Stepping up e-commerce would boost SA Inc
A market of 1.3-billion people could be tapped into if postal and internet services were made efficient and accessible.
A market of 1.3-billion people could be tapped into if postal and internet services were made efficient and accessible.
First popularised by the World Economic Forum in 2015, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) or ‘Industry 4.0’ has become a catch-all term to describe imminent changes to global business, labour and education models stemming from the advent of ‘cyber-physical systems’.
For developing countries multilateralism with the UN at its centre, is considered a key pillar of the global system because it provides for an order, not determined by might but by a set of rules that apply to all – even if the powerful often have more latitude than smaller countries. Multilateralism’s current retreat necessitates a proactive strategy from developing countries to be co-shapers of a new system.
The power of sport to bring people together was on display when underdogs South Africa upset a previously rampant England 32-12 in the Rugby World Cup Final on 2 November in Yokohama, Japan.
The Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) advocates a ‘whole of society’ approach to resolving and managing the forced displacement ‘crisis’ by setting out specific targets, objectives and pathways for UN member states to follow.
Summitry between a major country and Africa have become fashionable in the 21st century. China, India, the EU and Japan all have such summits with the continent. Such events carry great political symbolism, they provide opportunities for business deals, and they also show the rest of the world the influence of the initiating country vis-à-vis its guests.
Financial inclusion offers incremental and complementary solutions to tackle poverty, promote inclusive development and address the Sustainable Development Goals.
On 24 October Russia will host the first Russia-Africa summit in Sochi. This is some 26 years after Japan launched its TICAD process in 1993, 20 years since China’s FOCAC and 11 years since the first India-Africa Forum Summit.
Just how did digital technologies go from empowering citizens and toppling dictators to being used as tools of oppression and discord?
Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, one could argue that the global order is fragmenting into multiple nodes of power.