Ventureburn

Banking on ecommerce growth in SA — Q&A with The Foschini Group’s Brent Curry

Even though South Africa’s ecommerce sector is estimated to estimated to make up only one percent of the total market for consumer goods, we’ve…

The rise of African startups is a business opportunity, not a threat

We are in the middle of a tech startup frenzy, with research suggesting that South Africa alone is home to more than 5 000…

Changing climates, changing fortunes: what African elections mean for investors

Electoral cycles have long been a sticky issue for Africa’s business communities. Elections often evoke fears that a regime change will bring uncertainty and…

4 tips startups need to keep in mind when raising first round funding

Being a startup founder can be downright challenging. Whether it is developing a sound business plan, building a team, or acquiring customers, you will…

Invest in training your employees — 6 ways it will pay off for your business

In a difficult economic climate, the training and education budget is often one of the first areas of the business to suffer cutbacks. After…

Riovic wants to be the personal financial advisor in your pocket

Plaguing unbankable communities — in addition to not having access banking services — is not having access to professional financial advice. South Africa’s Riovic,…

Entrepreneurship training for African startups? Stakeholders disagree

While entrepreneurship is an essential aspect of the economy of most African countries with entrepreneurs acquiring knowledge from different sources, tech entrepreneurs in West…

Running a lean startup? Here are 9 free tools that could help

Some entrepreneurs don’t have a choice when launching a lean or bootstrapped startup. They may struggle to find financing, but wish to still proceed…

Why it’s so important for startups to nurture leaders from within

One of the greatest challenges for a startup founder is growing the startup into an organisation that is far beyond his own strengths and…

Ampion Venture Bus: an NGO’s mission to drive impactful innovation in Africa

There are various initiatives through which entrepreneurs can come together to ideate, develop, test and launch a product (and company) in Africa, but none…

How much can small business learn from customer self-service?

In the “old days” just a few years ago, it was a good idea to arrive two hours before your domestic flight in order…

Rise of the consumer — is South Africa’s Private Shopper in the pound seat?

Taking your business else-where can have some negative connotations, unless of course you are talking about taking it online, in which case you are…

This is why I won’t run another startup

Earlier this year, I closed my startup. So now I get to reflect on what I’d have done differently. Hindsight is unfair and inaccurate,…

Why Africa’s ‘largest retailer’ Jumia calls itself a startup

In February, I put Nigeria’s two leading ecommerce giants Jumia Nigeria and Konga to the test. The results showed some concerns about the quality…

5 effective communication tools every SME needs in the bag

Regardless of the size of your company or how long you have been in operation, it is essential that you have communication tools in…

Stockbox is your subscription delivery site for household essentials

In the South African market we constantly see the rise and fall of different online shopping ventures. Some of these businesses use proven cookie-cutter methods of…

CustosTech wants to curb movie piracy using bitcoin

In January last year an illegal copy of the movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, was making its rounds on the internet. The…

Dare to dream, dare to fail: 4 lessons from Adelaide Potgieter’s MadWorld

South African entrepreneur and the founder of creative agency group MadWorld, Adelaide Potgieter, is very daring. In between rocky roads of the past, vulnerabilities,…

Africa’s the new China — here’s why investors should care

Apart from the fact that one is a continent and the other a country, Africa is the new China. This seems like an odd…

5 customer service obstacles every startup has to overcome

Have you ever noticed how some companies seem to go out of their way to place obstacles between their customers and great service? I…

Wootware’s Rory Magee on growing ecommerce success in oversaturated market

Starting an ecommerce store in South Africa is a difficult undertaking; making it a success is a far more daunting challenge. Wootware is an…

Mark Forrester from WooThemes on how a SA startup sprouted a global success story

Last week, we witnessed one of South Africa’s greatest success stories to date. A local tech company was acquired by Automattic, which is the…

7 reasons you should care about fintech even if you don’t work in finance

Once the realm of stodgy bankers, the financial services industry is changing rapidly as young software engineers breathe new life into the sector. That’s…

When AI Sees What We See – Why Its “Vision” Feels Weird (and Slightly Creepy)

The Comic Chaos of Sassy Smart Homes

Optasia’s $375 Million JSE IPO Could Redefine African AI Fintech

Innovate47 Launches Global Food & Agri Accelerator to Back Climate-Smart Startups

Simbi Wabote’s 10-Year Roadmap: How Nigeria Achieved 54% Local Content Growth

Records Tumble In Best Year Yet For South Africa’s Hedge Fund Industry

Acer Unleashes Beastly New Predator BiFrost and Nitro GPUs with AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series

Philips Evnia Drops Jaw-Dropping QD OLED Monitors: 240Hz, Ambiglow, and All the Good Stuff

Omoda C5 X review

TDK enhances IMUs for extreme temps

Data centres and defence are reviving diesel