How Smart Bots will simplify your Life as a Business Owner

The chat bot is the first in the accounting industry and allows you track expenses and manage finances through messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and Slack

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 17, 2016/ -- Meet Pegg (https://HelloPegg.io), the personal trainer for your business. Pegg will log your expenses and file your receipts for you, with no fuss at all. Pegg can tell you what you’ve spent or earned for the month and remind you instantly who owes you money. The most remarkable thing about Pegg isn’t the financial skills and super-sharp memory, but the fact that it is a smart bot that lives on your smartphone or computer. The chat bot is the first in the accounting industry and allows you track expenses and manage finances through messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and Slack. “The arrival of bots like Pegg, machine learning and ever-more sophisticated forms of artificial intelligence is all about ways to make technology more approachable, fun and powerful for the entrepreneurs and business builders of today and tomorrow,” says Anton van Heerden (http://APO.af/5pHMKP), Executive Vice-President, Africa & Middle East at Sage, speaking ahead of Africa’s first ever BotCon (www.BotConAfrica.com), to be held in Johannesburg on 18 November. Pegg hides the complexities of accounting and lets entrepreneurs manage finances through conversation, making the process as simple as writing a text. By digitising information at the point of capture, it takes away the pain of filing receipts and expenses, eradicating the need for paper and data entry. Says Van Heerden: “Smart bots, alongside the affordability of cloud-based business applications, is one of the trends that we can expect to dramatically change how business builders work in the future. These bots are not about replacing human beings like accountants or bookkeepers, but rather about making it easier for them to get the most from technology.” In South Africa and across the rest of the continent, we can expect to see bots pop up in applications such as education, healthcare, customer support and personal financial management, adds Van Heerden. For example, a mathematics tutor bot could provide schoolchildren with after-hours help when they’re struggling with their homework. A South African support network for pregnant women, MomConnect (http://APO.af/2QgsX2), uses Facebook’s Messenger bot to answer specific questions relating to maternal healthcare. Says Kriti Sharma, Sage’s 27-year-old VP of Bots and Artificial Intelligence, and the mastermind behind Pegg: “Users can say ‘spent R50 on post-it notes at Game’ to enter expenses and can ask questions like ‘how much money did I make last year in October?’ or ‘who is my best customer?’. Some of the most dull, unexciting administrative functions can be the best use cases for bots.” Van Heerden concludes: “There are more than 50 million active Facebook users (http://APO.af/uTFMIg) in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is an exciting time for entrepreneurs and their accountants. Smart technologies are simplifying business applications and they make it possible for organisations to focus on the things that truly add value to the business.”

Working with South Africa to help entrepreneurs expand globally

British entrepreneurs share knowledge & experiences with successful South African entrepreneurs to help them expand globally

PRETORIA, South Africa, November 18, 2016/APO/ -- 

Two globally successful British entrepreneurs, Anthony Sheehan and Stephen Mooney, will be in South Africa from 14 to 18 November 2016 as part of the UK’s Department for International Trade’s Global Entrepreneurs Programme. They will be sharing their knowledge & experience with successful local entrepreneurs in a series of interactive sessions in Johannesburg and Cape Town, drawing on their own significant experience in launching and scaling technology businesses.

They are part of a network of dealmakers and mentors in the UK, covering most sectors and industries, under the UK’s Global Entrepreneur Programme. The programme is designed to help the best sustainable, early stage companies and entrepreneurs in the world set up their global businesses in the UK. Britain embraces and celebrates entrepreneurs like Sir Richard Branson, Sir Paul Smith and Sir James Dyson, and is continually looking for ways to help make the journey easier for all entrepreneurs wherever they start from, with entrepreneur-friendly measures designed to make starting up a new venture as simple as possible.

Anthony Sheehan works with start-ups and growing enterprises from across Europe & North America. An active entrepreneur, he also has extensive experience in executive positions with large global technology companies and VC funded start-ups. His primary areas of focus are mobile, internet, software, analytics and digital health.

Stephen Mooney has over 20 years experience working in sales, business development and IT strategy across a broad range of sectors in both a start-up and Fortune 500 environment. As co-founder of ENXSuite, he led product sales with key clients and was also responsible for successfully leading that company’s expansion into the UK/EMEA market until its acquisition in 2010.

The UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) has a team in South Africa that offers a service to businesses wanting to expand to the UK. The local team has helped South African businesses set-up in the UK from a range of different sectors, including technology, life sciences, retail, creative and food & drink.

The UK Government’s Trade Director for Southern Africa, Emma Wade-Smith said: The UK is the number one investment choice in Europe for companies and entrepreneurs from all around the world. As a nation of entrepreneurs, the UK aims to make it as simple as possible for entrepreneurs to invest and grow their business. As a result, we continue to see record-breaking levels of investment from businesses and entrepreneurs who are attracted by the strong fundamentals of the British economy and the ease of doing business in the UK. Our “dealmakers” are coming to South Africa to advise and mentor entrepreneurs who are already successful here in South Africa and are now looking to expand their business overseas. We hope that the support and information that the UK dealmakers have to offer will help South African entrepreneurs make the decision to join thousands of others from around the world in choosing the UK as the location from which to set up their global venture.

Distributed by APO on behalf of British High Commission Pretoria.

Russians urged to invest more in South Africa

Ncapayi was delivering a keynote address at the South Africa-Russia Business Council that took place in Pretoria today

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 18, 2016/APO/ -- 

The Deputy Director-General of Trade and Investment at the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), Ms Pumla Ncapayi has urged Russian companies to increase their investments in South Africa. Ncapayi was delivering a keynote address at the South Africa-Russia Business Council that took place in Pretoria today. The session was held on the sidelines of the Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) that is hosted by South Africa. The theme of the meeting was Mutual Trade and Investment Opportunities Towards Sustainable Development.

“Russia is South Africa’s key strategic trading partner within our Integrated National Export Strategy. South African exports increased from R2.1 billion in 2011 to R3.7 billion in 2015 reflecting an average growth of 16%. Whilst acknowledging the substantial growth in total trade between our countries, there is greater potential for trade gains with Russia, particularly in the identified sectors. By facilitating increased partnerships between South African and Russian businesses through the Council and government to government cooperation, these gains can be realised sooner rather than later,” said Ncapayi

“We therefore call upon Russian enterprises to take advantage of these opportunities for investment presented by the industrial reform of our economy in order to increase the level of Foreign Direct Investment which will further strengthen our economic partnership,” added Ncapayi. 

South African exports increased from R2.1 billion in 2011 to R3.7 billion in 2015 reflecting an average growth of 16%

Ncapayi said SA has successfully attracted investment from large Russian multinationals and the alignment of this investment to SA’s Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) was most welcome as it contributes to South Africa’s goals of industrialisation. Similarly, SA companies have invested in strategic sectors within the Russian economy 

“To attract further investment in value-added manufacturing sectors in close proximity to the source of raw materials, South Africa has established Special Economic Zones which offer unparalleled opportunities for Russian investment. At the same time, they enable mutually beneficial partnering with South Africa to fulfil its development and industrialisation agenda,” explained Ncapayi.  

“Additionally, the South African government has embarked on a campaign to fully exploit the potential of the oceans economy under an initiative called Operation Phakisa, where opportunities include aquaculture, marine transport and manufacturing, ship repair and oil and gas. Other opportunities are in the energy and infrastructure with targeted investments,” she said

Ncapayi singled out the Black Industrialists Programme as particularly important for potential Russian investors as the developments therein should provide assurance that partnering with beneficiaries of the government-led programme is a viable and profitable investment decision wherein technical and capacity resource constraints have been considered and partially addressed.

She stressed the need for mutual cooperation between business people and governments of both countries towards identification of complementarities, sharing of experiences and capacity building in a number of trade and investment related issues. 

Distributed by APO on behalf of The Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa.

GCC banks looking to Africa for new opportunities: EY

DUBAI, 20 November 2016. According to EY’s GCC Wealth and Asset Management Report 2016 ‘Global forces drive regional realities”, the larger local banks in the GCC are approaching saturation in their home market and are starting to venture out to attractive markets such as Africa. Dubai in particular has emerged as an attractive hub for Africa, as Europe did for the GCC region some years ago.

George Triplow, MENA Wealth and Asset Management Leader, EY, says:

“Although market shares between local and international banks may fluctuate, the region is now arguably overbanked. With high levels of protection in the GCC markets, some of the larger local players are starting to focus on markets further afield. The UAE’s strong ties with African markets has encouraged a number of African businesses to use Dubai and the Dubai International Financial Center as an infrastructure hub.”

Local banks increasingly entering private banking

Given the sizable numbers of affluent families in the Gulf, the wealth management market in the region is extremely active and covers everything from family offices, ultra-high net worth and high net worth individuals and, increasingly, the growing affluent market.

European banks have historically had strong market share, serving clients who wished to send money out of the GCC for various reasons. However, people have begun to understand the importance of an onshore presence, and the European centers have lost attractiveness due to regulatory issues and rising compliance standards.

“While the trend to have family wealth managed externally had retreated in recent years, the oil price decline and challenging geopolitical situation in the region has encouraged a return to sending money out. Local private banks have recognized that they need a value proposition across different segments. They have been working hard to compete by recruiting experienced staff, including former relationship bankers from their rivals, and tailoring their offering to local needs, from Islamic investment products to tag-on lifestyle services, ranging from advice on philanthropy, to access to premium airport lounges. They also have an advantage in their ability to book locally, and their knowledge and relationship networks facilitate client onboarding,” continues George.

Focus on regulation to reduce risks

The regional retail wealth management sector faces the ongoing issue of lack of transparency and independence. High fees are often hidden in opaque commissions on funds and other products and advice shaped by narrow sales interests.

“We see many in the industry who would welcome commission disclosure across all financial products. The key would be to provide lower costs, genuinely independent advice and technology-supported portfolio diversification with a focus on passive funds and exchange-traded funds, rather than complex structured products,” says George.

The GCC digital agenda

The wealth and asset management sector has been slow to embrace the digital agenda in the GCC region, but that is now beginning to change across much of the industry. At the simplest level, there is a growing focus on using online and app-based platforms to improve the client experience.

“Many Gulf banks have already implemented sophisticated digital tools for retail banking, often with better capabilities than many Western banks. Some are now extending this to wealth management, although so far largely just for informational rather than transactional purposes,” concludes George.

20% discount at Buca di Beppo for all Formula One Visitors

Abu Dhabi, 20 November, 2016: This Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when your favorite teams take a pit stop, you can take a spaghetti stop! Buca di Beppo, the all-Italian vintage restaurant is giving F1 ticket holders a 20% discount at their Yas Mall and Dalma Mall branches until November 30,2016. So put pedal to the metal and throttle over for mouthwatering signature Italian dishes served family style! At Buca di Beppo, every meal is a party.