The rapidly evolving Covid-19 pandemic has not only presented an alarming health crisis, but is also causing significant social and economic implications across the globe. In uncertain environments like this, trust in institutions – businesses, organizations, and governments – becomes even more critical. Strong leadership and decisive action are needed to earn that trust and shape our post-crisis future. We have observed groups of people ignoring critical health guidance, in part because they doubted the veracity of available information or because they relied on disinformation. At the same time, a…
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Beneficiation, manufacturing potential big job creators
JOHANNESBURG – African Quartz executive chairperson Dr Dennis George welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, to speedily and radically increase generation capacity outside of Eskom. The President said a Section 34 Ministerial Determination will be issued shortly to give effect to the Integrated Resource Plan 2019. Section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act empowers the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy to allow municipalities to purchase power outside of the national grid. Such a determination will enable the development of additional grid capacity from other sources and…
Read MoreSTEEL INDUSTRY: THE PROTECTION OF AMSA IS IRRATIONAL – THEN WHY DO IT?
The Steel Industry is in de-industrialisation mode and the price of steel plays a significant role in this regard. Businesses in the steel downstream are downsizing and closing at an unprecedented rate due to them not being competitive, partly as a result of government’s policy of enforcing import duties to protect AMSA. A few days ago, a fire broke out at AMSA’s Vanderbijlpark plant. This is causing a backlog, increasing AMSA’s inability to supply. Strangely, instead of suspending the duties, AMSA even declined an application to allow companies to import…
Read MoreLOCALISATION OF MANUFACTURING KEY UPLIFT SA
Viren Gosai is General Manager at ARTsolar – an SA Solar PV manufacturer & engineering procurement and construction organisation. SA Solar PV manufacturer & engineering procurement and construction organisation.As South Africans, we have always been resilient and faced almost insurmountable situations – and we overcame! But today, we face new challenges, and if they remain unresolved they may just result in irreversible consequences – like our declining manufacturing industry! Globally accepted opinion on the resuscitation of an economy is that the internal manufacturing sector is a crucial contributor. Sadly, our…
Read MoreProudly SA: Creating employment in SA through re-industrialisation
JOHANNESBURG – Last week we joined Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev)/(SAB Breweries) on a trip to the Free State to celebrate and visit one of the companies that has come through its Enterprise and Supplier Development programme and entered its supply chain. Kevali Chemicals, manufacturer of waste-water treatment solutions, sanitation, cleansing and detergent products as well as adhesives, is located in Harrismith. The company’s success comes as a result of a combination of commercial decisions and economic conditions that conspired to put them on a significant growth path, enabling them to…
Read MoreThe changing face of digital payments
JOHANNESBURG – Around the world there is growing, collective consensus that digital disruptions will continue as old ways of doing business are fast being ditched, and new ways are being adapted across industries. Industries such transport, accommodation, print media, television and dining, have all seen disruptions that were not really expected to take off at such speed two decades ago. Now these industries are playing catch up, with some winning and others struggling to keep their heads above the water. What has been noteworthy is the advent of the democratisation…
Read More22 On Sloan: Innovative start-ups show sky’s the limit
JOHANNESBURG – According to a 2018 World Bank report, 66 percent of sub-Saharan Africans are unbanked. Financial inclusion remains elusive in Africa and most times access to it for micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMMEs) remain a key challenge for these to scale. In South Africa, where various studies have identified racial-profiling as one of the impediments for the previously disadvantaged, raising funding remains a thorny issue. Last year, we collaborated with the World Bank to do research on SME finance gaps in South Africa and the result deepened our understanding…
Read MorePartnerships in agriculture are more important than ever
CAPE TOWN – Food security, together with adequate nutrition, is a matter of life or death at one end of the market, while good agricultural practices are necessities at the other. Whether it’s food in abundance or eco-friendly food production – partnerships in agriculture are now more important than ever. Agriculture in South Africa has yet to achieve its full potential for a variety of reasons. And this year’s Nampo Cape exhibition comes at an important moment, as the industry has grown significantly since the drought of 2015. Recognising the…
Read MoreThe time has come for financiers to take female entrepreneurs seriously
OPINION / 27 AUGUST 2019, 4:30PM / MOSIBUSI MAKGATO JOHANNESBURG – South African female entrepreneurs are growing in numbers, but too many continue to battle to get access to funding, making the sustainability of their start-ups a struggle. Many do not make it to the theee-year mark. When my sister and I launched our entrepreneurial journey in 2015 in the production of our traditional ginger beer, Yamama Gemmer, we never imagined that financing our business would be such a hard task. There are many reasons why we might have quit seeking funding through…
Read MoreOPINION: Construction companies in SA are increasingly run by women – here’s why
Construction remains a male-dominated industry but there are signs that women are starting to become better represented in this sector – to its great potential benefit. Unsurprisingly, given the nature of the work itself, women are primarily making their mark in managerial and administrative roles, and a growing number of smaller construction companies are headed by women.Figures from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) show that 48% of the country’s construction enterprises are owned by women. However, the vast majority of these are very small companies – 95% fall within…
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