April 2021

For many, the Covid-19 pandemic is now being talked about as a thing of the past. Obviously, the virus still poses a large threat to life and continues to disrupt like nothing experienced before. But hearing so many talk about the pandemic in the past tense is encouraging.

For the robust, trading has continued and companies have been able to find opportunities. This has been key to ongoing success. While growth may not have been achieved in the same numbers as we were used to reading in 2019, surviving and being here to tell the story now is largely being seen as a win.

In this edition, we talk again to Chemical Process Technologies (CPT) about the work being undertaken to boost local manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), specifically for use in human medicines. Despite the pandemic, CPT has continued to push forward by gaining its GMP license from SAHPRA, paving the way for commercial production to begin.

At aYo holdings, the microinsurance JV between MTN and MMI, customer numbers have boomed with the company now servicing more than 11 million people across Zambia, Ghana and Uganda. CEO Marius Botha tells us more about how microinsurance will revolutionise and disrupt the market in Africa. Here, the pandemic has recast the spotlight on the importance of protecting income should a household earner be incapacitated.

Craig Buckley, CEO at reOS, talks to us about how the demand for housing will not diminish as a result of the pandemic, and rental is a sector that needs innovation to be efficient. As such, the company has launched software which brings everything needed into a block-chain-based system designed around empowering rental agents.

For these companies, looking forward with cautious optimism is helping change the mood from a difficult 2020. While there is a long way to go, 2021 is certainly looking bright.

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