Insights

Ripple effects from war and foot-and-mouth disease hit crucial industry Three farms in the Walter Sisulu district were visited recently to implement foot-and-mouth disease vaccination as part of the ongoing efforts to control and prevent the spread of the disease in affected and surrounding areas.

Small businesses urged to collaborate and diversify amid global conflict The latest hike doesn’t include the fuel levy increase, which is being introduced in April. (CHATGPT) For many South African small businesses, global conflict often feels distant — until the fuel price increases. However, the recent

As global markets fragment and competition intensifies, intellectual property and information asymmetry are more important than physical scale South Africans have long been taught to look beneath the earth for wealth, but the opportunity today lives above it, in spreadsheets, transaction logs, customer histories and

A start-up is not just a business idea with a registration number. It is a living, breathing engine of growth, fuelled by funding, innovation and risk, writes the author. South Africa’s start-up conversation has matured from a decade ago, when the debate centred on whether

Transparency and accountability are the keys to unlocking donor trust South Africa does not lack goodwill, nor is it short of funding aimed at social impact. What it increasingly lacks is readiness. Too many non-profit organisations (NPOs) remain structurally unprepared to receive, manage and account

SARS’ tighter enforcements demands financial discipline from SMEs Last year, South African entrepreneurs learnt that waiting for certainty, clear policy signals, stable costs and predictable demand is no longer a viable strategy. After navigating volatile input costs, shifting regulations and uneven consumer demand, many small

In a hard year for small businesses, something quietly encouraging happened This year was a tough one for South African SMMEs. Costs remained high, global signals shifted weekly, and uncertainty seeped into pricing and planning. Stats SA reported that more than 1,300 businesses closed their