#FNB Business named as Top Corporate Bank in SA

FNB Business has again been voted "Top Corporate Bank" in the 18^th installment of the annual Sunday Times Top Brands survey, this makes it the fifth year in a row that FNB Business wins top honors in the survey.

The Sunday Times Top Brands survey is the leading barometer of consumer and brand sentiment in the country.

Mike Vacy-Lyle, CEO of FNB Business shares his jubilation on the news. "Winning the accolade five times shows incredible consistency in our strategy which is all about putting our clients first. We strive to make sure that we are relevant to the markets that we operate in, and it's important to us that we can help businesses navigate their toughest moments," says Vacy-Lyle.

FNB Business continues to pioneer products and services that have taken the angst out of South Africa's entrepreneurs, from providing free accounting services such as Instant Accounting, online documents reservation services, and forming a partnership with the CIPC to digitise SA's business registration processes.

Thuso Mbedu delighted by International #Emmy Award nomination for #Isthunzi role

Actress Thuso Mbedu has been nominated for an International Emmy Award for her role in Mzansi Magic's series Is'thunzi.

She was nominated in the Best Performance by an Actress category and is the only African to get the nod.

The overwhelmed actress wrote on Facebook:
"So it's been brought to my attention that I've been nominated for the INTERNATIONAL EMMYS AWARDS which is kind of a BIG DEAL for me, I have to say my thank yous [sic]. I am here by the Grace of God! So before I say anything else: Thank you, Jesus. I don't know how to put this into words. I've screamed, I've danced and jumped, I've prayed (and my vocabulary wouldn't rise to the occasion) and I've cried. I am so humbled."

All the best Thuso. What a sterling career you have had. Bring that award home!

University students to get free internet courtesy of #Vodacom

Vodacom has made available a free internet service for its users at universities across South Africa.

This is aimed at helping address cost challenges associated with access to educational content and remote learning for institutions of higher learning.

The cellular company says it has already enabled its subscribers at 19 of the 23 South African universities with free internet access.

In a statement, the telecommunications company says it acknowledges that the cost to communicate has been a hot topic in recent times.

"Having already zero-rated the charge to key basic education sites and career portals, today, Vodacom has taken a decision to zero-rate services to universities for students and staff who are Vodacom subscribers."

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#Proteas seamer Philander ruled out of Bangladesh Test series

Vernon Philander has been ruled out of the Bangladesh Test series, as he continues to recover from a lower-back problem with the aim of being fully fit by mid-October.

Philander is scheduled to play the fourth and fifth round of first-class matches for his franchise, the Cobras, and will likely play for South Africa in the four-day day-night match against Zimbabwe on Boxing Day.

Philander has mostly recovered from the back niggle he picked up in England, which kept him out of the fourth Test at Old Trafford and has seen him sidelined since.

Philander was part of the Cobras pre-season training but has not played any cricket since the England tour.

#Twitter to double tweet limit

Twitter today is moving away from its traditional 140 character tweet limit. The company has announced that it is testing a new 280 character limit for some users. Product manager Aliza Rosen made the likely controversial reveal in a blog post this afternoon…

The company says it came to this decision after realizing how character and word count varied based on different languages. Rosen writes that languages like Japanese, Korean, and Chinese can "convey about double the amount of information in one character" as other languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French.

For instance, some 9 percent of tweets sent in English have 140 characters, while just 0.4 percent of tweets sent in Japanese hit the cap.While some long-time Twitter users might be turned off by the move to double tweet length, the company hopes the move will make it easier for everyone to use the service.

#Ford becomes Orlando Pirates official vehicle sponsor

Ford South Africa is now the official vehicle sponsor for Orlando Pirates, bringing two of the country's most popular vehicle and sporting brands together for the first time in a three-year partnership. Ford South Africa and Orlando Pirates Football Club are proud to announce their partnership agreement.

The partnership agreement, which formally kicked-off at the Orlando Stadium today, 26 September 2017, encompasses a three-year deal in which Ford will supply Orlando Pirates with vehicles across its impressive portfolio, including the iconic Mustang, Ranger, Everest, Transit and the EcoSport.

"Orlando Pirates is a household name in South Africa with a massive following and a proud heritage, as well as an impressive record in the Premier Soccer League," said Dr Casper Kruger, Managing Director, Ford Motor Company Sub-Saharan Africa region.

"We are delighted to become the vehicle of choice for Orlando Pirates for the next three years, and look forward to the exciting opportunities this sponsorship presents, for both the Club and Ford."

Orlando Pirates, established in 1937 and currently celebrating their 80th anniversary, is one of the most successful and recognised brands on the African continent.

"Orlando Pirates is a brand that is synonymous with excellence and steeped with a rich and proud history. The Ford Motor Company dates back to the beginning of the 20th Century with the production of the Model T, a car that revolutionised the automobile industry and forms the basis for the vehicles we drive today. With a combined history of 189 years, the merging of these two brands, which continue to make a huge impact on society, speaks volumes to the legacy that will be left behind by the journey that we'll take from today and into the future," said Dr Khoza.

Ford too, has an extremely proud South African heritage, with the local operation established in 1923. It is among the top three vehicle manufacturers in South Africa, with the locally assembled Ford Ranger regularly topping the overall sales charts, and being exported to more than 148 markets around the world. Recent major investments in its Silverton and Port Elizabeth plants enabled Ford to start producing the sophisticated Everest seven-seater sport utility vehicle (SUV) for domestic and export markets too.

Both the trend-setting Ranger and Everest feature prominently in the fleet of vehicles supplied to Orlando Pirates. This is complemented by the muscular, attention-grabbing Ford Mustang - which is South Africa's top-selling sports car - as well as the segment-leading Ford EcoSport compact SUV.

Lesedi La Rona diamond goes for $53 million

The world's second-largest gem-quality diamond has been sold to a London-based company for $53m (£39.5m). The private sale comes after its owner, Canada's Lucara Diamond Corporation, failed to sell it at a Sotheby's auction last year. The 1,111-carat stone was recovered by Lucara in Botswana two years ago.

The company said the price was an improvement on the highest bid received at the Sotheby's auction in June 2016. The diamond is named "Lesedi La Rona", which means "our light" in Botswana's Tswana language.

It is the largest gem-quality diamond discovered in more than a century, and the second-largest ever. The largest was the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, discovered in South Africa in 1905.

Going digital cuts the cost of starting and running a business

Being online as a business is no longer an option, it is a requirement if your product is to meet your consumers where they are, and the growth in technology has made it so easy to be online, you can practically start and run your business for free.

Over 92% of South African adults own cellphones, of that, 69% are smartphones. The average user of a smartphone spends over three hours a day on the internet and a further two hours plus on social media – Making online a worthwhile space to meet the consumer. 

Mags Ponnan, head of the Business Incubator & Customer Value Propositions at FNB Business shares a basic cost effective toolkit that your business can implement.

Business registration – The relationship started by FNB and the CIPC allows entrepreneurs to apply and launch their business through a bank (applying for a business account at the same time) has been extended to all the banks now, making it easy to do this from the comfort of your own home.

Website – One can buy a domain name from as little as R 79. You can then host a site for as little as R45 per month; these usually come with an email linked to the domain. If you don't have that sort of money, you can use free online platforms that allow you to open and run a website for free.

Communications – Social Media platforms are free, pair that up with apps that allow you to call, message, and conference at next to nothing and you are able to be in contact with clients online while keeping your operating costs for business communications at a minimum.

Advertising – The rise in digital has allowed for affordable and targeted advertising at a fraction of what you would pay for TV, radio or print. R500 – R2000 could buy one thousand impressions on a busy website, far less then that could buy you targeted campaigns on platforms such as Facebook too.  The trick is to also allow the customer to be redirected to your home website and ensure that the process for him to take up the product to be really easy.

Online payment gateways – there are numerous payment gateways that can be linked to your website to sell your product online; the cost per transaction is also very affordable.

Accounting services – Platforms such as FNB's Instant Payroll, Instant Invoicing and Instant accounting solutions all enable a business to keep professional financial records at no extra cost to the entrepreneur, making it easy to pay staff and manage incomes and expenditure on their business portfolio.