Creator
Thalia is a freelance business reporter for the Mail & Guardian. She grew up in Swaziland and lived in the US before returning to South Africa.She got a cum laude degree in marketing and followed it with another in English literature and psychology before further confusing things by becoming a black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) consultant.After spending five years hearing the surprised exclamation, "But you're white!", she decided to pursue her latent passion for journalism, and joined the M&G in 2012. The next year, she won the Brandhouse Journalist of the Year Award, the Brandhouse Best Online Award and was chosen as one of five finalists from Africa for the German Media Development Award. In 2014, she and a colleague won the Standard Bank Sivukile Multimedia Award. She now writes and edits for various publications, but her heart still belongs to the M&G.
‘If we build better systems and ask the right questions and frame things in the right way, it may help us reduce incidences of corruption’
‘We need to make it fundamentally uncool to even be accused of a crime – right now in South Africa being accused of a crime doesn’t end your career’
The 10-week Educate programme was created to help matric students who have been disrupted by the pandemic get back on track for their final exams
‘If you can’t take a risk then you’re not an entrepreneur, and you might as well get out of the space’ says Ntombekhaya Nonnxuba
The Spaza Shop Support scheme allows for your business to access a R3 500 working capital injection and an additional R3 500 in revolving credit
When lockdown closes the doors of your business you have to learn to think on your feet to keep the wolf from the door
Stay in conversation with your suppliers, be agile and try to honour your debts wherever possible to keep your small business viable
Most South African SMMEs have received no assistance from the Debt Relief Fund, 90% are in crisis, and many will be forced to close
Debt will only put a future strain on cash flow and could result in tremendous financial stress on the owners of the business if they’re not able to recover
It’s a matter of deciphering the acronyms, but the crouton in the financial alphabet soup is the EAC
Treasury is coining it as South Africans continue to shell out for their favourite sugary drinks
For many people with severe mental illnesses, these special wards can be a lifeline and the first step to care — if they can get there.
It’s not often that Bible verses and Dickens are quoted in the same speech, especially when the speech is to outline the medium-term budget
The finance minister has vowed to tackle rampant corruption and municipal dysfunction
New middlemen mean today’s investors are paying more fees than previous generations
Global trends towards lower fees are filtering into the local market, meaning that it’s never been this cheap to buy into the JSE
Shutting down mobile and internet services is costing several African countries millions of dollars
The tactics of the Tanzanian government are still a far cry from the old-school, die-hard tactics in some other countries
Obeying the 4% rule is not always enough to ensure your savings last through retirement
Small differences in fund management fees can be an investment killer in the long term
