Month: June 2020

Posted on

Where to from here – post COVID-19?

Early in 2020 the World changed forever in a way no one could have foreseen! The pause button was hit from March 2020 and continues at the time of writing this blog. The entire globe completely shutdown in a coordinated effort to combat the spread of the novel Corona virus, forcing a time out on all economic, social and political activities that require citizens to leave their homes.

This meant that all interactions including business, commerce, education had to quickly transition to virtual delivery, with activities like construction, sports and travel being forced into a sudden 90-day hiatus. All countries closed all ports of entry for movement of people with only essential goods and services being exempt from the strict lockdown regulations.

This has resulted in wide scale unemployment while many employers struggle to come to grips with economic conditions that have significantly slowed consumer demand and consequently top line revenue, while in the meantime fixed costs like salaries and rental costs for office premises remain among other major operating costs.

  • Downtown New York during March 2020 – May 2020 “Lockdown’
  • N1 Highway in Johannesburg – Lockdown 2020!

How global citizens lives will be impacted by the present and future challenges brought on by this global pandemic is varied among different economic sectors and population segments and will have significant and lasting economic consequences particularly for poorer communities.

Economists are predicting a long and protracted flatter shaped recovery than initially anticipated, with markets initially predicting a v- shaped recovery. This is why there seemingly is a disconnect between current high stock market levels and what is happening in the world with the true impact of the pandemic yet to unfold. Market participants are even predicting in the extreme case that the scale of this current crisis may be even greater than the Great Depression of the 1930s.

  • Grounded airlines owned by the world’s largest fleet owner during 2020 ‘Lockdown’- Emirates!
  • Parking the vast fleet of planes by major airlines during 2020 ‘Lockdown’ took some skill!

What can citizens do to survive in case of loss of main income sources, or if they want to create multiple sources of income? Are you ready for the new digital world? We shall explore this phenomenon on an ongoing basis as it set to be with us for the foreseeable future!

Posted on

Hello World!

Welcome to Southern Point Online, your repository for all things Digital and how to thrive in a rapidly digitalized world!

The World has been transformed by the internet in the past 25 years and is set for a new revolution with internet 2.0!

The name Southern Point is inspired by the location of its founding company, at the southern most tip of the African continent in South Africa!

The mission of this Blog is to initiate and sustain a global conversation about Africa and her place in the World!

Some key aspects that will be interrogated in quite some depth will include:

What could a united Africa look like, meaning an Africa that is united in purpose and function, particularly one in which Africa is in full control of her own resources within the global economy? In this segment we will seek to understand how and why Africa is where it is today and what Africans can do for themselves to leverage her sheer size, resources and youthful population to build a better Africa! A better and integrated Africa is not only good for Africa but also has the potential to create the next China which can only benefit the rest of the World.

If Africa is so poor, why then is the whole world so interested in it? There are significant vested external interests which influence Africa’s standing in the world, for instance the so-called FRANCOPHONE ‘independant’ states in Africa are still in this day and age sending billions of dollars to France -‘for what’? Dr Arikana Chihombori Quao a Zimbabwean born medical doctor, diplomat and activist shares some very astonishing views on ‘the continued colonization of 14 western African states by France’. This followed her dismissal in 2019 from her role as an African Union representative to the US.

Africa is now a continent made up of 55 ‘sovereign states’, whereas historically, prior to The Scramble for Africa, Africa was a single territory with many tribes spread across its vast and expansive terrain. Isn’t a Borderless Africa the best structural formation to build lasting continental integration? Does Africa not need to find herself again in order to truly realize her full potential and be a real participant in the global economy?

Africa is not just a cheap source of resources previously for the Western colonizers and now seemingly for the benefit of the East, with China in particular taking up a new and different form of ‘colonization’ by making substantial infrastructure investments on the ground in Africa.

Longest suspension bridge in Africa connecting Maputo City to Katembe in Mozambique developed and 85% financed by China’s Exim Bank at cost of $1bn.

There are concerns being raised about the quality of the deals being entered into by the African states with China and how China implements these infrastructure projects given that they typically use their own labour and do not transfer any skills to locals for the ongoing maintenance of these infrastructure.

China is providing significant amounts of the financing for these projects and there are further concerns that a lot of these African nations will not be able to service the debt linked to these projects, meaning they will ultimately become beholden to China who will then take out a disproportionate amount of African resources to China when these nations inevitably default on the loans.

How can Africa use technology to catch-up with the rest of the World and participate in the Global Economy on an equal footing? Certain technologies have enabled Africa to leapfrog some developmental steps, as was seen with the rapid expansion of cellular technology on the continent in the past 25 years.

Africa historically did not have well developed fixed telecommunications infrastructure, thereafter from the mid-1990s mobile telecommunications infrastructure was developed and today connects 747 million Africans in sub-Saharan Africa. This number is expected to reach 1 billion connections by 2025 according to ZDnet.

Emerging technologies in Fintech and Blockchain are well positioned to break down more barriers to entry and accelerate financial inclusion riding of the telecoms revolution with the mobile device being at the center of the next wave!

SPO will focus on trying to find answers to the above questions and will explore in quite some detail the history that has brought Africa to its current state and then try to encourage Africans to work together to craft a better future for its people, not withstanding the past. The main focus will be forward looking and positive!