Category Archives: Business

Business

The impact of the African Continental Free Trade Area on the continent’s mining sector

By Virusha Subban, Partner specialising in Customs and Trade, and Head of Tax, Baker McKenzie, Johannesburg Africa is the world’s top producer of numerous critical mineral commodities. With the rapid increase in the rate of global energy transition, the continent’s mining industry has a role to play in sourcing and supplying these critical minerals for […]

Toggle Market’s B2B ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ continues its expansion across the African continent and now launches in Rwanda

Toggle Market’s B2B BNPL product Toggle Finance is aimed at SMEs seeking trade finance alternatives across multiple industry sectors, and is also available for all qualified customers of its marketplace Toggle Hospitality With a growing customer base for its trade, financing and freight & logistics services extending across Europe; the Middle East and in particular […]

Senzo Tsabedze’s 7 Things to expect in the Fleet Management sector in Africa in 2023

2022 was a progressive year in the fleet management industry worldwide with several companies regaining their usual momentum that was disturbed by COVID-19 from early 2020 into 2021. Today, we get an expert forecast on what we should expect to happen in the fleet management sector this year in Africa from Senzo Tsabedze. Senzo Tsabedze […]

5 Reasons Why You Need To Use Digital Certificates For Your Business

Digital certificates are an essential part of any business’s security measures. They provide a secure, encrypted connection between users and websites and ensure that all data is transferred safely. Read on to find out five reasons your business should use digital certificates.  What is a Digital Certificate A digital certificate is an electronic document that […]

Fraud trends every CFO should know

PwC’s Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2022 revealed that 46% of organisations have experienced fraud, corruption, or other economic crimes in the last 24 months. Ryan Mer, CEO of eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee™ (KYP) platform provider, gives a rundown of what to look out for. 1. Fraud protection is no longer optional It’s hard […]

Half of Retailers Say Out-of-Stock Items Will be Biggest Challenge in 2023

 SML RFID, an end-to-end RFID solution provider for global retailers, has today announced the launch of part one of its State of Retail 2022/2023 report, finding that 48% of retailers believe frequently out-of-stock items cause the biggest challenge to them serving customers in today’s retail environment. With an additional half (48%) of retailers reportedly seeing improving the in-store customer experience as […]

AppsFlyer gives Insight into Global E-Commerce Trends for 2023

By Sue Azari – E-Commerce Lead at AppsFlyer It is no secret that over the past few years the e-commerce industry has been constantly and rapidly evolving, with COVID-19 playing a significant role. Many retailers have experienced highs as a result of the pandemic, with consumers taking advantage of the convenience of shopping for pretty […]

Resilient SMEs will thrive in 2023

By Garth Rossiter Chief Risk Officer, Lulalend The past year has not held much for the SME sector to celebrate, but I expect 2023 to be a year of growth and recovery. 2022 saw the end of COVID-19-related restrictions but, at the same time, we also experienced some of the worst levels of load shedding […]

Rolls-Royce: Sustainably Powering Africa’s Regional Connectivity

By Lydia-Claire Halliday, Executive Director, Stakeholder Relations & Strategy, LCH Consultancy Ltd. Africa urgently needs a more extensive and robust aviation network, given the region’s relative lack of alternative long-distance transportation infrastructure The African aviation market has been underserved for a long time. Before 2020, only 9% of Africa’s air traffic was between African countries, […]

How to start a business with almost no money

By Catherine Wijnberg One of the questions I am most frequently asked is: “How can I get funding to start my business?” Today’s Google search will give you 340 million answers to this question. But if it’s just one good answer you need, this one might help. The reality is that most new businesses start […]

Ventures Platform Closes its Pan-African Fund Above its Initial Target – at $46M

Ventures Platform, the pan-African VC firm championing the next generation of African technology entrepreneurs, has today announced the final close of its early-stage and intercontinental fund, at $46M. Surpassing its initial $40M target, the oversubscribed fund from one of the continent’s most prolific investors sees new participation from global investors with an array of top-tier […]

How effective is your digital supply chain management?

As digital transformation increases at a dizzying pace, digital supply chain (DSC) management has become a business necessity. Software estates are ever-increasing, contracts and licences are becoming more complicated, and preventing wastage is more challenging than ever. Gartner predicts that in 2024, 60% of enterprises will underestimate cloud infrastructure and platform services consumption rates, leading to […]

The metaverse is the future of business

By: Nicolene Maree, Senior Copywriter at Flume Technology is constantly evolving and the way we do business has to adapt to keep up. The metaverse has been around since the 1990s but it has only re-entered the lexicon after Facebook changed its name to Meta. Just like social media became an important instrument in marketing, […]

African e-commerce users are expected to exceed 500 million over the next three years

The new event facilitates strategic African trade opportunities With the number of African e-commerce users expected to exceed half a billion over the next three years, there is an increasingly urgent need for sophisticated logistics systems to strengthen and support the continent’s expanding transport infrastructure. The pandemic served as a catalyst for the advancement of […]

The growing US dollar weighs down on African economies

By Pitamber Kaushik As the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, continues to hike its lending rates aggressively in order to rein in persistent inflation, the stress exerted by the bulking US Dollar continues to send ripples throughout the world. Being the predominant medium of international exchange, serving as the world’s principal […]

An update on free trade in Africa – the Guided Trade Initiative, regional value chains and measures for sustainable trade

By Virusha Subban, Partner Specialising in Customs and Trade and Head of Tax, Baker McKenzie, Johannesburg The AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) is the latest development designed to boost trade in the Africa’s continent-wide free trade zone. The GTI was launched in October 2022 with the aim of testing meaningful, continuous trade under AfCFTA and […]

Background checks are worth their weight in gold in the mining sector

South Africa possesses ore reserves amounting to a value of more than US$2.5 trillion, with 16 commodities ranked in the top ten internationally. In such an important and high-value sector of the economy, it’s easy to see why the mining industry is a frequent target for malfeasance of all kinds – from deceptive suppliers to tender fraud. […]

Exhibitions are a key facilitator of trade in Africa and are crucial to the continent’s economic recovery

As a continent, Africa presents significant investment and trade opportunities for global businesses. The borderless markets created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are valued at around $3.4 trillion in GDP, providing a unique and valuable platform for businesses to access an integrated market of over 1.3 billion people and in turn boost […]

10 Top Lessons From Leading Entrepreneurs

Being an entrepreneur is no easy feat, but with a clear plan, passion and hard work – a lot is possible. As we enter Entrepreneurship Month, we speak to entrepreneurs from different fields and industries about their success and ask them their key tips on achieving greatness! From Ignite Fitness’ CEO, Schalk Hugo and internationally […]

Investing in software development skills is a strategic imperative for all sectors

Rather than being concentrated in certain industries, coding is crucial across the economy By Jessica Hawkey, Managing Director of redAcademy The highest unemployment rate in the world, where almost three in five youth are unemployed, and a crippling skills shortage – especially in the technology industry – exist side by side in South Africa creating […]

Pre-employment background checks – essential in verifying job candidates are who they claim to be

Background checks reduce a company’s risk for reputational damage and criminal activities such as fraud and theft. They can also verify information on an applicant’s resume and assist HR professionals in determining whether an individual is the right fit for the job description says Sameer Kumandan, Managing Director of SearchWorks, South Africa’s largest and most innovative […]

How useful is Google Trends for Digital Marketing?

Jacques Du Bruyn, Managing Director, Flume  In South Africa, 94% of online information searches are made via Google, meaning that the data gleaned by the platform is an incredibly accurate measure of what South Africans are searching for – as well as when and possibly why. That information can be accessed via Google Trends, and […]