From South African winner to new brand identity – Kandua is an online marketplace that makes it simple for the South African homeowner to transform their home and make urgent repairs using reputable and reliable contractors.

Originally known as IDWork, Kandua won the South African Seedstars competition in 2016 for the most promising startup, and today it has a thriving database of vetted, reviewed and tested independent professionals. As part of its drive to keep things simple, the company has rebranded and redesigned its online platform so users have a seamless experience from start to finish.

“We have designed Kandua as an easy to use platform that helps people to simplify their lives,”,” says Kandua co-founder Arjun Khoosal.

“Broken geyser? We can connect you to a reliable plumber in your area. Broken door? We’ve got the expert for you. Unexpected weather damage? We have contractors ready to step in and get your home ready for the next weather warning. Say goodbye to horror stories and hello to the perfect home.” Homeowners can go online using their mobile device or laptop and search for a professional contractor using an interface that’s been designed to be as effortless as possible.

The platform is tailored towards making South Africans lives simple, after all everything else is complicated enough. “Let’s be honest, doing home repairs and maintenance introduces that you never knew existed,” says Khoosal. “Our contractors live this life every day and it’s a good chance they’ve got your solution. Kandua gives you the backup you need to fix your problems. Any job, any size, done.” In addition to providing a searchable database of reliable contractors, Kandua has a seamless payment and quoting system built in.

Users can get quotes and pay online, all from the comfort of their desk, and they are connected to their chosen contractors through SMS and WhatsApp to make communication as easy as possible. Every step has been designed to help the user breathe a sigh of relief.

When you dress to pitch, imagine you’re going for an interview to a top corporate, and have to make an excellent impact. Evening wear and dress suits are out, but refined and quiet clothes are in, and this will show how serious you are about presenting your pitch. First impressions count – before you start your pitch, the investors will have already come to some conclusions about you based on your appearance, so it has to be absolutely suitable for the event.  

Dressing to Pitch for the Ladies

• Bra-straps: ensure they fit snugly; don’t fiddle with them, don’t adjust them, don’t let them show
• Your cleavage: restrain it and put it to bed for the day
• Long dangly earrings:  choose small neat studs that won’t shake, rattle and roll as you move your head
• Mini-skirts: only acceptable if you’re a prepubescent teenager
• High, high heels: Uh-uh – change them so you don’t wobble
• Chipped nail polish; lipstick on teeth; laddered pantyhose; uncombed hair; suffocating perfume: avoid all these like the plague
• Demure make-up:  this beats gaudy colours every time  

Dressing to Pitch for the Gents

• Your fly: is it zipped to the top? Check and check again
• Butt-cracks: not to be on view, and trousers must fit perfectly and be secured with a belt
• Shirt hanging out: tuck it into your trousers – you’re not going to a picnic nor a braai
• After-shave cologne: go easy on it, as too much is overwhelming
• Deodorant: a must, and no underarm stains please
• Shoes: must be polished if they can be, and washed if they’re sneakers
• Ties: not necessary but shirt collars must lie flat
• Headphones with earpieces: leave them at home  

You’re almost there! You have enhanced your appearance so as to inspire the judges and the potential investors, and now they are eager to hear your polished pitch. Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank, Raizcorp and SAfm, as well as national partner the Youth Chamber of Commerce and Industry, your hosts of the 2016 ENGEN Pitch & Polish workshop and competition programme, look forward to seeing you dressed for polished pitching success!

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.

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 

{pp}Lutho, the South African based online marketing company today officially launched a unique website wizard that will make it possible for aspiring entrepreneurs and small and medium sized business (SME) owners to get their own professional-looking website and a company-branded email address in less than two hours.