First issue July  2014

 Moving and Shaking: Business in Motion   

The Durban Chamber’s Digest was phased out because it was no longer sustainable, and in 2011 it was replaced by an electronic newsletter, the Daily Digest, which was sent to all members daily.  This represented a new phase of communication with Chamber members, not greatly appreciated by those who are over-sensitive to spam, but of great value to most who had become starved of communication from their business organisation.   The Daily Digest outlived its value in due course and, following the guidance of members provided in a survey, the Digest was revised as a twice-weekly publication.   This is the current regimen.

But the most glaring constraint inherent in an electronic newsletter is the necessity for brevity.    Thus, it is not a vehicle for opinion, nor advocacy, and this is a major function of a chamber of commerce.    One cannot rely on a “read more” link and the website; some issues require expansion into readable, interesting articles which challenge opinion and reflect the business matters of the day.   

This publication is the outcome of that thinking.   It has been named for dynamic and lively business, for it is within the commercial, professional and industrial communities that the movers and shakers are to be found.   South Africa was never in greater need of these leaders who can galvanise the economy so that our social ills may be adequately addressed.   

The partnership forged between the Chamber and KZN Top Business Portfolio greatly enhances the potential of this new printed medium, which will also be distributed electronically.    We want people to know about the business activity within our city and province and become swept along by the wave of progress and growth which is being unleashed.     

Moving and Shaking: Business in Motion is a new print and online business magazine to be published quarterly by the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The publication will provide business people with compelling and relevant perspectives on the issues impacting on the economy with special emphasis, though not exclusively, on Durban.

Andrew Layman                                                                                                                         CEO                                                                                                                                             Durban Chamber of Commerce & Industry