South Africa (pictured) has long been looked upon as an unstable business environment. Not for long. Meet the new breed of South African entrepreneurs who are optimistic that they can change perceptions and climb the industrial ladder.
In scanning the article, "What 2010 Has In Store for SMEs," published in the Times LIVE (South Africa), I found it refreshingly bizarre. How so?
He (Stanlib economist Kevin Lings) says that recent data from the United States shows that this powerhouse is recovering, and adds that global manufacturing has turned the corner.
It is also worth noting that South Africa takes about three to four months to react to global trends, so our recovery will come after a worldwide upturn.
"We are nowhere close to normal but it seems the worst is over. It is going to take a long time to recover, but the numbers look better."
Mike believes that the world's economic growth will stay muted for the next two or three years, so it will take some time to see significant growth on local soil.
Rode & Associates CEO Erwin Rode echoes these sentiments, saying that a conservative approach to 2010 is probably the best advice for SME decision-makers.
"For planning purposes, I would rather be a pessimist than an optimist. Don't expose yourself to great risks," he says.
This really cracked me up, "I would rather be a pessimist than an optimist." Anyone else feel that way? It seems so opposite of how American SMEs perceive their outlook on business!
Yet the article closes with:
Nevertheless, Mike is fairly optimistic about the prospects for SMEs, saying because of their lean and streamlined nature, they will be able to take up opportunities presented in 2010 much quicker than their large counterparts.
Read more here.
Part Facebook, part Flickr, and a dash of Twitter combined with a GPS-type navigation system, The Grid -- a mobile social network that allows users to chat and share stuff in a mobile location-based matrix with all of their friends and locate them on a map -- is a first for the African continent.