Nedbank announces the Top 10 Innovators sourced from around the globe that they will connect to major corporates and business leaders in partnership with Silicon’s Valley’s Plug and Play, the world’s largest innovation platform, at this first of its kind event.

South Africa, 5 September 2018 – Nedbank recently announced the expansion of their US partnership with Plug and Play, the world’s largest innovation platform, to include South Africa for the first time. Together, the entities will connect 10 visionary entrepreneurs from around the world to business leaders at The Disruption Agenda to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September.

“We’re incredibly excited for the ten startups that are going to be part of The Disruption Agenda. The most important thing for Nedbank is to get pilots and experiments underway and push straight through to commercialization where possible,” states Stuart van der Veen, Head of Disruption and Innovation at Nedbank CIB. “We’ve engaged with our most forward-thinking clients and they will be participating in both the deal-flow sessions and be present at the actual pitches of the startups.”

Nedbank initiated their relationship with Plug and Play, described as the ultimate matchmaking machine between startups and corporates, two years ago as a sponsor of the global FinTech programme. Startups selected to engage at The Disruption Agenda represent both African and global startups from across industry sectors.

Startups selected for The Disruption Agenda

1.Koniku: Starts with the premise that biology is the most advanced technology on earth. Their belief is that Bio is Tech™. Koniku builds living machines with synthetic biology. Machines which can detect fake food, design taste, detect explosives, infectious diseases, cancers and more. Nature is our open source library. Currently, the company grafts custom proteins which act sensors on living cells – neurons - and encapsulate them within a silicon chip. The chips – Koniku Kore’s - will one day power the next generation of cognitive robots – synthetic cognition. 

2.Airware: Airware is the leading enterprise drone analytics company helping enterprises leverage today’s rapidly advancing technologies (such as drones, cloud computing, machine learning and more) to safely see and sense their sites and structures to improve productivity, mitigate risks, and take workers out of harm’s way. Airware enables enterprises to harness aerial data and turn it into valuable business insights that can be shared and acted on across sites, teams, and geographies. Their solutions enable enterprises to reinvent their organizations for the digital era by translating aerial data into business impact.

3.Sentiance: Sentiance analyses sensor data to understand human behavior and context so clients can develop new products and services that turn the Internet of Things (IoT) into the Internet of You. Sentiance context intelligence enables solutions for lifestyle-based insurance, contextual marketing and commerce, smart mobility, connected health, smart home, smart city and connected car. 

4.LifeQ: LifeQ implements a unique multidisciplinary approach underpinned by in-depth knowledge and understanding of human physiology and systems biology to extract and deliver relevant and meaningful person-specific digital biomarkers from various curated data sources. They are a world-leading science and technology company that want people from all walks of life to enjoy optimal health. LifeQ generates, and makes available, high-value personalized health information and solutions, which would traditionally be inaccessible or only obtainable through costly, invasive and inaccessible means, at a reliability level suitable for use by individuals, businesses, and clinical providers.

5.Wasteless: Wasteless is the world’s first machine-learning solution with real-time tracking for grocery stores looking to offer customers dynamic pricing based on a product’s expiration date. Wasteless takes machine learning capabilities used online and brings them to Brick and Mortar outlets. Tracking products at the item level, automating manual processes, and applying dynamic pricing have been the foundation of successful e-commerce platforms enabling them to substantially increase their profits. Wasteless allows supermarkets to close the gap and compete in the digital era.

6.Trueface AI: Trueface computer vision solutions augment any existing camera feed into intelligent, actionable data capable of identifying persons-of-interest, objects and more. Trueface AI provides facial recognition and spoof detection solutions for clients of all sizes. It provides an API, on-premise solution and a no-code solution for identity management. The Trueface mission is to educate on the benefits of computer vision and make it accessible for businesses looking for more unique and secure solutions.

7.Aerobotics: Aerobatics provides farmers around the world with world-leading pest and disease management systems for tree crop protection using drone and satellite data. Aerobotics’ software, Aeroview, empowers Tree Crop Farmers to identify early stage problems in their orchards. Used in conjunction with the Aerobotics’ Aeroview Scout App on their smartphone, farmers are able to locate problem areas on a tree-by-tree basis. Achieving success for over 6 million trees to-date, Aerobotics is setting the standard for tree crop analytics globally and innovating the agricultural processes as we know them.

8.What3Words: What3Words is a universal addressing system provides a precise and incredibly simple way to talk about location. They have divided the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares and assigned each one a unique 3-word address. Better addressing can enhance customer experience, deliver business efficiency, drive growth and support social and economic development. It was the first system designed for voice and human interaction with machines.

9.Dispel: Dispel makes cloaking technology, rendering networked infrastructure and endpoints invisible and segmented, stopping attackers from gaining actionable knowledge usable in a cyberattack. Dispel cloaking is a secure overlay network in which applications can be deployed, or around which infrastructure can be concealed. They accomplish this cloaking through network-level Moving Target Defense: an orchestrated mass-virtualization and encryption technology designed to disrupt attacker's operations. An offensive, moving target defence stops attacks well ahead of older technologies. Dispel has established an industry-leading security program, ensuring customers have a high degree of confidence and trust in their stewardship of customer data and operations.

10.IoT.nxt: IoT.nxt has developed a world-leading framework that makes efficiencies, cost savings and increased revenue from IoT (Internet of Things) a reality for businesses. The IoT.nxt platform allows rapid deployment and businesses to action an Internet of Things strategy with little disruption to current operations.The major strength of the IoT.nxt framework is that the solution is technology-agnostic. They can help digitise any industry, any system and any process. IoT.nxt lays the foundation for rapid digitisation, creating agile, efficient, future-proofed businesses. They’ll help you create an interconnected, interoperable ecosystem without disrupting your business. 

“Some of the best startups in the world, when it comes to disruption, exist right here in South Africa. LifeQ, IoT.nxt and Aerobotics are proudly South African startups that will be participants in the event,” adds van der Veen, “one of the founders of Koniku is Nigerian who is now based in Berkeley in the United States. They’re the world’s first neurocomputation company, so essentially looking at neurons and genetically editing them to be able to detect small traces of substances, for example, explosives, illicit materials and even disease, anything a dog’s nose can sense.”

“Aerobotics is a Cape Town-based but global startup, now focusing on drone analytics, looking at agriculture and tree crops. So, from the startups attending The Disruption Agenda, we see massive value for clients as well as for the ecosystem at large.”

The 10 startups attending The Disruption Agenda are from across the globe, with half based in Silicon Valley, but their solutions are all applicable to the African continent. 

A Word From the Startups

"Africa deserves access to cutting-edge technology like everywhere else. Imagine being able to screen for any illness by breath alone. Personal and population health data at your fingertips using volatile organic compounds produced by the body,” comments Oshiorenoya Agabi, founder and CEO of Koniku. “At Koniku we believe any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Nature. Using synthetic biology, we can build from the same building blocks as nature.”

“At LifeQ we saw the opportunity to leverage physiological data by bridging the gap between insights generated from limited access to expensive medical grade outputs and the easily accessible inexpensive consumable devices with their low efficacy outputs,” adds Dylan Garnett, COO of LifeQ, “I am very excited that LifeQ has been selected for Plug and Play as it will undoubtedly serve as a great platform to help identify and, along with others, address real needs that exist in South Africa and the broader African continent, thereby furthering LifeQ's vision of improving human health and wellbeing at scale.”The solutions built by these young innovators each demonstrate the importance of using tech to future-proof not only businesses but human lives, and how critical disruption across every industry is.

“Sentiance carries the company goal "Improving people’s lives using AI”. The technology is used today to help people live a healthier life and, amongst others, to reduce accidents. Our insights can be used by our customers to engage with their users and to improve their daily lives. Healthcare and insurance providers can, for example, provide lifestyle coaching and also detect and predict heart arrhythmia. Mobility and automotive companies can provide driver coaching and increase road safety and more. The Sentiance platform allows companies to engage with their end-users in a privacy-aware manner, at right time in the right moment, thereby improving the user’s quality of life and assisting in day to day tasks,” states Oliver Bath, Head of Client Services at Sentiance.

The Disruption Agenda is aimed at select clients and ecosystem collaborators.

To find out more you can follow Nedbank CIB social channels or get in contact by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

-- ENDS -- 

For more information about this press release please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | The This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 081 534 6237 

About Nedbank Group
Nedbank Group is a bank holding company listed on JSE Limited (JSE) with a market capitalisation of R125 billion as at 30 June 2018. Nedbank Group is one of Africa’s largest banking groups.Its principal banking subsidiary is Nedbank Limited, and the group is 54% majority owned by Old Mutual Limited (OML), which has a primary listing on the JSE with secondary listings in London, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Namibia. Nedbank Group owns subsidiaries and banks in Namibia, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, and offshore in the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. It also has representative offices in other Southern Africa countries, including Angola and Kenya, and has key global financial centres to provide international banking services for SA-based multinational and high-net-worth clients in London, Toronto and Dubai (UAE).We are a diversified financial services provider, offering a wide range of wholesale and retail banking services, as well as insurance, asset management and wealth management solutions.

For more information, visit https://www.nedbank.co.za/ 

About Plug and Play:
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 20 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 6,000 startups and 220 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries.We provide active investments with 200 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and host more than 700 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $7 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk.

For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com

By Annelize van Rensburg, director at Signium Africa www.signium.co.za

Leadership identification and development continues to be one of the most pressing business issues keeping executives awake at night. Every business has the same aim: success and sustainability. Established routes to this destination include competitive advantage, new technology to improve productivity and product innovation, and cost reduction to secure pricing efficiencies. Without superior leaders, none of this is possible.Companies progress through a life cycle from seed to start-up, growth to established, expansion to mature, and then to decline and exit, or renewal through invention.

In the same way, leadership identification and development progresses through a cycle.Leadership consulting offers the most suitable answers to these current dilemmas by helping leaders to align their people strategy with their business strategy; providing scientific and objective information through assessments; designing development interventions to help leaders function at their highest potential; and then embarking on acquiring and retaining leadership talent when talent needs to be acquired and not ‘home-grown’.In order to remain competitive and relevant, business leaders must start by aligning their talent strategy with their business strategy. This is critical because talent strategies translate the company’s vision and values into expected employee behaviour and define how they will contribute towards the company’s success. Misalignment is likely to result in strategic goals not being met. 

It is a myth that only large organisations need a talent strategy. Smaller organisations are more at risk because there are fewer possible successors in unique roles.In addition, not only is it important to understand the current talent pool within the company but also future needs. This is done by analysing the readiness of the current leaders to meet the future business needs of the organisation and provides a realistic pipeline of leadership talent.Plan your talent for five years from now and not only for today; look to the future of the company. Use competency assessments to test employees’ long-term strategic thinking ability, innovation, as well as their flexibility in decision-making, because these are critical skills for building a successful business.Assessments are an objective and scientific way of gathering insight into a person’s current functioning and future potential. They provide an understanding of the impact of the person’s behaviour on others in the workplace.

If the assessment tools used are valid, reliable and culture-fair, and if assessments are professionally conducted, the insights are extremely useful.Most leaders are built, not born. Top performers take responsibility for developing their knowledge, skills and competencies. There are many ways of doing this, including leadership development programmes, on-the-job training and executive coaching, which is a powerful way to provide support to leaders and help them navigate current and future challenges.

Executive coaching can help turn good leaders into great ones.If leaders within the company are not yet ready or fully developed, leadership needs to be acquired, preferably with the assistance of a reputable headhunter or talent-search professional for those executive level positions.That suitable candidates can be found from outside the company’s industry is beyond doubt; they may even have an advantage over industry insiders.

Their advantage is the ability to ask embarrassing questions while taking nothing for granted. Successful cross-industry movers acknowledge that their first job is to listen, then listen some more. The reinvigorated executive team around the new leader stops making assumptions and starts to question old habits. They may also acknowledge that new technology, new legislation and the emergence of a new consumer are having major impact on their sector. There are no guarantees of success, however. Outsiders don’t always work miracles.Pros are accompanied by cons.

The ‘safe’ industry insider does not have to go through a period of intensive familiarisation with a new industry and its dynamics. He or she can hit the ground running. In contrast, the outsider faces a steep learning curve. Suddenly, evolution seems safer than revolution. Continuity seems a better bet than a thorough shake-up.Stay open-minded.When recruiting leaders, don’t ignore the importance of diversity to balance your team. Remember generation, gender, race, religion and so forth. Businesses with diverse workforces will have a strategic advantage in the marketplace.It is difficult to attract executive talent. It is easy to lose executive talent.Offering opportunities to grow and giving leaders room to express themselves remain key to executive retention.

This is according to Michelle Moss, director of Leadership Assessment Consulting at Signium Africa.There are also other ways business leaders can meet their employees’ needs and foster employee satisfaction to support retention.Give them the permission to dream up new ideas and different ways of doing things. Of course, the boss still needs to keep a bird’s eye view of what is going on and provide advice and guidance whenever necessary to ensure ultimate success.Make work meaningful because most employees want to identify with the vision, the mission and the goals of the company they work for. As business leader, make sure that these are communicated often and that all leaders walk the talk.

Pay your employees what they are worth. Reward and recognition is still critically important in the workplace. A fair trade is important to most people.Business success is a journey, leadership is the compass. Leaders should develop talent strategies for the right reasons, and not just to tick a compliance box. It is worthwhile remembering that we are dealing with individuals who should be esteemed in the workplace.

A leader is a dealer in hope – Napoleon Bonaparte.

* Annelize van Rensburg is a founder and director of Signium Africa, previously Talent Africa, a leading provider of integrated talent solutions and leadership development in sub-Saharan Africa, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PRESS RELEASE: A NEW PREMIER BUSINESS MAGAZINE IN SOUTH AFRICA

We are the Royal Family of AbaThembu Nation. Our company Thembuland Royal Treasury Holdings Ltd is the Corporate Entity of Thembuland Royal Empire [The Nation of Thembu]. Our company’s main task is to Industrialize the Eastern Cape Province as it appears more fully on our website. We also provide Specialist Business Consulting Services as more fully set out on our website.

We are now launching a new magazine to expedite the Industrialization Program aforesaid, and mainly to create business mentality among our constituencies. Our constituencies are located in all 9 South African Provinces. The Thembu Royals Magazine will be a Premier South African Business Magazine of a very high caliber.

Our Target Market is the Business community at large across all sectors. The Thembu Royals Magazine will be an authority in Business Matters in South Africa. The aim of its content is to educate, inform, inspire and to give opportunities to the public about business matters at large. Specifically, how to run a successful business.The Thembu Royals Magazine will be released in phases, commencing with an online version on the 12th February 2018, followed by a print edition in on the 1st March 2018. It is anticipated that on release, the print Magazine version will be released and made available in all 9 South African Provinces during the course of March 2018.

Best Regards
Thembi Qondy Tembe
Director: Stakeholder Relations

0812892046
Office of the Emperor [0822195195]; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;

Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape NorthWest Western Cape Lesotho Swaziland

Thembuland Royal Empire(dedicated diligent developmental services to the nation)

www.thembulandroyals.co.za

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Address: Stegman Road

BASSONIA

JOHANNESBURG

[Banking; Insurance; Energy-Oil & Gas; Mining; Business Consulting]

8/02/2018

All Inquiries to : 0812892046

Pretoria, 10 March 2017: Leading animal health industry company, Bupo Animal Health today announced that it has made a donation to a long serving landscaping services supplier, Reckson Makaringi of T-Rex Gardening Services . The donation, a set of brand new Ryobi landscaping equipment i.e a Trimtec lawnmower, Petrol chain saw, line trimmer and a bush cutter was made in lieu of Bupo Animal Health’s commitment to invest in the community.

The donation is instrumental in developing T-Rex Gardening Service’s service offering and skill set, all the while taking care of the environment that we all are a part of. From the Ceo’s office, Ms. Antonieta Bupo added, “Our organization depends on our community, and without the help of local vendors like T-Rex Gardening Services, we would not be able to provide our services and products in a clean and safe environment and thus it is only right that we support them back.”

Since 2014, Mr. Makaringi has been instrumental in the preparation and maintenance of our garden areas. These and the general spaces around our factory have to be kept highly sanitary at all conditions and this is no small feat.We have spearheaded other initiatives in the past, supporting schools as Mamelodi High School in 2015, 2016 and 2017, Silverton Primary School in 2016 as well as Meyerspark Primary School in 2017. The group CEO, Mr. Oscar Bupo believes that education is fundamental and should be supported at all costs. We are invested in the development of our community and employees and will continue to do so.

To learn more about Bupo Animal Health, its corporate philanthropy initiatives, please visit www.bupoanimalhealth.com

About Bupo Animal Health: Headquartered in Pretoria, Bupo Animal Health is an international South African company that manufactures, imports and distributes veterinary and pharmaceutical products as well as feed additives since 1988. Focusing on service, value chain and efficacy of our products, we aspire to be your preferred partner in Animal Health in Africa. Our products are synonymous of quality, efficacy and with a great element of innovation in each of them. We believe in the wisdom of mother nature, in a clean and friendly environment and offer a team of distinguished professionals, aligned with the ethos of nature’s principles of protection of our habitat. Proof of this is that we own 2.000 hectares of pristine land in Uruguay of natural and plantation forests managed in a sustainable, eco-friendly and conservationist way. We are very proud of this project.Bupo Animal Health has also invested in efficiencies at our factory in South Africa, particularly in the processing of liquids, powders and feed additives.

We have our own branches in South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria and also work closely with a Distribution Network of in the entire African Continent.

Contact

Lloyd Chikamba
Bedson Group, Marketing officer
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
+27128034376

LexisNexis South Africa, a leading provider of content and technology solutions for the legal and professional markets, has released a ninth practice area in its intuitive Practical Guidance online solution.  

Practical Guidance In-house Adviser aims to equip in-house legal counsel, risk managers, company secretaries and project managers with not only technical information, but also insight that better enables them to influence stakeholders and effectively manage teams.   The solution’s extensive taxonomy covers seven main topics in critical areas such as Legal Resource Management for In-house Lawyers, Business Skills and Getting the Deal Through.  

The Practical Guidance offering from LexisNexis is an online interface with dynamic search functionality linking users to guidance notes, commentary, legislation, case law, forms, precedents, checklists and other resources, all in one place and at their fingertips.   Chantelle Maree, Practical Guidance manager at LexisNexis South Africa, said the new practice area would complement existing ones available for Business Law and Corporate Governance.  

“Its content is authored in the UK, but tailored for the South African market by local authors, with additional practical aids such as business continuity plans, policy documents and electronic handbooks,” she says.  

There are also anecdotes from global leaders, who share their experiences in creating legal teams, dealing with change and lessons learned.  

Maree adds: “Practical Guidance  has tremendous value especially among professionals and firms who might not have the time and resources to sift through reams of information in order to stay up to date with the latest legal developments and opinions.”  

Included in the latest practice area are invaluable Doing Business Guides, which aim to make it effortless to conduct business in key global jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, United States of America, Brazil, Canada, China and many others.  

To date, nine Practical Guidance practice areas are available for Business Law, Labour, Labour Public Sector, Income Tax, VAT, Corporate Governance, Civil Procedure, Family Law and In-house Adviser. All content is written by experts in each field.  

For more information on the Practical Guidance series, which is fully integrated with the MyLexisNexis deep research library, visit www.lexisnexis.co.za/practicalguidance.

City Lodge Hotel Group has announced that two of its General Managers (GMs) were recently announced as being among the 55 finalists in South Africa’s 2014 Rising Star Awards within the Tourism and Hospitality category! Abia Rakoma, GM at Road Lodge Carnival City, and Marvin Theron, GM at Road Lodge Rustenburg, will now undergo a vigorous judging process before winners are announced at an awards ceremony to take place on Monday, 28 July.

The Rising Star Awards

 The Rising Star Awards are held every year and were established in order to recognise and celebrate young business people under the age of 40 who have great talent and deliver above and beyond expectations. In the words of CEB’s SHL Talent Measurement Solutions, “A Rising Star is an individual who displays promising potential and pursues every opportunity to achieve great heights.”

Hundreds of entries are received every year – 310 were received this year alone – but only five finalists are selected for each of the 11 business sector categories. Laura Barker, MD of BlackBark Productions (organiser of the Rising Star programme), says that the Rising Star programme is far more than just an awards ceremony; "The programme will establish a living community of young South African talent that will be developed, mentored and provided with necessary platforms for development and communication. This will enable them to become role models, opinion leaders and the inspiration for other future South African talent.” 

Marvin Theron

Marvin first gained experience in the hospitality industry when he joined the City Lodge Hotel Group in July 2009 as a Front Office Coordinator at the Courtyard Hotel in Sandton, after graduating with a higher diploma in Hospitality Management from The International Hotel School. In February 2010 he was promoted to Junior Assistant GM. Last year his name was put forward for the Management Development Programme offered by City Lodge Hotel Group and while engaged in the programme Marvin went on to complete his training at Senior Assistant General Manager Level. He then progressed to General Manager Level. This year Marvin successfully completed both management programmes and in doing so was appointed to the position of GM of Road Lodge Rustenburg, effective from July.

Abia Rakoma

Abia currently holds three formal qualifications, which include a National Diploma in Hospitality Management, a B-Tech Degree in Hospitality Management, and a Certificate in Labour Relations Management. Abia first joined the City Lodge Hotel Group in 2007 as a Junior Assistant Manager and worked his way up to being the current GM of Road Lodge Carnival City. At the 2012 City Lodge Hotel Group Leadership Conference in Turkey, Abia was awarded the Chairman’s Award for being a Rising Star. Abia has always been very passionate about mentorship and personnel career development as it was the very same guidance and mentorship that led him to where he is today.

City Lodge Hotel Group is proud to have such talent in their team, and wish Marvin and Abia all the best during the next couple of weeks! For more info check out the City Lodge Hotel Group blog here: blog.clhg.com

Business Results Group and GIBS presents The 10th Progress Conference on Balanced Scorecard Essentials, with Dr David Norton, Live and in Person. Dave Norton will present a one day programme in JHB on the 11th September 2014. In 2012, over 500 executives participated in his colleague, Professor Kaplan’s event in South Africa.

Dr Norton has most recently been honoured by Thinkers 50 in their Hall of Fame sharing this acclaim with Tom Peters, Warren Bennis, Howard Gardner, Charles Handy, Philip Kotler, Henry Mintzberg, Kenichi Omae, Ikujiro Nonaka and his colleague Professor Kaplan, for their mammoth contribution to business management and leadership. Harvard Business Review recognised the Balanced Scorecard as one of the most influential management ideas in the past 75 years.

The 2014 programme includes the latest findings and experience in Strategy measurement, leadership, human capital and cross functional priorities and solutions.  

This is what his clients have to say,

“Our BSC helped us to deliver superior performance, consistently and predictably in all facets of our organisation.” Kris Gopalakrishnan, CEO, INFOSYS

“BSC is the strongest tool I have seen in 22 years of my career, to align people in the organisation to the corporate objectives.” Sunil Wahwa, CEO, New Delhi Power

“I am convinced that implementing the Balanced Scorecard has helped us to deliver record-breaking progress over the past 5 years.” Bill Padfield, CEO, Data Dimensions

To acquire access to Dr Dave Norton’s latest thinking, findings and solutions to execute strategy in a new economy, call Angela on 011 463 9898. For further information visit www.theprogressconference.com

They are in South African companies and industries right now, although they may not be part of traditional networks and are unlikely to be present at the higher levels of management in the same numbers as men.  It is for this reason that BPW SA and the Department of Trade & Industry (the dti) have partnered in an unrivalled “Women on Boards” director development programme to create a pool of female leaders in SA who are excellently trained and are therefore highly sought after by Boards.  

Most people today have no knowledge about the makeup of corporate boards, even in the companies they work for. These people would be surprised to learn how little diversity of thought and experience exists in the corporate boardrooms and executive suites of South African businesses. Why should you care about board composition? Boards of directors make decisions that can impact you, your community, and the country.  That’s why it’s important that membership on corporate boards be representative of a company's constituents.

Boards of directors choose CEOs. They make decisions about executive compensation, whether to buy, sell, or merge with other companies, where corporate offices close and relocate, and how much priority a company gives to issues other than profits, such as social responsibility.  

Our Women on Boards programme will give you the expertise and exposure needed to be part of the right networks.  It is an eight-part program — strategically placed over the course of 8 months, due to the complexity of the material — equips women with the knowledge and tools needed to elevate themselves to the C-suite and beyond.  In a supportive and highly interactive atmosphere, an impressive roster of top government and corporate experts will guide skilled female executives through a rigorous program of intensive classroom instruction, case studies and simulations. Every element of the program is focused on strengthening and broadening the leadership talents of the participants and delivering positive results for their companies and organizations.  They will improve their understanding of the responsibilities of board membership and develop the skills and strategic insight needed to become a more effective director.     They will improve their understanding of board governance while heightening their financial literacy and increasing their understanding of relevant legislation.  Amongst others, specialist training is also provided by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) with regard to corporate governance and understanding of JSE terminology and the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) (London) who will impart their expertise on personal and reputational risk.  The dti will convey their expectations of board members and corporate experts will present, and execute simulations, on media and presentation skills to enhance leadership effectiveness. The programme is certified by the dti.  

For more information, please visit our website at www.bpw-jhbsa.co.za  .or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 011 794-4991.

Business & Professional Women (BPW SA), and the Department of Trade & Industry (the dti) are hosting a business breakfast on 7th August 2014 to launch a unique 3-day Women’s Empowerment Programme in South Africa to provide registered SME’s with the legislative knowledge required to effectively run their business within the parameters of South African law.  

The breakfast is hosted by DDG Mr Mojalefa Mohoto and DDG Mrs Pumla Ncapayi from the DTI and BPW South Africa as well as senior representatives from the JSE and UN-Women and the Commonwealth Business Council.  Various international Ambassadors and High Commissioners will host tables at the event.  A sponsorship fund will be launched at the breakfast for qualifying enterprises.  

Organisations of all sizes in South Africa need to develop and apply sound governance, risk and compliance principles and institute high ethical values. Failure to do so will have devastating consequences for the organisation, including penalties.   For SMEs, the biggest challenge is a lack of understanding around the difficulties associated with becoming compliant.   Understanding the ever-changing regulations makes the difference between a small business thriving – growing the economy and creating jobs – or closing its doors, and thus closing the door on job creation.  

Simply put, you need to know your laws. Know your rights and obligations. In this way you mitigate risk to yourself, your business, your employees and your customers. If done well, it helps to improve business performance and ensure financial success.   If you would like to be part of this Women’s Empowerment Programme, we invite you to join us at this Business Breakfast – tickets are R500 per person or R5000 per table of 10.   

For more information, or to attend the Business Breakfast,
please visit our website at http://www.bpw-jhbsa.co.za/index.php/events/30-future-events/98-business-training-courses.
Website: www.bpw-jhbsa.co.za