Three innovative local businesses win honours at The Growth Engines awards
Business ventures GridCars, Qrent and Bespoke Amenities Co scoop awards for successful innovations and for raising the bar in entrepreneurship
- PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Entrepreneurial actions that shape the world of tomorrow
- GridCars revs up the car-tech game a notch
- Automobile future electrifies Winstone Jordaan
- Qrent offers to help put rented computers in schools
- Save by renting recycled computers
- PAVLO'S PERSPECTIVE: Innovation only wins when it is more than a product
June 23 - Broll and Asset Control
Buildings can be smart frameworks
Broll and Asset Control are working together in a facilities management revolution using innovative design and technology, writes Katy ChanceSoftware that manages office space can save money
Asset Control’s software helps avoid the pitfalls of poor building management systems that can affect a company’s bottom line, writes Katy Chance
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Building an asset of value
Pavlo Phitidis talks about creating assets of value, and explains why every company looking to grow needs one
Opinion
Building a business into an asset of value serves you and SA
Pavlo Phitidis
Passion is vital to build a business … but passion without purpose makes you a statistic, writes Pavlo Phitidis
VIDEO: Growth Engines Awards to honour business excellence
The Growth Engines has profiled thirty-four entrepreneurial big and small businesses working together to lead the economy, by means of innovative relationships
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Working with suppliers to support growth
The Growth Engines looks at how companies can work with their different suppliers to ensure mutual growth and sustainability
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Building a business that lasts
We look at how to build a business that can be sold at a premium
June 17 - BMW and Grid Cars
GridCars revs up the car-tech game a notch
GridCars is the only company designing and building charging points in SA, and BMW is a major player to add value, writes Katy ChanceAutomobile future electrifies Winstone Jordaan
Former Nasa man Winstone Jordaan belives e-vehicles are the future, writes Katy Chance
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Being an early adopter of technology
BMW SA's Deena Govender talks about the importance of adapting technical infrastructure and business and legislative practices to accommodate a future of dwindling natural resources and increasing carbon constraints
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Entrepreneurial actions that shape the world of tomorrow
Pavlo Phitidis
An effective response to the information shaping a new world requires leadership skills premised on a martial art mind-set
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Aligning your business with your skills
GridCars is the only business in SA creating charge-point operator systems for electric cars
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Keeping an eye on transport trends
BMW SA's Deena Govender says the company has chosen to look at transport as mobility, which is a concept embracing the experience of travelling
June 9 - Anglo American Platinum and Cyest
Hi-tech takes mining to a new level
Andreas Cambitsis's Cyest and Anglo American Platinum tap innovations most frequently seen in the gaming environment to deliver analytical technology services to modernise mining, writes Katy ChanceAmplats and Cyest a marriage driven by innovation
FutureSmart at Amplats embraces technology adoption and penetration as key to delivering their modernisation strategy, writes Katy Chance
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Smart and safe platinum
Anglo American talks about the mining giant’s Future Smart programme driven by Cyest Corporation
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: An abundance mind-set creates world leading innovations
Pavlo Phitidis
Accelerating the modernisation of a mining industry framed by an abundance mind-set has the potential for SA to lead the sector through excellence
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Open innovation platform
This week the Growth Engines puts the spotlight on the partnership between Anglo American and Cyest Corporation
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Modernising mining
Cyest Corporation is a game changer amidst trying times in the platinum mining industry
June 2 - Ensight Energy Solutions and Anglo American Platinum
Changing energy users from within
Ensight has three-pronged approach: work closely with business; provide a compelling business case for change; and ensure change occurs, writes Katy ChanceAmplats next in line for energy reduction planning
Following success at Palabora and Richards Bay Minerals, Ensight has started work on a cost-and energy-reduction programme for Anglo American Platinum
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Building global business in a perfect storm
When the going gets tough, entrepreneurial thinking is required, as Palabora Copper discovered
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Perfect storms create opportunities for right-minded entrepreneurs
Pavlo Phitidis
Changes in the status quo, forced or volunteered, create platforms for bold entrepreneurship
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Selling technology by rands and cents
Ensight Energy Solutions offers services including implementing energy saving mechanisms for clients
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Operating on less energy
Kobie Naude of Palabora Copper talks about the company’s energy leadership programme and how it plans to save R66m just this year
May 26 - Standard Bank and FireID
Snap, crackle and pay partnership
Technology incubator FireID with Standard Bank offers a range of specialised solutions, including make cashless and cardless payments using their phonesVIDEO: The Growth Engines: Banks need to keep up with digital advances
The on-demand economy is growing rapidly and Standard Bank's focus is to keep up with the chnages
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Giving customers what they want
Standard Bank is partnering with companies outside the banking space to make banking easier and more convenient for its members
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Three actions to embrace the digital on-demand economy for every business
Pavlo Phitidis
The ability to have what you want, when you want it, how you want it defines on-demand, writes Pavlo Phitidis
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Playing in the rapidly changing digital space
In a constantly evolving space, SnapScan releases changes to its product every week or two
Users’ feedback helps mobile payment sector develop
From humbling beginnings SnapScan today provides for payments for a diversity of products and services, writes Penny Haw
May 19 - Uber and Employers’ Mutual Protection Services
Criminals and fraudsters need not apply
Common checks include qualifications, identity document, fingerprint verification, credit checks and the increasingly important criminal record checks, writes Katy ChanceVIDEO: The Growth Engines: Criminals and fraudsters need not apply
Kirsten Halcrow, MD of Employers’ Mutual Protection Services, says proper workplace screening feeds into maintaining brand reputation
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Building an app that will take over the world
How the Uber app allows you to see the driver's photo and license plate before you even book a car
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Thrive in the unstoppable, on-demand economy
Pavlo Phitidis
Uber is a good example of effective, fluid response to customers' demands and experience, writes Pavlo Phitidis
Reliable and safe Uber expects more drivers and riders
SA was the first country outside the US to launch Uber, with the service offered in three cities simultaneously. It also operates in Nairobi and Lagos, writes Katy Chance
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: What makes an app successful?
Unencumbered by procedures, policies, technology, brick and mortar, and the affliction of comfort from having dominated markets, app creators are thinking about what can be done to provide the ultimate customer experience
May 12 - Qrent and Discovery
Save by renting recycled computers
As with all depreciating assets, the moment you take a computer out of the box, they are worth less, which is why ‘it is pointless to put cash reserves into them’, writes Katy ChanceVIDEO: The Growth Engines dialogue: Innovation
Aurik Business Incubator CEO Pavlo Phitidis and Business Day editor Songezo Zibi discuss how the concept of innovation can be taken from its popular vagueness to becoming a meaningful imperative for small entrepreneurs
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Innovative enterprise
Pavlo Phitidis grills two Discovery executives about the innovative strategies that have helped the group streamline business processes
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Discover their secret
Discovery says innovation and the group’s down to earth ability to work with businesses of any size, as well as putting the wellbeing of its clients first, are central to its success
Opinion
PAVLO'S PERSPECTIVE: Innovation only wins when it is more than a product
Pavlo Phitidis
Innovative products need innovative business processes to build, market and deliver to customers, writes Pavlo Phitidis
Qrent offers to help put rented computers in schools
Qrent CEO DJ Kumbula wants to replicate his successful formula at Zimbabwe schools in SA, writes Katy Chance
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Cutting technology costs
Qrent distinguishes itself from other information technology companies by helping corporates save millions
May 5 - Expats On The Globe and Bolloré
Paving the way for the expat skills SA needs
There have been enormous challenges, especially with the new immigration regulations introduced last year, Expats On The Globe director Connie Peter tells Katy ChanceBeing a small group means fast and top-notch service
Dynamic business partners Connie Peter and Marussia van der Merwe focus on speed, service and personal attention, writes Katy Chance
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Servicing beyond borders
The Growth Engines focuses on two cross-border businesses operating in Africa, Bolloré Africa Logistics and Expats on the Globe
Opinion
PAVLO'S PERSPECTIVE: Investing in Africa with grace and commitment
Pavlo Phitidis
SA’s infrastructure supporting a world-class banking, retail, education, health, environment and legal system makes for a managed entry into Africa, writes Pavlo Phitidis
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Solving logistics nightmares
Bolloré Africa Logistic prides itself on solving some of its customers’ logistics nightmares, including transporting heavy cargo within the mining, oil, industrial companies and other big businesses
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Home away from home middleman
Boasting decades of experience, South Africa-based Expats on the Globe says what sets it apart from other similar businesses is their ability to offer multiple services under a single roof
April 30 - Enzani Technologies and Group Five
SA’s sunny skies are the limit as solar energy costs fall
From using electricity to power other things, Moabi is now looking at using natural sources to create energy, writes Katy Chance
Enzani comes a long way in 10 years
On reflection MD and electrical engineer Tlaleng Moabi is rightly impressed by how far the company has come, writes Katy Chance
VIDEO: Growth Engines: Adapting to change
Group Five has seen many changes in the industry over the years and has worked hard to keep up with the changes
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Group Five's attention to trends pays off
Pavlo Phitidis
Entrepreneurs need courage — the appetite to act on a view and make it happen, writes Pavlo Phitidis
VIDEO: Growth Engines: Visionary leadership
Jesse Doorasamy, executive director of human resources at Group Five, says visionary leaders and passionate employees are the key to the company’s endurance
April 21 - Van Loveren and Bayede!
Putting African luxury on the throne
There is more to the brand than wine. The Bayede! range includes luxury clothing, leatherwork, pottery, textiles, jewellery and an assortment of custom-packaged Rooibos tea, writes Penny HawSinging the praises of Bayede! wines
Crafters were paid R300,000 for beadwork supplied for Bayede! wines last year, writes Penny Haw
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Selling products by creating stories
Pavlo Phitidis
As a third generation, family-owned winery, Van Loveren Family Vineyards engaged both sides of the brain to build a formidable capability in an industry they understand intimately, writes Pavlo Phitidis
VIDEO: Growth Engines: Making a difference
Van Loveren Family Vineyards has created a joint venture with workers to improve their earnings
VIDEO: Growth Engines: Selling products by creating stories
Van Loveren Family Vineyards produces a reasonably priced, bead-adorned Bayede! Prince series of wine
April 14 - Sky Messaging and Carfind.co.za
The sky’s the limit for innovative pair
Thomas Kritzer of Sky Messaging and Frank McDouall of Carfind.co.za work well together because they think differently, writes Penny HawVIDEO: The Growth Engines: Competitiveness
Aerial advertising is a fresh original way to get a brand noticed
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Creativity to start a business
After building his own website, Frank McDouall from Carfind.co.za designed a user experience to emulate the way different people buy cars.
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Novelty follows empathy in business model design
Pavlo Phitidis
On your website, every additional click of the mouse sees a 50% purchase fall-off, writes Pavlo Phitidis
Sky Messaging flies flag of transparency and flexibility
New GeoNotification app means clients receive text notifications when their airborne banner nears its target, writes Penny Haw
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: What does it take to sell?
When you have a product you believe, in it is important to sell it
April 7 - Synaq and IS
E-mail security more vital than before
Up to 80% of business communication happens digitally, writes Katy ChanceVIDEO: The Growth Engines dialogue: Focusing on your specialisation
This week on The Growth Engines we look at how partnering with the right service provider can help you stay focused on your core business
VIDEO: The Growth Engines dialogue: Challenges of scaling a business
When you have your business and understand your clients, the next challenge is scaling your enterprise
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Idealism and pragmatism work in sync
Pavlo Phitidis
Refocusing a business from time to time is a given outcome of a balanced team
VIDEO: The Growth Engines dialogue: Good partnerships
Look at how partnering with the right business can help you grow
Think ahead of the curve for success
Synaq MD Yossi Hasson tells Katy Chance that as an entrepreneur you need to look at changes, be constantly watching for trends globally
March 31 - FibreCo and BT Global Services
Exposure to broadband’s riches set to change SA
Fibre-optic pioneer predicts that entrepreneurial thinking will see all this increased infrastructure and improved capacity as a springboard for other things, writes Katy ChanceVIDEO: The Growth Engines: What does it take to deliver on a service agreement?
Is a promise an inextricable link to a value system that you, as a leader, deliver in words and actions?
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: FibreCo is a technology solution that delivers
Pavlo Phitidis
‘Build it and they will come’ businesses are market makers, the creators of value where none existed before, writes Pavlo Phitidis
Underground route to a better cloud
Construction of a fibre-optic network is not a sexy project, but it is essential, writes Katy Chance
Exposure to broadband’s riches set to change SA
Fibre-optic pioneer predicts that entrepreneurial thinking will see all this increased infrastructure and improved capacity as a springboard for other things, writes Katy Chance
March 24 - TCI Apparel and UNO Sewing
After four generations, as agile as ever
Taiwanese family built thriving business on sewing machines, write Penny Haw and Samuel MungadzeIf you can’t find proper mechanics, train them
Manufacturers have a common challenge across the board — finding mechanics with the appropriate skills and retaining them
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Broad evaluation of suppliers can provide a competitive edge
Pavlo Phitidis
In a competitive industry, the selection and performance of suppliers is crucial to sustained growth, writes Pavlo Phitidis
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: A well-oiled manufacturing partnership
Through a remarkable partnership in the industrial sector, two companies are keeping local manufacturing alive, while at the same time creating jobs and imparting skills
March 17 - The Bespoke Amenities and Legacy Hotel Group
Relationship with hotel group opens new frontiers
The relationship with Legacy Hotel Group has opened new frontiers for entrepreneur Bruce Turner, writes Samuel MungadzeBespoke answer to management of luxury needs
Large hotel group uses small supplier to maintain personalised service model, writes Samuel Mungadze
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Innovating and delivering on the customer experience
Pavlo Phitidis
Pavlo Phitidis: Veteran hotelier Paddy Brearley believes the single most important thing in the hospitality industry is the guest experience
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Locally made quality the foundation of a unique business relationship
The products Bruce Turner's company supplies to the Legacy Hotel form an intimate bond between guest and hotel and therefore require the highest standards of manufacture
March 10 - Akacia Medical and Kushesh Express
Akacia finds just the medicine
Partnering with a small courier in Kushesh was a risk that has paid off well, writes Samuel MungadzeKushesh: understand the customer’s customer
Kushesh understands what a big leap of faith it takes to entrust a courier with medical deliveries. ‘We don’t take that trust lightly’, writes Samuel Mungadze
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Courier Kushesh maximises niche capability for Akacia
Pavlo Phitidis
It’s hard to be good at everything irrespective of your resources, writes Pavlo Phitidis
March 3 - Crunchyard and Poynting Antennas
Poynting the way to business symbiosis
It’s so much about service — in engineering, service becomes the key thing, writes Samuel MungadzeGot a technical problem? Hire a supercomputer — by the hour
CrunchYard offers high-performance computing that extends an engineering simulation service over the internet on a pay-per-use basis, writes Samuel Mungadze
Opinion
PAVLO’S PERSPECTIVE: Know your customer inside out
Pavlo Phitidis
Design options, speed of production and quality are the watchwords that win, writes Pavlo Phitidis
VIDEO: The Growth Engines: Innovation increases response times, wins global business for SA entrepreneurs
Find out how, in tough times, businesses like CrunchYard have become agile enough to respond quickly to the opportunities that large companies provide
About Growth Engines
Opinion
Bright sparks that drive the heavyweights
Songezo Zibi
It is the apparently small innovations that help create new products, a basis for new manufacturing lines, labour requirements, writes Songezo Zibi
Your presenter and host: Pavlo Phitidis
Pavlo Phitidis is CEO of Aurik Business Accelerator
Big business has to be agile to respond to the political, labour, technology and legislative changes locally and abroad. This requires a focus on only core activities to compete effectively in the marketplace.
This creates scope for small businesses to develop offerings to meet the changing needs of big business. Today, effective small business suppliers need to innovate beyond simply supplying products or services. They need to offer sustainable cost, value or strategic benefits.
The Growth Engines will profile big business customers who enjoy these benefits from small business suppliers and in doing so, demonstrating the benefits of a symbiotic relationship resulting from supply chain innovation.
The Growth Engines aims to:
- provide small business with insights on what big business wants;
- enable big business to call upon innovation in small business suppliers;
- enable big business to call upon innovation in SME suppliers;
- demonstrate the vibrancy that exists between big and small business; and
- inspire business-centred policy that will generate jobs and innovation that will kick-start the engines of growth to position SA as a leader in Africa once more.
The Growth Engines are anchored in a 30-minute weekly TV show on Business Day TV hosted by Pavlo Phitidis. It extends to a full page in Tuesday’s Business Day Newspaper, coverage on the BDlive website, Business Day’s FaceBook page, Financial Mail, SowetanLive and TimesLive reaching more than 3,8-million viewers and readers. The Growth Engines will culminate in a black-tie event.
Change: 1.19%
Change: 1.36%
Change: 2.19%
Change: 1.49%
Change: -0.77%
Data supplied by Profile Data
Change: -0.19%
Change: 0.69%
Change: 1.19%
Change: 0.00%
Change: 0.44%
Data supplied by Profile Data
Change: 0.62%
Change: 0.58%
Change: 0.20%
Change: 0.44%
Change: 0.12%
Data supplied by Profile Data
Data supplied by Profile Data