South Africa's headwinds going into the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

Little is known about the growth prospects and headwinds South Africa may experience during the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This dissertation follows an inductive research approach and a sequential qualitative mixed method design. It employs an inductive thematic analysis to identify and explore the main headwinds South Africa’s economic growth may face during the Fourth Industrial Revolution. A comparative analysis is conducted to compare the severity of these headwinds relative to Mauritius, Nigeria, Brazil, the United States, Switzerland, and Greece. The research aims to determine whether South Africa will be able to grow within the view of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. South Africa’s main headwinds are identified as inequality, demographics, unemployment, education, and the COVID-19 economic shock. Inequality and education were found to be, relatively, most severe. The study concludes that, without addressing the existing headwinds, South Africa would not be able to exploit the economic growth opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.