SMEs Are Innovating, But Where’s the Funding? | Panel Discussion By 100 Women in Finance x Edge Growth
In this episode of The Cutting Edge, recorded live at an event organised by 100WF and hosted by Edge Growth Ventures, moderator Zinathi Gquma (Business Day TV anchor and host) leads a powerful discussion on how innovation within SMEs is reshaping South Africa's economic landscape despite an underwhelming growth.
4 business growth experts shared their insights on:
↳ Why SMEs must embrace innovation as a strategic pillar, not just a buzzword, to compete with established players.
↳ How technology adoption enables smaller companies to operate at scale with fewer resources and respond more quickly to customer needs and demands.
↳ The critical funding gap for innovative ventures and why South Africa's venture capital landscape remains underdeveloped compared to global capital ecosystems.
↳ Why true innovation means selling your ideas, not just creating them.
↳ How a lack of corporate support for SMEs is holding businesses back from growing.
Featured in the panel:
- Noluvo Nela - Partner, Edge Growth Ventures
- Cleola Kunene - JSE Head of SME Development
- Sizwe Ndlovu - CTO, Pineapple Insurance
- Zinathi Gquma - Business News Anchor & Moderator
🟢 Essential listening for entrepreneurs, funders, ecosystem builders, and policymakers committed to unlocking South Africa's economic potential through SME innovation and development.
#️⃣ Find us on LinkedIn 👉 [https://bit.ly/4eKGUaF]
🌐 Visit our website 👉 [https://bit.ly/4g6GImS]
ABOUT 100 Women in Finance:
100 Women in Finance (100WF) is a global nonprofit organisation dedicated to strengthening the finance industry by empowering women to reach their professional potential at every stage of their careers. With over 35,000 members across 30+ locations worldwide, 100WF delivers on its mission through education, peer engagement, and impact initiatives, all guided by its Vision 30/40, a goal for women to hold 30% of senior investment and executive roles by 2040.
#smeinnovation #southafricaneconomy #businessgrowth #entrepreneurship #economicgrowth
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How to Build an AI First Business | What AI-First Thinking Means for SME Development & Growth
In this episode of The Cutting Edge, Susan Moloisane (CEO of Edge Growth Solutions) sits down with AI expert Tanye ver Loren van Themaat and Jason Krause (CEO of Art of Scale - an AI-powered business scaling platform).
Collectively, they break down why South African SMEs can't afford to wait on AI adoption and provide actionable steps to start integrating and building AI-powered systems into your business that can deliver 10X growth - even if you know little about AI right now.
This strategy-packed discussion covers:
↳ Why businesses that delay AI adoption will permanently fall behind competitors (and how this affects employee retention)
↳ How to identify AI-ready employees who can drive transformation from within your organisation
↳ Simple frameworks for mapping your business systems before implementing AI solutions
↳ Why AI implementation requires rethinking your entire business model, not just adding technology
↳ The critical shift from "technology as afterthought" to "technology-first problem solving"
↳ How investors should evaluate businesses based on their digital transformation readiness
↳ Practical tools for teaching employees systems thinking and critical judgment in an AI environment.
🟢 Ideal for South African business owners, leaders, executives and investors in SME development who need practical strategies to implement AI without getting overwhelmed.
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The Untold Truth About South Africa’s Township Economy | Keys to Township ESD Success
In this episode of the Cutting Edge, Senior Programme Manager from Edge Growth Solutions (Mbuso Radebe) sits down with Township Economy Expert, Sifiso Moyo, to shed light on the R900 billion opportunity that most corporate ESD strategies miss completely within South Africa’s Township Economy. Together, they strip away common misconceptions about township entrepreneurship and reveal the strategic shifts needed to create genuine economic impact beyond traditional funding models.
This eye-opening discussion covers:
↳ Why the township economy is NOT just about spaza shops (and what sectors actually drive sustainable growth)
↳ How partnering with local intermediary organisations can dramatically transform your ESD outcomes
↳ How catalytic funding works better than startup capital for township businesses
↳ Why addressing infrastructure challenges must precede business skills training
↳ How to design sector-specific interventions that actually solve real township business problems
↳ Which successful township businesses exemplify scalable growth models worth replicating
↳ What the Township Economic Development Act means for your procurement strategy (and the opportunities most corporates miss)
🟢 Essential listening for transformation executives, procurement leaders, and ESD practitioners who want to move beyond surface-level township interventions and build sustainable economic ecosystems.
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Strategic ESD in Mining | A Masterclass in Building Resilient and Self-Sustaining SMEs
In this episode of the Cutting Edge, Nyaniso Rapiya (ESD & Preferential Procurement Manager at Seriti Resources) and Nabeela Vally (Business Development Head at Edge Growth) break down how mining houses can transform their ESD & SME Development initiatives from compliance exercises into engines of local economic growth. Collectively, they tackle the tough questions facing South Africa’s mining sector and share proven strategies that create resilient and self-sustaining SMEs.
This discussion covers:
↳ How to evolve your ESD approach beyond basic mentorship and funding
↳ Why traditional SME support models often fail to deliver sustainable growth
↳ Which metrics actually matter when measuring SME development
↳ Where to find opportunities for cross-sector collaboration
↳ When to introduce funding vs capability building
↳ How to integrate ESG principles into supplier development programmes
↳ What it takes to build SMEs that thrive beyond life of mine
🟢 Ideal for mining executives, procurement leaders, and ESD practitioners who want to move beyond tick-box transformation and build genuinely sustainable local supply chains.
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Unpacking the True Effectiveness of the ESD Ecosystem in South Africa ft. GIBS Business School
In this episode of the Cutting Edge, Edge Growth Business Development Manager, Nabeela Vally sits down with Adjunct Faculty and Practice Director at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) - Anne Cabot-Alletzhauser. Together, they delve into the very relevant outcomes of the recent study conducted by GIBS titled “Enhancing Enterprise and Supplier Development Ecosystem Effectiveness in South Africa,” they examine how misaligned goals, quick fixes, and fragmented collaboration often leave SMEs dependent on support instead of building toward sustainable growth. They also explore actionable strategies and opportunities to create a stronger, more effective ESD ecosystem that empowers SMEs to develop independently and sustainably.
Catch our conversations with future-focused corporate executives, senior leaders, impact investors and subject matter experts as we discuss the most influential topics at the forefront of ESD and SME Development in South Africa.
South Africa