INTRODUCTIONPoverty is one of the biggest problems facing South Africa and it still remains very high. The following content will discuss poverty. A brief overview of poverty in South Africa will be discussed and its effects in South Africa. Education in South Africa will be discussed briefly, based on its challenges. A description of how poverty influences the different business environments (micro, macro and market) of education sector companies will be discussed.1. POVERTYBODY1 Poverty in South Africa• Poverty is having little or no money or possessions.• Today, almost half of South Africans live below the poverty/bread line.• Households living in poverty have fallen deeper into poverty and the gap between the poor and the rich has widened.• Poverty can also be described as the lack of income and/or assets to meet necessities – food, shelter, clothing and acceptable levels of health and education. • The majority of South Africans are unemployed and therefore cannot meet the needs and wants of themselves and their children. Thus, more than half of South African children live in poverty.1. Causes • The main cause of poverty in South Africa is the lasting effects of apartheid. People did not receive adequate education and training during the apartheid period. As a result, most of them are unemployed because, due to lack of education and appropriate skills, they cannot find jobs that would give them the means for a better life.• Lack of access to goods and services and at acceptable levels of education. and health care• Lack of income and assets• Vulnerability to adverse shocks, linked to the inability to cope with them• Unemployment is also the cause of poverty because it...... middle of paper. ..... schools, NGOs and the community can work together to provide services and funding to these schools. • NGOs can help improve teacher quality and classroom management. CONCLUSION The results of this research show how South Africa faces many challenges in poverty and education. Education is the largest industry in South Africa and is treated as a priority. Many social problems, for example poverty, influence education and make it even more difficult. Businesses in the education sector face many challenges caused by poverty. It is difficult to adapt and/or overcome these challenges, especially in the macro environment, because there is no control over the elements of the macro environment. However, these schools should consider the above solutions to address these challenges, as they could be helpful..