IOL Business News – Independent Online
IOL Business News – Independent Online
Independent Online, popularly known as IOL, is one of South Africa's leading news and information websites bringing millions of readers breaking news and updates on Politics, Current Affairs, Business, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Travel, Sport, Motoring and Technology.
IOL also hosts the digital offerings of some of the country's most prominent newspapers including The Star and Pretoria News in Gauteng, The Cape Times and Cape Argus in the Western Cape and The Mercury and Daily News in KwaZulu-Natal as well as national business publications Business Report and Personal Finance.
-
With a Stage 16 draft in place, and stage 8 load shedding almost put into practice, it's important that individuals and organisations get ready for what might happen if the lights go out.The National Rationalised Specifications (NRS) Association outlined the ‘worsening electricity crisis' and is assuring the ‘public that proactive and detailed planning is being thought through'. Theo van Zyl, Head of Wireless at Vox warns, that if load shedding gets any longer, there are going to be immense challenges facing those that rely on networks, fibre and LTE.“Most of the operators providing these services can sustain them for up […]
-
As the world concludes the marking of Africa Month this week, the International Church App (ICA) has the potential to revolutionise the local and African market by offering churches a comprehensive and transformative digital solution.In an exclusive interview with Business Report this week, the digital solutions provider, ICA's founding director and CEO Lucky Mbiko, said churches held a central position in many South African and African communities and this app would empower them to extend their reach, engage with their congregation and further share their message on a global scale. "By equipping churches with advanced digital tools, the International Church […]
-
Employee mental health is fast becoming the new frontier for businesses.This is because happy employees are more productive according to numerous studies. A recent survey of 3,400 people in 10 countries by UKG's Workforce Institute revealed that 60% of workers worldwide said that their job was the biggest factor affecting their mental health.According to the study, 43% of employees say they are exhausted, while 78% said stress negatively affected them. !function(e,t,r){let n;if(e.getElementById(r))return;const o=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];n=e.createElement("script"),n.id=r,n.defer=!0,n.type="module",n.src="https://playback.oovvuu.media/player/v2/index.js",o.parentNode.insertBefore(n,o)}(document,0,"oovvuu-player-sdk-v2");If you among these workers, here are some apps to explore that may improve your mental health:HeadspaceHeadspace's mission is to ‘'improve the health and happiness of the world,'' […]
-
The outlook for South Africa continues to remain gloomy, while the rest of the continent at large steams ahead towards sunnier skies. This comes as the African Development Bank (AfDB) said this past week that Africa's economic growth is set to edge upwards in 2023 and 2024 while closer to home, South Africa's economy is about to nosedive. According to the AfDB annual African Economic Outlook report, Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to rise to 4% this year and 4.3% in 2024 after a 3.8% expansion last year. The bank said that GDP growth was below the […]
-
Thabo Makwakwathabo.makwakwa@inl.co.zaWITH women earning less than men in sports and making it almost impossible for women to become financially independent, Momentum's head of marketing Charlotte Nsubuga-Makusa has said that her company has taken a bold journey towards influencing change.Speaking to Independent Media last week ahead of the Sports Seminar held at the Exhibition Centre in Durban, Nsubuga-Makusa said women in sport were underpaid, and urged sponsors to develop a different mindset when it came to bridging the gap.According to Nsubuga-Makusa, women remain under-represented in all sports in the country with only 0.5% of the total commercial investment going to women […]
-
Thabo Makwakwathabo.makwakwa@inl.co.zaWITH the rich countries strategically championing the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, middle-income countries such as South Africa face economic disaster as communities thriving on the coal-mining industry, could turn into ghost towns due to the imminent loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.The governments of France, Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), and the European Union (EU) wanted the South African government to move away from coal and show them the plan for this before paying out $8.5 billion energy transition to fund that move.Then President Cyril Ramaphosa established the Presidential Climate […]
-
Sick leave is an employee right, but what happens if it becomes indefinite? Does the company have an obligation to pay?For UK man Ian Clifford, a former worker at the US's tech pioneer IBM, this became a reality. Clifford has reportedly been medically retired for 15 years.He nevertheless continued to get R1 307 516 every year as part of his disability plan. He recently attempted to sue the tech corporation for ‘'disability discrimination,'' arguing that his pay had not been ‘'generous enough'' for keeping up with inflation.According to Oddity Central, he started out at Lotus Development in 2000, five years after it was […]
-
By Kizito OkechukwuIt is reported that more than 600 million people in Africa do not have access to electricity. This makes the continent the least electrified in the world. Even though many more do have access, one could easily ask how many of these have access to reliable electricity.In Nigeria, about 65% of homes have access to electricity, though not reliable, many have to rely on generators or other alternative means to survive. South Africa is also plagued by a critical shortage of electricity which has resulted in limited supply.The news that Africa's richest man and industrialist, Aliko Dangote, commissioned […]
-
The three recognised trade unions at struggling South African power utility Eskom have rejected its revised 5.25% pay rise offer at a third round of wage talks, the company said on Friday.The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and Solidarity have been in negotiations since April with the utility, which is implementing the worst power cuts on record and has been mired in financial crisis for years.Eskom said in a statement it had raised its offer to a final one of 5.25%, up from an earlier offer of 4.5% and an initial […]
-
Consumers in South Africa had to endure another blow after the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) hiked the repurchase rate (repo rate) once again. The SARB governor, Lesetja Kganyago announced a 50 basis point hike to the repo rate meaning that the rate will now increase to 8.25%, taking the prime lending rate to 11.75%. in the country.Brina Biggs, Senior Manager at 1Life said that the 50 BPS increase offset any reprieve that the drop in fuel price was going to bring next week. “We have been in an upward rate cycle for the past two years with prime right […]
-
By Brina BiggsAccording to ASISA, in 2022, the market saw a million more life insurance policies lapse compared to the previous year, with 8.4 million policies lapsing, and nearly 700 thousand savings plans being cashed out early. This comes as no shock given the fact that consumer income and buying power decreased by 26.6% between February 2018 and February 2023.Financial strains and increasing pressures have most certainly forced the hand of many South Africans to focus their available funds on simply getting by while removing all other forms of ‘non-essential' spend – including the payment of risk insurance premiums, despite […]
-
Proudly SA: A more pragmatic approach to localisation is key to resilience amid uneven globalisationBy Eustace MashimbyeDebates about localisation tend to take the form of overworn ideological talking points and are usually held at a high level of abstraction. But in the real world, there are not always one-size-fits-all policy solutions. And with the increased global turbulence of the last few years, old axioms about trade and industrial policy don't always hold up. We need to be more pragmatic and adaptable, and follow evidence-based policies, in the face of uncertainty and change.The changing face of global tradeGlobal trade is now marked by an unusual degree of uncertainty. We have seen supply chains stretched to […]
-
Not all that long ago, in a galaxy that looks a lot like Central Florida, Disney embarked on a mission that would take its brand of themed entertainment into hyperspace.It wouldn't just be a Star Wars hotel designed to space-opera specifications. It would be an entire immersive universe, complete with storylines, aliens, droids and at least one Wookiee.Disney first announced the project – ultimately called Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser – to rabid reception in 2017. Early descriptions promised that costumed fans could participate in continuous storytelling, interact with characters and simulate spaceshiplike transportation.The Starcruiser would take five more years to […]
-
By Clement BlancThe Africa Day 2023 celebrations provided an opportune time to reflect on the continent's progress and potential for growth.Globally, trade has emerged as a robust economic growth and recovery driver, despite rising inflation and supply constraints, and Africa is no exception. The DHL Trade Growth Atlas 2022 predicts that Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will have the third-fastest trade growth among major world regions through 2026.However, while Africa's economic awakening is not new, it has yet to harness its immense potential fully. The Economic Development in Africa Report 2022, compiled by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), […]
-
Currently, South Africa has one of the highest small business failure rates in the world, with the majority of small businesses failing within their first year. Limited access to funding, ineffective cash flow management and the complexity of the country's regulatory environment are among the leading reasons for this high rate of failure. This is compounded by the fact that the entrepreneurship landscape in South Africa is extremely competitive.However, for the bold entrepreneurs who understand that the odds are against them and choose to act anyway, the difficult small business environment offers an irresistible challenge.Failure is an invaluable tool for […]
-
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) shocked consumers on Thursday after it was announced that the repurchase rate (repo rate) would be hiked by 50 basis points. The 50 BPS hike to the repo rate means that the repo rate will now increase to 8.25% and the prime lending rate to 11.75%. in the country.The SARB governor, Lesetja Kganyago, made the announcement on Thursday. This increase was the 10th consecutive increase since the start of 2022, with South Africans seeing the repo rate rise from 3.75% at the start of January 2022.Frank Blackmore, Lead economist at KPMG, said, “The Monetary […]
-
Premier Fishing and Brands saw a strong uptick in performance in the six months to February 28 with a return of the squid stock, improved catch rates and volumes landed and sold, as well as growing demand for its exports.“The group has shown resilience over the past three years and the measures that were put in place to safeguard its sustainability have paid off,”. CEO Sooren Ramdenee said in a statement yesterday.Similar positive results were experienced across the group's other sectors, notably South Coast rock lobster and deep-sea hake stocks, which had bolstered revenue. The abalone sector was also back […]
-
Young entrepreneurs cannot reasonably be expected to start and scale an enterprise under the conditions caused by the perpetually high stages of load shedding, according to National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) CEO Waseem Carrim."It is already a challenge to start a business – we are making it so much harder with the energy constraints," he said in an interview with Business Report.The country's youth development-focused initiative said in all its forms, load shedding was devastating to the social circumstances and the economy of South Africa. For young people, it hampered their ability to study effectively and crippled an economy that […]
-
Reinet Investments's net asset value fell 2.9% in the year to March 31, but it has lifted its dividend recommendation by 7% to €0.30 (R6.28) per share.The net asset value reflected a decrease of €170 million from €5.89 billion. Net asset value per share fell to €31.46 from €31.99.Chairperson Johann Rupert predicted greater volatility on world markets in the year ahead with continued high interest rates, elevated inflation, the ongoing Ukraine crisis, and instability in the global financial system, with the world economic growth on the decline.“The additional financial sector stresses are already causing a noticeable slowdown in growth, with […]
-
Airbnb on Thursday announced a R2 million sponsorship with the University of Johannesburg School of Tourism and Hospitality (STH) to support and empower emerging tourism entrepreneurs from previously disadvantaged backgrounds.The sponsorship would initially support five first year students from 2024, covering study expenses, tuition fees, and the cost of on-campus accommodation for the duration of a four-year undergraduate degree, including honours, it said in a statement.The scholarship will be open to students registering in 2024. Applications will open in August. For more details, contact the School of Tourism & Hospitality director's office, Adila Adams on adilaa@uj.ac.zaThe sponsorship builds on Airbnb's […]