Sourced from Redbubble and iStock. It’s been said before, but it bears repeating – the COVID-19 pandemic offers Africa the chance to leapfrog development through digitisation, and potentially position itself as a global digital powerhouse. And while the private sector has an important role to play in this development, governments across Africa have a critical role to play in enabling digitisation, through infrastructure development, but also in digitising their own systems and processes and by creating an enabling environment using regulatory and legal tools. Developments such as the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) reinforce the urgent need for governments to digitise to enable not just trade, but positive economic growth across the continent. In its report Reopening and ...
Amid a historic global economic slowdown and societal crisis, CIOs can show their mettle and drive their organisations to a more prosperous future by practising the skills and embodying the attitudes that mark out all great leaders. The first stage in achieving that goal will be to act fast to reset cost bases as even relatively small expenses come under extreme financial scrutiny. Today, every IT investment needs TCO written through it like a stick of rock and CIOs need to go the extra mile to calibrate the value of the investments they recommend. In short, more than ever they need to lead as digital transformation and adoption of new technologies become existential issues of survival and critical factors to overall success. Of course, a large part of being a CIO has always been about cos...
Sourced from Women in Tech Africa. To lay bare the scale of challenges small businesses are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to understand their ongoing challenges and areas for further support, Facebook published the Global State of Small Business Report. Compiled in partnership with the World Bank and the OECD, it surveyed over 30,000 small business owners and employees from around the world in over 50 countries. In South Africa, the survey reveals that despite the challenges, SMBs are optimistic, but that there is a long-term jobs crisis on our hands. Over 44% of operational SMBs on Facebook feel optimistic about the future of their business, with 42% of female-led SMBs on Facebook (and 66% of male-led SMBs) currently operational or engaging in revenue led activities. /* custom ...
Sourced from Tapscape While the mobile workforce has long been possible in theory, thanks to the ready availability of cloud technologies, many enterprises have continued to operate in a more traditional manner. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns around the globe have forced businesses to completely rethink the way they operate. This unprecedented situation has dramatically accelerated the mobility drive, and subsequently the adoption of the cloud. Most organisations were faced with the choice of enabling staff to work from home or ceasing to operate, and the cloud offers the ideal way to access technologies to facilitate this. There is no going back “While we may have moved down a level in our lockdown status, President Ramaphosa has stressed that those who are able to work re...