7, 2016 – BizCommunity
Almost 400 Firms Pledge to Protect Mobile Consumers in South Africa
The membership of South Africa's Wireless Application Service Providers' Association (WASPA) recently passed the 370 mark, 12 years after it was first incorporated. Formed to represent and self-regulate the then fledgling wireless content and applications industry, WASPA continues to ensure proper consumer protection in an ever-changing technological landscape. More »
Dec 2, 2016 – BizCommunity
IoT Innovation Could Help South African Manufacturers Compete Internationally
According to Deloitte's Global Manufacturing Competitiveness survey, South Africa is ranked 27th in the world, down three places from 2013 and it is expected to slip further down the ranking in the next five to ten years. The rising cost of production, combined with muted investments in technology, is making it difficult for South African manufacturers to compete with their international peers. More »
Nov 18, 2016 – BizCommunity
Five Steps to an Effective Omnichannel Marketing Effort
Retail is clearly being shaken up by mobile-oriented consumers. Online sales are growing year-on-year and volume is expected to hit $523bn by 2020 in the US. This shift has compelled even established brick-and-mortar enterprises to shore up their online presence. More »
Nov 15, 2016 – BizCommunity
During a panel discussion at the CFO conference held in Cape Town recently, a number of role players discussed cybersecurity and the CFO. More »
Nov 11, 2016 – Media Update
Where South Africa’s Social Content Marketing is Heading
Many South African brands are waking up to the reality that quality trumps quantity in content marketing on social media. In light of this, powerful content marketing strategies, which allow businesses to maximise their budgets, are the way forward. More »
Oct 13, 2016 – Small Business Insight
Small Business Department's 8 Stalled Interventions
Small Business Minister Lindiwe Zulu claims her department has made good progress since its inception in 2014. Its latest annual report however contains a worrying number of interventions yet to get started. More »
Sep 27, 2016 – Disrupt Africa
Fintech Jobs Increase by 1,400% in SA
The number of fintech startup jobs in South Africa has increased by 1,400 per cent since the start of 2016, demonstrating how much the sector is booming. More »
Sep 13, 2016 – AFK Insider
What Recession? Exports Surge, Revenue Up For South African Defense Business
In the past financial year, revenue has grown 41 percent at Denel, South Africa’s state-owned aerospace and defense technology conglomerate, thanks in large part to exports, Business Day Live reported. More »
Sep 1, 2016 – AFK Insider
12 Things You Should Know About Arms Maker Ivor Ichikowitz
Industrialist, venture capitalist, philanthropist — those are some of the titles people give to the founder and chairman of Africa’s largest privately owned arms company. More »
Jun 1, 2016 – Moneyweb
Having previously touted Florida as a potential launch-pad for its US operations, Cartrack has instead chosen California as its American base, which offers little to none of the same tax breaks and rebates on staffing that are offered by other states. More »
May 5, 2016 – The World Bank
Disruptive Innovation: The Most Viable Strategy for Economic Development in Africa
When the slow pace at which Africa is developing is combined with the demographic transformation, contrary to the sentiments of many optimists, the future does not look bright. But it can. More »
Apr 21, 2016 – AFK Insider
8 Things You Didn’t Know About Citrus Farming In South Africa
South Africa is the world’s third largest producer of citrus fruits, after Turkey and Spain. In Africa, The Southern African nation’s biggest competitor is Egypt. The country reaps big from exports of the fruits to European and Asian markets. More »
Apr 12, 2016 – Bloomberg Technology
Google to Give Training to 1 Million Africans to Boost Jobs
Google Inc. is scaling up its digital skills training programs to accommodate a million Africans in the next year, aiming to deal with high unemployment numbers on the continent.. More »
Apr 6, 2016 – The South African
7 South African Business Leaders Taking the UK by Storm
Seven of the best and brightest South African business leaders in the UK have been nominated for the prestigious South African Chamber of Commerce ‘Business Leader of the Year Award’. More »
Mar 17, 2016 – Wall Street Journal
Study: Immigrants Founded 51% of U.S. Billion-Dollar Startups
A new non-partisan study on entrepreneurship gives some credence to the tech industry’s stance that American innovation benefits from robust immigration. More »
Mar 8, 2016 – AFK Insider
5 Key Risk Factors Driving Investor Decisions In South Africa In 2016
In its RiskMap 2016, global risk analysis firm Control Risk has come up with some of the top risks facing investors in South Africa. Most of the risks are gloomy and paint a picture of a stagnating economy and uncertain political future. More »
Feb 29, 2016 – Marisa Garcia
The World’s Best Airports in Service Quality, as Selected by Passengers
In Africa, 3 of the top 4 airports are located in South Africa: Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg. More »
Feb 23, 2016 – SAVCA
Private equity in Southern Africa: Dealing in Abundance
Private equity in Southern Africa experienced steady deal flow and exit activity in 2015 and, with a number of private equity houses having announced successful fundraising programmes, the industry is well positioned to back new deals in the coming years. More »
Feb 23, 2016 – fin24tech
SA Grabs Lion's Share of Africa's Startup Funding
Harare - South Africa is the most favoured destination and hub for tech startup funders in Africa, a new report has shown. More »
Feb 22, 2016 – Disrupt Africa
South African SME Confidence in Economic Growth Plummets
South African SME confidence levels in economic and business growth declined significantly in the last quarter, due to a constantly changing environment that is negatively impacting growth projections for 2016. More »
Feb 22, 2016 – Disrupt Africa
Megatrends Driving the 2nd Wave of Inclusive Digital Innovation
Technological innovations, particularly in digital and mobile platforms, have boosted inclusive growth in developing African markets over the past several years. More »
Feb 10, 2016 – Disrupt Africa
7 Most Active Investors in African Tech in 2015
African tech startups received a total amount of funding in excess of US$185,785,500 in 2015, according to data compiled by Disrupt Africa. But where did that funding come from? More »
Jan 11, 2016 – AFK Insider
Elon Musk And Tesla Push For Renewable Energy Gigafactory In Cape Town
Elon Musk and Tesla continue to push for renewable energy with talk of a gigafactory in Cape Town that produces Powerwall batteries — batteries charged by solar panels with enough storage to power a home. More »
Dec 12, 2015 – BizNews
How world sees SA: The FT meets (and loves) Thuli Madonsela, Zuma’s nemesis
When President Jacob Zuma appointed Thuli Madonsela as South Africa’s public protector in 2009, he could not have predicted what he was getting. Today the first woman to hold the role is revered by many as a crusader who boldly took on the most powerful office in the country – Zuma’s own presidency – in her dogged determination to root out corruption. More »
Dec 11, 2015 – Brand South Africa
Tapping into South Africa's Ocean Economy
There is much more to South Africa's oceans than just a holiday attraction. They have the potential to create 70 000 jobs and add more than R30-billion to our economy over the next four years. More »
Dec 8, 2015 – South Africa: The Good News
SA Winemaker Named World's Best
Abrie Beeslaar, of Kanonkop, South Africa's renowned wine estate in Stellenbosch, was crowned as the International Winemaker of the Year during the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) gala award ceremony in London earlier this week. More »
Dec 7, 2015 – The Economist
South Africa gets a Rating Downgrade
Mismanagement and magical thinking are driving the rainbow nation into a debt crisis. More »
Dec 3, 2015 – BBC
China and South Africa in $6.5bn Worth of Deals
China and South Africa have signed deals and loans valued at $6.5bn (£4.3bn), with the focus on building infrastructure in the African giant. More »
Dec 2, 2015 – Times Live
South African honoured in USA for funding early childhood development
Andre Shearer‚ chairman and CEO of the Cape Classics wine company‚ has been awarded with the 2015 Desmond Tutu‚ Phelophepa Achievement Award for Excellence. More »
Dec 1, 2015 – The South African
South Africa knocks Nigeria off its perch as “most corrupt” African country
South Africa is now believed to be the most corrupt country on the continent, according to a new survey. More »
Nov 17, 2015 – Biz Community
Western Cape Visits China to Bolster Trade and Investment
As part of an official trade promotion visit to Hong Kong, the Western Cape Government has engaged with enterprises in renewable energy, property investment and business chambers. Premier Helen Zille and Economic Opportunities Minister Alan Winde are leading the Western Cape delegation, which includes government officials and Wesgro. More »
Nov 16, 2015 – The South African
South Africa voted top adventure destination for 2016
South Africa has been named the top adventure travel destination in the world for 2016, pipping hot contenders Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands to the post in Virtuoso International Luxury Travel’s annual rankings. More »
Nov 16, 2015 – IT News Africa
eWaste – an opportunity for economic growth in Africa?
To help ease the high unemployment levels throughout the continent, organisations need to be innovative and create new commercially viable business opportunities. eWaste has captured the headlines in recent months and is no doubt an attractive proposition for companies to help stimulate economy growth. More »
Nov 5, 2015 – South Africa: The Good News
SA climbs 7 places in Global Competitiveness Report
In the most recent World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report, which compares the competitiveness of 140 countries, South Africa climbs seven places to reach 49th. More »
Oct 20, 2015 – AFK Insider
Sub-Saharan African countries have been working hard to improve their economies and become more globally competitive as a result. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index takes into consideration a myriad of factors driving productivity and prosperity in 140 countries, which represent 98.3 per cent of the world’s GDP. More »
Oct 19, 2015 – AFK Insider
5 Opportunities For Investing In African Private Education
This article looks at opportunities for investment in African private education. More »
Oct 19, 2015 – South Africa: The Good News
Great South African Innovations
Taking a look at the most prominent innovations coming out of South Africa. More »
Oct 19, 2015 – South Africa: The Good News
Top 10 Brits with South African Roots
From J.R.R. Tolken to Christian Bale, these various celebrities, artists, and authors share South African roots. More »
Oct 14, 2015 – AFK Insider
World’s Largest Radio Telescope Will Continue African Astronomy Tradition
Construction is expected to begin in 2017 on South Africa’s Square Kilometre Array, the world’s largest radio telescope, and its most powerful. It will be used by scientists to understand how the universe evolved and how stars and galaxies form and change. More »
Sep 29, 2015 – South Africa: The Good News
SA- Home of Top Research Facilities
In this year's World University Rankings, South Africa is the best-represented African nation on this year’s instalment, with nine representatives. More »
Sep 28, 2015 – AFK Insider
10 Impressive, World-Class African Hospitals
Africa is at times involved in the news when there is a medical issue at the core of the story, such as the Ebola virus or HIV/AIDS, and often help from other parts of the world is necessary to combat illness or assist Africans from a medical perspective. More »
Sep 21, 2015 – Ventureburn.com
Everything you need to know about the South African startup ecosystem [2015/2016 Update]
This article is the most comprehensive guide for anyone who wants to get involved with, or have a better understanding of, the country’s fast-growing startup space. It is a part of a series of articles we will pilot, which will also include the West African and East African startup space. More »
Sep 21, 2015 – Ventureburn
Everything You Need to Know About the South African Startup Ecosystem
Are you a venture capitalist or an angel investor looking to invest in a company? Are you an entrepreneur looking for capital or other opportunities? Are you an aspiring startup owner looking for assistance? Well, you have come to the right place. Ventureburn presents an updated guide to South Africa’s startup scene. More »
Sep 11, 2015 – Ventureburn
SiMODiSA survey identifies key challenges to SME development in South Africa
The SiMODiSA Association recently conducted research on key challenges hindering SME development in South Africa. The survey is entitled Accelerating the Growth of SMEs in South Africa and aims to reveal the hindering factors affecting the growth of startups and the scaling of businesses in the country. More »
Aug 18, 2015 – The South African
Mbeki calls for the African Diaspora to come home
Mbeki has called for African brains to return home-- and he might have some reason to feel optimistic. According to a recent Homecoming Revolution survey, 53% of Africans want to come home, most of whom return for family and friends. More »
Aug 5, 2015 – Ventures Africa
What Can We Learn from South African Banks?
The banking sector across Sub-Saharan Africa dominates in terms of total assets and services and remains on the top of the agenda for African policymakers. Various reforms over the past decade have contributed to a more open and conducive banking environment. More »
Jul 28, 2015 – Articles Base
A Quiet Tale of Successful South African Immigration to the US
South African immigration to America is not quite what it used to be. In the 1980s, most South African migrants fell into the category of conscription dodgers, or those fleeing apartheid. In 2015, however, growing numbers of South Africans are making the United States their new home, most notably for professional advancement. More »
Jul 22, 2015 – Ventures Africa
How the App Econony Will Drive Innovation in Africa
The mobile economy has finally arrived in Africa. Anyone who doubts should simply take a look around them. The millennial generation have become the leading purveyors of the emerging “App Economy”. More »
Jul 1, 2015 – Ventures Africa
40 African Entrepreneurs to Watch
With incredible innovations coming out of Africa, Ventures Africa has compiled a list of 40 remarkable African innovators. The idea is to celebrate these idea creators and solution providers, which stems from the belief that the true wealth of Africa is not buried under its soil, but in the brains of its best minds. More »
Jun 28, 2015 – Articlebase
The Quiet Tale of Successful South African Immigration to the US
South African immigration to America is not quite what it used to be. In the 1980s, most South African migrants fell into the category of conscription dodgers, or those fleeing apartheid. In 2015, however, growing numbers of South Africans are making the United States their new home, most notably for professional advancement. More »
Jun 1, 2015 – McKinsey and Company
Accelerating South Africa's Economic Transformation
Most people do not realize that the General Electric Company first came to South Africa in 1898—it was among our first offices overseas. More »
Jun 1, 2015 – McKinsey and Company
When President Nelson Mandela and his new government took office after the historic election of 1994, they faced a prosaic but quite fundamental challenge: South Africa’s public finances were in a mess. More »
Jun 1, 2015 – McKinsey and Company
Why South Africa Must Get Real
Looking back on the last 20 years, there is much to celebrate about South Africa’s progress. Indeed, we could easily have become a Syria, Libya, Iraq, or Ukraine—but our leaders had the foresight and the wisdom to give us the amazing gift of a united, inclusive, nonracial constitutional democracy. More »
Jun 1, 2015 – McKinsey and Company
It's Time for South African Business to Step Up
In all the discussions about who’s responsible for the woes of this country and who will lead us forward, there’s one player that seems to get a free pass. More »
May 23, 2015 – The Economist
India Should Make More of a Valuable Asset Abroad
Part of the secret of China’s success in the past four decades or so has been the clever use of its diaspora. More »
May 8, 2015 – SABC
SA University, UNICEF partner over HIV/Aids testing strip
A collaboration between the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and Rhodes University could revolutionise the manner in which diagnostic testing related to HIV/Aids is done in the field. Unicef's Global Innovation Centre has partnered with the Eastern Cape institution’s Biotechnology Innovation Centre to develop a rapid, cost effective testing strip that will determine a patient's CD4 count in less than twenty minutes. More »
Apr 30, 2015 – The South African
Brand South Africa Appeals for Tolerance Across Communities
Brand South Africa has echoed government’s call and has urged all Global South Africans to support the efforts to stop the attacks on foreign nationals. Brand South Africa appeals to citizens to play their part in ending these attacks on foreign nationals by exercising restraint and calm. More »
Feb 27, 2015 – McKinsey & Company
There is a direct correlation between economic growth and electricity supply. If sub-Saharan Africa is to fulfill its promise, it needs power—and lots of it. Fulfilling the economic and social promise of the region, and Africa in general, depends on the ability of government and investors to develop the continent’s huge electricity capacity. More »
Feb 18, 2015 – BuzzFeed
Why I’m Moving Back To South Africa
Award-winning journalist Jonny Steinberg on the man who inspired him to write his new book, A Man of Good Hope, as well as return to his home country. More »
Dec 15, 2014 – Innovus
Innovus had a stellar year, with a large number (37) of disclosures received, nine licenses signed and seven companies added to their Group of which five are new technology spin-out companies. "We are very proud of our achievements and grateful for the support received from researchers and Stellenbosch University (SU) alike," says Anita Nel, CEO of Innovus and senior director: Innovation and Business Development. More »
Dec 15, 2014 – Innovus
SU scientist's technology aids Philae landing
The recent successful landing on the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet was made possible by a flywheel developed under the leadership of a researcher from Stellenbosch University. Professor Herman Steyn, head of the Satellite Engineering Group at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Stellenbosch University, was the project leader of the team that developed the flywheel for the Philae lander while he was working for Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) in 2000. More »
Dec 15, 2014 – Innovus
SU at top of patent list for 2009-2014
Stellenbosch University (SU) leads the pack in South Africa for Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international patent applications over the past five years. During this period SU filed an impressive 59 PCT applications, which is more than any other South African entity. Remarkably, the top four PCT filers in South Africa are publicly funded entities such as universities and research councils. The highest ranked privately funded entity on the list is energy giant SASOL. More »
Dec 15, 2014 – Innovus
South Africans will have to wait for cheaper generics
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) recently passed a judgment in the long running patent battle between German pharmaceutical giant Bayer and Cape Town-based generic pharmaceutical company Pharma Dynamics. The judgment prohibits Pharma Dynamics from selling their cheaper, generic version of Bayer's popular contraceptive "Yasmin" in South Africa. More »
Dec 15, 2014 – Innovus
Pitching Den final rewards promising pitches
On Wednesday 15 October 2014, the LaunchLab hosted the final round of its Pitching Den competition, which marked the end of the semester's LaunchLab Ideas programme. The competition provided young entrepreneurs with the opportunity to pitch their business ideas in an attempt to win their share of R80 000 in seed funding and attracted 81 entries from four different universities and other entrepreneurs in the Western Cape. More »
Dec 15, 2014 – Innovus
Pitching Den final rewards promising pitches
On Wednesday 15 October 2014, the LaunchLab hosted the final round of its Pitching Den competition, which marked the end of the semester's LaunchLab Ideas programme. The competition provided young entrepreneurs with the opportunity to pitch their business ideas in an attempt to win their share of R80 000 in seed funding and attracted 81 entries from four different universities and other entrepreneurs in the Western Cape. More »
Oct 21, 2014 – Memeburn
African women in tech: Emma Kaye on changing the conversation around women
Where are the women in tech? Who are the women building technology or working in technology in Africa? These questions and many more are asked on a daily basis. When it comes to technology in Africa, the general consensus is that women are not present. We beg to differ. More »
Oct 16, 2014 – Ventureburn
How can government support South Africa’s startup ecosystem?
South Africa’s National Development Plan hopes to see 11-million new jobs by 2030. That’s a hell of a lot considering the country currently sits at an estimated 25.2% unemployment rate. One way of dealing with this staggering statistic is developing a playing field where small businesses and entrepreneurs can flourish. More »
Oct 16, 2014 – SAVCA
The latest RisCura-SAVCA South African Private Equity Performance Reportconfirms that South African private equity continues its run of strong performance. Over the ten years to June 2014, private equity funds yielded an annualised rate of return of 18.6% net of fees. This strong track record, alongside a continued market recovery since 2008, supports a fresh wave of fundraising by local managers, many of whom have launched new funds over the past year. For investors with long-term time horizons, private equity investment in this market remains attractive. More »
Oct 15, 2014 – Fin24
South African Executives Lead World on Creative Behaviours
Tim Schweikert, president and CEO of GE South Africa and transportation for Sub-Saharan Africa, told Fin24 that innovation drives economic growth and has the potential to raise the standard of living and addressing some of societies greatest challenges More »
Oct 15, 2014 – Fin24
South Africa Wins International Outsourcing Skills Award
South Africa has won the “Skills Development Programme of the Year” at the National Outsourcing Association (NOA) Professional Awards in London. The NOA Outsourcing Professional Awards celebrate the individuals and teams that have added the most value to their companies, partners and the global outsourcing industry over the past year. More »
Oct 6, 2014 – AfricanBrains
Entrepreneurial Revolution breaking out amongst SA teens
The SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation has been running a number of workshops, seminars and competitions with high schoolers to encourage entrepreneurial thinking and nurture their ideas. This article covers accomplished teen entrepreneurs and the staggering success rate of South Afican entrepreneur youth. More »
Sep 29, 2014 – UKTI
UKTI Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP) - Looking for Exciting, Scalable Young Technology Companies
The UKTI Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP) has been created to assist young technology companies establish a European headquarters or hub in UK and provides support for: access to insights, guidance and networks of internationally successful entrepreneurs, acces to relevant skills and talent pools, access to investors and investor networks, and links to potential customers. More »
Sep 29, 2014 – News24
Challenges Facing Young Entrepreneurs in South Africa
Rory Atkinson discusses basic core aspects and challenges of young, South African entrepreuners. South Africa's alarmingly high (and growing) unemployment rate has finally encouraged the government to turn to promoting youth entrepreneurship as a solution. Included in this promotion thereof are tax subsidies and other government incentives, as well as various initiative programs to help heighten the entrepreneurial spirit that seemed to be lacking in our youth. More »
Sep 20, 2014 – CPAFRICA
90 African Tech Hubs and Counting- Tech hubs across Africa: Which will be the Legacy Makers?
One of the key features of the African digital rennaissance is that it is increasingly home grown. In other sectors of the African economy, such as mining or agribusiness, much of the know-how is imported and the wealth extracted. But Africa's 700 million mobile subscribers use services that are provided locally and they are also downloading applications that are developed locally. More »
Aug 26, 2014 – MoneyWeb
So We Avoided a Recession. Do We Care?
South Africa’s economy avoided falling into a technical recession by expanding by an annualised 0.6% in the three months through June. This is no cause for celebration. More »
Aug 15, 2014 – SAVCA
South African Private Equity Investors Confident in Attractiveness of Domestic Market
South African private equity fund managers remain confident about the attractiveness of their home market, following two years of successful fundraising and a gradual pick-up in deal activity. More »
Aug 5, 2014 – McKinsey Global Institute
Lions go global: Deepening Africa's ties to the United States
Africa is the world's second-fastest growing economic region, yet US engagement with the continent is lagging. There's an opportunity to change that. More »
Aug 4, 2014 – SAVCA
South African Private Equity sustains its outperformance
The latest RisCura-SAVCA South African Private Equity Performance Report confirms that the private equity asset class continues to deliver a vibrant performance, and moreover one that compares favourably with listed equity. More »
Jul 31, 2014 – SAVCA
SARS delivers on venture capital tax incentives
Two proposed changes to Section 12J of the Income Tax Act will have a positive impact on the South African venture capital industry and stimulate investment into privately owned entrepreneurial businesses in South Africa. More »
Jul 27, 2014 – Young African Leaders Initiative
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders
President Obama meets with sub-Saharan Africa's most promising young leaders to announce the renaming of the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in honor of Nelson Mandela. More »
Jul 25, 2014 – Venture Capital for Africa
Angel investing in Africa's startups: Join the movement!
Filling the funding gap: Entrepreneurs around the world often face funding gaps between what friends and families can offer and what banks, VCs, and private equity (PE) firms are willing to contribute. VC4A discusses why 'angel investing' is important. More »
Jul 23, 2014 – African Brains
IBM drives innovation in South African start up community
Entrepreneur programme produces first of a kind road safety system and mobile app to help reduce road accidents. More »
Jul 23, 2014 – ZDNet
The organiser of Maker Faire Africa talks to ZDNet about why he wants to build a network of inventors. More »
Jul 20, 2014 – news24
Labour's Shaky Future in South Africa
The South African labour environment is characterized by massive unemployment and a low level of education. More »
Jul 16, 2014 – DW
Mxit - South Africa's Facebook
Mxit has profited from the slow, expensive and unreliable mobile Internet in South Africa. The fast-expanding social network does not need a speedy Internet and runs on inexpensive mobile phones. More »
Jul 14, 2014 – allAfrica
South Africa: Local Business Set to Shine
A local floor polishing project, just outside Thohoyandou, in Limpopo, is set to shine from the financial assistance they will receive from the Vhembe Municipality. More »
Jul 9, 2014 – BizCommunity
Content Marketing in South Africa: Don't Let Your Business Miss an Opportunity
For many businesses in South Africa, effective content marketing offers exceptional return on investment, and in many sectors, it offers a real opportunity to propel an average business towards becoming an industry super star. More »
Jul 4, 2014 – theguardian
How Do We Help Africa's Entrepreneurs?
Across the African continent, entrepreneurs are starting every size, and every type, of business. More »
Jul 1, 2014 – Ventureburn
Entrepreneur Traction Aims to Build, Cement SA’s Growing Tech Community
A new initiative called Entrepreneur Traction believes that the Western Cape’s tech innovators are to play a critical role in driving job creation in South Africa. More »
Jun 27, 2014 – SouthAfrica.info
Local Procurement 'To Grow Black Entrepreneurs'
The government has set itself the target of procuring 75% of goods and services from South African producers as part of its drive to create a new class of black industrialists and entrepreneurs, says Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. More »
Jun 26, 2014 – themediaonline
SA entrepreneur Launches Mobile TV for Africa
A South African media entrepreneur has launched an innovative mobile app that will give viewers access to 10 television channels. More »
Jun 23, 2014 – The Globe and Mail
Canada targets South Africa as priority market in Africa
South Africa might be strike-plagued, on the brink of recession and refusing to sign any foreign investment treaties these days, but it will remain the linchpin of Canada’s economic strategy on the African continent... More »
Jun 23, 2014 – Cape
MEDO and DTI Showcase South African Enterprise and Supplier Development
Taking on London this month, MEDO and the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) are showcasing their enterprise and supplier development programme – demonstrating on an international platform just how far local entrepreneurship has come. More »
Jun 16, 2014 – Airport World
Airports Company South Africa Launches App
Airports Company South Africa has launched a free app that will assist passengers to not only easily navigate any of its nine airports - but also make all their travel arrangements from the comfort of their smartphones. More »
Jun 13, 2014 – HNGN
Free Wi-Fi Coming to Taxi Users in South Africa
South Africa's National Taxi Council (SANTACO) announced that free Wi-Fi will be offered to the country's taxi users. More »
Jun 13, 2014 – SouthAfrica.info
State of the Nation: What South Africans are Looking For
Youth development, jobs, housing and small business support are among the things that ordinary South African will be looking for when President Jacob Zuma delivers his State of the Nation address in Parliament in Cape Town on Tuesday. More »
Jun 11, 2014 – allAfrica
South Africa: Mobile Devices Boom to Drive Innovation - Expert
The envisaged mobile devices boom in Africa is increasing and mobile technology is a catalyst for both business improvement and innovation, a technology expert projected. More »
Jun 10, 2014 – Moneyweb
Business Confidence Remains Low
Business confidence in South Africa remained unchanged at a low 41 index points in the second quarter of 2014, sparking fears that the economy is already in a technical recession. More »
Jun 10, 2014 – Ventureburn
Want to Start a Business Cheaply? Think Twice about South Africa
New research from Venture Capital firm, Savannah Fund, shows that South Africa is the most expensive country to start a tech company in. More »
Apr 13, 2014 – Moneyweb
Derailing the Government Gravy Train
The country’s first chief procurement officer has his work cut out for him. Provincial and nation government is spending R1 billion annually on cellphones per year and R6.5 billion on cars. More »
Apr 6, 2014 – BBC News
Nigeria Becomes Africa's Biggest Economy
Nigeria has "rebased" its gross domestic product (GDP) data, which has pushed it above South Africa as the continent's biggest economy. More »
Apr 6, 2014 – Wall Street Journal | Market Watch
Nigeria's Economy Surpasses South Africa
Nigeria has surpassed South Africa as the largest economy in Africa, after the government on Sunday released its first full measure of the economy for the continent’s most-populous country. More »
Mar 26, 2014 – Forbes
Inside Sequoia Capital: Silicon Valley's Innovation Factory
When Doug Leone arrived in Mount Vernon, N.Y. in 1968, the 11-year-old Italian immigrant didn’t have a clue. He flunked a math quiz in school because the terms “true” and “false” bewildered him. More »
Mar 23, 2014 – eNCAnews
Malva pudding piques US palates' interest [Video]
Malva Pudding entered the limelight when Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef served it at her Girls' Academy Christmas dinner. And now it's gained popularity on the US West Coast. More »
Mar 13, 2014 – Forbes
Why Small Business Communities Grow In Clusters
I’ve long had an interest in developing a new way of looking at startup communities, based less on the usual government statistics (tax and crime rates, income growth and so forth) than on a cluster effect… More »
Mar 5, 2014 – CP-Africa
90 African Tech Hubs and Counting - Tech Hubs Across Africa: Which Will Be The Legacy Makers?
One of the key features of the African digital renaissance is that it is increasingly home grown. In other sectors of the African economy… More »
Feb 19, 2014 – South Africa Good News
Joburg is the Top Please to be for Africa's Youth
If you're young and you live in Africa, then Johannesburg is the land of opportunity, according to the Youthful Cities Index. The index, released by Canadian NGO Youthful Cities, ranked Johannesburg 14th out of 100 global cities, ahead of four other African cities – Cairo (21), Lagos (23), Nairobi (24) and Kinshasa (25). More »
Feb 10, 2014 – Times LIVE
Following the C40 Cities Mayors' Summit in Joburg last week, IBM is expected to announce several Smart City projects in the next six to 12 months which could see improvement of services in the council. More »
Jan 27, 2014 – SouthAfrica.info
SA to host first BRICS science meeting
The first Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) ministerial meeting on science, technology and innovation will take place in Kleinmond in the Western Cape from 10 to 11 February, the Department of Science and Technology announced last week. More »
Jan 26, 2014 – eNCA
Innovation summit offers hope for health
South Africa faces numerous challenges in its public healthcare system. But in the run up to the Inclusive Healthcare Innovation Summit, which kicks off in Cape Town on Wednesday, doctors and technicians from around the world have joined forces in the hope of providing creative healthcare solutions. More »
Jan 23, 2014 – BizCommunity
South African exhibitions offer springboard to Africa's growth
For a long time, first world countries have been the powerhouses of mega trade-fairs with the UK, Europe and the US producing enormous exhibitions that in some sectors have become the premier 'buying' exercises through the supply chain. More »
Jan 21, 2014 – BDlive
Gates Foundation forms new health partnerships in South Africa
THE Medical Research Council (MRC) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) on Tuesday announced two new partnerships with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aimed at finding new tools to fight HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. More »
Jan 19, 2014 – BDlive
Flashes of genius put SA in the world arena
IN recent weeks, I have been fortunate to have met a range of smart South African entrepreneurs who are doing incredibly exciting stuff in the technology space, often with relatively few resources. More »
Jan 17, 2014 – AfricaBrains
EU and South Africa to step up cooperation in science, technology and innovation
The EU and South Africa will step up collaboration in the fields of global health research, earth observation and research infrastructures, senior officials agreed at a meeting in Brussels on Jan. 13. More »
Jan 15, 2014 – The South African
400 000 SA ‘repats’ have come home, but brain drain persists
The expatriates who brought majestic Durban vowels, clipped Jozi English and Cape Town slang to the world’s most dynamic cities are, in part, streaming back to South Africa. The reasons are as diverse as the number of South Africans who left, but some major themes predominate, as a new report from JSE-listed human capital management group Adcorp shows More »
Jan 15, 2014 – allAfrica
South Africa: Nation Moves to Grow Bio-Economy
The government has launched an updated bio-economy strategy that seeks to harness partnerships with industry and academia in order to accelerate the development of bio-based services, products and innovations in South Africa. More »
Jan 15, 2014 – TechCentral
SA start-up in heart innovation
A South African start-up has secured patents in 11 countries for new heart-valve replacement technology aimed specifically at patients in emerging markets. More »
Jan 14, 2014 – BDlive
Expertise flows back into SA as brain drain is reversed
SOUTH Africa’s "brain drain" problems have been reversed over the past few years, thanks in part to weak economies elsewhere — a continuing trend that bodes well for local business, says Adcorp labour market economist Loane Sharp. More »
Jan 9, 2014 – Harvard Business Review
Africa’s Entrepreneurs Can’t Be Restrained by Fear of Failure
The spirit of entrepreneurialism, with its promise or reduced youth unemployment and economic renewal, is certainly gathering steam across Africa. But true entrepreneurship-led transformation will require a mindset shift amongst Africa’s small business owners. More »
Jan 8, 2014 – Human IPO
Innovative healthcare initiative launched in Cape Town
The Graduate School of Business and the Faculty of Health Sciences unveiled the collaborative project, which is intended to encourage African citizens to reimagine healthcare across the continent. More »
Jan 7, 2014 – Electorial Commission of South Africa
The Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Department of International Relations & Cooperation (DIRCO) hereby announce their collaboration to register South Africans living outside of the country as voters for the very first time. More »
Dec 20, 2013 – The Africa Report
Africa in 2014: African Design, Innovation On The Global Stage
As the first African city to be named a World Design Capital, Cape Town will be showcasing its talent in 2014. The slogan behind Cape Town's bid was to "make the city a better place to live" by finding design solutions to a metropolis characterised by socioeconomic divides. More »
Dec 18, 2013 – VentureBurn
The South African entrepreneurial landscape according to Ernst & Young
South Africa is a country of extremes when it comes to entrepreneurship, says Ernst & Young. The company reaches this conclusion inside its 2013 G20 Entrepreneurship Barometer report which surveyed 1500 entrepreneurs in countries that include South Africa, Brazil, India, Russia and China as well as more developed nations such as the US, Japan and the UK. More »
Dec 18, 2013 – Forbes
Jobs In South Africa: A Gift For Every Season
Sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology in South Africa, the TT100 Programme recognizes companies focused on developing a local culture of technological innovation and excellence. More »
Dec 17, 2013 – How We Made It In Africa
Impact of Africa’s innovation hubs: Too early to call?
Innovation and technology hubs have been springing up across the continent in recent years. From Hive Colab in Uganda, to iHub in Kenya and to kLab in Rwanda, these ICT hubs were founded in an effort to catalyse tech and innovation by establishing a common space for knowledge transfer and resource sharing for Africa’s aspiring and tech savvy entrepreneurs. More »
Dec 11, 2013 – VentureBurn
Crowdfunding campaign to Jumpstart Africa’s innovative game-changers
Based in Morocco but with regional and international ambitions, Jumpstart Africa is an initiative currently raising money in an effort to help connect and finance Africa’s brightest entrepreneurs and innovators with the rest of the world. More »
Dec 11, 2013 – Silicon Valley Business Journal
Teen Behind $200 Million Exit Unveils New Idea
Harker School senior Arjun Mehta, whose idea as a 12-year-old turned into a business that Visa bought for $200 million, is back with a new startup. More »
Nov 28, 2013 – Business Day Live
Innovation policy will determine path of South African growth
THE experts who gathered in Durban last week for a conference on how developing nations can "create and leverage intellectual property (IP)" did not have to go far for an example of what not to do. They simply had to peek at the government’s own proposal for revamping IP, the subject of intense domestic debate in the two months since it was released. More »
Nov 25, 2013 – Business Tech
South African start-up jobs soar
South African start-ups are currently looking to fill almost 500 open positions, with Cape Town named the top hiring city in the country, according to new research. More »
Nov 8, 2013 – Polity
South Africa @ 20: For Better or for Worse?
Over the next few weeks, online publisher South Africa – The Good News will be promoting the content of its new book South Africa @ 20: For better or for worse? by using some of the articles written by 42 contributors. More »
Oct 21, 2013 – eProp.co.za
Internet: Approaching Construction, Retail Threat
South Africa’s total GDP is approximately R2.964-billion. The Internet economy, as a proportion of GDP, is therefore estimated to make up 2 percent of the South African economy. The result is that an Internet economy, worth R59-billion in 2011, could grow to as much as 2.5 percent of the economy by 2016. More »
Oct 9, 2013 – BD Live
Western Cape on Track to Become Innovation Hub
The Western Cape is breeding a talented crop of technology entrepreneurs and is on track to become an innovation hub, the province’s finance, economic development and tourism MEC, Alan Winde, said on Wednesday. More »
Sep 27, 2013 – Engineering News
Global Spotlight on South African Manufacturer’s Digital X-ray Innovation
Recently featured on season nine of the popular US medical drama series Grey’s Anatomy, where it was described as “the most cutting-edge tool in diagnostic technology”, the proudly South African Lodox full-body digital X-ray scanner has registered significant uptake in market acceptance since its South African television debut in June, launching Sandton-based manufacturer Lodox Systems onto the world stage of health-related technological innovation. More »
Sep 17, 2013 – BBC News
Profile: Costa Concordia Salvage Master Nick Sloane
As efforts to salvage the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship continue off Italy, BBC News profiles the South African expert in charge of the operation. More »
Sep 13, 2013 – Eskom
Eskom Unveils Science and Tech Innovation Park
The Minister of Public Enterprises Malusi Gigaba, met various business sectors and other stakeholders on 29 August 2013, at the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) to implore them to create training opportunities and ultimately jobs for engineering graduates. More »
Sep 12, 2013 – Financial Mail
After 23 years in SA's R6bn fruit industry, many of them as MD of Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing - SA's biggest producer of apples and pears - Charles Hughes (60) is retiring without having fulfilled his ambition of gaining access to China's vast market. He blames it on the SA government. More »
Sep 5, 2013 – Stanford News
StartX, Stanford University and Stanford Hospital & Clinics Announce $3.6M Grant and Venture Fund
The grant money from the university and hospital will help StartX, a nonprofit startup accelerator, scale and support its program for Stanford-affiliated entrepreneurs. More »
Sep 4, 2013 – The South African
UN WTO meets in Africa for first time in sign of things to come
The pivot of global economic primacy towards the East is sometimes assumed by Africans to be someone else’s news – no more than a swapping of one set of export partners for another. But the rise of China, India and Brazil has immense consequences for Africa beyond actual trade with China itself More »
Sep 4, 2013 – The South African
Building Africa’s 10 Cities of the Future (part I)
The real success of the Africa’s shining new cities will be in demonstrating the value of high-density, sustainable patterns of land use, such that they are widely implemented in Africa’s burgeoning metropolises More »
Sep 4, 2013 – Silicon Valley Business Journal
Stanford Boosts StartX Accelerator with Grant, New Fund
StartX, an accelerator formed in 2009 by Stanford students to back startups hatched by classmates, won a pledge of financial support and funding from the Silicon Valley institutions that brought them together. More »
Aug 30, 2013 – The South African
Africa’s Greenest Hotel opens at Cape Town International Airport
Cape Town, having already won countless travel and tourism awards, is sharpening its green and sustainable travel offering with the launch of Africa’s greenest hotel, Hotel Verde More »
Aug 23, 2013 – CNN
South African Firm Invests Billions in U.S. Energy Future
It may be far from home but a South African company is powering its way into the U.S. energy landscape, hoping that its grand plan to introduce a once-shunned technology in the United States will pay off. More »
Aug 19, 2013 – Quora
The Ultimate Cheat Sheet For Starting And Running A Business
This is going be a bullet FAQ on starting a business. If you're a lawyer, feel free to disagree with me so you can charge someone your BS fees to give the same advice. More »
Aug 13, 2013 – Property 24
Top 10 Cities for African Millionaires
New World Wealth, an Oxford based wealth consultancy has conducted an in-depth analysis of the African high net worth community. More »
Aug 13, 2013 – News24
SA Startup Seeks US Crowd Funding
A local travel company has turned to a US-based crowd funding website to launch an audio travel guide. More »
Aug 2, 2013 – Engineering News
Bridging Innovation, Commercialisation Gap Key to Reviving Manufacturing
The local manufacturing sector’s contribution to South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) has dropped by 33% over the last decade. This could partly be attributed to the gap between innovation in the sector and the commercialisation of products, says manage- ment and consulting firm BMGI senior consultant Dimitri Markoulides. More »
Jul 7, 2013 – Nature Biotechnology
Small but Tenacious: South Africa's Health Biotech Sector
Despite a challenging business environment, entrepreneurial health biotech companies in South Africa are finding ways to succeed. More »
May 31, 2013 – AllAfrica
South African Mobile Application Company Wins Top Award
The Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom, has congratulated a South African mobile applications company, which today was selected as one of the top five innovative and entrepreneurial companies in the world. More »
May 30, 2013 – Ventureburn
Startup Blitz: Zapacab talks taxis and being South Africa’s Uber
Ever wished you could just snap your fingers and a taxi would magically appear in front of you? Well, a South African-based startup is working on a similar solution: one that involves a smartphone app that lets you ‘zap’ a cab. More »
May 30, 2013 – iol News
Cape Entrepreneur Makes Forbes list
A small business in Khayelitsha which uses bicycles to deliver chronic medication to people, has earned its owner a spot on the Forbes Magazine’s 30 under-30 Africa’s best young entrepreneurs list. More »
May 28, 2013 – Ventureburn
Meet the Top 20 Entrepreneurs at the Global Forum
Recognizing entrepreneurs that are doing amazing work around the world is quite important and that’s what the Global Forum on Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship is all about. This year’s event is currently taking place in South Africa and touts itself as a “biennial flagship event convening the global innovation and entrepreneurship community to exchange know-how, establish partnerships and develop innovative approaches”. More »
May 25, 2013 – Ventures
Solving Africa’s Local Content Gap with Umuntu’s Johan Nel
As technology continues to drive growth and development in Africa, the need for local content in ICT crucial as the continent takes shape. Although local content is available, the challenge of capturing, repackaging, storing and disseminating them to a wider group of users cannot be overemphasized. Thus, local content needs originators with motivation and innovative minds to create, adapt or exchange it. More »
May 16, 2013 – Saine Innovation Network
The Role of Social Business Software in Delivering Innovation
Businesses today operate within a dynamic environment, shaped by variables such as evolving legislation, globalization and economic volatility. Disruptive new technologies create new competitors overnight, and the only way to get and stay in front is to constantly innovate. More »
May 9, 2013 – AllAfrica
Africa: Innovation Prize for Africa Winner
With global population expected to grow to 9 billion by 2050 and more than 900 million people living in hunger, the demand for nutritious food is rapidly increasing. Acknowledging this need and the impact of hunger in Africa, the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) has named the AgriProtein team as its 2013 winner. More »
May 9, 2013 – SouthAfrica.info
African Social Entrepreneurs Honored
South African entrepreneur and founder of interactive mobile learning tool Afroes, Anne Githuku-Shongwe, was one of five Africans awarded social entrepreneur of the year at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town on Thursday. More »
Mar 12, 2012 – Evershed Sutherland
Telecommunications Infrastructure in South Africa
South Africa, the country that invented touchtone dialling, boasts an outstanding telecommunications infrastructure and a diversity of print and broadcast media. With a network that is 99% digital and includes the latest in fixed-line, wireless and satellite communications, South Africa has the most developed telecommunications network in Africa. More »
May 9, 2013 – Engineering News
NYDA Welcomes DED’S R3bn Commitment for Young Entrepreneurs
The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) on Thursday commended the Department of Economic Development for allocating R3-billion over the next five years, as part of the Youth Employment Accord. More »
May 3, 2013 – Ventureburn
Five Small-Town SA Tech Entrepreneurs Sign Deals with International Investors
In March this year we reported that a group of SA tech entrepreneurs from small-town South Africa, were set to take a trip to the UK with the hope of signing deals with international investors. The organization behind the program, MEDO (Micro Enterprise Development organization) reports that five of the 11 small businesses represented on its current program signed deals or partnerships with stakeholders in the UK and Europe. MEDO says that the remaining six created networks with potential partners, with a long-term view for exponential business growth. More »
May 1, 2013 – Huffington Post
Solving Poverty: What South Africa Needs Now Are Jobs
I just returned from an inspiring, and in parts, equally frustrating trip to South Africa, supporting my on-the-ground team working for Operation HOPE, South Africa. More »
April 30, 2013 – Ventureburn
Six Reasons Why SA’s Western Cape Deserves to be Called Silicon Cape
The Western Cape region, which includes Stellenbosch and Cape Town is colloquially referred to as “Silicon Cape”, a nod to the legendary Silicon Valley in the United States. The Western Cape is generally acknowledged as having South Africa’s strongest entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Digital gateway to Africa report recently jointly published by Wesgro, City of Cape Town and PwC, shines a light on exactly why the region has become so attractive to both intrepid capital seekers and providers. More »
April 25, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
Vodacom Comes Top of the Class
Cellular giant Vodacom has taken first place in the 2013 RepTrak™ Pulse survey‚ emerging with the best reputation among South Africa's top 20 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. More »
April 24, 2013 – Ventureburn
Ventureburn Talks Entrepreneurship with Omidyar Network Africa’s Malik Fal
Right around the time Omidyar Network released its Accelerating Entrepreneurship in Africa report, we had an opportunity to talk to Malik Fal, managing director of Omidyar Network Africa. Fal has a finger on the pulse of entrepreneurship in Africa. He leads Omidyar Network’s investment strategy and operations on the continent, and for the last 15 years has been involved with social entrepreneurship, business, and development, primarily in the African context. More »
April 23, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
Why Brands Should Behave More like Entrepreneurs
The future of the country rests firmly in the hands of the entrepreneurs. Tabled as the flavor of the decade, entrepreneurs are fast becoming the base of the wealth pyramid and are the people who will give rise to the mega-companies of tomorrow. More »
April 23, 2013 – Ventureburn
Startups Must Have Something Unique to be Successful, Says Gloo Boss
Running your own business is hard work, especially when that business has been named Digital Agency of the Year six years running. Gloo, founded in 2005, is not what one would typically call a startup, as it’s a service-based business rather than a product-driven one. More »
April 22, 2013 – Capital FM Business
Report Highlights Challenges for African Businesses
A new research into entrepreneurship in Africa has revealed that the greatest challenge facing businesses is the state of entrepreneurial assets which include financing, skills, talent and infrastructure. More »
April 22, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
Six Entrepreneurs have been Chosen to go to Italy to Represent South Africa
Six entrepreneurs have been chosen to go to Italy to represent South Africa at the U-Start Bloom Global Business showcase event! U-Start is a revolutionary global online platform that puts dynamic entrepreneurs worldwide in touch with international investors most focused on innovative, high growth, and impact-driven projects. More »
April 22, 2013 – How We Made it in Africa
Entrepreneurship Becoming a More Respectable Career Choice in Africa
Entrepreneurs are gaining an increasing level of respect in Africa, according to a new report with the title ‘Accelerating entrepreneurship in Africa’. More »
April 19, 2013 – Africa Business Communities
South Africa’s Mobile Money Industry Remains Innovative and Diverse
South Africa remains one of the most diverse regions in Africa for its proliferation of successful mobile money business models being championed by banks, MNOs (mobile network operators), third party providers and retailers. This is according to Emma Pearce, director of the upcoming, annual Mobile Money Africa conference and exhibition, which will again gather the continent’s leading industry experts in Johannesburg from 28-29 May. More »
April 19, 2013 – AllAfrica
Namibia: Marlon Parker Launches Rlabs Namibia
Founded in the notorious Cape Flats in Cape Town, South Africa in 2008, the Reconstructed Living Lab famously known as the RLabs is a global movement that provides innovative solutions to address various complex problems. More »
April 19, 2013 – Mail & Guardian
Born in the RSA - and big in the USA
Most say the same thing. They came to the United States either to avoid army conscription or apartheid itself in the late 1980s. They planned to stay for just a few years, but they stayed on. More »
April 19, 2013 – Ventureburn
Omidyar Network Releases African Entrepreneurship Report, it’s a Must Read
We have the pleasure of presenting the Accelerating Entrepreneurship in Africa report compiled by the Omidyar Network, the philanthropic foundation established by Pierre Omidyar — the founder of eBay — in partnership with global strategy consulting film, Monitor Group. This epic 48-page report is the result of a three-phase research project launched in 2012 aimed to better understand the state of entrepreneurship in Africa. More »
April 19, 2013 – IT Web
Seed Engine Calls for Tech Innovation
Applications for the second Seed Engine Business Accelerator are open and the program is offering R100 000 to 10 tech business ideas, as well as a 13-week boot camp. More »
April 19, 2013 – IT News Africa
Social Media Opens Doors for UJ Students
An innovative tool that allows businesses to see what people are saying about them on social media platforms has won three University of Johannesburg computer science students and their supervisor a place in the final of a global technology competition in Russia later this year. More »
April 18, 2013 – Ventureburn
SAP Finds Innovation in Africa, Announces Startup Forum Winners
Enterprise companies are increasingly looking to startups for innovation. The SAP Startup Focus program saw, eight finalists — selected from 50 across Africa — pitch their ideas on how to best leverage the real-time capabilities of SAP HANA, the real-time business insight database platform. The judging panel included Kaustav Mitra, who leads the SAP Startup Focus program, as well as senior SAP specialists based in Palo Alto, California. More »
April 18, 2013 – Huffington Post
Business Insights from Entrepreneur Kurt Won
I think the best way to learn about business is from other experts. Below is an interview with entrepreneur Kurt Won. More »
April 18, 2013 – South Africa: The Good News
MasterCard Continues to Support Entrepreneurship in SA
MasterCard has continued its support of entrepreneurship in South Africa, with a R1 million donation to Junior Achievement South Africa (JASA), which will see 440 learners from 11 South African high schools taking part in the 2013 Mini Enterprise Program, a globally-recognized initiative that fosters entrepreneurship, particularly amongst females. More »
April 18, 2013 – Forbes
African Charitable Giving Gets a Boost with Newly Launched African Philanthropy Forum
A small group of African philanthropists including singer Angelique Kidjo have joined together to create the African Philanthropy Forum, an affiliate of the San Francisco-based Global Philanthropy Forum, which brings peers together to learn from each other about what works best in philanthropy. The group aims to expand strategic philanthropy by Africans in Africa. More »
April 17, 2013 – IT News Africa
Dell Secured as Platinum Demo Sponsor of Tech Demo Africa 2013
Tech Demo Africa 2013, organized by Africa’s technology news leader ITNewsAfrica, is scheduled to take place on 21 & 22 May at The Innovation Hub located in South Africa’s administrative capital city, Pretoria. More »
April 16, 2013 – Wall Street Journal
Frost & Sullivan Lauds Genpact South Africa for its Commitment to Enhancing Customer Value
Based on its recent analysis of the business process outsourcing market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Genpact South Africa with the 2013 African Customer Value Enhancement Award. More »
April 15, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
Innovation: Lifeblood of the Motor Industry
The global motor industry has always been driven to act smarter, make it cheaper and make it more efficiently, all without sacrificing the quality and durability of the product or the level of customer service. More »
April 15, 2013 – BDLive
Proposed Law Will Hammer Informal Economy
When new legislation is introduced that will completely change the way business is done, one imagines its drafters feel it will be good for the economy and people of the country. That is certainly the claim in the preamble to the new Licensing of Businesses Bill, which has been tabled for public comment by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies. However, this bill is a fundamental attack on key aspects of South Africa’s vibrant and growing informal economy, which provides a livelihood for many people. More »
April 15, 2013 – Ventureburn
SA Startup Paperight Wins Prestigious Innovation Award at London Book Fair
If you haven’t heard of Paperight, the network of independent copy shops that print books, it’s time to pay attention: the South African startup is capturing the imagination of the world’s publishing industry. On the heels of being named one of the winners of the O’Reilly Tools of Change Startup Showcase held in New York City, the startup from Cape Town was awarded the Digital Minds Innovation Award at the London Book Fair — one of the world’s most prestigious publishing events. More »
April 15, 2013 – My PR
South Africa’s Mobile Money Industry Remains Innovative and Diverse
South Africa remains one of the most diverse regions in Africa for its proliferation of successful mobile money business models being championed by banks, MNOs (mobile network operators), third party providers and retailers. This is according to Emma Pearce, director of the upcoming, annual Mobile Money Africa conference and exhibition, which will again gather the continent’s leading industry experts in Johannesburg from 28-29 May. More »
April 15, 2013 – South Africa: The Good News
Investing R12 Million in Black Entrepreneurs
Investec and Raizcorp have partnered to provide business support and development to the value of R12 million, to 12 entrepreneurs. This exciting new partnership will enable entrepreneurs of black-owned businesses to take part in a two-year long program that facilitates increased profitability in their respective businesses. More »
April 14, 2013 – Business Tech
SA Business and Innovation Status
South Africa ranks 55th out of 144 countries in terms of its business and innovation environment, according to the latest report by the World Economic Forum. More »
April 12, 2013 – Dynamic Business
Entrepreneur with an Appetite for Expansion
After South African entrepreneur Stan Gordon made the bold move to come to Australia – a country he knew nothing about – he felt like he’d landed on Mars. More »
April 10, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
EIP Entrepreneurs Ready to Go with Business Plans
Five entrepreneurs who recently graduated from Anglo American's first Entrepreneur Internship Program are now equipped with a market-ready business plan that is implementable and will provide them with the foundation to run a successful business with strong growth opportunities. More »
April 10, 2013 – Ventures Africa
Africa’s Most Innovative Companies: Corculture
South Africa is experiencing an increase in the number of new investment channels due to a lack of funding for early stage entrepreneurs. More »
April 10, 2013 – Business Report
Entrepreneurs’ Chance for Financing
Forty hopeful KwaZulu-Natal entrepreneurs could leave a ‘funding fair’ with their dreams of finance fulfilled. In turn the local economy will benefit by the launching of businesses worth more than R400 million and the creation of jobs. More »
April 10, 2013 – South Africa: The Good News
South African Entrepreneur Named Yale World Fellow
Saul Kornik, CEO of Africa Health Placements, has been named a 2013 Yale World Fellow, announced Yale University President Richard C. Levin. Kornik co-founded Africa Health Placements, a company focused on delivering healthcare to disenfranchised communities in South Africa and surrounding countries. His company has placed more than 2500 health workers, mostly in rural areas, and provides technical human resources support to the South African government and healthcare sector, reaching over 10 million people per year. More »
April 9, 2013 – Maxum Entrepreneurship
Cape Town: A True Leader in Entrepreneurship
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) performed research that showed that Cape Town’s entrepreneurs equaled 65% higher than the whole country’s average. Johannesburg may be South Africa’s economic capital, but entrepreneurship in the City of Gold is recorded at only 24% above the national average. The research also showed that the entrepreneurs in Cape Town had chosen entrepreneurship as their avenue of choice, as a choice, rather than many Johannesburg-based entrepreneurs who had chosen self-employment out of necessity. More »
April 9, 2013 – Business Today
INDIAFRICA: Promoting Indo-African Entrepreneurship
Extracting drinking water from air, building low-cost bamboo toilets, creating an SMS app to inform about water shortages; these were some of the ideas which emerged at the first 'INDIAFRICA' collaborative workshop organized on April 4 and 5 by the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with design and strategy company, IdeaWorks, for Indian and African students aspiring to become entrepreneurs. More »
April 8, 2013 – SouthAfrica.info
South Africa: SKA SA Calls for Design Participants
South African companies and institutions with the right expertise may be eligible for financial assistance on a shared cost, shared risk basis towards participating in the design phase of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope, SKA South Africa announced last week. More »
April 7, 2013 – Forbes
Education Finally Ripe For Radical Innovation by Social Entrepreneurs
From 2001-2003 as a Senior Executive at Hewlett Packard, I chaired a working group of the UN Information and Communications Technology Task Force. Our goal was getting technology into the hands of underserved populations around the world to improve education, health care and economic development. NIIT’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Sugata Mitra had received international acclaim for his famous “hole-in-the-wall” experiment in the New Delhi slum of Kalkaji, fueling the belief that if kids had access to the internet they would essentially educate themselves. More »
April 5, 2013 – BDLive
Davies Unveils Fifth Industrial Plan, with Focus on Boosting Jobs and Innovation
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies on Thursday unveiled the fifth iteration of South Africa’s three-year rolling Industrial Policy Action Plan (Ipap), putting the emphasis squarely on "action" to boost employment, encourage innovation and fight poverty. More »
April 5, 2013 – Forbes
Rockefeller and Tony Elumelu Foundation Launch African Impact Fund
The Rockefeller Foundation and the Tony Elumelu Foundation, founded by Nigerian philanthropist Tony Elumelu, have launched an impact investment fund for Africa. More »
April 5, 2013 – IT News Africa
10 African Innovation Incubators to Watch
Entrepreneurs are using technology to develop ideas to introduce products and services to compete within the continent’s burgeoning ICT marketplace. More »
April 5, 2013 – Turkish Weekly
South Africa Unveils New Industrial Plan to Spur Economic Growth
The South African government has launched a new industrial plan with structural adjustments to stimulate economic growth, local media reported Friday. More »
April 4, 2013 – Ventureburn
Funding and South Africa’s Tech Startups [Infographic]
South Africa’s funding scene is cagey. It’s really hard to find concrete information, but it’s no surprise really, considering all the non-disclosure agreements. Silicon Cape has been running a survey in an effort to unlock some funding information which it hopes will enlighten the country’s tech startup community. More »
April 4, 2013 – Think Africa Press
Electric Avenue: Are South Africa's Cars Going Electric?
South Africa is making a number of steps towards introducing electric vehicles. The potential benefits are numerous but so are the challenges. More »
April 3, 2013 – Financial & Advisory News
Innovation Group Launches Insurer Analytics to South Africa
Product launch signals new era in insight and business analytics for South African market. More »
April 3, 2013 – Ventureburn
Corporates Courting Startups: Entrepreneurship in the Enterprise
When we spoke to IBM last year, the world’s largest IT company predicted a decrease in consumer-facing startups. New ventures, it said, will be increasingly targeting enterprise environments. It’s no longer just enterprise heavy-weights such as Oracle, IBM, Accenture and SAP that can compete in corporate environments. Powerful, cost-effective cloud services and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies have opened up an industry ready for disruption — slow-moving corporate environments offer opportunities for nimble startups, that can often tailor make solutions. More »
April 2, 2013 – How We Made it in Africa
Africa Needs More Skilled Engineers, Says Research
“Sufficient engineering capacity is essential to the economic and social development of any country. It is a basic requirement for the provision of infrastructure that enables better healthcare, access to education and the development of an attractive environment for foreign investment. It is a key driver for innovation and growth.” More »
April 2, 2013 – Just Means
Sir Richard Branson Provides South Africans with Free Hearing Aids
Entrepreneur billionaire Sir Richard Branson has returned from a mission to South Africa, where he and partners at the Starkey Hearing Foundation provided hundreds patients with hearing aids. More »
April 1, 2013 – Herald Scotland
Software Solutions Firm Thrives on Organic Growth
IN this week's SME Focus we hear from a South African entrepreneur who has developed a business based in Scotland, which is thriving in a highly specialized area of a global market. More »
March 28, 2013 – Johan Fourie's blog
The Incentives for Entrepreneurs
Vast volumes have been written on the importance of entrepreneurship in building prosperity. Entrepreneurs innovate, identify new markets, implement new systems and process, connect labor, capital and technology in novel ways; in short, entrepreneurs make stuff more efficient than before. But measuring the contribution of ‘entrepreneurship’ to growth has been difficult, given the unquantifiable nature of entrepreneurial traits: motivation, creativity, risk-taking, to name a few. More »
March 28, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
South Africa: Investor Pitch Document for Cape Town ICT Sector
An investor pitch document, entitled 'Digital gateway to Africa', on Cape Town's creative software design and development sector has been conceptualized and driven by Wesgro, in collaboration PwC, and funded by the City of Cape Town. More »
March 28, 2013 – BDLive
Africans Need to Build the Continent Together
A new generation of African entrepreneurs and businesses is emerging. They are challenging traditional incumbents and introducing new business models and strategies that are driving domestic and cross-border growth within Africa. More »
March 27, 2013 – Leader.co.za
Innovate to Solve South Africa's Challenges
South Africans must develop a problem-solving attitude that can find innovative solutions to its problems rather than viewing those issues as merely challenges, FirstRand CEO Sizwe Nxasana said. More »
March 27, 2013 – BDLive
Smart Partnerships and Outsourcing Create Business Advantages
To develop as a winning nation with leading companies that can compete across the globe, South Africa needs to create a culture/mindset of innovation. Kate Stubbs, executive: marketing at Barloworld Logistics, says it requires working with all employees, suppliers, customers and all stakeholders, making the best use of available business intelligence to improve systems and processes continually and thus develop better ways of serving the market. More »
March 27, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
Call for Papers for SA Innovation Summit
The SA Innovation Summit, scheduled for 29-30 August 2013 at the IDC Conference Centre in Johannesburg, is calling for upon practitioners to submit papers and workshops of interest that will be in line with this year's theme, 'Innovation goes viral...catch it for growth!' More »
March 26, 2013 – IT News Africa
The Innovation Hub Commits to Tech Demo Africa 2013
The Innovation Hub, Africa’s first fully accredited Science and Technology Park and a full member of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP), has confirmed its partnership with ITNewsAfrica, Africa’s premier provider of ICT news, to co-host Tech Demo Africa 2013. More »
March 26, 2013 – News24
SA Start-ups Target Developing Markets
Developing markets represent an ideal opportunity for start-ups to focus on the needs of consumers eager to adopt smartphones technology an incubator has declared. 88mph recently opened in Cape Town and has around 25 start-ups working to roll out mobile solutions that target SA and beyond. More »
March 25, 2013 – IT Web
Innovation for Africa through Intelligent Networks
Moving towards a knowledge-based economy will enable Africa to adapt to changing conditions while designing solutions that will enhance the competitiveness of the continent’s emerging nations. More »
March 25, 2013 – Publicity Update
Miss Earth SA wins Young Entrepreneur Award at Inaugural South African Premier Business Awards
The Miss Earth South Africa in association with Consol, have walked away with top honors in the Young Entrepreneur category at the inaugural South African Premier Business Awards held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 20 March. More »
March 25, 2013 – News 100
South Africa’s V&A Waterfront and Africa’s top ranking business school, the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (GSB), have announced a shared innovation collaboration that is expected to make a significant difference to South Africa on a socio-economic level. More »
March 24, 2013 – Ventures
Useful Tips on Franchising In Africa
Franchising has become one of the most common routes businesses are taking in Africa. With giant franchises like McDonalds, KFC, Cold Stone and the likes, who have their tentacles around the globe, gradually spreading across the continent, it is pertinent to understand that to succeed as an owner of a franchise takes the same business principles as it does in any other business. More »
March 23, 2013 – IT News Africa
Gauteng’s Innovation Hub – a Critical Pit-stop on Africa’s IT Superhighway
The concept to establish a centralized, technology-focused entrepreneurial community in South Africa’s Gauteng Province was first discussed in 2001. Four years later the foundations for a Science and Technology Park, the Innovation Hub, were put in place and the idea of an area dedicated to applied innovation in trade and industry to benefit provincial, national and global socio-economic development became a reality. More »
March 22, 2013 – iAfrica
The winners of the inaugural "SA Premier Business Awards" - the country's top business awards - were announced in Sandton, Gauteng last night, 20 March 2013. Hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry, Proudly South African and Brand SA, the Awards recognize business excellence and honor enterprises which promote the spirit of success and innovation - as well as job creation, good business ethics and quality. More »
March 22, 2013 – ESI-Africa
South Africa Launches Electric Vehicle Initiative
South Africa’s Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), a government organization whose role is to support innovation to stimulate economic growth, has announced the launch of an e-mobility program. More »
March 22, 2013 – Venture Beat
African Accelerator Weaves Loose Strands of Local Startup Scene Together
The African startup ecosystem is coming to life. 88mph, a South African accelerator program, just received backing from the local venture capital firm 4Di in a move that seeks to forge a lasting connection between African entrepreneurs and African investors. More »
March 22, 2013 – Endeavor Global
Endeavor Entrepreneur Luvuyo Rani Featured in the SA Business Times
The Business Day section of the South Africa Sunday Times featured Endeavor Entrepreneur Luvuyo Rani for being “bitten by the entrepreneurial bug,” as the article is titled. Rani was selected by Endeavor in 2011 along with his brother Lonwabo for their IT services company, Silulo Technology. More »
March 20, 2013 – BDLive
SA gets MIT Equivalent in Workshop 17 Innovation Hub
The University of Cape Town (UCT) Graduate School of Business and the V&A Waterfront on Tuesday announced the launch of Workshop 17, an innovation hub that will be South Africa’s equivalent of MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This is the latest initiative in the country to foster innovation, which is seen as a way to facilitate economic development and create jobs. More »
March 19, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
South Africa: Positive Results from the Glass Recycling Company
The latest declared glass recycling rate in South Africa is now, according to The Glass Recycling Company (TGRC), 40.1%; a 230% growth in annual volumes recycled since the inception of TGRC six years ago. More »
March 19, 2013 – The New Age
Being successful at innovation is a skill: one that takes time, patience, strategic intelligence and among other things, funding. Many organizations succeed only after they have experienced embarrassing failures and learnt some tough lessons in the process. More »
March 18, 2013 – Media Update
South African International Music Mobility Fund Offers Opportunities to Build Links
The SAIMMF offers opportunities for professional musicians and music industry professionals in South Africa to build links with artists, organizations and/or music professionals in neighboring SADC countries and the UK. The program is designed to support musicians and music professionals with an established practice in South Africa, but who have carried out little or no work internationally. More »
March 16, 2013 – Ventures Africa
Diary of an Under 30 CEO: Entrepreneurship vs Small Business Ownership
First and foremost, after years of writing, there is always a realization that the dilemma is certainly the razor-thin margin between fact and fiction. The tiny margin is enough to attract a broad spectrum of opinions, which is the most prominent upside of being a writer. In all fairness though, the most important part of being a writer is to be informative to your readers. In reality, I have to say; it’s extremely telling that the majority of people don’t seem able to make the distinction between entrepreneurship and small business ownership. More »
March 15, 2013 – Venture Beat
5 entrepreneurial lessons I learned from Richard Branson
After winning a competition, I had the chance to fly down to South Africa and spend three days with my idol, Richard Branson. More »
March 15, 2013 – Fin24
SA Must Up its Entrepreneurial Game
South Africa is lagging sub-Saharan Africa by far when it comes to entrepreneurship and should learn from its neighbors, said project manager of the Sanlam/Business Partners of the Year competition Nimo Naidoo. More »
March 15, 2013 – Meme Burn
5 Apps Every Entrepreneur Needs to be Using
Entrepreneurs are those people who see great opportunities and grab hold of them before they can pass by or be taken advantage of by others of their kind. These are the human beings who see massive potential where others see risk, and who are responsible for the rapid advancement in our industries and the world we live in. Without them, the world would be boring, grey and average. If you’re an entrepreneur, here are five apps that could help you on your quest. More »
March 14, 2013 – Global Times
South Africa Launches Electric Vehicle Technology Center
The South African government on Wednesday founded Electric Vehicle Technology Center to advance the new auto development, media reported. The modern center was established at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in the southern port city of Port Elizabeth with the fund from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). More »
March 14, 2013 – Africa Review
African 'Techpreneurs' Leave Their Mark on Innovation Front
For years, Africa has been viewed as a technological dumping site with sophisticated gadgets and other advancements only hitting the market long after reaching their peaks in the more lucrative western markets. Many of the accessories and computers that have been available within the continent were for decades considered inferior to those used in Europe and North America. But in the last five years this has been changing, in part due to aggressive marketing in booming markets of Africa by profit-hungry telcos. More »
March 13, 2013 – IT News Africa
Solar Powered Internet Schools Making Tangible Progress in South Africa
Having launched the Samsung Solar Powered Internet Schools (SPIS) in October 2011, the impact and results that such innovation has had on community development has started to surface. More »
March 12, 2013 – Inc.
My Trip to South Africa with Richard Branson: Day 1
After winning Virgin Unite's Screw Business as Usual competition, Raise5 co-founder Shayan Nahrvar traveled to South Africa to meet Sir Richard Branson himself. Here, he describes the experience. More »
March 12, 2013 – Inc.
My Trip to South Africa with Richard Branson: Day 2
Shayan Nahrvar, the co-founder of Raise5, describes his experience meeting Richard Branson and other entrepreneurs in South Africa. More »
March 12, 2013 – Climb for Change
Entrepreneur Climbs Kilimanjaro to Inspire Business Start-ups in South Africa
What does climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro have in common with SME’s (small and medium enterprises) in South Africa? They are both an uphill battle! And a group of young SME business consultants from South Africa have decided that they are going to find out first hand. More »
March 11, 2013 – DW
African Women Urged to Spread Their Wings
It was an early victory for gender equality in 1911 when Harriet Quimby became the first woman to gain a pilot's license. A century later, a celebrated businesswoman is helping African women to take the controls. More »
March 11, 2013 – Young Business Leaders
South Africa Doesn’t Just Need More Entrepreneurs, It Needs Better Entrepreneurs.
South Africa’s unemployment crisis requires the creation of jobs – and rapidly. To this end, numerous entrepreneurship programs have been implemented by both the public and private sectors, and these have led to some increase in the number of small businesses opening. More »
March 10, 2013 – African Business Review
South Africans rightly worry about unemployment, with its official rate clocking in at 25 percent, but there is every reason for optimism. CEOs from major multinationals and banks, agencies that seek inward investment into Africa and representatives from governments and government agencies across the continent gathered in Cape Town to discuss unemployment in the country and in the overall continent. More »
March 10, 2013 – Ventures Africa
Leading Female Entrepreneur: Shana Kay, CEO IntelliCred
Let me count the ways Shana Kay, young and certainly dynamic has hit the technology scene in South Africa. Not only is she a young entrepreneurial executive but also someone whose tenacity has earned several accolades. To name a few, Shana is backed by experience in web development, programming and project management. As a result of steaming ahead, Infointeg has picked up a SAB (South African Breweries) Kick-Start award and she was listed as one of the Mail & Guardian’s 100 Young People to have lunch with. More »
March 8, 2013 – The World Bank
Innovation Improves Gender Programs, Spurs Economic Development in Africa, World Bank
Despite the steady economic growth in many African countries over the last few years, gains have not always translated into greater gender equality or poverty reduction, the World Bank announced today. To mark International Women’s Day, the World Bank’s Africa region launched two evidence based initiatives to step up its commitment to improve gender programs in Africa. More »
March 7, 2013 – Tech Central
Founder Institute Seeks Start-Ups
A new start-up incubator launching in May hopes to groom the next generation of successful South African technology companies. More »
March 6, 2013 – Opportunity Online
African Entrepreneurs an Example to SA
The African continent is boasting high levels of entrepreneurial activity, as well as positive entrepreneurial spirit. However, South Africa is lagging behind when compared to its African counterparts and other efficiency-driven economies. More »
March 6, 2013 – Health Wise Magazine
South Africa Can Boost Entrepreneurship by Following the Lead of African neighbors
According to the recently released Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2012 Global Report, Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the top performing regions in the world when it comes to entrepreneurial skill, boasting high levels of entrepreneurial activity, as well as positive entrepreneurial spirit. More »
March 5, 2013 – Financial Mail
Youth Unemployment - Is Entrepreneurship the Answer?
Entrepreneurship may not be the silver bullet to solve SA's youth unemployment crisis. But it could be one of a raft of measures to help prevent an "Arab spring"-style uprising among a large, young, economically excluded population. More »
March 5, 2013 – Global Atlanta
Local Entrepreneur Leading Tech Trip Across Africa
A local entrepreneur is inviting Atlanta investors and innovators on a four-country trip across Africa to connect with potential partners at technology and startup hubs sprouting throughout the continent. More »
March 4, 2013 – Endeavor Global
Integr8 of Endeavor South Africa Sells Part of Company for R126M
Endeavor South Africa Entrepreneurs Robert Sussman and Lance Fanaroff sold Integr8 IT- an arm of their company, Integr8 Group- to Business Connexion for an estimated R126M. Business Connexion is a leading ICT services provider with more data center capacity than any other provider in South Africa. The merger creates a single organization of 7,000 employees who will deliver services across Africa. More »
March 2, 2013 – Ventures
A Young African Entrepreneur and His Water Saving Business
2013 is the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation. To mark this year’s water celebration, attention will be placed on the importance of freshwater and sustainable management of freshwater resources. More »
February 27, 2013 – Entrepreneurship Africa
South Africa Leads Africa's Emerging Markets
South Africa has been ranked as the leading emerging economy in Africa and the only country on the continent to be ranked in the top 15 worldwide, according to the Emerging Markets Opportunity Index done by international advisory firm Grant Thornton. More »
February 27, 2013 – EU Africa Chamber of Commerce
Telkom Foundation Launches its Entrepreneurship Program to Train 350 South African Entrepreneurs
Telkom Foundation, in conjunction with Continuing Education at the University of Pretoria, today launched its Entrepreneurship Program aimed at up-skilling 350 business-minded youth and women delegates in South Africa, to start and grow businesses. More »
February 27, 2013 – Entrepreneur Magazine
The South African government has implemented many policies and programs to promote job creation and entrepreneurship, particularly amongst the alarmingly high numbers of unemployed youth. The focus of these policies and programs has been on the creation of start-up businesses. More »
February 27, 2013 – Leader
Ministry of Entrepreneurship Necessary in SA
Entrepreneurial leader, Mark Lamberti, recently called for the creation of a Ministry of Entrepreneurship in South Africa at the recent Sanlam / Business Partners Entrepreneur of Year® competition launch. This was echoed by Professor Dilip Garach, of Garach & Garach Financial Advisory Services who called for a Small Business Ministry to be established locally. More »
February 24, 2013 – BD Live
Limitless Potential ‘if SA Gets it Right’
Things are looking grim but South Africa could still be one of the biggest success stories of all time, says Walter Baets, the director of Africa’s top business school. More »
February 23, 2013 – Forbes
30 Under 30: Africa's Best Young Entrepreneurs
Young entrepreneurs are changing the face of Africa. I set out to produce a list of the 30 Africans under 30 years old who are making the most dramatic impact across the continent. To do so, in November I enlisted an outside panel of 12 judges from across Africa to help identify this group of outstanding entrepreneurs and innovators under the age of 30. More »
February 22, 2013 – Warc
Innovation Drives Mobile Use in Africa
The readiness of consumers in African markets to do more with their mobile phones than just talk is an important factor in the evolution of the mobile market across the continent, a report has argued. This willingness to innovate is the key to future growth, argues Media Update, the South African newsletter. More »
February 22, 2013 – BD Live
New Tech Innovation Hub Hopes to Fire Up SA’s ‘Silicon Valley’
TECHNOLOGY hubs can play a pivotal role in fostering the emergence of a new generation of African tech entrepreneurs, Praekelt Foundation founder Gustav Praekelt said on Wednesday at the launch of JoziHub, an innovation hub aimed at incubating start-ups and tech development. More »
February 22, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
First of its Kind Post Grad Diploma to Help SA Entrepreneurs!
The Tertiary School in Business Education (TSiBA) accredited post grad diploma in Small Enterprise Consulting (PG Dip SEC) will now be offered at its Knysna and Cape Town campuses in 2013. The course develops consultants who can coach and mentor small business owners to grow their businesses to be profitable and sustainable. More »
February 22, 2013 – Forbes
Entrepreneurship, South African Style
Entrepreneurs in developed countries like the United States and Western Europe typically start with a brilliant idea. Aspiring innovators in developing countries like South Africa begin their journey by figuring out how to gain access to a computer and the internet, and learning how to use them. The stark contrast between two dramatically different worlds only underscores the incredible odds faced by ambitious youth in South Africa who are determined to succeed. More »
February 21, 2013 – Media Update
In a Mobile Africa, Innovation is Key
South Africa saw an overall growth of 57% in 2012 and smartphone penetration has grown to 32% and is rapidly becoming a mainstream device. Usage is expected to grow as many more will enjoy the benefits of reduced bandwidth costs and improved infrastructure. Monetization opportunities for domestic publishers will grow as demand for content increases. More »
February 21, 2013 – The Guardian
Socks by Subscription: the Tech Guy Who Wants to Revolutionize South African fashion
"You're off your rocker." That was the response Nic Haralambous got when he tried to find a manufacturer for his designer sock business. And on the surface, they were right. Haralambous, 28, is a South African tech entrepreneur who has just sold his latest company, Motribe, to instant messaging giant Mxit for an undisclosed sum. But until recently, he knew nothing about the fashion industry. And besides, manufacturers said, no-one will pay R99 (£8) for a pair of colored socks. More »
February 21, 2013 – Fin24
Calls for Ministry of Entrepreneurship
The formation of an entrepreneurial ministry would be a significant step forward in tackling SA’s unemployment crisis, say industry experts. Professor Dilip Garach, of Garach & Garach Financial Advisory Services on Thursday added his voice to a call earlier by entrepreneurial leader and Massmart founder Mark Lamberti for the creation of a Ministry of Entrepreneurship in South Africa. More »
February 21, 2013 – VC4Africa
7 Amazing Gaming & Animation Companies in Africa
What is Africa’s gaming and animation industry up to? At Venture Capital for Africa, the largest online community connecting African entrepreneurs and investors, we’ve put together a list of great ventures in gaming and animation on VC4Africa, including video’s. More »
February 21, 2013 – Saine Innovation Network
African Mobile Startups – a Call to Arms: G-Startup Applications Open
Startup culture in emerging markets is thriving. In Africa, for example, there is no shortage of innovation or entrepreneurship despite missing one of the key components most startups desperately need: funding. More »
February 20, 2013 – Entrepreneur South Africa
Keedo: Refocusing for Renewed Growth
When the global recession hit, South African entrepreneurs in the export business really felt the pinch. Once the holy grail of local businesses, the export market became a high-risk playing field that could destroy a business with alarming speed. More »
February 20, 2013 – Saine Innovation Network
These days, the “innovation thing” is something of a no-brainer. Every company worth its low-salt lunch has identified innovation as a core competency needing to be developed. Who in their right mind (or is it right brain?) can deny the value of improving things? Isn’t this what human beings, those grand inventors of the microchip and the chocolate chip, are supposed to do? More »
February 20, 2013 – Saine Innovation Network
Why Open Innovation Is More Than Hype
Innovation has been a business buzzword for decades. The word is tossed around so often and in so many different contexts that its meaning and value have been muddied, but innovation is here to stay and it will be one of the tools that will get us out of our current economic mess. More »
February 20, 2013 – Saine Innovation Network
5 Ways to Jump Start a Culture of Innovation
Trying to create a culture of innovation is a daunting task for even the most committed organization. Cultures take decades to form. Changing them is not an overnight phenomenon, no matter how many outside consultants you’ve gotten on the case. You might as well try to end world hunger or wipe out Aids overnight. It’s gonna take a while. More »
February 19, 2013 – How We Made it in Africa
Entrepreneur Explains Why He Launched a Water Transport Business on Lake Victoria
Water transportation was once a vibrant industry in Uganda. The collapse of the ferry system on Lake Victoria has had a severe impact on economic activities around the lake. Today, EarthWise Ferries is restoring these services in Uganda, serving an emerging merchant class. South Africa born entrepreneur Robert Smith, founder and CEO of EarthWise Ferries, shared with How We Made it in Africa’s Dinfin Mulupi his experience of doing business in Uganda and the impact of re-establishing economic corridors across and around Lake Victoria. More »
February 18, 2013 – EIN News
25 Young South Africans Selected for International Business Mentorship Program
Following a call encouraging aspiring and established young South African entrepreneurs to participate on the Young Entrepreneurs Program (YEP), the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and its partners, IBA Global (Pty) Ltd and Amaanah Business Consulting, are proud to announce 25 finalists selected to participate in the program. More »
February 18, 2013 – Silicon Cape Initiative
South African Start-up Wins Prestigious Publishing Innovation Award
A South African start-up company has been named as a winner of one of the world’s most prestigious publishing innovation competitions. Paperight, a Cape Town-based print-on-demand service that allows photocopy shops to legally print books, was one of three winners of the O’Reilly Tools of Change Startup Showcase, held this past Wednesday in New York City. More »
February 17, 2013 – BDLive
Despite cuts in South Africa's credit rating by all the major ratings agencies, the country can still institute effective reforms that will see its growth recover to pre-recession highs, says Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop. More »
February 15, 2013 – Sowetan
SAB Announces Top 15 Youth Entrepreneur Finalists
The South African Breweries (SAB) has announced the Top 15 national finalists for this year in its youth entrepreneurship program, SAB KickStart. More »
February 15, 2013 – Shanghai Daily
Interview: Innovation Crucial for Emerging Economies to Escape Middle Income Trap: Expert
South Africa and other emerging economies should strive for an excellent education system for technical innovation to avoid the middle income trap largely caused by entrenched structural impediments and unfair income distribution within their economies, an expert has said. More »
February 15, 2013 – Ventures
7 African Women Who Founded Amazing Companies
Leadership, passion and vision no longer wear a purely masculine face and scores of African women are now counted among the founders of the amazing companies that are contributing to Africa’s development. Their countenance and demeanor, confidence and wisdom; there’s always something about a strong, influential woman. More »
February 15, 2013 – Ventures
Diary Of an Under 30 CEO: Brand Equity Lessons From Kaizer Chiefs FC
First off, great companies don’t just create great brands, they also create movements. Indeed, it’s always dangerous to make direct business analogies from sport, nevertheless, there are some useful things to learn about brand equity from Kaizer Chiefs. Still, with the majority of the continent hoarse from shouting, urging their teams to glory or to new depths of despair at the AFCON, it dawned on me that this week the Under 30 CEO had to diarize information about brand equity. More »
February 13, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
South Africa: Tech Entrepreneur Eliminates Need for Textbooks
Cape Town-based tech entrepreneur, Brett Simpson, has developed a technology solution that eliminates the need for textbooks. The proprietary software allows teachers and students to access learning materials from a touch screen kiosk known as a 'Freedom Toaster'. More »
February 12, 2013 – The Next Women
Linda Rottenberg: Enabling High Impact Entrepreneurs to Transform Economies
Named one of "America's Best Leaders" by U.S. News & World Report, Linda Rottenberg is considered one of the world's most dynamic and respected experts on entrepreneurship, business opportunities in emerging markets, and innovative leadership for the new economy. For years, she has motivated audiences of Fortune 500 managers to think like entrepreneurs and develop their global know-how. More »
February 11, 2013 – This Day Live
FCMB Bank Boss Rates Africa's Banks High in Innovations
The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO) of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc, Mr. Ladi Balogun, has said that innovation in mobile payments, financial inclusion, and regulatory intervention is making sub-Saharan African banks the future of sustainable and profitable growth in banking. More »
February 8, 2013 – Saine Innovation Network
Empowering South Africa’s Youth to Challenge Unemployment
Constructively addressing the challenges of youth unemployment in South African is one of the golden threads to our future. The problem is well known and it presents an altogether different challenge. Focusing in particular on unemployed graduates, KPMG has taken a significant stride to continue building a better South Africa through educating, empowering and ultimately employing our youth. More »
February 8, 2013 – Aljazeera
South Africa, Land of Innovation: Focusing on its Creative Advancements
Relative to pervasive issues in the country's economy and politics, the topic of South Africa's burgeoning creative landscape has been undervalued, up to now. This upcoming event brings to light the world's growing attention past its dark past and toward the wealth of creativity and innovation bursting forth from its once-crumbling cities. What is most needed now is a stronger push onto an international stage. More »
February 8, 2013 – How We Made it in Africa
Top Businessman Shares 15 Pieces of Advice for Africa's Entrepreneurs
While Africa is a continent of entrepreneurs, success never comes easily. However, being successful is not impossible and everyone has the potential to make it. South African Fred Robertson, executive chairman of Brimstone Investment Corporation, is living proof of this. Brimstone currently employs over 3,000 people in its subsidiaries. More »
February 8, 2013 – Entrepreneur South Africa
Lenovo South Africa: Insightful Decisions
In spite of running a technology company, Graham Braum, country manager of Lenovo in South Africa, still believes in people over machines. "People make the difference, and while your data will always inform the decisions you make, nothing can replace the decision-making ability of people," he says. More »
February 7, 2013 – Fin24
You cannot have political liberation without economic liberation. With this firm belief, entrepreneur Fred Robertson approached his friend Mustaq Brey in 1995 to start an investment holding company. More »
February 7, 2013 – BDLive
SA 'Needs Entrepreneurship Ministry and Academy'
South Africa's efforts to promote small business and create jobs are not succeeding, and a ministry and academy should be created for the sector, Prof Dilip Garach, of Garach & Garach Financial Advisory Services, said on Wednesday. More »
February 7, 2013 – Ventures
Meet the Innovator: Michael Jordaan, CEO First National Bank
First National Bank (FNB) under the guidance of Michael Jordaan was awarded the 2012 BAI-Finacle Global Banking Awards in Washington – The World's Most Innovative Bank. Michael Jordaan has accumulated more than 28 years of experience in the financial services sector. During this time Michael has held various leadership positions within the FNB ranks, a book many corporates and State-Owned Enterprises (SOE's) could take a page from. More »
February 7, 2013 – SouthAfrica.info
SA Students in Global Aerospace Contest
A team of South African students from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) have been selected as only one of three teams from Africa to move on to the next round of the global aerospace Fly Your Ideas competition. More »
February 7, 2013 – UJUH
Accenture Launch SA's First Innovation Index
Accenture launched the Innovation Index which promises to see innovators scramble for top rankings. The firm said the initiative was designed to promote business growth and development of new, sustainable enterprises that would in turn spur much desired job creation. Accenture aims to use the index to measure, promote and reward innovative ideas and commercial concepts across the public and private sectors in the South African marketplace. More »
February 6, 2013 – Building a Smarter Planet
Technology in Africa: Building Information Ecosystems
Across Africa, an innovation culture is starting to emerge. In Kenya, PesaPal piggybacks on the popular M-PESA mobile payments service, enabling Kenyans to buy and sell on the Internet. Tanzania's Techno Brain is selling software for managing businesses in 13 countries. And South Africa's Cobi Interactive, a mobile communications software company, is developing popular applications for smart phones. More »
February 6, 2013 – AllAfrica
Africa: Microsoft to Power Innovation in Africa
Microsoft Corporation has launched the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative, a new effort through which the company will actively engage in Africa's economic development. More »
February 5, 2013 – Destiny Man
Digital Entrepreneur Talks Content Marketing
We speak to multi-award-winning South African digital entrepreneur Zibusiso Mkhwanazi about content marketing. More »
February 5, 2013 – Saine Innovation Network
BMGI Solution Series INNOVATE Workshop, Cape Town, South Africa
You will most probably agree that managing and reducing costs is absolutely necessary to maintaining or growing profits. And by now you have most probably been doing exactly that, through implementing more advanced technology, downsizing and/or re-engineering of business processes. But even though these practices are critical to let you stay in the game… They do not let you get ahead of the game or to show that extraordinary growth you need. More »
February 4, 2013 – Ventureburn
10 Business Lessons for the Young Entrepreneur
Alex Fraser, Silicon Cape chairperson and head of business development at venture capital firm, Invenfin, recently shared her business philosophies with an audience of young South African technology entrepreneurs at the Cape Town Geek Girl Dinner. More »
February 3, 2013 – Shout-Africa
At the International Customs Day Celebration on 26 January, The Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (TISA) has been awarded a World Customs Organization Certificate of Merit for "rendering exceptional service to the International Customs community". TISA was one of only two external stakeholders to which this recognition was made. More »
February 1, 2013 – Media Club South Africa
Cards Celebrate South Africa's Languages
South African entrepreneur Gildah Tshukutswane has turned her dream of creating greeting cards in African languages into a successful business. More »
February 1, 2013 – South Africa Magazine
You've read a million times what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur: intelligence, vision, drive, perseverance, and a strong work ethic. But instead of analyzing how an entrepreneur behaves, you should instead look how they think. More »
January 31, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
Billion Brand Investment in South Africa by Unilever
A new Unilever factory to produce brands such as Omo, Skip, Handy Andy, Domestos, Comfort and Sunlight amongst others, will be built in Anderbolt, Boksburg, adjacent to the company's main distribution center in South Africa. More »
January 31, 2013 – BBC News Africa
South Africa's Hi-Tech Tour Operator
Imagine being in a foreign country, sitting on a tour bus, and having the possibility of borrowing a tablet computer to get online and call home to tell your family about your trip, or being able to charge your mobile phone while an expert tour guide shows you around. More »
January 29, 2013 - Accenture
Accenture launches Innovation Index to Promote Business Growth and New, Sustainable Enterprises
Accenture (NYSE) has launched South Africa's first Innovation Index to promote business growth and development of new, sustainable enterprises that would in turn spur much desired job creation. More »
January 27, 2013 – Sunday Times
SA scientist develops robotic rover to explore Saturn's Titan moon
LIAM Pedersen spent much of his childhood with no electricity, plumbing or books. Now he is building space exploration robots for Nasa in the search for life beyond our planet. Born in Cape Town and educated at Rhodes University, Pedersen, 42, is leading the development of a robot that could one day float on the gas oceans of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. More »
January 26, 2013 – Empowering Your Innovative Lifestyle
Kenya and South Africa leading innovation in the African Continent
South Africa has been on the map as an economic hot spot for the continent of Africa for quite some time now and Kenya ranks as the fastest growing innovative country in Africa after South Africa by the World Economic Forum. More »
January 25, 2013 – Engineering News
Technology Innovation Agency CEO Outlines his Lab-to-market Priorities for 2013
Established in 2008 and falling under the aegis of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) exists to encourage, facilitate and help technological innovation in South Africa across the whole economy, with the intent of bringing socioeconomic benefits to the country and improving its global competitiveness. More »
January 25, 2013 – The Next Women
View from an African Son: Female African Entrepreneurs Need More Backing
My mother is a genius; I always tell people who care to listen. She inspires me in many ways. Having grown in rural Africa in the 20th century, she was not educated. Her father, my grandfather, preferred educating the boy child rather than the girl, my mother. It's a norm that is still prevalent in many African societies. More »
January 25, 2013 – Ventures
UCT Study to Avert Time Bomb Of Unemployed Youth
Between 60 percent and 65 percent of young people in Sub-Saharan Africa (15 to 35 years) are unemployed or under-employed. Researchers from the University of Cape Town are conducting a study that they believe could help avert this potential time bomb. More »
January 25, 2013 – BDLive
Ethos Private Equity has High Hopes for Africa
Ngalaah Chuphi is a partner and head of sub-Saharan investing at Ethos Private Equity. More »
January 25, 2013 – Ventureburn
Series A Crunch Blah Blah… Get Over it. Learn from Africa's Example
If you are a startup junkie (yes there is such a thing), chances are you have been hearing about the ominous Series A crunch. It's all anyone seems to be talking about these days — the doomed startups that must find new ways to fund their businesses, the possible ways to do this and the investors giving advice on how to survive the dreaded crunch. More »
January 25, 2013 – Humanipo
Google's Eric Schmidt: Nairobi could become the African Tech Leader
Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has presented a summary of his Africa trip in which he said Kenya's capital Nairobi was "a serious tech hub and may become the African leader". Of his analysis on some of the Sub-Saharan cities he visited in a week of business meetings, Schmidt stated in a Google+ post that Nairobi's incubators are hosting potential solutions to many problems, including connecting M-Pesa with payment systems for local stores. More »
January 25, 2013 – Ventureburn
16 Cheap (and Free) Cloud Services to Help You Run Your Business
I am completely dependent on internet connectivity. Without it, I would have no business and I wouldn't be able to use the services I need to run my business. For six years, I've been building my brand journalism business, Spark Media Solutions. In that process, I've been slowly moving away from non-cloud to cloud based solutions for a host of different reasons such as easy access to information wherever I am, backup, upgradeless software, and lower cost. More »
January 24, 2013 – Management Sciences for Health
Dihlabeng Regional Hospital in Bethlehem, rural Free State, South Africa, recently made the jump from a paper-based system to using RxSolution for dispensing prescriptions for patients on antiretrovirals (ARVs). More »
January 24, 2013 – SouthAfrica.info
SA on Growth, Investment Path: Zuma
No one can say they are uncertain about the direction that South Africa is taking, President Jacob Zuma said in Switzerland on Wednesday. "Together as business, government, labor and the community sector, we must tackle our three fierce enemies - poverty, unemployment and inequality," he said during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum's (WEF's) annual meeting in Davos. More »
January 24, 2013 – Brand South Africa
Taking African Growth to the Next Level
Developments in infrastructure both physical and financial, and deeper economic integration, will be key to sustained growth in Africa, according to a panel of business and political leaders brought together by Brand South Africa at the World Economic Forum's (WEF's) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday. More »
January 24, 2013 – Wall Street Journal
Startup founders often need expert support and advice when expanding their businesses. So when it comes time to raise venture capital, they may be inclined to target investors who've been down the same path. More »
January 24, 2013 – Wall Street Journal
Site Unseen: More 'Angels' Invest via Internet
After Adam Winter read about a roving teleconferencing robot, he got a hunch that the $2,000 gadget might become the next big thing. So the 38-year-old technology consultant from Columbus, Ohio, sat down at his computer earlier this month, clicked a button and committed to plunk $10,000 from his bank account into the 18-month-old Silicon Valley startup that developed the robot. More »
January 24, 2013 – Ventures
South Africa's Fishing Firms Upbeat on Sales Prospects
Oceana Group and Sea Harvest, fishing firms based in South Africa's Western Cape Province, are upbeat about sales prospects this year, it was announced on Thursday. Oceana is hoping to increase its canned fish sales by about 16 percent, while Sea Harvest has forecast an 8 percent rise in its hake catch. More »
January 23, 2013 – VC4Africa
Where are the Women in African Tech?
The clamor for innovation in the African society today is loud. In the era where there is a lot happening in ICT, innovation and entrepreneurship, why are there still very few women involved in these areas? Past research reports and workshops have openly addressed female participation issues and the need to build more capacity of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics); to give them a chance to contribute to the growth of the economy. More »
January 22, 2013 – Cashknows.com
SA Businessmen Buying into the US
South Africans are well known for their tenacity and business skill. The old expression ''n Boer maak 'n plan' is indeed alive and well in the USA, for here our fellow countrymen are making more than just a living. They restructure and rescue American businesses and - justifiably so - qualify for permanent residency. More »
January 21, 2013 – Business Day
Next Generation Leaders Say Organizations Need to Encourage Innovation, Deloitte Survey
As much as 78 percent of the world's future business leaders believe innovation is essential for business growth, the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) Millennial Survey has shown. However, as the economic crisis enters its sixth year, just 26 percent of Millennials feel that business leaders are doing enough to encourage practices that foster innovation. More »
January 21, 2013 – Media Club South Africa
Entrepreneur Builds Internet Empire
A South African entrepreneur is providing residents from some of the country's most impoverished areas with an opportunity to access the internet and learn about computers. More »
January 18, 2013 – Humpanipo
Q&A: Vinny Lingham on Gyft, the Festive Season and Living in Silicon Valley
South African technology entrepreneur Vinny Lingham is not resting on his laurels despite the success of Yola and it having raised US$25 million from Johan Rupert's Reinet Investments. His latest venture, Gyft, seeks to "disrupt" the multi-billion dollar gift card industry. More »
January 16, 2013 – Young Business Leaders
Masechaba Lekalake: One of South Africa's Top Self-made TV Entrepreneurs
From the outside the world, the media industry seems a magical and glamorous world. Media personalities, particularly in TV, often seem larger than life. The multi-talented Masechaba Lekalake, however knows from own experience that working in TV is like any other job which involved hard work. More »
January 15, 2013 – BizCommunity.com
Visionary Entrepreneur to Represent South Africa at the WEF
Sylvester Chauke, head of marketing at Nando's during the Julius Malema spoof and other banned advertisements, will represent South Africa at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland from 23 to 27 January 2013. More »
January 15, 2013 – AllAfrica
Africa: For Africa, Entrepreneurship Is the Way
Something extraordinary is happening in Africa. In the wake of enhanced political stability and reduced war in many countries, it is clear that a vibrant spirit of entrepreneurship is kicking in with vigor. More »
January 14, 2013 – AllAfrica
South Africa: Entrepreneurs Organization Launches Bootcamp in February
The Cape Town branch of Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO) will be launching its Entrepreneur Bootcamp in February 2013. It is a collective commons free access online learning resource for aspiring entrepreneurs. More »
January 10, 2013 – SouthAfrica.info
South African Develops 'Waterless Bath'
Imagine taking a bath anywhere, at any time, without using the traditional method of water. Now it is possible, thanks to a young South African entrepreneur who developed a product that allows people who have limited access to water to maintain their standards of hygiene. More »
January 10, 2013 – Iol Scitech
Heart Procedure is 'a World-First'
A groundbreaking operation was performed by doctors at the Panorama MediClinic during the world's first non-surgical closure of a leaking heart valve on a 59-year-old Cape Town patient. More »
January 9, 2013 - Rhodes University
AN award-winning teacher based in the US believes maths journals in the classrooms is the answer to South African schools' appalling mathematics results. St Claire Adriaan, formerly of the Eastern Cape, is the principal at Success Preparatory School in the US, which caters for kindergarten to grade 6. More »
January 9, 2013 – How We Made it in Africa
Tax Incentives in South Africa Aim to Encourage Investment in Innovation
New tax incentives for investment in research and development (R&D) in South Africa's energy and natural resources sectors could play an important role in boosting the country's economic growth, according to Mohammed Jada, KPMG head of R&D tax and incentives in South Africa. More »
January 9, 2013 – Ventureburn
Could an SMS Purchasing Startup Help Stop Online Fraud?
Any online retailer will tell you in no uncertain terms that fraud, specifically by using credit cards online, is a huge challenge for them and their competitors. Not only are these retailers often liable for the chargebacks caused by fraud, but it creates a negative impact on the online buying industry as a whole. More »
January 9, 2013 – The Times of India
Africa to be Next Big Investment Destination, says SA Deputy Minister
The Indian business community should invest more in South Africa which is the ideal gateway to Africa , said South African deputy minister of international relations and cooperation Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, who has been selected for this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. Talking exclusively to the TOI on the sidelines of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), he said that his country wanted to convey to the business community in India that Africa is the next point of development in the coming decade and the continent is going to be the next preferred destination for investment. More »
January 9, 2013 – Forbes
U.S. Immigration Policy Is Killing Entrepreneurship. Here's What to Do About It
When we teach our introductory entrepreneurship class at MIT, we take it for granted that each of our 75 students will be able to start an American company upon graduating. But many of them lack one thing they need to be able to do so—permission from the United States government to continue working in our country. More »
January 9, 2013 – Ventureburn
Entrepreneurs Speak About Their Motivations for 2013
What motivates entrepreneurs building great companies in Africa? At VC4Africa, the largest online community of African entrepreneurs and investors, 'creating better lives' and 'feeling you can change the world' come out as the most popular motivations in its recent poll on the subject. More »
January 8, 2013 – Business Day Live
Africa's rise, South Africa's role — and America's opportunity
Sustained economic growth may be elusive in Asia, the Americas and Europe, but the emerging consensus is that Africa is rising. More »
January 8, 2013 – AllAfrica
Africa: Raising the Bar on Agricultural Innovation
Technological innovation, especially in mobile, will be critical to improving agricultural productivity, but R&D funding must be ramped up after years of neglect. More »
January 6, 2013 – City Press
Moving Young Entrepreneurs Front and Center
Only 6.8% of South Africans aged 18 to 24 are involved in any entrepreneurial activity, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. The most entrepreneurially active group are those aged between 35 to 44, who contribute 32% to overall activity. During a recent panel discussion, hosted by SA Breweries' entrepreneurship incubator program, KickStart, the following factors were identified as key to promoting youth entrepreneurship… More »
January 6, 2013 – Business Day Live
South African entrepreneur and multibillionaire Mark Shuttleworth plans to enter the smartphone industry by supplying operating systems that will allow certain cellphones to double as PCs when connected to a monitor and dock. More »
January 4, 2013 – Business Day Live
Creating Foxes, and Talkin' about an Entrepreneurial Revolution
The theme of a crossroads paints a picture of a place that is neither here nor there, where decisions have to be made. There are paths that lead out of the crossroads, but each path sees very different journeys. Unless the right decision is made, and the right path taken, the crossroads may only be a scary transfer station before heading to an even scarier destination. South Africa finds itself at such a crossroads, with roads leading to three contrasting scenarios. More »
January 4, 2013 – The Next Women
Journey to Success: Celebrating the Female Heroes of South Africa
Part of our January Theme of 'Africa', 'Journey to Success' is a series of interviews conducted by entrepreneur Thuli Sibeko to share the startup stories of South African entrepreneurial women who are creating successful businesses. More »
January 3, 2013 – IDEATE
South African Entrepreneurs from Humble Beginnings
It's easy to examine successful entrepreneurs in their lofty positions and forget to consider their humble beginnings. Here are two South African success stories that every entrepreneur should know. More »
January 2, 2013 – Financial Times
A few years into sub-Saharan Africa's renaissance, there were the natural doubts. Economists had competed for so long to explain the region's growth tragedy that good news was a shock. But now, more than a decade into the revival, the good news has grown better. More »
December 31, 2012 – Ventures
13 Young African Business/Economic Leaders To Watch in 2013
It was American football coach, Vincent Lombardi that said, "Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile." Today, there are many young Africans blazing trails across the continent and globally – new breed, cosmopolitan Africans, shaping Africa's future. Their social/business activities in one way or the other illuminates the potential that will shape the business and economic future of Africa. More »
December 29, 2012 – Yahoo News
Entrepreneur Launches First Africa-designed Smartphone
A Congolese inventor has unveiled what he says is the first African-designed smartphone. Verone Mankou, 27, told AFP that the so-called Elikia, which means "hope" in the local language, went on sale the day before in the Republic of Congo. More »
December 27, 2012 – Makes You Think
2013 is AfriCAN Entrepreneur Rising
Suzanne Styles, a Specialist Entrepreneur Coach and Motivational Speaker wrote the book AfriCAN Entrepreneur Rising during 2012 to help all African entrepreneurs think differently about life, business, success, wealth, opportunities and how they do business with others. More »
December 20, 2012 – AllAfrica
Africa: How Social Entrepreneurs Tap Africa's Greatest Resource
Social entrepreneurs see possibility where others see problems. They are unapologetically ambitious, setting their sights not just on incremental improvements but on systems-level transformation. And to achieve their audacious ends, social entrepreneurs enroll those most vested in that transformation -- people oppressed, marginalized, or constrained by an existing reality. More »
December 18, 2012 – SouthAfrica.info
South African Investment Climate 'Solid'
South Africa's investor and local business confidence has been solidified by President Jacob Zuma's re-election and Cyril Ramaphosa's appointment as his deputy at the African National Congress' elective conference in Mangaung in the Free State, Brand South Africa chairperson Chichi Maponya said on Tuesday. More »
December 14, 2012 – justmoney.co.za
Cape Town based company, Quote Africa Group, is set to run a small-cap bourse in competition with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange according to reports. The alternative exchange is to be named the South African Financial Exchange (SAFE) and is currently in the application phase with the Financial Services Board (FSB). More »
December 10, 2012 – BDLive
Science Innovation Passes Business Test
If South Africa is to improve its competitiveness in the global economy and create more jobs, it must foster more innovative entrepreneurs such as Ashley Uys. More »
December 10, 2012 – Huffington Post
Mobile Services and E-Empowerment -- The Developing World Has the Advantage
Africa hails right now as the continent with the most mobile phone users topping the list with around 649 million subscribers making it the most wireless region in the world. This represents about 65 percent penetration of the region's population, with future users at year's end and into 2013 reaching 735 million. More »
December 7, 2012 – iAfrica
Dr. Mamphela Ramphele recently addressed a full house at the UCT Graduate School of Business where she offered her insights about the nation after Marikana. Speaking on everything from the RDP flop to entrepreneurial development, Ramphele laid down a challenge to members from business, media, government, the public and academia, who attended to become active citizens of a constitutional democracy, instead of being subjects of it. More »
December 7, 2012 – Tech Central
JoziHub: Jo'burg to get Own Tech Hub
A new collaboration and innovation space is set to open in Milpark in Johannesburg in the first quarter of 2013. More »
December 6, 2012 – IT Web
Smoke Customer Care Solutions Wins TT100 Award for Innovation Excellence
Customer experience management company Smoke Customer Care Solutions has won the Technology Top 100 (TT100) emerging and small enterprises award for excellence in the management of innovation. The company also scored two additional nominations for excellence in the management of technology and the management of systems. More »
December 6, 2012 – Entrepreneur South Africa
Entrepreneurial Women Empowered by Coke
Coca-Cola's program to enable the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs has benefitted over 4,600 South African women who run spaza shops. More »
December 6, 2012 – Forbes
The 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa 2012
As Africa continues to rise, so do African women. With the upward economic, social and political trajectory of the continent, a new breed of African women continues to emerge. More »
December 6, 2012 – Sowetan
Stuart Ntlathi Awards Bursaries to Young Innovators
Ntlathi, 25, is the founder of the SNSETInstitute, the organization behind the annual conference; The International Innovation Indaba, which has been in existence for over a decade and celebrating its twelfth anniversary this year. More »
December 5, 2012 – Humanipo
NATIVE Launches an Innovation Hub and 10 New Mxit Apps
NATIVE Inventions, the innovation and product development division of NATIVE, has launched 10 new Mxit applications as it looks for new revenue streams from the mobile apps market. More »
December 5, 2012 – Biz Community
Banks Becoming Technology Innovators
Innovation which is normally associated with technology companies has become the buzzword for SA's biggest four retail banks whose desire to transform retail banking using technology has become an obsession for some. More »
December 5, 2012 – Cape Business News
Overcoming Entrepreneurial Challenges
Entrepreneurship is increasingly generating more awareness in South Africa and while the industry should be a desirable employment option for most South Africans, there are various challenges that entrepreneurs entering the market should bear in mind when starting their new venture. More »
December 4, 2012 – BDLive
Half of Africa's Top 10 Merger and Acquisition Deals this Year Target SA
South Africa has been the target for investors in half of the top 10 African merger and acquisition deals so far this year, and is set to be the busiest sub-Saharan country for cross-border deals next year. More »
December 4, 2012 – Entrepreneur South Africa
Here They Are: Your Top 40 Under 40 Achievers
The list is a showcase of young businesspeople in Nelson Mandela Bay, in recognition of the wealth of business talent available to the Bay. "First and foremost, the Business Chamber wanted to connect young business," says Nicole Klokow, Top 40 Under 40 convener. "We wanted to recognize the contribution made by young businesspeople to Nelson Mandela Bay, as they themselves recognize the potential held by Nelson Mandela Bay to support their careers, their businesses and their future." More »
December 3, 2012 – How We Made it in Africa
Savannah Fund's Mbwana Alliy Outlines What He Looks For in a Startup
The Savannah Fund is a seed capital fund specializing in US$25,000-$500,000 investments in early stage technology (web and mobile) startups in sub-Saharan Africa. Initially focused on East Africa, the fund aims to bridge the early stage/angel and venture capital investment gap that currently exists in Africa. The fund's three main partners are tech heavyweights Mbwana Alliy, Erik Hersman and Paul Bragiel. More »
December 3, 2012 – Coco-Cola Unbottled
South African Entrepreneur Receives Standing Ovation at TEDxWomen
For the last few months, I've had the honor of working with a woman named Malehlohonolo Moleko of Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. Malehlohonolo is a baker, small-business owner, mentor, and mother. Last week, she boarded an airplane for the first time in her life to travel over 18 hours to Washington D.C. to share her personal story at TEDxWomen about the challenges she has encountered making her bakery a successful, profitable business. She shared her story of frustration, hope, collaboration and determination with hundreds in the live audience and thousands joining online from around the world. More »
November 30, 2012 – Finweek
Overcoming Entrepreneurial Challenges
Entrepreneurship is increasingly generating more awareness in South Africa and while the industry should be a desirable employment option for most South Africans, there are various challenges that entrepreneurs entering the market should bear in mind when starting their new venture. More »
November 29, 2012 – Business Report
Social Entrepreneurs Change the Way the World is Working
After the marking of World Entrepreneurship Week this month, the question that still remains is: "What does it take to make a truly great social entrepreneur?" More »
November 29, 2012 – Business Day Live
Collaboration and expansion into the rest of Africa was part of the Technology Innovation Agency's (TIA's) strategy, CEO Simphiwe Duma said on Wednesday. More »
November 29, 2012 – IT News Africa
SA's Absa Launches a World First for Small Business
South African Absa has entered into an agreement with a local payment innovations company Thumbzup, to enable businesses and entrepreneurs on-the-go across South Africa to accept debit or credit card payments using their smartphones or tablets through a world first, plug-in device called 'The Payment Pebble.' More »
November 29, 2012 – Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber
The Hope Factory's new Business Development Programs Give More Entrepreneurs Wings to Fly
Today, more than 50 entrepreneurs graduated from The Hope Factory's pilot Business Development program. CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, Kevin Hustler, as guest speaker, encouraged entrepreneurs at the graduation ceremony saying: "There are incredible opportunities in this country. We are a nation very blessed with incredibly rich assets and people that are extremely talented. We need to utilize the opportunities that we have in our 50 million + population and realize our dreams to become a truly prosperous nation, because I really believe we can become that. So we need to create employment through entrepreneurs like yourself." More »
November 28, 2012 – Ventureburn
20 African News Startups You Really Have to Know About
Countries around the African continent have a chance to do something really special when it comes to news innovation. With a highly mobile literate population and growing middle classes, these countries have the chance to shed the weight of old media far more readily than countries with more developed economies. More »
November 27, 2012 – Entrepreneur South Africa
All too often we hear local marketers express their desire for business to be more innovative. So much so that now almost every marketer, regardless of the industry they operate in, wants 'innovation' to be in their brand's essence or DNA. More »
November 23, 2012 – TechCrunch
"In the Studio" powers through Black Friday by welcoming a serial entrepreneur, originally from South Africa, who has now started his third company out of Palo Alto and timed his moves perfectly for recent advances in mobile hardware and the holiday season. More »
November 21, 2012 – Ventures
Absa Launches LCD, Tap-and-Go Card for Graduates
An innovation in the South African banking sector, the new Absa Potentiate bank card is a Mastercard Titanium card boasting a number of new features. Of particular note, the card encompasses a button and an LCD display screen in the top corner of the card, which when pressed provides a one-off PIN code for the individual transaction, thus giving an added level of payment security when making online purchases. More »
November 21, 2012 – Media Club South Africa
International Win for South African Innovation
Cape-based company Ideso's PowerPac has received one of the highest accolades in the design world – the Red Dot 'Best of the Best' award for 2012. This is no mean feat, as the awards were contested by 4,515 entries from around 1,800 companies and designers from 58 countries. More »
November 18, 2012 – Ventures
Meet Pioneer Female Aviation Entrepreneur, Sibongile Sambo
When Sibongile Sambo decided to make a career in the South African aviation industry, she encountered a stumbling block - she could not meet the minimum height requirement for air hostesses. Today, Sambo is the Founder and Managing Director of SRS (Sibongile Rejoice Sambo) Aviation – the first black female owned aviation company in South Africa. More »
November 16, 2012 – Young Business Leaders
SA Delegation Praises DEMO Africa Innovation Competition in Kenya
Eleven South Africans recently flew the local flag during the inaugural DEMO Africa exhibition, which took place in Kenya last month and while none came home as DEMO Lions or within their pockets invitations to mentorship and investor exposure in Silicon Valley, their mood was jubilant. More »
November 16, 2012 – Mail & Guardian
Africa at Cutting Edge of Mobile Innovation
Success stories such as Kenya's banking system M-Pesa have established a new narrative for Africa, one that positions it as a mobile innovation hub as opposed to a continent that implements technology developed in the West. More »
November 16, 2012 – Media Club South Africa
Young Energy Champions Lead the Way
Every year in November, South Africa's energy utility Eskom rewards citizens who apply their minds and skills to inventing energy efficiency tools that not only help to keep energy consumption down but, in many cases, also address sustainable community development needs. More »
November 16, 2012 – Business Report
Infrastructure Needed for Entrepreneurs - Gigaba
South Africa needs to diversify its economy and invest in infrastructure to encourage entrepreneurship, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Thursday. "The structure of the South African economy has been constraining. There has been an asymmetry of information," he said at an event hosted by the South African Black Entrepreneurs' Forum in Johannesburg. "We have pursued entrepreneurship from false assumptions: we assumed the playing field was level, instead of acknowledging it is not." More »
November 15, 2012 – Humanipo
Botswana Officially Launches Innovation Hub
Botswana's Innovation Hub (BIH) was officially launched in the Southern African country earlier in this week. The center is an initiative by Botswana's government to reduce the country's dependency on mining, particularly diamonds; a key contributor to its economy. More »
November 15, 2012 – Humanipo
Africa's Hope Lies in Creative Innovation, says Marlon Parker
African creativity points to a hopeful future for technological advances, according to the founder of a global social enterprise community. More »
November 14, 2012 – The Zimbabwean
Military Childhood Forms Formidable Businesswoman
Caroline Tabeth Moyo is a go-getter. The daughter of a now late army commander, she traces her zeal and attachment to the straight and narrow to her childhood days. More »
November 14, 2012 – Media Club South Africa
Cartier Finalist Fights Illiteracy in South Africa
South African entrepreneur Nthabi Sibanda was shortlisted as a finalist in the 2012 Cartier Women's Initiative Awards, an annual international initiative to identify, support and encourage projects by women entrepreneurs who lead companies in sectors ranging from disaster relief to sanitary waste management, education, healthcare and employment. More »
November 14, 2012 – IPP Media
COSTECH Recognizes Local Female Entrepreneur for Promoting Women
After having won several awards and registered numerous achievements in the entrepreneurship docket, the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) has recognized Flotea Massawe as an outstanding achiever in developing and promoting women in the country and in Africa at large. More »
November 13, 2012 – The South African LED Network
The Entrepreneurial Revolution - Moving from Alchemy to Science
The growing necessity for fast tracking our economic development in South Africa and the pivotal importance of entrepreneurship in achieving this has led to recent calls for an entrepreneurial revolution in this country. This sense of proactive urgency is to be encouraged, yet such calls can be undermined when we lack a clear understanding of the tools for such a revolution. Part of this is symptomatic of a broader entrepreneurship challenge. We see its powerful benefits, but after 40 years of intensive research we have not made significant progress in unlocking the secrets of the entrepreneurship phenomenon. More »
November 13, 2012 – African Business Review
African Entrepreneurs Eye Europe for Business Success
Only seven percent of entrepreneurs are primarily motivated by wealth attainment and innovation and creativity are considered the most important qualities of an entrepreneur by African entrepreneurs. More »
November 12, 2012 – Young Business Leaders
Why African Technology Startups Should Look For Partners
This weekend, Young Business Leaders Magazine (YBL) headed down to the Cape Town Youth Entrepreneurship Expo at the Belville Campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology's (CPUT) Bellville campus. Our reason? To speak to some young people about their expectations of the event, their entrepreneurial dreams and plans for the future. More »
November 12, 2012 – News24
Let's Face It, We Are On Our Own
South Africa's unemployment rate - currently estimated at 25.5% - has reached a crisis peak. This has also raised fears of social unrest, with economists calling on the government to do something before it's too late. There is widespread consensus among economists that entrepreneurship can help bring down the high level of unemployment in South Africa. Byton Moyo of Soshanguve, although not an economist, agrees with them. More »
November 9, 2012 – Media Club South Africa
Long-life Flowers a Blooming Success
Innovative technology to preserve and extend the shelf life of fresh flowers, developed by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), is helping to boost job creation, skills development and establish new market opportunities for South Africa's flower industry. More »
November 8, 2012 – Business Report
Makers of Motion Show Entrepreneurial Stamina
Sports practiced on paved surfaces elsewhere in the world easily become extreme on the rugged slopes and rapids of the South African landscape. The same can be said for starting up hi-tech ventures. Roderick Barrett, 32-year-old Cape Town tech entrepreneur, is into extreme sports. His company Mobii Systems has developed a tiny, rugged sports computer called Motion that takes very accurate and detailed measurements of the movement of anything from kite surfers, free fallers, kayaks and racing cars. More »
November 8, 2012 – Ventures
Softline Pastel Launches Online Portal for Cloud Apps
Softline Pastel, South Africa's leading business and accounting software developer, has launched its business portal – Sage Pastel Online – to provide entrepreneur a central location to access the company's bouquet of cloud-based business tools that will make running a small business a little easier. More »
November 8, 2012 – Global Travel Industry News
Cape Town: South Africa's Unofficial Design Capital
Cape Town has always been Africa's unofficial design capital and is marked by the ingenuity and entrepreneurial nature of its citizens – who make clever use of recycled materials, and produce cost-effective products which, at the same time, provide employment. More »
November 8, 2012 – WebWire
U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Donald H. Gips and South African Deputy Minister of Basic Education Enver Surty today launched a unique $7.5 million public-private partnership designed to improve primary grade reading outcomes by building teacher effectiveness and strengthening classroom and school management. More »
November 8, 2012 – Forbes
Why African Technology Startups Should Look For Partners
Tech entrepreneurs in Africa often wrestle with developing applications on basic feature phones for too long or jump to work on smartphones too early, but underlying platform bets are potentially costlier mistakes of not properly segmenting the fast changing African market, courting the wrong type of early stage financing and not focusing enough on channel partnerships to reach their target African customers. More »
November 7, 2012 – Saine Innovation Network
Africa Innovations: 15 Ideas Helping to Transform a Continent
A mobile phone database for dairy farmers and a strain of sweet potato that can help fight child blindness. These are just two of the imaginative new ideas that are tackling Africa's old problems. More »
November 7, 2012 – International Weekly Journal of Science
Education: Africa's Counting House
The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences was set up to breed a new generation of numerical talent. Now it is spreading across the continent. More »
November 7, 2012 – Young Business Leaders
Rhino Hero Makes South Africa's Fight against Poaching Easy and Fun
Any fundraiser will tell you that the toughest part of their job, apart from raising awareness for their cause, is convincing people to donate – with the physical payment mechanisms being some of the main barriers. The ShortBlackMocca team is working hard to make the donating process easier, more efficient and fun. More »
November 7, 2012 – Ventures
Africa's Hottest Mobile App Heads for Smartphones
African mobile social network, 2go is extending its successful feature phone app to smartphones, while growing its team of software developers and support staff. The mobile app currently boasts over 10 million active users who send more than 6 billion messages a month, mostly on lower-end feature phones in Nigeria and South Africa. "Feature phones have been an incredibly successful platform for us and will continue to be so for the next few years at least," says Alan Wolff, who founded 2go with fellow student Ashley Peter while still at university. "Research firms such as Informa indicate that by 2015 there will still be 5.6 feature phones in the African market for every one smartphone. But now is the right time to start extending to iOS, Blackberry and Android platforms as well." More »
November 6, 2012 – Entrepreneur South Africa
Social Entrepreneurship Encouraged
The aim of the competition is to provide aspiring entrepreneurs with mentoring, exposure, and prize money to turn their business ideas into real-world projects. It aims to catalyze new sustainable ventures that address social issues, build awareness of social entrepreneurship and educate future leaders. More »
November 6, 2012 – The Skills Portal
SA Business School Launches Free MBA Education to the World
Regenesys Business School, South Africa's leading management and leadership higher education institution, has broken new ground by becoming the first business school in the world to offer free business education from Certificate, Diploma, Bachelor's Degree up to an MBA level. More »
November 5, 2012 – News24
BlackBerry Apps Lab Opens in Cape Town
Research In Motion has opened its second apps lab in South Africa to enable local application development for the BlackBerry platform. "We are now looking forward to fostering mobile innovation in the Western Cape and helping to grow South Africa's next wave of mobile app developers," said Alexandra Zagury, managing director for South Africa and Southern Africa at RIM. More »
November 5, 2012 – IT News Africa
Business Connexion Acquires Integr8 IT in R126 Million Deal
Managed services specialist firm Integr8 IT, part of the Integr8 Group, has been acquired by Business Connexion for an estimated R126 million. Integr8 IT is the largest privately-owned ICT infrastructure management and managed services company on the African continent. More »
November 3, 2012 – ABC News International
Eight South African Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets to Success
As part of its "Do Great Things" initiative, financial services firm Old Mutual asked South African entrepreneurs about how they managed to build successful businesses. More »
November 1, 2012 – AllAfrica
South Africa: Internet Solutions Adds New ADSL Product
A new uncapped ADSL solution, designed for end-users who require optimized connectivity at work and uncapped, unshaped connectivity at night for more bandwidth-intensive activities, has been launched by Internet Solutions (IS). More »
November 1, 2012 – Fin24
Innovators and social entrepreneurs will play an important part in solving South Africa's problems, businessman Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday. "We've seen how innovation is creating products… in various communities it can give dignity back to people, create jobs," Ramaphosa said. He said social entrepreneurs, people who think of innovations to help their communities, represented untapped potential for tackling South Africa's problems. More »
November 1, 2012 – Saine Innovation Network
FNB Named World's Most Innovative Bank
South Africa's First National Bank (FNB), a division of FirstRand Limited, was named the world's most innovative bank of the year at the 2012 BAI-Finacle Global Banking Innovation Awards. More »
November, 2012 - McKinsey Quarterly
The rise of the African consumer
The single-largest business opportunity in Africa will be its rising consumer market. A McKinsey report, one of the first of its kind, offers a detailed profile of African consumers, including their demographics, behavior, and needs. More »
November, 2012 - Entrepreneur Magazine
Hope For Growing Entrepreneurs
Recently launched deal-facilitating website Corculture.com has one main aim: it links existing businesses that need growth funding with Corculture's group of 30 private investors. More »
October 31, 2012 – Ventures
Africa's Most Innovative Companies: Triggerfish
As prevalence of animation films in global cinema began to increase – with individual animated films amassing significant fan bases – freelance producer Stuart Forrest and special effects specialist James Middleton had an idea: to capitalize on the home-grown talent and wealth of story-telling tradition available in South Africa by starting the first African animation studio. More »
October 29, 2012 – Entrepreneur
What You Should Know Before You Apply to an Accelerator
As prevalence of animation films in global cinema began to increase – with individual animated films amassing significant fan bases – freelance producer Stuart Forrest and special effects specialist James Middleton had an idea: to capitalize on the home-grown talent and wealth of story-telling tradition available in South Africa by starting the first African animation studio. More »
October 29, 2012 – Times Live
Demo Africa a Perfect Launchpad
This African innovation is more about survival and other important issues than mere entertainment or photo-sharing. Tapping into the popularity of games by teaching youngsters about the problems with mosquito-borne diseases is the idea behind Maliyo Games' swatter app. More »
October 26, 2012 – NEPAD Water Centers of Excellence
Global Recognition for SA-Linked Water Innovation
A South African-linked innovation, which is able to turn seawater into an alternative water, energy and fertilizer resource, has won the Global Grand Honor Award of Applied Research at the International Water Association's 2012 Project Innovation Awards. More »
October 24, 2012 – Ventures
Shaping Africa's Future: Fred Swaniker
Just like the great American civil right activist Martin Luther King Jnr. had a dream of an equal social existence, so did Ghanaian-born entrepreneur, Fred Swaniker, dream to build a Pan-African school that will position the new generation of African youth towards prosperity in future years. More »
October 24, 2012 – Ventureburn
Meet the Startups Set to Battle it Out at IBM's Inaugural SmartCamp SA
In September this year, we reported on South Africa's induction into the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program. IBM SmartCamps are an aspect of the Global Entrepreneur initiative designed to foster startups involved in building new technologies that tackle some of the world's most pressing issues. SmartCamp winners receive mentoring, access to industry experts and technology, and deeper partnership opportunities from IBM, VCs and industry partners. More »
October 23, 2012 – BizCommunity.com
CNN features Tourism Radio on Marketplace Africa
In an effort to showcase entrepreneurship in South Africa, CNN recently featured Cape Town-based travel technology company Tourism Radio on their Marketplace Africa program. Founded in 2005, Tourism Radio was created by Mark Allewell. The company produces location-based technology and travel content, with audio clips that play automatically when users approach specific points of interest. More »
October 22, 2012 – Forbes
Starting and Growing a Business - The Entrepreneur's Global Guide
If there's one thing that Obama and Romney seemed to agree on in the last of their TV debates before the election, it's that we need more entrepreneurs creating more jobs. But, to borrow a sentiment from George Orwell's famous satire, Animal Farm, all entrepreneurs are equal, but some are more equal than others. More »
October 22, 2012 – African Brains
Millions Available to Assist South African Entreprenuers
An amount of R400 million has been made available for South African entrepreneurs. And the Cape Town-based Business Partners Limited, a specialist risk finance company for formal small and medium enterprises (SMEs), recently announced the launch of the R400 million Business Partners Limited Venture Fund, one of the largest SME financing funds in SA. More »
October 18, 2012 – Ventures
Entrepreneurship No Longer A Necessity In Africa?
The "Accelerating Entrepreneurship in Africa" study conducted by Monitor Group in partnership with Omidya Network has revealed that despite significant challenges, entrepreneurship is gaining credibility as a vocation in Africa because individuals no longer see being an entrepreneur as a decision of necessity but one of aspiration. More »
October 18, 2012 – IT News Africa
"We'll be launching new innovative features soon" – MXit
Mobile communication has grown exponentially over the last couple of years, and services such as WhatsApp and Mxit have experienced signficant month-on-month growth within their respective user bases. But well established South Africa based social media and communications company MXit does not view WhatsApp as a threat to their business model. More »
October 11, 2012 - Business Insider
South Africa Has Incredibly Bright Long-Term Prospects
Africa is a continent many investors bypass, but from my perspective as a long-term investor, I think that's a mistake. South Africa has faced some struggles recently, but I think they can be overcome, and a brighter future could be ahead there for its people. South Africa is the largest economy in Africa, and is the only country on the continent where I think the "frontier" market label doesn't apply. More »
October 05, 2012 – Ventures
Meet Lisa Kropman, Transformer Of South Africa's Micro-Business Scene
Founder of The Business Place, Lisa Kropman, is credited with changing the business environment in South Africa by opening up market accessibility for micro-enterprises. More »
October 04, 2012 – Wall Street Journal
Small Businesses Are Finding An Unlikely Banker: Amazon
Lisa Zerr urgently needed funds to upgrade the kids' merchandise carried by her business, Yankee Toy Box, for Halloween and the holiday shopping season. A bank had turned down her request for a loan. Then she got a pitch explaining that, based on the business's Amazon.com selling performance, she had prequalified for a loan from Amazon Capital Services Inc. Rather than adding to her credit-card debt, or selling her Bedford, N.H., business's accounts receivable to a factoring firm, she borrowed $38,000 from the Internet retailing giant in July and another $13,000 last month. More »
October 03, 2012 – Humanipo
South Africa's entrepreneurs prove social media effective for consumer networking
Businesses in South Africa are fast turning to social media platforms to connect to customers, a new study shows. The South African Social Media Landscape 2012 report released today shows that corporate in South Africa have woken up to social media, although they have not yet "figured out how to dress for the role." More »
October 02, 2012 – AllAfrica
Africa: Virtualbank in Africa's Top 40 Startups
LOCAL information and communication technology firm VirtualBank has been shortlisted among 40 ICT startup companies on the continent to showcase their innovative products. VirtualBank, which was set up by entrepreneur Tawanda Kembo, is described as "a payment service for those without credit cards, bank accounts and those who want a cheaper alternative for remitting money." More »
October 02, 2012 – TheSouthAfrican.com
Entrepreneur of the Year nominee: Paul Harrison
Paul Harrison has been nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year in the South African Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2012. More »
October 2, 2012 – Times LIVE
South African Youth Entrepreneurship Lagging
The 2011 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor SA report found that only a small number of young South Africans were entrepreneurs. Only 6.8% of South Africans between the ages of 18 and 24 were entrepreneurs and 10.2% between 25 and 34. The study indicated that South Africa has the fifth lowest entrepreneurial intent amongst all efficiency-driven economies in the world. More »
October 1, 2012 – Bloomberg Businessweek
Rooftop Pool, Wine Bar: Hotels Building in Africa
International hotels developers are planning nearly 40,000 new rooms across Africa in the coming years. Africa's middle class is expected to soon begin leisure travel en masse, and an international forum held in Nairobi last week was packed with hotel executives because of this fact alone: Africa's middle class today numbers 300 million people but by 2050 will number 1 billion.More »
October 1, 2012 – Capital FM Business
Africa's industrialization could benefit from China's growth model
Kenya and other African counties could increase regional trade and industrial production of goods by using the Chinese growth model, which relies on an abundant labor force to improve product quality, economic experts say. In Africa, governments have been reluctant to privatize state-owned enterprises amid criticism that most state actors have proven less successful in running huge national companies.More »
September 2012 – Dataweek
Expats offer SA innovators global clout
A bold new initiative has been started to promote and assist South African innovators to achieve global success, in the form of the SABLE Network (South African Business Link to Experts). The concept taps into the minds of well-positioned South African expatriates to help the country be more competitive in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship across both the private and public sectors. More »
September 28, 2012 – Bloomberg Businessweek
Airlines Brave African Frontier as Growth Outweighs Risks
After decades as the poor relation of global air transport, Africa is attracting carriers from Brussels to Beijing as a commodities boom spurs economic growth. Airlines hurt by traffic declines elsewhere are rushing to tap a rare growth market as economies in the sub-Saharan region expand an average 5.3 percent in 2012, outpacing Russia, Brazil and much of Asia, according to International Monetary Fund estimates. Hurdles to expansion include safety issues, corruption, state interference and of selling tickets in economies reliant on cash and lacking ready internet access. More »
September 28, 2012 - Engineering News
Programme to increase SA's competitiveness
South Africa has moved up four places to fiftieth position in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report 2011-12, out of 142 countries surveyed. South Africa remains the highest-ranked country in sub-Saharan Africa and is placed second among its fellow Brics economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India and China. With regard to innovation, however, South Africa is ranked last among them, says Department of Trade and Industry Support Programme for Industrial Innovation (SPII) senior specialist Dr Ntokozo Mthembu. More »
September 27, 2012 - All Africa
South Africans Urged to Get Involved in Tourism
Mbashe — As South Africa marked World Tourism Day on Thursday, government has urged communities to embrace tourism development, saying it was central to the country's economic growth. Minister of Tourism Marthinus Van Schalkwyk told villagers in the Eastern Cape, where this year's tourism celebrations are being held, that in the next decade the tourism sector will become the biggest employer in the country. More »
September 27, 2012 - Forbes
Google Launches Global Entrepreneurs Initiative
This week Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced an initiative to connect entrepreneurs the world over, using the company's network of partners and products to give startup minds a leg up in getting their businesses going. More »
September 26, 2012 – Business Excellence
American Express Travel Services South Africa
American Express Travel Services South Africa is developing its continent-wide American Express franchise network to meet the unique requirements of Africa’s rapidly growing oil and gas industries. This is a company with big resources and a wide umbrella by virtue of its affiliation to Tourvest, Southern Africa’s largest tourism group. American Express Travel Services South Africa forms part of the Tourvest Travel Services division which provides travel management services to many of South Africa’s top 100 companies. More »
September 25, 2012 – BusinessDay live
Reprieve for SA Economy as Leading Indicator Inches Higher
South Africa’s leading indicator of business activity increased in July for the first time in five months, providing some encouragement to the country’s fragile economic growth outlook. The indicator, which points to trends in the economy six to 12 months in advance, nudged up by 0.6% to 130.4, figures from the Reserve Bank showed. More »
September 21, 2012 – IT Web SME
Global Expertise, Local Talent
Donovan Neale-May is the president of marketing service company GlobalFluency, the founder and executive director of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council (a global affinity network of over 6,000 senior marketing and branding executives), a member of Rhodes University’s Board of Governors, and a South African. Neale-May is on a mission to nurture the talent and potential that has seen South Africans like himself make it to the top of their fields all over the world. He has linked up with other high-flying expats to do so. More »
September 19, 2012 – The Wall Street Journal
Marriott International Inc. wants to plant a new flag on its global expansion map—in Africa. Although the Maryland-based hotelier has 605 properties spread across more than 70 countries outside the U.S., sub-Saharan Africa has remained Marriott-free. That will change soon. Marriott plans to open a hotel in the Rwandan capital of Kigali late next year. The company has at least eight more properties planned for south of the Sahara over five years, targeting fast-growing economies such as Ghana and Ethiopia. More »
September 13, 2012 – SA The Goodnews
Soil for Life wins Impumelelo Social Innovations Award
Cape Town-based initiative, Soil for Life received top honours in the form of a Platinum Award at this year’s Impumelelo Social Innovations Award Ceremony held at The Baxter Theatre, Cape Town on Thursday evening, September 6. The decision to short-list Soil for Life for an award was made after Pat Featherstone presented their Home Garden Project to the Impumelelo Social Innovations Centre’s National Selection Committee in Cape Town on 12 July 2012. Soil for Life was one of nineteen award winners recognised at Impumelelo’s gala awards ceremony. More »
September 13, 2012 – Sowetan Live
NGO launches business contest A Johannesburg-based NGO, Hub Johannesburg, has launched a year-long incubation programme for South African entrepreneurs and has called on business people to come up with environmental friendly business ideas that can contribute to sustainable development in communities. More »
September 12, 2012 – Ventures Africa
Gavin Rajah: Designer And Goodwill Ambassador
Gavin Rajah is a South African entrepreneur, Fashion designer and business man. He is the creative force and managing director of Gavin Rajah Atelier and Gavin Rajah Concept, based in Cape Town. His passion for traditional skills and crafts is evident in his glamorous, vibrant and cutting-edge designs. Gavin is the co-founder of the prestigious Cape Town Fashion Week and was the first South African to be invited to show his collection at the Paris Fashion Week. More »
September 11, 2012 – SouthAfrica.info
IBM targets South African entrepreneurs
Multinational IT firm IBM announced on Monday that its Global Entrepreneur Programme is now being extended to next-generation entrepreneurs in South Africa for the first time. "The Global Entrepreneur Programme is focused on helping early-stage entrepreneurs to capture emerging business opportunities, especially in fast-growing industries such as energy, utilities, healthcare and telecommunications," independent software vendor and developer relations lead for IBM South Africa, Clayton Booysen, said in a statement. More »
September 11, 2012 – African Brains
3 Inspiring South African Entrepreneurs
If you’re in the process of studying business, or if you are just now embarking on your business venture, you’re likely just beginning to realize how challenging it is to start and run a successful business or startup. There are so many different obstacles and variables—some that you can control and some that can’t—and sometimes it’ll just feel like an all-in-all impossible undertaking. When the going gets tough, entrepreneurs the world over can take a page of the book of some of South Africa’s greatest entrepreneurs. Here are a few: More »
September 09, 2012 – News24
A hundred small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) drawn from South African Tourism’s South African Travel Directory will attend the 5th Annual E Tourism Africa Summit in Cape Town next week courtesy of South African Tourism. South African Tourism has developed a reputation as a progressive DMO in the online space characterised by its partnerships and presence on the largest travel and non-travel online platforms and would like the benefit of engagement with these travel titans to be more widely spread to as many of the South African travel trade as possible. More »
September 07, 2012 - Cassidian
Paramount Group to demonstrate latest market-leading innovations at AAD 2012
South-Africa’s Paramount Group, Africa’s largest privately owned defence and aerospace company, will be breaking new ground and showcasing some of the world’s most innovative defence products at Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2012, the continent’s largest defence and aerospace exhibition. More »
September 07, 2012 – SouthAfrica.info
Spotlight on small business development
The 37th International Small Business Congress, taking place in Johannesburg from 15-18 September, will help to chart the way for small business development in South Africa, with a particular focus on emerging industries. More »
September 07, 2012 – IT Web Financial
Mobile technology is forcing a complete reinvention of the banking world, with demand for new services through a more interconnected community of users, businesses and services. The mobile generation has profound implications for South African banks, and banking users. More »
September 06, 2012 – The Wall Street Journal
Africa Learns the Wal-Mart Way
Since it was founded decades ago, South Africa's Foodcorp has built itself into one of the country's biggest food companies. Now it is remaking some of its basic procedures, for example, setting up a four-person team to develop peanut-butter production targets for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. "It's a new process, a new way of doing business," says Tom Pienaar, group sales director for Johannesburg-based Foodcorp. While Foodcorp previously conducted its own analysis to determine a customer's demand, it now is working with Wal-Mart to set production. More »
September 05, 2012
New academy to create 1 million African entrepreneurs by 2020
Entrepreneurial education has been given a serious boost with the launch of the African Entrepreneur Academy, a free online entrepreneurial education initiative.
The African Entrepreneur Academy initiative is being driven by No Picket Fence – (www.nopicketfence.co.za), a locally driven website offering a support network for entrepreneurs.
More »
September 05, 2012 – The Augusta Chronicle
Paine College receives grant, bringing trade mission to South Africa
Paine College is participating in a trade mission to South Africa and is looking for local business owners and entrepreneurs interested in networking with South African business professionals. The college will take a delegation of about 40 people on the trade mission to Johannesburg and Pretoria on Oct. 5-13, said Dr. Okoroafor Nzeh, the chairman of the department of business administration at Paine College. Other colleges participating are Alabama State University, Prairie View A&M University, St. Augustine College and North Carolina Central University. More »
September 05, 2012 - Moneyweb
Personal branding tips for new entrepreneurs
Know what this is, and how to use social media to your benefit. With the almost negligible cost and accessibility of social media, it’s now possible for grassroot entrepreneurs to launch their brands into society with minimal spend. But, the rise of social platforms hasn’t exactly come with a guidebook on how to manage our personal and corporate brands. Mistakes are visible to all, permanent and as such could easily damage brand reputation. More »
September 03, 2012 – Ventures Africa
KPMG’s Choice Of Top Innovative Infrastructure Projects In Africa
The global professional services firm KPMG recently released its list of 100 most innovative and inspiring urban infrastructure projects in the world. Among the projects listed were six African infrastructure projects, including 3 directly related to South Africa. More »
September 03, 2012 – Biz Commnity
Full Stretch Display relaunches brand
Full Stretch Display is proud to announce the relaunch of their contemporary and innovative brand to position themselves as premium supplier of branding and display systems in the retail, display and interior sectors in South Africa. A South African-owned company, FSD manufactures, assembles and distributes a unique, patented tensioning display system throughout Southern Africa, exporting to Australia, UK, Italy and the USA. This innovative and durable system boasts endless applications due to its modularity, flexibility and customising properties. More »
September 02, 2012 – All Africa
South Africa: Entrepreneurship Can Lift Women, Girls Out of Poverty
Entrepreneurship presents an opportunity for women and girls to lift themselves out of economic hardships and change the direction of their lives, says Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Elizabeth Thabethe. Addressing Grade 12 learners from the Free State, who participated in the Techno-girls Entrepreneurship workshop on Saturday in Vanderbijl park, Thabethe said as a department, they were investing in the future through the Techno-girls programme. More »
September 01, 2012 - WIPO Magazine
Building South Africa's innovation ecosystem
South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a leading scientific and technology research, development and implementation organization, is at the forefront of the country's quest to become a fully-fledged knowledge-based economy. WIPO Magazine recently met with the CSIR's President, Dr. Sibusiso Sibisi, to find out more about the organization's approach to innovation and the opportunities and challenges it faces in fostering a culture of innovation to deliver widespread economic and social benefit. More »
August 28, 2012 – FA News
Innovation to define leadership in Insurance industry - South Africa’s insurance leaders speak
Challenges, including the rising costs of compliance, competition from non-traditional market entrants, and changing consumer behaviour are leading many of South Africa’s insurance leaders to predict market consolidation in the near future. More »
August 28, 2012 – Ventures Africa
Meet The World’s Best Student Entrepreneur
Whether he positioned himself as a student, an entrepreneur, a Google EMEA Campus Ambassador or the founder of Headboy Industries Inc; Marishane Ludwick’s instinct has always been a mixture of luck and cunning. As an inquisitive chap, he has always been ambitious in his dealings while thinking ahead of situations as an opportunity for advancement. More »
August 31, 2012
Roelof Botha on startups: Ditch the polish, it’s about ‘raw authenticity’
As a regular feature on the Forbes Midas List of top tech investors, Roelof Botha is a big deal. As a partner at venture capitalist company Sequoia Capital, Botha has helped fund some of the great names in tech today. Sequoia has funded heavy hitting tech players such as Apple, Google, YouTube, PayPal, Cisco Systems, Oracle, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Kayak, Meebo, Admob, Zappos, Green Dot and LinkedIn. More »
August 31, 2012
High hopes for new version of renowned South African mine-detection vehicle
The South African company responsible for the highly successful Husky armoured route clearance vehicle is optimistic that it will win orders from the US and other international customers for the new-generation version of the vehicle that it has developed, to meet the changing needs of today’s armies. The new model, the Husky 2G, has a crew of two, instead of the single crewmember carried by the previous version. More »
August 31, 2012
Power sector ripe for innovation
There are huge opportunities for investment and innovation in South Africa’s power sector – so says Dr Steve Lennon, power utility Eskom’s group executive for sustainability. Lennon was speaking at the fifth edition of the Innovation Summit in Johannesburg, a two-day annual event that seeks to bring together entrepreneurs and creative thinkers from academia, private companies and the government to network, share ideas, and pitch concepts to potential funders. More »
August 30, 2012
Newly launched YTIF opens doors for young innovators
In its aims to stimulate technology innovation and entrepreneurial capacity among young South Africans, the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) launched its Youth Technology Innovation Fund (YTIF) on Thursday. More »
August 2012 – McKinsey on Society
Africa at Work: Job Creation and Inclusive Growth
Over the next decade, we calculate that Africa has the potential to create between 54 million and 72 million more wage-paying jobs, with nearly half of them in manufacturing, agriculture, and retail and hospitality. African economies are on the move. The continent has been the second-fastest growing region in the world over the past decade. GDP is on course to expand by 4.8 percent in 2012. More »
August 29, 2012 – Daily Despatch
High praise for SKA team from Pandor
The stars of South Africa's winning bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope have been praised by Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor. At a Rhodes University celebration on Monday night, Pandor said the nine-year slog by South Africa's top academics more than paid off when the country beat Australia and secured the right to host what will be the world's biggest eye into space. More »
August 23, 2012
EA Worldwide Acquisitions Joins Entrepreneurs in South Africa to Promote Benefits of Start-ups
Josh Cote, entrepreneur and managing director of EA Worldwide Acquisitions travelled to Johannesburg last week to speak at an entrepreneurial event which offered advice and encouragement to budding entrepreneurs. More »
August 20, 2012 – GIBS Info Centre Blog
Silicon Valley reaches out to SA
A new, high-profile group founded by three South Africans now living in Silicon Valley and London has been formed to help grow SA businesses into global firms by providing the connections, advice and investment they need to take their ideas beyond SA's borders. Launched officially on 6 August, The Sable Network has secured high-powered backers, including angel investor and entrepreneur Laurence Seeff and a range of CEOs, directors and consultants from firms such as McCann Erickson, Grant Thornton, McKinsey and Hasso Plattner Ventures Africa. More »
August 13, 2012 – SA Good News
Silicon Valley reaches out to SA
The Sable Network, a new, Silicon Valley-based group, has been formed to connect SA entrepreneurs with successful expats who can provide mentorship, investment and motivation to take their businesses global. By Craig Wilson. A new, high-profile group founded by three South Africans now living in Silicon Valley and London has been formed to help grow SA businesses into global firms by providing the connections, advice and investment they need to take their ideas beyond SA's borders. More »
August 13, 2012 - BusinessDay
SA shows it can be a fount of innovation for development
TWO weeks after the launch of a global competition looking for technology solutions to development challenges, almost all the entries were from SA. More »
August 12, 2012 - BusinessDay
Business incubation requires a combined effort
IN SA, business incubation could be a very powerful tool for meeting important current economic and socioeconomic policy requirements, including: employment and economic growth, support and development for small, medium-sized and micro enterprises, technology transfer, innovation, and creating links between universities, research institutions and industry. More »
August 10, 2012 – African Brains
Silicon Valley-Based SABLE Accelerator Forms Trusted Global Network of South African Experts to Mentor and Assist Entrepreneurs, Product Innovators and Universities With New Venture Growth, Technology Transfer and Foreign Market Access. South Africa's untapped brains trust and knowledge network of expatriate assets around the world will soon be activated to help the country be more competitive in realizing a better return on innovation and entrepreneurship across both the private and public sectors. More »
August 09, 2012 – HumaniPro
Silicon Valley-based South Africans launch SABLE to nurture tech talents
California-based accelerator programme the South African Business Link to Experts (SABLE) Accelerator was on Monday launched in South Africa. Headquartered in California's Silicon Valley,The SABLE Network was formed by South Africans living in Silicon Valley and London, and top South African expatriates who will use their experiences to help their South African business counterparts. More »
August 7, 2012 - Forbes
Young African Millionaire Launches Mara.com, Africa's First Online Mentorship Network
Ashish J. Thakkar, one of 10 Young African Millionaires To Watch and CEO of Uganda’s Mara Group, has launched Mara.com, Africa’s first multi-lingual online portal for youth mentorship and entrepreneurship. More »
August 1, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal
Entrepreneurs Dream of Jumping on Super-Fast Network
Google's Plan for a High-Speed Data Network in Kansas City Area Starts Gears Turning Among Region's Entrepreneurs. More »
July 11, 2012 – Forbes
Ten Young African Millionaires To Watch
There’s no money like young money. While African millionaires and billionaires like Onsi Sawiris, Raymond Ackerman, Aliko Dangote and Deinde Fernandez may have more money than most of us can ever dream of, there’s one thing they can never buy: Youth. Even money has its limits. More »
July 10, 2012 - Maritz Publishing
South African Entrepreneur Talks About His Road To The Top
Marc Sternberg is the founder and managing director of Spark ATM Systems, an independent deployer of automatic teller machines (ATMs) in South Africa. The company, which was started in 2005, installs and maintains in-store ATMs for some of South Africa's most well-known businesses. Sternberg's entrepreneurial success has not gone unnoticed as he was recently announced the co-winner of the Business Person – Entrepreneur Award at the 2012 Absa Jewish Achiever Awards. The award follows his 2011 recognition as the Sanlam/Business Partners 2011 Overall Entrepreneur of the Year. How we made it in Africa's Kate Douglas found a moment in his busy schedule to ask him what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. More »
June 11, 2012 - Bizcommunity.com
Entrepreneurship Could Cure South Africa's Growing Youth Unemployment Crisis
Youth unemployment in South Africa has reached boiling point and has spurred on heated political debates and mass protests ending in violence. The rising levels of youth unemployment can be effectively curbed through the promotion of entrepreneurship as a viable career choice for young South Africans. However, it requires a committed change in South Africa's public perception and culture. More »
June 4, 2012 - GlobalPost
South Africa Seeks an Entrepreneur Revolution
Compared to the usual standards of reality television, a new show on South African TV has an impressively lofty mission. "Big Break Legacy" aims to entertain, of course: A dozen entrepreneurs are competing "Apprentice"-style to win a 5 million rand prize (about $650,000). But more than that, the show intends to "contribute towards the strengthening and growth of South Africa's economy," its creators say, by teaching viewers about starting a business. More »
May 29, 2012 – Africa News
The move to allow South Africa and eight of its partner African countries to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope has excited the continent infamously known for poverty, disease and civil conflicts. South Africa with Australia and New Zealand were declared successful bidders to host the world's biggest radio telescope ever built at a meeting held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. More »
May 11, 2012 - VentureBurnl
38 Emerging South African Tech Entrepreneurs To Watch
The technology space is particularly notable for the amount of entrepreneurial activity it attracts. The word "startup" has become almost synonymous with the tech and online space and there are thousands of entrepreneurs that run small and large companies that are carving out niches for themselves. The high amount of entrepreneurial activity in the tech sector may be explained by the fact that the costs of starting an online business are low. You don't need a factory or heavy-lifting equipment to start an online business, and the people found in the sector are highly skilled. More »
Old Mutual Entrepreneurs' Guide – Entrepreneur Business Idea
Knowledge and experience equates to wisdom, and wisdom shared inspires others to do great things. A collaboration between Africa's leading entrepreneurs and Old Mutual, this guide is a free, practical resource for both new and established start-ups. More »
November 12, 2010
How to Become a Master Problem Solver
Your ability to make money is directly proportionate to how well you solve problems for your customers. Problem solving is one of the most highly valued characteristics you can have as an entrepreneur. Hone this skill and you reap the benefits of saving time, making money and finding the next big idea for your business. More »
Celebrating South Africa's inventors and inventions
Inventors and scientific pioneers are big business these days, with inventions ranging from the hilarious to the truly incredible. And South Africa is right there on the pioneering front line, having produced world leaders whose inventions and scientific breakthroughs are often years ahead of the rest of the world. More »