Author: Staff Writer

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is to donate fees derived across all asset classes traded on Wednesday 15 April and Thursday 16 April as part of a brand-new campaign #Trade4Solidarity to the Solidarity Fund. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the Solidarity Fund on 23 March 2020 to unite the nation in action against the COVID-19 crisis.  The Fund is a rapid response vehicle designed to fund impactful initiatives that will augment the national health response contributions to national humanitarian efforts. The third focus area of the fund aims to mobilize South Africans to flatten the curve and manage the pandemic and…

Over the past few weeks, South African retailers and companies have been forced to significantly change the way they do business and serve customers as a result of  COVID-19 pandemic. With the government introducing a 21-day National lockdown requiring people to stay at home, the demand for delivery of essential items is rapidly accelerating. At the same time, demand from the business community for delivery services to help them keep up with consumer demand has dramatically increased. In response, today Uber is offering a delivery service for businesses, leveraging its logistics technology and network of drivers to provide retailers and…

Mr D Food has teamed up with Checkers to deliver prescriptions and medication to its MediRite pharmacy customers. This initiative aims to provide a crucial service to MediRite customers and will also benefit vulnerable individuals and those not easily able to leave their homes. In the drive to flatten the curve, this partnership is just one example of how food delivery apps can play an important role in supporting government initiatives to promote social distancing. Customers can place their prescription and medicine orders with their local MediRite pharmacy and request delivery from Mr D Food. To arrange the delivery of…

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is waiting for a “scientific assessment”, due this week, on the effect of South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown before deciding whether it should be extended. In an interview with News24, Ramaphosa said: “We are still doing an assessment about the effectiveness of the lockdown. In terms of compliance, we are finding that many of our people throughout the country are abiding by the lockdown, and its regulations. There are pockets, here and there, of people who are still getting on with their lives as though there is no coronavirus. “We will be able to make a proper, if…

The Presidency’s Solidarity Response Fund has already raised R500-million in its first week to help South Africans affected by the coronavirus outbreak – and now it’s become even easier for individuals and businesses to donate to the Fund, thanks to the addition of a payment platform that will allow payments to be made in as little as 8 seconds. The Solidarity Response Fund, swiftly developed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to help manage the coronavirus crisis in South Africa, aims to help detect and prevent the further spread of the virus, while also providing care and support to those who have…

MTN announced on Wednesday that it has introduced MoMo social bundles and is waiving MoMo cash in service fees. The launch of MoMo social bundles will see MTN customers use their positive MoMo cash balance to buy any of the five new bundles offered to suit their unique usage needs and budget. For a nominal fee of R8, customers will be credited with 500MB to access their favourite social media platforms. This bundle is valid for 24 hours. For R15, MoMo users will have access to 1GB, which will be valid for 3 days. Moderate users can opt for a…

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which is used for protection from exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19), is in short supply globally, but companies that import PPE are saying that they face challenges in getting the equipment to the countries that need it. Leon Stoltz, CEO of Stoltz One, an international trading company based in Cape Town with offices in Atlanta, Tokyo and Zurich, says that a variety of factors are contributing to the global shortage but chief among them are middlemen looking to make a quick buck. Stoltz says, “Middlemen are trying to insert themselves into orders and get a cut, which…

South Africa’s Section 12J specialist fund manager Anuva Investments has come to the rescue of health and wellness product manufacturer Biodelta, by way of a R20 million capital injection. The company which produces and distributes health and wellness products has in the last weeks become a crucial supplier in the fight against COVID-19, extending its product range and manufacturing focus to deliver much-needed COVID-19 key products. Virus test kits, three-layer surgical masks, sanitisers and immune booster supplements have now been fast-tracked in their production output thanks to the capital advanced to fund the current worldwide critical short supply. The timeous…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has summoned communication minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams for a meeting after she was exposed violating the government-imposed lockdown by having lunch with former deputy minister Mduduzi Manana. Speaking to the media after a visit to Rand Water on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said he had seen the picture of Ndabeni-Abrahams having lunch with Manana. “I have seen the picture of minister Ndabeni Abrahms sitting at a luncheon with a number of friends and other people, I have asked her to come and see me so she is going to come and see me and I am going to have a…

15 years after founding Vuma Reputation Management in 2005, Janine Hills; one of South Africa’s foremost reputation management experts, has said her final goodbyes to Vuma Reputation Management. Janine’s leaving is as a result of the completion of a transformation process that started in 2017 with a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBBE) transaction in which members of the company’s executive team acquired 51% of Vuma Reputation Management (Pty) LTD. Vuma Reputation Management as a business is the leader in its field and with its current client base and growth prospects is sustainable and poised for growth, the perfect time for…