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Startup, Cape Coffee Beans – Brews Business in a Niche Market
What do you get when you mix a passion for quality coffee with a wide range of e-commerce skills? The answer is an online store for coffee lovers. It’s from this
15 digital tools that will make you more efficient
Entrepreneurs are typically pressed for time and money, but still have to see clients, attend meetings, pay the bills and still keep more business coming in. The infographic below lists 15 of
How SMEs can benefit from the Employment Creation Fund
The rate of unemployed people in South Africa sits at more than 25% according to Stats SA’s latest Quarterly Employment Survey. Caught within these structural constraints of high levels of inequalities,
What’s stopping you from learning from your business’s failures
The small business failure rate in South Africa is one the highest in the world with the Trade and Industry Minister, Rob Davies, saying in 2013, that five out of seven
Three ways to create high-impact SMEs
Despite the National Development Plan’s projection that 90% of jobs will be created through small and expanding businesses, South Africa has one of the lowest rates of entrepreneurship in the
5 compelling reasons why China can be good for Africa
Africa is the biggest importer of Chinese goods and services, which means China has surpassed the United States as Africa’s largest trading partner. However, China’s trade and economic expansion is often regarded
Teen entrepreneur is building a fashion empire one stitch at a time
Bonolo Mataboge’s rise to success is not a rags-to-riches kind of a story, but it’s no less remarkable. As she puts it herself, she comes from a family of over-achievers. Her father
How to successfully bring an international brand to SA
Last week, SME South Africa sat down with Groupon’s founder and former CEO Daniel Guasco, to discuss the challenges of bringing a well-known international brand to local shores. We also invited our followers to participate
Making sure it’s business as usual with RiCharge Super Station
One of the unintended consequences of using your trendy smartphone or tablet to email, text and stay connected on social media, is the increasingly short battery life. The manufacturers of a
Funding Your Start-Up Business Through Property Refinancing
Entrepreneurs struggling to get funding for their business should look to their property refinancing, writes Lesiba Mooka. If you ask any aspiring entrepreneur what their biggest challenge is, the vast majority
What it takes to be a techpreneur in Africa
Entrepreneurs cannot embark on their journey alone. Although they might come with the idea by which the business will run, they still need support. This was voiced by techpreneur and founder of software company Tenderware, Tania
Inside the mind of an artist-entrepreneur
Bridging the gap between art and business has enabled Richard Scott to find commercial success. “I understand both business and art,” says the 45-year-old Cape Town based Scott, who is well-known for his bright,
SweepSouth Brings The Microjob Trend
South African startup SweepSouth, an online platform for booking domestic cleaning services, connects clients with domestic cleaning professionals within a few minutes. The startup aims to provide flexible working opportunities at
‘Plan, plan and plan again’ – Lesley Mntungwa
Company Profile Name of company: African Olive Years in existence: 7 Position: Director Can you tell us a little bit about your background – personal, educational and professional? I was born
Export incubator empowers black-owned SMEs to trade internationally
The Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce (JCCI) has collaborated with Standard Bank to launch a new three-year-long export incubator programme. The export incubator, situated in Milpark, Johannesburg, is designed to offer black South
A long-term incubation model helping under-resourced entrepreneurs
It’s no secret that many incubation programmes and funding institutions are looking to back “bankable” entrepreneurs. There are not many incubators or investors who are willing to invest in startup business based only
How To Protect Your Intellectual Property
For small businesses owners, understanding what’s worth protecting in their business and how to protect it may seem overwhelming, and the majority of business owners often forget that their
Summit on townships economy walks the talk
The Gauteng provincial government has taken a firm stance in supporting township-based businesses in a bid to include them in mainstream economic activity of the country. At the Township Economy Revitalisation Summit held yesterday
You Have Been Served
Being served means receiving notice or being informed of a party’s intention to act or omit to act – such as receiving a written document via registered post demanding specific
6 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Business Mentor
A mentor is a person who helps or provides guidance to achieve specific business objectives. Many small business owners often are so used to doing everything on their own,
The ‘Lazy Makoti’ is Cooking Up a Business Storm
For many career-focused women in urban cities, the primary focus is often climbing the corporate ladder, which means some basic household duties, like cooking, fall by the wayside. 25 year-old Mogau Seshoene saw this first-hand when a
How Hedzup Messenger hopes to level the mobile marketing playing field
Email marketing has for long been a favourite among small businesses, not surprising when you consider that it has for a long time been thought a cheap option for communicating with
Why you should join your Local Chamber of Commerce
Access to information, support and training, and business networking are some of the most crucial resources necessary for the growth and survival of both small and big businesses, with the
Opti-Baby: Quality Early-childhood Education
The childcare sector is a rapidly growing one, with daycare centres rapidly popping up in many of the major suburbs, and its definitely not showing any signs of slowing down.This the market
Meet our next twitterview guest, Groupon SA founder, Daniel Guasco
Guasco is the former CEO of Groupon SA, and is also responsible for bringing this internationally-acclaimed UK e-commerce brand to SA shores. He is the perfect candidate to unpack the state of e-commerce, and
Cost effective way of chasing business leads
Bequester allows small businesses who want to buy any product to post “Buy Requests” thus allowing suppliers to bid on those requests. Such gives suppliers the opportunity to lower their prices
‘Every Entrepreneur Needs a Support Team’ – Claire Reid
Company Profile Name of company: Reel Gardening (PTY) ltd Years in existence: 5 years Position: Founding director Can you tell us a little bit about your background – personal, educational and
New Startup Funding to Help with Development of Small Enterprises
Small businesses are currently seeing an increase in funding and support opportunities from both the private and public sectors for their new startups. Below, we speak about the new startup
FNB awards to recognise business innovation
Entries for the FNB Business Innovation Awards open today, 1 October 2014, and is the first of its kind. The awards, in partnership with FNB Business and Endeavor South Africa, aims to recognise and celebrate
Why entrepreneurs need to care about the ‘smart’ city movement
It is no longer enough for cities to provide adequate transportation, housing, water and sanitation. The cities of the future, aka ‘smart’ cities, will have to be engines for innovation
Medical innovator overcomes odds at pitch competition
Curtains came down this month on the national Engen Pitch and Polish entrepreneurial workshop and competition with one a female entrepreneur standing head above shoulders over three of her male competitors. Lebo Selloane from Welkom in the
R300 million fund to stimulate SMEs in manufacturing sector
Business Partners Limited, an SME specialist risk finance company, yesterday launched its R300 million manufacturing fund as part of its ‘square peg movement’ campaign to stimulate entrepreneurship in South Africa. According to Nazeem Martin,
Film production incentives aiding the creative arts industry
The South African film industry contributes around R3.5 billion to the economy every year, however the state of the filming and television industry remains precarious with issues such as escalating production costs and lack
Selling your startups to potential employees – the pros and cons
Most startup founders often think hiring staff should be a breeze. While many enthusiastic people would find the prospect of joining a young, dynamic company attractive; uncertainty about the future
What’s your exit strategy?
“What is your exit strategy?”, the business consultant asked me. “I make sure all the windows are closed, switch off the lights and set the alarm,” I answered naively. I
Few opportunities for entrepreneurs at Soweto Fest Expo
According to provincial government statistics, Soweto residents’ annual retail spending is worth more than R5 billion. However, only a quarter of that making it’s way back to the township. This
Tech startup is not only playing the software solutions game, but changing it too
Everlytic is a cloud marketing software solution that manages campaigns and everyday communication across email, mobile and social channels large and small businesses, as well as individuals. Founder and chief technical
Intro to the Small Business Development Ministry
Three months have passed since the new Department of Small Businesses Development (SBD) was established and its first minister, Lindiwe Zulu, was sworn in. Although much has been said of SBD, for entrepreneurs and those in
Full-time versus contract employees – which way should you go?
As a small business owner every new addition to your small team is crucial for your business, which makes the decision whether to hire full-time employees or make use of
SME mobile security on a budget
The bring your own devices (BYOD) trend – which refers to employees bringing their smartphones and laptops to the workplace for use and connectivity on the corporate network, is one
Full-time versus contract employees – which way should you go?
As a small business owner every new addition to your small team is crucial for your business, which makes the decision whether to hire full-time employees or make use of freelancers an
‘Learning The Fashion Business From Retail Giants Helped Me Build My Startup’
The fashion business is a cut-throat one that can either bring fame and stardom or swallow up any entrepreneur. It’s an industry where the faint-hearted are swept under the catwalk
Decoding The Revised B-BBEE Codes Will Stimulate the SME Sector
Government’s new B-BEEE codes that are coming into effect in April next year have been welcomed by the enterprise and supplier development (ESD) sector. The 2015 codes will highlight small and medium
‘We want to be industry leaders’ – Chad and Erin-Lee Petersen
Company Profile Name of company: Research Unit Years in existence: 2 years Position: Owners/Directors Can you tell us a little bit about your background – personal, educational and professional? Chad Petersen:
Funding For Rural Women In Agriculture
Rural women in South Africa not only face higher poverty rates, they also often have little to no resources available to them; with access to water, irrigation tools and seedlings
Business plan or business model or both?
“Send me your business plan” – entrepreneurs will have heard these words at one time or another when looking for investors or funding for their business. Business models on
Survey shows SME owners remain positive – this is why
The Business Partners Limited SME Index (BPLSI), which measures attitudes and confidence levels among local SME owners, has released what are mostly positive results for the 2014 second quarter. The good news is
Why South African Startups Fail
South Africa’s very own serial entrepreneur Alan Knott-Craig Jr shared his views why South African startups fail – on the pitfalls and challenges that many South African startups face in
How I successfully cracked foreign markets
Madoda Khuzwayo is the founder and chairman of a Johannesburg-based tech company, OPENTENDERS. It is with OPENTENDERS – a web portal publishing government and private tenders – that Khuzwayo has trotted the globe accompanied by business and government delegates.
Be the creator of your own luck
Some people always fall with their bum in the butter. Why are some people luckier than others? This is the story of three South Africans and their brush with fate.
The tools SA’s techpreneurs use to run their startups
Silicon Cape Initiative, the Western Cape based community of tech entrepreneurs, startups and incubators, recently conducted a survey of their network of tech startups, to find out the most
Succession planning: A strategy for your business’ future success
Strategic planning for any business needs to include making provision for the company’s future success and longevity, long after the current key role players have left. But to ensure that
Location, location, location
While most entrepreneurs don’t give it a second thought, choosing a location for your business is one of the most important decisions that you can make when starting out.
Coffee entrepreneurs fill a unique gap
After noticing a gap in what his company and the restaurants in Johannesburg’s CBD had to offer in terms of refreshments, Andrew Brown – a specialist in the world of international