NEWS & OPINION
NADIA VERAPPEN Compliance Officer, Compli-Serve SA
Not the time to smell the roses
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he POPI Act represents a very serious of a breach. Some of the possible punitive shift in financial services and beyond. measures for non-compliance will include Hardly a time to smell the roses – or a fine or imprisonment – either charging rather the ‘poppies’ in this instance – the between R1m and R10m, or one to ten Protection of Personal Information Act years in jail, depending on the severity of demands attention and lays down the rules the offence. regarding the way businesses will manage, Businesses may also suffer reputational handle and use information. Though we damage for breaches or non-compliance, the are still waiting for an enaction date, the cost of which cannot be precisely measured, Act sets out some very and the effects thereafter may serious rules, flagging linger long into the future. But THE ACT COMPELS all attempts are not futile as how essential compliance will be. It’s better to avoid the Act focuses largely on the BUSINESSES TO becoming complacent concept of reasonability and RECOGNISE THE while waiting for POPI to practicality. IMPORTANCE OF bloom, so here are some While it will be impossible important reminders, to keep all information secure DATA PRIVACY particularly for FSPs. all the time, one is required to take all reasonable measures to ensure that Finding a balance data is protected and handled in accordance The Act compels businesses to recognise with legislative requirements. the importance of data privacy, as well as to establish the delicate balance between Doing right by data safeguarding personal information, and at POPI compliance may seem daunting now, the same time allowing for the free flow of but businesses should remember that data information as required in business processes. protection is the right thing to do for all The socialisation of POPI within a business parties involved. is essential to address. A breach may well By recognising the importance of occur as the result of human error, due to data protection, not only is South Africa negligence or a general lack of understanding. positioned in line with global standards, but To mitigate this, management and training also remains lucrative for foreign investment. needs to take place, and then be repeated. Focusing on having the correct data, stored Space to grow in the correct place, for the correct reasons, Putting data safety first in turn provides an accessible by the correct people, is the opportunity for businesses to exhibit good best approach to follow when dealing with governance and to grow their market share personal information. through demonstrating their commitment to data privacy. As consumer – and It will cost if you fail to comply consequently data – protection increasingly The Information Regulator may order become the central goal within financial financial compensation to data subjects services, it’s best to sow the seeds you can now for any damages they may suffer as a result compliance success ahead. CPD-annualrefresher.pdf 1 2019/09/13 for09:44
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8 WWW.MONEYMARKETING.CO.ZA
31 October 2019
SA venture capital industry grows
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he emerging South African venture capital (VC) industry continued to experience robust growth in 2018, with 181 new VC deals reported – an increase of 13.8% from the 159 deals reported in 2017. This is according to the newly released SAVCA 2019 Venture Capital Industry Survey, which also shows a substantial increase in the overall value of all deals, up from the R1bn invested in 2017 to just over R1.5bn in 2018. The report, which provides valuable insights for fund managers, investors, entrepreneurs and policy makers about the South African VC landscape, was carried out in collaboration with research partner Venture Solutions, and features data gathered from 56 fund managers as well as other industry investors. Tanya van Lill, CEO of the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA), says it is especially encouraging to see this continued industry growth in the face of a tough economic climate. “The continued expansion in VC activity over the past decade is evident when comparing the average of 129 deals per year from 2014 to 2018, to the average number of deals per year from 2009 to 2013, a meagre 26.” Van Lill highlights that, of all the new deals reported in 2018 (by value), 41% were categorised as start-up capital. “If taken by number of deals, this proportion jumps to almost half of all deals reported (47%),” she adds. “Likewise, the total number of active deals invested through seed or startup capital amounts to almost 60% of all deals to date. This highlights the increasingly important role that venture capital continues to play in South Africa as an essential source of funding for scalable start-ups.” As in previous years, Independent VC fund managers comprise the largest share of active portfolios (35.1%), with Captive Government Funds and Angel Investors increasing investment activity, fuelling the growth of early stage investments, notes Van Lill.
Tanya van Lill, CEO, SAVCA
