Jonathan Smit is the founder and MD of Payfast, which last week was at the centre of the largest-ever acquisition in the African payments sector, after selling a majority stake to Kenyan-based DPO Group.. Heavy Chef anchor Caley Africa investigates the journey that Smit has been on over the past decade, growing Payfast into an international payments powerhouse.

Graeme Wilson, founder of award-winning legal firm 'Whipping The Cat', sees law differently. Starting his career pacing the hallways of large corporates, working for multi-national firms. This shaped his outlook on law, and underpinned his foundational belief that law should be accessible and mobile - and ultimately evolutionary. In this interview, the first of two parts, Graeme shares how law is being disrupted internationally and what we need to know. Graeme also shares the story behind the iconic name of his company.

Thulani Headman is a truly inspirational character. Coming from a musical family, Thulani grew up in Langa and excelled at sport in his early years. In this remarkable interview with Heavy Chef's Siyabonga Mbaba, Thulani explains his own role models, his family inspiration and his stint in Pollsmoor after being sentenced for criminal activities in the gangster-ridden Cape Flats. Prison became an unlikely learning opportunity for a burgeoning musical career.

In a remarkable interview with a truly remarkable individual, Heavy Chef anchor Caley Africa chats to South African surfing legend Roxy Davis on her extraordinary rise from nine-times national surfing champion to creating the iconic surf apparel and experience company 'Roxy's Surfing Emporium'. Roxy presents fascinating insights into what it takes to be a winner at sport, at business, and at life.

Inspirational Springbok Captain Siya Kolisi visited one of Heavy Chef's most entrepreneurial community members, Sikelela Dibela, at his vibrant coffee shop in the heart of Khayelitsha. Siki's makes one of the best brews in the Western Cape, and his shop is constantly filled with local entrepreneurs, artisans and creatives who love the combination of wifi and silky smooth cappuccinos. Heavy Chef CEO Fred Roed and Heavy Chef Project Manager Siyabonga Mbaba spoke to Kolisi about his leadership experience and some of the most salient lessons he's learned along his incredible journey.

JONGA is a low-cost community-based alarm system for townships and other low-income areas that allows for real-time crime reporting and community responses. Safety is a basic human right, and Ntsako recognized a great injustice in security companies that were not offering affordable security measures to South African's. In this interview, we learn what motivated Ntsako to start JONGA, during his second year of studies.

Being a finalist on Top Chef SA brought Ayabonga Gope into the public eye as a rising star in the food industry. The experience was one of Ayabonga's highlights in his career and equipped Ayabonga with the confidence needed to pursue the culinary profession full-time. How did Ayabonga go from making eggs, rice, and tomato sauce for friends, in his home in Khayelitsha, to cooking for high profiled guests in their homes around Cape Town?

Heavy Chef introduces a special guest onto our Show, Zolani Mahola, lead singer of the proudly South African band, Freshlyground. Zolani Mahola truly embodies the image of prosperity for many aspiring South African artists. In this interview, Zolani (in a stunning locally-made outfit) speaks from her heart with our amazing Heavy Chef anchor, Caley Africa (also in a stunning outfit), about 'the business side of creative output'.

Last week, the newly-hatched Heavy Chef Foundation collaborated with Nedgroup Investments to bring one of Silicon Valley's brightest stars to South Africa. Niket Desai started his first company in college and sold it to Google before his 25th birthday. Niket now presides over a $120b fund for the University of California. In this fascinating interview, Heavy Chef CEO chats to Desai about the early days of startup life to the heady period of rapid scaling.

The story of Ukhamba is rich with history and tradition in the African Culture. Head brewer and co-founder of Ukhamba Beerworx, Lethu Tshabangu talks with Siyabonga Wilson Mbaba about what it takes to start a successful brewing company in South Africa. The story of Lethu’s successes and Ukhamba Beerworx is motivation for anyone to turn their passion into a business.

Orgasmic Gawulo is a fine-dining restaurant in the heart of Gugulethu, founded by Thulani Mguda and Tumi Mayenge through love, sweat, and tears. Thulani's story is one of trials and tribulation with a thread of hope and vision running through every word he speaks. In this Heavy Chef interview that he gave with Siyabonga Wilson Mbaba, Thulani takes us along the tough road he walked to get where he is today.

In this interview, we host the power couple, Tim Withers and Danielle Withers LeChat to talk about what companies can do better to protect the rights of women and mothers in the workplace. Tim and Danielle share their Individual experiences of the challenges they faced in the workplace when Danielle fell ill with serious Hyperemesis Gravidarum, the infamous and potentially deadly morning sickness-ailment related to pregnancy.

In this inspiring interview, we get up close and personal with Thulani' DJ Fosta' Headman, the Operations Manager of Bridges For Music, an education facility in the heart of South Africa's oldest township, Langa. This incredible NPO recognizes the abundant creativity of the youth in South Africa, Bridges For Music nurtures musical talent with the necessary business, self-care and technical skills that each artist needs to further their success on international platforms.

Verity Price pushed the boundaries of the music industry back in 2005 when she started the first music crowdfunding campaign in SA to raise R300,000 for the release of her album. Amongst her many other successes, Verity is a well-known South African Singer/Songwriter who was forced to think outside of the box to bring her next album into fruition.

We lock down the Bolt Country Manager in the Heavy Chef hot-seat to talk about Bolt for Business, an inventive platform that offers a convenient and cost-efficient solution to business travel. In this interview, we hear from Gareth Taylor on why Bolt sees an opportunity for their 'Bolt for Business' model to succeed in South Africa

Thursdays Lingerie and Swimwear is going for gold in the African crowd funding space. After having financed the start up through traditional means of boot strapping, obtaining loans from family and friends, and even venture capital on the reality investment show Shark Tank South Africa, Thursdays CEO, Shona Macdonald has set her sights on a largely underutilised form of finance in the African Landscape, crowdfunding.

It's Youth Month in South Africa, and we're casting the net out looking for young people making a strong impact on society. There is an art gallery in the heart of Khayelitsha called Fugly, where two young ladies are making waves. Heavy Chef anchor Ondela Mlandu chatted to them about their aims and aspirations, why art is so important to the community, and how creativity can equate to making a living for young people today.

Mandisi Sindo also known as Dr. Disi is a South African theatre practitioner, activist, alternative art spaces innovator, actor and presenter. Heavy Chef also recognises Mandisi as a pioneer in the art world, with his Non-Profit company called “Theatre4Change Arts Project”, also known as Khayelitsha Art School and Rehabilitation Centre (KASIRC) or the “Shack Art School”. Heavy Chef Anchor Ondela Mlandu chatted to this remarkable individual to find out about how art can change the world.

If you want to grow your business - cold email, newsletters, and email marketing are one of the easiest ways to start. In this HC interview, Jason unpacks what it takes to land more sales meetings using outbound lead generation using cold emails, where to build a list of people to email and how to stay away from spam filters.

Jason Bagley is the CEO of Firing Squad, the only hyper-specialist email marketing, and lead generation consultancy in South Africa.

Nowadays, everyone seems to be creating a new YouTube channel. Ondela Mlandu spoke to Danilo Acquisto, TV celebrity, radio show host and CEO of Special Effects Media, about the viability of YouTube and how realistic it is to make money out of the platform. Danilo is a remarkable mind when it comes to video strategy and, in this highly insightful interview, he reveals to Heavy Chef about the various ways that individuals and businesses can create an impactive online video presence. Danilo explains about the three models that creators can deploy and the single most important piece of advice that creators need to hear.

Inspirational speaker and extreme swimmer Ryan Stramrood has become the second person to swim 100 crossings between Robben Island and the South African mainland, in a time of only two hours 18 minutes. Ryan speaks to Ondela Mlandu about the preparation for his swim, how the mind works when you endure a grand challenge - and how to overcome your deepest fears.

Heavy Chef anchor Caley Africa interviews Heavy Chef CEO Fred Roed on the sudden rise of podcasting, what's behind the plethora of new shows available to audiences, and what it was like to create the groundbreaking new 'Healthy Business Show' with CliffCentral and Discovery Business Insurance.

Professor Don Weiss is the Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Columbia University Business School, one of the most prestigious business schools in the world. Each year in May, Weiss takes a team of hungry New York business students to Cape Town to work with local social entrepreneur startups and get involved in the local ecosystem. In this video, Professor Don speaks to Heavy Chef anchor Caley Africa about his thoughts on Cape Town, on raising money and what the South African ecosystem needs in order to thrive.

Mike Schalit is the Founding Partner of Net#WorkBBDO, the Chief Creative Officer at BBDO SA & Africa and Founder & Chairman of the The MAL Foundation. Mike chatted to Heavy Chef anchor Ondela Mlandu to tell us more about how he is using creativity for a purpose.

Being a disruptor is discovering what your contribution to humanity will be. This week, Heavy Chef’s Content Manager, Ondela Mlandu had a chat with the global disruptor, Thando Hopa on the importance of safeguarding the African continent’s heritage and diversity for the future generation.

Colin Hall is a veritable titan of South African business. He has spent over 60 years managing some of the most legendary names in the African corporate world: SAB, Woolworths, Truworths and Massmart. Most recently, he's been consulting to the leaders of blue-chip clients around the world. in his remarkable Leadership Masterclass scheduled in June 2019, Colin will speak of the six most salient lessons that will truly surprise you. In this sneak preview, Colin reveals some of the highlights of the session and provides interviewer Caley Africa some food for thought.

Heavy Chef anchor Caley Africa spoke to A1 rated scientist and one of the most world-renowned commentators on nutritional behaviour, Professor Tim Noakes, on the notoriously bad eating and lifestyle habits displayed by entrepreneurs. Prof Tim speaks out on what people are doing wrong, and how they should adjust their behaviour or face some fairly serious consequences.

If you were able to attend the Heavy Chef ‘Scale’ Masterclass with the legendary Gabriel Luna-Ostaseski on Thursday 6 December, I’m sure you took note of how important storytelling is. Talking to Fred Roed, founder of Heavy Chef, Gabe emphasised on how delivering a compelling narrative leads to successful storytelling, which then leads to sales. Luna-Ostaseski was one of the early consultants at Uber and was instrumental in creating the ‘Uber Rush’ programme, which led to Uber’s legendary growth over a short period of time. Luna-Ostaseski shared 8 core modules/steps that result in a compelling narrative when followed attentively in sequence.

Businesses are prone to all kinds of liabilities, from theft and fire to load shedding and road accidents – but InsureTech can protect your assets, clients, employees and revenue in a worst-case scenario. Fred Roed speaks to Robin Burgess, Technical Manager at Discovery Business Insurance about how sophisticated, granular tech information is being used to reduce business risks and to make tailored insurance a seamless part of your business.

There are five new viruses or pieces of malware set loose on the internet every second of the day. Small businesses are especially vulnerable to cybercrime. Fred Roed chats to Charl Ueckermann, CEO of AVeS Cyber Security, about ‘black hat hackers’ and ‘white hat hackers” and their roles.

Don’t lose your livelihood over a tweet! This week Fred Roed gets to hear about the many risks of social media as he chats to Emma Sadleir, Africa’s leading social media law expert. They keep the conversation real and Fred even exposes what he terms the “underbelly” of social media. Get all the facts you need from this candid talk, filled with trends among teenagers and real-life examples to protect the reputation of your business in a digital world.

If you have a small business and don’t have much to spend on marketing, how do you build a brand in an impactful way? Market research maestro and experienced entrepreneur, Musa Kalenga, started his first business at the age of 19. Hear what inspired him as he talks to Fred Roed about building a business and personal brand. A seasoned researcher, Musa believes your sales and research need to happen simultaneously. He shares how to do that and how to change your focus in marketing for services and marketing for goods. Listen as Fred and Musa share a laugh in between contemplating the future of marketing for a new generation living in a technology age.

This week on the HealthyBusiness show, the conversation goes to sales. Can anyone be in sales? What are the differences between B2B and B2C sales processes? Fred Roed chats to two seasoned sales professionals, Sean Raymond who is the founder of The Sales Department and Claire van Wyk, a certified financial consultant. Answering some tough questions, they share experiences and tips on how to be successful in sales as an individual and as a business.

Keet van Zyl, co-founder of Knife Capital, and Dov Girnun, founder and CEO of Merchant Capital, talk about the exciting environment that entrepreneurs find themselves in. In conversation with Fred Roed, they delve into the different aspects that funders of initial capital and funders for growth would look at to invest in a business. Get their top tips to guide your thinking around funding and gather some pearls of wisdom on how to make sure your business stands out in a crowd of attractive investments.

Having the right partners with the right resources can make all the difference to your business. What are some of the secret ingredients to solid business relationships? For this week’s guests, Mike Anderson, CEO of National Small Business Chamber, and Jos Dirkx, an international consultant and entrepreneur, learning to listen is an important skill in partnerships. Fred Roed speaks to these seasoned entrepreneurs about their personal experiences and the main attributes in attracting lasting business partnerships.

In developed nations, the SME sector contributes around 90% to employment, while in South Africa it sits around 50%. Endeavor South Africa, a not-for-profit organisation, has dedicated years to mentoring high-impact entrepreneurs and knows just what SA businesses need to take off. Catherine Townshend, former MD of Endeavor South Africa, speaks to Fred Roed about the importance of good, high-quality mentorship, support providers focused on SME development and the different life cycles of a business. “Do your homework, know your blind spots, and get the right support to navigate your business through each life cycle.”

Why is it important for entrepreneurs to learn to present and communicate well? Rich Mulholland, a seasoned public speaker and entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses, including SA's largest presentation firm, Missing Link, chats to Fred Roed about the must-have skill of building a presentation that works. Rich says you have to “give the audience a reason to care. You’ve got to buy an audience’s attention before you sell them anything – even an idea.” Sharing from his own career and experience with TED Talks, this maestro in public speaking tells all about presentation techniques and tools to get people on your side and to respond to your “call to action”.

SA’s challenges are a breeding ground for innovative opportunities, says SweepSouth CEO, Aisha Pandor. Hear about the SweepSouth growth from an idea created by need to a start-up sensation that is the first on the continent to bring technology to home-cleaning services. Aisha talks to Heavy Chef CEO Fred Roed about changing careers, the challenges and the satisfaction of owning your own business, and her vision to address societal needs while running a thriving business.