Business Day Spotlight

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on a local start-up bringing a touch of technology to how farmers find buyers for their produce.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Karidas Tshintsholo, co-founder of Khula Agriculture Technology, a digital marketplace bringing small and large scale farmers together with customers on one platform.

In this discussion Tshintsholo explains why and how the business was started. He says with about 60% of the world’s arable land located in Africa, it made no sense to Tshintsholo and his partners why so much food is being imported.

The farming app Khula won the best agriculture solution at the MTN Business Awards in 2018. This, Tshintsholo says, raised the profile of their company in a big way and had helped to garner much interest from the investment community.

He explains that Khula has been operating in a pilot form for the last two years with plans to officially launch in the coming 12 to 18 months. The reason for this was to make sure they have a tried and tested business model when the platform is made open to the public.

Khula currently has about 3000 emerging farmers and over 100 commercial producers on its platform.

The Khula team has been to a number of countries in an effort to learn from other technology players, as well as trying to attract much needed investment. The discussion ends with Tshintsholo taking time to lament the challenges around funding and financing for technology start-ups in the local market.

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

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In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on a new SA cryptocurrency called EOSza.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Rory Mapstone, founder of EOSza. a local developer of blockchain applications, which recently launched what it says is the country’s first digital currency that holds a stable value.

eZAR is a digital coin that is pegged to the South African Rand. In other words, one eZAR coin (or token) will always be worth R1, says Mapstone.

Cyptocurrencies have become notorious for their volatility with the value of one Bitcoin increasing or decreasing by as much as 20% within a single day, making the currency largely unsuitable for daily transactional usage. Stablecoins have attempted to fill the gap by making it possible to use digital money as a fully fledged payment method to pay for goods and services.

In this discussion, Mapstone explains their rationale for creating eZAR, how it works, the mechanism that ensures a constant value in the market and where can people use the digital coin.

He also gives his thoughts on Facebook’s plans for a digital currency – Libra and details some plans to make their coin tradeable on exchanges like AltX Trader or Luno.

Listen in to hear thoughts around these and other questions.

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In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on funding and finance for small technology ventures.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Christophe Viarnaud, CEO of AfricArena, a deal flow platform that seeks to increase investment for technology start-up businesses in Africa.

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In this discussion Viarnaud explains what AfricArena is, its origins and where theyplan to go. He also talks about their AfricArena Tour which is currently happening in SA.

He says less than 1% of venture funding in the world makes its way to Africa but adds Jumia Technologies’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year has done a lot to spur interest in African start ups.

Jumia, a Nigerian based e-commerce business, supported by Africa’s largest mobile operator, MTN, is the first start-up to list from the continent at a valuation of $1bn (R14.5bn), making it a “unicorn” in the industry

Having a presence in about 54 countries, through their partner network, impacting thousands of start ups, Viarnaud says their mission is to increase funding for technology businesses by working through with corporate partners that assist financially and through mentorship. The platform boasts such partners as Old Mutual as part of its network.

Cape Town is a hub of tech innovation, but the East Africa region has been on the rise in recent years, particularly countries like Rwanda where the concept of e-government has become a norm, Viarnaud says.

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In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on electricity consumption and power management in Africa in light of Eskom’s continued woes.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined in studio by Seydou Kane, managing director of Eaton, a power management company with its products available in more than 175 countries and employing 99000 people globally.

The company builds and manufactures solutions that help customers with energy-efficiency and effective management of electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power.

In this discussion, Kane gives us a brief history of Eaton, saying it is a $22bn (R336.3bn) business that has been around for about 115 years old. He explains how Eaton’s business works, how it’s been received in the region; and details on some of the opportunities and threats available on the continent.

Kane says the future of national grids is probably a situation where the state has a centralised transmission platform where a number of smaller players create localised electrical grids that can then feed into the national network.

He shares his thoughts around power management on the continent and the place of renewable sources in the energy mix, together with statistics around power consumption and management.

The discussion ends with Kane giving his outlook for their business.

Listen in to hear thoughts around these and other questions.

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In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on start-up Black Beard which recently rebranded to Basalt.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined on the line by Wayne Zwiers, Basalt CEO and founder.

Founded in 2017, Basalt has added a number of corporate clients to its roster, including: Standard Bank, Discovery, Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management, Investec Property, OUTsurance, Capricorn Fund Managers, NewzroomAfrik, Neopak and Buyisa Private Equity Fund.

In this discussion, Zwiers takes us through Basalt’s history and foundation, the rationale behind the rebranding, as well as current projects and plans for the future.

He takes time to explain how Bizank, a robo-advisory platform backed by Anchor Capital, was first created and how it came about. Bizank uses Anchor Capital’s active asset manager to manage its investments.

Robo-advisers are automated — typically web or app based — and are associated with lower costs.

Start-up businesses can take a long time before reaching profitability. Zwiers says Basalt has been profitable since its first year and gives some tips on how entrepreneurs can structure their businesses in ways that help them to be efficient, while remaining focused on creating and delivering the best possible product or service.

Currently employing about 30 people, the company has operations in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town, with plans to establish a presence in Ukraine, the UK and Australia.

Listen in to hear thoughts around these and other questions.

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In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on the SA poultry industry and how it has fared in recent years in the face of cheap foreign imported chicken.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined on the line by Francois Baird, founder of FairPlay, an organisation which aims to fight predatory trade practices and dumping.

According to a report by DNA Economics commissioned by the EU-SA Strategic Economic Partnership, the reasons for the slow growth of production and exports by the SA broiler industry and for the increasing share of imports in meeting local demand are matters of considerable contention.

In this discussion, Baird explains the importance of the study, how it came about and unpacks some of the findings.

He also explains the economic impact for the local poultry market and gives thoughts on what will it take to right size local poultry production.

The SA Poultry Association has lodged an application to the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) — the organisation tasked with customs tariff investigations, trade remedies, and import and export control — calling for an increase in the ad valorem tariff on bone-in and boneless frozen chicken portions to 82% from existing levels of 37% and 12% respectively.

Baird also explains the difficulty local farmers face in getting their produce into stores as it is often cheaper for wholesalers and normal to buy imported meat than the local variant.

Listen in to hear thoughts around these and other questions.

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In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on the SA economy, continued pressure on consumers and the National Heath Insurance (NHI) bill.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined on the line by Mike Schüssler, Chief Economist at Economists.co.za to discuss the results of the BankservAfrica economic transactions index (BETI).

BankservAfrica, the largest automated payments clearing house in Africa, released its monthly economic transactions index for July on Wednesday. For July, the value of economic transactions showed no monthly change which reflects the persisting stagnant state of the South African economy.

In this discussion, Schüssler explains how the BETI is constructed, what data is considered and gives insights around what the results reveal and mean.

The BETI is a 'now indicator' of broad economic activity in South Africa, says Schüssler, explaining that in addition to annual and quarterly measures, there is a more in the industry for more immediate economic reporting.

The discussion then turns to the economic implications of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. What will this mean for SA? Can the fiscus realistically support such a program?

The NHI bill, tabled in parliament on Thursday last week, paves the way for the establishment of a central NHI Fund that will purchase services on behalf of the entire population. In terms of the bill, medical schemes will ultimately be limited to only offering cover for benefits not provided by the fund. The bill makes no provision for scheme administrators.

Investors in healthcare stocks on the JSE saw value destruction of about R14bn in the three days of trading after the announcement as the market grapples with the possible effect of the government reforms to the sector.

Schüssler says more should be done to ensure the plan is robust, advocating for example, that the country needs more medical professionals. The government could potentially make healthcare free and accessible to all but it

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, our focus is on cryptocurrency.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined in studio by Richard de Sousa, senior partner at AltCoinTrader - a cryptocurrency exchange that offers buying or selling digital coins for SA Rand.

AltCoinTrader, has recently added gold and silver to their platform, giving investors a choice to trade between cryptocurrencies and traditional commodities if they feel markets are too volatile.

This discussion considers the current state of crypotcurrencies relative to other stores of wealth and means of exchange, explaining AltCoinTrader's rationale for adding commodities to their platform.

With the ongoing US-China trade tensions, investor uncertainty has been increasing around the world moving some towards alternative safe haven assets. Gold and silver have been on the rise, and the untraditional Bitcoin, has been gaining momentum on this as well, with Bitcoin seeing a surge in price to over $11 000.

De Sousa unpacks how the global economy is affecting Bitcoin prices and how trading volumes in SA have tended to respond. He also takes time to explain bitcoin mining and the challenges faced by that industry.

The last time De Sousa was in studio, he spoke extensively around Facebook’s proposed digital currency Libra. In this discussion, we end of with an update as Facebook has been consulting and seeking approval from regulators around the world.

De Sousa says unless something changes, Facebook does not seem to be a position to launch Libra. The social media giant has so far not done enough to to convince authorities, particularly in the US, of the viability of the Libra platform.

Listen in to hear thoughts around these and other questions.

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In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, we continue our focus on the political economy

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined on the line by Daniel Silke, an Independent political economy analyst, author and Speaker specialising in South African and international politics. Silke is also Director of the Political Future Consultancy.

The discussion considers the continued struggles facing the nation’s state owned enterprises. In focus is the funding plan given by the Finance Minister Tito Moboweni for Eskom, South African Airways and the South African Broadcast Corporation.

Government bonds and the rand fell on last week Tuesday after Mboweni said the state might have to increase borrowing to fund an extra R59bn in aid for Eskom over the next two years.

Financial support for struggling SOEs such as the SABC, Denel and SAA will be released in chunks as certain conditions are met, Mboweni said in the National Assembly last week.

Silke gives his outlook for the rest of the year, together with comments on the Rand and possible economic drivers to look out for.

These and other questions are all on the table together with the economic and political consequences of keeping SOE’s operating in the current way.

Listen in to hear thoughts around these and other questions.

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.

In this edition of Business Day Spotlight, the focus is on the political economy.

With a number of high profile public cases in the country dominating headlines like former President Zuma's testimony at the State Capture Inquiry, revelations at the PIC Inquiry and the High Court ruling against the Public Protector amongst others, how is this affecting the SA economy?

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined in studio by Dawie Roodt, Director and Chief Economist of the Efficient Group together with Genevieve Quintal, Politics Editor for Business Day to unpack the issues.

In this discussion, the panel considers the metrics that can be used to gauge the impact of the ongoing political scandals on SA’s economy or investor sentiment.

The International Monetary Fund released a report on Wednesday cutting their growth forecast for SA. What does this mean and could other institutions follow? Roodt explains how economists go about gauging possible growth and the factors that affect currency fluctuations and overall perceptions of the SA economy internally and externally.

Our guests give their outlook for the rest of the year, together with comments on the Rand and possible economic drivers to look out for.

Quintal highlights that with the State Capture Inquiry set to end in September, South Africans may have the first draft of the report from that process by the end of the year.

Listen in to hear thoughts around these and other questions.

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production.