Growing pains

As a country, our fairly recent growth rates have been rather good [although China's 11%+ is absolutely astounding - and, for a country that size].

Where does the secret to exponential growth lie for us as a country. It is readily admitted that growth off a high base is difficult to sustain. Surely it should be far easier for a R10 million turnover company to double its turnover than it is for a R1 billion turnover company?

But look at all the potential we have. Our economy already relies on the informal sector and sme's. What if we could harness this energy, give it some [un-burdensome, un-bureaucratic, no red tape] structure and let it fly...

Its up to us to get involved at these levels. There are already a number of great initiatives in place [Umsobomvu's mentorship program, for example] that attempt to manage this knowledge transfer.
However, the process of starting up is never easy, as Grant Brewer explains so well in this article. [I recall seeing an article a while ago which claimed that SA is in the top 15 countries in the world where it is most difficult to do business - easy to believe with all the red tape]

So, if we can encourage this process, and set in place a dynamic environment where businesses are set up to succeed rather than fail... just imagine! I'll get onto this again in a later post, because I know the answers are out there and we just need to work together to get them going.