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Managing a business

6 apps every entrepreneur should use to improve their productivity

As an entrepreneur, you wear many hats in one day.

Before you can scale your business and hire more employees, you’re responsible for marketing, finance, delivering your product or service, and the other 101 things your business needs. Even the most organised person will struggle to juggle all these tasks.

Knowing how to streamline these tasks ensures you get the most out of every day. Thanks to advancing technology on mobile phones, there are several apps that can help you enhance your business’ daily operations.

Use these six low-cost apps to improve your productivity.

The three most common challenges facing South Africa’s entrepreneurs  

Along with the vast amount of opportunity, the South African business climate also presents entrepreneurs with a great deal of challenges. This has been particularly true within the context of the past two years, which have been characterised by the impact of a persistent economic downturn. Pressures such as the ongoing energy crisis have been exacerbated by the rising cost of fuel, amidst other headwinds including adverse weather patterns and spates of civil unrest and violence.

Creating an environment where women and youth entrepreneurs can thrive

Article written by Ronnie Mbatsane (Managing Executive for SME Business & Sanah Gumede, Managing Executive for Strategy and Customer Value Management at Absa Relationship Banking)

The past few years have been difficult ones for South Africans. We have faced the COVID pandemic, intensified load shedding, civil unrest and natural disasters to name a few. Not only have these challenges interrupted our daily lives, but the environment has changed significantly as a result with profound social and financial implications for individuals as well as businesses. According to the Africa Report, a significant portion of South Africa’s young people are now unemployed, with women making up two-thirds of the job losses during the pandemic.

Startup owners should seek business advice online

The COVID-19 lockdown has forced many of us to take things online, whether it was to do online banking for the first time or to do online events via Zoom (and other platforms).

However, many still feel that meetings or conferences are best done in person, especially when it comes to networking. But the question remains: how can you leverage getting business advice online because you want to save time on travelling and save money on transport expenses?

Are you looking for parcel delivery security through technology?

In recent years, South Africans have wholeheartedly embraced the convenience and accessibility of online shopping and mobile commerce, with an astounding R50 billion spent in 2022. This surge in digital retail activity has undeniably fuelled the growth of South Africa's courier express parcel delivery industry. However, this rapid expansion has also attracted the attention of opportunistic individuals with malicious intent.

Three steps for small businesses to bolster cybersecurity

It has been widely reported that South Africa is poised to overtake Nigeria as the continent’s capital for cybercrime. According to the latest research conducted by Interpol, South Africa has seen a staggering 100% increase in mobile banking application fraud over the last year and is estimated to experience as many as 577 malware attacks every hour. While the broader media have made great strides in bringing awareness to the prominence of cybercrime in the country, the message needs to be amplified in the small business sector in particular.

SARS non-compliance notices

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) wishes to clarify the confusion with the non-compliance notices issued by SARS to companies and close corporations, who have not filed their tax returns. The notice issued by SARS is based on tax compliance, and not the same compliance required by CIPC, for the filing of Annual Returns. Although compliance with the two institutions are necessary and are co-related to some extent, they are however independent in that:

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