South African Business Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

25Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Oppenheimers’ South African Future Trust awards R3 million to SA’s top entrepreneurs

2024 SAFT Summit Announced for 24 and 25 October Six of the country’s most exciting entrepreneurial ventures have been recognised at the 2024 South African Future Trust Awards, with each category winner receiving a grand prize valued at R500 000. The South African Future Trust (SAFT) Awards are a launchpad for innovative ideas, offer recognition for the tough entrepreneurial grind and celebrate the power of entrepreneurship to change lives in South Africa’s challenging economy. Each winner’s prize consists of a cash injection of R250 000 and an individually tailored support package of R250 000. The founders of proactive healthcare platform Engage Mx were the winners in the ‘Tech Entrepreneur’ category. Engage Mx is an intelligent platform that recalls patients to their doctor for screen...

30Jun

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

CCM in South Africa: Bringing Customer Centricity and Business Value into the Same Conversation

By Wayne Toms, Chief Executive Officer at GhostDraft Much has been written about the potential for technology to improve a business’ prospects by driving efficiencies and competitiveness. But often, when frantically shovelling at the coalface, business leaders and decision-makers need something more tangible than a promise. For instance, banks and financial services institutions are faced with immense due diligence challenges in the aftermath of the FATF’s greylisting of this country. This comes on top of existing know-your-customer requirements and regulatory requirements and compliance obligations. And almost every industry is striving to serve an ever-more-demanding customer. Businesses need to find technology solutions that can address evolving customer needs while simultaneously del...

14Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Everything a retailer needs to know about payment platforms in 2023

by Barry Williams, Head of Sales & Retail Relations at Pay@ In the article Barry Williams, Head of Sales & Retail Relations at Pay@ sheds light on some of the predictions we can expect to see unfold in the retail payments landscape in 2023. Every successful retailer knows that to nurture customer loyalty and establish a strong brand, you have got to perfect four key considerations: product, price, place, and promotion. First introduced in the 1950s, these are old principles, but they remain essential in understanding the foundations of the retail industry. However, in the South African market, where consumer income and spending habits are vastly different to those in Europe or America, it is becoming important that we add another ‘P’ to the retail matrix: payments. When we talk ...

Smart locker adoption soars amidst global increase in courier delivery and shipping demand

13Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Smart locker adoption soars amidst global increase in courier delivery and shipping demand

Article by Craig Pitchers, Chief Operating Officer, The Courier Guy Customer demand for an online delivery service that always works is driving growth in the smart parcel locker market and courier industries. The size of the global smart parcel locker market could reach USD 1782.73 million by 2029 growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4% from 2022 to 2029[1], according to Exactitude Consultancy’s recent study and projections. Smart parcel lockers are an innovation in the delivery chain enabling a flexible and convenient delivery process. Appealing to today’s discerning consumer who wants safe and reliable delivery, smart lockers are an effective solution to delivery gripes like expensive size limitations, lost packages and importantly, waiting around for a delivery to arri...

Breaking the boys’ club: If investing in women yields good returns, then why are we still fighting for their inclusion?

5Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

Breaking the boys’ club: If investing in women yields good returns, then why are we still fighting for their inclusion?

The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs According to research by Statistics South Africa, nearly half (47%) of South African women are unemployedi. This comes as would-be female employees have a tougher time finding work than men, thanks to the inequalities they face, including unequal pay and fewer leadership positions among others, while at the same time struggling to maintain a matriarchal role in society and family. It is for reasons like these that African women often turn to self-employment by starting their own businesses. According to the World Economic Forum, women make up 58% of Africa's self-employed population and contribute around 13% of the continent's Gross domestic product GDP, with Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, having the world’s highest rate of women involve...

6Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, South Africa News, Tech

Africa’s Largest B2B AI Focused Trade Event Celebrates 5th Anniversary & Announces Johannesburg Programme

AI Expo Africa, the largest business-focused Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Intelligent Automation (IA) trade event in Africa and celebrates its 5th Anniversary Edition on 19-20 September in the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa. Uniting 100s of buyers, suppliers, investors, innovators, SMMEs and global tech brands in the region, AI Expo Africa focuses on real-world applications you can deploy today. The business audience is comprised of Enterprise decision-makers, Tier 1 / 2 deployment & service providers, start-ups, educators, government, NGOs and ecosystem builders. AI Expo Africa 2022 will feature the following elements 10,000 sq Foot Expo Hall 63 vendors & 2 showcase pavilions 4 Track speaking programme 4 Plenary Keynotes plus 3-panel ...

Flow Brings Billboard Advertising into the Digital World for Estate Agents

24Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Real Estate, South Africa News

Flow Brings Billboard Advertising into the Digital World for Estate Agents

Nowhere in the world has an SMME been able to access major billboards in prominent locations before - but local proptech innovators Flow have handed estate agencies and individual agents the opportunity to mix with major global FMCG brands in the Digital Out of Home (DOOH) space, at a fraction of the cost. Having embarked on a mission to revolutionise the real estate industry by harnessing the power of social media to match agents, buyers and sellers, Flow’s next step allows agents to own space in hotspots across South Africa to promote their brands and individual properties to millions of commuters, every day. “Traditional billboards are booked months in advance, require creative teams to conceptualise and design them, an agency to produce the massive physical print and a media buying...

24Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News, Tech

Tony Houldsworth joins Omnisient Advisory Board

Technology industry veteran and Group President of Flooid – a leading unified commerce platform for the retail and hospitality sectors - joins Omnisient’s Advisory Board to support and accelerate international expansion plans. Omnisient, Africa's privacy compliant data collaboration platform, welcomes Tony Houldsworth as member of its Advisory Board. Tony has consistently been at the forefront of retail commerce technology and as Group President of Flooid leads the vision and strategy for one of the world’s most advanced unified commerce platforms. Omnisient is a privacy preserving data collaboration platform that allows businesses from retail, healthcare, finance, and other major verticals to safely share and monetise their consumer insights without compromising security, losing con...

Carry1st drives growth in Africa’s gaming industry, supported by AppsFlyer

24Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News

Carry1st drives growth in Africa’s gaming industry, supported by AppsFlyer

Carry1st, one of Africa’s leading gaming publishers, has released new insights from its market data that highlight successes that have shaped its growth in the gaming sector. Since the launch of SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off in October 2021, the game has managed to acquire more than 2 million users, ranking in the Top 5 most downloaded games across Africa. This has been possible by enlisting the support of technology developed by AppsFlyer to drive market growth. Carry1st faced a number of challenges in growing Krusty Cook-Off’s user base at scale while still maintaining a healthy ROI. The African gaming market is complex, and many of the tried and tested user acquisition and monetization strategies that are prevalent in most regions aren’t as effective in Africa. Moreover, ad networks are...

3Mar

By Prenisha MartinNo Comments

South Africa News

Developments in the South African automotive industry creating optimism for manufacturing sector

By Prenisha Martin, Advanced Associate, Tax Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The amended Automotive Production Development Programme (APDP) regulations, legislated in Schedule No.3 of the Customs and Excise Act, were released by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) just over a year ago, on 5 February 2021. The APDP is essentially South Africa’s long-term masterplan to grow the automotive industry. The production incentive scheme is aimed at creating an environment that enables registered light motor vehicle manufacturers to significantly grow production volumes and component manufacturers to substantially grow value addition in South Africa. Over the course of the last year, automotive manufacturers in South Africa have adopted a proactive approach to the new APDP regulations by...