Agility, innovation key for business survival in 2017

13th December 2016

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

Font size: - +

With 2016 now drawing to a close, the year has left in its wake devastating drought, causing water shortages and restrictions; local political uncertainty; ongoing global macroeconomic instability; increasing cost pressures; and fears of credit rating downgrades, paralysing companies from making strategic moves.

With this environment setting the scene for 2017, the case for innovation, entrepreneurship and agility has never been greater, according to Standard Bank head of commercial banking Karl Götte,

“[This year] was a challenging year, following an equally tough 2015. There are no signs that these challenges will abate, but commercial businesses definitely have a number of opportunities to exploit if they are well prepared and have the right structures in place,” said Götte on Tuesday.

He noted that agile businesses with the “courage” to innovate would thrive in 2017, with several opportunities for these types of businesses to harness technology and expand.

“Agility needs to be built into many facets to ensure that a business is in a position to take advantage of changing consumer preferences and market conditions,” he concluded.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION