“Technology-driven change can be liberating for a SMBs’ people, customers and business. However, we also understand the short-term pressures that every SMB CEO is facing in today’s volatile environment. As SMBs grapple with the need to shift to a new world in a socially responsible manner, we will be there to support them and their channel partners in the transition.”
By Anton Herbst, Chief Executive Officer
Small and medium businesses (SMBs) represent two-thirds of global jobs and over half of global GDP. Without them, we cannot grow the economy. They also have an instrumental role to play in solving the challenges we face today, from climate change and fragile supply chains through to the potential impact of automation on employment.
Yet in these volatile times, SMB leaders have many issues keeping them awake at night. With rising fuel prices, an unreliable power grid, weak economic growth and growing regulation, many SMBs are struggling to keep their doors open. But the reality is that as long as there are problems to solve, SMBs have opportunities to grow.
Those that have weathered a difficult two and a half years have proven themselves to be resilient and adaptive. What’s more, SMBs have shown that they have the agency to help create a better world. In recent years, we have also seen evidence of how technology can help us to solve some of the most intractable problems we face.
From increasingly efficient alternative power solutions to the way that digital commerce and remote work have shrunk the planet, technology and people in combination are creating a better world. There is a danger, however, that SMBs will get left behind as the world digitalises.
Our goal is to ensure that SMBs have access to the business solutions that help them to grow and transform their businesses. Working alongside our channel partners, we want to expose SMBs to best business practices and equip them with the skills and tools to thrive in the digital economy.
We believe that technology can have a transformative effect on businesses. It can help them use data to make informed business decisions, leverage automation to drive business efficiencies, use digital channels to reach more customers, and even create new business models.
In so doing, SMBs can compete with the best in the world and find ways to grow and thrive even in the most challenging times. And as they thrive, they help to address the challenges of unemployment, poverty, and inequality in South Africa. That’s not to say that the road ahead will be easy—it seldom is.
There are difficult trade-offs to be made. For example, with South Africa’s 35%+ unemployment rate, automating too rapidly and aggressively could cause profound human suffering and social unrest. Yet falling too far behind brings the risk of becoming globally uncompetitive.
Technology-driven change can be liberating for a SMBs’ people, customers and business. However, we also understand the short-term pressures that every SMB CEO is facing in today’s volatile environment. As SMBs grapple with the need to shift to a new world in a socially responsible manner, we will be there to support them and their channel partners in the transition.
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