What are the biggest challenges holding your business back? What support do you really need to grow — and what needs to change to make it easier for South African SMEs and entrepreneurs to succeed? Unconventional Capital & Advisory (UCA) is conducting a national research initiative to better understand the real-world experiences, challenges and needs…
An artist’s rendering of the Liyongo development. PARTNER CONTENT When Christopher Nash arrived in Zanzibar in 2021, he was not expecting to build a village. The visit was intended as time with family, not a business venture. But Kendwa had other plans for him, and he returned to London with an idea he could not…
Herve Tuyishime started his own business with a simple ambition: to build a better life for himself and his family. A few years later, that same ambition cost them their home. He had launched Paniel Meat Processing (PMP), a pork sausage venture based in Rwanda, with a bank loan. However, Tuyishime entered the industry with…
Partner content: Africa’s Business Heroes From more than 24,000 applications across all 54 African countries, ten founders have emerged as the 2026 Africa’s Business Heroes Top 10. Following two days of live Semi-Final pitches in Nairobi on 21–22 August, the finalists were selected from a competitive Top 20 by a distinguished judging panel. They were…
Tanel co-founders Makhtar Diop (left) and Mouhamed Ndoye Alan, the French health insurance company with footballer Kylian Mbappé as an investor, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Tanel, a Senegal-based digital health company founded in 2021 by Mouhamed Ndoye and Makhtar Diop. The transaction also provides an exit for Tanel’s founders and investors,…
Entrepreneurship rarely follows a straight line. For some, it begins with a long-held ambition. For others, with a question, an opportunity or simply the realisation that it is time to build something of their own. As South Africa marks Women’s Month in August, Bizmag speaks to four women entrepreneurs about the journeys behind their businesses…
American investor Finn Walker is the managing partner of Heron Partners, which invests in companies listed on African stock exchanges. One of the key reasons Walker is bullish on Africa is the continent’s young and fast-growing population. Africa’s population is projected to reach around 2.5 billion by 2050, up from roughly 1.6 billion today –…
Our new book, How we made it in Africa II: Real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit, is available here. The book was recently shortlisted for the Business Council for Africa (BCA) African Business Book of the Year Awards 2026. Monthly free-to-read interview. For access to all our interviews and to support our work,…
In July, Meta announced changes to how it charges for usage of its WhatsApp Business API. From October, the free-form replies that make up most day-to-day customer conversations on WhatsApp will no longer be free. This shift affects every business using the platform regardless of their provider, and highlights the importance of multichannel communication strategies….
For Lusanda Meje and Sesethu Dingaan, entrepreneurship is about more than building an income. It is about independence, creating opportunities and proving to themselves – and to others – what is possible when determination meets opportunity. The two Cape Town women are among the young people who completed Engen’s New Venture Creation Learnership, an 18-month…
