MEDIA RELEASES
BUSINESS PARTNERS LIMITED APPOINTS TWO EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS TO ITS BOARD
16 September 2021: Business Partners Limited, a specialist finance company for formal small and medium owner-managed businesses in South Africa and selected African countries, has appointed two executive directors, Rayna Dolphin and Jeremy Lang. Read more >
GRIM PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE END OF BUSINESS TRAVEL OVERSTATED
Tourism businesses have had to bear the brunt of the Covid-19 lockdowns, travel restrictions, crowd-size limitations and curfews - more so than any other industry. Not only that, but over the past 18 months Read more >
Q2 2021 BUSINESS CONFIDENCE HIGHER COMPARED TO Q2 2020 AS SMES ADAPT TO NEW ENVIRONMENT
Despite the economic landscape - which still poses significant challenges for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic - business confidence levels are higher among SME owners during the Read more >
SMES URGED TO “CASH IN” ON CASHLESS PAYMENT METHODS WITH ACCELERATED MOVE TO DIGITAL
Locally, the trend of digitisation has accelerated, with the use of digital payment options such as “Tap to Pay” technology, mobile apps like SnapScan and Zapper, and biometric authentication infrastructure like Apple Pay, on Read more >
WHY WOMEN-LED BUSINESSES WILL PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN SOUTH AFRICA’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY
06 August 2021: The outbreak of COVID-19 has disproportionately affected women, leading to what is now being referred to by some as a “shecession.” This finding - supported by the recent South African Women Read more >
WHY SOUTH AFRICA FINANCIERS SHOULD ADVOCATE FOR FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Women’s Month in South Africa is celebrated in August, in commemoration of the thousands of women of all races who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 in protest against Pass Laws for women. Read more >
HOW TO BUILD AN EMERGENCY FUND FOR YOUR BUSINESS
IF there is one lesson for South African business owners to take away from the shock of the Covid-19 lockdowns and the horrors of the recent riots it is the importance of saving towards Read more >
ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION TO SUPPORT SME DEVELOPMENT
Aspirants encouraged to start their own businesses amidst record high unemployment rate 21 July 2021: The unemployment rate in South Africa has risen to an all-time high of 32.6%, according to the latest figures Read more >
SME “SUCCESSION PLANNING” CAN BE THE KEY TO LONGEVITY IN TIMES OF CRISIS
South Africa, 08 July 2021: The global economy was flung into a state of uncertainty with the advent of the novel Coronavirus. For the small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) who managed to survive the initial stages Read more >
LESSONS FROM A LOCKDOWN: ONE YEAR ON A CLOSER LOOK AT BUSINESSES WHO MANAGED TO PIVOT, HIGHLIGHTING THE TRUE RESILIENCE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S SMES
21/22 June 2021: It has been more than a year since South Africa’s nationwide lockdown was implemented in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdown put major restrictions on the movement of all citizens, Read more >
LATEST UNEMPLOYMENT STATISTICS HIGHLIGHT DIRE NEED FOR YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP
14 June 2021: According to the latest research by Statistics South Africa, the rate of unemployment among South Africans aged between 15 and 34 years, currently stands at 46,3 percent – and youth aged Read more >
SLIGHT RISE IN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE AS SMES FOCUS ON REBUILDING
02 June 2021: After an 8-percentage point decrease in Q4 2020, the business confidence level among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owners is on the increase again, albeit minor. This is despite various challenges Read more >
THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS TRAVEL IN A POST-COVID WORLD
The outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic brought about a complete travel ban, with international travel coming to a grinding halt as borders were temporarily closed, and the local tourism industry took an immediate Read more >
SUPPORTING WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES BENEFITS ALL
During the State of the Nation Address (SONA) last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa referred to the newly passed policy, which sets aside 40 percent of public procurement for women-owned businesses. This important development has the Read more >
ACCESS TO RELIEF FINANCING STILL VITAL AS SME CLIESNTS NOT YET OUT THE WOODS
South Africa cannot afford to lose its SMEs, says financing expert As local business relief initiatives such as the COVID-19 Loan Guarantee Scheme come to a close, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) continue Read more >
AFTERSHOCKS OF COVID FELT BY SMES IN QUARTER 4: 2020, SME CONFIDENCE INDEX SHOWS
After a ray of hope last quarter, confidence has once again nose-dived as SMEs enter survival mode While confidence levels of small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) seemed to rebound during the second half of 2020 Read more >
KEY TO SUCCESSFUL ECONOMY IS BETTER BALANCE OF SMEs (BUSINESS/PARTNERS 40TH ANNIVERSARY)
Key to successful economy is better balance of SMEs As financier Business Partners Limited marks 40th anniversary milestone, Managing Director - Ben Bierman - reflects on how the local SME sector has still not reached Read more >
SME WISHLIST TO HELP REBUILD SOUTH AFRICA’S ECONOMY
The global economy has been left winded and weak by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and governments the world over have a difficult task ahead. With the Minister of Finance delivering his much-anticipated Read more >
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR SME FOR A RESILIENT 2021
As 2021 kicked off with another Lockdown extension and a new wave of COVID-19 infections, businesses have experienced a tough start to the year as they continue to navigate the “new normal”. However, on Read more >
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I CLOSE?
This week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in a national address that South Africa would remain under level 3 lockdown “until we have passed the peak of new infections”. While necessary to curb the second Read more >
WHY A RECESSION MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME TO START A NEW BUSINESS VENTURE
Considering that South Africa won’t see the full roll-out of a COVID-19 vaccine until later this year and is still reeling from the first and second COVID-19 wave, one might assume that now is Read more >
SME FINANCING 101: KNOWING YOUR OPTIONS IS KEY TO SURVIVAL
SME financing 101: Knowing your options is key to survival 10 February 2021: When President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on the country’s response to COVID-19 on Monday 1 February 2021, small and medium Read more >
TIMELY PAYMENTS KEY TO SMME SURVIVAL IN CHALLENGING ECONOMY
Despite a legal requirement that invoices and claims be paid within 30 days or within the period contractually agreed upon, a Public Service Commission (PSC) report has revealed that South African small, medium and micro Read more >
SA SMES SEE LIGHT AT THE END OF COVID TUNNEL, INDEX REVEALS
23 November 2020: Following a year of unprecedented challenges, South African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) appear to have seen a glimmer of light at the end of a long, dark COVID-19 tunnel. This is Read more >
WHAT SA SMEs ARE HOPING FOR IN THE MID-TERM BUDGET
21 October 2020: While President Ramaphosa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan provides an important framework for South Africa’s revitalisation and growth trajectory, it lacks necessary detail in terms of initiatives to support the small and Read more >
SOUTH AFRICA’S TOURISM SECTOR TO START LOOKING AT MEASURED RECOVERY
17 December 2020: As South Africa begins the long journey towards recovery following the economic toll taken by COVID-19 and the associated lockdown, tourism remains a critical piece of the puzzle in helping stabilise and rebuild Read more >