News SA

Business

South Africa Cannot Host BRICS Business on Prestige and Run Small Business on Confusion
Business

South Africa Cannot Host BRICS Business on Prestige and Run Small Business on Confusion

If November brings a Presidential MSME event and a major BRICS-facing business engagement, the government must demonstrate alignment, delivery, and measurable outcomes, argues the author. By Zola Pinda: BRICS Leadership: (Image: Accord) (Image: Michele Spatari/Getty Images) South Africa’s participation in BRICS represents one of the country’s most significant platforms for advancing its global economic interests  - it provides an opportunity to strengthen partnerships across the Global South, attract investment, expand trade and position South African businesses within emerging economic networks. But global influence carries a corresponding responsibility. The true measure of diplomatic success is not only the prom...
Red Carpet Connections at Hard Rock Cafe Johannesburg Spark Partnerships and Collaboration
Business

Red Carpet Connections at Hard Rock Cafe Johannesburg Spark Partnerships and Collaboration

By Thobile Jiwulane: In today’s competitive market, meaningful connections have become the cornerstone of true leadership — a strategy embraced by many of the world’s most successful businesses. Recently, Hard Rock Cafe Johannesburg hosted an exclusive, invitation-only event aimed at South Africa's key decision-makers. This elevated experience was designed to foster networking and collaboration among influential figures in the business landscape. The occasion, held on 17 July, is one of the city’s most prestigious calendar events. It drew a curated audience of CEOs, chairpersons, COOs, general managers, heads of departments, and senior leaders across hospitality, tourism, corporate, and events. The gathering was more than a networkin...
The Myth That Black South Africans Were Taught How To Trade – They Built Anyway
Business

The Myth That Black South Africans Were Taught How To Trade – They Built Anyway

To say black South Africans lacked business acumen until others arrived is not an analysis. It is arrogance, and history does not support it By Zola Pinda: Maponya Mall in Soweto. The author argues that if Richard Maponya represented visible township capital, Sam Motsuenyane represented the organised backbone of black business. (Image: Facebook) No one taught us how to trade - Black South Africans were not waiting to be taught how to trade. They were already trading, building, borrowing, saving, transporting, wholesaling, manufacturing and organising long before 1994. They did so under pass laws, forced removals, influx control, racist licensing regimes, police harassment and an economy designed to deny them ownership. To suggest that...
SOIL AND SURVIVAL: The man turning farming into a movement of hope
Business

SOIL AND SURVIVAL: The man turning farming into a movement of hope

By Sitha Maliwa: In a world where agricultural development is often discussed in policy rooms and conference halls, Maqhawe Ayanda Mthembu is taking a different route: the soil, the village, and the people who work it. Based in Centurion, Mthembu is a South African agricultural trainer and community development practitioner whose work has quietly spread across provinces and borders. For over seven years, he has been building something less visible than infrastructure but arguably more powerful - human capability. At the heart of his work is a simple but demanding idea: that farming is not just about food production, but about restoring dignity, discipline, and economic independence in communities that have long been underserved. S...
We have fixed challenges, Minister Ndabeni
Business

We have fixed challenges, Minister Ndabeni

By Becker Semela: Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams in Bloemfontein. Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams says her department has fixed many of the problems that small businesses faced when applying for funding. She shared this update while speaking at the Freedom Day Marathon held in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The marathon formed part of the country’s Freedom Day celebrations. It included different race distances such as 42.2km, 21km, 10km, 5km and a shorter 1.5km fun run. The event ended with an aerobics session where participants came together to celebrate health, unity and freedom. Ndabeni-Abrahams explained that in the past, many small business owners struggled with funding applications. Delays, lack of feedback a...
FROM SOIL TO SOVEREIGNTY: The rise of cultural mogul Touch Motswak Tswak
Business

FROM SOIL TO SOVEREIGNTY: The rise of cultural mogul Touch Motswak Tswak

By Sitha Maliwa: Touch Motswak Tswak (Image supplied) In a quiet but determined cultural revolution emerging from Gaborone, Botswana, a new kind of African entrepreneur is redefining what luxury, heritage, and power look like. At the centre of this movement stands Touch Motswak Tswak - a cultural mogul, hip-hop visionary, and architect of a philosophy that is turning the African landscape itself into a symbol of prestige. Where others see farmland, he sees the future of luxury. Touch belongs to a rising generation of African creatives who are no longer waiting for validation from global capitals. Instead, they are building cultural empires rooted in African identity, transforming local heritage into global influence. His work exists at the intersection of music...
JALUSI TECH: Powering South Africa’s entrepreneurial future
Business

JALUSI TECH: Powering South Africa’s entrepreneurial future

Sitha Maliwa: Thandiwe Shema, Managing Director of Jalusi Tech In a country where small businesses often struggle to survive against towering economic pressures, one company is quietly building a reputation as a lifeline for entrepreneurs determined to succeed. Jalusi Corporation and its technology arm, Jalusi Tech, are emerging as powerful allies for South Africa’s small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), combining strategic business guidance with cutting-edge digital solutions to help entrepreneurs transform ideas into sustainable enterprises. From the bustling townships to boardrooms of growing start-ups, Jalusi’s mission is clear: empower small businesses to compete, scale and thrive in an increasingly digital economy. Founded on the conviction that small...
Our first Business Breakfast & Networking session was exceptional and a Five-Star success
Business

Our first Business Breakfast & Networking session was exceptional and a Five-Star success

By Katlego Rammusa: Author and host, Katlego Rammusa, talking to the audience Saturday, 28th February, was a blissful morning of engagement and powerful conversations where I held the Business Breakfast & Networking session, which was our first inception at the Menlyn Boutique Hotel in Pretoria. Indeed, it was an exceptional event, one of its kind, with a lovely setup and people.  As the visionary of this initiative, the aim is to build a chamber of commerce amongst entrepreneurs, whether aspiring, emerging or established. We are creating a cross-pollination between entities and fostering worthwhile and long-lasting relationships and partnerships because one is likely to do and interact business with the people they can trust.  Proximity compounds, as the saying...
State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2026 and the state of logistics in South Africa
Business

State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2026 and the state of logistics in South Africa

By Gavin Kelly: (CEO of Road Freight Association) The writer discusses challenges facing Logistics in SA. Image: From Freepik) The Association listened with keen ears and bated breath for the waypoints to be listed by President Ramaphosa following his creation some 18 months ago of the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC), formed solely to address the collapse of the state-controlled infrastructure and operations of the country. One would have opined, at least, that the President would have read the reports that dutifully came across his desk during 2025 – and the massive steps that had been taken (well, there was massive spending, so…) would have at least been outlined last (Thursday) night. Vast Generalisation That would have given an “easy” follow-th...
From Boycott to Bargaining: Washington’s Africa Contradiction Exposed in Cape Town
Business

From Boycott to Bargaining: Washington’s Africa Contradiction Exposed in Cape Town

By Zola Pinda: (Images: Mining Indaba Website) Consistency is the currency of statecraft. Without it, even the most powerful nations find their influence discounted.  The conclusion of the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2026 in Cape Town has laid bare a striking contradiction in Washington’s Africa posture — one that speaks less to strength than to strategic impatience. Merely to secure access to critical minerals In November 2025, President Donald Trump’s administration boycotted the G20 Leaders’ Summit hosted in Johannesburg on 22–23 November, declining to send official representation.  Soon thereafter, the United States confirmed it would host the 2026 G20 Summit on 14–15 December 2026 at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida, shaping the age...