Business Day Spotlight

In our first edition of Business Day Spotlight for 2020, we are exploring the mood and pressures currently being faced by consumers in SA.

Our host Mudiwa ‘MobbJustice’ Gavaza is joined by Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, senior economist at FNB to discuss the results of their Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) done in collaboration with Bureau for Economic Research.

In the first part of the discussion, Mkhwanazi explains that for the third quarter of 2019, their research found that consumers are generally pessimistic about the current state of the economy.

The second part of the discussion looks at what the year ahead has for SA consumers. Mkhwanazi says the upcoming budget from treasury will likely set the pace for how local and international investors view SA.

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

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, we take a look in the rear-view mirror at the year gone by in SA’s economy together with an outlook for the year ahead.

Our host Mudiwa “MobbJustice” Gavaza is joined by Ndumiso Hadebe, an economist and director for Pax Africana Holdings for our last show for the year.

In the first part of the discussion, we look back at the year’s major economic events. Hadebe gives a brief account of GDP growth for each quarter, looking at the factors that defined each period.

The second part of the show explores what the year to come may have in store in terms of the US-China trade war, the annual national budget and a possible ratings decision by Moody’s.

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

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on the tobacco industry’s effort to shift consumers to healthier and less risky products outside of traditional cigarettes.

Our host Mudiwa “MobbJustice” Gavaza is joined by Neetesh Ramjee, director of external affairs at tobacco company Philip Morris SA.

In this discussion Ramjee explains Philip Morris’s decision to shift its business model away from selling traditional cigarette products to less risky alternative products like electronic cigarettes, which the company says are much safer, though not 100% risk-free. He also details the challenges faced by the company is in trying to get this done.

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

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

Mobile operators have been behaving uncompetitively by charging too much for internet connectivity and could face prosecution if they do not drop prices, the Competition Commission said on Monday. 

The commission's final data services market inquiry report has found that current prices exclude many poor and disadvantaged people from participating in the digital economy. It also said operators charge more for data services in SA than they do in other markets where they operate, and they had to commit to cutting prices.

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is around online retailers, the physical networks that need to be in place to fulfil orders and the work being done behind the scenes by web-hosting companies to keep websites running.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza, is joined in studio by Sunday Times Business Times retail writer Ntando Thukwana to tackle the topic with the experts.

In the first part of the discussion, Ashley Arendse, human resources manager for Picup, a technology business offering crowd sourced last-mile delivery service for retailers. Having been around for five years, Arendse explains the idea for the business and the model used.

In the second part, the discussion shifts to dealing with web traffic during large online sales. Craig Fester of 1-grid, a local web hosting platform says they anticipate a large increase in traffic for the retailers hosting their website with them this weekend.

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

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on state owned enterprises in SA.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Carol Paton, writer at large for the Business Day and Natasha Marrian, deputy editor of the Financial Mail.

The discussion begins with SAA. Paton gives an update of the current situation, explaining the progress made by the airline's management and labour representatives in trying to resolve the situation.

Paton and Marrian agree that the issues at SAA need to be resolved or else the state has to re-assess the strategic value of a national carrier. Given the issues in nation’s greater public transport system, how important is it really for ordinary South Africans?

In the second half of the show, the discussion shifts to Eskom where Nampak’s CEO, Andre de Ruyter has just been appointed as the power utility’s new chief executive.

The new leader has tough job ahead, with his appointment having already been met with some opposition. Paton says this is largely to do with De Ruyter’s lack of engineering experience and also his race.

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

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is FNB’s move to close down accounts for cryptocurrency exchanges and related parties.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Richard de Sousa, Senior Partner at AltCoinTrader, a local cyrptocurrency exchange.

The discussion begins with De Sousa giving an update of the relationship between the financial services sector and cryptocurrency industry.

De Sousa says this move has been a few months in the making. Though the local crypto-industry has a good working relationship with the SA Reserve Bank, private banks have a right to deny or stop their banking services “to anyone without explanation.”

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

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on internet connectivity in SA.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Janine Rebelo, CEO of ThinkWiFi, an internet service provider.

The discussion begins with Rebelo giving some background around their project with Google to connect more South Africans to the internet.

Silicon Valley based tech giant, Google, announced the launch of Google Station for the Cape Flats, in the Western Cape. This is a program to provide fast, free and open Wi-Fi to the area in partnership with ThinkWifi.

Rebelo says they have about 125 hotspots at the moment. Their aim is to connect up to 11-million to the internet in five years through the program. By giving unlimited access, she said it encourages more usage which drives traffic, thereby encouraging businesses to advertise using the platform, making the initiate commercially viable, while achieving the aim of connecting more people to the internet.

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

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on creating employment opportunities for South Africans in the face of digital disruption.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Fanie Botha, COO of FIRtech Holdings, Joe Kokela, General Secretary of Sasbo – The Finance Union and Matthew Parks, Parliamentary co-ordinator for Cosatu to discuss this issue affecting many industries and levels of work.

The discussion begins with Botha and Kokela giving an erudite history and geography lesson around the shifts that have taken place from one industrial revolution to another, with Parks giving insight around how technology may affect jobs in SA.

The conversation then turns to shifting the structure of the economy, as well as why there seems to be little progress in moving the country towards an inclusive digital future.

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

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

How safe is your data? How safe is SA’s digital information? With the City of Johannesburg and banking sector both having coming under ransom attacks and possible hacking, cyber threats and security have come under the spotlight.

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on protecting data stored on simple hard drives and computers from intrusion or unwelcome access.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Bridgette Vermaak, information technology asset disposal (ITAD) manager for Xperien, a Johannesburg-based ITAD company.

Data breaches have become synonymous with internet hacking in recent years but Vermaak says the simple act of not effectively deleting data on a computer or hard drive is a major point of vulnerability for many individuals and organisations

She gives a guide on how make sure that data is truly erased, how their software works to achieve this, together with a look at the economics of data breaches and how these have become like the oil spills of the 21st century.

Audio taken from:

Clip 1: The Economics Of Trust: Data Breaches and How To Prevent Them (Internet Society on YouTube)

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxPRGDF-9iY

Time: 00.00 to 00.30

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Clip 2: Disk Formatting As Fast As Possible (Tech Quickie on YouTube)

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU8ZLyJIVs0

Time: 00.00 to 01.30

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

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.