Trade Minister concerned by hurdles faced by black-owned enterprises in the country
JOHANNESBURG - Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau has again raised concerns about the hurdles faced by black-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises in the country.
Tau raised the frustrations impacting the growth of small businesses while speaking at a transport sector engagement session today, which focused on initiatives that support black-owned businesses across different industries.
Tau said that launching the transformation fund will help resolve some of the barriers that exist for previously disadvantaged groups-- including funding requirements.
Parks Tau published a draft concept document on the R100 billion fund last month.
The fund is expected to be a catalyst for financial support.
READ: Tau doesn't expect R100bn transformation fund to threaten existing B-BBEE legislation
Tau said that it is important to ensure that there's also adequate support for small and medium businesses in the transport industry.
'By embedding clear targets for black ownership, management control and supplier diversity in our sector codes, we ensure that modernisation benefits all stakeholders. The transformation fund will be co-managed with private sector partners, creating accountability and shared commitment."
He called on industries to align with the fund's objectives to achieve rapid and inclusive growth.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Saru declares significant loss in 2024 financial report – but 2025 outlook positive
Despite a large deficit, the South African Rugby Union is optimistic about the short-to-medium-term future. The South African Rugby Union (Saru) reported a R93-million loss for the 2024 financial year, which was expected and forecast, despite record earnings, its latest financial statements reveal. On the up side, new sponsorships and becoming a full shareholder of the United Rugby Championship (URC) from next month, has led to a bold prediction of a R100-million surplus in the current financial year. Summary 2024 financial year (reported) Loss: R93-million (expected and already offset in early 2025) Commercial revenue: R1.552-billion (up from R1.44-billion in 2023) Total income (including grants): R1.76-billion World Rugby grant: R186-million Merchandising: Doubled from R30-million to R62-million Expenses: R1.871-billion (up 2.9% from R1.816-billion) World Rugby events: R133-million Player image rights: R148-million (+R24-million) Private equity transaction costs: R13-million URC/northern hemisphere franchises: R446-million National teams including Springboks: R433-million (-R27m from 2023) 2025 outlook Forecast revenue: Above R2-billion Projected surplus: R100-million Drivers: New sponsorships Full URC membership Continued commercial growth According to the financial report, the R93-million deficit had already 'been wiped out' over the first six months of 2025. Overall, in 2024, group commercial revenues exceeded R1.5-billion for the first time (R1.552-billion), up from R1.44-billion in 2023. Total income with the addition of grants (principally from World Rugby of R186-million) took total income to R1.76-billion. Revenues for 2025 are forecast to exceed R2-billion. The 7.8% increase in revenues was attributable to increased broadcast revenues in a non-Rugby World Cup year, competition sponsorships and a strong performance in merchandising receipts, which more than doubled from R30-million to R62-million. Expenses increased from R1.816-billion to R1.871-billion. The 2.9% increase was put down to investment in hosting three World Rugby tournaments (R133-million), a R24-million increase in player image rights (to R148-million), and the costs associated with the mooted private equity transaction (R13-million). Total expenditure attributable to the northern hemisphere international franchise competition was R446-million, while Saru was still able to make a full distribution to member unions. Spending on the No 1 world-ranked team, the Springboks, and other national teams was R433-million, a reduction of R27-million on the Rugby World Cup-winning year of 2023 (R460-million). 'Reporting a loss can never be desirable, but the irony is that we are more than satisfied with our position,' said Saru CEO Rian Oberholzer. 'We had budgeted for a loss in 2024 in the expectation that the members would approve the private equity transaction that they had sought, releasing funds to cover the deficit. 'When that did not happen, we continued with our planned commercial reset, and other revenue generation plans, which have borne fruit. We are in the very rare position among our international peers of continuing to be debt-free and confident of posting a surplus in 2025.' European costs Saru's biggest accumulated cost over the past eight years has been paying to participate in URC (and the Pro14 competition before that). The cost of securing South Africa's place in northern hemisphere rugby, which was accelerated by the collapse of Super Rugby in 2020, has been R2.2-billion. According to the finance notes, Saru currently pays R392-million annually for top club teams to compete in URC and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). Without this contribution, the Bulls, Cheetahs, Lions, Sharks and Stormers would have no international competition. Another R54-million is paid to travel and other associated costs for the teams. Saru also paid R347-million to member unions (the 15 provinces) to ensure their existence. Saru president Mark Alexander highlighted a period of significant challenges and growth for the organisation. Despite the unsuccessful private equity transaction, it elevated Saru's profile and led to the exploration of alternative commercial initiatives, including a new commercial app and digital platform to diversify revenue streams. The Saru president acknowledged a financial loss for the period, but emphasised that the R2.2-billion investment was made to secure future participation and full membership in the URC and EPCR by the end of June 2025. He also noted that budgets for 2025-2027 had been secured, ensuring financial stability. Plans include digital transformation and leveraging partnerships for growth beyond 2028. Alexander also praised the Springboks' continued world-class performance, ranking No 1 in 2023 and 2024. Oberholzer said the financial outlook beyond next year was equally healthy, with strong revenues forecast for 2026 with new competition formats in the pipeline. 'The income that SA Rugby generates all goes back into supporting the growth and promotion of rugby in the country,' he said. 'It allows us to fund Springbok campaigns, expand women's rugby programmes and fuel our other national teams. It pays for our members' activities in their communities as well as their professional teams. 'It underwrites our rugby safety programme BokSmart; supports referee and coaching development and our age group competitions as well as development programmes, and allows us in turn on sell-out Test match entertainment and our domestic competitions. 'Ultimately, every rand that we earn goes into powering the game in some shape or form and after a challenging 2024, we have a good news story to tell our South African rugby community as we look ahead.' DM
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Daily Maverick
The Financial Wellness Coach: How to calculate your retirement savings capital
The amount of retirement capital that you need depends on how much you will require to live on every month. Question: My friends tell me I need R30-million in order to retire. My savings are nowhere near that. Am I in trouble? Answer: The amount of money that you need in order to retire will depend on how much you need to live on when you have retired. I do a lot of retirement counselling with individuals approaching retirement, and determining how much they need to live on is always the first step in the planning process. I've found that this amount can vary dramatically – from as little as R8,000 to as much as R230,000 per month. Depending on how much you need in a month, the amount of retirement capital that you need will vary. If you need an after-tax income of R100,000 a month, you will need about R32-million in savings. I suspect that this is where the R30-million story comes in. However, I find that most retired people I help need an after-tax income of between R30,000 and R50,000 a month. I will go through the factors you need to consider when working out how much you will need in order to retire. Monthly retirement budget The first step in working out how much you need when you retire is to get an idea of how much you need to live on each month. I would recommend that you draw up a budget based on what you are spending now, and then amend it to reflect the type of spending pattern you may have when you retire. For example, your parking and lunchtime costs will probably reduce and your medical costs will increase. If you need help here, I have a retirement budget spreadsheet that I can email to you. Tax Once you have figured out how much you need, increase that amount to account for income tax. Drawdown rate and investment strategy You need to ensure that you will have enough money to live on until you, your spouse and any dependants pass away. As one in 10 of us is likely to live to 100, you need to plan on having enough capital for the next 35 years when you retire. What's more, this capital needs to be invested in such a way that it can withstand all the economic and political challenges that you are going to experience over the next 35 years. For someone who is retiring at the age of 65, just think back to what the world was like when you were 30 and all the political and economic challenges you had to deal with. When you retire, you will have a similar set of challenges, but will only have your retirement capital to depend on. There will be no promotions or performance bonuses to help you. It is therefore vital that you get the right investment strategy in place. The recommended drawdown rate for a 65-year-old is 5%. The thinking here is that the typical costs of a living annuity come to about 2.5%, so as long as your investments are growing by more than 7.5%, your pension will increase each year and be sustainable for the rest of your life. In order to work out how much capital you will need in order to retire, you would do the following: Calculate your monthly expenses when you retire; Work out what tax you'll be paying when you retire and increase those expenses by the tax rate; and Divide that number by 5%. This will give you the capital needed to provide you with a sustainable income when you retire. Some examples can be found in the table below. What I've shown you is a rough guide for how to calculate your retirement needs. I would strongly recommend that you speak to a financial adviser who is experienced in retirement planning. They will have access to software that will help you structure your retirement income in the most tax-efficient way and be able to model your investments to ensure you get the right level of returns without risking your capital. DM Kenny Meiring is an independent financial adviser. Contact him on 082 856 0348 or at Send your questions to [email protected] This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
SA Rugby in the pound seats as international rivals struggle to make ends meet
Saru CEO Rian Oberholzer was happy to report a R100m profit for the union this week. Photo: Supplied Image: Supplied South African rugby is set to buck the global trend and report a profit of more than R100 million for 2025, clearing 2024's losses and ensuring the 15 member unions receive their full funding, while support for the Springboks and all national teams continues unchecked. This good news emerged from the annual meeting of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) in Cape Town on Thursday. Last year, South African rugby recorded a loss of R93 million due to its investment in northern hemisphere rugby competitions, but SA Rugby has already wiped out that deficit with a strong start to 2025. This is in contrast to many rival countries, who are under severe financial pressure. Other international federations have lost as much as R913 million, with five other Tier One nations reporting losses of between R588 million and R181 million. The next 'best' performance after South Africa's was a loss of R126 million, members at the meeting were told. SA Rugby's continued investment into membership of northern hemisphere competitions led to a group loss in 2024, but the organisation had already wiped out that deficit with a strong start to 2025 - more here: 👍 — Springboks (@Springboks) June 5, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, said that participation in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) came at a net cost of R124 million in 2024. 'We have been investing in the long-term future of South African rugby to become full members of the URC for the best part of eight years,' said Oberholzer. 'It has come at a significant cost to the sport, but there is no doubt that it has been the right thing to do. 'Once we fulfil certain membership obligations this year, we will begin to reap the on- and off-field rewards of such investment. 'If we had not undertaken this journey, we would have been reduced to playing only domestic competitions, which would have had catastrophic high-performance as well as financial ramifications for rugby in South Africa. 'It has been a tough financial road, but we have annually outperformed our global peers since the pandemic, while taking on the unusual cost of our investment into the URC and EPCR. 'Reporting a loss can never be desirable, but the irony is that we are more than satisfied with our position,' said Oberholzer. 'We had budgeted for a loss in 2024 in the expectation that the members would approve the private equity transaction that they had sought, releasing funds to cover the deficit. 'When that did not happen, we continued with our planned commercial reset and other revenue generation plans, which have borne fruit. We are in the very rare position among our international peers of continuing to be debt-free and confident of posting a surplus in 2025.'
