MTN, one of the leading mobile network operators on the continent, saw this move coming and has already positioned itself as a leader in the mobile video streaming market through exclusive partnerships with Showmax and Disney+.

“Live TV is like a train. You have to be at the station at a particular time and if you miss out it’s gone,” said Jason Probert, MTN South Africa’s general manager of digital services.

MTN brings affordable streaming to your pocket

MTN is moving beyond the old entertainment model – where customers had to adapt around the service – by adapting its services to suit the needs of its customers. Partnerships with streaming platforms like Showmax and Disney+ are another step toward MTN’s streaming vision.

These partnerships now mean MTN customers can enjoy a host of ad-free mobile on-demand video streaming services that cover a wide array of the best local and international content, as well as all 380 football matches of the English Premier League – and that’s not even the best part.

Thanks to its exclusive partnership, MTN customers won’t have to fork out hundreds of rands a month just to watch some footy. The Showmax Premier League LivePass includes mobile streaming access to the Premier League games and enough mobile data to stream them all live for just R79/m.

“At MTN, we are committed to providing all our customers with the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a modern connected life. Our partnership with Showmax marks a significant leap forward in this journey, giving our customers the ability to access the world’s most popular sports league at an incredibly affordable price while enjoying access to the best network in South Africa,” said Probert.

Now Listen: Streaming over mobile is the new entertainment, with MTN’s Jason Probert

One of the biggest barriers to any mobile-focused streaming service is the cost of data. With its new Showmax partnership, MTN is offering a worry-free streaming experience by providing customers with the mobile data they need already included in their package.

If the Premier League isn’t what you’re after, or you’re looking for more payment flexibility, MTN also offers a weekly Showmax Entertainment mobile package which includes 1GB of video streaming data for just R19/w.

You can sign up for MTN’s mobile-focused Showmax packages in a variety of ways. Premier League lovers can sign up through a web browser here, via the MTN app downloaded from Apple’s App Store or Google’s Play Store, or by dialling *123# from their MTN number and selecting the ‘video’ option.

Whether your interests range toward the photographic and other forms of interesting glass or if you’re all about the aural connection, Digital Experience staff have the products and know-how to give you what you need. Ditto if you’re a fan of home theatre, big screens, portable power, or the very best in video gaming. Here are just a few of the companies you can expect to encounter on your journey through the store.

Audio excellence

The realm of excellent audio is populated with weird and wonderful names, from Scandinavian wizards to Germanic precision, with a handful of wholly hand-made systems out there for the discerning customer. There’s no need to hunt down each of these in-demand entities on your quest for aural excellence. The Digital Experience hosts all of the studios you’re looking for under one roof.

Perhaps you’re in the market for the handmade craftsmanship that Bowers and Wilkens provides. Perhaps you’d rather explore the efforts put forth by Denon or Klipsch. Or it could be that you’d rather have the mass market appeal and interoperability that Sonos offers. These and other audio luminaries like LG, Yamaha, SVS, Jabra, and Sennheiser are represented by the audiophile assistants at The Digital Experience.

A moment in time

The photographic world is populated by big, familiar names but there’s one that stands above the rest when it comes to photographic equipment. You can argue the merits of various brands but there’s no denying the camera perfection seen from Leica over its 155-year history.

The Digital Experience has the distinction of being the first official Leica Boutique in South Africa, a position it secured in 2013. In the ten years since, South African customers have had access to Leica’s hardware, including limited edition releases, without having to resort to import tactics.

Other photographic stalwarts Canon, Nikon, and Sony all have their own space on the Fourways Crossing store’s shelves, alongside a prime selection of optics from Swarovski, Celestron, Tamron, and Konus.

Read More: Experience digital in person with The Digital Experience

Screens, suckers, and security

The big names continue through the remainder of the offerings The Digital Experience has in store. If you’re after the best screens for your living room, the knowledgeable salespeople will be glad to introduce you to the best Samsung and LG have to offer. These sets represent the largest wall of TVs on the continent.

If other appliances are more your line, you’ll find representation from Samsung, LG, Bosch, Philips, Siemens, and perennial British favourite Dyson in store. These are offered with the same level of care for your situation and desires as everything else that The Digital Experience has to offer.

Experience it for yourself today, either in person in Johannesburg or via the well-stocked website. Countrywide delivery means your next piece of home tech is just a few clicks away.

For the ultimate gaming experience, get your hands on Samsung’s TVs and monitors in this week’s impressive deals. The Odyssey OLED G8 Gaming Monitor is one of Samsung’s monitors that is available in Ultra WQHD, with a 34in curved screen. This technology is able to deliver brilliant brightness and exceptional picture quality on an OLED panel powered by Quantum Dot Technology – ensuring that every gamer enjoys stunning visuals with precise colours and flawless contrast. This gaming monitor adds style to your gaming setup and has Smart TV capabilities and with all these incredible features, this Odyssey OLED G8 monitor is priced at only R32,999, saving you R5,000.

Experience gaming at its best with the 50in Neo 4K 144Hz Gaming Smart TV QN90C. This innovative technology allows you to enjoy an exceptional gaming experience with its Motion Xcelerator Turbo Pro which delivers fast, peak performance and creates consistent crisp visuals courtesy of the 4K resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. Gaming enthusiasts will be able to experience the full power of gaming with HDR10+, 4x HDMI 2.1 ports, 2x USB ports and with Samsung Knox, your privacy is secured – only on Samsung TVs. Now available at a marked-down price, the 50in Neo 4K 144Hz Gaming Smart TV QN90C will only cost you R14,999, saving you a remarkable R10,000.

Gaming on the go with Samsung

To take your gaming and streaming on a smartphone to the next level, use Samsung’s innovative devices and accessories which include the Galaxy A15 and the Galaxy Buds FE. Whether you’re into gaming with friends, snapping photos or video chatting with family, the Galaxy A15 is part of the A Series that gives you everything you need to stay connected to what you love. Stay in the zone with long-lasting batteries, expandable storage and a 6.5in Super AMOLED display which ensures super-vivid, bright and beautiful displays with every model as well as a 90Hz refresh rate and multi-lens cameras.

You can now play your games seamlessly as well as scroll, snap, stream and share when you want, thanks to long-lasting batteries that recharge rapidly with the amazing Fast Charging feature. No matter your price range, you can always expect us to bring our A game within your price range. This Galaxy A15 device with awe-inspiring visuals priced at R3,799, saving you R200 will allow you to enjoy screen time that’s crisp, bold and oh-so-smooth.

Immerse yourself in rich sound with deep, powerful bass and Active Noise Cancelling on the Galaxy Buds FE priced at only R1,299, saving you R700. Compact in size, yet powerful. The battery lasts for up to 30 hours on a single charge, keeping up with your long playlist of songs, podcasts or social media videos throughout your day.

And there’s more, with Samsung Rewards, you can earn points and have access to exclusive offers when you purchase your favourite products on Samsung.com. In this incredible Blue Tag Sale, you can now get BONUS 3x Samsung Rewards on all Mobile, Tablets and Wearables. This offer and all other Blue Tag Deals are available while stock last until 25 February 2024, from Samsung.com or any of Samsung’s participating retailers.

The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) — which monitors and addresses the cost spiral within private healthcare — and the CMS, which regulates medical schemes in ‘a fair and transparent manner, while protecting the public,’ are in a protracted High Court dispute over the matter.

CMS Registrar Dr Sipho Kabane revealed that an internal National Department of Health, (NDOH) team recently summoned his senior staff to ask for clarification on their recommendations. The CMS is a government-funded entity established by the Minister of Health.

“Our report on LCBOs and the Health Market Enquiry recommendations around setting provider tariff ceilings, and Prescribed Minimum Benefits, (PMBs), was given to the minister in November last year, so any allegations that we’re delaying matters or obstructing things are false,” he said.

Declining to reveal any part of his report, Kabane was responding to private sector claims that the lack of regulatory reforms is a deliberate CMS blocking of LCBOs (Low-Cost Benefit Options) to favour the National Health Insurance, (NHI), which stands to sideline medical aids within a decade or two. Offering LCBOs would lure a significant pool of middle-to-lower-income people away from the NHI, helping them avoid time-consuming and incoming-draining state health sector queues. The private sector argues that pragmatic LCBO regulatory reform will also reduce the burden on the hard-pressed state sector.

Funders have long sought to reduce ‘crippling’ PMB treatment definitions while demanding tariff ceilings for specialists who can charge several hundred percent above scheme rates. PMBs require medical schemes to cover in full a long list of conditions for all scheme members – a legislative attempt to ensure people get access to minimum health services. Instead, specialists often take advantage of regulatory loopholes or ‘up-code,’ contributing to medical inflation.

These ‘anomalies’ are nudging younger medical scheme members into cheaper CMS-unregulated gap cover and other insurance products, leaving schemes with increasingly ageing memberships and unsupported by younger, healthier members. These further drive medical inflation and hikes premiums. Medical schemes are seeking the exclusion of LCBOs from CMS strictures, levelling the playing field with insurance products.

“We cannot, after giving the minister our findings and recommendations begin another public debate around LCBOs and the like – until the minister makes his pronouncement. So, in terms of timing, the BHF comments are mischievous – they were party to earlier negotiations,’ Kabane added.

BHF executives Dr Rajesh Patel, Head of Health Systems Strengthening and Charlton Murove, Head of Research, say healthcare in SA is unnecessarily complex. They blame ‘dismal’ regulatory oversight in which patients – whom medical aids were set up to serve, suffer financial hardship while struggling to negotiate a healthcare funding ‘jungle.’

Medical Aid comparisons made easy

A recent unique web-based innovation, www.medicalaid.com, provides accurate medical aid comparisons via a sliding premium affordability button while listing benefits and has been welcomed by industry experts.

Says Patel; “Our PMBs are poorly defined in regulation, creating too many grey areas that can be taken advantage of SA’s version, passed in 2003, was based on research done in Oregon in the United States, except that there they’ve put in place defined procedures and coding while here we’ve dropped the technical specifications, blurring interpretation. So, service providers are incentivized to charge as much as possible. When you access a consultant, you don’t know the cost and you’re unable to negotiate.”

Murove says that while there are Health Care Professions of South Africa (HPCSA), ethical rules on informed consent, in practice they aren’t applied sufficiently.

“There’s often no discussion around price, irrespective of PMBs. Often a patient goes to a doctor and the receptionist asks, “Do you have gap cover?” If you say yes, they charge more.

Patel adds, “Even for us who work in this environment, it’s a minefield. There needs to be better stewardship and oversight. We’re currently sitting with a politicized healthcare system. There are more politics at play than efforts to solve the problem.”

He said allowing more affordable low-cost benefit options, (medical aid products, not insurance), would enable people who cannot afford higher-end medical plans to at least access primary healthcare products – thus taking a huge burden off the State.

“The Health Market Inquiry (HMI) said there should be some consultant tariff ceiling and made specific recommendations – but the health department hasn’t moved on implementing any of them. We applied for exemption from the Competition Commission so we could do collective bargaining while the government gets its act together, but politics came into play, and we’ve now been sitting with the Competition Commission for over two years,” he said.

Patel said a holistic review of PMBs and allowing LCBOs would ‘change the entire environment,’ but bemoaned the lack of ‘necessary skills’ and seeming lack of will within the NDOH and the CMS.

Paresh Prema, Head of Technical and Actuarial Consulting Solutions at Alexander Forbes Financial Services, said the reform needed around the ‘idealistic’ PMBs involving pricing and the structure of benefits never happened. This led to an increase in the cost of PMBs and “a lot of people falling out of the system.”

“They were meant as cover to help those who would otherwise have gone to the State manage their healthcare,” he said.

It was difficult to understand why the government would wait a decade or more for an NHI to kick in, “when we have an industry that’s well maintained and regulated and can provide benefits at low prices with a good primary healthcare basket.”

Such products could be allowed via an exemption that did not require the Minister of Health’s approval. However, the CMS, which should be independent and act without fear or favour, had a politically appointed board and CEO.

“They’re very sensitive to what the NCOH would like to see,” he said.

Approving LCBOs would make a difference to millions of lives, especially with the medical tax savings – and make medical schemes more sustainable. It would create a bigger pool of people who would not need an NHI because they’d be looked after by medical schemes.

One point of agreement between the private sector trio interviewed and Kabane is that contributions to insurance products like gap cover did not benefit members but company shareholders, while LCBO premiums benefitted an entire medical scheme’s membership.

“Ironically, what the CMS fails to realize is they could increase their levy and operating income by increasing scheme memberships through LCBOs,” Prema added.

Answering assertions that the CMS was part of the government’s political agenda around the NHI, Kabane said the NHI bill spoke of ‘complementary cover,’ by medical aids.

“That means that will only happen in the transition to full implementation – and my understanding is that the minister will unpack all the details and engage with all key affected parties to develop this transitional plan that will make NHI implementation a reality. This interpretation that Sect 33 will take medical schemes out of the equation is wrong. It will change the way they operate and the number of people they cover and the way they run their business, but they’ll still be there,” he averred.

Kabane said the CMS would this year review PMBs using the best scientific evidence, cost-effectiveness, protecting members and the financial health of schemes, especially probing rare high-cost diseases which threatened to collapse schemes.

“The direction we plan on taking also includes elements that reduce the need for curative and hospital services, making PMBs more cost-effective and improving health outcomes,” he added.

He was confident that the Minister’s eventual pronouncement would result in “an amicable solution,” to the current court battle.

A spokesperson for Dr Joe Phaahla did not respond in time for publication.

Powerhouse Performance

At the heart of the Acer Aspire 5 lies the latest 13th Gen Intel Core Processors, offering unparalleled speed and efficiency. Whether you’re crunching numbers, editing photos, or gaming with friends, the Aspire 5 handles it all effortlessly. Coupled with NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics, this laptop delivers seamless multitasking and breathtaking visuals, ensuring that you remain at the top of your game, regardless of the workload’s demands.

Sleek Design, Vibrant Colours

Wrapped in an aluminium cover, the Acer Aspire 5 adds a touch of personality to your workspace. The air inlet keyboard maintains coolness during intensive tasks, while the 1080p webcam guarantees crystal-clear video calls – ideal for remote work or staying connected with loved ones.

Maximised Productivity

Equipped with onboard LPDDR5 memory and M.2 SSD storage, the Acer Aspire 5 is purpose-built to handle everything. Whether you’re juggling numerous tabs, running resource-intensive applications, or storing large files, this laptop offers the performance and storage capacity required for sustained productivity throughout the day. Bid farewell to lag and welcome seamless multitasking with this notebook as your steadfast companion.

Immersive Visuals

Indulge in unparalleled clarity and comfort with a selection of display options, including 14in, 15in, or 17in 1080p IPS displays, or elevate your experience with a 1440p QHD display for heightened immersion. Featuring a 16:10 aspect ratio and narrow bezels, these displays provide ample screen real estate for enhanced productivity and entertainment. Acer’s suite of visual technologies ensures dynamic colour reproduction and viewing comfort, even during prolonged usage.

Collaborate Confidently

Whether you’re attending virtual meetings or catching up with friends, the Acer Aspire 5 makes collaboration effortless. Enjoy crisp images and clear sound during video calls with Acer PurifiedView and dual digital microphones featuring Acer PurifiedVoice technology. AI-powered features such as automatic framing, advanced background blur, and gaze correction ensure that you always look your best, regardless of the circumstances.

Expanded Connectivity

With a diverse array of port options, including Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, Wi-Fi 6E, and HDMI 2.1, connecting or charging your devices has never been easier. Whether you’re transferring files, streaming content, or linking external displays, the Acer Aspire 5 provides the connectivity necessary for heightened productivity and functionality. Say farewell to tangled cables and embrace seamless connectivity.

The Acer Aspire 5 transcends the realm of ordinary laptops, emerging as a versatile companion that empowers you to tackle any task with confidence and ease. With powerful performance, immersive visuals, and smart collaboration features, this laptop is designed to excel in every aspect of your digital life. Whether you’re working, creating, or gaming, the Acer Aspire 5 stands as the ultimate tool for achieving your goals. Why settle for mediocrity when you can elevate every task with the Acer Aspire 5?

Explore the power and versatility of the Acer Aspire 5 today and elevate your digital experience. Available now at Incredible Connection.

The Digital Experience is a neat boutique located at Fourways Crossing in Johannesburg. The store carries a host of technology from large and small appliances to optical gear to smartphones, tablets, and some of the very best cameras on the planet.

Experience digital

No matter your interest in the wider world of technology, the folks at The Digital Experience have the skills and the gear to kit you out with everything you need to make that dream come true. Audiophiles of every stripe can immerse themselves in audio setups on the premises, offering a solid preview of what you can expect once you transport that gear into your own home. A broad selection of speakers, network streamers, stereo amplifiers, AV receivers and soundbars are available at competitive prices, while headphones and earbuds from brands like Apple, JBL, Sennheiser and more take care of your personal audio experiences.

Keeping tabs on the best

In 2011, the Digital Experience was the first independent retail store in South Africa to be officially designated an authorized Apple iPad dealer, a designation that has since been upgraded to Apple Authorised Reseller. Now, in 2024, if Apple makes it and it’s available in South Africa, it’ll be available here. That covers everything from iPhones and iPads to MacBooks and accessories. Samsung mobile devices and accessories, Acer and Asus notebooks, and a varied selection of portable computing peripherals are also hosted under the Fourways boutique’s roof.

Picture the future

A very extensive collection of photographic equipment is yours for the exploring at The Digital Experience. Stalwarts like Canon, Nikon, and Sony stand alongside more niche brands like Leica, Swarovski, and Celestron. The optics options available are second to none in South Africa. In addition, every photographic and observing accessory you can imagine is also on the menu. It’s not enough to have access to the very best camera hardware in the country. You’ll also be able to stock up on anything you’ll need to make it perform at its very peak. Just like you do.

In addition to taking pictures, visitors can also spend time watching them on the longest television wall in South Africa. The Digital Experience stocks the largest collection of Samsung and LG television models in the country.

Also on offer, by special order, is Samsung’s excellent microLED screen. Any recent lottery winners should know exactly where to go once the money clears. Let’s not forget, that there is also a full collection of accessories and add-ons to beef up your home entertainment area.

That’s not all, either. There are options for load shedding prevention, home security upgrades, and even Sony’s PlayStation 5 to add to the list of essential tech that belongs in your home. Come and find it all at The Digital Experience, located in Fourways Crossing and open seven days a week.

And if you don’t often find yourself in Jozi, the company also ships its fine selection of technology around the country via its up-to-date website. Check them out today.

“The Lily series is known for its petite and elegant design elements, and we’re pleased to introduce even more health and connected features to this fashionable lineup. Not only is Lily 2 stylish enough for anything from a day at work to a night out, but it can keep you connected and track your wellbeing with popular features designed for any lifestyle,” says Susan Lyman, Garmin Vice President of Global Consumer Marketing.

Small, stylish design

Blending a classic look with modern technology, the Lily 2 series features a metal watch case and unique patterned lenses that, with a quick tap or turn of the wrist, reveal a bright touchscreen display. It also features beautiful colourways – like Cream Gold and Coconut or Dark Bronze and Mulberry – plus Italian leather, nylon or silicone bands that can easily be swapped out to complement any look. Customers can even design their own Lily 2 by mixing bands and bezels with Your Watch, Your Way on garmin.com.

Reasons to love the Lily 2 series

• Body Battery energy monitoring: Monitor energy levels throughout the day to help find the
  best times for activity and rest.
• Sleep score: Receive a score for last night’s sleep quality, plus insights on how to do better. Also keep track of different sleep stages, heart rate, stress, Pulse Ox and respiration.
• Fitness tracking: Keep track of steps, calories burned, intensity minutes and more.
• Sports apps: Switch up a workout with built-in sports apps for cardio, yoga, strength training and more. And use the new dance fitness activity to track various dance styles, including Zumba, Afrobeat, Bollywood, EDM and hip-hop.
• Connected GPS: When walking, biking or running outdoors, connect to a compatible
  smartphone’s GPS to get accurate activity tracking stats.
• Move alert suggestions: Receive reminders to move after being sedentary for a while and get a variety of suggested movements to try, like neck rolls, side bends, squats and more with options for seated motions.
• Garmin Pay contactless payments: Breeze through select checkout lines and transit systems
  through participating providers (available only on Lily 2 Classic smartwatches).

Health essentials

Designed for any lifestyle, the Lily 2 series is ready to keep up with essential health and fitness stats. Day and night, keep track of heart rate, respiration, Pulse Ox and stress. Upon waking up, the morning report provides users with an overview of their sleep, daily calendar, weather and more. In times of stress, the meditation activity guides users through meditation practices, while the breathwork activity provides different breathing techniques to follow right from the watch. Lily 2 also includes women’s health tracking features, letting users track their menstrual cycle and pregnancy while also getting exercise and nutrition education.

Stay connected

For life on the go, the Lily 2 series is compatible with Apple or Android smartphones so users can receive emails, text messages and alerts right on their watch. Safety and tracking features can help provide peace of mind; for example, when Lily 2 is paired to the Garmin Connect smartphone app, a message with the user’s name and location (if available) can be sent to pre-selected emergency contacts if an incident is detected. When paired with the Garmin Connect app, users can also see their health and fitness data, connect with friends and participate in challenges—all for free.

Available now, Lily 2 has a suggested retail price of R6,199, while Lily 2 Classic starts at R6,599.

First off, let’s talk design. Remember the satisfying feeling of snapping your phone shut after a call? Well, get ready to relive that experience with the Nokia 2660 Flip. Its sleek, compact design fits perfectly in your pocket and brings back that classic flip-phone charm.

Texting and calling have never been easier thanks to the big buttons, clear 2.8in display and easy-to-use interface.

Perhaps the best part of the Nokia 2660 Flip is its simplicity. In a world filled with distractions, sometimes all you need is a phone that lets you make calls without all the extra clutter.

So, if you’re feeling a bit nostalgic for the good old days of flip phones, why not give the Nokia 2660 Flip a try?

Priced from R1,599 – get yours here!

Three reasons to buy the Nokia 2660 Flip

While excellent on its own, the Sonos Era 300 also makes it easy to create your perfect sound system. Mix and match Sonos speakers to bring every room together into your perfect audio environment. Seamless WiFi sync lets you start with one room and simply add more speakers when you’re ready.

A new Era 300

Setup is as simple as just plugging, tapping, and playing. The Sonos app walks you through getting started step by step. The Sonos Era 300 provides next-level audio that hits from every direction. The Era 300 doesn’t just surround you, it puts you inside your music.

You’ll feel more connected to all your audio content thanks to phenomenally clear and spacious sound streamed from all your favourite services and devices over WiFi and Bluetooth.

Six optimally positioned drivers all around the front, sides, and top support Dolby Atmos Music. The breakthrough acoustic design projects sound from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, immersing you in every dimension of the song.

No matter where you are or what you play, the listening experience is nothing short of extraordinary. Custom waveguides accurately disperse sound right, left, forward, and above, creating a sensationally spacious stereo soundstage you can feel all around the room.

Experience the Sonos Move 2

The Move 2’s new acoustic architecture replaces Move’s single tweeter with two, unlocking a higher-fidelity stereo soundstage. With crisp vocals and the details of each instrument precisely articulated in left and right channels, you’ll feel the emotional charge of a live performance.

The Sonos Move 2 is tuned to its environment with automatic Trueplay tuning. Move 2 uses its microphones to analyse the unique acoustics of its surroundings and continually optimises the sound you’re given. No matter where you are or what you play, you get the best listening experience.

Battery included

All the acoustic updates work in concert for increased efficiency, giving you up to 24 hours of playback on a single charge. That’s a considerable number for any portable speaker but for something as capable as the Move 2, it’s nothing short of amazing.

The built-in handle allows you to bring Move 2 anywhere. The ultra-durable design weathers spills, splashes, rain, dirt, humidity, and sun with ease. Shock-absorbent materials protect against drops. It is designed to look and feel like part of your home, with an elegant shape and two beautiful colours that can blend in or stand out.

Whether you want to put on a podcast in the kitchen, listen to the radio in the backyard, or pack your music for a weekend getaway – The Move 2 does it all. Feel more enveloped when you stereo pair two in the same space or make it part of a whole-home sound system with other Sonos speakers.

With the Sonos ecosystem, you can put yourself inside every scene and song with surreal multichannel surround sound and powerful bass heightened by breathtakingly realistic spatial audio. Check out the Sonos Era 300 and Sonos Move 2 today.

Those executives heading up job boards have also been picking up on the trend, with the job offers extending across the likes of sales and call centre agents; brand executives; insurance claims specialists; foremen and all kinds of artisans; technical application specialists; finance services/banking jobs; and various engineering positions.

The reasons backing this hiring trajectory range from the fluency of our English and a cultural compatibility that helps to avoid language-related misunderstandings; the extent to which we are entrepreneurially minded and well educated, with a high unemployment rate in our home country; the possibility of hiring excellent calibre individuals for a lower potential salary range than someone in the United States or Canada would require, especially if this is a South African who can set themselves up remotely from South Africa; and the fact that servicing clients across Europe (all day), the US/Canada (in the afternoon), or even Australia (first thing in the morning) is generally seamless from South Africa.

While South Africans are renowned for their work ethic, those with enviable skills and qualifications may unfortunately not be able to find a suitable position in the job market at home because of societal-levelling policies such as B-BBEE.

Working remotely for a US company

Once found to be competent from a qualifications and skills perspective, the South African candidate will be required to set themselves up with the following considerations top of mind:
• remaining forever cognisant of the time difference;
• maintaining a dedicated and distraction-free workspace;
• putting uncapped fibre in place, for best-in-class digital communications; and
• setting boundaries related to after-hours hobbies, sport, and family time.

Further, while it is theoretically feasible to work for a US company remotely from anywhere in the world, it is important that the hiring company meets all the legal requirements of taking you on board. See more, here.

Working for a US company with a regional office in South Africa

Another alternative is to apply for a position at one of 600 North American companies that now have regional (i.e. African) offices located in South Africa. If you are skilled, senior, and would prefer to keep your search confidential (say, from the company at which you are currently employed), it is generally a good idea to make enquiries as to the global employment opportunities that an executive search firm may have on their books.

It goes without saying that these hiring companies will benefit from lower labour costs than they would have back home (as a result of the exchange rate), while those they hire in much-sought-after roles could stand to earn more than they could for a South African company.

Immigrating to the US/Canada

A third option, of course, involves a North American company seeking a South African staff member who is prepared to immigrate to the United States or Canada. A blog on Wise.com advises that employment is the fastest and easiest way to gain a Green Card and make the move, especially if the company you will be working for when you arrive makes all the legal arrangements and pays all the relocation costs on your behalf.

Just be sure to do your research as to the salary you will require to support your family on the level you are accustomed to, taking into account that a meal at an inexpensive restaurant in the US/Canada will set you back about R375 to R400 (around US$20) per person, versus approximately R125 (under US$7) per person in South Africa.

Whichever of the above-mentioned paths you take to end up employed by an American or Canadian company, the way in which South Africans are viewed by these hiring companies generally remains rose-tinted – because we’re known to be a skilled, qualified, and hard-working nationality.

In return, for those battling to find suitable employment with a South African company, your new employer stands to offer you better wages and a higher standard of living, more travel opportunities (as you’ll probably be expected to visit that US/Canada head office at least biannually), and a resumé that catches your next potential employer’s eye and impresses beyond the pale: “You’ve worked for Amazon/Google/Microsoft?” Yes, indeed!