JOHANNESBURG — Cape-based startup Aerobotics is seriously making headway in improving the way farmers farm. The company specialises in using drone and software technology to help farmers identify possible problem pests and diseases on their crops. The company does this by using incredible image capturing technology that can go down to individual tree-level and even further. The service has already taken off in South Africa with drones surveying around 100 000 hectares. James Paterson, the CEO and founder of Aerobotics, tells me more about his fascinating company in this podcast. - Gareth van Zyl

There are advantages to coming off a low base. As their financial sectors start catching up to the world’s more sophisticated markets, Sub Saharan African countries have been growing their global borrowing presence. So how have they been impacted by recent rocking of the Emerging Market boat through the well documented crises in Argentina and Turkey. Here’s Nanagolo Phiri, co-head of the debt financing group at RMB...

JOHANNESBURG — Over the last few weeks, I've been interviewing business leaders and school principals involved in something called 'Partners for Possibility' (PfP). It's a programme that is helping to empower schools by focusing on something that is often overlooked in this vital sector: leadership. By getting business owners and CEOs to engage with school principals, the PfP programme has made a huge difference to the quality of education being delivered in over 800 schools by helping to empower principals. The end-result is eye-opening. PfP is targeting all 20 000 public schools in South Africa and, in this interview, PfP founder Louise van Rhyn explains how the programme works and why it's making such a huge impact. - Gareth van Zyl

The VBS Bank scandal dominated news headlines this week and in today's episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan break down the latest we've learned. We look at the role ANC leaders in Limpopo played in facilitating the scheme and explore the possible links between VBS and the Zuma family. As the details of this astounding and massive heist continue to emerge, South Africans can expect to see serious political and legal consequences. We also take a look at the latest in Steinhoff news - this time, evidence of insider trading by disgraced former CEO Markus Jooste - and discuss the recent turmoil in stock markets.

JOHANNESBURG — There are two things that will solve South Africa's economic woes over the long-term. The first is improved education standards, particularly at primary and secondary school levels. Our feeder systems into tertiary level need to be of the very highest standard, but right now they're a complete mess and fall totally short of global standards. Secondly, we need greater levels of entrepreneurship. We need SMEs to become the engine of growth. One man is trying to spark the latter by encouraging township residents to create their own businesses. Meet Bulelani Balabala. - Gareth van Zyl

JOHANNESBURG — Financial services veteran Stephen van Coller left a top job at MTN to join EOH Holdings in September this year. As EOH's new group CEO, a lot is riding on van Coller to turn around the IT company, which has faced several scandals, a falling share price and financial performance challenges in the last 18 months. But van Coller - a former ABSA CIB CEO and local Deutsche Bank exec - comes highly regarded and respected, and he is definitely EOH's best shot at becoming a JSE darling once again. In this interview, van Coller explains why he joined EOH, how he's dealing with challenges at the company and what his big plans are. - Gareth van Zyl

Steinhoff shareholders seemed to breath a sigh of relief this week when Steinhoff-owned retailer Mattress Firm managed to secure an eleventh-hour bank bailout. But is this really the good news it seems, and what may be behind the deal? Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan dig into events at Steinhoff as the consequences of the scandal continue to unfold. They also take a look at Nhlanhla Nene's big week (and his Gupta apology) and chat about Elon Musk's latest Tweet-storm.

JOHANNESBURG — JSE-listed Grand Parade Investments is a food and gaming company that boasts brands such as Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, and SunWest International, but it has gone through a rough time of late. Just last week it reported a net loss of R106m, while its share price has fallen by more than 70% from 2014 levels. Meanwhile, Burger King has reported six years of losses in South Africa. However, there’s now a group of activist shareholders, with a combined stake of just over 12% in the company, who want answers and a new board at Grand Parade Investments. They are so intent on forcing accountability that they've called for a special meeting at the end of October 2018. One of those shareholders is Denker Capital. And in this interview, Ricco Friedrich of Denker Capital explains what's going on. - Gareth van Zyl

JOHANNESBURG — Futuregrowth Asset Management, acting on behalf of client funds, recently concluded an investment in the Impact Bond Innovation Fund (IBIF), a South African outcome-based financing mechanism that seeks to improve early childhood learning and development (ECD) outcomes in the Western Cape. The IBIF, a social impact bond, is the first ECD-focused transaction of its type in the Global South. The transaction has been structured and led through an intermediary partnership between mothers2mothers (m2m), an international nonprofit organisation, and Volta Capital - an international impact investment structuring specialist. In this interview, Michelle Green, who is an Investment Analyst at Futuregrowth Asset Management, and David Torres, who is the Senior Advisor to the CEO at mothers2mothers, explain more about the transaction. - Gareth van Zyl

JOHANNESBURG — The tobacco industry and smoking are controversial topics in South Africa. But a newly proposed bill appears - on the surface - to risk basic civil liberties and entrench what could be interpreted as a nanny state. The Draft Tobacco Bill intends banning smoking in your own home and implementing standardised packaging on cigarette packs, among other more stringent measures to curb smoking. It's a step too far says Andrew Neumann, who is the general manager for Japan Tobacco International (JTI). In this interview, Neumann also explains the rationale behind something called the #HandsOffMyChoices campaign. Take a listen. - Gareth van Zyl

Cyril Ramaphosa spent some time in New York last week, and while he was there, managed to insert his foot firmly in his mouth by denying that South Africa has a land grab crisis or any farm murders. It was a strange lapse for a careful politician and in this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan dig into his strange statements and why he made them. They also talk about the ongoing scandal surrounding Tesla CEO Elon Musk and dig into the contentious nomination of sexual assault accused Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court.

In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss the proposed SA stimulus package, asking whether it's going to spell Ramarecovery or Ramafailure. Cyril Ramaphosa has outlined a plan to boost investment in the hopes of reigniting growth and launching South Africa out of recession. Many questions, however, remain. Much depends on the specific projects and interventions that the government spends the money on. While the plan could help boost long-term growth potential, there are definite risks. They also delve into two mounting global crises: the widening US/China trade war and the rising possibility of a hard Brexit. Both of these threaten to worsen SA's economic situation at a moment when the country can ill-afford additional challenges.

JOHANNESBURG — In this podcast, Louisa Mvelo - who is the school principal of Khula Sizwe Primary School in Tembisa - tells us how the Partners for Possibility programme has helped completely transform and improve her school. It's an example of what can be done to vastly improve South Africa's creaking educational system. - Gareth van Zyl

JOHANNESBURG — Naspers' announcement that it intends to separately list and unbundle its video entertainment business as MultiChoice Group on the JSE has been seen as Naspers' first step in unlocking its stock discount in relation to its 31% Tencent stake. While Netflix and Amazon are starting to eat MultiChoice's lunch in South Africa, MultiChoice is still not a bad business by any stretch. For the year ended March, it generated revenues of R47.1bn and trading profits of R6.1 bn. In this teleconference call, Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk along with Naspers Video Entertainment CEO, Imtiaz Patel, explain the rationale for the unbundling. - Gareth van Zyl

JOHANNESBURG — It was just over a year ago, on 5 September 2017, that I interviewed Francis Ingham, the Director General of the PRCA. At that time, the PRCA had made the extraordinary decision to expel Bell Pottinger from the organisation amid the dodgy work it did for the Guptas. What followed thereafter was the complete collapse of Bell Pottinger, which lost clients at a blistering pace and which ultimately was put into administration. In many ways, the fall of Bell Pottinger was a bellwether for things to come as the Guptas' empire would come to crumble in SA while Jacob Zuma would ultimately be forced to resign as President. Now we have a Commission of Inquiry into State Capture - unthinkable just a year ago. It was therefore interesting to catch up again with Ingham on how the PRCA's decision impacted the UK PR industry and the backstory to personal threats that he received during what was a dramatic time. Take a listen. - Gareth van Zyl

Investec is splitting up into a London-based asset management business and a South Africa-based bank. It's an unusual move in a sector that prizes size and synergy, yet the share price has reacted favourably to the news. In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan dig into the Investec announcement and ask why it happened and why the markets seem to like it. They also discuss Apple's new product line and look at why South Africa is falling behind the rest of Africa in the investment race.

JOHANNESBURG — Sable International has become known as the experts when it comes to moving your wealth (or yourself) offshore and taking advantage of the likes of Portugal's Golden Visa programme. But there's a statistic in this interview with Sable International's Andrew Rissik that stood out for me. Amid recent challenging economic and political uncertainties in South Africa, Sable International has experienced a 300% jump in enquiries. It's a phenomenal number and highlights just how many South Africans are feeling uneasy at home and looking to protect their wealth by moving it offshore. In this interview, Rissik explains some of the options available for those looking to make the leap. - Gareth van Zyl

The latest update of RMB’s superbly researched Where to Invest in Africa listing arrives at an opportune time. Another Emerging Market crisis, sparked by ructions in Turkey and Argentina, is making it more important than ever for developing countries to differentiate themselves. Investors have become increasingly discerning – paying ever increasing attention to credible comparisons like RMB's table. Celeste Fauconnier is the editor of the easily digestible Where to Invest in Africa annual ranking of all 53 African countries.

JOHANNESBURG — Amid the legendary Stephen Koseff stepping down officially from Investec on 1 October 2018, there's a group of executives about to move up the ranks at the financial institution. One of those executives is John Green who, come 1 October, will along with Mimi Ferrini be stepping up to be joint-CEO of Investec Asset Management. In turn, Hendrik du Toit, the current Investec Asset Management CEO, will take over from Stephen Koseff as joint CEO. The other joint CEO with du Toit will be Fani Titi. So, it was a great opportunity then to interview John Green this week on a new China-Africa agreement that Investec Asset Management has interestingly struck, as well as his views on the current state of the SA economy. - Gareth van Zyl

Relocation to a new country is challenging. The decision itself is not easy. Even the most rational of beings find it difficult to overcome emotional aspects like the familiarity of people and places, the in-built understanding of how things work, and aversion for change that’s embedded in all of mankind. Economists have a term for this reluctance – they call it Home Bias. But sometimes circumstances prove too much for even those most deeply infected with such Home Bias. The fortunate get pulled by an irresistible need to expand their horizons, to pursue new opportunities. Others get pushed by things beyond their control. After decades of geographic and political isolation, economic and political change in South Africa has created uncertainty. That has sparked new lines of inquiry among formerly settled citizens, particularly those with internationally transportable skills. As much of South Africa’s national culture was shaped from centuries as a British colony, it’s little surprise the UK has, for many, been a magnet. Official records show almost a million South African-born people now live in the UK. This mass migration has established a thriving community into which new arrivals can and do quickly integrate. Technology benefits like Skype, Whatsapp, Waze, Citymapper and a host of others have removed the information barrier. As a result, Saffers, as they call themselves, tend to integrate quickly and usually successfully into the UK. But many who do have British ancestry a couple generations back, struggle with the concept of having to commit to a minimum stay of five years to earn citizenship. But as we hear from specialist emigration lawyer JP Breytenbach, there’s some good news on that front.

JOHANNESBURG — The situation for MTN in Nigeria continues to be fluid as the company indicated on Monday that it will be turning to the West African country's courts to fight $10bn in claims from the Nigerian government. Nigerian officials have accused MTN of illegally transferring $8.1 billion out of Nigeria and owing a further $2 billion in back taxes. MTN has disputed the claims. But this battle between MTN and the Nigerian government is nothing new. Back in 2015, MTN faced the world's biggest ever telecommunications fine of $5.2bn for allegedly selling unregistered SIMs - a fine that the country's regulators then dramatically drew back to around $1bn. Could this latest fight then be another case of high-stakes negotiating on the part of Nigerian authorities? Dobek Pater, from Africa Analysis, has been studying the African telecoms market for years and is an expert on what the situation on the ground is like in Nigeria. In this interview, Pater gives us a greater understanding of whether or not this is a shakedown and what the forces at play are in Africa's biggest mobile phone market. - Gareth van Zyl

With South Africa officially in recession, the government is talking up the possibility of a multi-billion rand stimulus package to restore growth. But how realistic is this? After all, the rand is weakening, the country is already carrying a heavy debt load, and tax revenues are falling. In this episode, Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss the constraints that the ANC-led government is ignoring and the global context for SA's capacity to stimulate the economy. While a stimulus package would be great, it just seems very unrealistic. They also look at events in Russia and reflect on how South Africa managed to avoid getting too far into bed with a dangerous foreign power.

JOHANNESBURG — Yoco, the makers of a card reader device that connects with a merchant’s smartphone or tablet, has raised a Series B round of US$16m (R230m) led by Partech, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley and including the likes of South African-based Futuregrowth. Yoco is a fascinating local business as it only started in 2015 but has managed to grow its base to over 27 000 South African small businesses, 75% of which had never accepted cards previously. In this interview with Amrish Narrandes, an investment analyst at Futuregrowth, and Carl Wazen, who is the co-founder of sale payments provider Yoco; the pair tell us all about the latest capital raising round. - Gareth van Zyl

JOHANNESBURG — The Chief Investment Office of Futuregrowth, Andrew Canter, was in the spotlight in 2016 when the fund manager took the unprecedented step of halting lending to six major SOEs. After reviewing these SOEs and conducting further reviews, Futuregrowth cleared some of them. Earlier this year, Futuregrowth also made the news again when it released a report entitled ‘SOE Governance Unmasked’, in which it decried the lack of transparency at SOEs in South Africa, especially for those companies with listed bonds. In this interview then, Canter provides updates on these two previous developments as well as his views on why he's still positive about South Africa, despite a current technical recession and a weak rand. (I apologise for some small parts of the audio where my dog can be heard barking in the background. The interview is so good that I couldn't cut it out!) - Gareth van Zyl

The rand is officially slumping and it looks like the fall could continue as emerging markets currencies remain under fire. What is a South African to do in such an environment? Well, the biggest trick is investing offshore, hedging against the rand with dollar, euro, or pound investments. Alec Hogg and Felicity Duncan discuss how the falling rand has boosted the Biznews Global Portfolio and how offshore diversification can help South African investors stay on top even when the rand hits bottom. They also catch up on the Reinert share buyback and talk about Alec Hogg's upcoming interview with Lost Boys of Bird Island co-author Chris Steyn.