Category: Business

Business insights, company profiles and industry analysis covering African markets, leadership, entrepreneurship and economic growth.

Closing SA’s IT skills gap and reducing off-shore investment ‘requires a shift in thinking’

Honoured as Top Tech Innovator at the 2024 Wired4Women awards, redAcademy founder and MD Jessica Hawkey is driven by an unrelenting drive to work towards closing the skills gap in South Africa. In doing this, she hopes to play a part in shifting the scales in the highly imbalanced ecosystem of off-shoring work, essentially taking billions of rands out of the economy so desperately in need of growth impetus. Change requires a shift in thinking, but she says this shift is already occurring.

At the coalface of change

With Coal & Energy Transition Day taking place this month, the discussion around sustainability in coal mining ramps up, as the sector grapples with the desire and responsibility to lower its carbon footprint – while not losing its very reason for existence. In the opinion article, Arjen de Bruin, Group CEO at OIM Consulting, weighs in on the plight facing coal mines and in fact, all corporates who might have realised that the journey towards greening their operations needs to be done responsibly, sustainably – and that is should be viewed as a marathon, not a sprint. And most importantly, why you need to take your people along on this journey.

FORTIS X has launched Africa’s first biodegradable and recyclable plant-based packaging

In light of Plastic Free July®, Fortis X has launched Africa’s first biodegradable and recyclable plant-based packaging, providing a crucial alternative to single-use plastics. Given the pressing issue of plastic waste in South Africa, where only 10% of the 122 million tons of annual waste is recycled, Fortis X’s innovation offers a beacon of hope. Nicholas De Beer, Director of Fortis X, emphasises that their sugarcane-derived biopolymer bottles represent a significant step toward mitigating plastic pollution and its detrimental impacts on our environment and health. In addition to offering an eco-friendly alternative for various products, Fortis X’s plant-based bottles have already garnered support from notable brands like SOGA Organic®, BOS Ice Tea, and Omnia Natura. Moreover, recycling plastic water bottles can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours, highlighting the broader benefits of embracing sustainable packaging solutions.