SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG- A prominent entrepreneur in the customer relationship management (CRM) sector has decried corruption and lack of quality education as a major factors hampering the African continent from fulfilling its potential.
GreatSoft Chief Executive Officer, Bruce Morgan, said these issues needed urgent attention.
“Undoubtedly, Africa has great potential,” said Morgan in an interview with CAJ News Africa at the sidelines of the just-concluded First National Bank (FNB) Innovation Awards for 2016.
“However, the issue of corruption is disturbing across many African governments. Once we have the political will to tackle corruption, this continent will be the next global economic frontier.
“I can safely tell you, Europe, America and Middle East have their own problems, different to Africa, worse still, these other developed Western nations are battling to absorb high numbers of refugees.
“Africa needs to address corruption as well as to educate its people, and this continent will have a bright future,” said Morgan.
He could not cite specific countries nor political leaders involved in corruption across the continent but insisted graft was the main drawback for the continent.
Speaking at the event Endeavor South Africa co-organised in Bryanston, Morgan urged up-and-coming entrepreneurs to be resilient and conquer prevailing challenges in order to make an impact in business.
Morgan said a lack of these attributes have largely seen up-and-coming entrepreneurs fail to realize their dreams despite having brilliant business ideas that could address worsening unemployment.
“Throwing in the towel early is a confirmation of failure. My advice to these upcoming entrepreneurs is that, at tender age you can try and fail several times, but there is always room to come right,” Morgan said.
Morgan, a winner of the FNB Innovation Awards for 2015, said most up-and-coming entrepreneurs lacked endurance, much to the detriment of their businesses.
Such endurance has catapulted GreatSoft to dizzy heights from its humble beginnings.
Headquartered in Johannesburg, GreatSoft has presence in key African economic destinations including Botswana, Kenya, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania Uganda and Zambia.
GreatSoft’s strengths have been strong partnerships and from humble beginnings boasts partnership with global technology giant, Microsoft.
GreatSoft is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and as an Independent Software Vendor (ISV).
GreatSoft has other strategic partners such as (ICSA) Software International, Orbis Software, South African Revenue Services (SARS) and Axia Payroll.
Meanwhile, Bevan Ducasse, the founder and CEO of wiGroup, was voted overall winner of the 2016 FNB Business Innovation Awards.
Ducasse was honoured and recognised for using innovation to drive business growth and having potential to significantly scale through the Endeavor network.
“I am excited and feel privileged to be recognised as the winner of the FNB Business Innovation Awards. This accolade is testament to the hard work and dedication that has gone towards establishing wiGroup as a trusted and reputable brand,” he said.
Ducasse said innovation and excellence had always been at the centre of wiGroup.
“We will continue breaking boundaries while still delivering quality products and services to our clients,” said Ducasse.
He added, “Access to a global platform of leading business luminaries and a peer group of highly ambitious founders at the Endeavor ISP is something I am incredibly excited about. Beyond that, I feel the journey must be of scale and innovation that challenges the status quo in the sector we
operate in.”
Speaking at the same event, FNB Business CEO, Michael Vacy-Lyle, said the awards were a closely contested challenge with all finalists’ demonstrating great potential to scale up their businesses.
“I wish all of them the best on their journey ahead. The FNB Business Innovation Awards have undoubtedly proven that South Africa has a lot of potential to create high-impact global businesses.
“We need more platforms of this calibre to unearth and recognise innovative businesses with the capability to create sustainable jobs,” said Vacy-Lyle.
Managing Director of Endeavor South Africa, Catherine Townshend, urged innovators to explore their visions in order to change lives for many through their technology breakthroughs.
“Through Endeavor and the exposure at the ISP we are confident that Bevan will be even more motivated to think bigger and engage with a network of like-minded ambitious entrepreneurs that are driven to build a business with a global footprint,” Townshend said.
– Guardian
