Covid-19 launched and the sudden ban on all businesses in South Africa caused huge chaos for thousands of business owners, most estimates are that it caused 15% to 19% of business owners to be forced to shut down. Many of the businesses that made it through the crisis managed to be innovative and changed things in their business. They also changed the way they sell their products and services. The people who succeed look to technology for their salvation.
In South Africa, a strong network of satellites provides good internet connectivity. However, many people are unable to access the internet due to high data costs and lack of basic computer literacy. South Africa has seen a rise in internet users in recent years. It is estimated, as per the data published by Statista in 2020, 56% of South Africans are internet enabled and access the internet regularly.
Several South African multinational corporations, including those who are in the top tier of the big four, are in the very beginning stages of digitizing. Many industries, including those involved in mining or chemical manufacturing, are only starting to adopt modern technologies. McKinsey conducted research in 2017 that showed, despite the fact that we use a lot of technology every day, it was still less than 40% fully digitized.
The future of work in South Africa
If South Africa quickly adopts new technology, it will result in a productivity increase that is more than twice as large, and it will enable South Africa to achieve more than a percentage point of growth in its real GDP growth rate over the coming decade. There would be a net gain of 1.2 million jobs by 2030, mostly in service industries. Most of the jobs that women will get will be done by women, and digitisation will enable women to be empowered.
South Africa’s decision-makers, in all sectors, need to be bold in order that workers can be attracted to the country by getting the skills that they need to enter the workforce. They should also build up the infrastructure to allow people to learn technology- and life-related skills at a large scale.
Digitisation in the workplace will require more staff to work in higher education by 2030, about 1.7 million new graduates will need to be employed in universities. If more graduates work in technology jobs, demand will continue to be strong, resulting in a severe skill shortage in the South African economy.
Growing Industries In South Africa
South Africa is a major center of knowledge and a major exporter of information and communication technology (ICT) goods and services to other nations in the region. Multi-national ICT companies like SAP, IBM, Microsoft, Dell, Intel, Unisys, Novell, and Compaq.
In the mid-1990s, mining and agriculture were no longer important, and the economy started to shift to various industries, such as wholesale and retailers, tourism, and communications. South Africa is moving away from being a traditionally based economy and toward becoming a country that can benefit from having high-tech infrastructure and services.
Two important trends affecting the success of businesses in South Africa are the need to be able to access everything easily on the internet, whether it is for shopping or work and tough economic conditions. Both of these things have caused gaps in the market or caused more small businesses to want to expand.
The top three employers in South Africa were ranked as Anglo American, Standard Bank, and Naspers. Digitalization that is growing in South Africa is able to help these companies to reach more customers or consumers. SEO Services in South Africa saw a big surge in our services. This indicates that the company has the awareness to invest in SEO to increase its profits.
