South Africa Archives - Page 19 of 30

24Mar

By Shahina ParvinNo Comments

Hotel Developments in West Africa

For being the second largest Continent on earth, Africa has a wide range of options for hotel development in many of its regions having more space for expansion and capital growth. The middle-class population is estimated to be near 350 million people by the African Development Bank. A portion of this population holds the probability to be potential travelers. These people can benefit the economy. The tourism and travel industry has an important part in keeping up with the rising number of travelers. Hotel development has been affiliated with advanced economies in countries like South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania in comparison to a mire of the West African countries while there is a noticeable development in the major cities lately. West Africa is the most densely populated area in enti...

24Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

Building a successful multicloud strategy unlocks IT business value

South Africa’s cloud market is showing good signs of growth and development as enterprise customers begin to take serious notice of multicloud and its benefits. As a result, it is imperative to develop and maintain a robust mutlicloud strategy that meets continuously evolving business demands. Andrew Cruise, managing director, Routed, a neutral cloud infrastructure provider, notes there are clear business benefits of pursuing a multicloud approach, including having a choice of best-in-class platforms to match a variety of business requirements and the ability to efficiently allocate scarce capital by utilising the operating cost model of cloud consumption. “However, some other no less important advantages of mutlicloud involve its potential to drive innovation, flexibility, and scalabil...

17Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Ukheshe Technologies and Infobip collaborate to create SA’s first WhatsApp payment gateway

Leading digital fintech enablement provider, Ukheshe Technologies, together with Infobip, a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected customer experiences across all stages of the customer journey at scale, have developed South Africa’s very first WhatsApp payment gateway for use by Telkom, one of the country’s largest mobile operators. In addition to being South Africa’s first digital wallet platform, the solution is also the first WhatsApp channel to enable payments using QR. The project and collaboration with Infobip forms part of Ukheshe’s objective of expanding its international reach as a solution driven B2B provider of digital-first payment solutions that enable banks, telcos and fintechs to provide banking and payment services to their customer...

Why ecommerce matters for small businesses in SA

14Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Why ecommerce matters for small businesses in SA

There has been a permanent change in the way that people shop and, in turn, the way that businesses need to operate. In the absence of brick-and-mortar stores being open during the lockdown, as well as a general fear of crowded malls when things were able to re-open, South Africa’s ecommerce sector exploded. According to Trevor Gosling, Co-founder and CEO of Lulalend – financing partner to South Africa’s small- to medium-enterprises (SMEs), he has seen a phenomenal growth in ecommerce businesses who have connected with them for SME financing. Between the period of October 2020 and February 2021, Lulalend saw an 86% increase in loans made to ecommerce businesses and online retailers in comparison to the same period between 2019 and 2020. “The loans were strongly linked to growth-related req...

14Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Repo rate to hold but a rate hike could be around the corner: Finder’s economist panel

Panel of 25 economists unanimously predict the SARB will hold the repo rate Just over a quarter (28%) expect a rate hike this year 92% say South Africa is at risk of a sovereign debt crisis Unemployment rate to increase slightly by July The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is set to hold the repo rate at the 23-25 March meeting, according to a unanimous vote by 25 economists on Finder’s repo rate forecast report. Nedbank chief economist Nicola Weimar thinks the Bank has achieved the goldilocks of monetary policy and it’s now a matter of waiting for previously set policies to take effect. “Hiking now would not make sense since inflation is well contained & the economy is still operating well below potential. Cutting would also not be wise as the SARB has already done enough, the...

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...

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...

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...