Olympe

OLYMPE As a nation, South Africa possesses economic and social strengths that can help it develop a successful IT industry within the country. However, its weakness can derail its success quite easily. Luckily, South Africa has the opportunity to reduce those weaknesses through government policy and increased financial support for IT development. However, should South Africa choose not to take advantage of that opportunity, those weaknesses have the potential of thwarting the nation’s attempt at competing in IT marketplace. In my analysis, I found the following to be IT strengths and weaknesses of South Africa: Strengths * Large population * High literacy rate * Current South African intellectual property laws * Increasing levels of E-Business and electronic commerce * Telecommunications infrastructure * Targeting the industry via government studies and initiatives * Increasing computing and Internet diffusion * Privatization of telecommunications industry Weaknesses * Inadequate domestic funding for projects * Reliance on foreign aid * Small number of workforce involved in ICT * Poor enforcement of intellectual property laws * High piracy rates * Lack of clear directive from government * Laws that are unresponsive to new issues in e-commerce and e-government nalysis While much of the world staggered in the wake of the global financial meltdown, South Africa has managed to stay on its feet — largely due to its prudent fiscal and monetary policies. The country is politically stable and has a well capitalised banking system, abundant natural resources, well developed regulatory systems as well as research and development capabilities, and an established manufacturing base. Ranked by the World Bank as an “ upper middle-income country”, South Africa is the largest economy in Africa — and it remains rich with promise. It was admitted to the BRIC group of countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China (known as BRICS) in 2011. With a world-class and progressive legal framework, South African legislation governing commerce, labour and maritime issues is particularly strong, and laws on competition policy, copyright, patents, trademarks and disputes conform to international norms and standards. The country’s modern infrastructure supports the efficient distribution of goods throughout the southern African region. The economy has a marked duality, with a sophisticated financial and industrial economy having grown alongside an underdeveloped informal economy. It is this “ second economy” which presents both potential and a developmental challenge.