In 1967 one gigabyte of hard drive storage space cost US$ 1m. Today it’s around two US cents. Computer processing power has also increased exponentially: it doubles every two years. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to technological progress in the 21st century. There have also been tremendous advances in communication technology; robotics; nanotechnology; genetics and artificial intelligence, among other things. This merging of digital, physical and biological worlds has come to be known as the “fourth industrial revolution”. So far, relatively little attention has been paid to the overwhelming potential of the fourth industrial revolution to catalyse much needed<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/agriculture/how-african-cities-can-harness-green-technologies-for-growth-and-jobs/">Read More →</a></span>

SG’s wealth and asset management unit PSG Konsult said it is going to stick to its strategy of growing existing businesses following its strong performance during the year to February. The group, whose operations comprise of wealth management unit, PSG Wealth, PSG Asset Management and short-term insurer PSG Konsult, reported a 4% increase in recurring net profits when most life insurers posted declines for the 2018 financial year as a result of the JSE losses. The JSE closed 11.37% down in 2018. “We often get asked if we plan to be acquisitive and it’s very difficult to predict if we will be in future but<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/finance/growing-organically-will-keep-us-focused-says-psg-konsult/">Read More →</a></span>

Interceptor evolved out of HI-TEC Sports, the footwear company founded in 1974 by Frank van Wezel. It was Frank’s love for sport that lead him to build an innovative, lightweight and instantly comfortable sports shoe. This lightweight technology could be transferred into safety and uniform footwear. First, Magnum Boots evolved out of HI-TEC in 1982. A uniform and security footwear range that has been an established international brand since 2000. Then, HI-TEC expanded their range to include a range of safety footwear which was called HI-TEC Work. This has now evolved into Interceptor by HI-TEC. Interceptor by Hi-Tec, answers to the end-user’s demand in providing<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/finance/the-evolution-of-interceptor-for-great-comfort-and-better-safety/">Read More →</a></span>

What business is willing to say to itself is as important, as what it says to government. Which is why the document, a contract with society, released by an organisation representing big business, Business Leadership SA’s Contract with South Africa may be setting a new tone not only on how business deals with government but also how major economic actors deal with the economy’s problems. When most commentators are asked how South African business should respond to government, the common response is that it should complain, loudly and in public. This view has no doubt firmed since the March cabinet reshuffle damaged the economy and<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/finance/how-south-african-business-can-help-government-fix-the-economy/">Read More →</a></span>

The moment an undergraduate student starts a business degree, their mind is already geared to the job offers they hope will be coming thick and fast upon graduation. Yet there is an ongoing mismatch between what students think employers want, and what employers are actually looking for. Amid concerns that places are going unfilled because some graduates are not making it through selection processes, a new campaign has been launched called Work Ready Graduates to get more university students comfortable with business etiquette. Employers need to make sure the graduates they hire can hit the ground running, but are also flexible employees who can re-train<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/finance/what-makes-a-business-graduate-more-employable/">Read More →</a></span>

Interceptor evolved out of HI-TEC Sports, the footwear company founded in 1974 by Frank van Wezel. It was Frank’s love for sport that lead him to build an innovative, lightweight and instantly comfortable sports shoe. This lightweight technology could be transferred into safety and uniform footwear. First, Magnum evolved out of HI-TEC in 1982. A uniform and security footwear range that has been an established international brand since 2000. Then, HI-TEC expanded their range to include a range of safety footwear which was called HI-TEC Work. This has now evolved into Interceptor by HI-TEC. Interceptor by HI-TEC, answers to the end-user’s demand in providing high<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/articles-page/interceptors-heritage/">Read More →</a></span>

SA will relax a moratorium on gas and oil exploration licences implemented earlier in 2018 to allow exploration and production applications already in the system to be granted, mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday. “This amendment will ensure that applications currently in our system are processed and granted,” Mantashe told an oil and gas industry meeting. In June, Mantashe published a notice in the government gazette announcing a restriction on the granting of technical co-operation permits, exploration rights and production rights. “We can’t delay exploration because we want to accelerate investment,” he said. Investment in the industry stalled due to regulatory uncertainty and<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/labour/halt-on-gas-and-oil-drilling-licences-will-be-relaxed-says-gwede-mantashe/">Read More →</a></span>

Saudi Arabia is in talks to build an oil refinery in SA as part of a pledge to invest as much as $10bn in the economy. Joint studies for a refinery and petrochemical complex will be conducted by state oil giant Saudi Aramco and the Central Energy Fund, energy ministers from the two countries said in Pretoria on Friday. The negotiations mark a step forward in SA’s plans to add a refinery, which it has been considering for about a decade. Saudi Arabia made its spending pledge last July as President Cyril Ramaphosa sought investment to revive a flagging economy. Although SA has struck previous<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/finance/sa-and-saudi-arabia-discuss-building-oil-refinery-in-sa/">Read More →</a></span>

The MMI Group has become the first major insurance group to reach Level 1 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) status under the revised Financial Sector Code (FSC). This rating applies to all companies within the group, including the client-facing brands Metropolitan, Momentum, Multiply (rewards and lifestyle wellness programme), and specialist brands, Guardrisk and Eris Property Group. This is the first time since MMI was established in 2010 that it has achieved a Level 1 B-BBEE rating. Busisiwe Sithole, Group Head of Transformation at MMI said the new rating is the result of a strategic, committed approach to transformation. “Transformation is one of MMI’s key business<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/finance/mmi-holdings-is-the-first-major-insurance-company-to-achieve-level-1-b-bbee-rating-under-the-revised-fsc/">Read More →</a></span>

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project in the Northern Cape is not only about building a radio telescope to tune into the universe. It is also about investing in bright young scientists, local communities, and South African technology companies. Over R300 million has been spent in the Northern Cape with the construction of the KAT-7, a proof-of-concept radio telescope, and MeerKAT, the precursor to the SKA. The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) spearheads South Africa’s activities within the SKA, an international project. In 2005 the SARAO funded nine students to study in science. Last year it was 103. Altogether 1,000 students have received grants<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/entrepreneurship/how-the-ska-is-helping-south-africa/">Read More →</a></span>

SA’s manufacturing accounted for 24% of South Africa’s GDP in 1980 but by 2017, it was 13% Hosting its inaugural Business Economic Indaba, Business Unity South Africa (Busa) has unveiled vital areas for partnership with the government that includes equipping people with the means to earn a living, developing ideas to up research & development investment, building the right infrastructure and improving South Africa’s ease of doing business. The indaba, which was conceived in late 2018, brought government and business together to  discuss how to build a partnership that would help drive inclusive growth and transformation. Inevitably topics under discussion included the governance challenges in state-owned entities<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/entrepreneurship/business-unity-south-africa-keen-to-restore-sa-manufacturing/">Read More →</a></span>

Please take us through your background and how you got into radio? I Mawande Jara (affectionately known as Mkhuzangwe), was born in a small rural town of Qoboqobo (formerly known as Keiskammahoek) in Eastern Cape. I am the eldest of five (5) siblings and was mainly raised by my grandmother. I obtain my basic education in various school in western and in Eastern including Ikamva Lethu High school, where l matriculated. I enrolled for diploma in Public Management in Cape Peninsula University of Technology, l also completed Advance Diploma in Public Administration and I hold a Post graduate diploma in Project Management. Currently I am<span class="more-link-wrap"><a class="more-link" href="http://www.abizq.co.za/news/interview-questionnaire-with-the-ceo-of-zibonele-fm-mr-mawande-jara/">Read More →</a></span>