B-BBEE Commission releases 2021 national status and trends report
The B-BBEE Commission's latest report on empowerment trends shows a decrease in overall black ownership, as well as in black women ownership. By Safiyya Patel, partner and Tebogo Moloko, senior associate at Webber Wentzel The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment...
BEE basics: what compliance means for SMEs
The broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) policy system provides the country with a growth strategy that aims to promote a more equitable and economically inclusive society that will help South Africa realise its full economic potential. Small businesses -...
Achieve compliant and measurable ESG impact
Investing into environmental, social and governance initiatives and strategies delivers measurable value to the organisation over the long and the short term. However, initial investment hype alongside so-called ‘greenwashing’ has left many companies and investors...
Use PoPIA compliance to benefit your business
The Protection of Public Information Act (PoPIA) came into force in July last year. The Information Regulator, who oversees all PoPIA compliance in South Africa, gave organisations a 12-month grace period to get everything in order and implement the measures required...
IoT gives businesses assurance in ESG initiatives
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics can be effectively used to measure and define the impact the organisation has, the trust it engenders, and the value it takes beyond the shareholder and into the ecosystem. It has evolved to become far more than a...
Personalisation and data privacy can go hand in hand
How often do brands find a balance between the obvious benefits of personalisation and customer's privacy concerns? By Andrew Bourne, regional manager: Africa at Zoho The most effective tactics employ zero-party data to drive marketing and sales, give consumers power...
Data compliance is critical no matter where you operate your business
The regulatory environment is a complex one that impacts on all facets of a business. By Mthobisi Memela, senior consultant at TechSoft International And if dealing with the continually evolving South African compliance landscape is not challenging enough, companies...
How smart is a smart contract?
Although smart contracts have become a hot topic due to the blockchain revolution, the term "smart contract" was first actually used back in the 1990's by American computer scientist Nick Szabo. By Tebogo Motloutsi, CA and Danie Pienaar, partner at Spoor & Fisher...
Antibribery standardisation can help win business confidence back
As unfortunate as it is, the reality is bribery and corruption are rife globally. According to auditor Deloitte, about two-thirds of all fraud reported in India has a corruption angle to it. In 2019 alone, companies with operations in the United States paid or agreed...
The IP laws of the metaverse and beyond
When Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, announced on 28 October 2021 that the company's corporate name will be changed to Meta Platforms, the world's interest was piqued by his use of the term "metaverse". What does this term really encompass and what are the...
ESG: tick-box exercise or a true risk differentiator?
Although not new, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues have become a key focus in the last 18-24 months, in part driven by growing awareness of environmental and equity and inclusion issues, as well as the health and wellness impacts of Covid-19. The...
Data privacy: don’t let the pandemic loosen your guard
No doubt, growing awareness of data privacy has enhanced how people take care of their personal information. By Barry Cook, data protection office at VFS Global But there are times when we tend to drop our guard, and mostly these are phases when we are anxious. For...