Family businesses remain resilient despite the adverse economic environment they find themselves in post-recession. At a time when other businesses are struggling to create revenue, around 78% of South African family businesses reported growth in the last 12 months, and 21% are aiming to grow quickly and aggressively over the next five years.
South Africa is falling behind its peers in Africa as countries like Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt place greater emphasis on the role that technology plays in economic growth. This is clear from Wits University’s Jo’burg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) sixth consecutive skills trends survey on the South African information and communications technology (ICT) sector. Although there are mixed messages and mixed feelings, there is very little doubt that the depressed state of the economy is lowering the expectations of employers in regards to short- to medium-term growth.
The South African BPO industry is poised for further growth in 2015, with Business Process enabling South Africa (BPeSA) estimating that a further 7 627 jobs will be created within offshoring by March next year.
ESA’s Rosetta mission has soft-landed its Philae probe on a comet – the first time in history that such a feat has been achieved. In a world first, those interested were able to follow the space mission live on Twitter.