Process & Operations

The scale of the national COVID-19 lockdown is unprecedented in living memory. The repercussions – personal, professional, national and international – will reverberate for years to come. As entrepreneurs, we need to be making the right decisions for right now to ensure that our businesses and our people’s livelihoods do not become another casualty of the virus.

Business is looking anything but usual for many organisations, large and small. The national lockdown, a decisive strategy to flatten the spread of the COVID-19 virus, is causing leadership and employees to rapidly consider virtual communication strategies for employees who are able to continue with business while working from home.

The SA motoring industry really, really matters. Statistics presented at the NAAMSA Automotive Conference at the SA Festival of Motoring on 31 August showed that the industry contributes 7.7% of SA’s GDP, which is more than our iconic mining sector.

As the promise of fifth-generation (5G) wireless broadband begins to become a reality, the role of communication services providers (CSPS) will change. The future home and indeed lifestyle will be built around massive amounts of data and pervasive information flows in the home.

Internet access has come a long way from the R28,000 it cost for a 256kbps connection in 1995. Even prior to the lockdown, almost 500,000 homes and more than 114,000 business premises were connected to fibre according to FTTX Council research from the end of June 2019. Of course, having high-speed access does not necessarily solve all problems.

Property subletting is becoming popular in South Africa, largely because of aggressive interest rate increases and the high cost of living. Many people look for subtenants to help them pay their rent, while others seek to sublet if they’re moving elsewhere and can’t get out of their current lease.

Businesses that experience significant damage due to fire – such as the loss of warehousing space, equipment, or stock-holding – struggle to regain their competitive advantage. This is why it is critical for all businesses to ensure that they have adequate fire-safety measures in place.

While the property industry globally has traditionally been a laggard when it comes to the use of technology, focusing more attention on assets such as physical buildings rather than technology, this has rapidly changed. A growing number of businesses are now introducing technology platforms and solutions to enhance the client-tenant experience and to ensure more informed investment and property management decisions are made.

South Africa’s Employment Equity Amendment Act (EEAA) came into effect on 1 September 2025. This followed the Gauteng High Court’s dismissal of an urgent application to halt its implementation. The government aims to enforce sectoral targets on race and gender representation to accelerate transformation. However, beneath the policy rhetoric lies a complex reality that many employers, particularly in manufacturing, will struggle to manage.

Africa is making slow, steady progress towards energy security, which will only be enhanced through collaboration. Energy access is undeniably one of the most crucial components of modern day living. Reliable energy supply ensures that economies are growing by supporting critical industries like mining, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare and education, while improving the lives of billions of people.