The mass media have have paid little attention, but those with their fingers on the tech pulse hailed a breakthrough this week when the data-only mobile network Rain launched 5G into parts of Johannesburg and Pretoria. This is the first 5G offering on the African continent and among the few launched worldwide. Rain CEO Willem Roos joined us on Rational Radio this week to explain how 5G is a massive improvement on existing broadband options of ADSL and even Fibre - delivering minimum download speeds of 200MB/sec with up to 700MB/sec measured. Rain is quietly rolling out its network, offering it to parts of Gauteng as a first step.

In this interview, Brendan Mullen of Secha Capital introduces us to the concept of Search Funds, the rapidly growing alternative to Private Equity and Venture Capital. Focused on supporting young entrepreneurs keen to get their teeth into an existing small businesses, they leverage funds and energy to deliver vastly superior returns from small businesses.  Mullen says this little-known investment model is perfectly suited to solving the management gap in SMEs and can also produce multiplier effects: a Search Fund, or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” delivers not only outside capital, but also the self-confidence and self-reliance of local business people. A Search Fund is a vehicle for young, aspiring entrepreneurs to raise funds, search for, acquire, manage, and grow an established SME and are increasingly popular in the US and Europe. They deliver superior returns (5x increase in the profits of his portfolio of businesses) and address four key components of our economic ecosystem: 1) Entrepreneurs: A Search Fund is a low-risk path for entrepreneurship and management skills. It’s a viable alternative for Africa’s best, young human capital to bypass corporate life and to instead gain skills by growing a local business. 2) SMEs: “Searchers” do not acquire start-ups, they invest in “boring”, fragmented industries - the heartbeat of the economy - that is often ignored by private capital. SMEs need growth capital, but they also need high-powered human capital and this vehicle creates a shortcut bridge to accessing this talent. Also, these are the companies that create local, reliable jobs! 3) Financial returns: The Search Fund asset class does not require “unicorns” and it does not invest in winner-take-all industries. Instead, it encourages “Zebras” in industries where we already have precedent for listings and strategic acquirers. 4) Cost and scale-ability: The money raised for a Search Fund goes only to the aspiring entrepreneur or the SME. It’s a small amount, slightly larger than what we define as “angel investing”. Mullens reckons the Search Fund asset class has not made its way to Africa because it does not fit with institutional capital providers’ mandates; the check size is too small and too diffuse. But when you strip away all the finance jargon and the Search Fund is the most natural of transactions: Someone invests in your business, then they work with the business to grow it. He was interviewed on this week's episode of Rational Radio.

In today's business headlines: South African businessman Christo Wiese is part of a shareholder group that is proposing that the investment company Brait raise R3bn in a share sale and dispose of all assets except gym-chain Virgin Active; The Reserve Bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged and may only continue its easing when uncertainties about government finances and the nation’s credit ratings have been cleared up; Light has been shed by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project on where the money went that Trillian, the Gupta linked advisory earned from state contracts; Richemont recoups some of yesterday's losses; and  The government would announce its strategy to turn around ailing Eskom after it had finalised a master plan to revive the economy.

As we hear in this forthright interview with Andrew Canter, the ANC's proposal to re-introduce Prescribed Asset Requirements is only being advanced because the Government is not prepared to apply the correct economic medicine. The chief investment office of FutureGrowth explains that this is a blunt tool which taxes pensioners to protect those making poor economic policy decisions. He attacks the premise that such regulations promote development by unlocking domestic capital for capital projects - the popular refrain of those who promote the concept. Canter was interviewed in this week's episode of Rational Radio. - Alec Hogg

In this interview on Rational Radio, Valence Watson shares some unanswered questions raised through the family's investigation into the death of his eldest brother Gavin, founder of the controversial Bosasa. He points to an unexplained half hour between when Gavin left his Krugersdorp apartment and when his vehicle was wrapped against a concrete bridge support near the OR Tambo airport. And tells us about the pathologist's report which shows Gavin was dead before the accident, deepening the mystery around an apparent suicide that the facts now suggest most definitely wasn't. - Alec Hogg

In today's business headlines: Consumer inflation has risen by 4.3% in August from the 4% recorded in July, which is the fastest pace of acceleration in a year; The 2.4 trillion rand savings industry has a request for the ruling party: stop threatening to dictate where funds must invest and get going on projects that pensions can help finance; The Richemont share price dropped by almost 6% on the JSE as UBS said the European luxury sector may be nearing the end of the recovery cycle; Sasol is planning to sell its South African coal-mining business. Bloomberg reports that it  will begin a formal sales process in the coming weeks; The Council for Medical Schemes has suspended five officials including two executives and three senior managers over allegations of irregularities while corruption busting at the SABC and SAA is gaining traction; and South Africa has fallen to third place in the latest ‘RMB Where to Invest in Africa‘ ratings behind Egypt and Morocco.

Bernie Wolfsdorf, the US's top immigration lawyer, is being run off his feet right now. The Durban-born managing partner of California-based Wolfsdorf Rosenthal, who is currently in SA, says the reason behind his sleep deprivation is the rush by clients to take advantage of the EB-5 visa ahead of radical adjustments that will be imposed in November. He says "businessman" Donald Trump appreciates the popularity of the investment-driven ticket in to the US and is substantially hiking the price from the current $500,000 investment to as much as $1.8m. He was a guest on this week's episode of Rational Radio.

South Africa's favourite market commentator gave us a glimpse of the insider's world in this week's episode of Rational Radio with Biznews.com's Alec Hogg. Most investors were bemused by today's R35bn slump in the market value of global luxury goods group Richemont, one of the major counters on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (and hence in SA retirement portfolios). There was nothing untoward in the public domain, no official news announcement nor any other explanation for the price dive. But ever the sleuth, Shapiro's digging revealed that the sharp selloff was sparked by an investment analyst's report from Swiss bank UBS which took a dim view of Johann Rupert's group - sufficiently powerful to take 6% off the share price. Shapiro helps us understand this, and offers insights into Sasol, Naspers and Prosus in his always entertaining contribution.

Every year RMB releases the Investment Attractiveness Rankings report, which lists the African countries from top to bottom. It's unpacks criteria which is used to determine which nation is the most attractive to invest in. This year saw Egypt hold on to top spot, while a surprise saw Morocco leapfrog South Africa into second, with the southernmost country in third. Having lead the pack two years ago, SA is still seen as the springboard for investment into the continent. Alec Hogg spoke to RMB's Celeste Fauconnier.

The assault on Saudi Arabian oil facilities is already taking its toll on South Africa’s rand, and may put paid to any hopes of an interest-rate cut on Thursday, reports Bloomberg. The chairman of South African insurer Old Mutual, Trevor Manuel, on Tuesday apologised for comments he made last week in reference to the judge presiding over its court battle with fired chief executive Peter Moyo. Prosus NV, which listed in Amsterdam just last week, is splitting opinion among the first investment banks to cover the stock. South Africa’s airports operator posted its eighth consecutive annual profit, setting it apart from other key state-owned companies in the country that need government bailouts to keep running. Donald Trump faces a new battle over the release of his tax returns after New York prosecutors issued a subpoena for them.

The oil price spike has rocked financial markets, with good news and bad news for South Africa. Sasol jumped 10% on the JSE as investors absorbed the news of drone strikes on Saudi Arabian oil facilities. South African entrepreneur Elon Musk hired a private eye to dig up dirt on a cave diver who insulted a SpaceX rescue craft, and claims that calling someone a 'pedo guy' is a South African insult that refers to a creepy man rather than a sexual predator. The Black Management Forum has backed former Old Mutual CEO Peter Moyo in his boardroom battle with former finance minister Trevor Manuel. Eskom is about to spend a lot more of taxpayers' funds - this time on advisers to help its bosses manage a government bailout package.

Friction between the US and Iran escalated to a dangerous level after Saturday’s attack on a critical Saudi Arabian oil facility which knocked out half the country’s crude production – around 5.7m barrels a day or 5% of global oil supply. Political turmoil engulfing Hong Kong continued as tens of thousands of protestors again ignored a police ban to embark on their 15th successive weekend of rolling mass action.  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has dispatched three officials to seven African nations in the wake of a recent spate of xenophobic attacks. South Africa’s government has revised an onerous proposal shelved four years ago, and is drafting a new law aimed at securing it a free carry of 10% in all new oil and gas ventures.

In today's business headlines: The number of murders in South Africa has climbed to the highest level in a decade as an overburdened police force struggle to keep violent crime in check; Steinhoff has been fined a record R53m by the financial regulator for failing to properly disclose accounting problems; South Africa’s mining output increased for the first time in nine months in July as coal and iron ore production surged while the Rand rallied and resources and Aspen Pharmacare climbed on the JSE; South Africa’s unsecured loan boom has left 40% of borrowers in default and millions of people in a debt trap; and Sanlam Investments is creating a new asset management company, called Amplify that will help rhinos, while Spur is entering the click-and-collect market.

Lawyer Michael Bagraim shares the strange story of the way three doctors at a South African academic hospital were hauled into a disciplinary hearing over their attempt to rescue broken chairs from a pile of dumped waste. The labour law expert was brought into the picture after their appeal had failed after one of the doctors was fired and two others suspended on the most ridiculous grounds. Another example of how some public servants act with impunity - abusing their power to drive through personal agendas, no matter how flimsy the case to do so. Thanks to a receptive provincial authority, this tale has a happy ending, but raises questions about how many similar ones have been allowed to pass without public notice. Bagraim spoke to Alec Hogg in this week's episode of Rational Radio.

There are a number of South African money managers who could claim to be world class. Particularly in financial services where veteran portfolio manager Kokkie Kooyman's expertise has earned him a global following. Kooyman travels widely and often (always in Economy Class he once told me) to understand opportunities that others might miss - his latest trip to Japan motivated by a need to better understand how negative interest rates affect banking stocks. He covered his impressions in this week's episode of Rational Radio - after sharing his perspectives on the debate around Discovery's accounting policies which sent the highly rated group's share price down to a five year low. - Alec Hogg

In today's business headlines: Shares in Prosus, the Naspers spin-off which includes the groups 31% stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent, surged on its debut on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam jumping by as much as 32% above its reference price in early trading; South Africa has dodged the Moody’s downgrade bullet again; Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has taken to Twitter to inspire his followers to get out of their comfort zones and "Shake the baobab tree!" as business confidence has slumped to its lowest level since the 1980s; South Africa and the other four members of the Southern African Customs Union, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini have reached a deal to govern trade between them if the U.K leaves the EU on 31st of October; and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to build a bridge over the Irish Sea to link the UK and Northern Ireland.

On Rational Radio this week, Naspers Group CFO Basil Sgourdos told Alec Hogg how the decision to list the group's global internet assets in the now Dutch listed company Prosus, has unlocked more than $20bn for shareholders. Speaking from Amsterdam on the day Prosus shares were listed, Sgourdos explained that since the strategy was announced, the shares' discount to underlying assets has dropped from 45% to under 35%. That discount contracted still further today, delivering a further boost for owners of Naspers shares. He also shared how the listing went, what happens next and unpacked today's SENS announcement relating to a R176m transaction on shares for the top three executives.

South Africa's favourite market commentator, Sasfin Securities deputy chairman David Shapiro, was at his best in this week's episode of Rational Radio. He is forthright in his appreciation for the role that Naspers has played in bolstering SA retirement portfolios (his own included) and delighted to see the strong debut of its offshoot Prosus on Amsterdam's Euronext market. But not that enamoured with the collapsing share prices of Sasol, Aspen and Old Mutual - all of whose misery appears to have been self-induced.

Gary Hopkins tells me the difference between social entrepreneurs and their vanilla alternatives is that they measure success in terms of jobs created rather than profit generated. And by that measure, Hopkins's mushrooming I Love Coffee enterprise is roaring. After popping into the nearby offices of DeafSA one day, Hopkins decided to focus his efforts on building a business to help the hearing-impaired, creating a company which only employs the deaf. We met at the ABSA Dome at WEF Africa where one of the special baristas, Thuliswa (pictured) delivered a decaf cappuccino as good as any I've ever tasted. Prepare to be inspired. - Alec Hogg

Author and political scientist RW Johnson has predicted that South Africa will eventually be forced to go to the IMF and ask for a loan. Several other analysts have also supported this idea, but this lender of last resort has been described as a brutal loan shark by countries who were forced to go to an IMF bailout. Asking for a loan comes with strings attached; countries have to apply painful structural adjustment programmes. So, is this what South Africa would be forced to do if it does not get the spiralling debt of Eskom and the other state owned enterprises under control? Chief Economist of the Efficient Group, Dawie Roodt told Biznews in an interview that South Africa did not need an IMF loan, but it could be an option if a desperate Finance Minister wanted to enforce much-needed structural change in South Africa. - Linda van Tilburg

The wheels of justice are starting to turn a bit faster in South Africa, with former president Jacob Zuma and Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema both in the spotlight in connection with court action. In an unusual move, Lin Songtian, China’s ambassador to South Africa, has opened fire at US President Donald Trump through newspaper advertisements. Anglo American Platinum and Sibanye Gold will seek mediation to break the deadlock in wage negotiations with South Africa’s largest platinum-mining labour union. Looking at the JSE, it was a better day for medical scheme operator Discovery, which saw its share price perk up by more than 2%. Discovery was among the top-five major movers on the Johannesburg stock exchange. But, it was a tough day for shareholders in mining and resources stocks, with Assore down more than 7%, Impala platinum down nearly 6% and Kumba iron ore not far behind, with a drop of just over 5%.

South African authorities are cracking down on the perpetrators of a series of xenophobic attacks that left at least 12 people dead, Police Minister Bheki Cele said. The police have arrested 639 people so far. Old Mutual has once again blocked its CEO Peter Moyo from returning to work. Old Mutual’s share price has suffered in the boardroom battle between Moyo and former finance minister Trevor Manuel. The stock has fallen more than 11% since the CEO was first suspended, compared with a 4% decline in the five-member FTSE/JSE Africa Life Assurance Index. MTN has been fined R5m for increasing the price of WhatsApp bundles without giving sufficient notice to the regulatory authority. The dominance of Naspers over the South African stock market is about to be reduced - partially at least, says Bloomberg. And that’s good news for a number of fund managers concerned about the tech giant’s weighting in the main local index. JPMorgan’s 'Volfefe Index,' named after Trump’s mysterious covfefe tweet from May 2017, suggests that the president’s electronic musings are having a statistically significant impact on Treasury yields.

One of my biggest surprises of the past year was seeing ABSA's long-time CEO Maria Ramos's resignation a few days after our interview in late January at the WEF meeting in Switzerland. As SA's new president Cyril Ramaphosa was a regular visitor to the high profile ABSA presence on Davos's Promenade, the immediate assumption was that Ramos had been called back into National Service. Whatever the motive, her departure at the end of February put an unlikely new CEO into the ABSA hot seat - former Nedbanker, ABSA main board director and erstwhile Registrar of Banks Rene van Wyk. For the past half year Van Wyk has kept a low profile ahead of the permanent new ABSA CEO who takes over next year. But he's been doing a lot more than keeping the seat warm, as I discovered in this fascinating chat at WEF Africa last week. - Alec Hogg

The fallout from last week’s xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals is now affecting some of South Africa’s major companies, especially MTN. China’s exports to the US fell for the fourth straight month in August, down almost 16% year-on-year, after a 6% drop in July. South Africa’s oil-from-coal and chemicals group Sasol has pushed out the publication of its annual financial results by a further six weeks. Eskom is back in the news after the country’s Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan disclosed at last week’s WEF Africa summit that there will soon be negotiations with owners of the electricity utility’s debt.

SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago's once jet black moustache has greyed. And there are a few more lines on his face. But apart from those physical signs, only those who live close to the fire would appreciate the tough ride he has had over the past few years as, first,  Zuptoids tried to grab control of South Africa's central bank; and then a misguided Public Protector attempted the same. But the vastly experienced Kganyago proved up to the challenge and in this wide-ranging interview with Biznews founder Alec Hogg, he looks back at the pleasantly surprising GDP numbers and ahead at what we need to watch out for next.