Travelstart was announced the overall winner of the PriceCheck Tech & E-commerce Awards 2017, walking away with the E-commerce Service of the Year. The awards ceremony aims to recognise and celebrate outstanding local organisations and individuals in the e-commerce and technology industries.
The rest of the 2017 winners are:
- E-commerce Service of the Year –Â Travelstart
- Best Fintech Platform – SnapScan
- Best Use of Tech by an NGO – Santa Shoebox Project
- Best Delivery/Logistics Provider –Â PostNet
- Best Mobile Shopping Experience – Clicks
- Best Travel Booking Service –Â Airbnb
- Best On-Demand Service –Â Uber
- Best Niche Shopping Experience –Â Superbalist
- ​Best Small Tech/E-commerce Business – The Kid Zone
- Best Online Classifieds Service –Â Property24
- Best Marketplace Platform –Â Bidorbuy
- Best Customer Service –Â Afrihost
- Best Female Tech/E-commerce Entrepreneur – Robyn Smith, Faithful to Nature
- Employer of the Year in Tech/E-commerce –Â Yuppiechef
- People’s Choice –Â Takealot
Business Accelerator For Fashion Entrepreneurs Launched
A new Business of Fashion accelerator programme, Threads, has been launched by marketing agency Nonzero in collaboration with Standard Bank to boost South Africa’s up-and-coming fashion designers.
The team partnered with the e4 Impact Foundation, an initiative of the Universita Cattolica of Milan, focussing on impact entrepreneurship.
The programme is made up of a 12-week curriculum that focuses on the business operations of a fashion enterprise from financing and retaining employees, to lean manufacturing and e-commerce, as well as specialised procurement methods and marketing.
The programme is open to all fashion entrepreneurs with existing businesses operating in South Africa for at least one year. It is taught simultaneously from four regional classroom hubs: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
At the end of the programme, the participants will be invited to present their new business model in a business case presentation to a panel of judges, and the winning participant will be taken on an international trade trip to Europe. The key focus of this trade trip is a meeting with a high-impact private distribution network enabling the participant to liaise with and present their business/products to wholesale buyers and retailers, as well as attending trade fairs.
The winning participant will receive an SME start-up pack courtesy of Standard Bank, will become a Mercedes Benz brand ambassador and drive a new vehicle for a 12-month period, as well as benefit from continued mentorship by the Threads team.
To participate in the Threads programme, interested entrepreneurs can apply online before 11 October 2017. (via Bizcommunity)
SA Companies To Seek Mining Opportunities In China
The minister of trade and industry, Rob Davies, said on Friday that China has agreed to support South Africa and Africa’s initiatives of industrialisation and mineral beneficiation as the country embarks on a drive to better exploit its mineral resources.
Davies said in a statement that South Africa has set out to achieve this by developing its manufacturing industry, and that China will have a significant role to play in this initiative.
Following undertakings of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement (CSPA) signed between South Africa and China, and also the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China agreed to support South Africa and Africa’s initiatives of industrialisation and mineral beneficiation,” Davies said.
“The long-term view is that South Africa’s mineral endowment could catalyse wider economic development. By this we mean that South Africa is intent on doing much more to develop its manufacturing industry, based on its considerable mineral resources.”
This comes as the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) will lead a group of South African companies to the 17th Annual China Mining Congress and Expo in China from next weekend.
Davies said that the dti was affording South Africa companies an opportunity to network with the world’s key policy makers and government officials, to gain insightful market information, to meet with potential partners and to generate business opportunities all in one place.
The Expo is one of the world’s largest mineral investment, cooperation and trading platforms that covers the whole value-chain.
This includes mining services, geological surveying, exploration development, mining rights and minerals trading, mining investment and financing, smelting and processing, technique and equipment. (via African News Agency)
