Cape Town, October, 2019 - In a bid to improve access to mental health services throughout South Africa (and beyond), TherapyRoute.com has announced opening its online - free to list - mental health service directory to all qualified mental professionals and service providers including non-profits, community clinics, and private practices. TherapyRoute believes that opening their platform, to both private and non-profit services, is an example of how private and community organisations can collaborate to achieve mutual aims more efficiently. For example, equipping the public to locate and access mental health services and professionals like psychologists, registered counsellors, and social workers. Just this year (2019), TherapyRoute served hundreds of thousands of page views (USA, UK, ZA, and AU) and linked thousands of visitors to mental health professionals and services providers. Registering on the platform improves access to services by placing links to these services in front of the people seeking them. It also allows registered organisations and professionals to access tools that they can use to grow their profiles into informative websites and publish high-quality mental-health-related content. Mindful that barriers to access can extend beyond availability and affordability; TherapyRoute includes socially relevant filters (e.g. Black, LGBT+, Armenian speaking, etc.) that help visitors find the best fit mental health professionals for them. The platform also caters for people who are unsure of what to search for by automatically displaying nearby services. According to Enzo Sinisi (founder) "one challenge to improving access is that providers focus on delivery and sometimes lack the resources to ensure that their services, and often even their contact details, are accurately presented online". TherapyRoute recently led a project that saw 1000 hours donated to collecting, verifying, and adding well over 100 low-fee and no-fee South African …
Golden business opportunities despite the economic climate in SA
Despite our current challenging economic situation, the present moment is full of opportunity for buying a business and thriving. If you've been thinking of owning your own business you probably have already looked around for a business for sale, but are unsure about where to invest your hard-earned cash, consider that some of the smaller or medium-sized businesses are affordable, easier to manage and good value for money in an ever-shifting economy. Increased domestic demand in the second quarter allowed the South African economy to bounce back a bit. Further good news is that international ratings agency Moody’s hinted at a “low likelihood” that they will downgrade South Africa’s credit rating to junk status in their November review. In addition, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) announced it will keep the repurchase rate unchanged at 6.50%, after having cut rates by 25 basis points previously, adding more stability. In his latest economic talk, President Ramaphosa announced priority reforms to improve the ease of doing business and reducing the cost of compliance. These new laws will reduce the abuse of dominance and high concentration that keeps small and emerging companies out of the economy. Given that entrepreneurs and small businesses are currently being tasked with the responsibility of reviving the economy and creating millions of new jobs, the government is focusing on improving the entrepreneurial ecosystem, ensuring an enabling environment for businesses to grow and thrive in South Africa. Small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) not only provide an attractive opportunity for the country’s economic growth but they also contribute 60-80% of the projected GDP increase, and generate a large percentage of the new jobs in our country. Statistics provided by Stats SA show that a significant contribution SMMEs have been made by SMMEs across all industries – Business services, Trade, Community and …
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Enter a design challenge to help keep a language alive
Designers in Africa: enter the D54 design challenge and help keep a language alive In a novel initiative, newly-launched design enterprise D54 invites designers living and working in Africa to submit their best original poster and T-shirt designs, and stand a chance to have their work win a place in the inaugural D54 2019 #KeepLanguagesAlive Collection, on show for one day only, in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday 22 October 2019. Entries close on Monday 14 October, 2019. The top 5 entries, as judged by an all-star panel, are to be produced, distributed, marketed, and then sold on D54’s online platforms, and through partner retail outlets, under the D54 label, starting end of November 2019. Commercial arrangements are on a profit-sharing basis. Winners get a share of 2000 USD in instant cash: a grand prize of 1000 USD, second prize of 650 USD, and a third prize of 350 USD. Under the theme #KeepLanguagesAlive—inspired by the United Nations’ International Year of Indigenous Languages for 2019—D54 invites designers to make powerful, self-affirming statements in African languages, using typography, illustration, text or symbolism. This model is born of the observation that when designers in Africa create original products to sell, they often need to find product development, production, distribution and marketing partners who can help them reach global markets, so that they can earn a decent living from their creations. D54, short for Design Fifty-four, and derived from the idea that there are 54 countries on the continent, was founded by designers who know only too well what it feels like when their creations remain prototypes, and never get tested in the marketplace. “D54 is structured to bring together an annual pan-African design contest with the value chain that takes a product from designed to sold,” says Ithateng Mokgoro, co-founder of D54. Explaining D54’s benchmark-setting configuration, Mokgoro further added that “the …
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New all-women car rally backed by Moroccan Tourism
The Moroccan Tourism Authority have announced their backing of the latest offshoot of the famous Gazelle Rally which will see all-female teams taking on a gruelling course in Inner Mongolia from 2020. The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, now in its 30th year, was born in Morocco and features over 150 intrepid teams navigating their way through parts of the Sahara Desert armed with little more than a map, pencil, and a compass. Apart from being an incredible tool to empower women, over the years, the event has promoted the North African nation’s image around the world. As a result, the Moroccan National Tourist Office expressed its desire to become a title partner of the new Gazelles Morocco China – an event which will take place in the Inner Mongolia region of China in 2020. A promotional event to launch the new rally will take place in Naiman Qi from October 23-26 this year, with 10 teams made up of drivers from 12 different nations taking part. The Gazelles Morocco China aims to adapt the unique concept of the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles in Asia. The objective remains to empower women, and is for the more experienced “Gazelles" to share their knowledge with Chinese crews, but also to allow previous participants to test themselves in a new environment. The first edition will take place during the second half of 2020 and will bring together 60 crews of all nationalities. Gazelles Morocco China is organised by French company Maïenga in collaboration with Beijing Mitime Sports, a leading promoter of sport in China. "Morocco has always encouraged sports initiatives with strong human values. The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles is the perfect example. It’s an all-women adventure that goes beyond personal fulfilment in that it involves the local population as well,” said Mr. Adel El Fakir, Managing Director of the Moroccan National Tourist Office “This is why the Moroccan National Tourist Office has always supported this event and we are proud today that it is …
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8 Reasons How Sage X3 can Spice Up the Food and Beverage Industries in Africa
Food and beverage industry is slowly gaining strength in the regions of Africa making it one of the leading industries for attractive opportunities in terms of business. Africa has the most diverse food and cuisine structure on the planet. Its $ 313 billion food and beverage markets are projected to reach $ 1 trillion by 2030 which suggests a tremendous scope for the developing African economy. A food and beverage industry should be well equipped to tackle the challenges of managing industry specific requirements like Orders, inventory and production while keeping the total cost of ownership low. Food companies also deal with some of the most volatile supply and demand in business because of the struggle to anticipate demand, leading to wasted stock or lost sales from understocking. Greytrix Africa with a track record of proven success with industry leaders, addresses the challenges of food and process manufacturing industries with Sage X3– an ERP software suite that includes integrated functionality for financial management, sales, customer service, distribution, inventory, manufacturing, and business intelligence. Top 10 reasons Sage X3 can be a boon for your business: Lot traceability and Recall Management: Real time Lot traceability and Recall management is crucial for industries dealing with food and beverage due to the high risk of perishability. Sage X3 ensures a sustained flow of information concerning the sourcing, processing, transportation and storage of food products. It allows you to allocate and capture Lot numbers at the time of receiving, associated with the vendor numbers. Auto generating Lot numbers for finished goods ensures accurate Lot traceability and Recall management. It provides both forward and backward traceability across the supply chain with automated recall functions. Pricing and Contract Management: Sage X3 includes enterprise specific functionalities such as pricing and contract management. A robust solution for advanced …
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Sibos 2019: Bluecode Africa shows the way to financial inclusion
Sibos is the world’s premier financial services event, and this year one African fintech is planning on making waves there. Taking place in London from 23-26 September, 9,000 business leaders, decision makers and topic experts, 600 speakers, and more than 100 fintechs will focus on shaping the future of the financial world. Bluecode Africa will be exhibiting at the Africa Pavilion together with Bankserv and other leading financial players. They will be educating delegates on how the world will pay, not just in the future, but right now – in a way that is secure, practical and does not need expensive technology and infrastructure to work. Sibos 2019 is focusing on “thriving in a hyper-connected world”, a theme which has profound implications for a continent which both leads the world in mobile money, but also wrestles with ongoing challenges in terms of access to smartphone technology and data. The hype around “hyper-connected” risks deepening inequality as millions of people without smartphones and reliable wifi find themselves left behind. This is where Bluecode Africa comes in. In sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money accounts now surpass traditional bank accounts, as African countries leapfrog legacy systems established in Western markets. It’s a good news story – but there’s a catch. African financial institutions, which have nurtured clients amd developed products suited to local conditions over decades, now face the prospect of disintermediation by fintech and Bigtech who’s interests are aligned with foreign shareholders, not local financial markets and financial institutions. Hundreds of fintech start-ups have launched in Africa, most on the theme of financial inclusion. These new players are targeting consumer transactional banking, consumer micro-credit, and ultimately data harvesting. Many are leveraging off foreign card scheme. The endgame is harvesting and mining transactional data and disintermediation of the customer from the bank. African …
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The SADC region’s financial destiny lies in the hands of its people – literally
Over the past decade, economic growth in the SADC region has been more sluggish than leaders have hoped for. In 2018, the region set a GDP growth target of 7%, but only achieved 3.1%. Given the region’s high youth unemployment rate, the need for the kind of growth that creates wealth and jobs is an urgent one. The SADC countries’ greatest asset are their people. So where can we make the biggest difference, quickly? The solution could be in our hands – quite literally. The mobile phones that so many SADC region citizens use to connect with friends and family and to keep up with what’s happening in the world, could also be a tool to increase participation in the formal money economy. A region wide mobile payments scheme with pan-African and international interoperability owned and managed by local and regional financial institutions could be a game changer. The Bluecode platform offers just that. A locally owned and managed scheme with global interoperable capabilities, offers SADC a real alternative to foreign legacy card schemes. Mobile payments offer a real alternative to cash, cards and P2P, giving consumers convenience and offering from tier 1 retail to MSMEs a friction free lower cost payment with the kind of value that is needed to grow their business. Moreover a digital payment provides digital transparency and opens the opportunity for banks to collateralize cash flow and customer data to reduce dependency on more tangible collateral traditionally used to mitigate credit risk. A mobile scheme could be an economic catalyst that helps lift millions out of poverty. Here’s why. Financial inclusion Central banks across the region have prioritized the promotion of financial inclusion though increasing the availability of relevant products, channels and services adapted to local market conditions. Simply, more citizens need to be able to make and receive payments for goods and services, and to create wealth, jobs and the prosperity that results from …
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SA Forestry Sector Makes Chainsaw Training Safer With Virtual Reality
JOHANNESBURG, 10 SEPTEMBER 2019 ? In a world first, trainee chainsaw operators will soon be able to use a virtual reality (VR) application to test their theoretical knowledge and hone their skill in a simulated timber plantation. Developed by Forestry South Africa (FSA), the Fibre Processing and Manufacturing Sector Education and Training Authority (FP&M Seta) and industry partners, this solution trains chainsaw operators in a safe, simulated environment before they test their skills in this high-risk activity in timber plantations. While the number of chainsaw operators employed in large commercial plantations has declined in recent years, the opposite is true in small-scale and community forestry, where suitably trained chainsaw operators need to be equipped with this scarce and critical skill. Although forestry has used simulators over the past decade, their use in the training of chainsaw operators is an innovative development. Mobile, cost-effective, learner-adaptable and injury-free The cost of practical training has risen substantially. The sector sought a solution that would not only provide a cost-effective coaching medium with minimal risk, but a means whereby trainee operators could gain a feel for their equipment before taking their first steps into the field or forest. Safety concerns have proved to be a limiting factor in the training of chainsaw operators. Other constraints include unwieldy class sizes and a limited number of trees available for practical instruction. “Besides the obvious benefits that our industry stands to gain from this project, VR is the future of skills development and training. It transports learners into the environment for which they are being trained, promotes interactivity and improves the retention of information through experience,” says FSA business development director Norman Dlamini. “I am holding the very first real chainsaw in the world that has been wired with sensors and can transport a …
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Video – The Mankind Project #99949 #RealMenStandUp #AreYouManEnough
https://youtu.be/XoH9dMIi5m0 Call To Action Calling ALL men in SA at 9am on Monday 9/Sept STOP whatever you are doing Go out into the STREET WHEREVER you are STAND UP! And we will stand together In silence For 9 minutes In solidarity With our SISTERS And our WIVES Our DAUGHTERS And our MOTHERS For our country And our FUTURE #RealMenStandUp #AreYouManEnough #99949 https://www.facebook.com/events/455903458346463/ From: Elsabe Booyens CLICK HERE to submit a Video Press Release to MyPR. …
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Afro Poetry Times September issue celebrates poetry growth
Afro Poetry Times September edition celebrates growth A poet always dreams of growth Life, as we all know it, is a beautiful journey that begins with a single step. Life comes packed with a lot of 'branded' lessons that teach us the skills of survival. Lessons of humility, working hard, networking, development, growth etc. All these lessons adequately prepare us as we crank up reality in pursuit of our dreams. Being a poet is no different. There comes a certain phase in a poet's life were the ultimate mission automatically becomes that of growth. Like a watered seedling clamouring for attention, every poet dreams of taking on the world through their work. Some succeed while others drown in misery. Many never give up until they see the dawn of day. In this issue, we feature some inspirational stories that will add some zest to your success seeking endeavours. We have interviews with some poets who are doing marvellous things in the sector and we look at a Kenyan poet who left his well paying job as a banker to realise his poetry dream. As usual, we also have some great and amazing poems. So read on and enjoy the Afro Poetry Times – the only poetry magazine that’s crafted with you in mind. Remember you can get all current and back copies of the Afro Poetry Times on the PressReader App CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. …