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Johannesburg – FNB Business Banking’s head of products, Sanjeev Orie says there’s very little doubt that the operating environment for businesses countrywide will be tough.
He says local and international economists continue to emphasise that the uncertain economic climate is likely to continue and this ultimately means that businesses could find it difficult to flourish.
The debate around enterprise development in South Africa is often skewed towards the establishment of new enterprises, says Orie, but says economists need to realise that there is an equivalent responsibility to sustain existing small, medium and large businesses.
Various issues
The need for sustainable enterprises can never be over-emphasised, especially because key industries, which have been the key pillars of SA’s economy, are facing a number of challenges, some of which include strikes, declining production and profits. All of these factors pose a serious threat to the growth prospects of the country’s economy.
The findings of the 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) shows that South Africa’s rate of established businesses is relatively low.
It attributes the sluggish rate to various issues such as commercial and physical infrastructure and government policies and programmes.
Orie says tough local and global economic conditions demand that South Africans do more and be innovative to get to the next level.
The pressure to implement decisive and pioneering action is also growing due to the superb performance of peers across the eastern and western parts of Africa.
Necessary boom
The good news for South Africa, Orie says, is that all still agree that a sustainable business environment remains the cornerstone to efforts to accelerate economic growth. Unfortunately it’s not pure rhetoric that’s going to take the country forward, but ideas that have a potential to prosper beyond any imagination, and in simple terms, that means people need to innovate.
As a country, we’ve certainly witnessed South Africans who are innovating at a global stage, influencing the manner in which our world works – think solutions such as PayPal.
South Africa remains on the cutting edge of technological solutions on the continent, Orie says, and we have one of the highest mobile telephony usages, however, we’re still lagging when it comes to introducing groundbreaking solutions for the necessary boom in enterprise development.
Questions around innovation need to be posed to entrepreneurs, because in a competitive environment, small and medium enterprises stand a greater chance of losing against well established entities. Innovation becomes the key to sustaining one’s competitive edge.
As shown in the 2013-2014 Global Competitive Index, Orie says, South Africa’s financial systems are among the best in the world and financial inclusion continues to be advanced through all sorts of means, including mobile telephony.
He says local and international economists continue to emphasise that the uncertain economic climate is likely to continue and this ultimately means that businesses could find it difficult to flourish.
The debate around enterprise development in South Africa is often skewed towards the establishment of new enterprises, says Orie, but says economists need to realise that there is an equivalent responsibility to sustain existing small, medium and large businesses.
Various issues
The need for sustainable enterprises can never be over-emphasised, especially because key industries, which have been the key pillars of SA’s economy, are facing a number of challenges, some of which include strikes, declining production and profits. All of these factors pose a serious threat to the growth prospects of the country’s economy.
The findings of the 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) shows that South Africa’s rate of established businesses is relatively low.
It attributes the sluggish rate to various issues such as commercial and physical infrastructure and government policies and programmes.
Orie says tough local and global economic conditions demand that South Africans do more and be innovative to get to the next level.
The pressure to implement decisive and pioneering action is also growing due to the superb performance of peers across the eastern and western parts of Africa.
Necessary boom
The good news for South Africa, Orie says, is that all still agree that a sustainable business environment remains the cornerstone to efforts to accelerate economic growth. Unfortunately it’s not pure rhetoric that’s going to take the country forward, but ideas that have a potential to prosper beyond any imagination, and in simple terms, that means people need to innovate.
As a country, we’ve certainly witnessed South Africans who are innovating at a global stage, influencing the manner in which our world works – think solutions such as PayPal.
South Africa remains on the cutting edge of technological solutions on the continent, Orie says, and we have one of the highest mobile telephony usages, however, we’re still lagging when it comes to introducing groundbreaking solutions for the necessary boom in enterprise development.
Questions around innovation need to be posed to entrepreneurs, because in a competitive environment, small and medium enterprises stand a greater chance of losing against well established entities. Innovation becomes the key to sustaining one’s competitive edge.
As shown in the 2013-2014 Global Competitive Index, Orie says, South Africa’s financial systems are among the best in the world and financial inclusion continues to be advanced through all sorts of means, including mobile telephony.
