By: Sizakele Nduli Let’s Learn, an educational app on Google Play Store, was designed to teach Grade R to 5 in South Africa’s 11 official languages. With 220 games every month and just over 140 flashcards, the app helps pupils overcome language barriers and expand their linguistic skills beyond their native tongue. “What makes my app stand out is that you can change or translate the content of the app into any South African language. I haven’t seen an app that does that,” said Andisile Budaza, who founded the company. Growing up, Budaza struggled with his mother tongue, isiXhosa. While h ..read more

By: Keletso Mkhwanazi A 21-year-old Public Relations graduate from the Durban University of Technology started a mobile ice cream business during COVID-19 because she wanted to make additional money. Sinenhlanhla Ngcobo said that due to the lockdown in 2021, she was unable to attend class, so she came up with the business concept for Frozen Treats by Sne. “I used my NSFAS allowance as a start-up for my business. I started selling ice cream to those who follow me on social media and my neighbours when I was at home,” she told Vutivi News.   “My dream is to open an ice cream sit-in store b ..read more

By: Anna Majavu Small businesses are not one of the government’s “expenditure priorities” and were sidelined again in Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Wednesday. SMMEs received neither a mention nor additional funds from Godongwana, who only repeated that the government would use some money to merge the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, the Small Enterprise Development Agency, and the Co-operative Banks Development Agency—a plan that the Cabinet approved in 2021. The budget downgraded state spending by R21 billion with additional funds prioriti ..read more

By: Anna Majavu South Africa exports about R3 billion worth of locally made bandages, syringes, needles, catheters and other medical consumables every year, but imports over R7 billion worth of other medical devices. A recent Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) seminar in Johannesburg heard that the manufacturing of medical devices in South Africa was limited, with less than 5% of local players involved. About 76% of all medical devices were imported and they took up 90% of the market share of the industry, said TIPS senior economist Liako Mofo. Medical devices include any equipment ..read more

By: Anna Majavu Proudly South African’s Happy MaKhumalo Ngidi is determined to use her role as chief marketer at the country’s foremost marketing campaign to give ordinary people a sense of “belonging and dignity”, and fix the social problems caused by the skyrocketing rate of unemployment. The campaign exists to connect locally owned businesses, many of them SMMEs, to markets. Ngidi believes it can make a huge difference in creating more employment and sustaining the jobs that already exist. “When we begin to deal with this persistent problem we have in the country, which is unemploymen ..read more

By Anelisa Centani In an ever-evolving jewellery industry, remarkable pioneers like Thembi Lekota are reshaping the landscape. Luna Jewellery, an online retailer, was founded by Lekota in May 2021. The business has quickly carved out a niche in the market, offering bespoke jewellery services that enable clients to be fully involved in the design process. “This personalised experience allows the client to create their own memories. Also, with heirloom pieces is pieces that you can keep within your family for a lifetime,” Lekota told Vutivi News. The 33-year-old jeweller combines her passion fo ..read more

By: Anna Majavu Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development says it is pleased with the performance of the government’s Small Business portfolio this year, even though it also has a long list of problems that need to be fixed. The government’s Small Business portfolio is made up of the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (Sefa), and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda). In a committee meeting, a draft report “applauded” the DSBD for achieving another consecutive clean audit opinion and managing to spend 99.3% of its ..read more

By Keletso Mkhwanazi. For foodies living in Pretoria who want to try out African cuisine, Las’Dish Deluxe is a home-based restaurant that serves a range of mouth-watering dishes on most days and caters for small and major gatherings. Owner Neo Mashaba told Vutivi News that his mother sparked his interest in cooking at a young age. “Back in the day, my mother was a domestic worker and she used to use cooking to keep me grounded from going out and playing with my friends after school. When I got home from school, she would call me and ask me to start cooking, not realising that she was actually ..read more

The Gauteng Department of e-Government and its partners are setting up ICT skills development centres to assist in dealing with the skills shortage in the sector. The department has set its sights on stimulating the ICT economy through facilitating incubation and innovation programmes for the people of Gauteng. In this attempt, the Department has come up with various initiatives that are specially designed to ensure that Gauteng Provincial Government staff members, residents and business people stay ahead of developments brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Department first estab ..read more

The Gauteng Department of e-Government and its partners are setting up ICT skills  development centres to assist in dealing with the skills shortage in the sector. The department  has set its sights on stimulating the ICT economy through facilitating incubation and innovation  programmes for the people of Gauteng.    In this attempt,&n ..read more