Old Mutual Corporate Podcast

Silicon Valley is home to many of the world's largest tech companies, and thousands of startups. Why is it that this small area is a global epicentre for tech and innovation? The reason is that innovators and entrepreneurs there don’t seem to get discouraged when a pitch, a business plan, or an idea doesn’t work; they just go back and try again. 

Join us for this MINDSPACE Soundbite as we discuss how to foster an ethos of collaboration and encouragement in the workplace, so stakeholders across the spectrum can help each other to try things, even if they fail at first, and innovate for the greater good.  

This episode contains five encouraging takeouts from the 2025 World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, courtesy of Old Mutual CEO Iain Williamson, that will make you feel (more) optimistic about doing business in Africa. 

This MINDSPACE Soundbite is inspired by the February edition of our MINDSPACE newsletter. If you’d like to subscribe, contact us at [email protected] or visit the Old Mutual Corporate Resource Hub at www.oldmutual.co.za/corporate/resource-hub.

This episode of the Big Business Insights podcast discusses the shifting landscape of financial wellbeing in South African workplaces, particularly in the context of the country's retirement preparations and widespread financial literacy issues. 

Blessing Utete hosts a conversation with Fatima Vawda, a Director of the Association of Savings and Investments South Africa, and Mlamuli Mbambo, Managing Director of Money Fundi, financial educator, coach and author.

Why do some employees not make use of their workplace financial wellness programmes, even if they can clearly be used to their advantage? Can employee engagement with financial wellness programmes be improved? What kinds of strategies can be used to do so? Creative approaches like storytelling, gamification, and peer-to-peer learning are impactful ways to approach these sometimes tricky dynamics. Listen to this episode to find out.

Resources used in this episode: 

10x.co.za: 10X Retirement Reality Report  

Businesstech.co.za: How much money you need to retire in South Africa  

Mlamuli Mbambo LinkedIn  

Oldmutual.co.za: What is the Financial Wellbeing Programme?  

NYU StudentLink YouTube: What is Financial Literacy? | Introduction

SABC News YouTube: Financial literacy challenges for SA: Mamapudi Nkgadima weighs in

The growing presence of AI is multifaceted and impacts our lives in multiple ways. However, AI is not new and learning to grapple with this topic is important both now and for the future.  

This episode of the Big Business Insights podcast unpacks the profound impact of artificial intelligence on various industries. Host Blessing Utete, Managing Executive at Old Mutual Corporate Consultants, is joined by Antonia Bothner, Capital Markets Lead at Endeavor SA, and Samad Masood, Associate Vice President at the Infosys Knowledge Institute, to dive into AI’s role and the challenges it faces in understanding human emotions and adaptability within the workspace. 

The trio highlights the value of maintaining the human touch even while advancing technologies and successfully using AI as a co-creator instead of using it to replace human beings.  

Resources used in this episode: 

TechTarget: AI in banking: Benefits, risks, what’s next  Santander.com: What is artificial intelligence and how does it affect banking? New York Times: 35 Ways Real People Are Using A.I. Right Now    Forbes.com: The 10 Best Examples Of How AI Is Already Used In Our Everyday LifeGlobal Education: AI in Everyday Life: How Artificial Intelligence Impacts You TEDx Talks: The value of human creativity in the AI era | Beena Ammanath

The changing landscape of employment demands creative financial solutions. Traditional nine-to-five desk jobs with financial benefits tied to a single employer are less common than they once were. Today, the rise of the gig economy and new work models, accelerated by the global pandemic, have reshaped how we work. We may even need to change the language we’ve used for years. 

In this episode of the Big Business Insights podcast, host Blessing Utete unpacks this evolving landscape of retirement and financial planning together with Dr Bomikazi Zeka, Associate Professor in Finance and Financial Planning at the University of Canberra, and futurist and CEO of Flux Trends, Dion Chang. They discuss the new Two-Pot Retirement System and the diverse economic and social factors affecting retirement planning globally, and have predictions about Gen Z’s ways of working. 

Resources used in this episode: 

●      Weforum.org: Global Risks Report

●      Treasury.gov.za: Retirement Fund Reform  

●      Oxfordre.com: Social Policy: History (1900–1950)

●      PopTech YouTube: The changing world of work

●      SABC YouTube Clip: Two-Pot System  

●      LinkedIn: How big is the creator economy? Three times larger than we thought!

●      Oldmutual.co.za: Revolution in retirement: How the "Two-Pot" system brightens the future for South Africa's workers

Leadership and psychological safety in the workplace have garnered much attention in recent years. Workplaces are shifting and the way that people engage at work and the expectations they have are changing, too. There is a call for healthier leadership and for leaders who foster psychological safety.  

In this episode of the Old Mutual Corporate Big Business Insights podcast, host Blessing Utete, Managing Executive at Old Mutual Corporate Consultants, leads a discussion focussed on leadership’s role in fostering a psychologically safe workplace and addressing workplace bullying. Dr Ngao Motsei, an independent leadership consultant, outlines the legal framework and importance of psychological safety, while Thelma Janse van Rensburg, an empathic leader in high-growth tech, shares insights into authentic leadership and its impact on employee engagement. The conversation highlights the need for respectful treatment of employees, the complexities of workplace bullying, and the benefits of a psychologically safe environment for productivity and talent retention. 

Old Mutual’s employee benefits offerings are designed to optimise financial outcomes by ensuring employees are not just financially stable, but also physically thriving and emotionally balanced.  

Help yours manage their financial and physical health with an innovative suite of employee benefits solutions from Old Mutual.  

Visit: https://www.oldmutual.co.za/corporate/employers/ 

Resources used in this episode:  

BBC Are You Being Bullied At Work? YouTube Clip Tyler Waye Motivational Teamwork YouTube Clip  EAPASA-SA The State of Mental Health in South Africa   https://mentalstateoftheworld.report/  Building Psychologically Safe Spaces by Ngao Motsei Dr Ngao Motsei How to protect and support staff wellbeing

In today’s labour market, what would you define as a ‘good’ job? To qualify, it needs to be meaningful to the company, and the person doing it. It seems some organisations – and their employees! – are still learning that a job should be more than X number of hours a day and Y deliverables at Z remuneration. 

Join us for this MINDSPACE Soundbite as we cover what holistic employee wellness looks like, how leaders can create environments conducive to wellness, and how this can benefit everyone concerned – not to mention the bottom line. 

For more on the future of employee benefits in South Africa, register and read the 2024 special edition of the MiNDSPACE publication: https://www.oldmutual.co.za/corporate/old-mutual-thought-leaders-forum/. 

This MINDSPACE Soundbite is inspired by the December edition of our MINDSPACE newsletter. If you’d like to subscribe, contact us at [email protected] or visit the Old Mutual Corporate Resource Hub at www.oldmutual.co.za/corporate/resource-hub.

When you talk to others about retirement, what do they think their sunset years will look like? Do they imagine travel, new hobbies, peace and relaxation? In these scenarios, they likely have the financial freedom to do all of the above. Unfortunately, the reality is usually quite different. So what can we do to bring South Africans closer to their goals after employment? Join us for this MINDSPACE Soundbite as we look at Two Pot claims numbers and the findings of our Retirement Reality survey. 

For more insights from the speakers who presented at the Thought Leaders forum, register and read the 2024 special edition of the MiNDSPACE publication: https://www.oldmutual.co.za/corporate/old-mutual-thought-leaders-forum/

This MINDSPACE Soundbite is inspired by the October edition of our MINDSPACE newsletter. If you’d like to subscribe, contact us at [email protected] or visit the Old Mutual Corporate Resource Hub at www.oldmutual.co.za/corporate/resource-hub.

In this episode Senzo Lubisi, Head of Collections and ECM Strategy at Old Mutual, explains how credit providers use credit bureau information to assess payment profile history, recent credit inquiries, fraud information, and affordability. This information is used in conjunction with internal data and bank statements to determine a customer's creditworthiness and ability to repay before approving credit applications. 

Senior Decision Analyst Consultant at Experian SA, Vusi January, addresses concerns about data privacy and security, stating that Experian prioritises data protection through employee training, secure data transfers, encryption, and regular testing for potential vulnerabilities.

Part 2

In this episode Senzo Lubisi, Head of Collections and ECM Strategy at Old Mutual, explains how credit providers use credit bureau information to assess payment profile history, recent credit inquiries, fraud information, and affordability. This information is used in conjunction with internal data and bank statements to determine a customer's creditworthiness and ability to repay before approving credit applications. 

Senior Decision Analyst Consultant at Experian, Vusi January, addresses concerns about data privacy and security, stating that Experian prioritises data protection through employee training, secure data transfers, encryption, and regular testing for potential vulnerabilities.

The 2024 Old Mutual Thought Leaders Forum took a deep look into retirement outcomes and their current state locally and internationally.

In this MINDSPACE Soundbite, we recap some of the highlights of the event and the top insights from local and international guests on the world of retirement, but also beyond:

How are South Africa’s retirement funds doing, and how can we improve the industry? 

What’s going on in the world of work, what do modern employees really want, and how can today’s leaders captain their organisations into the future?

Listen and learn in this episode of MINDSPACE Soundbite.

If you’d like more insights from the speakers who presented at the forum, register and read the 2024 special edition of the MiNDSPACE publication: https://www.oldmutual.co.za/corporate/old-mutual-thought-leaders-forum/

This MINDSPACE Soundbite is inspired by the September edition of our MINDSPACE newsletter. If you’d like to subscribe, contact us at [email protected] or visit the Old Mutual Corporate Resource Hub at www.oldmutual.co.za/corporate/resource-hub.