BizNews Radio
Welcome to BizNews Radio where we interview top thought leaders and business people from South Africa and across the globe.
Kevin Shames: Consumers embrace low cost, alternative energy solutions
Hedge fund pioneer Kevin Shames is the CEO of Bright Light Solar, a 12J company that raised R82.5m in its third capital-raising tranche which closed at the end of February this year. The capital is invested in fully funded renewable energy projects, to generate electricity, solar thermal delivering hot water…
Entrepreneurial Masterclass with Allon Raiz - Part 4: Post-Covid business opportunities; and BEE
South Africa is not good at developing entrepreneurs says Allon Raiz. In the last part of his discussion with Alec, the Oxford University guest lecturer and head of the company which has been described by the Economist as Africa's only genuine incubator says there are many opportunities in the post-Covid…
Entrepreneurial Masterclass with Allon Raiz - Part 3: Stand up again and again; life versus growth
Within 10 years of opening, 96% of new businesses fail. That is the brutal reality of how difficult it is to start a new business. In the third part of the business masterclass with Allon Raiz, he looks at what you should do if your business fails. Raiz talks about…
Covid-19 business interruption war: hospitality sector vs insurers; Mining output plummets; Multichoice; WC schools
In today's news headlines: * A legal battle is looming between South African hospitality businesses and the insurance companies that have refused to pay out for business interruption caused by Covid-19; * The Western Cape Department of Health has supported the return of pupils to schools. Although the province has…
Entrepreneurial Masterclass with Allon Raiz – Part 2: Core competencies of entrepreneurs; kind people get further
In the second part of the entrepreneurial masterclass with Allon Raiz, the founder of Raizcorp looks at some of the core competencies he sees as 'must haves' for entrepreneurs and singles out that kind, smart and flexible people usually get further. He has also found that people with 'father issues'…
Entrepreneurial Masterclass with Allon Raiz – Part 1: Domination strategy is more effective than innovation
As many people are losing jobs and wonder where to turn to because of the Covid-19 pandemic; starting their own businesses may be something that they are considering, or are pushed into. Who better to go to, to find out what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur than Allon…
Covid-19 flattens business confidence as pessimism prevails - RMB's Etienne le Roux
South Africa’s Business Confidence dropped to an unprecedented low during the second quarter, the RMB/BER Index recording just 5 points out of the possible 100, the only time in its 45 years of measurement that it is in single digits. This surpasses the previous low of 12 points set in…
Business pessimism as bad as in apartheid era; HIV ramps up Covid-19 deaths; Sasol rollercoaster; MultiChoice jumps
In today's news headlines: * South African business confidence has plunged to the lowest level in 45 years, with companies even more pessimistic now than when disinvestment from the country over its apartheid policies started gaining momentum more than three decades ago; * People with HIV are almost three times…
Inside Covid19 - Business confidence plunge; pandemic changes banking habits; UFS virus tracking breakthrough. Ep 46
In episode 46 of Inside Covid-19, South Africa’s business confidence index falls to an almost impossibly low 5 points of a potential 100; we explore the change in banking behaviour with spending plummeting and savings rising; a University of Free State breakthrough in measuring viral loads of sewerage that will…
Russell Loubser on SAA take-off: Like it or not, SA may get back loss-making airline
South African Airways has flown the national flag proudly around the world. Behind the good cabin service and the smart uniforms worn by attendants, SAA has been sucking up billions of rands in taxpayers’ funds. Its financial problems have been linked to graft and incompetence, with former chair Dudu Myeni…
South Africans pile into forex trading as Covid-19 erodes savings, claims jobs - Mr Daniel Kibel, CM Trading
Covid-19 containment has cost millions of jobs and put pressure on many individuals, who have been forced to eat into savings to survive. In this interview with BizNews’ Jackie Cameron, Mr Daniel Kibel, the CEO of CM Trading, reveals that the number of active forex traders in South Africa has grown exponentially…
Inside Covid-19: Moneycraft advice for the 89% of SAs worrying about paying bills; Habana steps up for sportsmen. Ep 45
In episode 45 of Inside Covid-19, some solid practical moneycraft advice during a time when 89% of South Africans are worried how they’re going to pay their bills; we hear from the Chinese owners of Village Main Reef on challenges the pandemic has brought for its deep level mines that…
Sharp rise in SA Covid-19 deaths, but kids may not spread it; Edgars, Jet sell-off; Van Loggerenberg court victory; Rand
In today's news headlines: * South Africa has recorded a sharp rise in Covid-19 deaths, with 82 cases reported on Monday. This takes the death toll to more than 1,000 of the more than 50 000 cases reported in the country; * Children under 10 do not appear to spread…
Ninety One unveils details of plan to rescue SA companies hit by Covid-19
Asset manager Ninety One has launched a R10bn-fund, in partnership with a private equity firm Ethos, targeting South African businesses that have been badly knocked by Covid-19 containment measures. In this interview with BizNews editor-in-chief Alec Hogg, Ninety One's chief commercial officer John Green says his team members are on…
Meet Springbok World Cup hero Bryan Habana who is helping athletes get back on the track
Athletes would have descended on Tokyo in July and August this year, hoping that four years of sweat and blood would bring them the glory of an Olympic medal. But their dreams have been dashed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has affected every single sports star with a resultant loss…
European scientists find that kids under 10 do not have receptors for Covid-19
Children started going back to classrooms in South Africa at the beginning of the week after the biggest teachers’ union dropped its objections to the gradual re-opening. The children that turned up yesterday were grades 7 and 12 and they trickled into schools after standing in long queues as they…
Ninety One invests in SA corporate Covid-19 victims; Standard Bank directors' blacklist; Netcare; Mediclinic
In today's news headlines: * Children in South Africa began returning to classrooms on Monday as part of a gradual loosening of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions even as some parents worried not enough had been done to protect the health of pupils; * Ninety One is raising a recovery fund to…
David Shapiro on why financial markets are bubbling, tech's 'vroom' and a letter from the 50s
The International Monetary Fund reported in May that incoming data showed many countries will be hit worse than its already pessimistic projections, and that the world will be thrown into the deepest recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. GDP output, the fund said is expected to be shrinking…
Inside Covid-19: SA, Cape infections, deaths in perspective; Schools re-opening global experience. Ep 44
In episode 44 of Inside Covid-19 we examine the Western Cape’s infection and mortality rates, compare them with experiences elsewhere; after schools opened today, we take a close look at how this impacted the spread of the coronavirus in other countries; highlights from a fascinating interview with Stellenbosch University epidemiologist…
Covid-19 deaths at 1,000; it REALLY is back to school this week - Motshekga; game viewing allowed; Africa stocks soar
In today's news headlines: * About 1,000 people (952 as of 6 June) have now died of Covid-19 in South Africa, with nearly all of these in the Western Cape - which has reported nearly 800 deaths, says the government; * As confusion reigns over when pupils can get back…