JOHANNESBURG — Nic Haralambous has spent his entire working life as an entrepreneur. And as he tells me in this interview, "15 years of back-to-back failures" have taught him a hell of a lot and sparked the writer within him to pen his debut book entitled, DO FAIL LEARN REPEAT – The Truth Behind Building Businesses. Despite the challenging journey that he's embarked on, it's fair to say that he's also had some successes, with the sale of Motribe to Mxit in 2012 and his subsequent launch of online (and brick-and-mortar) fashion stores 'Nic Harry'. But even amid the successes, Nic says he's had dark moments. He now wants to tell his story to SA and hopes that budding entrepreneurs will lend an ear. It's a fascinating interview and a must-listen for anybody looking to take the leap into the startup world or even change the direction of their careers. - Gareth van Zyl

JOHANNESBURG — For years, TISA says it looked on while illicit cigarettes, which fail to comply with local tax laws, have flooded the market. In addition, TISA says that this coincided with a breakdown in its relationship with SARS, starting in 2014 - the year in which Tom Moyane was appointed as Commissioner of the tax collector. Such was the frustration that TISA experienced that it turned to independent researcher Ipsos to carry out a study on the illicit cigarette trade in the country. And the results of that study are absolutely shocking. About one in four cigarettes in the country, almost 25%, are being illegally sold at well below the tax threshold. This is significantly higher than the global average of 10%. Further to this, SARS is expected to lose R7bn in revenue collection this year owing to its years of failing to crack down on the industry. Because most of the illicit cigarettes in South Africa are made outside of the country, it's the local tobacco producers who also suffer the most with their sales expected to drop 15% this year alone, putting thousands of local jobs at risk. This issue, in many ways, became integral to state capture, and TISA Chairman Francois van der Merwe puts the blame squarely at the door of Moyane. In this podcast, you'll hear van der Merwe explaining why the study was needed. You'll also hear from Zibusiso Ngulube, Head of Market Measurement at Ipsos, who unpacks the results of the study. - Gareth van Zyl

JOHANNESBURG — Wherever you go in the world, you're bound to bump into a South African. One of those South Africans is Darren Roos, who now lives in the UK. In April this year, Roos - who is a long-time veteran in the enterprise software space - became CEO of a major global enterprise software firm called IFS, which has its headquarters in Sweden. IFS has received high praise from the likes of research houses Gartner and Forrester. And as Roos tells me in this interview, he's now essentially reconfiguring IFS' presence in South Africa as well as hosting an interesting event in the country dubbed 'Connect to what's Next' at Sandton's Maslow Hotel on 2 August 2018. - Gareth van Zyl

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Safari Investments has been a heavy investor into South Africa's former townships long before it became popular, and is now reaping the benefits of its far-sighted strategy. After a R900m fund raising exercise, the company is very lightly geared and is hunting high quality investments bit in SA and in Eastern Europe. In this interview CEO Francois Marais reveals that issues which have acted as a brake on the Safari Investments share price - succession and its modestly sized market cap - are in the process of being addressed.

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JOHANNESBURG — Allan Gray's Investment Summit is being held in Cape Town and Sandton later this month respectively on 17 July and 18 July. It's shaping up to be a very interesting event for those interested in the investment world as Allan Gray's Tamryn Lamb outlines below. What also looks interesting is that the event will be closing with Brazillian businessman Ricardo Semler, a maverick who has completely shaken up the way business is traditionally done. - Gareth van Zyl

A good month for the share prices of Amazon and Alphabet, which between them account for 40% of the portfolio, ensured a healthy uplift from $358k to $360k in the total portfolio, despite some notable price declines elsewhere in the portfolio. Chinese companies Tencent and Alibaba came under pressure as Donald Trump cranked up the rhetoric around his proposed trade war, and Apple also eased because of its exposure to the Middle Kingdom. All emerging market currencies suffered in the wake of heightened tension, including the Rand, which fell from R12.45 against the US Dollar to R13.68. The Rand was also impacted by concerns over implications of the ANC’s stated approach towards Expropriation without Compensation of land. As the portfolio is a pure Rand-hedge, the currency’s decline has a very positive impact on its value for South African investors, lifting the total from R4.5m to R4.75m.

JOHANNESBURG - Just like the Michael Jordaan-back…

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JOHANNESBURG — The latest available South African…

When we think about ways to create jobs and fight poverty in South Africa, most people picture investments in agriculture and manufacturing. Those sectors are often seen as key drivers of employment and as the best way to grow an emerging economy. But new research suggests that, in fact, the services sector can be an engine for growth and job creation. According to experts from the Human Sciences Research Council, all it takes is a little innovation and creativity.

When the now hugely successful business called Outsurance opened shop in 1998, those running South Africa’s short-term insurers lost little sleep. Slowly but surely, however, the disruptor ate away at the establishment and is today one of the country’s Big Three alongside Santam and Mutual & Federal – with a flourishing business called Youi in Australia. The group is now branching out into savings and investments, using algorithms, technology and ETFs to slash costs and open up opportunities for the general population. With its investment plans starting at a modest R100 monthly, the new OUTvest is reaching into a sector that had little option outside low yielding savings accounts.

LONDON — In this special podcast, RMB Investment …

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JOHANNESBURG — Ronnie Apteker is well known as an…

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JOHANNESBURG — It was almost exactly a year ago t…

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Last week's Russian malware scare underlined, for me, how vulnerable our homes are to attacks from hackers. Our devices create new vulnerabilities and manufacturers seem unconcerned with the risks. In this episode, former Facebook network security lead and internet security champion Jim McCoy explains why our homes are so vulnerable to attack. He also outlines on how we can protect ourselves and our families from these growing threats.

JOHANNESBURG — South African Energy Minister Jeff…

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JOHANNESBURG — South African FinTech 'InvestSure'…