South Africa News Archives - Page 53 of 72

9Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

South African Fintech enabler, Ukheshe Technologies, confirm global expansion

Leading South African digital fintech enablement provider, Ukheshe Technologies has confirmed it is expanding its operations internationally. Having established itself as a formidable payment technology specialist within the B2B sector, the company has set its sights on the Middle East, Europe and Asia Pacific. The move comes on the back of several successful high-profile projects and partnerships in various African countries including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Nigeria, Malawi, Botswana, Angola, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and Ghana. In addition to collaborating with numerous blue-chip banks, telcos and fintechs, Ukheshe has built strong alliances with Mastercard while acquiring two companies and raising just under R100m within a two-year pe...

9Mar

By Prenisha GovenderNo Comments

Business, South Africa News

New Export Tax on Chrome Ore Intended to Resurrect the Ferrochrome Industry, but challenges prevail

By Prenisha Govender, Associate, Tax, and Angelo Tzarevski, Senior Associate, Competition & Antitrust, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The South African Government recently approved a tax on South Africa’s exported chrome, although the tax percentage and further details are still to be announced. The ferrochrome ore industry has been severely threatened in recent years, mostly due to increases in electricity tariffs for heavy use industries, which, combined with the unreliable supply of electricity in South Africa, have crippled the industry to such an extent that reportedly 40% of the country’s ferrochrome mines have been unable to continue production. Some industry stakeholders have suggested that a special electricity tariff would be a better way to support the ailing industry, stating...

9Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, Kenya News, Medicine, South Africa News, Startups

Announcing Winners of the 8th Edition of the Sankalp Africa Summit Awards

Over 1,200 delegates virtually convened for the 3-Day summit on ‘A Resilient Africa - Forging Solutions for the Impact Economy’ Sankalp Forum, an initiative of Intellecap hosted its 8th Edition of the Sankalp Africa Summit, in a virtual format, from the 2nd to 4th March 2021, one of Africa’s largest inclusive networking platform focusing on entrepreneurship and the impact investing ecosystem. Some of the key highlights of the summit include the awarding of the top three most innovative young entrepreneurs in Africa and sharing of sector insights on, rebuilding a resilient universally accessible health system capable of rapidly detecting, assessing, reporting; rebuilding robust local institutions in Africa to attain globally competitive levels post Covid-19; and eliminating social and econo...

6Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News

Resilience – the antidote to a recurring crisis

The Covid-19 pandemic has provided the ideal opportunity for leaders to step up and move people forward to a preferred future despite global crises. However, according to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, trust levels are hovering at all-time lows, with only the business community regarded as both ethical and competent. Consequently, whether they like it or not, employers are now regarded as the mainstay of trust. This is a huge responsibility because leaders themselves are struggling with working between children requiring homeschooling, navigating almost paper-thin or non-existent boundaries between work and home, and still having to deliver on the bottom line. Working virtually does not necessarily lend itself to trust-building the way we are naturally wired to in terms of social dyna...

6Mar

By Caitlin NaidooNo Comments

South Africa News

Whatsapp’s New Privacy Terms: Data Protection And Privacy Laws In South Africa

By Caitlin Naidoo, Centurion Law Group In January 2021, WhatsApp announced that it would be altering its privacy terms to share data with Facebook causing panic among WhatsApp users. Users that want to continue using WhatsApp’s services have no choice but to agree to these new privacy terms. WhatsApp is a messaging platform used globally as an alternative to normal SMS or device-specific texting platforms such as iMessage or BBM, hence the hysteria causing millions of users to flee to alternative platforms such as Signal and Telegram. Much of the concern over these new privacy terms is due to a lack of understanding from the general public regarding privacy laws, particularly in relation to the internet and social media. Many people were under the impression tha...

3Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Brimstone Repays More Than R1 Billion Debt In Tough Reporting Period

Debt repayment to funders in excess of R1 billion Reduction of R129.8m in finance costs 7m raised from disposal of portion of Equites and Phuthuma Nathi stakes 4m raised from disposal of portion of Life Healthcare stake Improved debt and liquidity ratios Brimstone’s shareholding in Oceana Group increased to 25.01% [Cape Town, 3 March 2021] Brimstone today released its Group results for the year ended 30 December 2020 reporting a reduction of over R1 billion in debt during the year. Brimstone’s two largest investments, Sea Harvest and Oceana Group, produced strong results in an extremely difficult operating and trading period exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Profit before net finance costs decreased to R481.4 million compared to R658.9 million in the previous year. The decre...

The top 5 reasons why investing in Ireland makes sense for African businesses

24Feb

By Daireann GibsonNo Comments

Business, Main, South Africa News

The top 5 reasons why investing in Ireland makes sense for African businesses

By Daireann Gibson, Managing Partner at Gibson & Associates Solicitors Ireland is becoming an increasingly popular destination for individuals from across Africa who are looking to move abroad. South Africa in particular has seen 3,000 immigrants choose Ireland as their new home, and for investors in particular, Ireland provides a wealth of opportunities. The relationship between Ireland and the continent of Africa has long presented a lot of potential with regard to business. Plans are currently in action to increase the value of a two-way trade deal between Ireland and Africa, which is projected to be worth at least €5 billion by 2025. Trade in goods and services between Ireland and Africa increased by 29% between 2010 and 2017, from €3.4 billion to €4.4 billion. In addition, Irish e...

Immense impact of 4IR technologies on African economies to be addressed through South African lawyer’s World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution fellowship

24Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Immense impact of 4IR technologies on African economies to be addressed through South African lawyer’s World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution fellowship

Ashlin Perumall, Senior Associate at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg, South Africa, has taken up the role of Fellow at the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in San Francisco. As part of his C4IR Fellowship, Perumall has joined the blockchain and digital currency working group, working on the legal and policy considerations surrounding central bank digital currencies and stablecoins. Perumall was chosen to join the C4IR last year, from a wide range of global firm submissions. Perumall states that his reasons for taking up the fellowship are based on the immense impact the 4IR will have on the emerging African economies, ranging from the changing nature of work, to the impact of AI technologies and the future of digital currencies. “The developme...

Cape Town/Stockholm Connect Launches to Unlock Trade and Innovation Opportunities

22Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

Cape Town/Stockholm Connect Launches to Unlock Trade and Innovation Opportunities

The Silicon Cape Initiative, in partnership with Wesgro, the City of Cape Town, Invest Cape Town, The Loudhailer, Business Sweden and the Embassy of Sweden, recently came together to launch Cape Town/Stockholm Connect. The Connect platform will bring together companies, developers, customers, investors, entrepreneurs, and institutions from across Cape Town and Stockholm via a series of activities. The project is set to run for the next three years, with the overarching goal of strengthening ties and facilitating bilateral collaboration between Sweden and South Africa. The launch event featured speakers sharing their insights about the startup landscape in both Stockholm and Cape Town together with the opportunities offered by each city. Kicking off the proceedings and setting the stage for...

19Feb

By Andrea TuckerNo Comments

Real Estate, South Africa News

Make your money work harder and smarter by using your home loan to save

By: Andrea Tucker, Director at MortgageMe We get it. The thought of paying off a house every month for the next 20 to 30 years isn’t exactly thrilling. But if managed carefully, you can use your bond to your advantage and build a nest egg of savings for life’s little and not-so-little emergencies. The why It makes good financial sense to expect and prepare for financial emergencies and to get into the habit of saving every month. No amount is too small. If you’re able to able to save or invest some of your salary every month, as well as increase the payment on your home loan, you’re covering yourself for emergencies as well as saving for something specific through your investments. The How A good place to start is by increasing your home loan repayments above the minimum requirement. Or, i...