Bonnie Mbuli lands first international beauty ambassadorship #EauThermaleAvène

Actress, radio host, author and presenter, Bonnie Mbuli, has landed her first beauty ambassadorship with international brand Eau Thermale Avène.

Bonnie Mbuli announced her latest gig this morning with a tweet stating "I am so excited to reveal that I have teamed up with iconic skincare brand Eau Thermale Avène to help women across South Africa feel confident in their own skin again. I can't wait to share this journey with you."

Eau Thermale Avène stated they had chosen the actress as "Bonnie is the perfect fit for us and represents all the values of the Eau Thermale Avène brand. We are honoured to have her on board as our local ambassador to help bring highly effective, specialised and affordable skincare solutions to women across South Africa."

Bonnie has kept herself quite busy over the years having hosted the popular daily talkshow Afternoon Express with personalities Bonang Matheba and Jeannie D as well as starring in the British television series Wallander in 2015.

French brand Eau Thermale Avène is renowned for its products containing Avène Spring Water originating from the Sainte-Odile spring in Alsace, France which has been proven to work to soothe and heal the skin, making it ideal for those dealing with sensitive skin, serious skin conditions and diseases.

#Spotify is finally in #Mzansi

With a subscriber base of over 159 million users in 61 countries around the world, Spotify is set to launch in the country on Tuesday. This marks the Swedish company's first venture into the African market.

Local Spotify customers will have the choice between purchasing a subscription to a free ad-supported and fully featured, ad-free packages.

Tech Central reports that users will have access to a free 30-day trial Premium package, which will cost R60 per month once the trial period is over.

Spotify is also launching a fee-free option that offers shuffle play and is available on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store and Microsoft Store.

The service is also compatible with Xbox and PlayStation consoles, as well as TVs and smart speakers.

More details around the company's service offering in the country will be revealed at a press conference on Tuesday.

Spotify will compete with the likes of Google Play Music, Apple Music, Simfy Africa, Deezer, all of which offer the same service at a comparable price.

Thandiswa Mazwai is inviting you to her birthday party! #KingThaDay

Yes you are being invited to attended revered musician Thandiswa Mazwai's birthday celebration.

"I'm inviting my sisters to a women-only gig on my birthday in celebration of their resilience and strength," she says.

"It is an attempt to strengthen the sisterhood and together imagine new worlds. We will come together in one space to celebrate our unique power."

The KING THA DAY programme will kick off at 4pm with a market, talks and poetry in the small venue. Speakers include author and Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola, lesbian activist and filmmaker Bev Ditsie and Mail & Guardian Arts Editor Milisuthando Bongela. Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner for Jazz Thandi Ntuli and Ntsiki Mazwai will perform on the main stage before King Tha and the all-female band she established five years ago.

"All who identify as women or are gender nonconforming are welcome at KING THA DAY. I have chosen to share my birthday with a room full of women to bask in their power and magic. On the night, we will create a Supernova."

"We are strengthening the sisterhood, everyone on stage will be a women and all our vendors, the tech teams and venue staff will be women too," says Thandiswa.

"This is to help empower women in many of the fields connected to music, by giving them opportunities they wouldn't normally have. This is a celebration of womxn, for us, by us. Where we cannot find a women to fill a certain position we commit to running internship programmes to one day fill those positions."

Thandiswa's birthday celebrations are a precursor to the women-only festival AmandaWomxnFest that she's organising in honour of Women's Month in August.

Tickets are available for R250 on quicket.co.za

How to know that your #business is losing cash

Turning your business into a success story requires you to manage the overall financial management of the company. Poor money management can carry long lasting effects, which may result in the business closing, huge financial losses and crippling debt.

Entrepreneur and Executive Coach, Refilwe Khumalo, says it's important to avoid falling into the traps that new entrepreneurs do when it comes to money management. Any of the following signs indicate that your business could be in financial trouble:

Not having an effective budgeting strategy
Some entrepreneurs make the mistake of merely listing projected revenues and expenses and then managing these to realise profits. An effective budgeting strategy is recommended to help you thoroughly break down the numbers. It offers you ongoing financial information, insight and data that will enable you to quickly spot any financial red flags, respond to excessive business costs and implement the best financial practices for maximising your profit.

Not monitoring your cash flow

Ensure that you make use of a cash flow statement to help you track the inflow of revenue and outflow of expenses within a specific time period. This will allow you to plan ahead for any periods when you will have more money going out than coming in.

Low cash flow
If you find yourself struggling to pay your bills on time due to lack of cash, this is a sign you could be heading for trouble in the near future. In order to tackle this challenge, commit to working on building an account balance that is equivalent to at least two months of your operating expenses, which will allow you to cover unforeseen expenses and you will have a reserve in place to help protect your business from bleeding financially.

Not managing slow paying customers
New entrepreneurs tend to shy away from being proactive in following up on payments from clients due to the fear that they may chase the client away. Following up on unpaid invoices, however, is extremely critical to managing your cash flow and requires tact. Try scheduling client payment reminders, collection calls, setting clear late payment penalties or collection policies.

A drop in year-on-year growth

This often occurs as a result of not reinvesting profits back into the business. To grow your business and increase profits year-on-year, you need to consolidate your existing performance, increase your market share, diversify, or enter into profitable partnerships or collaborations, joint ventures, mergers or acquisitions.

Having too much debt
Continuously borrowing money to keep the business in operation or to finance new activities is another indicator that you may be nearing trouble. Debt can overburden your company making it difficult to meet business obligations and poses a risk of bankruptcy. To manage this minimise your debt and your expense, prioritise payments of secured loans on your income generating assets and develop debt reduction strategies such as selling your surplus to generate extra cash to pay off debt.

Slow inventory turnover

This occurs when your product lifespan nears its end and moving your product off the shelf becomes harder. To tackle this challenge optimise your inventory turnover by ascertaining if you can adjust your inventory purchasing habit or find suppliers that allow you to resell your unsold stock back to them.

Khumalo adds that cash flow can be your greatest challenge when it comes to the financial wellness of your business. "It's also important that you stay true to your business vision, conscious of managing unnecessary spending, aware of any potential red flags, are committed to tightly managing invoice payments and are relentless in building a reserve. If you do these things you will be well on your way to building long-term business success."

#Rihanna crowned queen of music streams

This has been quite the year for the Wild Thoughts singer, who just last month became the first artist on Billboard's dance song chart to produce eight number one singles from the same album (ANTI).

She beat out Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande and Adele to take first place on the music-streaming platform's list of the top 20 women in streaming.

Reacting to the milestone, Rihanna said: "God is too lit!!!!"

Besides the music, the beauty and fashion mogul has been hard at work expanding her Fenty empire with the recent launch of an exclusive lingerie line, joining the ranks of celebrities like Paris Hilton, Megan Fox, Britney Spears and Heidi Klum.

Riri is also preparing to launch her latest Fenty x range in collaboration with Puma in the coming weeks.

Last year, she launched her Fenty Beauty cosmetic range that incorporates 40 different shades of foundation and concealers to offer a wider range of options for black women.

"I wanted a colour that looked good on all skin tones… it's really important for me in every product," the singer said at the time. "There are so many different shades and undertones. You just never know, so you want people to appreciate the product and not feel like 'it only looks cute on her'."

Over the years, Rihanna has emerged to become one of the world's most marketable artists, collaborating with major brands, including Dior, Samsung, MAC and Puma.

Polony and vetkoek combo demand declines after #listeriosis outbreak

The vetkoek-and-polony convenience food combination is in trouble.

Since the outbreak of listeriosis in the country, South Africans have been worried about many of the foods they eat, including popular street foods like the kota (two thick slices of bread with a filling, usually polony) or Durban's famous vetkoek-and-polony combination.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced earlier this month that processed-food manufacturers Enterprise and Rainbow Chicken Limited had been issued with safety-recall notices after an in-depth investigation by scientists into the listeriosis outbreak - which has claimed 180 lives so far - found that the source was their factories.

Supermarkets around the country recalled processed meat products and removed them from their fridges. Some advised customers to bring back their processed foods, whether opened or not, for a full refund, even without a till slip.

The vetkoek-and-polony combination's popularity is decreasing because people are afraid to eat polony.

Mohamed, a vetkoek seller in central Durban, said people had stopped asking for polony with their vetkoek.

"The sales have gone down a bit. Some people still buy the vetkoek, but not like before," he said.

Another vetkoek seller said he did not bother to stock vetkoek and polony any more because "they just stay on the shelf the whole day".

Shopkeeper Shakel Asahd said each day was different: "Sometimes when it is a busy day, people will buy, but the number of people buying it has gone down."

The food sellers did not seem worried about the decreasing sales because they sold other convenience foods, which were being bought.

Some people took to Twitter to express their feelings about the matter. @the_saem tweeted: "The agony of eating igwinya (vetkoek) without polony (sad emojis)."

Mohammed hoped that people would get back to buying vetkoek again, but he would not be selling polony any time soon.

"I do not think people are going to buy polony as much as they used to before," Mohamed said.

©IOL

What you need to know about voter registration weekend #IEC

The IEC launched a number of initiatives to encourage South Africans to register following a 2016 Constitutional Court ruling, which required it to update the voters' roll with complete addresses.

Why do you need to register?

"The voters' roll is a fundamental safeguard for free and fair elections. It is an instrument for facilitating electoral participation, which is placed at the disposal of political parties for campaign purposes," said chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo.

"It serves a functional purpose as a planning tool for accurate provision of electoral material and the avoidance of electoral fraud."

Despite its best efforts to collect the addresses of voters, the electoral commission does not have addresses for 2,8 million voters.

A further 3,5 million addresses are currently classified as "incomplete" or "generic".

"We've been getting addresses during the by-elections, but this weekend is our biggest initiative to update the roll," said IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela.

Bapela was uncertain how many South Africans would show up to the 22 609 voting stations across the country, but remained optimistic.

"We are praying that every South African shows up because we need those addresses. We have launched an expensive advertising campaign telling South Africans that even if they don't have data to register online, they can do so at our voting stations."

What documents do you need to register?

Voters are reminded to bring their green barcoded identification book (ID), or smart ID card or a valid temporary ID certificate.

Voters will be assisted to complete a registration form providing their home address at which they ordinarily reside. This will allow the electoral commission to place them in the correct voting district.

Proof of residence is not required.

How to find your voting station

Those who are uncertain about where to find their voting station are encouraged to call the electoral commission's contact centre on 0800 11 8000 on Monday to Friday between 8am-5pm.

Alternatively visit the voting station finder app here.

– News24

#Sharks and #GagasiFM in ground breaking partnership

The Sharks have announced that Gagasi FM have joined their family as an official radio partner. The announcement was made at the official launch for the partnership which was held at KINGS PARK earlier today.
 
Joining forces with another proudly KZN brand that speaks to a young and vibrant audience through the medium of radio, Gagasi FM is the perfect partner for The Sharks as the sporting brand that also wishes to speak to the youth of KZN. Both brands enjoy strong community awareness within their respective spaces and the partnership provides an opportunity to build synergies and enhance presence in the broader community spectrum.
 
The Cell C Sharks brand extends throughout the globe, starting with our primary audience within the Province and the rest of Africa, to other countries such as Australia and New Zealand, Japan, Russia, Europe as well as North and South America.  Just as Gagasi FM labels itself a proudly KZN radio station, so too are The Sharks a proudly KZN sporting brand.

#Mastercard to use #Facebook Messenger to help small businesses go digital

MasterCard has announced that it will use Facebook Messenger to provide technology to small businesses in Africa and Asia to drive affordable acceptance of electronic and mobile payments.

The access to digital payments is expected to help these businesses expand to new markets, and unlock financial services and products that enable them to grow.

The Messenger experience will launch in Nigeria, where Mastercard will pilot a new Masterpass QR bot to help business-owners move beyond cash transactions to accepting QR payments.

Ecobank and Zenith Bank will support this inaugural programme. The pilot in Nigeria is the beginning of a larger plan by the two companies to include more businesses in the digital economy.

According to research done by The Fletcher School and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, of the $301 billion of funds flows from consumers to businesses in Nigeria, 98 percent is still based on cash.

"Every business-owner is looking for ways to increase sales and draw new customers into their stores. By offering QR-based digital payments, smaller retailers can achieve these goals and create greater customer stickiness with little to no investment beyond the phone they already have," said Jorn Lambert, Executive Vice-President, Digital Channels and Regions, Mastercard.

"Masterpass QR opens up new commerce channels for these merchants and enables them to create auditable transaction records. These advances open doors to other financial tools and products such as loans to drive added business growth."

To get started, businesses can send a request to the bot to enable QR payments, receive approval from the bank, set up an account and start accepting digital payments in a fast, simple and secure manner.

Once the account set up process is complete, business-owners can print and display the QR code in their stores or save the code on their phones. Customers can pay by either scanning the code from their smartphone or by entering the merchant ID associated with the QR code into their feature phone.

"Brands and developers around the world are turning to messaging to connect with the 1.3 billion people who use Messenger each month," said Kahina van Dyke, Director of Payments and Financial Services Partnerships at Facebook.

Masterpass QR was launched in 2016 to provide people with any type of mobile phone the ability to safely accept and make in-person purchases without cash or a plastic card.

Ke Nako for real action. The #SowetoDerby is finally here

Orlando Pirates host Kaizer Chiefs in this weekend's humdinger of the classic Soweto Derby on Saturday the 3rd of March.

It's the biggest, the baddest, and the most anticipated game of the season! Yes, you guessed right! Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs do battle in the final Soweto Derby of the league campaign. This is arguably the most crucial derby between these two sides in a very long time. Unlike previous ties where there is not much to fight for, apart from bragging rights, now there is talk of both teams challenging for the title.

For Pirates, it's about distancing themselves away from Chiefs, while Amakhosi will be looking to leapfrog their opponents into second place. Coach Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic has certainly got the Ghost Ship sailing the sea of wonder, while Steve Komphela, despite receiving tons of criticism, finds his side unbeaten since the start of 2018 – the only team to hold that record.

Unlike most derbies in the country, this one has certainly not been one-sided, instead, it's been split straight down the middle, with majority of the sides' recent matches ending in draws, including the last three in a row.

By the numbers: Behind the scenes on #Nike "Choose Go"

Nike's latest film "Choose Go" contemplates an age-old question: What would happen if the world stopped spinning? Humorous responses come from basketball legend Kobe Bryant, scientist Bill Nye, sprinter Ge Manqi, gymnast Simone Biles and many more. 

The combination of elite athletes, actors and hundreds of extras made for an often-chaotic film schedule. Nye, for example, delayed filming more than once to double-check calculations regarding the momentum the average person would need to contribute to actually get the earth moving. Meanwhile, Manqi proved to be anything but average — outrunning the drone tasked with filming her, necessitating multiple takes to capture the requisite footage.

That's not all. Here are some more fun facts, broken up by key numbers that emerged during filming.

Two
The number of hamsters trained for five days to ensure one could execute the daylight performance. Why? Hamsters are nocturnal runners. 

Four
The number of walls created for Giannis Antetokounmpo's scene. Crafted from a corrugated foam breakaway fence, Antetokounmpo smashed through a practice wall and then proceeded to nail the scene using the three remaining takes available.

Five
The number of takes Kobe Bryant took to complete his scene, in which he wears a tear-away suit made with hundreds of tiny snaps that held the suit together. It took two people roughly six minutes to re-snap the garment between shots.

Six
The number of bow ties Nye brought to set. During breaks, he offered impromptu tying lessons.

15
The number of minutes a Parisian street could be closed for each take of Edinson Cavani's shoot. After every 15-minute interval, the street reopened for public crossing. It is estimated that Cavani signed 100 autographs during each break.

32
The number of hours it took to create the pair of the 3D-printed, hand-painted, globetrotting Nike React shoes featured on Nye's fingers.

6453
The home address of the film's hero. The number spells out N-I-K-E on a keypad, and in reverse, it's also legendary runner Steve Prefontaine's best time in the mile to the tenth of a second: 3:54:6.

Nike is also launching seven new audio-guided runs from the voices of "Choose Go." Nye, Biles, Antetokounmpo, Kevin Hart, Colleen Quigley, Evan Jager and Mo Farah each teamed up with Nike's top coaches to provide guidance, motivation and inspiration to help runners improve their strength, speed and endurance. These will be available on the Nike Run Club (NRC App) beginning March 2.

Tumi Morake will be missed on #JacarandaFM

In a shock statement released by Jacaranda FM on Wednesday, Tumi Morake said she'd be leaving the breakfast show she co-hosts with Martin Bester next week Friday.

"This was not an easy decision for me at all. The timing was just not right for this relationship, it is like leaving a lover that you are still in love with," she said.

"I really hope that fate will bring us together again one day."

Morake and hubby Mpho Osei-Tutu plan on co-writing a movie and she's also set to embark on an international stand-up tour in Australia with Ndumiso Lindi.

Bester will continue to host the breakfast show alongside former Miss South Africa Liesl Laurie and Elma Smit.

It wasn't the easiest year for Morake last year, after being slated on social media by angry white Jacaranda listeners, who accused her of being racist for remarks she made relating to the country's transition into democracy.

"It's like a child whose bicycle was taken forcefully away from him and then you say to the bully: 'No, no, no, share the bike together, don't be like that'," Morake said.

As a result of this, Eric Barnard Meubels, a furniture store in Pretoria that advertises with Jacaranda FM for R100 000 a month, decided to pull its advertising from the station, citing Morake's comments as the reason for the withdrawal.

"Comments made by that lady [Tumi Morake] are very racial and political. I cannot associate with a station that takes one side. By taking away the advertising, we're saying enough is enough," Marius Barnard, Director of the store, said in an interview with Huffington Post at the time.

 Although her stint at the station has been short and drama-filled, she said would miss the show.

"My performance career is taking a new direction and unfortunately radio, with the time and energy it requires at this level, doesn't fit into those plans," she said.

"I had a great time and learnt many valuable lessons, yes, even when the pawpaw hit the fan. I wouldn't change it for the world."

Jacaranda FM GM Kevin Fine said Morake's warmth, wit and professionalism would be sorely missed.

"We are glad to have been part of her first venture into radio – she is an incredible talent and pours herself 100% into everything she takes on. We are sad to see her go, but we understand and respect her decision. She will always have a home here at Jacaranda FM," he said

© Destiny

City of #Joburg to expropriate derelict buildings #CoJ

Mayor Herman Mashaba said on Tuesday the City of Johannesburg would be commencing with plans to expropriate derelict buildings in the inner city.

Mashaba said in a statement. the move was in line with a drive to rejuvenate the area and "ensure that we are able to develop quality low cost housing, student accommodation, and affordable rental space for small businesses".

He said the city's group forensics and investigations services unit had made inroads into the scourge of property hijackings in the inner city, with 15 property hijackers arrested, 12 properties returned to owners, nine criminal dockets are currently before the courts, while a property hijacker and his accomplice, an attorney, had been convicted of fraud and sentenced to 15 years and 8 years in prison respectively.

"To ensure that this challenge is addressed holistically, it is imperative that cases of property hijackings are dealt with both criminally and civilly. The process includes the criminal prosecution of the hijackers, as well as civil litigation to address the issues of bylaw compliance as well as the city potentially taking over ownership of these buildings," Mashaba said.

The mayor said the redevelopment of properties would enhance access to low cost, affordable housing for residents close to economic opportunities.

He said the city had an estimated 300,000 housing unit backlog, 158,000 individuals on the housing waiting list, an estimated 190 informal settlements while an estimated 3,000 individuals migrated to Johannesburg every month.

Mashaba said it was key to find new, innovative ways to address the crisis.

"Unfortunately, some properties have been abandoned and owners cannot be traced. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the city to ensure compliance with applicable by-laws, which in turn contributes to the degradation of the urban environment."

Mashaba said he had written to former Public Works Minster Nathi Nhleko requesting an agreement with his department in which it would name the city as its nominee for the transfer of abandoned properties in Johannesburg.

"I can confirm that the former minister's office had received our correspondence and was in the process of considering the matter," Mashaba said.

"Given recent political shifts within the department, I hope that the new minister, Thulas Nxesi, will give our request his full attention, as a matter of urgency."

African News Agency