South Africa will be home to the new $100-billion Brics bank’s first regional centre. The announcement was made during the launch of the New Development Bank (NDB) at the sixth Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) summit held last month in Fortaleza, Brazil. The bank, which will fund infrastructure and sustainable development projects… [Continue Reading]
It’s not often that your unemployed status can help you qualify for anything, least of all the opportunity to own a franchise. But this is exactly what the Micro-francise Accelerator (MFA) offers women entrepreneurs who want to go into business in the beauty sector. Just ask four unemployed women who are now each the proud… [Continue Reading]
Criminals are targeting Woza Online website owners who sell goods online by copying their sites and duping consumers by making them believe that they are buying from a legitimate business. The Woza Online platform, an initiative of Google South Africa in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Vodacom and the Human Resource… [Continue Reading]
North West toilet paper manufacturer Polyanne Papers was able to clinch a deal with retail giant Pick’nPay after being assisted by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) to obtain SA Bureau of Standards (SABS). Thabo Ramokgadi, who started Polyanne Papers with his business partners in 2002, says he and his colleagues realised that they needed… [Continue Reading]
Business owners are now able to plan and run their own advertising campaigns without breaking the bank. This, thanks to a new advertising platform for small businesses launched by Twitter in May. Twitter’s small and medium enterprise (SME) advertising platform allows businesses to engage with existing customers and to reach new audiences by creating, managing… [Continue Reading]
Bongiwe Gumede is closer to getting finance for her tourism business after she secured a spot in a pilot mentorship programme for KwaZulu-Natal entrepreneurs. The mentorship programme, which provides rural and peri-urban woman entrepreneurs in KwaZulu-Natal with business support, is an initiative of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The chamber hopes that the… [Continue Reading]
Welkom-based businesswoman Renay Van Der Berg stands the chance to clinch the ultimate prize in an international competition that recognises women who excel in entrepreneurship, after recently being nominated as one of 10 finalists. The competition is an initiative of Empretec, a UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) entrepreneurship development programme. The programme helps… [Continue Reading]
Entrepreneurs with technology offerings or products aimed at solving challenges that industry face have been given an opportunity to secure possible contracts and business support through a new online platform. OpenIX, previously known as the Open Innovation Solution Exchange, is a web-based platform hosted by The Innovation Hub, launched with the City of Tshwane and… [Continue Reading]
Up to R5 million in funding is available to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) business owners who partner with each other to grow the local economy. The Gijima KZN Local Competitiveness Fund (LCF), run by the province’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism since 2011, aims to promote economic development and increase local competitiveness by encouraging businesses to… [Continue Reading]
A business owner claims she has saved up to 50% on cellphone calls since the introduction of the new mobile termination rate by the Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) in April. Cindy Steenkamp – the executive director of Macsafety Africa, a company that supplies safety equipment, protective clothing and services to the marine, mining… [Continue Reading]
