Rational Perspective

JOHANNESBURG — Nic Haralambous has spent his entire working life as an entrepreneur. And as he tells me in this interview, "15 years of back-to-back failures" have taught him a hell of a lot and sparked the writer within him to pen his debut book entitled, DO FAIL LEARN REPEAT – The Truth Behind Building Businesses. Despite the challenging journey that he's embarked on, it's fair to say that he's also had some successes, with the sale of Motribe to Mxit in 2012 and his subsequent launch of online (and brick-and-mortar) fashion stores 'Nic Harry'. But even amid the successes, Nic says he's had dark moments. He now wants to tell his story to SA and hopes that budding entrepreneurs will lend an ear. It's a fascinating interview and a must-listen for anybody looking to take the leap into the startup world or even change the direction of their careers. - Gareth van Zyl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JOHANNESBURG — For years, TISA says it looked on while illicit cigarettes, which fail to comply with local tax laws, have flooded the market. In addition, TISA says that this coincided with a breakdown in its relationship with SARS, starting in 2014 - the year in which Tom Moyane was appointed as Commissioner of the tax collector. Such was the frustration that TISA experienced that it turned to independent researcher Ipsos to carry out a study on the illicit cigarette trade in the country. And the results of that study are absolutely shocking. About one in four cigarettes in the country, almost 25%, are being illegally sold at well below the tax threshold. This is significantly higher than the global average of 10%. Further to this, SARS is expected to lose R7bn in revenue collection this year owing to its years of failing to crack down on the industry. Because most of the illicit cigarettes in South Africa are made outside of the country, it's the local tobacco producers who also suffer the most with their s

JOHANNESBURG — Wherever you go in the world, you're bound to bump into a South African. One of those South Africans is Darren Roos, who now lives in the UK. In April this year, Roos - who is a long-time veteran in the enterprise software space - became CEO of a major global enterprise software firm called IFS, which has its headquarters in Sweden. IFS has received high praise from the likes of research houses Gartner and Forrester. And as Roos tells me in this interview, he's now essentially reconfiguring IFS' presence in South Africa as well as hosting an interesting event in the country dubbed 'Connect to what's Next' at Sandton's Maslow Hotel on 2 August 2018. - Gareth van Zyl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Safari Investments has been a heavy investor into South Africa's former townships long before it became popular, and is now reaping the benefits of its far-sighted strategy. After a R900m fund raising exercise, the company is very lightly geared and is hunting high quality investments bit in SA and in Eastern Europe. In this interview CEO Francois Marais reveals that issues which have acted as a brake on the Safari Investments share price - succession and its modestly sized market cap - are in the process of being addressed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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JOHANNESBURG — Allan Gray's Investment Summit is being held in Cape Town and Sandton later this month respectively on 17 July and 18 July. It's shaping up to be a very interesting event for those interested in the investment world as Allan Gray's Tamryn Lamb outlines below. What also looks interesting is that the event will be closing with Brazillian businessman Ricardo Semler, a maverick who has completely shaken up the way business is traditionally done. - Gareth van Zyl See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I first met Anthony Fabian just over a year ago in London. Our interview was conducted at one of the darkest points in recent South African history, and seemed out of place with its focus on an ambitious project that he felt would provide some balance to the global perspective of the country, offsetting well documented troubles of a nation under the jackboot of a corrupt Zuma Administration. Fabian had spent months meeting with and filming a generation of inspiring South Africans. These mostly young folk saw the future very differently to the popular view which was of an inevitable slide to Zimbabwe-style economic implosion. His plan was to compile an eight part documentary for the international market, showing them another side to that bleak story. Fabian dubbed his idea the Good Hope Project. We met again this week for an update. It proved timeous. Earlier this year Fabian spent three more months filming in the country. And last week British television channel ITV aired an hour long feature on South Afri

A year ago, founder of South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies Jakkie Cilliers produced a quite marvellous book which he titled Fate of the Nation. Perfectly timed ahead of December’s ANC Elective Conference, in our interview on the book a year ago, Cilliers shared with us the likely result of that watershed event and what would happen thereafter. His projections were excellent – he as one of the few to call a Ramaphosa victory, but one which brings with it a huge challenge of modernising his party - and the country. I like engaging with scientists like Cilliers. They trash popular narratives by focusing on the facts and how they are most likely to impact the future. This ability to achieve perspective is a rare gift in a noisy developing country. But Cilliers achieved it in his book, and has done so again in this excellent interview on South Africa’s hottest potato, the policy of expropriation of land without compensation. Again, he says the real fight on land will be in the rural areas between traditi

A good month for the share prices of Amazon and Alphabet, which between them account for 40% of the portfolio, ensured a healthy uplift from $358k to $360k in the total portfolio, despite some notable price declines elsewhere in the portfolio. Chinese companies Tencent and Alibaba came under pressure as Donald Trump cranked up the rhetoric around his proposed trade war, and Apple also eased because of its exposure to the Middle Kingdom. All emerging market currencies suffered in the wake of heightened tension, including the Rand, which fell from R12.45 against the US Dollar to R13.68. The Rand was also impacted by concerns over implications of the ANC’s stated approach towards Expropriation without Compensation of land. As the portfolio is a pure Rand-hedge, the currency’s decline has a very positive impact on its value for South African investors, lifting the total from R4.5m to R4.75m. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting into the diary of Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk is a lot more challenging nowadays. As the company’s investments have flourished, so too has the demand on the now 45 year old who succeeded Koos Bekker as the group’s CEO four years ago. But result’s time opens a window, and today I managed to grab half an hour with Van Dijk and Naspers CFO Basil Sgourdos. What follows is a fascinating half hour with the men who run a business that is so dominant among JSE listings that it accounts for a chunky one fifth of the equity portion of South African retirement funding... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JOHANNESBURG - Just like the Michael Jordaan-back… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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JOHANNESBURG — The latest available South African… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we think about ways to create jobs and fight poverty in South Africa, most people picture investments in agriculture and manufacturing. Those sectors are often seen as key drivers of employment and as the best way to grow an emerging economy. But new research suggests that, in fact, the services sector can be an engine for growth and job creation. According to experts from the Human Sciences Research Council, all it takes is a little innovation and creativity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the now hugely successful business called Outsurance opened shop in 1998, those running South Africa’s short-term insurers lost little sleep. Slowly but surely, however, the disruptor ate away at the establishment and is today one of the country’s Big Three alongside Santam and Mutual & Federal – with a flourishing business called Youi in Australia. The group is now branching out into savings and investments, using algorithms, technology and ETFs to slash costs and open up opportunities for the general population. With its investment plans starting at a modest R100 monthly, the new OUTvest is reaching into a sector that had little option outside low yielding savings accounts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LONDON — In this special podcast, RMB Investment … See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I spent an hour with Pieter-Dirk Uys in the lounge of the Soho Hotel, just around the corner from the theatre and a convenient haven for his quiet time ahead of each performance. What transpired was a deeply personal, courageous, thoughtful and wickedly funny discourse. As you’ll hear, it ranges from sharing his own creating process to his famous stage personality Evita Bezuidenhout’s relationships with Madiba, Pik Botha and others to outspoken views on HIB/Aids, Malema, Ramaphosa, South Africa’s future and the country’s world famous comic export Trevor Noah. Thinking about the interview afterwards, it dawned on me its timing was perfect. Now 72, but still learning and improving, Uys is at the peak of his intellectual powers and beyond the point where he counts his words. Also, putting together a 90 minute biographical show, he would have gone through a deeply reflective process, unearthing much new material shared with us here. As you’ll hear in this extraordinary interview, even though admitting it’s tough

To read the full transcript of this interview, sign up for our premium section at Biznews.com/premium-signup. Premium subscribers also now have full access to The Wall Street Journal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To read the full transcript of this interview, sign up for our premium section at Biznews.com/premium-signup. Premium subscribers also now have full access to The Wall Street Journal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.