With the advent of cloud computing systems it has become possible to provision large scale systems in a short time with little effort. The systems underpinning these cloud systems have to deal with massive amounts of data in order to function. Should an indecent occur that requires some form of forensic investigation it can be very challenging for an investigator to conduct the investigation. This is due, in large part, to the volatility of data in cloud systems.

The core notion for enforcing, supporting and enabling communication and collaboration amongst stakeholders in a given business ecosystem can be regarded as Interoperability. Interoperability is not a new concept nor is there a standardised definition for the term interoperability. From a scientific and business point of view interoperability was already discussed as early as in 1990' s. Developing a common understanding of interoperability is a difficult task. However, while businesses perceive interoperability as the realisation of collaborative partnerships amongst peers, a closer look at the terminology from a technological perspective may regard interoperability as an enabler of business collaboration. This paper seeks to demonstrate how interoperability can serve as a catalyst for business innovation. This is achieved by exploring its core definitions and illustrating relevance and applicability thereof through a use case that enforces value co-creation amongst business ecosystem partners (and therefore business innovation).

Foreign investment can play an imperative role in education. As part of the research in understanding foreign investment in education in Africa and to demonstrate the inequalities that persist in the developing countries, the paper closely examined the model adopted by Oprah Winfrey at her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG) in South Africa. The research on OWLAG directed us to examine private school versus public schools models in an African context. Both models in this paper are presented respectively and we propose a leadership academy for primary education in Africa. The academy will focus on learners at grade 0 to 6 and will turn gifted African girls and boys into innovative learners with new thinking. The focus will be on historically disadvantaged families as we believe that education is a basic essential service to these families. Apart from the curriculum, this initiative will create an appetite for Information and Communication Technology software in the education sector in Africa through socio-economic investments of various stakeholders as strategic assets. Finally, the paper presents the academy business model that will promote alternative revenue streams and the creation of strategic assets.