Ferocat (Pty) Ltd

Tel: 021 - 443 7900
www.ferocat.com

PRESS RELEASE
24 June 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ferocat catalogue launched in Cape Town

On Friday, the 20th of June, Ferocat (Pty) Ltd was proud to launch its first catalogue of ‘feelgood’ luxury items, creating lots of excitement in the direct marketing industry. Prospective sales agents (known as Ferocat Business Owners) and Ferocat staff members enjoyed an evening of drinks and entertainment at the company’s Cape Town head office, which culminated in a presentation of the new catalogue by managing director, Laughton Appollis.

According to the presentation Ferocat Business Owners can expect to earn a substantial set commission per sale as well as performance bonuses. The extensive product range covers diverse categories such as lingerie, fashion jewellery, handbags and much more. The company’s quality products, excellent support network and transparent earning structure should place it at the top of the list of part-time or secondary income opportunities.

Since the Cape Town launch there has already been a huge surge in applications from people wanting to become Ferocat Business Owners, with rapid growth foreseen in the near future. Growth that will be further boosted by Ferocat’s expansion into the rest of Africa planned for August 2014. Aspiring and existing Ferocat Business Owners can look forward to the Johannesburg launch on the 2nd of July 2014.

To find out more, visit www.ferocat.com or call 0861 77 78 79 to become a Ferocat Business Owner.

Voys Telecom, a VoIP and Hosted PBX provider, launches the Voys app. An application that enables one to dial out with a business telephone number while using ones smartphone to make the call. The Voys app enables businessmen and women to maintain a professional image when making business calls outside the parameters of the office. The app is available for free download for iOS and Android phones.

The new app is suitable for businessmen and women on the go, or who work remotely. When you use the app to make a call on your smartphone, the person being called gets to see your company number and not your mobile (private) number. It even works when a broadband internet connection is not available as the app uses the cell phone provider’s voice network to make the call.

Because the app is integrated with the business number of the user, all calls handled via the app are visible in the app’s call log. Calls made on the desk phone are also visible on the app. In addition, the user’s personal contact list - found on the smartphone - can be imported and used. Reimbursements of cell phone calls are a thing of the past as all call costs are billed directly to the business.

Voys considers calling over a 4G connection in conjunction with a Cloud-based PBX to be the future of business telephony. Therefor the next update of the app will enable users to call via a 4G connection. The app’s source code is available under an open source license which can be accessed on Github (http://www.github.com/voipgrid). Thus making it possible for anyone to contribute towards the further development of the app.

Clients of the service provider can download the app for free in the App Store and Play Store for their iOS and Android smartphones. Those interested in either using the Voys app or Voys Telecom in general, can get in touch with the service provider by sending a request via their website www.voys.co.za.

Esquire Technologies, an international award winning company and one of the leading distributors in southern Africa of IT, mobility, digital and consumer lifestyle products from international vendors,  has announced it has reached a milestone of 30 000 online orders place on its website to date.

This was confirmed by Mahomed Cassim, CEO of Esquire Technologies, who said the company commenced  online sales four years ago. “In the first two years of starting this online drive we notched up only 5000 sales –but this figure has now jumped to 30 000, which is a 600% growth in two years. We are expecting this figure to rise significantly in the next few years. because many of our clients are now seeing the value of placing orders 24 x 7,” he said

Esquire is currently one of only a few distributors in South Africa which offers an online ordering facility for all the products they distribute.

“We are extremely bullish with our six-fold increase in online sales. All the hard work and sleepless nights THAT IT took to populate the website with content and information relevant for each product is starting to bear fruit with the growing amount of orders being placed online.

”Esquire has also developed and  pioneered the world’s first Virtual Reseller Network (VRN), with its own subsidiary, ImproWeb, an e-commerce solutions company.
Currently over 500 resellers are plugged into the Esquire backend, which allows them to trade with their own e-commerce web-sites, using Esquire’s Infrastructure. Earlier this year the company’s VRN won an international award – the EMEA Channel Academy Multichannel Initiative of the Year Award for 2014. The EMEA Channel Academy 2014 Awards took place in Monaco in February- in conjunction with the regional event, DISTREE EMEA. Distributors, retailers and vendors operating in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region submitted application packs to enter the Multichannel Initiative award.

A VIP Jury of international channel experts met in Monaco to assess the submitted entries. The VIP Jury selected Esquire’s world first Virtual Reseller Network (VRN) as the winner of the 2014 Multichannel Initiative Award. “We are definitely seeing that people and companies are feeling much more comfortable – and eager – to buy online. Revenue from online sales is already sitting at 10% of our total revenue, with this expected to rise to 20% by 2016.”  Commenting further,  Cassim said that by joining the Esquire VRN resellers were provided with immediate access to the company’s entire stock holding without having to invest in stock.
“This is a totally different way of conducting business in the  distribution channel.  Our VRN resellers don’t have to  HOLD any stock. They have immediate access to our stock – which is updated every few minutes. As we update our stock our resellers are given immediate access to this new stock as well. “This is going to make a significant impact on the e-commerce space in South Africa,” he said.

Indie games are fast becoming a trend in South Africa, catching on from the overseas markets. These days, children and adults alike are playing mobile games as never before. People are always hungry for something different, which is where indie games – or ‘independent’ games – come in, providing players with something other than the mass-produced mainstream products.

Now, Somerset West can boast with its very own game studio that started turning its cogs in February this year. For its first month of existence, the studio was run out of the founder’s mother’s basement – typical indie game studio protocol, if history is anything to go by. Now, running from a house close to De Hoop Primary School, the studio focuses on creating mobile games (such as their recently released Afrikaans game, Fanie de Beer) and has oodles of style, creativity, skill and initiative.

While the Apmil Game Studio has only been up and running for a few months, the people who daily put their shoulders to its wheels have been building up relationships for the last three-and-a-half years. Even though the studio officially started up in February, the idea of an indie game studio had been brewing in the mind of Studio Head, Pierre Bezuidenhout, since 2011. Pierre started lecturing in the Animation Department of Cape Town’s City Varsity in 2011 – and this is where he met the three students who would later join him in this grand venture.

Pierre, as leader of the team, is Apmil’s Programmer and Technical Director. He has previously worked in advertising and animation for Wicked Pixels in Woodstock and held the position of lecturer at Concept Interactive as well as at City Varsity. His impressive skill set includes a sharp eye for detail as well as design flair and programming aptitude in different digital languages and platforms – he is also quite the people-person. Altus Barry is the Technical Lead, taking charge of rigs, renders and other related tasks. Mabet van Zijl did her major in 3D Narrative and, as Generalist, leads Apmil’s marketing and writing in between her usual workload. Louren Hattingh takes the roles of Lead Animator and Concept Artist. While each person has their area to lead, the workflow runs with a ‘rock-paper-scissors’-style in which one falls under the delegation of another while dealing with respective area-specific tasks. Sitting around a whiteboard, each armed with a marker, they discuss character design, story line, player motivation, level arrangement, time constraints and load division before jumping in with the actual development.

The first released game, Fanie de Beer, is a 100% physics-driven, full 3D, indie puzzle game with a distinct South African flavour. Playing as Fanie de Beer, a 12-year-old farm-boy, the player utilizes simple little rocks by tapping once on the screen to clear best friend Jaco Kriel’s fields of strategically placed, ancient landmines. Built in Unity, the game takes place in a single day – with the story starting early in the morning and ending in the evening – transporting the player through a dynamic day/night cycle and colourful, saturated farm fields as they progress through the 84 levels, meeting new mine types and increasingly difficult challenges as they go along. Written and designed in Afrikaans, then carefully translated into true farm-style English, this game is unique, fun and proudly South African. The demo is available for download from the Google Play Store, while the full game can be purchased on Samsung Apps and Amazon.

The next game in the pipeline is different from Fanie de Beer in virtually every way. Where Fanie is a very colourful 3D puzzle game with just enough back-story to set the player up for the context and flavour of the game, the current project is a heavily story-driven platform-game that takes place in a fictional world made up of parallaxing silhouettes and strange characters.

Apmil Game Studio has not only been created as a platform to build games, but also as a springboard for fellow animators, developers, designers and illustrators. It’s a breeding ground for collaboration, ideas, innovation and learning. Each person hones their skills while doing fun and challenging work through creating games and stories as well as fulfilling the creative needs of small to medium-sized businesses in the Western Cape and Gauteng.

Apmil Game Studio services include animation, app creation, game creation, rendering/stills, asset creation, video editing and UX. The creative division of Apmil, led by artist Janet Botes and writer Michelle Albinson, offers logo design, graphic design, online/web design, interactive design, writing, editing, proofreading and illustration.

Apmil prides itself on being different: Fresh ideas, innovative applications, strange and wonderful games – they are all things that receive the studio’s love and attention to detail. To find out more or to get involved, contact Pierre Bezuidenhout at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him on 082 499 3133

Studio ingredients:[A]ltus makes the bus and [P]ierre drives the bus; [M]abet takes the bus t[i]ckets and [L]ouren makes the bus move. Thus, [apmil].

Free demo: Google Play – bit.ly/fanie_demo 
Full version: Samsung Apps – bit.ly/fanie
Official Trailer: Youtube – bit.ly/fanie_trailer 
Apmil page: Apmil/Fanie – apmil.co.za/fanie-de-beer 

In association with Rexel Office Products South Africa, the Association for Office Professionals of South Africa’s search for South Africa’s supreme office professional is now underway.

The winner will be recognised for their achievement with the title of the best office professional in South Africa and a host of prizes including a R15 000 cash prize, courtesy of Rexel Office Products South Africa and a place at Office SA, South Africa’s most innovative conference for office professionals ( sponsored by Siyanqoba Private FET College).

The OPSA/Rexel SA National Office Professional of the Year Award is South Africa’s longest running and most prestigious award for administrative professionals in South Africa. Now its 32nd year, it offers a unique opportunity to acknowledge office professionals who show a high level of initiative, a commitment to developing the profession and mentoring others and a strong understanding of the way in which business works.

“Rexel Office Products has been the proud sponsor of the OPSA SA National Office Professional of the Year Award for the last six years. The Office Professional of the Year Awards programme serves to acknowledge and reward skill and competence in the office environment. High capacity  PA’s and Office Managers play an important part in the overall success of any organization. We further recognise and respect the role that these individuals play as decision makers in the procurement of office supplies. It is therefore our aim to ensure that they are kept informed and have access to the latest stationery and office products, which are designed to help them increase productivity with minimum effort,” says Bill Bayley, Managing Director of Rexel Office Products South Africa.

Judging combines a peer review panel in the early rounds made up of previous winners of the competition, judging by a panel of experts and voting by OPSA members. The winner will be announced on Secretaries Day which takes place on 3 September 2014. Office professionals can enter themselves or be nominated by their boss or a colleague. 

The application form is available for download on the OPSA website (www.ops.org.za).  All applications and nominations need to be received by 15 July.   For further information visit: www.opsa.org.za or call the Award Convener Samantha Brown on (012) 993 0881 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Leading South African Payment Gateway, Setcom Payment Solutions, today announced their partnership with innovative e-commerce solution provider, Digital Planet. This partnership will enable Setcom to introduce a wider range of e-commerce services to their existing portfolio of online credit card processing, SID Instant EFT and mobile payment solutions.

“We feel that Digital Planet’s services would be of great value to our client base, as they have a proven track record in terms of optimising efficiencies across the entire e-commerce value chain. We look forward to collaborating with Digital Planet to provide our clients with holistic e-commerce solutions that will have a positive impact on their business performance,” said Setcom CEO, Kumalan Naidoo.

Digital Planet has been assisting some of South Africa’s biggest businesses and brands for over 15 years by enabling e-commerce efficiencies and helping their clients realise e-commerce goals. Running a successful e-commerce business can be very challenging, as it requires efficiencies in a number of areas, such as website design and development, payment integration, digital marketing, fulfilment, customer service and logistics. This is where Digital Planet’s expertise can help improve and streamline competencies across the board.

“Digital Planet continually strives to add value to our clients, and working with Setcom has allowed us to offer more flexibility to our clients when it comes to online payments. This is very important to us because secure payment methods are one of the most important consideration factors for online shoppers in South Africa,” added Cassie van Wyk, Head of E-commerce at Digital Planet.

Setcom facilitates secure credit card and SID Instant EFT transactions across multiple channels, making them a one-stop payment solution partner. Setcom’s payment infrastructure paired with Digital Planet’s e-commerce expertise will surely make for a winning combination for years to come.

About Setcom:

Setcom has been one of South Africa’s most trusted Payment Gateways since 1998. They offer secure online and mobile credit card payment processing, SID instant EFT and fraud prevention services to entrepreneurs looking for a reliable, affordable payment solutions partner.

Part of the Setcom methodology is to offer traditional and non-traditional payment types across multiple channels, partnered with an effective reporting and reconciliation platform that enables efficient processing of payments. The offering is further enhanced by a fraud and risk management system that operates across multiple channels to ensure optimal business performance.

As payments evolved through traditional retail environments and the Internet, Setcom has been at the forefront of developing products that not only differentiate, but allows business to partner with technology to expedite growth and revenues. For more information, visit www.setcom.com.

About Digital Planet:

For more than a decade, Digital Planet has helped companies build and manage profitable online businesses. They offer a complete solution: world-class e-commerce websites, back-end order management systems, e-commerce expertise, online marketing, call centre services and fulfillment services.

Digital Planet was founded in September 1999 when they launched the Digital Planet online electronics store. It was early days for the e-commerce industry in South Africa and there weren’t many skills available, so they built our own end-to-end solution for the business. This solution included the front end marketing, merchandising and technology, as well as the back-end logistics and customer services. They mastered all the nuances of a virtual business in South Africa.

They soon had customers knocking on their door to help them build and run their own online businesses. Digital Planet quickly won clients including the major brands Hewlett-Packard and Discovery Vitality, both of which are still with Digital Planet today, more than a decade later. For more information, visit www.digitalplanet.co.za.

Cape Town, South Africa June 2, 2014 - Every year many people take a visit to South Africa, or the Rainbow Nation. However, most of them don’t get to experience the true South Africa or to enjoy the authentic South African culture. However, a company called Pozay is about to change all of this.

Pozay.com enables visitors to South Africa to better integrate with its people by allowing them to join up with a host family. This means that rather than going to a restaurant in South Africa, or taking the usual, well-worn tracks, tourists have an opportunity to better explore South Africa and its culture.

Instead of dining at the usual restaurants or tourist venues, Pozay.com allows visitors to Cape Town to dine with a family. This can be a rewarding experience for everyone and provides the opportunity to discuss culture, find out more about each other, or just have fun together.

Pozay.com already has many satisfied customers. One said:“A Brilliant idea! Wish this was available in every city. It’s a fantastic way to explore the culture of a place.”While another said:“This was amazing. Beats another dinner in another anonymous restaurant (that could be anywhere in the world). Was the highlight of my trip!”

Many tourists prefer to use their own vehicles, however, Pozay.com can also arrange the transport, ensuring the tourist gets safely to their destination and back. Integrating with a family will help to give a unique experience and provide a holiday that the tourist will never forget.

Our host families come from a diverse range of cultures, allowing the tourist to choose the culture that they want to experience. Pozay will then arrange an unforgettable event for the tourist.

Bookings for this unique experience can be made via the secure online payment system; for peace of mind, all of the host families have been carefully vetted.

To find out more about Pozay, or to book an experience, visit the website at:http://www.pozay.com/

About:

Pozay.com is based in Cape Town, South Africa and provides tourists with an unforgettable experience by allowing them integrate and mix with local cultures.

The network of host families allows the holiday maker to witness the real South Africa and experience the diverse culture of Cape Town.

[May 2014, Cape Town] Adversity is something none of us likes to think of, but in a moment one situation can change our entire lives. While insurance companies maximise the reality of this eventuality, most people are still completely blind-sided when adversity hits them. As a result, the obvious by-products of experiencing misfortune can be depression, a complete lack of self-esteem and even financial loss.  

Whilst all of the above are very evident across South Africa in the unemployed sector of the population today, there is the occasional diamond in the rough that shines out of a seemingly dark and hopeless situation to just encourage and give back that glimmer of hope that gives budding entrepreneurs an example to glean from.  

It is for this reason that the Teen Entrepreneur Foundation of South Africa has created the Awaken the Giant in you breakfast series. The breakfast series aims to showcase the stories of successful South African’s and allow them to share their experiences and life lessons with learners, their parents and organisations wishing to support the development of entrepreneurs.  

The next event in the series will take place on Thursday, 22 May 2014 at the Townhouse Hotel, Cape Town at 08h30. Martin Brown CEO of Radical Holdings and professional business speaker will share his journey of overcoming obstacles after being injured in a diving accident. He used creative thinking and his collective experience to change his own life and the lives of others, which kick-started him into a flourishing business.

“Every entrepreneur, young or old will face and have to overcome adversity at some stage of their business journey,” says Lydia Zingoni Founder and Director of the SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation. “We want to inspire our youth, from a young age that it is possible to overcome and flourish,” she continued.  

Teen Entrepreneur Foundation which was started in 2010 exists for the sole aim of instilling a culture of entrepreneurship in teenagers in South Africa.    

Come and be inspired by Martin’s entrepreneurial journey and connect with like-minded individuals from government and business entities to fast track your dreams and ambitions.    

The event is open to youth, their parents, teachers, community leaders, government departments, particularly those who are tasked with child development and the business community.   Tickets cost R150.00 and bookings for the breakfast can be made on-line at www.teenentrepreneur.co.za or at www.webtickets.co.za/event.aspx?itemid=828842321  

For more information about the breakfast contact Nadia Snyders on 021 447 6183 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

RELEASED BY Stacy De Villiers

Gecko Connect

061 448 6433/ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   ON BEHALF OF SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation    

More about SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation  

SA Teen Entrepreneur Foundation is a registered NPO Trust.  The vision of the Foundation is to cultivate and promote the entrepreneurial spirit in all our teenagers through seminars, workshops, conferences and exhibitions. Teen Entrepreneur main target audience is schools, Universities, Churches and Youth Centers.   

The organisation is based in Cape Town facilitates engagements across the country    

About Martin Brown

Martin was born in Cape Town on February 1971, South Africa. During school Martin was an absolute sport fanatic. His interests after high school led him into the mechanical engineering field and thereafter, into nursing and the emergency medical field.  In his second year of medical studies, Martin was injured in a diving accident, leaving him paralysed from the neck down, which forced him to explore other avenues within his abilities.

He is the CEO and Founder of Radical Holdings (PTY) Ltd t/a Radical Mobility, the top designers and manufacturers of power wheelchairs in South Africa. In the past 9 years the company has grown tremendously and supplies international markets. 

Martin has won numerous awards such as:

Finalist for the Industrial Category in the 2013 Africa SMME Awards Competition

Sanlam / Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year® 2012 Finalist

SEDA Most Promising Entrepreneur with a Disability – 2011

SEDA Most Promising Job Creating Entrepreneur – 2011

INSETA National Disabled business leader | 2011

Sanlam and Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year 2010

SME Award | 2010

Provincial Colours for Athletics | Amateur Athletics Association of South Africa | 1990

National Colours in Acrobatics | Acrobatic Federation of  South Africa | 1992 – 1997  

Trade Conference International (TCI) brings you the first ever Global Transaction Banking Conference, taking place on 9 & 10 July 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa, following the success of the 1st Transaction Banking Conference of 2013 which was retail-orientated. This year’s Global Transaction Banking Conference seeks to bring forth the latest corporate trends and innovations driving successful and effective transaction banking.  

In order to grow globally African, and in particular Southern African banks, focusing on transaction banking will open up new avenues of revenue generation. Africa has become increasingly integrated into the global financial system. To succeed locally continuous innovation is required for seamless cross-border transactions and cash management, bearing in mind the various regulations, risks, the practicalities of moving cash and varying exchange control rules.

Attending the Global Transaction Banking Conference 2014 will answer questions on how the latest innovations, technologies and strategies are going to rapidly transform the local transaction banking environment.

Key industry leaders like Nicky Weimar, Senior Economist at Nedbank; Rodger Dunn, Head: Transaction Banking at Sasfin Bank; Anthony van Eden, Chief Operating Officer at Strate; Nerina Visser, Head of Beta and ETF’s at Nedbank Capital; Brad Gillis, Chief Executive Officer: Regulated Markets at Bankserv Africa; David Robinson, Head: Collection Products – Transactional Products and Services at Standard Bank; Tertius Vermeulen, Chief Executive Officer at Trustlink (Swift SA Business Partner); Jean Groenewaldt, Senior Manager: Financial Surveillance at SA Reserve Bank, Stephen Meintjes, Head: Traditional Trade Products at Standard Bank; Josephat Mutepfa, Senior Executive: National Payments Systems at Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Charles Guise-Brown, Chief Executive Officer at Qualica Technologies and many more,professionals who will be addressing the conference.

In their presentations, these experts will address topics which include the current landscape of corporate transaction banking, African transaction banking, export and import monitoring, global markets and the context of South Africa, cash management for corporate treasurers in Africa, benefiting from global trends for corporates and transaction bankers in Africa, SADC payments intergration, cross-border transactions, case for intra-Africa banking alliances, cybersecurity threats to global transaction banking, and cross border regulations that affect the movement of trade transactions and much more.

Register to attend the Global Transaction Banking Conference 2014 to gain insight on how to optimise current products and services in the transaction banking environment, and gain knowledge to respond to corporate requirements the FIRST time round.

Sebastian Gazi, Project Manager at Trade Conferences International said, “A lack of regional monetary zones until recently has made payments processing progressively difficult thus it has become important to improve and diversify transaction banking products and services to meet international standards. Investments in Africa are increasing exponentially and hence the need to make your organization the preferred point of entry for corporates who are involved in trade transactions globally, but particularly in Africa.”

If you deal with cash management, transaction banking, transaction services, treasury, finance, payments, organisational strategy, foreign exchange, exchange controls, operations, cross-border transactions, product development, system integration, corporate finance, trade finance or risk management, compliance and regulation, then attending this conference will be beneficial for both you and your organisation.

To register contact Trade Conferences International on 011 803 1553 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In order to grow globally African, and in particular Southern African banks, focusing on transaction banking will open up new avenues of revenue generation. Africa has become increasingly integrated into the global financial system. To succeed locally continuous innovation is required for seamless cross-border transactions and cash management, bearing in mind the various regulations, risks, the practicalities of moving cash and varying exchange control rules.

Attending the Global Transaction Banking Conference on 9 and 10 July 2014 will answer questions on how the latest innovations, technologies and strategies are going to rapidly transform the local transaction banking environment.

Key industry leaders like Nicky Weimar, Senior Economist at Nedbank; Rodger Dunn, Head: Transaction Banking at Sasfin Bank; Anthony van Eden, Chief Operating Officer at Strate; Nerina Visser, Head of Beta and ETF’s at Nedbank Capital; Brad Gillis, Chief Executive Officer: Regulated Markets at Bankserv Africa; David Robinson, Head: Collection Products – Transactional Products and Services at Standard Bank; Tertius Vermeulen, Chief Executive Officer at Trustlink (Swift SA Business Partner); Jean Groenewaldt, Senior Manager: Financial Surveillance at SA Reserve Bank, Stephen Meintjes, Head: Traditional Trade Products at Standard Bank; Josephat Mutepfa, Senior Executive: National Payments Systems at Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Charles Guise-Brown, Chief Executive Officer at Qualica Technologies and many more, are just some of the top class professionals who will be addressing the conference.

Register to attend the Global Transaction Banking Conference 2014 to gain insight on how to optimise current products and services in the transaction banking environment, and gain knowledge to respond to corporate requirements the FIRST time round.

Sebastian Gazi, Project Manager at Trade Conferences International said, “A lack of regional monetary zones until recently has made payments processing progressively difficult thus it has become important to improve and diversify transaction banking products and services to meet international standards. Investments in Africa are increasing exponentially and hence the need to make your organization the preferred point of entry for corporates who are involved in trade transactions globally, but particularly in Africa.”

To register for the Global Transaction Banking Conference 2014, complete the registration form fround on the TCI website and return it to Trade Conferences International on 086 582 2981. Alternativley call 011 803 1553 to speak to the project manager.