This Women’s Month, MiWay celebrates women are leading in traditionally male-dominated sectors – and who make a big success of it too! Women have been making breaking barriers for generations, yet there are still many industries and sectors which tend to be ‘preserved’ for men. But even in those areas, exceptional women are showing that they truly can make a contribution in these industries. Take Selinah Mtilene, who runs Diamond Panelbeaters in Mabopane, near Pretoria. Selinah was a traditional woman, who believed that it was the men who needed to wear work overalls while women stayed in the kitchen. But that all changed as she shared the challenges of running a business with her husband, who operated a backyard panel-beating business. Over a period of 11 years, Selinah developed such a passion for the motor industry that she quit her office job to lead Diamond Panelbeaters in partnership with her husband. After 3 years in the venture as partner, he left the business, and Selinah now runs it on her own. Selinah found running the business tough, especially when it came to accessing finance. After her 3-year stint as a solo business owner, Selinah was forced to return to a full-time job so that she could obtain a personal loan to buy the necessary equipment. During that period, she relied on her assistant, Valencia Khoza, who ran the business while she was working. “Having a woman I could rely on, and a fixed income to steady the course, I grew in self-confidence and at the same time, my confidence in the strength of women also grew,” she says. She mentions, however, that the lack of women in the field meant there was little support from what she refers to as “a sisterhood’, commonly found in women’s social circles and family networks. “Regardless of how long or how hard the road was, I couldn’t and didn’t allow myself to lose focus,” Selinah advises. “As my biggest client account since 2019 MiWay gave me the opportunity to really spread my wings, to fly. Today, Diamond Panelbeaters still employs Valencia, but we also have 48 professionals who are employed full-time! Yes, mine is a success story against the odds, but we need more, especially the stories of women, like me, who are using their small businesses as a vehicle to create employment opportunities and, ultimately, to alleviate poverty.” Pretoria-based Gillian Grobler is another mbokodo (Nguni word for “rock”) who, by her own admission, “stumbled into telecommunications by chance”, and went on to make a success of it against all the odds. A secretary by profession, Gillian was fascinated by her fiancé’s state-of-the-art telephone he carried under his arm when he came home from work one night. He went on to tell her that one of his business contacts was hoping they would be interested in setting up a local branch selling that type of equipment. Knowing first-hand how painful it was to spend days with a phone lodged between neck and shoulder while typing, they knew there would be a market for phones with functional design, including the option of a speaker. The couple agreed, and opened their business a few months later “financed” by no more than R30 000 worth of stock from the supplier. “I never imagined that 34 years later I would still be a salary maker, not a salary taker,” Gillian says. The challenges of starting and running a business cannot be underestimated, she says. She faced the biggest one of all when her husband was given a terminal diagnosis but, as she says, the hurdles are never-ending, and “one must simply persevere”. Gillian already knew that most offices are run by secretaries and personal assistants, women, really. She leveraged this insight and her extensive sisterhood of highly competent women to achieve her business goals: connecting with office executives, mostly men, as potential clients for their new telecommunications venture. When it comes to broken glass, Mumtaz Moola is an expert, more specifically in the motor glass industry. When the founder of MyGlass approached her with an offer to join the company’s leadership team, for Mumtaz, the decision was easy. He was clear about his vision to transform his business by empowering and enabling women in a sector which is not represented by women business owners, instead only women in administrative roles. “That conversation ignited my passion to not only be a woman leader, but also to inspire more and more women to sink their teeth into the male-dominated motor glass industry,” Mumtaz remarks. She joined MyGlass in 2016 as a director and shareholder. “As an approved vendor on a panel of service providers to a major insurance company, I made it my business to learn and understand the ins and outs of this niche sector. And I had to learn fast, especially since I was committed to bringing more women into this industry.” Mumtaz believes that women need to be given the opportunity to own businesses, “but this can only be realized in an environment conducive to growth, acquisition of business and technical skills”. MyGlass currently one of Miway’s biggest woman-owned fitment centres. …
Success Stories
Ebooks – Leading Ladies and Mompreneurs
Africa Finance Corporation Invests in Nyanza Light Metals to drive minerals beneficiation in South Africa
Nyanza Light Metals (“Nyanza”) has announced that Africa Finance Corporation (“AFC”), the leading infrastructure solutions provider on the African continent, has become a co-developer and early stage investor in its 80,000tpa titanium dioxide pigment (TiO2) plant in South Africa. South Africa is the world’s second largest producer of titanium ores but imports almost all its value-added titanium products. This transformational project will be the first of its kind in South Africa and the African continent producing titanium dioxide pigment for international and South African manufacturers of products including, paints, plastics, pharmaceuticals and building materials. AFC is making an initial US$3 million investment which will go towards the completion of the project development activities that will take the US$550 million project to financial close in H1 2023. In addition to its role as a co-developer, AFC is also a co-Mandated Lead Arranger alongside African Export- Import Bank (“Afreximbank”) whom have co-funded the project. Given its high socio-economic impact, the project has received strong support from the Government of South Africa through its Department of Trade Industry and Competition (“DTIC”) which, since 2020, has co-funded the feasibility studies with the sponsors, Arkein Capital Partners (“Arkein”) and DBF Capital Partners (“DBF”). Athari Capital Partners also acted as the lead transaction advisor to Nyanza Light Metals. Nyanza’s Chief Executive Officer, Donovan Chimhandamba said, “We are delighted to have AFC come aboard our flagship project, a milestone that supports our commitment to developing an impactful mineral beneficiation and diversified chemicals manufacturing plants on the African Continent. This investment sets up Nyanza as Africa’s Largest titanium value addition industrial complex. Nyanza’s pioneering journey into mineral beneficiation is a trail blazing initiative that will hopefully be a model for value addition in minerals processing across the continent.” AFC’s Senior Director and Head of Project Development and Technical Solutions, Mr Amadou Wadda said, “AFC is proud to be part of this landmark deal for South Africa and Africa as it is closely aligned with our investment strategy which focuses on the in-country value-accretive beneficiation of Africa’s natural resources. South Africa being one of the world’s largest producers of titanium ore makes this project a key example of moving Africa higher up the value-added manufacturing supply chain whilst creating local jobs and driving economic development on the continent.” In March 2022, Nyanza completed the construction of the first phase of the project which is located in Richard’s Bay Industrial Development Zone in KwaZulu Natal Province. This culminated in the commissioning of the Product Testing and Development Center (“PTDC”) with a capacity of 700tpa of titanium dioxide pigment. The PTDC’s TiO2 production will be offered to paint and pigment market players to test and co-develop different paint formulations based on Nyanza’s pigment quality while 80,000tpa main plant is being constructed. “Financial close for the US$550m main pigment plant is expected to be achieved in the first half of 2023 with production from the main plant to ramp up from early 2025. Nyanza’s current focus is on appointing the right EPC contractor to construct the main plant.” Chimhandamba added.
Slow ambulance response times? There’s an app for that…
If you’ve ever called an ambulance for a loved one, you’ll know all too well how excruciating it is to wait for help to arrive – minutes feel like hours. And, with South Africa’s current response times not where they should be, the wait can also be detrimental to the person in need of assistance. This is because every second counts in medical emergencies. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, after just five minutes without oxygen, brain cells start to die, and every minute thereafter 10% more die, with complete brain death occurring within 14 minutes. Stroke victims lose the use of two million brain cells every two minutes, and arterial bleeds can result in death in mere minutes. Warren Myers, CEO of AURA, South Africa’s on-demand security and medical response platform, says that the current response landscape is falling far short of delivering a vital service that all South Africans deserve. The Gauteng Department of Health reports that the current average response time for an ambulance in Gauteng ranges from 30 to 60 minutes, well short of the international standard of seven minutes for life-threatening calls. To make matters worse, there are a few numbers a person can call in a medical emergency in South Africa, complicating the process for the person who is already under pressure to help someone and help them fast. You can call 10111 or 10177, 112 from any cell phone, and some private health insurance providers have their own medical emergency numbers. Modern tech can save us Myers says that current technology has huge potential to improve emergency response times for all and streamline the process of getting help. “With the introduction of smart technology into the emergency response sector, the outdated practice of phoning an ambulance, explaining the nature of the emergency as well as your exact location, and then waiting for the agent to dispatch a vehicle, can be simplified to a single touch of a panic button. The AURA platform does all the hard work for you – pinpointing your location and, using a connected device installed in the response vehicles, ensuring that the closest vetted private ambulance is dispatched to you, saving precious time. Think of it like Uber for ambulances,” explains Myers. However, good medical outcomes don’t just depend on how fast a patient is attended to, but also on the quality of care received once reached. Doctors refer to the period of time immediately after a traumatic injury as ‘the golden hour’, when prompt medical and surgical treatment is most likely to prevent death. “A person’s chances of survival are greatest if they receive high quality care within a short period of time after a severe injury,” shares Bernadette Breton from Alliance International Medical Services (AIMS). But what if you don’t have medical aid? The good news is that if you are signed up with an AURA network partner, the cost of a private ambulance is covered by the fee you pay through the partner. Those without medical aid can be taken to a state hospital for further care but can at least rest assured that they had prompt care, from trained personnel, using state-of-the-art equipment in those crucial moments after a traumatic incident. How to access an on-demand emergency response application “We believe that instant emergency response driven by smart technology like that of applications, and the large network of emergency response providers it connects to can help to eradicate the current inefficiencies in the emergency response system and positively improve the lives of countless patients,” says Myers. So, in your panicked state, instead of googling the nearest ambulance service, searching your phone for a number or trying to find that emergency pamphlet you stuck on your fridge, you could have a simple panic button on your phone to do all that work for you. For more information on how you can get an AURA-powered emergency response service, visit our partner page https://www.aura.services/our-partners/.
eBucks named the best in the world for the use of technology across all loyalty programmes
FNB’s free eBucks Rewards programme is flying the South African flag high on the world stage as it has been awarded for the Best Use of Technology and the regional loyalty champion of the year for Middle East and Africa, at the 2022 International Loyalty Awards ceremony held in London. The International Loyalty Awards (formerly the Loyalty Magazine Awards) celebrate excellence, innovation and best practice in the loyalty industry globally. Created by Loyalty Magazine, the awards have responded to a desire in the loyalty business to celebrate the achievements of those companies and organisations excelling and achieving the extraordinary. Being recognised internationally is an honour and a tribute to our teams who take pride in developing unique and innovative lifestyle solutions for our clients on our trusted digital platform, says Jacques Celliers, CEO of FNB. “In keeping with our reputation built over the past 22 years, of providing customers with the best value-added services in financial services, we continue to grow from strength to strength in leveraging the most advanced technology and data capabilities to offer customers exponential help and value through their good banking behaviour.” For the regional awards, entrants across all categories are automatically considered for the regional awards. Each award has been won by the organisation or brand that has shown how they have operated the most innovative and exciting loyalty programme within their region. “The accolades attest to our ability to constantly augment our value to our members. We are delighted to have like-minded partners as we are significantly scaling our unique ability to enable customers to manage both the financial and lifestyle facets of their lives by using the power of our integrated platform. With our efforts being internationally acclaimed, we’re encouraged to continue adding even more value for our eBucks members and partners, especially during these tough economic times,” says Johan Moolman, eBucks Rewards CEO. eBucks Rewards has paid out over R17 billion in rewards to FNB and RMB Private Bank customers since …