{pp}Despite their best intentions, some organisations aimed at empowering business women tend to emit the distinct aroma of a ladies’ tea-party, which is great for socialising, but not for very much else. Women in Finance is NOT one of these organisations. Here’s why you should get to their next meeting, particularly if you’re a guy.

Despite its emphasis on empowering female entrepreneurs to get ahead in business, one of the great achievements of Women in Finance since its inception in 2005 has to be its unique approach to helping businesses owned by women as well as men to thrive.

{pp}From a vision towards reality: Accelerating Cape Town towards becoming a global capital of Creativity and Innovation

Accelerate Cape Town (ACT) is a business-led initiative aimed at bringing together stakeholders in Cape Town and its surrounding region to develop and implement a long-term vision for sustainable, inclusive economic growth.  The organisation grew out of regular discussion sessions during 2006 and early 2007 held by a group of some 30 influential Cape business leaders.  They were brought together by a common concern over the lack of pace and direction of change in the Cape and particularly the inability to attract and retain new and established businesses and talented young professionals.  These discussions led to the formal establishment of ACT in March 2007.

{pp}Small to Medium Enterprises need to tread carefully when entering new markets. Before the company can enter a new industry / marketing campaign they need to carefully assess a number of factors:

{pp}At the SAP Partner Awards on 9 May 2007, Derek Kudsee (Director – SME) and Paul Vermaak (Channel Manager) of SAP handed over the award to Cornel Schoeman, Britton's Director.

{pp}Old Thinking New Times Times have really changed, and it is not only the crime and violence, the escalating drug problems or the fathers that wipe out their families, but time itself have changed. The need for companies to scale down staff compliments, coupled with increase in competition, demand for better and faster service has inevitably resulted in more pressure on the employee, The divide between rich and poor is being extended day by day and a bigger portion of the world populace and especially South Africa is finding themselves living on the breadline.

Most are trying to maintain a lifestyle that is quite common to them while the financial burden increase month by month.

{pp}The Business Women's Academy, the first of its kind in the country concentrating on women in business, was launched by USB Executive Development Ltd (USB-ED) of the University of Stellenbosch Business School, in association with HERS-SA, on Tuesday, 22 May 2007. HERS-SA is a leading non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of women.

{pp}Small businesses have been gradually migrating the systems of their entrepreneurial-focused companies away from a PC-centric environment, towards a web-based one. SME’s should focus on leveraging the power of the Internet to grow their small businesses.

{pp}“This country’s younger, aspirant black population is just not realising the importance of having good medical cover”, according to Chris Lithole, Director at iChoices, an authorised financial services provider. Research seems to suggest a disregard for healthcare cover and experts predict this could severely affect the financial successes of many South Africans.

{pp}With a start up failure rate of up to 80% in South Africa, small businesses need to have a competitive edge in order to survive. BizAssist.co.za takes at look at five key factors contributing to the success of a South African SME.

{pp}One of the oldest medical aid schemes in South Africa is also the forerunner in encouraging pregnant women to join their scheme.