South Africa’s SMMEs survive, but struggle to scale
South Africa’s SMMEs survive, but struggle to scale. A Shoprite-commissioned report finds that South Africa’s small businesses are becoming more resilient, but limited access to suitable finance, procurement opportunities and market access is preventing many from scaling.
What happened
The all-new Mazda CX-5 has arrived in South Africa, bringing updated design, technology, safety and performance. Steve Smith reveals ongoing trauma and anxiety eight years after the infamous Sandpapergate scandal, as the former Australian skipper returns to South Africa for a dramatic Test series. Image: Ayanda Ndamane/ ANA StudioGBV activists are urging South Africans to wear black on Friday as police investigate the deaths of women in and around Kempton Park and campaigners demand stronger prevention measures.
“Our country is in mourning,” Pillay added. post. co. zaAsk AIThursday, September 17, 2026NewsCrime and CourtsSouth AfricaAfricaWorldBRICSEducationEnergyEnvironmentFeel GoodGovernment at WorkOpinionPoliticsOpinionOpinionNewsPoliticsEntertainmentLifestyleTechSportBusinessJobsEconomyPropertyWindow on ChinaHybrid WorkingEntertainmentCelebrity NewsStreamingMoviesMusicBooksWhats OnJoburgDurbanCape TownPretoriaOpinionLifestyleHealthBeautyFashionFoodRelationshipsParentingCompetitionsOpinionTravelLocalInternationalTechSoftware and InternetEsportsOpinionSportSoccerPSLRugbyCricketMMABettingOpinionHorse RacingMotoringReviewsLaunchesIndustry NewsMotorsport Pretoria News OpinionRamaphosa calls for ‘new era’ in South Africa-India economic ties at BRICS summitEconomic RelationsPhapano Phasha|Published 50 minutes agoAsk AI 6minAt a South African-Indian business roundtable in New Delhi on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, President Cyril Ramaphosa said policy dialogue now had to become commercially viable projects and durable private-sector partnerships.
Image: Presidency ZA X AccountPRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa, last Saturday, urged India and South Africa to open what he called a “new era” in economic relations, arguing that the two countries had a rare chance to deepen investment, trade, industrial development and sustainable growth at a moment when BRICS is rewriting the rules of the global economy. In that setting, South Africa and India should treat complementary strengths as a joint asset rather than as parallel, disconnected stories.
The wider picture
South Africa has an interest in that architecture. Indian groups such as Vedanta already have a presence in South Africa. South Africa’s mineral endowment and India’s manufacturing capacity, he argued, form a natural pairing across new-energy value chains. South Africa has identified 195 strategic integrated projects across priority industries, with a combined value of more than $100 billion, roads, rail corridors, renewable plants, transmission lines, water works and hospitals. He cited Atain, an India-headquartered global business services firm, which recently opened a new Cape Town site and is expected to raise its local workforce from about 1 500 to more than 2 000 young South Africans.
India is among South Africa’s largest trading partners. More than 150 Indian companies have invested over $10bn in South Africa and employ more than 18 000 people. South African groups including Naspers, FirstRand, Sanlam and Momentum have significant interests in India.
What has been reported
South Africa, he said, is opening energy, telecoms, logistics and water to more competition, emerging from years of electricity shortages, and trying to revive freight rail and ports. Whether the “new era” materialises will depend on follow-through: projects that reach tender, beneficiation that stays on South African soil, two-way investment, corridors that actually move cargo, and payments that make a rupee-and-rand settlement ordinary. For South Africa and the wider Global South, the value of the India relationship is precisely that combination: markets, technology, logistics and an alternative way to pay.
Pretoria NewsAsk AIThursday, September 17, 2026NewsCrime and CourtsSouth AfricaAfricaWorldBRICSEducationEnergyEnvironmentFeel GoodGovernment at WorkOpinionPoliticsOpinionOpinionNewsPoliticsEntertainmentLifestyleTechSportBusinessJobsEconomyPropertyWindow on ChinaHybrid WorkingEntertainmentCelebrity NewsStreamingMoviesMusicBooksWhats OnJoburgDurbanCape TownPretoriaOpinionLifestyleHealthBeautyFashionFoodRelationshipsParentingCompetitionsOpinionTravelLocalInternationalTechSoftware and InternetEsportsOpinionSportSoccerPSLRugbyCricketMMABettingOpinionHorse RacingMotoringReviewsLaunchesIndustry NewsMotorsport An Ipsos survey found that 15% of South Africans aged 15 and older had missed work or education because they could not afford transport, equivalent to about 6. Whistle-blowers are essential to exposing healthcare fraud, waste and abuse—but South Africa’s systems must ensure that those who speak up are heard, protected and supported. The dispute is the latest front in a broader clash over race, trade and diplomacy that has seen Washington cut aid, impose tariffs, expel South Africa's ambassador and boycott a G20 summit in Johannesburg, all against the unresolved legacy of white minority rule.
They are also urging the government to come up with a “proper plan” focusing on preventing violence against women as Rapid Response Teams struggle to cope with the influx of cases.
What happens next
The grouping’s expanded membership brought together heads of state and senior officials from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Other large firms, he said, could use the country as a production and export base for African and global markets. That agenda opens space for joint work on new-energy vehicles, batteries and related products, and it directly challenges the old arrangement in which Africa exports raw materials and imports finished goods. Investment in transport, logistics, ports, digital networks, smart cities and industrial corridors is essential if African trade is to thicken.
The systems I was shown, and the shopping I did during the week, are the unglamorous test of whether fintech and trade talk can survive contact with a till. The Post NewsGBV activists call for ‘Black Friday’ mourning campaign after Kempton Park deathsGENDER-BASED-VIOLENCEYoshini Perumal|Published 25 minutes agoAsk AI 2minA 30-minute silent protest against violence against women took place at the Castle of Good Hope on September 16. Dressed in black participants gathered in silence to remember women whose lives have been taken by violence and to stand in solidarity with women who continue to live in fear.
The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across iol.co.za. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.