The passing of Margaret Thatcher is a signifier of the times: Thatcherism is certainly gone, and so too is any naivety that we can depend on any one simple formula for global economic stability. Dr Grant Sieff, CEO of IC Growth Group and Programme Director of Strategic Thinking and Execution for Growth at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (GSB), describes the environment we find ourselves in as economic anarchy. “It’s not a slow evolution, it’s more like a series of shocks – more shaken than stirred,” he says. “The nature of business is that it is... Continue Reading
We all know that not all state actors have the potential of achieving great things especially in the discharge of their respective functions. Therefore, if a government is to succeed, it needs to have the right people in the right place. It needs to have people with adequate skills and knowledge, with sound attributes to be able to deliver expected results. People with such qualities are in many ways successful in governance. They make things happen and don’t sit back waiting for others to do something before they get started. Simply put, they grab the bull by the horns. However,... Continue Reading
Generation Y and Z – young people born in the 80s and 90s – have huge potential to play a positive role in building a much-needed new business environment in South Africa, yet they make up the majority of the unemployed in the country. Government and business must join together to nurture this crucial segment of our population, says Linda Ronnie, Organisational Behaviour and People Management lecturer at the UCT GSB. Speaking to a delegation from Utah State University that was in SA to learn more about global HR issues, Ronnie said that the work environment in South Africa poses... Continue Reading
The survival rate of early-stage businesses in South Africa is low but a new partnership has emerged that aims to dramatically increase entrepreneurial success in the country by giving local startups the tools they need to develop into large, sustainable businesses. The partnership between Microsoft’s BizSpark initiative and Find-Make-Grow-Realise (FMGR), a startup investment programme offered by the UCT GSB and local venture capitalists AngelHub, will give startups in Johannesburg technological support, business know-how, and access to potential investors and business networks. While BizSpark provides access to software development tools, connecting the member entrepreneurs with key industry players, and providing the... Continue Reading
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – April 5 – The Rockefeller Foundation and the Tony Elumelu Foundation announced the launch of the Impact Economy Innovations Fund (IEIF) at the Impact Investing in Africa: Accelerating the Industry Regionally Forum. The event, hosted by The Rockefeller Foundation, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, and the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the University of Cape Town (UCT) Graduate School of Business, provided a platform to introduce the investment and entrepreneurial community from all over Africa to the concept and practice of impact investing. Through a series of presentations and panel discussions, participants developed a better understanding... Continue Reading
