Craig Raw, (founder) and Jean-Pierre Kloppers (CEO) at BrandsEye were announced as the overall winner of the 2017 FNB Business Innovation Awards held in partnership with Endeavor South Africa.
“It’s a fantastic feeling, to be chosen as a winner among 12 amazing businesses, BrandsEye has been around for over 10 years, in that time we have done some really great work that has allowed us to continuously improve the technology that we use. Winning this means we get to take a step further in globalising our offering,” said Raw.
“I think what is special about BrandsEye is that we understand what public opinion is, on a very wide scale, we are mining social media for public views that are not available in any other forum. No one else is doing that,” added Kloppers.
BrandsEye will be sponsored by FNB to attend the Endeavor International Selection Panel (ISP) to be held in New York, USA this September.
The FNB Business Innovation Awards began in 2015 with a need to recognise and celebrate creativity, outstanding business innovation and those that push beyond the limits to develop scalable businesses that can compete globally.
“The finalists all demonstrate the talent South Africa has in producing high-impact entities that are not only innovative, but have scalable business models that make them globally competitive. South Africa’s best chance at solving the unemployment epidemic is investing in scalable businesses,” said Mike Vacy-Lyle, CEO FNB Business.
Manufacturing Circle Concerned By Latest Production Data
The Manufacturing Circle, which represents major South African industries, has said that it noted with concern statistics which showed that manufacturing production fell by 4.1 percent in April, year-on-year.
Statistics South Africa released the findings on Thursday that showed that manufacturing production decreased by 4.1 percent in April 2017 compared with April 2016, mainly due to lower production in petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic, and food and beverages products.
Manufacturing Circle executive director, Philippa Rodseth, said in a statement that these manufacturing numbers added to a worrying picture, together with negative GDP growth, rising unemployment, and a decline in business confidence.
“There is clearly a need to act with a matter of urgency, to improve the outlook of the manufacturing sector. Our job is not to fixate over negative data, but to find ways of turning things around,” Rodseth said.
“Business confidence is influenced by political developments, and we would like to see a real determination and focus on policy co-ordination, alignment and implementation which is good for business.”
Rodseth said as a result, the industry body had drawn up an action plan to revive the manufacturing sector, which had been shrinking over the last decade.
“It will involve real dialogue and determination by both the private and the public sector, but we believe we can turn around the decline and create one million new jobs in manufacturing,” Rodseth said.
“This will be a central focus of ours at the Manufacturing Indaba later this month, when we hope to see a strong turnout by both business leaders and their counterparts from government.
“We owe it to all South Africans to arrest the decline, to stimulate growth and investment, to move the economy in the direction of more growth and more jobs.” (via African News Agency)
Banking Association Welcomes Mogajane’s Appointment As Treasury DG
The Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) has welcomed the appointment of Dondo Mogajane as National Treasury’s new director general, saying that it was a step in the right direction that would boost investor confidence.
The National Treasury announced Mogajane on Wednesday as its new director-general after Cabinet confirmed his appointment.
In a statement, BASA’s managing director Cas Coovadia said that Mogajane’s appointment was a clear sign of the institutional stability of National Treasury and boded well for boosting local and international confidence in the country.
“The appointment of Mr Mogajane is a step in the right direction by Cabinet. He has almost two decades of experience at National Treasury, and is a highly capable finance professional,” Coovadia said.
“We regard his appointment as a harbinger of the policy continuity promised by the Minister of Finance.”
Mogajane succeeds Lungile Fuzile who last month asked to be released from his duties a year before his contract could come to an end in May 2018 following the Cabinet reshuffle at the end of March.
Mogajane, who was the deputy director-general responsible for the public finance division, had been acting in the position since Fuzile’s departure.
Ethiopian Airlines Announced ‘African Airline of the Year’
The African Aviation ‘African Airline of the Year’ Award for 2017 has been awarded to Ethiopian Airlines for the second year in a row.
The award recognises its continued rapid growth, increased profitability, and its contribution to aviation development in Africa.
Meseret Bitew, acting chief financial officer, Ethiopian Airlines, said: “We are pleased to win the African Airline of the Year Award for the second time in a row; a testimony of our commitment to serve our beloved continent, Africa. The commendable success of Ethiopian Airlines attributes to the visionary leadership of Ethiopian management and the hard work of thousands of Ethiopian employees who work hard around the clock with unity of purpose.
“Mobility and air connectivity being the economic engine of growth and development, we shall continue to play vital roles in connecting African countries with their major trading partners around the world and realise an economically liberal Africa.”
African Aviation CEO, Nick Fadugba, said: “In the past 12 months, Ethiopian Airlines has further expanded its route network, modernised its fleet, inaugurated three new aircraft maintenance hangars, as well as a new world-class in-flight catering facility, and has strengthened its airline joint ventures in Africa. In addition, it has achieved a record financial turnover and profitability despite various industry challenges. Currently, the airline is well on track to exceed the goals of its Vision 2025 Strategy.” (via Bizcommunity)
