Business Day Spotlight

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we’re exploring a new set of data protection laws in SA.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza talk to Ridwaan Boda, director for the telecom practice at law firm ENSafrica, together with Leishen Pillay, an associate director specializing in data privacy at Deloitte Risk Advisory, about the long-awaited Protection of Personal Information (Popi) Act, which came into effect on 1 July 2020.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we’re looking at the state of Africa’s economy in light of recent data.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Dr. Christie Viljoen, an economist at PWC to unpack the data and the week in economics.

The discussion explores the findings of the latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) results for a number of African countries including SA, other indicators like consumer confidence in SA, the Reserve Bank’s bond purchasing program, an outlook for Africa and what Viljoen is actually positive about when it comes to the local economy.

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

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we’re talking to one of the country’s top business leaders in technology about her experience operating in the current Covid-induced economy.

To discuss the issues, our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Lillian Barnard, managing director at Microsoft SA.

The discussion explores Barnard’s experience of running a technology business through this crisis; the increased demand for Microsoft’s products for remote working during the lockdown; her thoughts around the future of work and education; how Microsoft’s partnerships with companies like SAP have been affected by lockdowns, a new LinkedIn skills program in SA and the arrival of Surface computer products in the local market slated for later this year.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we explore how to build a culture of saving and investment in SA.

To unpack the topic, our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Nicholas Riemer, investment education head at FNB, to talk about the pros and cons of saving and investing.

The discussion explores the concept of Savings Month, importance of savings to the country, what tools are available to get started with investment and what it takes to create a culture of saving and investment in SA.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we’re looking at the SA economy through the lens of small business and some of the potential shortfalls of government’s plan to get much needed liquidity to the sector through its stimulus package.

To explore the topic, our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Guy Hosking, CFO at Retail Capital a small to medium enterprise (SME) funder.

The discussion explores Retail Capital’s business, statistics around the size and scope of the small business sector in SA, how to dispense funds better to SMEs, what lines of business offer good prospects for growth at the moment for small enterprises, and an outlook for the sector going forward.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we’re examining the journey of technology startup, Skynamo, as the company expands its local operations moves beyond the borders of SA.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Sam Clarke, the man behind Skynamo, a business to business retail sales rep platform which recently raised $30m in funding from US group, Five Elms.

The discussion explores how the business began, the business model, Clarke’s professional journey, rationale for growing overseas, the impact of Covid-19 on business and an outlook for the economies in the countries that Skynamo operates in.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we’re looking at how savings and investment have been impacted by Covid-19 for ordinary South Africans.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Mike Estment, chairman at NFB Private Wealth Management to talk about the issues.

The discussion explores the savings and investment trends that have been created by the Covid-19 barriers to investment, investing for the long term, interest rates, the importance of savings to the economy, some pointers to help guide someone looking to grow their money, and the importance of seeking professional financial advice.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we’re looking back at SA Finance Minister Mboweni’s budget speech delivered this week.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Sifiso Skenjana, chief economist and thought leadership executive at IQ Business to talk about the issues.

The discussion explores the highlights of the speech, some of the missed opportunities of the lockdowns, the consequences of not allowing certain economic activity to continue, some of the data being used to gauge economic activity and how government could use this opportunity to re-configure the economy for growth.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we’re talking to financial advisors about how to better structure one’s personal during this time of Covid-19.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Marriette Tappan, a Certified Financial Transitionist and financial consultant at Liberty; together with Irvin Tsimane, a senior manager for new strategic markets and financial advisor at Liberty.

The discussion explores what type of financial damage Covid-19 has caused for ordinary South Africans; what questions people should be asking their financial advisor’s in relation to their finances and the crisis; has there been any good to come out of the consumer pressure caused by the pandemic and an outlook for personal finances for the rest of the year.

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we’re looking at the economics news of the week as higher unemployment looms large on SA.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Dawie Roodt, chief economist at Efficient Group to explore the issues.

The discussion focuses on the risk of increased unemployment, an outlook for inflation, how economists like Roodt are keeping track of economic activity, how the lifting of lockdown restrictions is going and the progress of the state’s response to the crisis.