BizNews Radio
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
Covid-19: SA innovation leads Africa; huge job losses loom; SA property companies in trouble; MTN
In today's headlines: * As South Africa enters its second week of a government-imposed lockdown, the country has been praised globally for leading efforts to stop Covid-19 in its tracks on the African continent; * With economic activity almost at a standstill, around half of the jobs in all of Africa are…
Surviving working from home - inside track from 22 year veteran Dr Alex Samuel
Dr Alex Samuel's recent article on wsj.com is one of that massive global website's best read pieces. So I was delighted to get a positive response from the Canadian author after asking her to share some practical tips for South Africans suddenly made to give up their daily commute and…
SMEs need working capital sooner; leniency from Big Guys – Brendan Mullen
Small and medium business are in a particular squeeze right now as the quantitative easing measures from Government are not filtering down to them fast enough. In the United Kingdom, it is estimated that the economic impact of the coronavirus could lead to one in five SMEs running out of…
Inside Covid-19: SA get free personal doctor consultations; Academics worry about impact when virus hits Africa - Ep 10
In episode ten of Inside Covid-19, we speak to Adrian Gore about a breakthrough partnership between Discovery and Vodacom which opens a line to free Covid-19 related medical consultations for all South Africans. The analysts at John Hopkins University, the go-to global tracker of the spread of the virus, are…
Covid-19: Discovery gives SA free doctors for all; Africa asks for debt relief; SA banks downgrade; emerging markets
In todays news headlines: * As the number of confirmed Covid-19 deaths registered at five, Discovery’s Adrian Gore and colleagues, and their partners at Vodacom, are the latest to step forward, in this case with a simple, powerful plan to create easy access to doctors for any South African who fears…
Meet Ashley Newell and Iming Lin combining food aid and markets for farmers - FoodflowZA
The country may be in lockdown for 21-days and the economy is virtually standing still. For many farmers the closure of restaurants means that they have no market for their crops. At the same time, the closure of schools means that thousands of children who relied on schools to give…
Discovery's Adrian Gore: ALL South Africans get access to doctors - free, online #Covid19
South Africa's wealthiest, smartest business players have wasted no time in putting their teams to work on ways to contribute to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and limiting its damage to the economy. Discovery's Adrian Gore and colleagues, and their partners at Vodacom are the latest to step forward, in this…
The legalities of paying rent when locked out of your premises due to force majeure
Parallel to the panic induced by Covid-19 in recent months has been the rising fear felt by individuals and business owners regarding their contractual obligations, or rather their looming inability to follow through on these obligations. In a bid to find relief, attention has been drawn to the legal provision…
Inside Covid-19: Survivor's guide to working remotely; Promising drugs to fight the virus - Ep 9
In episode nine of Inside Covid-19 we take a look at some promising developments in the medicines used to fight the virus; hear from a specialist in the subject with 22 years of personal experience on how to survive being forced to work from home; and discover how Foodflow, an…
Covid cases up to 1,353; SA trade surplus; Naspers jumps; SA leads Africa in Covid-19 campaign; new Sanlam bosses
In today's news headlines: * Covid-19 update: 1353 confirmed cases; total number of tests 39 ,000 says the Minister of Health; * South Africa recorded its biggest trade surplus in 14 months in February as exports to Europe surged; * Shares in Africa’s most-valuable company, Naspers, have advanced 11% since…
Firstrand donates R100m to help medical effort as banks step forward to help customers in a jam
Several of the large banks in South Africa have pitched in to help customers deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Standard Bank has announced a second wave of relief for people earning R7,500 or less providing them with a three-month instalment relief after a payment holiday had been…
Informal economy will be hammered but could prove to be resilient in Covid-19 lockdown – GG Alcock
The impact of the 21-day shutdown has had a devastating impact on economies worldwide and for South Africa it has come as a double-whammy as years of corruption has left the country with serious financial troubles with Moody’s downgrading the country to junk status over the weekend. Although help has…
David Shapiro: Worst over for stocks, rand? More investors look to get into market - not out!
In this podcast, long-time buddies and radio show hosts David Shapiro and Alec Hogg discuss the state of the South African stock market and the value of the rand. Shares and the currency have taken a pounding amid coronavirus panic, but stockbroker Shapiro reckons the worst might be over. That…
UN report shows Ramaphosa's FDI "silver bullet" blanking long before Covid-19
Before he took office in early 2018, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa outlined how foreign direct investment would be the cornerstone of his plan to get a stalled economy moving again. Four high profile investment-seeking envoys were dispatched to engage with potential investors around the world. The plan’s success was…
Covid-19 cases up to 1,326, 3 dead; Naspers gives R1.5bn to Covid fund; SA banks will help most clients; mines; diamonds
In today's news headlines: * Covid-19 cases are up to 1,326 and three deaths have been reported; * SA banks will help 80% of customers with debt repayment challenges - survey; * Naspers has joined donors digging deep to help the SA government prop up businesses as coronavirus containment measures…
Inside Covid-19: China shows SA "normality" 10 weeks away; World loses $500bn in FDI - Ep 8
Welcome to episode eight of Inside Covid-19 where we get an on-the-ground report from Shanghai to assess the timeline for South Africa to get back to some normality, and hear from the United Nations that the virus has already wiped $500bn off foreign direct investment. Also in this episode, we…
Ramaphosa rolls out mass screening and tracing Covid-19 programme; corporate SA steps up
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the government will be rolling out an extensive screening and tracing programme all over the country for Covid-19. He said there were now 1,326 cases of coronavirus in South Africa with 3 fatalities. In addition to the R1bn each donated by the Rupert, Oppenheimer and…
SA actuary in China tells Alec Hogg: There's light at end of Covid-19 tunnel. LISTEN!
For clues on how the Covid-19 pandemic ends, look at China where society is normalising and business is getting back on track. As the World Health Organisation reports about 640,000 confirmed cases of the deadly coronavirus and about 30,000 deaths around the world, the country where it all started is…
Rational Radio: The full show March 30, 2020
In this episode of Rational Radio guests in order of appearance are: * SA's favourite market commentator David Shapiro; * Kasinomics author GG Alcock on how the informal sector is being hit by SA's 21 day lockdown; * PingAn Health deputy CEO Alain Peddle (from Shanghai) providing visibility from China…
Solidarity Fund at R500m; no soft loans for SMEs
The Solidarity fund that was put into place to provide funding during the coronavirus outbreak provided information today on how they are going to spend the money donated. Chairperson Gloria Serobe and her team have indicated that the first money that has been paid out has been used to acquire…