startupAFRICA
JAN 2019 | ISSUE NO. 8
www.startupafrica.co.za
E
KARABO LETSHOLO Disrupting the digital space in Africa
Editor's Note COMPLIMENTS OF THE NEW SEASON!
I have just returned from a much-needed festive break and I was able to recuperate from what felt like a very challenging and fast-paced 2018. The break was fantastic, however, some time in the midst of my break, my phone decided to start giving me problems. I really am the kind of person who spends a lot of time on their phone, whether on social media checking in on what people are up to, reading articles online, making good use of apps that have made my life easier and so on.
And although having a problematic phone afforded me a bit more peace of mind from the fast online life, it also made me realise just how much our lives have been made easier by living in a digitalised era. When I tell my friends that I am still one of the few people who visit the bank for an array of queries, they laugh at me… “You do know that you can do that online right?” And I often respond saying “Of course I know this, I’m just a little oldfashioned.” But on a real note, not having to be able to utilise my banking app was as painful as not being able to communicate with people promptly. This experience has made me realise that our lives have become digitalised and that there’s no turning back.
So this month, we are focusing on everything ‘digital’. We hear about digital technologies, digital data, digital media, digital transformation, digital marketing, and of late - Artificial Intelligence – and it excites us. However, what excites us even more are entrepreneurs who using the digital era as a strategy to enhance their businesses and explore so many more avenues. So without having to spoil it for you, I hope that you enjoy our first edition of 2019 that explores all things digital in the world of entrepreneurs and startups. Also, I hope you have an appetite for a 2019 that’s about to blow you away!
Baradi Moletsane
DEAR STARTUP AFRICAN by Moyosola Jolaolu (Deputy Editor)
You will be required to become a sponge, soak in more knowledge and execute what you’ve learnt.
M
y name is Moyosola and it is ever so lovely to make your acquaintance in the new year. This year, we walk in power keeping in line with the theme: ‘Everything Digital’ and we are so excited because it is bound to be one for the books! 2018 was the year of Africa. We saw several firsts. Global brands like Netflix partnered with actors on the continent to introduce more afrocentric content into their line up, the Hollywood Box Office hit, Black Panther portrayed Africa in a novel, tech-driven light as
opposed to obsolete, which it has been so guilty of in the past. We ended off the year in Ghana with the full circle festival pioneered by Ghanaian president which saw America’s greats such as CNN’s Issa sesay, Boris Kodjoe, Nicole Ari Parker and Endeavor’s Bozoma Saint John all attend. Suddenly, all eyes seemed to have finally fallen on our intrinsically rich content. Africa is rising, we’ve known this, but finally, the world had caught on.
As we embark on 2019, we foresee no less. A renewed focus needs to be the watchword. They’re watching so we cannot fail, more than ever before, growth and sustainability need to become a top priority, if it isn’t already.
It isn’t just about you or me, it is about taking control of our own narrative - the very foundation upon which startupAFRICA is built.
It has become paramount that you realise that is no longer about you or your startup. It is about the people for whom you are carrying the torch. No longer a personal mandate for success and impact, but, a personal mandate that will reap collective fruit. It is also important to recognise that one of the bittersweet results of being a global village driven by innovation and technology is that we’re moving at a rapid pace. It will become increasingly significant to adapt quickly and infuse new trends where possible.
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Lucky for us, experts are documenting new trends as we go along, they’re also sharing hacks here and there, think of them as the proverbial African soothsayers foreseeing your business future. To do that, you will be required to become a sponge, soak in more knowledge and execute what you’ve learnt. One key element that kept recurring as I engaged in conversation with millennial pioneers through my Coffee Series, was that they all became, because there was a problem to be solved.
Let us get our eyes off the problems we’re facing on the continent and in our respective countries and let us begin to offer solutions. I found that those who had succeeded in doing so, had not only blazed the trail but like a domino effect, had solved secondary problems in the process, they were making and realising great profit margins in the process.
I engage in conversation with millennial pioneers through my Coffee Series
We are quickly moving towards a system that will begin to sieve out those who aren’t contributing or adding value from the real game changers. In 2019, you will have to ask yourself three important questions as so aptly put forward by Lynette Ntuli: What are we selling (product | service), what are we solving (impact | sustainability) and how are we making money (profit | return)? We’re counting on you to do the work, leave the narrative to us... Insta: @themoyosola
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COVER STORY
DIGITAL GENIUS
KARABO LETSHOLO by Cue Sibiya Meet Digipreneur, Karabo Letsholo from Botswana. He's the Founder of VYB Digital - a Digital Marketing Agency
What sort of challenges have you faced, and how did you overcome them?
We sat with him to discuss his journey and the importance of Digital Transformation.
The digital marketing industry is one that is relatively knew.
What is your business about? VYB Digital is a Digital Marketing Agency, which has a mandate of bridging the gap between Companies and brands with customers through the use of digital platforms.
@KaraboTheAnswer
VYB Digital
Therefore, educating the market on the importance of having a digital agency handle the company's digital presence has been a huge task. However, the market is slowly starting to appreciate the importance of trusting digital agencies to handle their company’s presence on digital platforms because of the increase prominence of digital platforms.
@VYBDigital
What has been your biggest achievement so far? Our biggest achievement thus far truly is our survival. The company was founded in 2015 and then the country hit a serious recession in 2016 which spooked many companies, and led to them having to cut down on their budgets and retrench many employees.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other people looking to start a business? The most important thing is to just start! Many of us want to
I also believe that I gather people under the pre-tense of a new idea revolving around digital platforms. However, having considered the two, I would say more of a hunter, as we not only hunt for new opportunities or new ways to make an impact utilising digital platforms, we also hunt for new ways to bring our clients new clients.
We finish the interview and you step outside the office and find a lottery ticket that ends up winning $1-million. What would you do? $1-million is a lot of money and considering that I may not be as lucky again in my life, I would invest all of that money into expanding the business so we can penetrate new markets and enter new industries. Even if I don’t come across that amount by chance, we will stay focused on our journey to penetrate new markets and enter new industries.
start big and sometimes starting big takes a very long time. It can be a double-edged sword taking your time as you can take a long time and invite more elements that contribute to you not ever starting. That’s why I always encourage individuals to just start even if it means on a small scale. Once you start, you will gain momentum.
Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer? It’s a difficult one to choose because I love to hunt for new opportunities and hunt for new ways to make an impact, utilising the digital platforms in which we operate.
What do you think about when you’re alone in your car? Goodness me; I think about so much. I’ve been told I’m a serious thinker, meaning I think in depth about many things. I can be thinking about the lyrics to the hot tunes that I'm playing through my radio, or I could be thinking about what needs to be done for the business, what I want to eat later in the day, funny memes I’ve seen on the digital sphere. Quite frankly, I think about a whole array of things but business does dominate my thought.
How do you feel about the current state of digitisation in your country, Botswana? It's still going at a very slow pace, unfortunately new things tend to take forever to implement in Botswana. However, one can see opportunities, even thought at a slow pace, to allow time for industries to grow properly and sometimes you have the power to control as it grows. It just depends on how determined you are to see the process of digitisation in Botswana grow.
What inspires you? I can honestly say that I inspire myself. I’ve learned over the years that I will always be my biggest cheerleader. My dreams are what keeps me driven to just keep going no matter what life throws at me, just keep going. If you get knocked down, don’t be down for long, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and continue the journey, learn from your fall, learn to fall softer rather than harder.
What are you known for? I'm known for inspiring young people through my work ethic. I inspire many to be the best versions of themselves, the best bosses (for the SMME communities) to be the best sons, daughters, nephews, brothers, nieces. I am an inspiration to many young people in many different aspects of life. I'm known for always being me, always being consistent in what I say, in what I believe in. I'm known for being the person who provides answers where no solutions are found. I'm known for being reliable, for being that good friend. I'm known for being genuine in a world filled in disingenuous people
If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be? “Inspiration”
Why are companies using content marketing? What are the benefits? Content is king! The better the quality of content the better it resonates with the intended audience. Quality content has been proven to be very effective and deriving great results from campaigns aimed at targeted audiences. As such, companies realise the importance in investing in quality content and also knowing where to deliver this content to. Knowing where to deliver the content is almost equally as important as the quality of content because you can have great content, deliver it on the wrong platform and have terrible results. This can show ignorance in the understanding of where your target audience is on the digital sphere.
Content is King
Tell us about your mother; what role did she play in your life? My mother has been my everything. She has been my pillar of strength, my teacher, my therapist, my best friend, my anything that I needed her to be in times of need.  Although sometimes she couldn’t understand the stresses that I was going through, as you need to be in the shoes of an entrepreneur to understand what they go through, she has done her level best to understand and to encourage me through my journey. She has done an amazing job (HUGE understatement). To be honest, words cannot describe what my mother has done for me in my life, so I wont even say any more cause it would be an injustice to what she has done. I can't thank her enough for standing by my side as I tackled this entrepreneur journey I chose to walk.
Why are some companies successful with content marketing while others are not? It simply boils down to understanding what content marketing is. If you have a better understanding of what content marketing truly is, then you put yourself in a position to get better results from content marketing. Some companies also don’t want to utilise the necessary resources required to execute content marketing strategies, these will be the same companies that expect miracle results which will never be the case.
How can you company, VYB Digital, assist companies? VYB Digital prides itself in providing the best digital marketing services in Botswana. We help companies maneuver through the vast digital environment to find clients and once a relationship has been established, we help companies maintain those relationships as well.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your business? I have multi-national status dreams for VYB Digital. The plan is to build a strong eco-system in the SADC region conducive for business. After the branches have been established, we will see whether we move to enter other markets in other parts of the African continent or go overseas.
TIPS THAT ENTREPRENEURS SHOULD ADOPT THIS YEAR
As we usher in the New Year, everyone comes prepared with hopes as well as goals to achieve in the new season. Being an entrepreneur can seem tough – that’s a more reason why there is always a time for reflections, goal settings and lessons learnt. We all have goals that we have set out to accomplish and over the last year, these are a couple of tips I have learnt to adopt for a new year; which I hope entrepreneurs will find useful.
by Moyosola Jolaolu
01 02
FIND YOUR TRIBE AND FOSTER THE RELATIONSHIP
There are days when it is going to be tough, days when nothing will make sense and days when everything will make absolute sense. That’s the period where you need your tribe. They are going to be there to pick up your calls when you feel like giving up. They are going to be readily available when you need to rant. That will be your reality as an entrepreneur – so, find your tribe and foster the relationship.
UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE OF GREAT WORTH
03 04
One of the toughest things to go through as an entrepreneur is the need to differentiate between a brand/organization taking advantage of you or truly “giving exposure” or “connection”. I understand that sometimes you have to give to gain and that it works well for others but be at alert. If it turns out to be a negative experience, quit. However, I’ll advice that every entrepreneur prepares their rate cards and stick with it – so that before offering your skills there is a clear understanding between both parties.
PRIORITIZE YOUR TIME
Set a schedule for everything. Trash out things that don’t matter off your To-Do lists. Do not skip breakfast – always eat breakfast before checking your emails, etc. Switch workspaces from time to time.
LEARN TO TAKE A BREAK
I know that this rule can be hard to follow and that being an entrepreneur is a demanding job but you need time off. Create breaks in between your To-Do lists. Switch off your phones and have your clients/ customers reach you via email. Take days off. Have a calendar.
05
RAISE A GLASS FOR YOUR WINS
You made 5 sales in a day? Be happy. You messed up a client’s order? Don’t fret about it. Never forget that entrepreneurship is a journey and that the wins and failures lead you to the end. Allow you to learn and grow.
I HOPE THESE TIPS ARE HELPFUL AND THAT WE ALL GO INTO 2019 APPLYING THEM TO OUR LIVES AND SMASHING THOSE GOALS WHILE AT IT. REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE STRONG, AN ART WORK AND THAT YOU CAN CONQUER.
DIGITAL TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW 1
ANALYTICS
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A phrase included within an ad, or a graphic element such as a button. If you’ve become well acquainted with social media, you will notice Instagram ads tend to have buttons with phrases that tell you what you should be doing with the information. Phrases such as: ‘Buy now’ or ‘Click here’ are not uncommon. Those phrases are otherwise known as call-to-action.
Tracking data and creating meaningful patterns from it that inform future marketing endeavors is very essential for the growth and productivity of your business. Analytics can be used to uncover information about how many people browse a website, how much time they spend on the website and the specific actions they take on the website or on your social media page.
2
AD TARGETING
7
BRAND AWARENESS This is the extent to which a potential consumer can recall and identify your product or service. Increased brand awareness is one of the two customary important goals for a digital advertising campaign (the other being a ‘conversion’ of some kind).
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5
8
PAGE ENGAGEMENT Think of this as the total number of actions that people took on your social media page or website. The higher your engagement levels are, the better for your brand.
CONVERSION
A conversion occurs when a click on your digital ad leads directly to a behavior that’s valuable to you, such as calling your business, completing your call to action on a landing page (downloading a coupon or white paper).
9
LANDING PAGE A webpage on a business website that contains a form or other conversion element that exists solely to capture a customer's information.
BOUNCE RATE A bounce simply means that the visitor looked only at the single page they landed on. They did not go further to explore the other link. If you record a high bounce rate, it is cause for concern. The bounce rate expresses such visits as a percentage of the total visitor sessions, within a specific time frame.
CLICK-THROUGH RATE (CTR) Expressed as a percentage of total impressions, this statistic shows how often people who are served an ad end up clicking on it. if an ad received 5 clicks and was shown 1000 times, the CTR is 0.5%. The higher the figure, the better it's performing.
This is the process of delivering ads to a pre-selected audience based on various attributes, such as geography, demographics, psychographics, web browsing behavior and past purchases. This helps to ensure that your ads are not distributed haphazardly.
3
CALL TO ACTION (CTA)
10
REACH The number of unique people who saw your ads at least once is your reach. This is different from ‘impressions’ which is the total of ads delivered, sometimes multiple ads to the same people so what you’ll want to do is an increased focus on your reach as opposed to your impressions.
DIGITAL NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
NTSAKO MGIBA BY KIBO NGOWI
The idea of creating Jonga came to Mgiba when he was visiting his aunt in Witbank and her home was targeted by burglars. He later discovered that several other homes in the neighbourhood had been burgled the same night and began wondering whether the crimes could have been prevented if there’d been better communication between his aunt and her neighbours. After returning to the campus of University of Cape Town (UCT), where he was pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in mechatronics and engineering, he began working with finance student Ntandoyenkosi Shezi (23) on a solar power venture.
“I told him that a neighbourhood watch app was the project we really needed to be working on. He bought into it and we got started right away,” recalls Mgiba. Jonga is an Internet of Things solution in which a motion sensor is placed in your home and you’re notified on your phone every time movement’s detected in your absence. The app gives the option of alerting your neighbours to a possible burglary in progress. Established in 2015, the company’s since gone through mLabs, where Mgiba and Shezi received training and funding of R400 000, as well as through the Santam Safety Ideas Campaign –
a partnership between Santam, Launch Labs and Innovus – through which they received funding of R150 000. In total, they’ve raised investments of R1 million and have been piloting the project in the Cape Town township of Khayelitsha. “We’re still exploring pricing, but we want to sell the hardware for something affordable and then charge users a monthly service fee, which would include data costs,” says Mgiba. “We’re in the pre-commercialisation stage and several households in Khayelitsha have expressed interest in purchasing it.”
How an app is helping emerging black farmers
BY KIBO NGOWI
“Khula is essentially a supply chain solution” Karidas Tshintsholo (23) hails from the township of Ekangala (north-east of Pretoria). His entrepreneurial journey started at an early age, sparked by the need to help his mother provide for the family. He and his business partner, Matthew Piper (24), have created an app that promises to break down the barriers which have kept hundreds of thousands of black South African farmers out of the agricultural industry.
It’s based on a simple concept: the main reason most emerging black farmers don’t get a chance to supply the country’s big supermarket chains is the lack of enough farmland to fulfil the massive orders these chains typically require. Enter Khula, an app that allows farmers around the country to combine their resources, contributing whatever amount of produce they can to fulfil an order larger than they’d be able to supply on their own. They don’t even have to meet each other or anyone at the supermarket chains they’re supplying: it’s a digital co-operative. “Khula is essentially a supply chain solution,” says Tshintsholo. “It’s not just an app – it’s an ecosystem which links everyone from the farmer to the logistics, to the warehouse and to the client.”
So now the country’s biggest supermarkets can support the development of emerging farmers without the hassle of identifying and vetting all of them. Tshintsholo’s no stranger to entrepreneurship, having gone through the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation fellowship for entrepreneurs from the age of 19 and started a financial literacy magazine during his first year of study at the University of Cape Town, where he was pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in actuarial science. However, the Khula app proved to be so viable that he left his studies in his second year to focus on growing the business. The project’s since evolved into a major national campaign, backed by Old Mutual. Tshintsholo and Piper have been working on Khula since 2015 and have invested over R300 000 of their own money into the initiative. There are now 175 active farmers on the platform, with whom they trade daily in a pilot programme they’ve run over the past year. The pair are now seeking seed funding in order to scale Khula around the country. As part of their prize winnings, the pair will be flown to the USA for an all-expenses-paid trip to Silicon Valley in San Francisco.
There are now 175 active farmers on the platform
Rekindle Learning founder Rapelang Rabana on education technology BY SINDY PETERS
Rabana’s raising the stakes of Africa’s involvement in education and learning through technology. She has an impressively long list of accomplishments for someone so young: a former World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Shaper and curator of the Cape Town Hub, she was also one of the youngest Grand Jurors for the UN’s World Summit Awards and is an ambassador for the same programme, as well as a 2007 Endeavour “High-Impact” Entrepreneur. Her most recent honour was being selected as a 2017 WEF Young Global Leader. “I’m thrilled to have been chosen,” she says. “The WEF has been amazing for my career, because I’ve met people who share my outlook, passion and commitment.”
Always proactive, rather than passive, Rabana’s response to problems is to seek solutions – which is why she’s also involved in private equity. She says she didn’t want to be 40 years old and sitting around and complaining about the lack of funding for techpreneurs and so she joined Nisela Capital, an advisory, asset management and private equity firm that has several years of investment banking and transactional experience in subSaharan Africa. “It’s been a tough journey, but I drive myself more if there’s lots on my plate,” says Rabana. “It would have been easy to stay in my tech comfort zone, but it’s important to have a diverse range of skills. I’ve learnt a great deal in 2017, when I had only about five per cent of the 60 per cent industry knowledge I have today. I see myself one day running a successful tech fund – and this is how I’ll get there.” Despite her IT success, Rabana says pedagogy has always been an issue close to her heart. “Learning is a huge issue in Africa. How do we, as a continent, jump through several hoops to become a global leader and stop lagging behind? Learning and educational skills development is a big area and technology has to be a part of the solution. I trusted that this was the journey I had to pursue.” Rekindle Learning (now in its third year of operation) aims to change the way people learn. The focus is on micro-learning – i.e. taking in small chunks of information at a time via mobile phone or the web, rather than a single, big lump of material. It was only at the end of 2017 that Rabana understood how she could grow the business. “We’ve been working with call centres, banks and fast-moving consumer goods companies to upskill young people in less time.
Companies don’t allocate a lot of resources to training and learning: instead, they simply hand out thick manuals and expect students to master the contents. We’ve repackaged this same content into smaller components with interactive questions, so you can track how people are going through it and the knowledge they’re retaining. This gives you a real grasp of what they know. Rabana partnered with a bank to repackage the Financial Services Board’s regulatory exam’s pendulous training manual into a nine-module course. “The exams are particularly difficult for those with poor educational backgrounds, but we’ve seen significantly improved results from those who’ve used the module. I wrote the same exam and I passed, using just the modules. The system works!” she says. The potential uses for the technology are limitless and can be adapted for industries that require knowledge of complex regulations or dense reams of information. Rekindle Learning’s more recent foray into the education and academic space has been trickier to navigate. “It took me a long time to figure out the angle from which to enter,” she says. “I didn’t want to start from scratch, as that takes too long to get to market and there are already some good products out there. So we partnered with an Austrian company which already had the technology, revamped it significantly for the local market – and made it an African solution.” The technology’s already being used by some 7 000 students, but Rabana aims to expand that to at least 25 000 users in the next three years. The program’s currently only available through private limited access for universities, but she’s also seeking to make it more widely obtainable.
#AI
THE RISE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN AFRICA by Nouha Abardazzou
Artificial intelligence (AI) was first coined in 1956 by
developments has fueled AI’s rapid progress, making it
the scientist John McCarthy at Dartmouth College.
the centre of attention for technology investment.
Nearly 60 years later, it is now enjoying a major resurgence thanks to the exponential increases in
Today the hype around the AI is at its peak and many
computing power, the development of more
believe that we stand at the edge of a technological
sophisticated algorithms and the vast availability of
revolution.
data. The convergence of these technological
It is argued that today’s transformations are not
Today, Africa presents a hotbed for innovation and
merely a continuity of the third industrial revolution
entrepreneurship that is not constrained by legacy
but rather the start of a fourth industrial revolution
systems. This is an opportunity that should be seized
which is characterised by a fusion of technologies that
by policy makers and businesses to develop their own
blur the lines between the physical, digital and
distinctive technology model with the objective to
biological worlds.
bring to mainstream use all of the emerging technologies such as robotics, 3D printing, AI and the
AI’s unprecedented growth and impressive advancements are not limited to specific geographies but rather have an impact on all continents, Africa included. However, many African countries are still battling with issues related to the first, second and third industrial revolutions such as electricity, mechanisation of production and automation. Therefore, questions about Africa’s preparedness for the fourth industrial revolution are being raised: Is Africa catching up with the continual advancement in technology? From cheap abundant labour to natural resources, Africa’s current strengths seem not to match with the fundamental needs of the fourth industrial revolution that consist mainly of colossal investment capital, research and development (R&D) and highly-skilled talent. However, the ongoing industrial revolution represents an opportunity, if used well, that will enable Africa to become a main player in the world economy. Africa is embracing technology in a way that sets it apart from other continents, according to a report by PwC. Across the continent, many sectors have been empowered by an early adoption of technology. Instances include the agriculture and healthcare sectors. Technology has been key to Africa’s development in recent years. From providing accessible information on market prices, weather, health and good farming practices; technology is improving the quality of life for people in Africa.
IoT.
WHY THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY CAN GROW YOUR BUSINESS BY PHATHU LUVHENGO
Today, the technology that businesses deploy affects all their operations and their bottom-line.
Entrepreneur and MD of Innovo Networks Damian Michael recommends that SME owners re-think equipping their business with technology. Michael said downtime for an SME can be devastating. This need to be properly considered when it comes to all decision-making about your business technology. The systems you invest in, the software you use, the protections you invest in and choice of ICT service providers for your development and implementation of ICT maintenance and disaster recovery plans need to be considered carefully. Downtime of business technical systems can occur for various reasons including hardware and software failures, human error, cyber-attacks, capacity limitations or geographical power outages. While some of these causes may be unavoidable, many of the downtime risks can be mitigated with proper analysis, planning and proactive action. “In the past, many entrepreneurs have found it very challenging to invest in the best quality products and services,” he said.
“This has severely limited the business growth and success of SMEs. However, the tech landscape has changed rapidly. Constant innovation and focused market differentiation have notably increased entrepreneurs’ access to affordable best of breed solutions that can empower them to manage their ICT and avoid downtime as well as any big company can.” He pointed out that choosing the right technology provider is critical. “Today, the technology that businesses deploy affects all their operations and their bottom-line. Worldwide, technology is the greatest driver of business growth and success. If you’re a small business, your chosen tech partner can, therefore, either set your business up for success and to drive growth or restrain your business and set it up for failure.” It is also important that SMEs have a provider at the forefront of technology that can help them choose affordable best-of-breed products with maximum business efficiency and minimum downtime top of mind.
Stress Management STARTING AND GROWING A BUSINESS ISN’T EASY AND MANY SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE (SME) OWNERS IN SOUTH AFRICA ARE GRAPPLING WITH THE STRESS AND STRAIN
The findings of the second quarter 2018 SME Confidence Index reveals that 76% of small businesses owners surveyed indicate the pressure of running their own business can sometimes be overwhelming. This could sometimes limit an entrepreneur’s potential.
In October, Mental Health Awareness Month, regional GM at Business Partners Limited (BUSINESS/PARTNERS) Jeremy Lang said stress is in many ways inevitable for entrepreneurs. He advises that it is vital for entrepreneurs to know how to manage their stress in order to prevent it from negatively
affecting their physical and mental health, which in turn may have a detrimental impact on their business’ growth. According to Lang, as an entrepreneur, you first need to understand the underlying reasons for the stress and ensure that the corrective measures are in place.
“For example, many SME owners are currently – either consciously or unconsciously – concerned about how the depressed economic landscape will impact their businesses.” “Although entrepreneurs – being agile, solution-driven thinkers by nature – will thrive in spite of difficult circumstances, it is a good idea to proactively prepare for difficult economic conditions by ensuring that the business has adequate liquidity reserves in place,” he says.
As it is often said that entrepreneurship can be a lonely road, Lang points out that it is key for a business owner to have a reliable and trustworthy management team in place to relieve them from day-to-day operational burdens when necessary.
He adds that entrepreneurs should also ensure they have a good support structure in place through family, friends or mentors to assist in getting through those difficult periods.
“This will not only free up time to focus on what is needed to run and grow the business but also allow a business owner time to focus on their own wellbeing.”
“In order to operate at peak performance, physical health is imperative. Entrepreneurs should ensure that they schedule a time to exercise, go for regular check-ups, maintain a balanced diet and get enough quality sleep,” he notes.
A visit to a health practitioner is also advisable.
When times are tough, he advises, take a step back and remind yourself why you became an entrepreneur – this passion and motivation can go a long way towards helping you in dealing with those difficult days.
A visit to a health practitioner is also advisable...
NEWS
HOW ZUKO MANDLAKAZI’S HITECH DEVICE HELPS THE DEAF BY PHATHU LUVHENGO
Mandlakazi’s journey only started when he realised that his aunt, who is hard of hearing, was in danger. Even though his aunt can lip-read, he became worried about her safety in highly congested or noisy areas. As his aunt can’t hear alarms or other potentially life-saving sounds, he thought of a solution to help her and others in a similar situation.
Mandlakazi founded Senso, and created a wrist armband to help people with hearing impediments react to life-threatening situations in time. The company was established in 2014 and the team is focused on developing other tools to help the deaf.
FUNDS RAISED R1,5-MILLION
The wrist armband picks up sounds and communicates
A solutionist thinker driven by inclusivity and
them to the wearer through vibrations and colour-
connectedness, he studied accounting and participated
coded LEDs.
in the Innovation Leadership programme at Gordon Institute of Business Science.
“This device is a first of its kind and alerts the person by using hi-tech vibrations and LED lights.”
“Senso is an early stage start-up company. Our core business is to create sensor-embedded products that
He produced prototypes which have been tested by
assist mankind to be more present and connected to
members of the deaf community through a partnership
the world around us. We aim to dismantle the
with Deaf SA – the national research, information and
communication gap that exists between normal hearing
community action organisation that acts on behalf of
people, deaf people and important sounds needed to
almost 600 000 South Africans.
manoeuvre our lives better,” he said.
The recipient of the Gauteng Accelerator Program
Mandlakazi was hand-picked by the Red Bull Amaphiko
(GAP) ICT Award in 2013 and the SAB Social
Academy to be one of 16 top social entrepreneurs in
Innovation Award in 2014 said he and his team are
the country to attend its in-house training course and
determined to make the lives of the deaf and hard-of-
benefit from a one-on-one mentorship programme.
hearing easier and safer. His product has targeted hearing impaired people He has so far managed to raise more than R1,5 million
locally and abroad, deaf people who may be working in
in seed funding for his product and recently exhibited
industrial or office environments and those without
samples in public for the first time at the Innovation
hearing issues for baby monitoring and for people who
Bridge.
may be working as technicians or artisans in industrial and noisy environments.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS SOLVING AFRICAN HEALTHCARE CHALLENGES by Cue Sibiya
Artificial intelligence (AI) could revolutionise
“Today’s AI technology offers the solution, allowing us
healthcare supply chains in Africa, according to supply
to leverage cognitive capabilities to create a
chain specialist Deborah Dull, representing the Bill
transparent, intelligent and predictive supply chain.
and Melinda Gates Foundation.
We asked ourselves what could be achieved if we
Speaking at the recent SAPICS Conference in Cape
could get IBM Watson to place chatbots on the
Town, Dull revealed how AI in the form of IBM
platforms available to health workers in African
Watson is being used to aid decision making in public
supply chains, so that people can improve their
health supply chains in developing countries and
learning.”
improve patients’ access to life-saving medicines. She
An AI powered chatbot can deliver personalised
contends that the big challenges in these markets are
learning on mobile devices to enhance the supply
using data to make better decisions and influencing
chain skills of the health workers that staff most
skills.
African healthcare supply chains.
“What if, through the AI, health workers could know where specific products are in the country? If there is a stock out at their facility, they could ask Watson where stock is available. It almost always comes down to where the shipment is, despite all the advances in supply chain,” Dull stressed. She said that AI would enable patients, too, to know when and where to go to get their ARVs or TB medication. “Areas where people are experiencing problems would be highlighted. Data collected would be used to train and maintain the Watson cognitive engine so that it continually generates the best responses to users’ questions.” In Kenya, AI’s potential to transform healthcare supply chains has become a reality in a pilot project with the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA), Dull revealed. Watson is being rolled out to 7 000 facilities countrywide. Users can interact with the AI through various platforms, including SMS, computer and voice over mobile data. Dull said that, according to IBM’s global chief supply chain officer, a study of 400 supply chain leaders revealed that the greatest hurdle in achieving supply chain objectives is a lack of visibility and transparency. AI can provide this, by accessing more information than is humanly possible, she said. “It can minimise expiries; will enable the implementation of best practices and standards in supply chain management, and the achievement of supply chain objectives.” The Kenya Medical Supplies Agency’s vision in its IBM Watson roll out is to “have an AI trusted advisor to share insights on the causes of stock-outs, preventative measures and the identification of relevant resources to improve the availability of product by 50%”.
HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR 2019 BUSINESS RESOLUTIONS BY CHIDINMA ANYA
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
PLAN AND ORGANISE -
“Believe in yourself, and the rest will fall into place.” – Brad Henry One of the first steps to success is to believe in yourself. When you believe in yourself, you will find yourself being more positive and that would attribute to your success.
Make your to-do list. Listing on paper what you want to accomplish for the day is an effective way to remember the things you need to do.
BE ACCOUNTABLE People make better choices when they know that they are being watched by others. This automatically translates to more hard work. Be sure to talk to people about your goals. Share your goals and intentions with them. When there is someone keeping tabs on you, you are more likely to get your tasks completed.
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS “Small wins are massive motivators. But we rarely recognise them.” – Unknown Just like we love crossing small tasks off our to-do list, being able to see that we’re even one step closer to a big goal is a huge motivator.
CELEBRATE Celebrate your wins – celebrate every moment. This helps to breed positive energy around you and keeps you going when things aren’t looking up.
AI likely to hit South Africa harder than other countries: expert While technological advances such as artificial intelligence will likely give rise to many opportunities for economic and social development, they also involve important risks, which have special significance in developing countries such as South Africa. In addition, they may build upon and exacerbate existing inequalities – both within developing
countries as well as between developing and more developed regions. This is according to Ralph Hamann, a professor and research director at the UCT Graduate School of Business, who has outlined three of the biggest risks that AI could potentially pose to South Africa and other developing nations
Risk 1: Worsening unemployment “The concern that new technologies – especially artificial intelligence – will lead to widespread job losses has been widely discussed,” said Hamann. “Of course, the fear that new technologies replace workers is an old one. But it’s been pointed out that historically new
technologies have often given rise to more new jobs than the ones that have been automated away. “What’s perhaps different now is that the new, interconnected digital technologies will likely have a broader and more far-reaching array of abilities. And so the prospect of new kinds of jobs may well be diminished or limited to increasingly
sophisticated domains, such as machine learning.” Hamann also warned that new technologies are now not just replacing jobs, but are also enabling the disruption and restructuring of entire industries – similar to how Uber transformed the taxi industry. The dearth of effective education systems and skills in countries like South Africa will make it more difficult for people to be retrained for the technology intensive new jobs that will become available, he said. “Secondly, all governments are struggling to grapple with the implications of new technologies and associated new business models. This struggle is particularly strong in developing country governments. The case of Uber in South Africa reflects this.” Risk 2: Increasing concentration of wealth Because wealthy individuals will be more likely to make use of AI and other new technologies. This will further increase returns to capital widening the gap between elites’ productive capacity and that of everyone else, said Hamann. “New technologies’ advantages for capital are not just due to increasing productivity, but also because they allow new business models that may control or even dominate entire sub-sectors and stifle competition,” he said. “For instance, it could become possible for a single company to control large fleets of automated vehicles in one or more large areas.”
He warned that much will depend on whether states can keep up with these developments and respond effectively and that particular attention needed to be paid to intellectual property and competition law. “Even so, many developing country governments are not giving these developments their due attention,” he said. Risk 3: Bias baked into algorithms One of the biggest risks already being seen in modernday AI is that AI algorithms reflect and perpetuate the contexts and biases of those that create them. This has been seen by the difficulties faced by voice recognition software in recognising particular accents, said Hamann. “Of course, the promise is that AI will enable such systems to learn to address such issues. But the learning process itself might be influenced by racial, gender, or other prejudices. “AI algorithms are developed almost entirely in developed regions. Thus they may not sufficiently reflect the contexts and priorities of developing countries. Ensuring that AI algorithms are appropriately trained and adapted in different contexts is part of the required response. “It would be even better if developing countries become more engaged in the development of new technological systems from the get-go,” he said.
Mashudu Madau’s online mentorship platform Mashudu Madau runs a digital content development company and has been an entrepreneur for about seven years. His website, www.mashstartsup.co.za, is one of the digital platforms that the company built – not so much for the money, but to enable, encourage and empower young South African entrepreneurs.
BY YAMKELA MDAKA
"MANY ENTREPRENEURS SPEAK ONLY ABOUT THEIR JOURNEY AT THE END OF IT, WHEN THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL, AND ARE A PICTURE OF PERFECTION" “The inspiration for this stemmed from having gone through all the incubators, the workspaces and development institutions in Johannesburg for entrepreneurs, and realising how difficult they were to navigate,” Madau explains. “It also came from experiencing the bureaucracy, exploitation and games that so many young entrepreneurs are not prepared for.” He says he was lucky to have had mentors to steer him in the right direction when he began his entrepreneurial journey. The platform he’s now created offers that type of mentorship on a larger scale.
“A lot of young people don’t understand what’s out there for them to use in terms of development. If we map out what the development landscape for entrepreneurs in South Africa looks like, more will be able to navigate and build their businesses in an efficient manner,” Madau says. “Many entrepreneurs speak only about their journey at the end of it, when they are successful, and are a picture of perfection. We don’t get to see what came before that, and that’s what we want to do with this platform,” Madau says.
“The journal section has everything from the best workspaces and incubators to YouTube videos we think are really important for entrepreneurs to see and learn from,” he says.
“We want to remove the filter and be honest about what this really is: how much sacrifice it takes, how much hard work it takes, how much it’s going to hurt, how much it’s going to break you – but at the end of all of that, it’s still worth it because you’re pursuing something that really matters to you and you’re trying to solve a problem in the world.”
“The podcast section is a collection of my experiences as a failing entrepreneur. I was going through a really hard time and I wanted to document the things that were going through my mind and what was going on around me.”
Right now, Mash Starts Up is focused on digital content, but Madau believes it could get to a point where it could become a start-up that can offer real, relevant products and services for other start-ups.
He says the video section contains interviews he’d done for a series called Each One Teach One in which 17 entrepreneurs share the biggest lessons they’d learnt about entrepreneurship that they believe up-andcoming entrepreneurs need to know.
“This would be about helping young people start businesses in a more efficient way by connecting them to those who can offer services that really matter at the beginning, and then [work with them] through their growth,” he explains.
The website features three different categories: a journal category, a podcast category and a video category. Madau explains each one.
5 S I M P W A Y S S A M O N T H I S Y E
L T V E A
E O E Y R
by Chidinma Anya
MAKE MORE MEALS AT HOME It really won’t hurt to start cooking more and eating out less. It is not like eating out is even satisfying, but that’s not the point. You can save money by cooking your own meals and packing your own lunch to work/school. There are so many fun recipes on YouTube and food blogs to try out.
TRADE GOODS I want you to read that as trade by barter, yes! You can take it back to the old times. You can trade clothes, shoes, and generally items you no longer find useful, but are in good condition with your friend’s items, depending on what you need.
BE OPEN TO DIY Sometimes, you have to learn to do these things by yourself. Make/cut your hair sometimes (again, look up videos on YouTube), you have a patch on your dress – sew it yourself, buy your own hair products, etc.
SET ASIDE A DAY OR TWO OF THE WEEK WHERE YOU TURN OFF YOUR DATA Use that time to binge watch a TV show or read a book or even catch up with family. There are lots of amazing things to do during ones “down time” reflections, take a walk around your neighborhood , dance, etc. You should try these.
LASTLY, MAKE SAVINGS A FUN HABIT Do not see it as some chore. There are financial apps that help make savings a lot easier. One that I can personally vouch for is the Piggybank app and it basically helps you invest money you’ll normally spend. You can save as low as N100. Feel free to check it out.
Design your Android App now with Codehesion Codehesion is one of South Africa’s top Android
Codehesion CEO Hector Beyers said it is great
App development companies and has rapidly
to have a 100% success rate on its software
grown its portfolio of successful projects.
development projects in 2018.
Last year, Codehesion successfully developed
“Our simple 4-step consultation and software-
various Android and web-app projects, which
development process has proven to be highly
included two large eCommerce projects.
effective, particularly for businesses requiring specialised Android designers and developers
These eCommerce projects involved customdesigned platforms with easy-to-use dashboards for the company and its clients. These projects were both completed in time and within budget – a big achievement in the software development market.
for new software initiatives.”
By John Bowker
MUSK'S TESLA TO BRING ELECTRIC CARS BACK HOME It’s been almost 30 years since Elon Musk left South Africa to start a new life in North America. Now, the billionaire may be about to bring his Tesla electric cars back home. “Probably end of 2019,” the chief executive officer of Tesla replied to a South African fan on Twitter, who asked him when a store would open in the country of the businessman’s birth. “Amazing - I’m first in line when it happens!” replied the individual. Tesla has stores across the globe, including the US, Germany, China and Australia. But it has none in Africa, which has been broadly left out of the electric-car revolution Tesla pioneered. Lower average incomes and poor power infrastructure mean petrol-powered cars often bought second hand - dominate most markets on the continent. South Africa is Africa’s most industrialised economy, but it’s not immune to those challenges. Cash constraints and delayed power plants at state utility Eskom have led to rolling blackouts. While it’s not unheard of to see an electric car on the road, they remain the preserve of the super-rich, and charging stations would be hard to come by. Musk, 47, left South Africa for Canada after graduating from high school in Pretoria in 1989, still five years before the end of apartheid. But the self-made billionaire and founder of Space Exploration Technologies is still well known there.