Defying lockdown blues to give SMMEs a news website
Journalist Moipone Malefane has taken the plunge into a new venture. By
During lockdown, a newcomer entered the online media space — Vutivi Business News, under the stewardship of veteran journalist Moipone Malefane.
For Malefane, the increase in media consumption during lockdown, when most people stayed home, meant it was time to stop procrastinating and take the plunge to start a venture she began contemplating four years ago.
“Around 2016 I started thinking about other things I could do besides writing about politics and what I can do that will make a difference.”
The following year Malefane decided she needed to call it quits as political editor at The Sowetan.
“I realised that procrastinating [on
starting the business] and thinking about this and that won’t take me anywhere,” she said.
Last year Malefane started to think seriously about starting a business, and because her heart has “always been in the media space”, that was the natural sector for her.
She has served as general secretary of the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) and has worked as a political journalist on a number of newspapers.
On 1 October, Malefane’s small-business news website was launched.
Vutivi Business News features local small businesses and reports how policies such as the Gauteng Township Economic Development Bill will affect them.
Explaining how she came up with the website’s name, Malefane said she had wanted it to convey her intentions for the platform: information sharing. “I’m Sotho, so I was looking for words in different languages until a friend helped me,” said Malefane.
A friend “pointed out that this business is about giving small business owners knowledge, it’s about teaching them what’s possible and what they can do”, said Malefane.
When someone suggested Vutivi, which means knowledge in Xitsonga, she liked the way it sounded.
Malefane chose to create a platform that focuses on small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) because she felt these operations suffered from a dearth of easily accessible information.
“There are some cool businesses in rural and urban areas but there aren’t enough places for them to access this kind of information,” she said.
Figures vary on Vutivi Business News’ target market. In 2018 the Small Business
Institute said there were 250,000 registered small businesses in the country, and the Small Enterprise Development Agency reported that about six million people work for SMMEs.
The site, which provides free content and currently employs two journalists, aims to provide impactful stories for small businesses.
The loss of jobs and decline in revenue for many businesses did not deter Malefane from launching the platform, because she believes the pandemic means online media will thrive. “Not many people are going out to buy newspapers.”
A research report from Sanef on Covid-19’s impact on the media found that traffic to South African news websites increased 72% in March, the month when the lockdown began. Many websites saw double-digit growth in audience numbers as people were hungry for credible news, the report said.
Vutivi Business News couldn’t have come at a more critical time. The hard lockdown forced many businesses to fold, and a survey by 22 on Sloane estimated that 55,000 SMMEs would not survive.
Malefane, who’s been a journalist for two decades, said one of the challenges of switching from being a journalist to being the founder of a business is that you need to pick up other skills such as administration. “I’m happy and I’m learning every day.”
Her project is still in its infancy, but Malefane is pleased with progress. “The platform has been welcomed quite well by people in the industry. It also feels good that business leaders have been affirming me and the work that I’m doing.”
At the moment the website, which Malefane has funded from her own pocket, doesn’t have advertisements but she is working on that. She is also applying for grants and is optimistic about getting funding. She hopes to expand to include multimedia content such as podcasts.
“People who I’ve featured come back and tell me that the website was able to get them more customers or help them get in touch with the relevant stakeholders,” she says.
This business is about giving small business owners knowledge, it’s about teaching them what’s possible and what they can do. There are some cool businesses in rural and urban areas.