Many of South Africa’s state-owned enterprises – Eskom, Telkom, SABC – remain mired in controversy as they battle to get to grips with the demands of a modern economy. Much could be learned from successes elsewhere in the world, such as in Poland. “Poland is the only European economy to have posted consistent growth during the long European recession,” says Sandra Burmeister, CEO of Amrop Landelahni. “Could the transformation of its SOEs in the post-communist era lie at the heart of its achievements? “Poland’s success story indicates that ‘state capitalism’ can be something other than a contradiction in terms.” In... Continue Reading
…….and plans to soon enter other countries in the region – ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire, April, 2014/ — YooMee Africa Group (http://www.yoomee.ci), a Swiss based provider of mobile broadband Internet in sub-Saharan Africa, launches its operations in Côte d’Ivoire. After becoming the market leader of broadband Internet in Cameroon, YooMee Africa continues its expansion by deploying its network in Côte d’Ivoire. Broadband internet in the Ivorian market YooMee Côte d’Ivoire, based in Abidjan, is launching its LTE services to individuals and businesses. These services are based on the latest global technology TD-LTE, which ensures a new, faster Internet experience with more stability and better reliability... Continue Reading
……to be addressed at the WAOGS Summit – In the last few years piracy has seen a sharp increase offshore West Africa. Last summer West African leaders took the step of calling for the deployment of an international naval force to curb the growing threat of piracy off the Gulf of Guinea, but it appears that the situation may have already reached a tipping point, as piracy has spread further south to Angola in recent months. Although there have been attacks in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Togo amongst others, to date most attacks in the region have taken... Continue Reading
Neglecting the needs of important stakeholders has implications not only for the company and its industry, but even the national economy. South Africa’s business history is littered with examples where a failure to take stakeholders such as local communities properly into account has led to tragedy – the most recent of which is Marikana. Elspeth Donovan, who convenes an executive education course on Strategic Social Engagement Practice at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) refers to Marikana and recalls a quote by a mining executive about how “if you can’t get stuff right above the... Continue Reading
A well-known legal and business education expert sums up the current Amcu platinum strike in one word: insanity. “If you are looking at the current wage strike in the platinum industry; that is a lose-lose situation all the way. Everybody is losing, both employers and employees. This is a classic situation of negotiation gone wrong,” says Barney Jordaan, a past professor of law who these days specialises in teaching negotiation skills and advising corporates on negotiation strategy. “To put it simply, the point of negotiating is to persuade the other party to satisfy your interests to the greatest degree possible.... Continue Reading
