Author: NBR Team

Communicating through 0’s and 1’s

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NORTHERN BUSINESS REVIEW

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Reducing human interaction to a string of digits – the great misconception.

In an already highly digitised environment, corporate environments need to mindfully adapt their approach to engagement, with employees, stakeholders and customers.  The approach that needs to be taken is wilful adaptation.  This means that corporate environments should only progress with digital advancement if they have sufficient resources, capacity and capability to manage developments that come with the advent of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the 4IR (4th Industrial Revolution).  

A simple example is activating social media platforms, when as a business you do not have the capacity to respond to your audience.  It is far wiser to not engage on social media at all, than to be seen as an unresponsive and unengaged business.  In addition corporates need to understand the implications of instant, messages that are not in-line with business values can have devastating consequences for corporate reputation.  Businesses should also ensure that implementing advanced communication platforms should never replace person-to-person communication but rather compliment it.  This is often where corporate environments fail.  Social media should never take-away from existing constructive stakeholder engagement platforms. 

It is less about the exchange of human intervention for AI and far more about being mindful of the impact that the removal of person-to-person engagement has on the psyche of the individual in a corporate environment.  Already, there has been a significant reduction in telephonic and face-to-face communication, which has been replaced by e-mail and instant messaging, with the addition of even more instant highly advanced sharing of information, the risk for a person to process information becomes greater as technology develops. 

In an already highly digitised environment, people are currently unable to cope with the large amounts of information churned out daily, thus we are already living in an environment where people rapidly scan information for personal applicability and taste.  This has already greatly impacted the advertising industry as it is almost impossible for individuals to pay attention.  Often this high overload of information is why employees and stakeholders believe that corporate environments fail to communicate, there is far too much information for employees to constructively extract meaningful information. 

The added concern with the dramatic advancement in technology without acknowledging the disruption to human relations is that people are already so consumed with digital that they forget what it means to look someone in the eye while having a meaningful conversation.  The more accustomed people become to reducing interaction to words on a screen, the more removed they will become from the spirit of humanism.

In order to protect good corporate cultures, business leaders should therefore apply wilful transcendence that is aligned to the strategic intent of the business. 

Deirdre Tholet

SMC Incorporated

083 324 3163

deirdre.tholet@smcinc.co.za

About Us

The Northern Business Review is a business community newspaper that provides a platform for businesses to market their products and services, as well as build their brand, but equally important the publication provides information, advice and topics of interest, including business, entrepreneurial, economic reviews and simple ideas to grow your business. The publication has a primary objective to “uniquely” represent businesses to a wide audience across the community as well as provide a media platform of business articles and information that affect, influence and uplift the business environment within our defined geographical and cultural community.

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Why a Corporate Entrepreneur is the Antidote for a Bad Economy

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When bad times strike, they strike hard and leave very few prisoners. To survive, companies of all sizes must act and look at different ways to see the bad times through. After years of downsizing and cost cutting, corporations have now realised that they can’t shrink their way to success. All they have achieved is survival and surviving does not allow quick growth. A company that is just surviving is a company that is not in business. There is only so much one can do to tweak existing products or services, taking over rivals, or moving into developing countries.

A new imperative is clear: Companies must create, develop, and sustain innovative new businesses. Elon Musk agrees, “Failure is an option. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”

All businesses require innovation. Innovation is a compilation of fresh ideas, and fresh ideas stem from those that are passionate about their organisation. These are the Corporate Entrepreneurs, or now known as Intrapreneurs.

So why should companies create more Corporate Entrepreneurs?

We are so often reminded of stories about decision makers trapped by conventional thinking:

Blockbuster – the company that hired out movies. They had the option of buying out    Netflix, who sent videos through the internet directly to your home.        Blockbuster went bankrupt in 2010.

Blackberry – almost everyone had a Blackberry phone in the mid 2000’s until the          iPhone was released in 2007. They never believed that the touch screen             technology would survive. From having 50% of the market share, they now         own 0.8%.

Publishing Industry – instead of embracing the digital generation, publishers have        been dragging their heels trying to slow it down.

There are many more organisations who have refused to be innovative and are now just ‘surviving companies’ or worse, no longer in business, like Xerox, MySpace, Polaroid, Yahoo, Kodak, Atari, AOL, and many more.

Do you ever want to see your company in this list?

This illustrates how important it is for organisations to create more Corporate Entrepreneurs.

Any corporate person will tell you that to be a good manager, he/she has to have and practice the 6 management traits to be successful. These are:

1. Leadership

2. Communication

3. Adaptability

4. Developing Other People

5. Building Relationships

6. Constant Development

So yes, these are important when one is employed to run a department or even a company. These are very necessary when their mandate is to ensure profitability of their department, to ensure employees are doing their work, and ensuring that all the paperwork is in line with the company’s processes.

However, when all these boxes are ticked, the manager gets rewarded with a bigger department consisting of more employees and a fancier title with a bigger office on the 6th floor. This process gets repeated until our manager becomes too old for the job and goes into retirement to the coast.

Sitting on the patio overlooking the sea, our manager looks back at what he has achieved in his life – his story: being a highly paid manager that was responsible for a big department.

The question I always ask is, “What value did he really make in the company?

How different will the picture really look if we turn the manager into a Corporate Entrepreneur?

What would happen if we placed                                                    

Richard Branson on the patio next to our manager?

How different would that story be?

So how would your organisation fare if your managers could think like a Corporate Entrepreneur?

Corporate Entrepreneurs do share a collection of these management characteristics; however, they require the ability to take risk, demonstrate initiative to ensure a successful venture as well as the following characteristics:

1. Tenacity

Corporate Entrepreneurs constantly thrive under the cloak of uncertainty. They have the tenacity which helps in dealing with the repeated challenges they experience day in and day out. They have perseverance, persistence, determination, commitment, resilience. They know they are the ones who create control.

2.  Passion

Money is not always the driving force behind their motivation, but that deep passion and strong belief in the offerings. Their belief that they can solve life’s’ problems and make life so much easier, better, cheaper. They believe they will change the world. Their passion in what they’re doing is what gets them through these challenges.

3.  Tolerance of ambiguity

This is where the risk-taking comes in. Corporate Entrepreneurs have the ability to master the Fear Factor; endure the fear of uncertainty and potential failure. It is really the art of successfully managing the daily fears; fear of humiliation, fear of missing deadlines, expectations, fear of failure, bankruptcy, and so on. Their ultimate entrepreneurial test takes place in their attitude and abilities of mental control and stamina. Managers do go with the fear – but then they quit, whilst the Corporate Entrepreneur will take it on and push through it. The Corporate Entrepreneur looks at the situation and knows they have some control over the outcome.

4.  Vision

Corporate Entrepreneurs are able to identify opportunities and delve in the space where others have yet to explore. They create niches that managers cannot identify, which opens up opportunities in innovation and evolving areas. These they visualise well and are able to effectively communicate them to those around them. They strive to operate where angels fear to tread.

5.  Self-belief

Their belief in what they do is so strong that it rides on the back of self-confidence. This strong belief helps to overcome the risk factor. The energy created is so contagious that others are sucked in willingly and enthusiastically.

6.  Flexibility

They are the masters of adaptation and are fully aware that their success depends on it. How things were originally planned, may never end up looking the same. This level of flexibility creates the response to the ever-changing market conditions and the environment and staying on top and in control.

7.  Rule-breaking

This is one factor that scares the Executive in many organisations. The Corporate Entrepreneur exists to defy conventional thinking. Doing what others are not doing is the natural way the Corporate Entrepreneur operates – yet they get results and are the ones responsible for taking organisations to the next level and seeing it through.

Several big companies today actively promote Corporate Entrepreneurship, allowing their employees to spend 10 to 20 percent of their time on innovative ideas that are unrelated to their normal jobs. Companies such as Google, 3M and Intel are well known for their efforts in this regard. Not surprisingly, these are some of the best performing big companies in the world of business today. 

Some of the best products that were born out of intrapreneurship:

  • Apple – Mac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iCloud
  • Google – Gmail, Google News, AdSense, driverless cars, Google Glass and other innovations
  • Virgin – The numerous divisions launched by Virgin: Air, hotel, casino, books, music, Megastore, mobile, wines, games, Galactic
  • Sony – PlayStation
  • 3M – Post-It Notes
  • Discovery – Medical, Life Cover and Investments
  • Kreepy Krauly – swimming pool cleaner
  • Pratley – Glue and Putty
  • Hippo Roller – Water roller

… and there are many more.

Can your company afford NOT having a Corporate Entrepreneur? Certain managers can be trained to become a Corporate Entrepreneur.

Trevor Ketler is the founder of the Corporate Entrepreneur Academy and has been training Corporate Entrepreneurs for the past 30 years. http://www.ketler.co.za/entrepreneur-academy/

Find out how Trevor can add value to your company, call him on 082 447 5150 8�

About Us

The Northern Business Review is a business community newspaper that provides a platform for businesses to market their products and services, as well as build their brand, but equally important the publication provides information, advice and topics of interest, including business, entrepreneurial, economic reviews and simple ideas to grow your business. The publication has a primary objective to “uniquely” represent businesses to a wide audience across the community as well as provide a media platform of business articles and information that affect, influence and uplift the business environment within our defined geographical and cultural community.

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Augmented Reality – Welcome to the 4th Industrial revolution

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Augmented Reality (AR). A quick search on Google will tell you that this means a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite (something that is made up of various different parts) view.

Everyone has seen the movie images of fighter jet pilots with augmented reality images of critical data being screened onto the inside of their visors as they hone in on their targets. All they have to do is look at their target to lock onto it, and flip the switch to fire.

Augmented Reality is simply the blending of interactive digital elements – like visual overlays, into our real-world environments, namely your business

But what is AR really? And how can AR benefit you? Well, the Pixzar logo, the dinosaur or the phone image in this article is an example of augmented reality, read on to see just how it works!

Technology exists to make life easier. We live in the age of information where everything is readily & easily available at your fingertips, or more specifically, your smartphone.

Your smartphone is your window to the world giving you access to all types of applications, in particular: Augmented Reality – that will enhance your ability to enter a new world of instant access to information, knowledge and understanding!

We have entered into the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, a new immersive wave of computing, to which AR (Augmented Reality) together with VR (Virtual Reality) will lead the way in definite changes to the way we access information and sift out right from wrong, and wanted from unwanted. In essence, saving you time.

Consider this, you’re looking through this publication and an advert or article grabs your attention and you would like to know more.

What are the steps you would take to access further information on that particular product?

  • You could call the number displayed and hold on while a receptionist tries to locate the correct department to put you through. By this time you’ve wasted valuable time holding on the phone.
  • You could visit the website and view further details on the product. Of course, you are interrupted with pop-up ads continuously.

Both these actions require user input as well as considerable time. AR allows you to access the relevant and specific information that interests you by using the new PIXZAR app created in South Africa. PIXZAR is a free download.

PIXZAR changes the way you are now able to interact with advertising, marketing, books, newspapers, logos and other media.

How does it work? Once you have downloaded the PIXZAR app onto your phone, scan the PIXZAR logo at the bottom of this article and you will have access to a whole range of additional, more detailed, relevant digital AR and PIXZAR information.

By using AR in your articles or advertising you can now take your audience into your world of technical specifications and information on your product, videos or educational material, as there is no limit to the journey you can take the reader on, without them having to leave the screen of their smartphone.

Another example would be if you saw an outfit that you liked, and you would like to see it in another colour or design, the manufacturer, using AR, would allow you to scan the item and you would immediately be taken to a site where more detail on that specific item is located rather than going through the website and spending time scrolling a myriad of pages & links looking for that specific item.

The steady growth of AR globally, and various applications to use it, is taking the marketing industry by storm.

There is no limit to where the PIXZAR application can be used together with VR – from the education sector to manufacturing and even a simple scan of a page of an instruction manual page would bring it to life and show how to do something.

Gone are the days of researching encyclopaedias, history books, etc., manually.  

All vital information for every conceivable subject may be brought into the 21st century by simply augmenting the pages.

No need to change the print, just implement or update the digital content. This in turn gives added value to current media all the way from famous fairy tales to history to complex math and physics problems.

AR is more than just cool digitally generated information. It, like many of the technological advances, make your life easier and effectively gives you the most accurate and relevant information WHEN YOU want it.

Download PIXZAR and Scan the dinosaur below. Look for the “AR augmented” adverts and articles, scan them with your PIXZAR app and see where they take you.

Contact us If you are interested in AR advertising in the Northern Business Review.

About Us

The Northern Business Review is a business community newspaper that provides a platform for businesses to market their products and services, as well as build their brand, but equally important the publication provides information, advice and topics of interest, including business, entrepreneurial, economic reviews and simple ideas to grow your business. The publication has a primary objective to “uniquely” represent businesses to a wide audience across the community as well as provide a media platform of business articles and information that affect, influence and uplift the business environment within our defined geographical and cultural community.

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Meet the Eagle’s Nest Family

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Article by Jasper Cloete

Since it opened its doors for business as a family owned Guesthouse and Conference Centre in 1997, Eagle’s Nest helped launched many businesses, churches and became an active part in the lives of many individuals with interesting stories.

One such individual is Andre van Zijl.

Andre finished school in 1965, started his working career in the Permanent Force from 1966 to 1971, joined the SAA in 1971 to 1979 and took his final job as a high school teacher of Afrikaans and History from 1978 to 1984.

Then his life collapsed! As a result of poor lifestyle choices earlier in his career, he was diagnosed with HIV in 1984! He lost his job as a teacher and for the next 4 years became a recluse working through his emotions and options. During this period of utter despair, he had a dramatic spiritual encounter which led him to become a committed confessing Christian with a purpose to make the rest of his life count by making a positive impact in the lives of as many people possible.

Being an energetic sportsman all his life, he used the method of attempting unusual World Records as his platform to do motivational talks as an HIV activist and to raise funds for various charities.

Since 1988 to 2017 he successfully attempted and set 54 such records which ranged from:

  • Roller skated from Cape Town to Johannesburg in 19 days
  • Sang for 28.5 hours
  • Climbed Table Mountain on roller skates in 41 min 27 sec
  • Roller skated from London, England to Edinburgh, Scotland in 7 days
  • Danced for 345 hours nonstop
  • Drank 20 litres of milkshake in 4 hours
  • Played chess for 150 hours
  • Roller bladed 85m down the Old Parktonian Hotel (secured with ropes) in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, in 1 min 47 sec.
  • Pumped petrol for 1,000 hours

To

  • Sitting in a jacuzzi for 10 days

During the period 1988 to 2017 he collected an estimated R86m for various charities, amongst other:

  • Abraham Kriel Children’s Home
  • Cotlands
  • Various SPCA’s
  • Epilepsy SA and the
  • School for Blind and Deaf

In 2010 he exchanged his roller blades for a bicycle and started to crisscross South Africa and the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique to do his talks and raining funds. These travels were made possible with the sponsorship of various companies eg. Spur, Protea Hotels and various restaurants and guest houses.

This is how he met Helen Cloete, owner of Eagle’s Nest in 2014. He frequented Eagle’s Nest more and more and soon developed a strong friendship with the owners. In 2017 he was exposed to the Generational Inheritance Group (GIG) message, founded by Jasper Cloete. After having gone through the training on how to develop a generational legacy, he realised the time had come to re-invent himself as a businessman.

With the support of Jasper and Helen, he explored various opportunities until he settled on his NeoLife business (distribution of health and cleaning products) and his Water Filtration business (operating as HydroBev Fourways). His Mineral Pot is fast becoming a best seller to households and offices because of the fact that the filtration unit does not require electricity to work and filters 12 litres per cycle.

Today, Andre has developed 4 income streams and is a staunch believer in the GIG movement. To talk to Andre on either GIG, NeoLife or Water Filtration units, he can be contacted at 072 206 6355 or email at ahvzijl@gmail.com

Eagle’s Nest Lodge and Conference Centre is proud to be part of the story of Andre.

About Us

The Northern Business Review is a business community newspaper that provides a platform for businesses to market their products and services, as well as build their brand, but equally important the publication provides information, advice and topics of interest, including business, entrepreneurial, economic reviews and simple ideas to grow your business. The publication has a primary objective to “uniquely” represent businesses to a wide audience across the community as well as provide a media platform of business articles and information that affect, influence and uplift the business environment within our defined geographical and cultural community.

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4th Industrial Revolution Embrace it!

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Bring up the subject of the forthcoming ‘Jobless Economy’ and it is enough to send a cold shiver down the spine of most South Africans who see the current dehumanising social impact of massive numbers of unemployed on almost every street corner, just struggling and hustling day-to-day to survive as best they can.

Ask for solutions from our politicians, academics and economists and all they seem to come up with is: ‘Ours is a labour-intensive economy, we’ve got to create jobs’.

Well, good luck to their elbows, let them stop talking about it and get on with the task of creating those labour-intensive jobs. If this is your solution, then make it happen!

In the meantime, a funny thing happened while most South Africans blinked in 2018.

While many weren’t looking, the rapid convergence of hugely disruptive, innovative advances in the world of business technology exploded: from automation (robotics), to artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT),  Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality (AR/VR), 3D printing, energy, autonomous driving and Blockchain. All are poised to radically transform traditional industries and business models as we have never seen before.

The advent of faster, cheaper, computing power is driving exponential increases in productivity & performance in almost every sector of business & lifestyle.

Peter Diamandis & Ray Kurzweil, founders of Singularity University, believe this rate of change to be ‘fundamentally different than ever before. All of these technologies are doubling in power ever year. This will create Disruptive Stress or Disruptive Opportunity, depending which way you choose to look at it.’

It is estimated that almost half of the best companies globally in their respective sectors will disappear in the early 2020s – www.imd.org/research-knowledge/reports/digitalvortex/ – with massive disruptions expected in the sectors of Manufacturing, Mining, Finance, Insurance, Law, Real Estate, Healthcare, Retail & Advertising. Business can fear it or embrace it.

‘At FOURWAYS Chamber, we embrace the concept of Disruptive Opportunity and are enthusiastic enablers of the 4th Industrial Revolution.’ Says FOURWAYS Chamber CEO: Trevor Nel

‘Imagine the collaborative innovation potential of 5 billion connected smartphone-users with almost unlimited access to education. I concur with those global abundance-thinkers who believe that we live in the most exciting of times ever in history. ‘

FOURWAYS Chamber members & local business operators (first-timers: complimentary access) meet & network every Friday – 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 – at Eagles Nest Lodge & Convention Centre, 373 Leslie Ave., cnr. William Nicol & Leslie, Fourways. Register on www.fccc.co.za

Trevor Nel can be contacted on:

T: 084 332-4421

E: trevor@fccc.co.za

www.facebook.com/fourwayschamber

About Us

The Northern Business Review is a business community newspaper that provides a platform for businesses to market their products and services, as well as build their brand, but equally important the publication provides information, advice and topics of interest, including business, entrepreneurial, economic reviews and simple ideas to grow your business. The publication has a primary objective to “uniquely” represent businesses to a wide audience across the community as well as provide a media platform of business articles and information that affect, influence and uplift the business environment within our defined geographical and cultural community.

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AUGMENTED REALITY – PixzAR

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Augmented Reality! A quick search on Google will tell you that this means a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite view. But what is it really? And how can it benefit you?

Technonogly exists to make life easier. We live in the age of information and everything is readily and easily available at your fingertips…the only prerequisite is a smart phone. Though this may seem incredible, and it is, having access to everything means just that. You have access to all types of information.

This is one aspect that Augmented Reality can really shine and enhance! Considered the 4th immersive wave of computing, AR (Augmented Reality) together with VR (Virtual Reality?)definitely changes the way we access information and sift out right from wrong and wanted from unwanted. It can, in essence, save you time.

Consider this, you’re flipping through a magazine and an advert grabs your attention. What are the steps you would take to enquire further information on that particular product?

  • You could call the number displayed and hold on while a receptionist tries to locate the correct department to put you through. By this time you’ve wasted valuable time holding on the phone.
  • You could visit the website and view further details on the product. Off course, you are interrupted with pop up ads continuously.

Both these actions require user input as well as considerable time. AR allows you to access ONLY that most relevant information via one of the many apps available today. One such app is PixzAR. Created in South Africa this App aims to do just that. Pixzar Changes the way the public interacts with advertising, marketing, books, newspapers, logos and other media…

For instance – A particular car ad commands your attention – All you need to do is use PixzAR to scan said ad and have access to a whole range of additional, more detailed and relevant & digital information. This App takes you into the configuration details of the car, videos of that particular vehicle. You could practically see every aspect of the vehicle ….on your smart phone.

Another eg. if it was an outfit that grabbed your attention…and you would like to for eg. see different colours, that too would be made available digitally with a simple swipe option, rather than going through the website and spending time scrolling looking for that specific item.

The steady growth of AR globally and various application to use it, is taking the marketing industry by storm. Another application that can be used together with VR is the education sector. Gone are the days of researching encyclopaedias, history books etc, manually.  All vital information for every conceivable subject may be brought into the 21st century by simply augmenting the pages. No need to change the print, just implement or update the digital content. This in turn gives added value to current meduim all the way from famous fairy tales to history to complex math and physics problems.

What about the DIY groups I hear you ask? How often do we get a one page instructional diagram that make little to no sense? With AR, a simple scan of that page would bring to life in 3D excatly how A should be slotted in B and which screws goes where!

So what is AR exactly? AR is more than just cool digitally generated information. AR is a time saver. It, like many of the technological advances is to make your life easier. To give you the most accurate, and relevant information WHEN YOU want it. Also, it’s damn cool! Don’t believe us? Just download PixzAR and Scan this very article.

Have an article or advert under this and invite the readers to download the app and scan the article and see how AR really works

About Us

The Northern Business Review is a business community newspaper that provides a platform for businesses to market their products and services, as well as build their brand, but equally important the publication provides information, advice and topics of interest, including business, entrepreneurial, economic reviews and simple ideas to grow your business. The publication has a primary objective to “uniquely” represent businesses to a wide audience across the community as well as provide a media platform of business articles and information that affect, influence and uplift the business environment within our defined geographical and cultural community.

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LANSERIA COUNTRY ESTATE OFFERS A QUIET RESPITE IN A CITY THAT WON’T STOP

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In today’s rushed and chaotic world – we long to return to a welcoming sanctuary of calm. Nestled on the edge of the Cradle of Humankind, you will find the award-winning TGSA 3-star graded lodge, Lanseria Country Estate.

Found a short distance from the Lanseria Airport Intersection, you will see sign posts directing you. A kilometre of winding dirt road leads you to your destination – a coun­try-style setting with idyllic trout dams and the sky itself as the backdrop. The perfect venue for a day out, a weekend stay or to re­charge during business travel. The estate was recently awarded the Lilizela Tourism award: Provincial Winner Lodge 2018, the second year running. This follows on from being awarded the 2018 Tripadviser Certificate of Excellence for the third consecutive year – a direct result of consistently great reviews from visitors. There are a number of accom­modation offerings to suit every pocket, be it for business, teambuilding, a family weekend or romantic getaway. An ideal location for a relaxing break away from the daily hustle and bustle. The close proximity to the airport and main business centres, makes this the venue for business travel, allowing you to recharge in quiet surrounds. There is plenty to see and do: The winter months provide the perfect conditions for fly fishing on the fully-stocked trout dam. (catch-and-release only). A day pass (R250) covers your fishing and a R100 voucher for @ThePlace2B, whilst all year round you can enjoy cycling

(bring your own bike) and bird-watching.

Found within the estate is a little sanctuary, the onsite aptly named Gin Spa. Here is a place for you to find solitude and peace, a place for couples to reconnect and for friends to gather and share a laugh. Choose from a range of treatments to suit your every need, leaving you feeling relaxed and refreshed.

Why not extend your experience – by in­cluding a brunch or lunch at the onsite restau­rant, @theplace2B. Finish off your day with an artisan gin or a glass of bespoke wine. The spa is open to the public, prior bookings are required. For bookings, open times or more information, @email ginspa@lanseriacountryestate.co.za, or call +27 11 659 8054. Like the Facebook page @ginspaatLanseriacoun­tryestate and keep up-to-date with the latest news and specials.

Lanseria Country Estate is home to the Lanseria Parkrun every Saturday morning at 8am. The route takes you around the trout dam and through the estate, before winding out along the country surrounds.

Along the way, you will meet the estate’s friendly horses gently grazing. For more information, visit the facebook page @Lanseriaparkrun or www.parkrun.co.za/lanseria/.

Lanseria Country Estate takes pride in personalising your visit, and can organise day trips to the local sights, such as the Lion and Safari Park, the adrenaline-pumping Ground Zero, or Maropeng and the Cradle of Human­kind. For team-building events or birthday parties, they offer a range of onsite activities, such as the popular Bush Master Chef or river rafting on the nearby rivers, among others.

If you are looking for something a little different, an adventure or just a relaxing day out, look no further than Lanseria Country Estate. So close to the city, yet so far re­moved, a place of memories made, laughter and family fun.

About Us

The Northern Business Review is a business community newspaper that provides a platform for businesses to market their products and services, as well as build their brand, but equally important the publication provides information, advice and topics of interest, including business, entrepreneurial, economic reviews and simple ideas to grow your business. The publication has a primary objective to “uniquely” represent businesses to a wide audience across the community as well as provide a media platform of business articles and information that affect, influence and uplift the business environment within our defined geographical and cultural community.

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Nedbank reveals research into SA Stokvel savings market

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Johannesburg, 10 June – If harnessed correctly, stokvel’s could be the driver that South Africa needs to significantly enhance discretionary savings levels to bolster the economy. With over 11 million South Africans being members of stokvels, a total of R44 billion is collectively saved in 820,000 stokvels in South Africa annually. 

According to the National Stokvel Association of South Africa, the stokvel market is worth more than some of South Africa’s largest businesses. By geographic spread, provinces where the country’s top savers reside, Gauteng is the top ranked followed closely by Limpopo. Together with North West and KwaZulu Natal, these four provinces make up 70% account for 70% of the stokvels in the country.

This research also showed that when broken down by gender, 57% of people that are members of stokvels in South Africa are women while 43% are men.

Data from research conducted by Nedbank indicated that the most popular types of stokvel are savings stokvels, grocery stokvels and burial societies. Two-thirds of grocery stokvels make bulk purchases from various retailers and wholesalers once a year in quarter four. In line with this, the Nedbank Stokvel account provides discounts of up to 10% on groceries and school supplies at leading retailers, with R551 000 worth of Shoprite vouchers already having accrued to Stokvel account holders.

Since its launch in September 2018, Nedbank’s Stokvel account has already attracted more than 3 541 account holders, and has insured 88 900 lives through its innovative burial cover solution. This initial success demonstrates that informal savings groups like stokvels are ready to enter the formal financial system provided they can see the benefits of doing so, says Sisa Cikido, Head of Retail Investments at Nedbank.

According to African Response, 41% of the stokvels are banked and this has served to bring more South Africans into the formal financial services sector by giving them access to other savings, investment and protection offerings.

Ms Cikido notes that only 5% of stokvels are focused on investment savings. This reflects the fact that South Africa has the lowest savings rate amongst G20 countries. Of those that do save, 40% have their money invested in low- or no-interest accounts.[1] To help the country and its citizens achieve their economic goals, a smarter savings culture driven by accessible products has to be built, she argues.

The Nedbank Stokvel Account offer competitive interest rates and access to affordable funeral cover, Stokvel Account holders are now eligible for the Nedbank Pay-As-You-Use (PAYU) bank account.  PAYU accounts no longer attract monthly fees thus making it possible for more South Africans to enter the formal banking system. Stokvel members with PAYU bank accounts obtain further transactional banking value added services at no additional cost.

“Stokvel members are already savers, so the solutions Nedbank offers them are a genuine entry into the formal financial system. We believe that by helping stokvel members to use their existing savings to grow more wealth, we can make a real contribution to changing the face of the economy and building broad-based wealth,” she says. “Making the banking system truly inclusive does not only benefit individuals, but also strengthens the economy as a whole. We will continue to add to the benefits this account offers as we deepen our insights into what this increasingly important customer sector wants and needs.”

Nedbank is the market leader in the Stokvel product category and the first service provider that allows clients to open an account digitally via the USSD string *120*001*7865835#.

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The Northern Business Review is a business community newspaper that provides a platform for businesses to market their products and services, as well as build their brand, but equally important the publication provides information, advice and topics of interest, including business, entrepreneurial, economic reviews and simple ideas to grow your business. The publication has a primary objective to “uniquely” represent businesses to a wide audience across the community as well as provide a media platform of business articles and information that affect, influence and uplift the business environment within our defined geographical and cultural community.

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Herbert Smith Freehills grows alternative Legal services with JHB appointments

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NORTHERN BUSINESS REVIEW

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3 JUNE 2019

Herbert Smith Freehills has appointed Jacquie Hodgson as its Head of Alternative Legal Services (ALT), Johannesburg in South Africa. Hodgson will provide support to further expand on the successful foundation laid by the existing Johannesburg-based team over the past two years.

ALT combines legal expertise, process efficiency and the latest technology to handle high-volume or document-intensive work more efficiently and cost effectively for clients. The ALT team comprises over 350 lawyers, technologists and legal analysts, across 11 international hubs including New York, Belfast, London, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The global ALT team provides a seamless round the clock global service across all key industry sectors.

“We are delighted to welcome Jacquie to lead the Johannesburg ALT team,” says Edward Baring, Managing Partner in the Johannesburg office. “We are confident that Jacquie’s varied experience across private practice and in-house, combined with her specialist knowledge of alternative legal services, will equip her to lead ALT Johannesburg during the next phase of its growth and evolution. A combination of global expertise and local knowledge and talent is what we believe sets us apart.”

Lisa McLaughlin, Director of our Alternative Legal Services business in UK, US & EMEA, says, “The demand for our services continues to grow exponentially, not only in South Africa but across  our global network. The firm’s decision to invest skills and resources to develop an ALT capability in South Africa has been a resounding success in terms of our global offering, and, as we begin to work more closely with South African clients, our ALT team is increasingly being viewed as a key differentiator for us in the local market.”

Hodgson is a qualified attorney who has held a variety of legal roles prior to joining Herbert Smith Freehills, most notably at Webber Wentzel, where she trained and then practiced in the corporate team, and at Exigent, where she was instrumental in expanding access to innovative legal services into the local South African market as VP of Legal Solutions.

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The Northern Business Review is a business community newspaper that provides a platform for businesses to market their products and services, as well as build their brand, but equally important the publication provides information, advice and topics of interest, including business, entrepreneurial, economic reviews and simple ideas to grow your business. The publication has a primary objective to “uniquely” represent businesses to a wide audience across the community as well as provide a media platform of business articles and information that affect, influence and uplift the business environment within our defined geographical and cultural community.

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ANNUAL BRYANSTON PRIMARY SIX-A-SIDE TOURNANMENT SCORES SUCCESS

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NORTHERN BUSINESS REVIEW

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On Saturday 18th May 2019 Bryanston Primary hosted the 50th edition of their popular six-a-side tournament featuring the best talent in netball and soccer in the northern suburbs.  

Bryanston Primary has a proud 66-year heritage for delivering high standards of academic education, specialised education programmes, a wide variety of extra murals and is a very well managed and supported school.

This year the following primary schools entered their under 10, 11, 12 and open teams in the netball and soccer competitions: Bryanston, Montrose, Bryneven, Bryandale and Bordeaux. The format involved a round robin concluding with a final match between the 2 teams with the highest points per category.

The six-a-side format has proven to be an exciting format where many matches can be played in shortened time and on smaller fields for the soccer matches. The hard fought matches in such quick succession also tested the fitness and endurance levels of the participants.

After a well-attended event the victors on the day were Bryandale taking both the Netball and Soccer Trophies – well done Bryandale!

Results were as follows:

NETBALL

Age group Netball Winners  A Netball Winners B
Under 10 Bryandale Butterflies Bryandale Dragonflies
Under 11 Bryandale Pixies and Montrose Nets Bryandale Fairies
Under 12 Bryandale Peacocks Bryneven Gazelles
Under 13 Bryandale Blues Bryanston Stars

SOCCER

Age group Soccer Winners  A Soccer Winners B
Under 10 Bryanston Bullets Bryneven Brazil
Under 11 Bryandale Rangers Bryneven Rangers
Under 12 Bryandale Spurs Bryandale United
Under 13 Bryanston Bosses Montrose Gunner

According to Mr. Morne Marx the acting Principal of Bryanston Primary School: “This year we’re delighted to host the visiting teams to our wonderful school where a high standard of netball and soccer was on display.  We always appreciate the vociferous support that the competing teams receive from their families, friends and fellow learners.  Congratulations to all the participants for the good spirit in which the games were played and well done to the ultimate team winners and Bryandale for taking the top awards.  We appreciate the generosity we received from our sponsors, thanks to the volunteers, families, friends, attendants, coaches, officials and staff for their donations of time, resources, talents, patience and good humor, and to Mix 93.8 FM who broadcast live from the event on the day – thank you.

The school’s first Mix 93.8 FM live broadcast provided many kids with centre stage opportunities to be on the radio, sharing their sporting achievements and dreams. Mix 93.8 FM also supplied special donation boxes and promoted the collection of sports equipment for their May sports month drive to supply to those schools and clubs less fortunate.

School sport like this certainly creates an exciting energy filled carnival type atmosphere with opportunities for promoting: positive social interaction, teamwork, healthy living, personal discipline and perseverance while learning how to win and how to lose gracefully. Saturday certainly provided great opportunities to build great citizens of South Africa’s future.

About Us

The Northern Business Review is a business community newspaper that provides a platform for businesses to market their products and services, as well as build their brand, but equally important the publication provides information, advice and topics of interest, including business, entrepreneurial, economic reviews and simple ideas to grow your business. The publication has a primary objective to “uniquely” represent businesses to a wide audience across the community as well as provide a media platform of business articles and information that affect, influence and uplift the business environment within our defined geographical and cultural community.

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