On 28 September 2016, the shareholders of South African born international brewer, SABMiller, approved the company’s <a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/taranurin/2016/10/10/its-final-ab-inbev-closes-on-deal-to-buy-sabmiller/&amp;refURL=https://www.google.co.za/&amp;referrer=https://www.google.co.za/">acquisition</a> by Anheuser-Busch InBev for $104 billion (R1.5 trillion). The deal paved the way for the creation of what is now by far the world’s <a href="http://www.ab-inbev.co.uk/about/about-abinbev/">largest</a> brewing company.
For a company that started out selling beer to miners in Johannesburg during the gold rush of the late 1800s, it’s been quite a journey. But how did a brewing company from a developing country rise to compete with the multinational brewing behemoths from the developed world?
A series of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gsj.1143/full">interviews</a> with senior executives and managers who presided over the growth of what was then South African Breweries’ (SAB) rapid expansion during and after the 1990s are revealing. After building up a monopoly-like position in the beer market in South Africa, the company went in search of new markets. It used its experience in South Africa in its entry strategies abroad.
SAB’s path reflects the differences between multinationals from developed and emerging markets in terms of location choices, sequencing, time horizons and motivation.
A two-phased expansion path emerges to explain the remarkable success story. The first pillar to SAB’s international expansion was a focus on developing markets. Coming from a developing country itself, the company would cope better with emerging market conditions than brewers from the developed world. These ventures became a powerful base for SAB to take on developed markets.
The second was to expand into developed countries. This became necessary as it became clear the company was over exposed to emerging markets.
<h2>The first phase of expansion</h2>
After a few early forays into South Africa’s neighbouring countries prior to 1993, SAB executives realised that the company could exploit its knowledge of institutional shortcomings in its home country. It would use this experience to adapt more easily than its competitors to conditions in developing countries.
And so began the first part of its internationalisation strategy: a rapid expansion into emerging markets worldwide.
Through a series of acquisitions and joint ventures throughout the 1990s, SAB gained a foothold in various countries in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. Although many were geographically distant (like Hungary, Czech Republic, China and India), they echoed South Africa in terms of their socioeconomic development. Eastern Europe, for example, was still emerging from political reform in the wake of communism, and infrastructural, institutional and economic weaknesses persisted.
By expanding into countries that shared socioeconomic characteristics with South Africa, SAB was able to make use of its experience to turn a perceived drawback – institutional weakness – into a strength. As one respondent explained:
To be quite frank, we actually accepted that we would live with the political risk and poor institutions. We didn’t really shy away from high-risk countries unless, of course, there was a raging civil war that we would have to wait to subside.
Once it had established this expansion plan, SAB diversified into developed markets such as Italy and the US. As one interviewee put it:
<blockquote>
Investors became sceptical of companies whose only business was in emerging markets.In 2002 it took a step closer to consolidating its position as a multinational brewing giant when it acquired <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2002/05/30/news/deals/miller_sab/">US-based Miller Brewing Company</a>. It became SABMiller.
</blockquote>
<h2></h2>
<h2>Turning weakness into strength</h2>
The advantages that SAB gained from its experience in its home country are many. One was employee aptitude.
SAB employees had built up an extraordinary resilience, flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit through their exposure to the unsteady South African environment of the 1980s. As one executive said:
<blockquote>They survived labour trouble, survived interest rates at 25%, inflation at 16% to 17%, survived political disorder, political violence… That toughened you, toughened us.</blockquote>
This robustness, combined with an ability to connect with many different cultures, gave the company a valuable flexibility in its risk, location and investment choices.
Another strength was its ability to turn around neglected breweries and businesses. The experience it gained in South Africa, with its large rural population and pockets of poor infrastructure, meant that finding innovative ways to overcome challenges was embedded in the company’s DNA.
Another advantage the company gained was brand development and marketing ability. SAB was developed into a major operation without reliance on strong, globally-recognised brands. Using its home experience the company took brands it acquired in distant countries and built them into powerful national brands.
These became a base from which it launched into premium brands such as Grolsch and Peroni through acquisitions. This offset being over-invested in domestic brands.
SAB also had a philosophical edge over many competitors. It’s risk appetite was much bigger. By comparison a company like <a href="http://www.ab-inbev.com/investors/results-center/quarterly-reports.html">Anheuser-Busch </a> had a conservative approach to risk and international expansion.
For example, Anheuser-Busch didn’t react to the rapidly changing global brewer consolidation until it was too late. And when it did, it realised that it had little emerging market experience.
This weakness meant that in 2008 Anheuser-Busch was unable to avoid a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/business/worldbusiness/14beer.html">hostile takeover by InBev</a>. This gave rise to AB Inbev, then the world’s largest brewer. AB Inbev, in turn, was compelled to make an offer for SABMiller to acquire complementary emerging market presence.
SABMiller’s long journey from the mine heaps of Johannesburg to global brewing colossus may appear to have come to an abrupt end after its acquisition by Anheuser-Busch InbevAB Inbev in 2016. But what’s clear is that its extraordinarily successful approach continues to hold many lessons for aspiring global companies from the developing world.
_This piece was adapted from an academic <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gsj.1143/full">article</a> by John Luiz, Dustin Stringfellow and Anthea Jefthas that first appeared in the February 2017 issue of Global Strategy Journal, Volume 7, Issue 1 (83-103).

The story of SABMiller – How the company turned constraints into global strengths

Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo | JOHANNESBURG
Business confidence in South Africa fell to a seven-month low in May, hit by political tension, doubts over the course of economic policy and credit ratings downgrades, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry&#8217;s (SACCI) monthly business confidence index (BCI) fell to 93.2 in May &#8211; the lowest since October &#8211; from 94.9 in April.
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
&nbsp;

South Africa’s business confidence at seven-months low in May: survey

Barclays (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BARC.L">BARC.L</a>) cut its stake in Barclays Africa Group (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BGAJ.J">BGAJ.J</a>) to 15 percent sooner than expected on Thursday, ending more than 90 years as a major presence in the continent.
The British bank, which under Chief Executive Jes Staley is firmly focused on Britain and the United States, said it was selling 2.2 billion pounds ($2.83 billion) worth of shares in Barclays Africa Group due to strong investor demand.
Barclays had said on Wednesday it would sell shares worth 1.5 billion pounds in its second such sale since announcing plans to offload most of its African business.
The bigger share sale initially lifted shares in Barclays, which is partly relying on the funds raised to meet capital requirements identified as a concern by the Bank of England in November. By 0835 GMT, the shares were down 0.1 percent.
The sale is expected to mean an increase of approximately 27 basis points to Barclays&#8217; core capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, which was 12.5 percent at 31 March 2017 .
&#8220;We still see this deal as utterly transformational for Barclays’ capital position, which in turn offers specific opportunities for earnings enhancement,&#8221; analyst Ian Gordon at Investec wrote in a note following the announcement.
Barclays, whose shares were trading up 0.5 percent at 0740 GMT, said on Wednesday that South African pension fund Public Investment Corporation would buy 7 percent of the shares, raising its holding to 14 pct according to Thomson Reuters data.
The Barclays Africa Group shares, which were up nearly 3 percent at 143 rand at 0835 GMT, will be priced at 132 rand a share, the bank said.
That represents a 5 pct discount to Wednesday&#8217;s closing price of 139 rand and will raise an aggregate 2.2 billion pounds, the bank said, adding it will then place an additional 12.7 million shares in a black economic empowerment scheme.
Barclays said in March 2016 it would sell most of its 62.3 pct stake in Barclays Africa Group, giving itself two to three years to complete the sale. Its first sell down of 12.2 percent was completed in May 2016, but the bank had since been hindered by regulatory delays and political upheaval in South Africa.
Since taking over 18 months ago, Staley has scaled back the bank&#8217;s geographic footprint and emphasized investment banking, although his attempts to revitalize this business have been clouded by investigations in the U.S. and Britain.
Staley has also faced criticism from investors following his attempts to unmask a whistleblower, which Barclays insiders fear could unseat him if the findings of inquiries are damning.
Barclays also faces regulatory obstacles, with an ongoing probe by Britain&#8217;s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into its 2008 cash call at the height of the financial crisis and allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over mortgage mis-selling.
Analysts at KBW said the completion of the sale earlier than expected was positive for the bank&#8217;s capital ratio.
&#8220;However this still remains far from market leading (still below Credit Suisse or Deutsche Bank), whilst a number of headwinds remain outstanding,&#8221; they added in a note.
(Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Alexander Smith)

Barclays makes early African exit with $2.8 billion share sale

The idea that the economic “pie” can grow indefinitely is alluring. It means everybody can have a share without limiting anybody’s greed. Rampant inequality thus becomes socially acceptable because we hope the growth of the economy will eventually make everybody better off.
In my <a href="http://panmacmillan.co.za/catalogue/wellbeing-economy/">new book</a> “Wellbeing Economy: Success in a World Without Growth” I point out that the “growth first” rule has dominated the world since the early 20th century. No other ideology has ever been so powerful: the obsession with growth even cut through both capitalist and socialist societies.
But what exactly is growth? Strangely enough, the notion has never been reasonably developed.
For common sense people, there is growth when – all things being equal – our overall wealth increases. Growth happens when we generate value that wasn’t there before: for instance, through the education of children, the improvement of our health or the preparation of food. A more educated, healthy and well-nourished person is certainly an example of growth.
If any of these activities generate some costs, either for us individually or for society, we should deduct them from the value we have created. In this logical approach, growth equals all gains minus all costs.
Paradoxically, our model of economic growth does exactly the opposite of what common sense suggests.
<h2>Negative values of growth</h2>
Here are some examples. If I sell my kidney for some cash, then the economy grows. But if I educate my kids, prepare and cook food for my community, improve the health conditions of my people, growth doesn’t happen.
If a country cuts and sells all its trees, it gets a boost in GDP. But nothing happens if it nurtures them.
If a country preserves open spaces like parks and nature reserves for the benefit of everybody, it does not see this increase in human and ecological wellbeing reflected in its economic performance. But if it privatises them, commercialising the resources therein and charging fees to users, then growth happens.
Preserving our infrastructure, making it durable, long-term and free adds nothing or only marginally to growth. Destroying it, rebuilding it and making people pay for using it gives the growth economy a bump forward.
Keeping people healthy has no value. Making them sick does. An effective and preventative public healthcare approach is suboptimal for growth: it’s better to have a highly unequal and dysfunctional system like in the US, which accounts for <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/health-costs-how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries/">almost 20% of the country’s GDP</a>.
Wars, conflicts, crime and corruption are friends of growth in so far as they force societies to build and buy weapons, to install security locks and to push up the prices of what government pays for tenders.
The earthquake in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/03/fukushima-daiichi-radiation-levels-highest-since-2011-meltdown">Fukushima</a> like the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/apr/20/deepwater-horizon-key-questions-answered">Deep Water Horizon oil spill</a> were manna for growth, as they required immense expenditure to clean up the mess and rebuild what was destroyed.
<h2>Disappearing growth</h2>
Against this pretty grim depiction, you may ask yourself: where is the good news? Well, the good news is that growth is disappearing, whether we like it or not. Economies are puffing along. Even China, the global locomotive, is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/20/chinese-economic-growth-dips-to-67-the-slowest-for-26-years">running out of steam</a>.
And consumption has reached limits in the so-called developed world, with fewer buyers for the commodities and goods exported by developing countries.
Energy is running out, particularly fossil fuels, and even if polluting energy sources were endless – as some supporters of shale gas, or fracking, suggest – global agreements to fight climate change require us to eliminate them soon.
As a consequence, mitigating climate change forces industrial production to contract, thus limiting growth even further. What this means is that, on the one hand, growth is disappearing due to the systemic contraction of the global economy. On the other, the future of the climate (and all of us on this planet) makes a return of growth, at least the conventional approach to industry-driven economic growth, politically and socially unacceptable.
<h2>Window of opportunity for change</h2>
Even the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/imf-fears-global-economy-is-suffering-secular-stagnation-10161154.html">International Monetary Fund</a> and mainstream neoliberal economists like Larry Summers agree that the global economy is entering a “<a href="https://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2017/05/25/secular-stagnation-even-truer-today-larry-summers-says/">secular stagnation</a>”, which may very well be the dominant character of the 21st century.
This is a disastrous prospect for our economies, which have been designed to grow – or perish. But it is also a window of opportunity for change. With the disappearance of growth as the silver bullet to success, political leaders and their societies desperately need a new vision: a new narrative to engage with an uncertain future.
In my new book, I argue that as we begin to recognize the madness behind growth, we start exploring new paths. These include: forms of business that reconcile human needs with natural equilibria; production processes that emancipate people from the passive role of consumers; systems of social organisation at the local level that reconnect individuals with their communities and their ecosystems, while allowing them participate in a global network of active change makers.
This is what I call the “wellbeing economy”. In the wellbeing economy, development lies not in the exploitation of natural and human resources but in improving the quality and effectiveness of human-to-human and human-to-ecosystem interactions, supported by appropriate enabling technologies.
<h2>Fulfilling lives</h2>
Decades of research based on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Lessons-Science-Richard-Layard/dp/0143037013">personal life evaluations</a>, <a href="http://www.springer.com/cn/book/9783319391007">psychological dynamics</a>, <a href="http://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/">medical records</a> and <a href="http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.html">biological systems</a> have produced a considerable amount of knowledge about what contributes to long and fulfilling lives.
The conclusion is: a healthy social and natural environment. As social animals, we thrive thanks to the quality and depth of our interconnectedness with friends and family as well as with our ecosystems. But of course, the quest for wellbeing is ultimately a personal one.
Only you can decide what it is. This is precisely why I believe that an economic system should empower people to choose for themselves. Contrary to the growth mantra, which has standardised development across the world, I believe an economy that aspires to achieve wellbeing should be designed but those who live it, in accordance with their values and motives.
This article is part of a series to be published following the release of Lorenzo Fioramonti’s <a href="http://panmacmillan.co.za/catalogue/wellbeing-economy/">new book</a>: Wellbeing Economy: Success in a World Without Growth (MacMillan South Africa).

Op-Ed: Growth is dying as the silver bullet for success. Why this may be good thing

Eustance Huang | CNBC
Once known as the next frontier for tech investments, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/india/" target="_self">India</a> has seen many of its top start-ups seem to be going through a bit of a rough patch lately.
According to News Corp VCCEdge&#8217;s quarterly deal report for 2017&#8217;s calendar year first quarter, the value of start-up deals in India faced the worst quarterly performance since the third quarter of 2013 — with 165 deals made at a value of $237 million.
<blockquote>&#8220;Unicorns in India are facing issues related to profitability and (a) slowdown in funding,&#8221; said Satish Meena, senior forecast analyst at Forrester Research.
<div id="attachment_122356" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-122356" class="wp-image-122356 size-large" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/start-up-shutterstock-1024x738.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="461" />Photo: Shutterstock.</div></blockquote>
Meena told CNBC that most of the companies, especially those in online retail, are struggling to bring profitability into their business as a result of over-expenditure on customer acquisition following Amazon&#8217;s entrance into the Indian market in 2013.
Furthermore, Meena said, the problem has been exacerbated by an increasingly challenging regulatory environment — with more rules on discounts — and the government&#8217;s push for demonetization in November 2016, making it difficult for start-ups to realize aggressive targets.
Echoing Meena&#8217;s statements, Marcelo Ballvé, research director at CB Insights said &#8220;several of India&#8217;s prominent e-commerce and food delivery unicorns have not fared well recently.&#8221;
As a result, multiple high-profile unicorns have faced a reduction in valuation and fund raising efforts and the sector has seen an increase in consolidation.
For example, Ballvé cited the recent fundraising round for India&#8217;s largest e-commerce retailer Flipkart, in which the company&#8217;s overall valuation slid despite raising more than $1 billion.
Just a month before, its rival Snapdeal announced that it was laying off up to 600 employees due to over-expansion and diversification. In recent weeks, rumors have even started spreading about the possibility of an acquisition between the two companies, <a class="inline_asset" title="https://www.vccircle.com/snapdeal-flipkart-may-ink-merger-next-week/" href="https://www.vccircle.com/snapdeal-flipkart-may-ink-merger-next-week/" target="_self">with VCCircle reporting</a> that the deal could happen as early as this week.
<div class="group-container ">
<div class="group">
Ballvé also added that food delivery unicorn Zomato was &#8220;losing millions every year and has not raised in nearly 600 days.&#8221;
On the transportation front, a recent Economic Times article reported that transportation application company Ola suffered losses of Rs 2,313.66 crore (about $356 million) in the financial year of 2016 — nearly 3 times what it lost in the last previous financial year. The losses were a result of fierce competition from a foreign rival — Uber.
CNBC has reached out to Flipkart, Snapdeal, Zomato and Ola for comments regarding their recent performance, but has yet to receive a reply.
</div>
</div>
<div class="group-container ">
<h4 class="subtitle">The uncertain way ahead</h4>
<div class="group">
As with start-ups in many countries, India&#8217;s unicorns are fighting to survive in a rapidly changing environment after enjoying years of venture capital funding.
&#8220;The reality is that India is by no means an immature market for VC,&#8221; Ballvé said. &#8220;It may soon be time to put up or shut up as the market has not done a great job generating venture-level exits.&#8221;
There have only been four exits valued at more than $500 million in the last 2 years in India, and none of them came from VC-backed companies, he said.
Ballvé did, however, offer some signs of hope, suggesting that investor sentiment remains positive as Flipkart&#8217;s down round was backed by big names like Tencent, Microsoft and eBay. Flipkart even folded eBay India under its umbrella.
Ballvé also highlighted bootstrapped software as a service company Zoho, an Indian company officially headquartered in the U.S. which he said was &#8220;reported to be doing $310 million per annum in revenue.&#8221; Also of note was payments unicorn One97 Communications, which was &#8220;seemingly doing very well,&#8221; Ballvé added.
At present, only two out of India&#8217;s 10 known unicorns have achieved profitability.
<div id="attachment_121636" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-121636" class="size-full wp-image-121636" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Innovation_Flickr.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" />Photo: Flickr.</div>
They are data analytics firm Mu Sigma — which was the county&#8217;s first unicorn to achieve profitability and has been profitable for a number of years — along with InMobi, the mobile advertising platform which announced to the Times of India last month that it has been profitable since June 2016.
Despite the struggles of many Indian start-ups, some observers say the sector is simply getting started. On the mobile front, smartphone penetration in India lags well behind fellow unicorn-incubator China.
The latest research by the Pew Research Center reported that in 2016, smartphone ownership in India stood at 18 percent — up from its 12 percent figure in 2013. China, meanwhile, has smartphone ownership of about 68 percent and has been growing at a steady rate from 37 percent in 2013.
&#8220;The e-commerce market in India has a lot of room to grow as the market is still in the early stages with low penetration and not well-established online shopping behavior,&#8221; said Sandy Shen, research director at Gartner.
Sounding positive on the future of e-commerce in India, Shen said consumers were likely to benefit in the form of better services as a result of increased competition. She added that competition from global players was likely to import the latest technologies and best practices from abroad, hastening the learning process for India&#8217;s startups.
&#8220;The market is big enough to accommodate at least three major players. Of course, e-commerce is a scale game, so whoever gets bigger faster will also win big.&#8221;
</div>
</div>

Are India’s top start-ups losing their sheen?

Alexis Akwagyiram | LAGOS
Nigeria will process all tourist and business visas within two days, the vice president&#8217;s office said on Friday, as Africa&#8217;s largest economy, mired in recession, tries to improve the ease of doing business in the country.
Applicants will be notified whether their visas will be issued or rejected within 48 hours, with the change to take immediate effect.
The move follows the launch in March of a system aimed at enabling business executives to apply for a visa online and collect it on arrival 48 hours later.
Foreign executives had complained that obstructive embassy officials made it difficult to enter the country.
(Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
&nbsp;

Nigeria to process all tourist, business visas in two days

<div class="source">Uptin Saiidi</div>
So, you have your own startup idea you can&#8217;t get it out of your mind. How do you bring it to life?
During InnovFest unbound, an event in Singapore that connects startups with corporates, CNBC asked three entrepreneurs who built their own businesses how they got started. The roster included Malcolm Rodrigues, CEO of MyRepublic, an internet services provider; Shaul Olmert, CEO of online publishing platform Playbuzz; and Steve Melhuish, co-founder of PropertyGuru, a real estate listings platform.
1. It&#8217;s always the right time to launch your startup.
Despite global venture funding going down last year, the market is still ripe for startups, those who have done it say. &#8220;There&#8217;s always excuses that it&#8217;s not the right time, but it always is,&#8221; said Playbuzz&#8217;s Olmert, who spent most of his career climbing the corporate ladder before taking the leap into his own venture.
&#8220;I think everybody should do a startup,&#8221; Rodrigues added. &#8220;It changes how you view life. Whether you do it when you&#8217;re out of school or when you&#8217;re 40 years old, you&#8217;re never too late. However, he warned that if you don&#8217;t have your own idea that excites you, then it&#8217;s best to go into a corporate job.
Ideally, however, entrepreneurs get started on failing early, he joked. &#8220;You&#8217;re going to fail three times before you&#8217;re successful, so do it early, get it out of the way.&#8221;
2. When you reach your breaking point, jump the corporate ship.
Melhuish spent more than a decade working for a corporation in the telecom space, before starting his real-estate platform. After leaving a corporate job, he took 6 months off to travel throughout Southeast Asia. &#8220;There&#8217;s a big world out here and it was a big change.&#8221;
So, you have your own startup idea you can&#8217;t get it out of your mind. How do you bring it to life?
During InnovFest unbound, an event in Singapore that connects startups with corporates, CNBC asked three entrepreneurs who built their own businesses how they got started. The roster included Malcolm Rodrigues, CEO of MyRepublic, an internet services provider; Shaul Olmert, CEO of online publishing platform Playbuzz; and Steve Melhuish, co-founder of PropertyGuru, a real estate listings platform.
1. It&#8217;s always the right time to launch your startup.
Despite global venture funding going down last year, the market is still ripe for startups, those who have done it say. &#8220;There&#8217;s always excuses that it&#8217;s not the right time, but it always is,&#8221; said Playbuzz&#8217;s Olmert, who spent most of his career climbing the corporate ladder before taking the leap into his own venture.
&#8220;I think everybody should do a startup,&#8221; Rodrigues added. &#8220;It changes how you view life. Whether you do it when you&#8217;re out of school or when you&#8217;re 40 years old, you&#8217;re never too late. However, he warned that if you don&#8217;t have your own idea that excites you, then it&#8217;s best to go into a corporate job.
Ideally, however, entrepreneurs get started on failing early, he joked. &#8220;You&#8217;re going to fail three times before you&#8217;re successful, so do it early, get it out of the way.&#8221;
2. When you reach your breaking point, jump the corporate ship.
Melhuish spent more than a decade working for a corporation in the telecom space, before starting his real-estate platform. After leaving a corporate job, he took 6 months off to travel throughout Southeast Asia. &#8220;There&#8217;s a big world out here and it was a big change.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_122355" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-122355" class="wp-image-122355 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_334043420.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="600" />Photo: Shutterstock</div>
&#8220;I like to have more control over my destiny and being an entrepreneur allows you to control things a bit better.&#8221;
3. Avoid the naysayers. Better yet, ignore them.
Entrepreneurship isn&#8217;t built into everyone&#8217;s DNA. &#8220;I was a very happy corporate soldier for a while, and then things started going wrong for me,&#8221; Olmert recalled. &#8220;I realized not everything I touch turns to gold. I was suffering maybe an early mid-life crisis.&#8221;
That&#8217;s when he came up with the idea to start Playbuzz.
&#8220;Not a single person I shared my idea with told me I should go for it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;At a certain person I realized, even though nobody encouraged me, I&#8217;m still obsessed with this idea and I said &#8216;I&#8217;m doing it anyway.'&#8221;
4. Millennials are here, so embrace them.
PropertyGuru has adapted for a more millennial-centric work environment, adding flexible work schedules, hot desks instead of permanent work stations, and even created a different performance structure that recognizes employees more often.
&#8220;The reality is millennials are here, you cant avoid them,&#8221; co-founder Melhuish said. &#8220;They&#8217;re probably the most creative and disruptive, in a positive way. We can&#8217;t sit here and complain about how they&#8217;re a pain to manage.&#8221;
Rodrigues added that millennial culture exists because of technology. &#8220;You can sit in your mother&#8217;s basement, have a one gig connection, code an app, launch it without every leaving home and you don&#8217;t spend a lot of money doing it.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;I love millennials because its a dawn of a new age. It&#8217;s about self-expression and individuality.&#8221;
5. Empower your team to try every department.
&#8220;The world is moving so fast and startups are inherently more risk-taking,&#8221; Melhuish said. He cited an employee who joined the customer service team and later went to work in sales. That person then moved countries several times, all while working for the same company.
&#8220;Startups enable that, but corporate are more about managing risk,&#8221; he added.
6. The morning routine is overrated.
Some execs swear by their morning routine, which often includes an early morning email inbox cleaning or meditation session. Those things are just not for everyone.
Melhuish said he wished he&#8217;d spend ten minutes doing meditation and an hour workout every morning, but his reality is different. &#8220;I don&#8217;t really have a solid routine. I keep it flexible.&#8221;
Rodrigues said his routine depended largely on geography. &#8220;It depends on what country you&#8217;re in. Mornings are my busiest time. &#8220;You&#8217;re bombarded with so much information.&#8221; Instead, he takes evenings to calm down and relax.
In general, Olmert is against any kind of rigid routine. &#8220;Structuring a routine is like trying to impose your idea on a world, rather than respond to it,&#8221; he said.
7. Stay focused on the big picture.
Despite growing fast and having offices around the world, Olmert occasionally gets nervous about his business.
&#8220;Sometimes you doubt yourself, but you need to ask the questions to reach the point where you&#8217;re confident in what you&#8217;re doing,&#8221; Olmert said.

7 tips to execute your startup idea, from 3 entrepreneurs who did it

On the 12th of April 2017, the nation celebrated the birthday of President Jacob Zuma. It was also the day that the opposition parties launched a national day of action, calling on citizens to converge at Church Square in Pretoria and then march to the Union Buildings.
South Africa is a country that has institutionalised marches. It began in the early 2000s with service delivery strikes in municipalities, and grew to crime-led xenophobic attacks all over the country. The new trend is increasingly violent political marches. Vuwani caught the national attention, when a municipal demarcation dispute led to the destruction of several schools, which is deeply regrettable.
The past two years have been dominated by #FeesMustFall, which captured international attention. On the 2nd of November 2016, the DA and EFF marched against the charges that were brought by the National Prosecuting Authority against the then Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. They marched from Church Square to the Pretoria Magistrates Court.
The #ZumaMustFall protest will be represented by citizens across racial and political lines and it will be a mass mobilisation strategy to send a message to the ANC to recall President Jacob Zuma, for a plethora of reasons.
Pretoria is the seat of the Executive and the head office of the majority of government departments and State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), hence the protests come to Pretoria. There is growing trend of marches that culminate at the Union Buildings. Remember the Million Man March in 2008 against crime, and the 2011 economic freedom march of the ANC Youth League, led by Julius Malema.
The #FeesMustFall movement led their struggles to the Union Buildings, where a concession by the government for a 0% increase in fees was achieved. And after the downgrading of South Africa’s sovereign credit rating to junk status, a march led by Save SA also ended at the Union Buildings.
Marches were staged in several other cities, including Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban. The groundswell of support for President Jacob to be recalled has become a national talking point.
What is of concern is that the mass mobilisation that always descends on Pretoria has a detrimental impact on certain businesses that are forced close their doors because of these marches, which are sometimes hijacked by criminals that break into and loot shops.
Business prospects for growth diminish when several days in the year are lost to strikes in Pretoria. Bus companies also did not operate into Pretoria on the 12TH April 2017, even Gautrain buses, depriving many employees of their means to get to work. Those with cars, would not dare drive into town, and the Pretoria CBD would be a no-go area.
The deepening of political contestation will mean that rolling mass action will become the order of the day, the rule rather than the exception. We live in a globalised world, where at the click of a button, any image is shared all over the world. All these strikes, marches and protests are broadcast all over the world, and they create an image of a country that is about to implode.
This does little to restore investor confidence in our country. The downgrade can be likened to the descent of prime evil onto our wallets, heralding tough times and the increase of poverty. Society will rebel as they see their standard of living decrease, and cost of living rise. Citizens are already highly indebted, with the lowest household savings rate as a percentage of GDP. Worse, the majority of Blacks have no assets. They will experience the worst impacts of the downgrade.
The reputation of South Africa as an investment destination will continue to decrease and have a negative effect on tourism arrivals. Tourists want to travel to destinations that are safe and South Africa has consistently scored low on personal safety and security according to the World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report.
Tourism, the one sector that has been the perennial good news maker, will now suffer from fallout of our political challenges. Tourism has been called the ‘’new gold’’ as it attracts more foreign exchange and creates more employment than gold mining. But reputation is everything and we must be conscious that reputation is regarded as the truth.
We must seek ways to protect our tourism industry from our political contestation because peace is a pre-requisite for tourism growth. Growth in this sector creates jobs. For every eight international tourists one permanent job is created.
Unathi Sonwabile Henama teaches tourism at the Tshwane University of Technology and writes in his personal capacity.

South African tourism: Negative effects of marches and protests

<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/jon-fortt/" rel="author">Jon Fortt</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/@jonfortt">@jonfortt</a>
Among the many business lessons Jeff Lawson has learned, there&#8217;s this: Don&#8217;t expect to get things done if you wait until you&#8217;re perfectly prepared.
Lawson is co-founder and CEO of <a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/TWLO" target="_self" data-gdsid="160228" data-inline-quote-symbol="TWLO">Twilio</a>, a company that makes it easy for apps to contact you. (Ever wonder how you can send a text to your Uber driver in the app, or get one in OpenTable when your seat is ready? Twilio does that.)
Twilio went public last summer at the New York Stock Exchange, and is now worth about $2.5 billion. As it pushes to make apps communicate better, the scrappy San Francisco company has developed a culture that favors boldness and taking initiative, and frowns on perfectionism.
Fortt Knox caught up with Twilio&#8217;s CEO at a tech conference in Barcelona, Spain to talk about his journey from curious kid in the Detroit suburbs to CEO of a public tech company. Among the things our podcast loves about Lawson&#8217;s story?
It&#8217;s about the setbacks as much as the successes, and learning along the way.
Here&#8217;s some of what he shared on the latest episode:
https://soundcloud.com/forttknox/lawson
Ask for the Keys
Lawson likes to tell a story about his grandfather, who worked in a factory and needed to earn more money.
&#8220;He went to the owner and he said, &#8216;I need to make more money, how do I do that,'&#8221; Lawson said. &#8220;The guy said &#8216;I don&#8217;t have any other jobs. The only job I have is driving the truck. Do you know how to drive the truck?&#8217; My grandfather&#8217;s answer was, &#8216;Give me the keys.'&#8221;
What his grandfather didn&#8217;t mention was that he&#8217;d never driven a truck before in his life. But he got the job, figured it out, made more money.
Chalk it up to genetics or coincidence, but in middle school Lawson started a company shooting video footage of weddings. Then, he used the proceeds to buy more sophisticated equipment.
&#8220;The best way to learn something new,&#8221; he said, &#8220;is to commit yourself to doing it.&#8221;
You&#8217;ve Got to Love It
There were some false starts. In college during the dotcom boom, Lawson learned software development and started a company that sold for millions of dollars … in stock. He thought he&#8217;d made it big, but when the bubble popped, his windfall vanished.
Later, he got the opportunity to be founding chief technology officer of StubHub, a ticket sales company that would later sell to eBay for $310 million. But Lawson didn&#8217;t stick around for the payoff.
&#8220;It was a fine business, but I wasn&#8217;t the customer and I didn&#8217;t feel passionately that the world needed the product we were building.&#8221; He wasn&#8217;t a concert goer, so he didn&#8217;t feel inspired to keep working on it. &#8220;As an entrepreneur, I think you need that.&#8221;
Hindsight being what it is, it&#8217;s easy to fault Lawson for missing his share of a nine-figure payday. But remember, he&#8217;s got a share of a 10-figure payday in Twilio.
Knowledge and Reputation
So how did Lawson do it? How did he rebound from a missed nine-figure payday cleanly enough to do himself one better? First he made another valuable mistake or two, which you&#8217;ll learn about listening to this Fortt Knox episode.
More important though, he was able to focus on the two most important assets he was building in each of these experiences.
&#8220;The best thing that we have as we go through our careers is our knowledge and our word – our reputation,&#8221; Lawson says. &#8220;If you&#8217;re constantly building those two things, I think generally speaking, good things end up happening to people.&#8221;
http://cnbc.africa/news/international/2017/03/17/warren-buffetts-20-slot-rule-will-make-insanely-successful-wealthy/

First get started, then get smarter – Founder-CEO’s secret to success

At midnight on Thursday President Jacob Zuma announced the details of a widely-anticipated cabinet reshuffle. Zuma made 20 changes to his administration. Without question, though, the most significant – and concerning – is the removal of the respected and regarded Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, and Deputy Minister of Finance, Mcebisi Jonas. Notwithstanding internal opposition from amongst the top six members of the ANC and its alliance partner, the South African Communist Party, eight other cabinet members were also shuffled. Immediate market reaction was palpable, with the rand moving from R12.80 to the US dollar on Thursday evening to trade as high as R13.60 to the US dollar by early Friday morning.
Zuma’s actions reek of desperation
Gordhan, who was recalled from an international roadshow at the start of the week, has been replaced by Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba. Gigaba is a former ANC youth league leader, and has served in parliament and in cabinet under former President Mbeki and President Zuma. Gigaba has no financial or business experience. Put bluntly, confidence in Gigaba&#8217;s leadership at National Treasury is likely to be low given his insipid performance as Minister of Public Enterprises and the visa fiasco that transpired under him as Minister of Home Affairs. He is widely regarded to be a Zuma loyalist. As such, his appointment represents a direct risk to the institutional strength and fabric of national treasury and the maintenance of the fiscal discipline that is Gordhan’s hallmark.
		
				
		
Less surprising is the appointment of Sfiso Buthelezi who has been widely touted as a likely replacement for either Gordhan or – as is the case – deputy minister Jonas. Buthelezi is a seasoned politician, qualified economist and comes with business experience that includes having served as chief operations officer and director of the Makana Investment Corporation – an investment vehicle for ex-political prisoners, particularly those from Robben Island.
There can be no avoiding the observation that Zuma’s actions reek of desperation. Gigaba is South Africa&#8217;s fourth finance minister in 15 months, and he is appointed days ahead of the decision to be announced by rating’s agency Moody’s in the first week of April. However, of the three big agencies, Standard and Poor’s has been the most vocal by far. Although their next decision is scheduled for early June there is a chance that the agency’s announcement could be brought forward to an earlier date.
Shift in policy in short term unlikely, but downgrade on the cards
Notwithstanding growing references to radical economic transformation, it is unlikely that we will see any substantial shift in policy in the near term. Still, the growing rhetoric and nature of Zuma’s actions are likely to lead ratings agencies – and market actors – to regard South Africa as a greater investment risk at the end of this week than it was at the start. As a result, there is now a greater probability that Zuma’s actions will galvanise Standard and Poor’s into downgrading South Africa’s debt to sub-investment grade, perhaps as soon as mid-year.
Fallout expected
In terms of broader political implications, opposition parties are likely to call for a vote of no confidence and to work to put in place an impeachment motion. There is also a view that Zuma’s actions could prompt resignations from within cabinet and that this faction would enjoy the support of outspoken members of the South African Communist Party and perhaps galvanise Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa into action. ANC Secretary General Mantashe has also commented in interviews about disagreement and lack of support relating to the cabinet reshuffle. These developments will play out in their own way, and experience suggests that those taking a stance on outcomes are, instead, likely to be met by surprise. Consider, by way of example, the overwhelmingly unanticipated political events that marked 2016, including Brexit and the Trump election.
		
				
		
In the immediate term, we should brace ourselves for currency weakness and market impacts in the form of the repricing of financial assets, including South African bonds and domestic banks. No doubt, there will also be a lot of noise to deal with as politicians deliberate, the country digests and markets decide.
Protecting and growing wealth doesn’t start with a question about “What’s the upside?” but rather “What’s the risk?”
In all of this, the merit of a sound investment philosophy and a disciplined process is reinforced, and we are reminded that protecting and growing wealth doesn’t start with a question about “What’s the upside?” but rather “What’s the risk?” As a consequence, of the above uncertainties, as well as others that we have anticipated – such as normalisation of interest rates in the United States, Trump’s more dramatic policy action and the likelihood of a ratings downgrade for South Africa – we have adopted a conservative stance in our portfolio construction and sought the greatest possible diversification to mitigate risk in each solution. By way of example, we have a low allocation to credit in our money market, income and bond funds; we are short duration in our bond fund; we are underweight bonds in our houseview and balanced fund; we are overweight hedge funds in our houseview; we have overweight positions in protected equity in our houseview and balanced fund; and, arguably most critically, we have held an underweight position on South African assets versus global assets.
Contrary to expectations, near-term impact of weak rand may be positive for economy; long-term effect undeniably negative
Perversely, the near-term impacts on the South African economy could be stimulatory through a weaker rand and more expansionary fiscal policy. The longer-term effects will be unequivocally negative, entrenching Zuma’s record of poor economic leadership. The most obvious long-term effects will come in the form of reduced personal income held back by slower economic growth and eroded by higher consumer price inflation. Interest rates are also likely to move to a higher plane given the implications for South Africa’s credit ratings. Damaged business confidence will keep a lid on much-needed investment spending and economic growth will remain muted. The implication, in turn, for urgently needed job creation by the private sector, is unambiguously negative. Consequently, and perversely, the sought after “radical economic transformation” will become even harder to achieve under Zuma’s revised cabinet.
RELATED:
http://cnbc.africa/news/southern-africa/2017/03/30/south-africas-zuma-meets-top-anc-officials-amid-speculation-gordhan-sacked/
http://cnbc.africa/news/southern-africa/2017/03/31/ceo-initiative-responds-dismissal-minister-finance/
http://cnbc.africa/featured/2017/03/31/economists-money-makers-react-cabinet-reshuffle/

Cabinet reshuffle and what it means for South Africa – Citadel

Who would you need to be in order to run a business 10 times your size?
From the get-go, many entrepreneurs dream of growing their businesses and building larger, more successful ones that generate substantial profits and are household names.
The unspoken rule (sometimes erroneous) of all businesses is that we must grow year on year, even if it’s just to compensate for inflation. When I started my business, I believed it would automatically grow annually. What I didn’t know back then, was that I myself would also need to grow on a personal and psychological level if I wanted my business to expand.
Who do you need to be?
“Who would you need to be in order to run a business 10 times your size?” my mentor asked me when I started out. And when my business achieved 10 times its size, he asked me this question again. The process of him continually asking me this same question forced me into a state of self-reflection and personal gap analysis that drove my personal development agenda, ensuring that my business would grow as far as I would grow.
I don’t have any heroes; and yet, if you walk into my office you’ll see a framed magazine mounted on the wall with Adrian Gore, CEO of Discovery Ltd, on the cover. My high regard for him is not only based on what he has achieved, but more specifically on who he has become in order to achieve what he has. He took an idea and turned it into a listed multinational business with a market cap of R67.4 billion*. Gore clearly had the ability and commitment to grow into someone who could lead a multinational business, from the first day that he started Discovery.
It has to do with your mindset
“Do you have the personal characteristics of someone who is running a business your size, or those of a person running a business 10 times your size?” he would ask. A very valuable lesson I learnt was that the person that you need to be to run a small business is not the same as the person that you need to be to run a medium-sized business, or the person that you need to be to run a large business.
If you are small minded then your business will remain small; if you are large-minded then your business will have to catch up to you. It’s less about the size of the business and more about who you are at a point in time. It takes constant work, personal development, struggle, and commitment, to being a better leader and business person than you were the year before.
I recently had to make a tough business decision that was right for my business and its future. Had I been faced with the identical set of circumstances 5 years ago, I know I would have made a different decision, because in the past my decisions were based on things that would keep staff happy and make them like me. Over the last 5 years, I’ve done work on myself and learned that my decisions must be based on the right things for the business and its future, even if they leave staff feeling momentarily upset.
It’s a constant journey
Practice self-reflection and embark on a personal journey that will help you discover who you have to be. If you don’t do this, YOU will be the largest impediment to your business’ growth.
Ask yourself
The secret to shifting your mindset and therefore your business, is asking yourself the following questions, and answering them honestly:
<ol>
<li>Who would I need to be in order to run a business 10 times my size?</li>
<li>Do I have the commitment to do the personal development work to run a business 10 times my size?</li>
</ol>

Your business will only grow as much as you grow

On Thursday, March 2nd, CNBC Africa, Africa’s leading business and financial news channel, added another broadcast platform to their arsenal. CNBC Africa welcomes the broadcast alignment with Canal Plus Group who broadcasts to the dominant French-speaking African countries across the continent.
CNBC Africa, the largest and fastest growing financial and business news channel in Africa, will be boosting its viewership across Africa by being broadcasted on LES BOUQUETS CANAL+ offer, therefore adding to the channel’s already comprehensive reach across the African continent, now reaching more than 20 French-speaking African countries.
Channel 171 will be the official 24-hour home of CNBC Africa, and will be available from the subscription formula’s EVASION, which will be distributed alongside LES Bouquets CANAL+ offer, subscribers across Africa.
CNBC Africa offers a variety of business and finance-focused shows such as Open Exchange and Closing Bell that takes the viewers on a journey through Africa as the markets open and close every weekday; as well as shows such as Hot Stocks which speak to different levels of interested and invested individuals by providing them with an in-depth look at the latest news on market stocks, and which stocks they deem to be the best to invest in. CNBC Africa also has a lifestyle concentrated element with shows such as Masters of Innovation which showcase successful business leaders and influencers; GURUS which brings to television the best local and international speakers in a 15 minute segment.
<blockquote>Executive Director for CNBC Africa, Bronwyn Nielsen, stated that “CNBC Africa is the leading financial and business news Pan-African channel; authentically sharing Africa’s stories with the world. CNBC Africa, soon to enter the double digits by celebrating 10 years of broadcast on the continent, stands tall and welcomes the additional terrestrial platform, LES BOUQUETS CANAL+ along with our new viewers in Africa.”</blockquote>

CNBC Africa launches on Les Bouquets Canal+

The cool Highveld breeze snaps the corner of the neon-yellow safety waistcoat as she steps out of the office building into the yard, the white hard-hat sitting comfortably on her head.
Fortunate Mdanda takes confident strides in a traditionally male world of metal and machines. There are other women through the workshop doors, setting off sprays of sparks as they wield welders and grinders. Under Fortunate’s watchful eye as CEO of Smith Capital Equipment, there is an internship programme for women, and the company actively recruits female engineers.
Her background is not in engineering, but her corporate experience in business strategy, process and finance has amply equipped her for the position.
If you have a mind for business, there is no need to feel restricted to more traditionally female pursuits. “I’ve never looked at industries based on gender. I’ve looked at what one can contribute. So it is a consolidated effort of all the right skills within the business that makes it successful,” she says.
When Fortunate and Sipho Mdanda took ownership of Smith Capital Equipment on the 2nd of November 2015, the existing management and workforce were in for a major culture change.
After over two decades of democratic governance in South Africa, the company was still caught up in an apartheid time warp, with separate amenities for the races.
With racial and gender barriers swept aside, there was yet another sweeping change. The company’s 84 employees became shareholders.  
“We created a shareholding for both management and staff, across race, across gender, so it’s inclusive, it’s a very exciting space for all of us at Smith Capital,” says Fortunate.
But change always comes with some growing pains. “I must admit at the beginning it is a new concept when people are told they are shareholders. It comes with excitement, but they’re sort of sceptical. What does that bring? Is there money into our pocket immediately? So it took us a while to communicate the upside of being a shareholder and the responsibilities that come with being a shareholder,” she says.
“But now we’re at a space where we all really understand and are excited about being shareholders. People don’t just come in, do their work and walk out. There is transparency, there is excitement in terms of where the business is going, everyone shares in everything, the strategies of the business, the prospects, and we all share in the excitements and the challenges that we face as a business.”
The core business of this 43 year old company is the manufacturing of on-road aerial platforms and drilling rigs used for water well and hard rock surface drilling in the mining industry and pole planting for new infrastructure. Equipment is locally designed and manufactured, with drilling rigs and aerial platforms boasting over 90% local content.
Then there is the import side of the business, with truck mounted cranes brought in from Italy, as well as the ongoing service aspect of the business.
Through a recently introduced rental division, the company encourages local contractors, who experience financial barriers to entry and cannot afford upfront procurement the necessary capital equipment they need to deliver on contracts they obtain.
“This division is actually picking up very well,” Fortunate explains, “and also we are talking to other DFI’s in terms of coming up with a plan how we can support emerging contractors.”
Repairs and maintenance as well as regular load-testing are other important facets of the business.
More black industrialists are emerging with encouragement from the government. The biggest barrier to entry has been funding. “Now with the DFI (development finance institutions) being open to assisting entrepreneurs growing into being industrialists, I see endless opportunities being presented,” she says.
What is important here is that it goes beyond more than purely facilitating funding, but in providing support in skills training, and opening business opportunities and new markets.
“Sometimes you find you have the best product but you can’t put it out there, you can’t export it because you find every process when it comes to structured processes that you need to go through are actually barriers to making one successful.”
The Gauteng Provincial Government and the City of Ekurhuleni, where Smith Capital Equipment is headquartered, have made efforts to make it easier to do business.
Although the company had been exporting for years, it hadn’t been a major strategy. “Now we’re turning that around, we’re sending units into Africa, which is very impressive. We’re getting enquiries, a lot as well, because our products are African products, not South African products. They are designed for the African terrain. It is different to sending a product anywhere in the world. So we understand what Africa is about, we understand the terrain and we understand our neighbouring countries as well, so doing business with them is quite interesting and exciting and there is actually an increase in opportunities that are being presented.”
Smith Capital Equipment falls under the umbrella of Isipho Capital Holdings, which is wholly owned by Fortunate and her husband Sipho Mdanda. Their first acquisition was Kholeka Engineering, a manufacturer of truck bodies and trailers, based in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We funded it from our own savings. All we wanted to do was to have the skin in the game and to ensure that we can prove to ourselves that we can work hard and turn the business around. That happened and then came the Smith Capital deal. A few other deals are in the pipeline, so it’s quite exciting,” Fortunate says.
Because Smith Capital Equipment required considerable investment, the Mdandas secured a loan of R41 million (around $3 million) through the National Empowerment Fund. The company has since been identified as one of the 100 Black Industrialists by the Department of Trade and Industry, has established strong BEE credentials and is ISO 9001 registered.
Looking at the day-to-day operations of Smith Capital and the commitment and enthusiasm of their 84 shareholders, the dreams and plans for an expanding Isipho Capital Holdings seem bright and achievable. The future will tell if this is the birth of a new African business dynasty.
While there is much to do in running the business and creating and building an inclusive culture, there is much industry networking to be done as well.
“Sadly, engineer-run businesses are inward looking, that’s how Smith Capital was. But, with our experiences from corporate, you learn that business doesn’t come to you, you go look for business. You go make your presence felt and you get known what your offering is, which makes a world of difference. There is no platform that doesn’t exist in growing and advancing your business and creating the network that it might not be for the now, but next time around you thought that I met a certain person at dinner, and then you can just pick up with them and you make business,” Fortunate says.
While Fortunate has achieved much in the business arena, she defines as her biggest achievement her and Sipho’s two teenage children – 18-year-old son Luyanda and 15-year-old daughter Noluthando.
No doubt she is a great role model to Noluthando, as she actively supports the development of women in her industry. Her advice for young women wanting to break into any previously male dominated industry is to be positive and prepared to learn. “Open yourself to learning and embrace the opportunities. With anything you do there will be challenges, but if you’re open minded and positive about it and put in the hours in terms of the hard work, it works out well.”﻿

Lifting hurdles even a crane can't

Nigeria&#8217;s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has launched a 60-day action plan to improve the business climate in Africa&#8217;s biggest economy struggling with recession, his office said on Tuesday.
&#8220;There are improvements which we expect to see at our ports. Improvements at our airports, improvements at the seaports, improvements in immigration visas,&#8221; Osinbajo said in a statement.
Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari put Osinbajo in charge while he is on sick leave in Britain.
 
(Reporting by Ulf Laessing and Felix Onuah; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)﻿

Nigeria's VP launches 60-day plan to improve business climate

As the digital industry, we are the custodians of change. We introduce the tools that have the potential to bring exponential levels of growth, efficiency and engagement to our businesses. However, digital alone is not the cure-all for every business problem. In order for digital to succeed in today’s climate, it has to be keenly focused on consumer and employee needs.
Our commercial landscape can be defined by, two key trends, decentralisation of power and the democratisation of knowledge. The government and large organisations are losing their grip on power, the power is squarely in the consumer hands. In the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s, consumers made decisions based on which brands grabbed their attention. In the 1990’s the decision became influenced by both attention and time spent with a product or service. Today, consumers are most swayed by experience – this is a process of understanding the brand and trusting it to perform a specific purpose before purchasing it.
While the next big trend is important in digital, our core focus should be the changing “need states” of our consumers and employees. This should be the first layer of any business or campaign, with digitisation falling on top of this. Examine any of the world’s multi-billion dollar businesses, and you will find a firm grasp of five defining need states. These are:
●    Hyper-personalisation: We live busy lives and don’t have time to make decisions for ourselves. For this reason, we love brands that think for us. Amazon, for example, has gone as far as sending boxes of products to customers that they anticipate will be ordered next. Too farfetched? They have already reported a very high acceptance rate.
●    Hyper-convenience: Brands need to help us save time. Uber, for example, made it possible to order transport with the press of two buttons. This created a whole new market with people who did not catch taxis before.
●    Hyper-trust: Woolworths is an example of a brand that has invested heavily in promoting an association of quality and trust in their brand. While they sell food like many other grocery stores, we will pay more for a bunch of celery there because we have learnt to trust the product. 
●    Hyper-recognition: We want brands to recognise our loyalty and reward us for it. The first customer recognition program was an air miles campaign, launched in 1981. This was the birth of the gamification of consumption. We respond to programs that give us incentive to spend, exercise or save.
●    Hyper-value: This is closely linked to trust. We want to feel that a brand is being transparent and not overcharging or taking advantage of us. It is not a case of being cheap or expensive, but a perception that the product is worth the pricetag.    ﻿
Without taking these factors into account, digital cannot have its required impact on your business. For example, businesses that have introduced Trello to manage tasks and employees only have a 6-12% uptake if they don’t create a culture of gamification and hyper recognition first. While the technology is excellent, the appetite for it has not been created for it to succeed.
In addition to businesses looking to the need states to attract consumers and employees, they will also need to take an objective look at themselves.  You cannot innovate from within. You have to hire people to disrupt from the outside then bring that information internally to refine your business. The nature of a corporate role is to keep the business stable.
However, the future is not stable, so people in those jobs don’t have the DNA that drives a person to disrupt. For this reason, I feel the workplace of the future will attract more members of the “gig economy.” Freelancers and experts in their fields will enter corporates for a set contract or “gig,” using their specialist insight to disrupt the business and effect real, impactful change.
We are entering a phenomenal era in technology, where trends such as immersive and augmented reality will connect brands to consumers more vividly than ever before. Digitisation is poised to filter every aspect of our lives, but with this comes a critical focus on human needs. In my presentation at the IAB Summit on 16 March, I hope to challenge the audience by asking important questions on how gamification can be used to impact every area of their business, strengthening their brand and boosting their growth in the process. ﻿
 
John Sanei is a trend specialist, business innovation strategist, author, public speaker and entrepreneur. He will be speaking on the application of gamification to all facets of business at the IAB Digital Summit taking place on Thursday 16th March at the Galleria Sandton.﻿

Op-Ed: Digital revolution is futile without customer focus

Business Leadersship South Africa is adamant that the country can make major strides in 2017 to address the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. But this is only possible if we build on our successful cooperation in 2016 and work together.
At the start of 2016 South Africa was in a perilous state. Under the auspices of the State President; the Deputy President and Finance Minister worked with business and labour leaders to make real, substantive progress in some key areas. They include the introduction of a National Minimum Wage to improve the lives of the working poor, the introduction of labour reforms to help stabilise the labour environment and promote investor confidence, the establishment of a R1.5bn small business fund to promote small businesses and create jobs, and the planning of the ambitious private sector Youth Employment Services (YES) campaign to give 1 million economically marginalised young people job experience.
Government, business and labour leaders embarked on global roadshows and meetings with investors and ratings agencies to build confidence and encourage investment.
Business, labour and civil society are also working closely in the National Education Collaboration Trust to find joint solutions to improve basic education, and in the National Education Crisis Forum to find a resolution to the universities crisis.
This is not to disregard real differences and indeed conflicts that exist between the sectors of our society on many issues. BLSA has been vocal on some of these issues, including the governance of SOEs, the need for certainty and confidence in the mining sector, and the need to sign the FICA amendment into law. On these and other issues there will continue to be robust public and private debate and engagement. This is healthy in a constitutional democracy.
However, we are seeing the “green shoots” of improved working relations in 2016. Against the predictions of many sceptics we managed to maintain our credit rating and began to rebuild confidence, both at home and abroad. At Davos in January South Africa was held out as an example to other emerging markets, referring in particular to our strong and respected economic governance institutions, financial markets and banking sector, but also to the joint initiatives between government and business. Credit needs to be given to the President and government in ensuring the stability of our economic governance institutions and creating an enabling environment for the engagements of 2016. This was a key factor for investors and the ratings agencies.
But the light at the end of the tunnel remains faint. Vast numbers of South Africans are unemployed and live in poverty, and we have a struggling economy that does not give us the platform to address these issues. If we do not act, we face economic decline, capital flight and a collapsing currency. These will lead inexorably to rising unemployment, rising prices, the curtailing of social grants and contracting social services. This downward spiral would reverse the gains we have made since 1994 and the social consequences would be calamitous.
BLSA believes that the economy needs to be transformed to make the country prosper and to ensure that it works for all South Africans. This is the challenge of “inclusive growth”, which is the foremost priority of BLSA. It is also the basis of the National Development Plan (NDP), which remains our “North Star”.
An inclusive economy is only possible with a thriving economy. This enables us to employ more people, grow the national budget, improve education, build infrastructure and deliver services. As we have seen, a thriving economy requires cooperation, joint problem solving, certainty, predictability and a rational and consultative approach to policy-making.
But a thriving economy is not enough. We also need an economy that works for all. It needs to work for the millions who can’t find work and for the working poor who struggle to make ends meet. It also needs to be an economy that addresses our historic racial imbalances. We need an economy where all South Africans can build a better life for themselves and their families.
This year all South Africans and all sectors of society must pull together to continue to build the foundations for “inclusive growth”. This requires a major, national, war-like effort. Failure is not an option. BLSA is committed to actively play its part, with government, labour, civil society and citizens, to build on the successes of 2016 and advance the goal of inclusive growth. ﻿

Opinion: Economic state of S.A nation

South Africa&#8217;s Mondi picked insider Peter Oswald as its next chief executive on Wednesday, giving him the challenge of growing its packaging business to offset slowing growth demand for paper.
Oswald, a 26-year Mondi veteran who heads its European and international unit, will replace David Hathorn, who is retiring after nearly three decades with the company.
Shares in Mondi, which is also listed in London, were little changed at 296.41 rand as of 0922 GMT, lagging behind a 0.6 percent gain on the JSE All-share index.﻿

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