South Africa News Archives - Page 42 of 72

20Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Preventing escalating business fraud in SA starts with robust KYC

While legislation and the introduction of new regulations aim to combat fraud and corruption, South African businesses have the power to fight financial crimes by ensuring consistent Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures are in place. This is according to Sameer Kumandan, Managing Director of SearchWorks, South Africa’s largest innovative data aggregation platform. SearchWorks allows users to perform live, credible individual, company, and property searches via more than 160 different search types. “With the obvious exception of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), there is no universal set of KYC protocols for businesses to follow. Although demand is growing for more vigorous checks, the risk of businesses not carrying out KYC checks is substantial,” notes Kumandan. PwC’s bienn...

20Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

Four of Southern Africa’s best and innovative legal startups proceed to HiiL Justice Accelerator

The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) has announced the four startups that will go on to the prestigious HiiL Justice Accelerator. The four exciting innovators are part of a global cohort of 18 organisations who will receive EUR 10 000 funding and business development support. Southern Africa’s HiiL Justice Accelerator programme is funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery. HiiL kicked off its annual global Innovating Justice Challenge in search of the region’s best justice-related social entrepreneurs in March this year which attracted more than 200 applications from startups with high-impact justice innovations. The stringent selection process comprised a week of intensive ‘bootcamp’ workshops for six regional finalists, and a pitching session in which they demonstrated their wor...

18Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Collaboration and Partnership will get SMEs through these difficult times

Small businesses in South Africa should tap into existing business community, partner and supplier networks to help keep their heads above water in these tough times. It is only by finding creative ways to stand together and help one another that this vital sector of the South African economy, employing 9 out of 10 people, will survive. One such partnership kicks off in Cape Town tomorrow (Tuesday 3 August 2021). The “Small Business Spotlight” initiative is the brainchild of SME funder Lulalend and one of the city's online magazines CapeTownMagazine.com. The nationwide initiative is designed to encourage all of us to support our favourite local businesses by showcasing them to a broader audience. The devastating impact of the pandemic on SMMEs is well documented, says Lulalend CEO Trevor...

18Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, Fintech, South Africa News

Four steps to fixing cash flow and help SMEs survive

We are all familiar with the saying in business that "cash is king" and, if that’s the case, then cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. For small or mid-size businesses, cash flow is a critical component of success. Profits are meaningless without it. The harsh reality is that SMEs who don't exercise good cash flow management may not be able to survive the current economic climate. In South Africa, the recession and pandemic have had a devastating impact on the approximately 2.5 million SMMEs accounting for 10.8 million jobs. In a recent report published by Transunion, 6.4% of formal SMEs going into bankruptcy (up 50% from last year), with 260,000 jobs lost and another 240,000 at risk. According to Trevor Gosling, CEO of SME funder, Lulalend, there are four practical ways in which...

18Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News, Tech

PRP Solutions Improves Decision-Making with Digital People Management Solutions

Modern business practices in a hybrid work from home and work from office environment needs a flexible work environment that boosts productivity and increases operational efficiency PRP Solutions, people management and workplace cloud solutions specialists, announced it is providing organisations with a more systemic and centralised solution suite able to show accurate, real-time data to improve people management in an increasingly distributed work environment. "Even though the business environment has changed dramatically since March last year, companies still want to find the best ways to unleash the power of their people," says Kriya Govender, CEO of PRP Solutions. "Now, more than ever, there is an awareness of how precious time has become with employees trying to balance work from ho...

18Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News

Entrepreneurs need to better understand risk and fail better by failing fast and forward

Are entrepreneurs risk takers at heart or calculated visionaries? According to serial entrepreneur and Ukheshe Technologies CEO, Clayton Hayward, many entrepreneurs don’t truly understand the nature of risk, which has a direct impact on the success of their business idea. He says that to be a successful entrepreneur you need to be willing to take risks with a greater vision in mind – and become comfortable with the possibility of failure. Hayward, who has started more than 26 businesses since graduating in the early 90s, says that globally, managing risk is probably one of the biggest entrepreneurship obstacles: “It is important not to overthink, over strategise or over plan the launch of a business. Understand the nature of the risks involved and go for it. Too many entrepreneurs let ...

12Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

Transnet is a harsh reminder that anyone is a victim in the current environment

The recent cyber-attack on Transnet is a serious wakeup call and a reminder that, in the technology age, no company is safe from cyber criminals who are trying to disrupt operations or steal personal information. While Transnet was dealing with its cyberattack, Macsteel - one of South Africa’s largest steel suppliers - faced a similar cyberattack on its system. At the end of June, there was a major data leak that impacted one of South Africa’s major insurers. "These coordinated attacks by cyber criminals are indicative of the environment that we live in at the moment," says Manie van Schalkwyk, CEO of the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS). He adds that these criminals are motivated, well-funded, and do not care who they go after. Risk based environment The cyber attack ...

10Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy, Republic of the Congo, South Africa News

Promoting the Pan-African Energy Agenda: H.E. Minister Bruno Jean Richard Itoua of the Republic of the Congo Reiterates his Support Towards African Energy Week in Cape Town

With an ambitious Gas Master Plan, progressive petroleum regulation, and a united stakeholder approach, H.E. Bruno Itoua is focused on making deals, and will promote a pan-African energy transition at African Energy Week in Cape Town. H.E. Bruno Jean Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons for the Republic of the Congo has reiterated both his support for and dedication towards driving a pan-African energy agenda at African Energy Week (AEW) 2021 in Cape Town on the 9th-12th of November. On the back of several other Ministerial VIP confirmations at AEW 2021, Hon. Bruno Itoua is focused on establishing a working commission to help make AEW 2021 a success. By promoting the Congo’s ambitious Gas Master Plan (GMP), as well as the prioritization of local content and capacity building, H.E. Bru...

10Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Cash is king – but digital payments are coming for the throne

Even with a high banked population and a multitude of electronic payment options available, the average South African still use cash for daily purchases and payments with an estimated 78-80% of transactions being in cash. Anton van der Merwe, the recently-appointed COO of Ukheshe Technologies, a fintech enablement partner that works with financial institutions to grow in the rapidly-expanding digital space, says that for these reasons alone, the opportunities for digital payments are set to boom. Van der Merwe, who has a strong background in traditional financial environments says that his appointment at Ukheshe represents the significant shift in the traditional and fintech spaces: “New technologies are expected to change the local landscape as emerging trends accelerate and traditional...

4Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Infobip to Power Expresso Senegal Customer Communication with Whatsapp

Global leader in business communications services Infobip (www.Infobip.com) announced today it will provide WhatsApp customer communication services and its Conversations CPaaS-based contact center solution to leading Senegal mobile operator Expresso. Mobile operators worldwide are increasingly adopting cloud-based customer communication solutions, in no small part driven by the COVID-19 pandemic which stressed the need to make remote services available to subscribers. As one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, WhatsApp is widely used to connect brands and mobile users, and Infobip has been a launch partner of WhatsApp business messaging. Combining WhatsApp with Infobip's in-house developed Conversations cloud contact center solution gives Expresso Senegal a powerful tool...