Articles at the twilight of the year, usually look back at the year that was. I have done so myself in the past, however, let’s face it, 2022 was a difficult year, to put it tactfully. Instead, I will look ahead to 2023, hope for the best and share my thoughts on the opportunities which lay ahead.

Ever evolving technology remains consistent. According to an article by Futurist, Bernard Marr, published by Forbes, there are ten technological developments to look forward to next year. This article will focus on those of particular interest, rather than reviewing all ten. 

The question is, how does South African business leverage these developments to grow in an economically challenging environment?

The first technological advancement Marr focuses on is, Artificial Intelligence (AI). “In 2023, artificial intelligence will become real in organizations… We’re already seeing this trend in the retail market. Stitch Fix uses AI-enabled algorithms to recommend clothes to its customers that match their sizes and tastes.” Marr explains. With online shopping having grown immensely in South Africa since 2020, with ITWeb, reporting that: “In 2020, South Africa saw a 66% growth in e-commerce. And as it stands, a study done by Deloitte found that more than 70% of South Africans are shopping online.” Therefore, with such major growth in the ecommerce retail space, South African businesses should use AI to create seamless, tailor-made and convenient online shopping experiences. 

The second technological advance Marr hones in on is the metaverse, a subject I broached in my last article. “Experts predict that the metaverse will add $5 trillion to the global economy by 2030, and 2023 will be the year that defines the direction of the metaverse for the next decade… in 2023, I predict that we’ll have more immersive meeting environments where we can talk, brainstorm, and co-create together.

In fact, Microsoft and Nvidia are already developing metaverse platforms for collaborating on digital projects.” With these serious developments afoot, the metaverse will most likely be more than a reality, but functional in a new normal where you can work from anywhere in the world. 

The next technological development is in equal measure exciting and treacherous. “Quantum computing, which uses subatomic particles to create new ways of processing and storing information, is a technological leap that’s expected to bring us computers capable of operating a trillion times more quickly than the fastest traditional processors available today.” Such a development could revolutionise industries which rely on complex calculations such as banking, financing and insurance. South Africa already proves to be a global leader in these sectors. However, as forewarned, quantum computing is equally treacherous: “The potential danger of quantum computing is that it could render our current encryption practices useless — so any nation that develops quantum computing at scale could break the encryption of other nations, businesses, security systems, and more. This is a trend to watch carefully in 2023 as countries like the US, UK, China, and Russia pour money into developing quantum computing technology.” 

This threat however presents an opportunity in that an innovative, creative entrepreneur could create counter measures, preventing encryption from failing in the wake of quantum computing. 

South Africa is no stranger to the impact of global climate change. Part of what made 2022 such a difficult year was the flooding which severely impacted the east coast of South Africa along Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Eastern Cape, in April and now during December we see continued heavy rain which has impacted Gauteng and once again returned to Kwa-Zulu Natal. Urgent climate action is needed immediately. It is thus encouraging that: “In 2023, look for continued progress around green hydrogen, a new clean-burning source of energy that produces close to zero greenhouse gas emissions. Shell and RWE, two major European energy companies, are creating the first major green pipeline from wind plants in the North Sea.” As it is, South Africa is already participating in the green hydrogen economy as Mail and Guardian recently reported: “South Africa and the United Kingdom have agreed on an undisclosed grant for the funding of green hydrogen. The deal is part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership and will come with technical assistance.”

2022, also marks the year when South Africans were most severely impacted by loadshedding, thus it will come as much relief for many of us that 2023 also hails the emergence for greater investment into decentralised electricity provision. “We’ll also see progress in the development of decentralized power grids. Distributed energy generation using this model provides a system of small power generators and storage that are located in communities or individual houses — so they can provide power even if the main grid is not available. Right now, our energy system is primarily dominated by huge gas and energy companies, but decentralized energy initiatives have the potential to democratize power worldwide while decreasing carbon emissions”.  

The less said about the last year the better, however, here we are with a slight decrease in unemployment at the end of 2022 and stable as a nation despite persistent political, environmental and economic chaos. Next year presents a new beginning. As we wind down the year we should do more than just think of new resolutions, but think of solutions for the world’s problems and take these opportunities. May 2023 serve us better than its predecessor!