Manufacturing is, by its very nature, at the heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Nationally, there is much excitement about the potential for new technologies to increase manufacturing output.

Behind the hype, the sector is struggling and innovation doesn’t seem to be high on business leaders’ list of priorities. In June, the South African Reserve Bank warned that contraction in the sector had wiped out 1.1% from GDP growth. South African Market Insights, an economics website, estimates that there’s around 19% excess capacity.