Economic instability has changed the way in which companies operate. Long gone are the days when decisions were made solely with the help of forecasts and projections. Risk management has become an integral part of good management and governance.

The North-West University (NWU) is passionate about entrepreneurship and proudly acts as an enabler for the next generation of successful entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs such as Nkateko Rafael Khoza.

Earlier this year, Statistics SA stated that over six million South Africans are currently unemployed. With the country’s current economic climate resulting in shrinking opportunities for formal employment, more and more South Africans are turning to entrepreneurship.

Opportunity should be without bias. There is a dearth of female entrepreneurs in the country and the North-West University (NWU) is addressing this problem through the Enterprising Women Programme (EWP).

South African policy makers and researchers are in agreement: a thriving small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) sector is the key to job creation, economic sustainability and ultimately positive growth. With the National Development Plan (NDP) predicting that by 2030 SMMEs will generate 90% of the 11 million new jobs targeted, the future could be very bright.

The extreme pollution in a number of South Africa’s rivers, dams and marine systems is posing a threat to the country’s R52 billion recreational fishing industry.

With populations expanding in many parts of the world and rapid urbanisation straining countries’ resources, the need for food and food security has never been so great. While this has created enormous opportunities for farmers in many parts of the world, including South Africa, our agricultural sector is facing significant challenges – not least of which is the uncertainty surrounding land reform in the country and encroaching climate change, which is affecting annual yields and the growth potential of the sector.

According to renowned economist Prof Raymond Parsons from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Business School, it is Moody’s next assessment of South Africa and not Standard and Poor’s (S&P’s) rating which holds the key to South Africa’s continued avoidance of universal junk status.

Within the next 30 years the number of older people in Africa will grow from 46 million to 170 million. This is the problem that the continent will be facing by 2050, said Prof Jaco Hoffman from the Optentia research focus area at a recent Course on Social Gerontology in Southern Africa.

On 12 and 13 July 2018, the North-West University’s (NWU’s) School of Industrial Psychology and Human Resource Management, will be hosting its annual Human Capital Summit.