And more From healthy sleep, to music and books.

O OP PT TI IM MI IZ ZE E Y YO OU UR R S SL LE EE EP P

Speaking sleep and it’ s importance with Dr Dale Rae, who is a senior lecturer in the University of Cape Town within the division of Physiological Science in the Faculty of Health Sciences - where she teaches and conducts all research related to sleep. Dr Dale is also the director of Sleep Science, a company that helps individuals with their sleep, assist companies to manage the sleep of their employees and analyze their employees sleep data.

When did you guys commence with Sleep Science as a business? "Sleep Science was established 5 years ago in the UCT as a research we were conducting, and now it is a formal business outside of the university, but with my academic role for sleep science I have been doing that for the past 12 years " .

So, since inception what have been your challenges as a business and how did you

overcome those challenges? The biggest thing when we started was convincing people of how important it is to manage and look after their sleep. Yes people are aware it' s vital to look after their typical health routines, their diet, and exercising to keep their mental health strong but it took a long time for people to also realize in that equation sleep is also vital to keep their body, mind and soul healthy. So, one of our biggest challenges was convincing people, companies and health insurance companies about the value of good sleep, and making them realize it is possible to intervene and help people manage their sleep as it improves productivity " .

How does Sleep Science assist companies with your services? "So we work with groups of employees, and sometimes it' s diverse and involves the whole organization to the top management. First, we do screening to check everyone ' s sleep then provide the company with feedback to say your employees are doing well, or some of them are struggling and this is the impact this could have on the business in terms of fatigue, productivity, illnesses and absenteeism - then we provide them with maybe group solutions or workshops, which can be sleep and health related educational content - from infographics to music, little videos or newsletters tailor made for specifically for their sleep needs. For the public our services are available online and also in person " .

What has been your highlight/s thus far? "There ' s two things I can think of now, one is watching young people come into the business and learn the skills, the competencies and solutions to grow their own ways of assisting people - and that for me is incredibly rewarding. Second one, was the recent project we did where we were helping this one company to develop an algorithm to use data to analyze sleep health" .

And when you are not directly working on the business, what do you do to keep

sane? "I sleep, she giggled. But yes I do take my sleep seriously. Other than that, I spend a lot of time with my amazing family, exercising a lot" .

Lastly, your motto? "Simply optimize your sleep, one should be able to customize their sleep according to what their sleep needs, instead of following general expectations of hours required to get a healthy sleep " .

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BusinessBusiness PartnersPartners LimitedLimited SMESME ToolkitToolkit BusinessBusiness PlanPlan CompetitionCompetition

South Africa has been established as one of the continent’ s “big four ” startup ecosystems, alongside Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria, according to the 2022 South African Startup Ecosystem Report. Yet, as the most recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor revealed, education and training are amidst the most pressing challenges for aspiring local entrepreneurs. An investment into skills development and knowledge sharing is therefore key to stimulating growth within the SME sector.

This is the opinion of David Morobe Executive General Manager for Impact Investing at Business Partners Limited who comments that: “ as an engine for economic growth, the small business sector is a critical contributor to the development and wellbeing of South African society. The entrepreneurs of today are the big business owners of tomorrow. As such, they play a critical role in defining how society lives, works and ultimately contributes to the growth of the economy. Providing training opportunities to upskill these individuals and equip them with the skills they need to survive and thrive in these uncertain times, is the collective responsibility of the private and public sectors as well as all stakeholders along the value chain.

Business Partners ’ SME Index for 2022’ s first quarter listed a lack of skills as one of the most prominent challenges to the growth of the SME sector. And although much public discourse focuses on the prevalent and visible need for funding, as Morobe asserts, the key to entrepreneurial success is not always money, but access to support, information -

and the skills that are necessary to start and run a business in South Africa ’ s challenging socioeconomic environment.

This sentiment is the driving force behind the structure of this year ’ s annual SME Toolkit Business Partners Business Plan competition for aspiring entrepreneurs, which is now open for entry.

The competition, hosted by business financier, Business Partners Limited and entrepreneurship content engine, SME Toolkit is an annual initiative that has brought the tools and resources to start a business to hundreds of young South African entrepreneurs since its inception in 2010.

“We are honoured to once again provide an opportunity for business-minded individuals to hone their skills, gain access to professional expertise and learn the fundamentals of how to build a successful business in South Africa. We have designed the competition not only to offer a reward for innovative ideas but also as a training programme for future entrepreneurs. And so, in that sense, everyone is a winner, ” says David Morobe Executive General Manager for Impact Investing at Business Partners Limited. Click here to enter the competition

The competition is open to aspiring entrepreneurs who have a business idea that they would like to explore. All participants who enter the competition will be provided with training material on how to develop a business plan, how to execute a marketing strategy and how to compile a cashflow forecast. This material will be supported by a series of workshops and group discussions, which will take place in August and September this year. Click button on the right for full article.

Investment Club

There ’ s a saying that goes -

“If you want to go fast, go alone… if you want to go far, go with others. ” This is also true for investing, if you want to build generational wealth fast then investment clubs might just be for you. But what is an investment club?

The “what” of it all

When a group of people learn about investments, combine their money, and then make investments using the combined money - that is an investment club. The club can invest in any asset of their choosing, from shares to whole businesses, from livestock to crops, all the way to property and crypto.

Another feature of an investment club is that the members of the club decide on the process for selecting which investments to buy and sell together. The members can meet regularly for updates, decision-making and learning from one another.

I would consider stokvels a great example of investment clubs because they pool their funds for specific purposes and meet regularly.

Why start an Investment Club?

There are a number of reasons for you to start an investment club. For example, if you and 14 friends contributed R1000 a month for one year, you ’ll have R180 000 - it would be more if you kept it in a savings account with interest. That’ s enough to fund a chain of two or three small spazas that will give you income. The club could re-invest the profits to grow the spazas into retail stores, or to expand by opening up other spazas in different locations.

An important thing to consider before you start an investment club is: what is the goal of the investment club? If you can answer this clearly, then you can invite people with similar goals to form an investment club, it' s important to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Alternatively, if you are already part of a stokvel or a similar arrangement, discuss with your members what the goal of the current group is, and if that goal can be refined further.

Knowing the goal of the investment club will help you make sure that you ’ ve chosen the correct investment strategy. If your goals are short term (3 years or less), and they need cash, then your investment club can open a bank account, since a savings account is all you would need. If your goals rely on growth and dividends, then you open a brokerage account - either way, the types of accounts must be in line with investment strategy. The investment strategy should include:

How often the investment club buys and sells assets What the asset allocation is Which specific assets to buy and sell Under what conditions are assets sold

Some banks or funds have lower fees for larger sums, so you can save on costs when you pool money and invest in large sums. You can also learn a lot about investment clubs by being part of one. An investment club runs efficiently and profitably when everyone understands what is going on and adds value during group discussions. As such, the members who know more about investments should ensure that the other members have enough knowledge to contribute meaningfully. The internet has countless resources for learning; all you need is wifi or data.

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AFRICANAFRICAN

LION Naledi Boltina

25th June, at The Bar Sunninghill Sandton it’ s where it all went down. Fortunately, one of our teammates managed to join the “I know ” single launch by the one and only Naledi Boltina, the African Lion. Like always, the phenomenal songstress from Eastern Cape who currently resides in Johannesburg delivered an amazing set as she fully introduced her new single “I know ” , which is more than just a song, but a thoroughly written joint with a well needed message for music all. As the afternoon proceeded Ayanda from our team in JHB, managed to have a minute with Naledi, which gave us more than what transpired on the launch.

Please share how did you start and why did you start music? “To the best of my memories, I have always been singing. In school I was always in choirs, in plays and concerts as well as lots of church involvement and participation in cultural activities. I attended Victoria Girls High School in Port Elizabeth, that is where Mr Mkhize was my music teacher and more than anything he would encourage me to always go for it as I started to develop my music writing at the time ” . At the age of 15, I recorded with a group called Point 5 which included Heavy K; MSK; Mlu; Thando and Q-base – that was my first studio experience with the group. Unfortunately, at the time our song that we were working on was leaked and stolen, a very common challenge in the music industry ” .

How did the decision to be an independent artist as a

woman in the music industry come about? “It wasn ’t a decision that I took upon myself to be an independent artist, but I realized that sitting and waiting for someone to help you make your dreams a possibility is not going to happen. I had to find it within me to get the ball rolling. When I first moved to Johannesburg I was part of Y Academy, and worked with Ferguson Films; I have featured on The Queen, Rockville; Isibaya; and others. At some point I was on set of ‘The Gift’ with Vuyiseka Cawa, thinking this is it, this is my big break but 3 months later things turned the other way. There was a time where I was doubting myself and my abilities as I had been hustling in the industry for about 10 years and I believed that I had the ability to succeed, but one does get to a point where you question yourself. Normally, in the industry you would have a full team but I didn ’t, and I had to start somewhere by doing my own cover designs/graphics etc. and now that I am slowly growing I do have a small supportive team and I am able to focus on myself and my music ” .

We remember your feature with Ice Prince, but for someone who do not know name

any feature you did previously with any South African artist? “For your information, me and Ifani are cousins and when he released his 2nd Quadrant album, he said to me that he would want for me to be on that album. It was very exciting for me as I had a song that I had written in in that album which is called “Enkosi” , this was around 2015” .

How did the single "I know" came about? “I know comes from everything that I have gone through in the industry as an artist, so many people were questioning my abilities, not taking me seriously as they viewed me as an “ upcoming artist” , to what experience do I have to manage anyone. In my deepest and darkest moments, I asked myself ‘ what is God trying to teach me?’

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A moment with

M M MZ Z ZII I M M MA A AH H HO O OL L LA A A

Born in Claremont KwaZulu Natal and grew up in Lushington near Seymour, until he was twelve years old before he moved to stay with his parents in New Brighton Gqeberha, where he still resides in Zwide to be precise. Mzi Mahola - full name Mzikayise Winston Mahola spent a moment with us –speaking about his journey and his current memoir Heroes of The Struggle.

Firstly, let’s talk apartheid times – how did that era influenced your thinking as a

leader? “I don ’t see myself as a leader, but rather a community builder. Growing under apartheid was never easy but fortunately it did not destroy me, it made me strong. It built and galvanized my character. As the Bantu education was not designed to produce individuals of good sterling. But what it inculcated was a culture of literature reading, especially isiXhosa. So, I started reading from early as primary school and received encouragement from family members and peers, and that later on positively influenced my writing skill” . "Also, apartheid destroyed many individuals physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It is unlikely that I could have reached this level of my writing under apartheid. The lid placed on blacks for our development would definitely have prevented my development. I only got a chance to grow and find opportunities during the period of national unrest and under our democracy " .

When did you formally started writing and what made you decide to follow

the poet and writing calling? “At first, it was just experimenting with poetry writing at school when I was doing matric at Healdtown. When I completed my matric, I joined the BCM because it was the most vocal and popular youth organisation at the time " .

"When I joined the Black Consciousness Movement, senior members encouraged everyone to write in English so that our oppressors could know about our suffering. Writing in the mother tongue was discouraged. Those in the front told us that there was no point in telling blacks that they were suffering because they knew. Later on, I joined a writers ’ organisation called the Congress of South African Writers (COSAW). Here we wrote what we liked. And that’ s where my writing found platforms and exposure. I continued with poetry writing for many years, writing in English, and even won an award. After publishing four English volumes I decided to self-translate a selection of the most popular poems in my anthologies into isiXhosa. This after extracts of my work had been translated into German, Danish, Norwegian, Spanish, Turkish and Malayalam of India " .

As an individual, what are positive traits that writing has taught you as you

continued writing in your career? “Writing has many positive benefits but you have to go through setbacks, disappointments, rejection and solitude. Some people will encourage you but some will scoff at your talent. But if you know what you have, you will not be discouraged. You just soldier on. Your people are generally the ones who will attempt to trample over you, even when you ’ ve carved your name in the writer ' s world. But you must understand that we are not, of late, a reading nation. We do not know about books and writers and will seldom spend our money on books ” .

“Writing gives me character. It refines me because I would not like to do or say Anything that will tarnish my name. I always strive to publish, under my name, material that I will be proud of for the rest of my life. Reading and writing give my mind continuous exercise and ability to analyze and deal with different kinds of situations that I come across with. It keeps my mind active and helps to delay my body ’ s ageing processes because of its therapeutic quality ” .

Your current book - please tell us about it and why the tagline

"Forgotten Bastards"? “Heroes of The Struggle is a sequel to “Dancing With Hyenas. ” The sequel will show great improvement if the reader starts reading with the first novel. The sequel has interplay between drama, poetry, script and storytelling. This is the result of the four pillars that constitute my writing (poetry, drama, script and novel). They always combine in my writing, as a result this story can easily be made into a film. The initial title was “Forgotten Bastards. ” My editor Jennie Els disapproved and advised me to call it “Heroes of The Struggle. ” There was a lot of debating about the title from my children. They wanted me to retain the original name. We ultimately called for a truce. Forgotten Bastards was to become its subtitle ” .

As a poet & writer, what has been your highlight throughout your journey? “My highlight as a writer was when -

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