Business Day Spotlight

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about small business funding with a venture capital fund.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by the team from Hlayisani Growth Fund (HGF): Dr Reuel Khoza, chairman and Dr Eugene van Rensburg, a partner.

HGF is an investment firm that has raised R350m to invest in small, technology backed businesses that have the potential for high growth.

The discussion centres around the rationale for creating HGF, what the main thrust will be for the fund, problems of raising capital for small businesses, the investment philosophy and thesis for HG, and what type of businesses they are looking to invest in?

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about how open source based software solutions with one of the the world largest providers of such technology.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Dion Harvey, general manager for the Sub-Saharan Africa region at software firm, Red Hat, to discuss the issues.

The discussion centres around the what is meant by open source, advantages of using such code as the base for software products and solutions, shifting mindsets for companies when it comes to creating bespoke software, as well as the effects of Covid-19 on the computer programming fraternity around the world.

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we review the recently announcement national budget for 2021, putting in practical terms what it may mean for ordinary South Africans.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by a team from professional services firm, PwC SA, comprising Lullu Krugel, the firm’s chief economist and Kyle Mandy, a tax technical leader.

The discussion focuses on impressions of the budget speech, the balancing act that National Treasury is trying to perform for the economy, funding state owned enterprises, electricity generation in SA, the effect of tax changes for South Africans, and an economic outlook for the rest of the year.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about the growth of technology adoption and cloud computing around the world, driven in part, by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Mick McNiel, vice president for global business development at Logicalis, a subsidiary of JSE listed technology firm, Datatec. He joins us from Ireland.

The discussion focuses on the effect of Covid-19 on digital transformation in various parts of the world, the work that needs to be done for companies to fully take advantage of cloud computing’s potential, a view of SA’s technology adoption versus other regions and which new technologies are likely to shape the coming decade.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about discuss the upcoming national budget speech set for this week.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Johann van Tonder, an economist at Momentum Investments.

The discussion centres around expectations for government revenues and shortfalls; thoughts around how the government is likely to fund the expected shortfall; whether the government is likely to raise taxes through VAT or personal income taxes and are we likely to see increased social spending in the form of relief grants in the coming year?

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about the state of governance in SA and possible for the implications for the country and economy.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Professor Lawrence Hamilton, Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), to discuss the issues. Hamilton is also the SA-UK bilateral research chair in political theory at Wits and Cambridge.

The discussion touch on structural issues that help to breed corruption, how SA compares to other countries when it comes to governance, ways in which the system could be improved, as well as the difference between systemic and individual corruption.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about how artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to solve SA’s current energy crisis.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Dr Mark Nasila, chief analytics officer in FNB’s chief risk office, to discuss the issues.

The discussion focuses on how to make SA a technology-led economy while addressing concerns that machines could take jobs away from South Africans, changes to current education standards to make AI widely understood and applied across various industries.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about the economic implications of the recently held State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Annabel Bishop, chief economist at Investec, together with Dawie Roodt, chief economist at Efficient Group for a comprehensive examination of the speech.

Bishop and Roodt give their initial impressions of the President’s remarks before discussing the implications for business and electricity generation.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about one investment firm’s mission to increase financial literacy in SA through fiction.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Malcolm Fair, MD at global investment firm, RisCura, together with author, Angela Makholwa.

The discussion also focuses on the importance of financial literacy, the use of fiction to explain complex financial concepts and the target market for their a collection of financially-focused stories.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about MTN’s effort to bring low cost “fibre quality” internet services to underserved areas of SA.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Calvin Collett, managing director of Supersonic, MTN SA’s internet service provider unit.

Collett outlines MTN’s AirFibre service, how the technology compares to fibre and mobile, the cost for consumers, the areas that MTN is looking to roll the technology out to, factors driving demand for connectivity in SA, as well as the impact of Covid-19 on the mobile operator’s business.

Listen in to hear the full discussion and thoughts around these and other questions.

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.