THE FINAL WORD

To round off each issue, we ask our contributing business leaders for their views on the same question

If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be?

Kobie Pruis

CEO, Zizwe Opencast Mining “I would like to see the barrier to entry of the mining industry lowered in South Africa, and consequently make the market more accessible to various role players. South Africa consists of several attractive investment opportunities, and we need to do our bit to capitalise on the traction that we are experiencing worldwide.”

Dr Oliver Preisig

Co-Founder and Executive Director, inqaba bioteq “Our technology is still too expensive for broad-based application in Africa, and also worldwide. In some way, it would be nice to see these technologies reach a cost level that allows greater access to the population.” Are you a CEO/Director interested in telling your story? Contact Africa Outlook now!

Luis da Silva

CEO, Healthbridge “Moving forward, the industry needs to put the patient at the centre of all considerations, whilst also balancing cost and quality of course. Right now, there are too many misaligned incentives amongst stakeholders to make this possible.”

Soti Michael

COO, Kelfoods “As the world evolves around us, hunger and malnutrition remain major concerns, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Chicken meat and eggs are the best source of quality protein and are desperately needed by the many millions of people who live in poverty. International organisations and governments need to promote poultry farmers and eggs as the cheapest source of protein, and ideal carriers for enriching human diets that provide essential vitamins and minerals to improve nutrition.”

Karel Viviers

Head of Marketing, Meridian Africa “Improved sustainability practices. It’s easy to dismiss sustainability and shift the responsibility to other industry players, or to get caught in the standard seasonal planting-to-harvesting cycles that end up putting sustainability on the far horizon as a nice-to-have rather than an absolutely essential part of any business operation in our industry.

“We all need to take responsibility for our role in ensuring we drive sustainability in all that we do. This collective stewardship is the only way forward and no-one can afford to not participate and contribute.”