Star 2021-10-12

Herman Gibbs 1 Ronwen Williams Bafana Bafana’s captain led from the front at the Bahir Dar Stadium in Ethiopia on Saturday. He was outstanding between the sticks. On three occasions, he single-handedly denied Ethiopia with gallant saves. He was particularly effective in the first half. He was well-beaten by Getaneh Kebede's thunderous free-kick, which produced Ethiopia’s goal. 2 Mothobi Mvala The Mamelodi Sundowns midfield general excelled in his delegated role as a holding midfielder. He worked like a Trojan trying to contain Ethiopia’s sorties down the middle of the park and he dispossessed the opposition when threatening situations were developing close to South Africa's goalmouth. He showed a penchant for attacking play early in the match by setting off on a few runs out wide. He produced a few goalmouth…

Bafana Bafana’s back-to-back wins in their latest 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers has sparked hopes that South Africa has a realistic chance of qualifying for football’s global showpiece in Qatar next year. After three Group G matches the team is on a red-hot streak with wins against the higher fancied Ghana and Ethiopia (away). Their lone blemish in the current campaign was an away draw against neighbours Zimbabwe in the opening match. New coach Hugo Broos has bravely fielded an untried combination of mainly greenhorns, and they have been given little chance of winning the group that includes Ghana. As one of the powerhouses of African football. Ghana's Black Stars have won the Africa Cup of Nations four times and were odds on favourites to win Group G. South Africa,…

THE WOMHUB’S Economic Growth Accelerator (EGA), a programme de- signed to support women-founded businesses in what WomHub defines as the fields of “Stem” – science, technology, engineering, and manufacturing – by accelerating growth through leadership development and intensive entrepreneurial support, has received a boost from the South African Future Trust. The EGA consists of two tracks, of which the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) Track is an accelerator that supports women founders of SMMEs of steady growth companies in established Stem markets. It aims to support the growth of these companies, unlock their potential and enable them to grow and create job opportunities. The second track, called the Venture Track, supports women who have founded potential high growth businesses. It has been designed for early-stage founders who already have…

GIVEN MAJOLA given.majola@inl.co.za SEPTEMBER tractor sales of 724 units were almost 30 percent more than the 561 units sold in same period last year, according to the South African Agricultural Machinery Association. The organisation’s chairperson, Karel Munnik, said that year-to-date tractor sales were now also almost 30 percent up on last year. “Twenty-one combine harvesters were sold in September, 10 units more than the 11 units sold in September last year. On a year-to-date basis combine harvester sales are now almost 30 percent up on last year.” Munnik said that market sentiment continued to be positive and commodity prices were holding up. “The early rains have led to some farmers, particularly in the east, beginning to plant summer crops. Winter crop prospects are encouraging and this…

GIVEN MAJOLA given.majola@inl.co.za FNB CONTINUES to invest significantly in creating new platform-based capabilities and solutions to ensure that it stays ahead of changing market dynamics and evolving customer needs. To meet the shift from cash to digi- tal and card payments, coupled with the phenomenal growth of eCommerce, FNB said it had expanded its payments ecosystem with two industry leading SME solutions: the FNB WebStore and the FNB Android Speedpoint®device. The solutions aim to offer a simple and cost-effective way for businesses to accept payments from customers. FNB chief executive Jacques Celliers said that over the last decade, the payments industry had seen a dynamic shift from the internet and smartphones, driving the adoption of mobile payments, the end of cheques as a form of payment, to the current…

Kedibone Modise kedibone.modise@inl.co.za Athol Fugard’s Blood Knot is returning to the Market Theatre for a limited season. The classical production is set to run from Friday, October 15, until Sunday, November 14. Award-winning theatre creatives have collaborated for the first time to bring to life this timeless production after it first premiered in 1961. Directed by James Ngcobo, Blood Knot stars veteran actor Mncedisi Shabangu and rising star Francois Jacobs. Blood Knot looks at the love between brothers, the kind that transcends skin colour when Zacharia (Shabangu) and Morris (Jacobs) reunite after what seems like a lifetime. Set in the 1960s, the play is based in the suburb of Korsten in Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth. A two-hander follows the story of two brothers with the same mother but…