It takes guts to jump into a river to save a drowning woman, especially in the exact spot where somebody had drowned in a similar situation just a few weeks before. But Stellenbosch university alumnus, Brandon Visser, didn’t hesitate when on a training run near London Bridge, in the UK, after runnin
Covid-19 has prompted a new look at the five-day work week and whether we can be as productive in a four-day week.Overnight, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way people work, with many people keen to continue working from home. It has also prompted a new look at the five-day work week and wheth
The Motsepe Foundation has partnered with Agri SA in an effort to improve the agricultural sector and save failed land reform projects.By Michael AppelBillionaire Patrice Motsepe is said to be putting his money where his mouth is in seeking to bridge divides in South Africa, not only between white a
Small can be better, but secession is no easy task. Roelf Meyer said the route will be full of obstacles and needs the approval of every part of SA.There is a case to be made that tackling problems on a small scale is easier and has better results. There are many examples of frustrated communities i
Rabbit meat is a delicacy in many overseas countries and ‘lapin’ in stews is a particular favourite of French chefs. In South Africa, it is not something you often see in a supermarket, but consumers are slowly acquiring a taste for it and overcoming the idea that they are eating something cute. Dai
Reinie Swart is the CEO and founder of Eco Ninjas - a Cape-based company doing good and changing lives. It's that simple. Doing this requires getting their hands dirty in mountains of waste.By Michael AppelReinie Swart (28) is the CEO and founder of a company – Eco Ninjas. They’re doing good and cha
Large corporates see crowdfunding as a way to bring in extra money to finance innovation and boost their customer engagement.The world is full of dreamers who come up with ideas, some amazing and some just downright useless. They can be seen on television programmes like Shark Tank or Dragon’s Den a
It took Pierre Carter just 20 minutes to fly from a point near the summit of Mount Everest before he landed near the settlement of Gorakshep.It took 55-year-old Pierre Carter just 20 minutes to fly from a point near the summit of Mount Everest before he landed near the Nepalese settlement of Goraksh
For every triumphant invention, business or idea, there are thousands who failed in trying to do the same thing. But to those who look back at history, it seems a good idea is guaranteed to bring good results but those who don’t succeed are forgotten to the sands of time. This is a form of survivors
South Africans have been saddled with load-shedding for more than a decade and for those who want to stay connected to the internet, uninterrupted Wi-Fi is an issue. There is a South African start-up that has come up with a solution to that problem. Brian Gadisi, Alan Gie and Themba Hadebe developed
Computer science professor Mmaki Jantjies has been selected as one of the world’s most promising global leaders under the age of 40 by WEF.Computer science professor and Telkom executive, Mmaki Jantjies has been selected as one of the world’s most promising global leaders under the age of 40 by the
Human obsession with lie detection is nothing new. One of the earlier forms of lie detection existed in India 2,000 years ago. A potential liar was told to place a grain of rice in his mouth, and chew. If he could spit out the rice, he was believed to be telling the truth. If he could not, it was un
Megan Bedingham told BizNews they wanted to raise R1m with this year’s hike and were looking for corporates to sponsor two peaks.In the Northern Drakensberg, there is a small independent primary school called the Royal Drakensberg that is educating children from the area from the age of 4–10. It was
On 17 September 2021, Squid Game was released on Netflix, taking the world by storm. The show became a favourite for subscribers of the streaming platform, gaining over 142 million views in the show’s first four weeks. Allegedly, the show gained 3.7 million new subscribers to the platform in the thi
South African actuary Dino Bertolis has launched a start-up called Breez, with which he is planning to disrupt the UK car insurance market.Many insurance companies have woken up to the fact that a system of getting information from their customers by filling in forms has not served them or their cus
A South African cultured meat start-up company, Mogale Meat, has created the first cell-based chicken on the continent after only 18 months of research and development. The lab-grown chicken breast is the company’s entry for the $15m XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion competition and has earned it a place
Everyone has fantasised about learning to play at least a favourite tune on the piano so well that their audiences are thrilled and surprised. Yet that’s about as easy as winning a Gold Pencil advertising award. It takes hard work, innate creativity and a good ear, plus practising it on your audienc
The story of the SA Agulhas II is fascinating. Because of this ship, South Africa is becoming a leader in aspects of Antarctic science.In the depressing and often emotionally draining sociopolitical environment of South Africa, a story like this is a tonic and may help keep us buoyant enough to hand
When Dr Imtiaz Sooliman got the call from Nataliya Venter, the Ukrainian wife of De Villiers Venter, Gift of the Givers sprang into action to help Ukraine.The Gift of the Givers Foundation is the largest disaster response NGO of African origin and its founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman has only one criteri
Cape Town has begun plans to move off Eskom’s grid and away from power blackouts. It includes procuring power from independent power producers (IPP) but the plan to use solar and wind power for grid electricity has not gone down well with everybody, including Andrew Kenny who is convinced it will pu
The World Bank has launched an innovative approach to protect and grow the population of endangered black rhinos by launching a Wildlife Conservation Bond, also called the Rhino Bond. Two parks in South Africa, Addo Elephant National Park and the Great Fish River Nature Reserve will benefit. It is a
Four tigers that have spent their lives living in a train car on a farm in central Argentina are adapting to a new life in South Africa, where they felt grass under their feet and have a pool to dip in, for the very first time. They were originally two tigers that have been abandoned by a circus. Th
In this fascinating treatise on evolution and creativity and how each impacts differently on our environment, author Lee Blake posits that artificial intelligence, correctly used, may help slow down the extinction of species on Planet Earth. While to err is human, collective thought and endeavour ca
If you were to count the number of times in one day when your actions don’t match your intentions, what do you think the tally would be? This is a perfect example of what behavioural economics pivots on; the notorious intention-action gap. Here Joshua Gordon, writing for FirstRand, gives everyday ex