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The Citizen
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Here is how SMEs can take advantage of the G20 and B20 summits
Entrepreneurs can use these summits to elevate their businesses beyond local constraints. South Africa will be flooded with heads of state and government from the world's largest economies in November for the G20 and B20 summits. This presents an opportunity for the country's tourism sector to directly benefit from these gatherings, and most importantly, it is time for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of this growth opportunity. The G20 summit is an annual meeting of heads of state and government from the world's largest economies, along with the European Union and the African Union, to discuss and coordinate on pressing global issues. The B20 serves as a platform for dialogue among policymakers, civil society, and businesses at the international level. ALSO READ: Mid-year financial check for SMEs: Tips to prepare for the next six months How SMEs can benefit David Morobe, executive general manager for Impact Investing at Business Partners Limited, says entrepreneurs can use these summits to elevate their businesses beyond local constraints. 'The summits offer the country's entrepreneurs a once-in-a-generation opportunity to engage with influential decision-makers, forge cross-border partnerships, and position their businesses for international growth.' He is of the view that SMEs in the country already embody the B20 theme of 'Inclusive Growth and Prosperity through Global Cooperation'. Morobe highlighted that the B20 provides a platform for the country to showcase how homegrown enterprises are setting standards for inclusive and sustainable growth. What SMEs need Morobe says the pressure is still on, despite SME confidence growing in 2025, as entrepreneurs view the economy and government efforts as supportive of growth. Referring to the latest Business Partners SME Confidence Index, he notes that respondents cited cash flow, economic conditions, and limited funding as the top barriers. 'To overcome these, 86% of SMEs say access to finance is critical, 85% need targeted business resources, and 83% highlight the importance of mentorship.' ALSO READ: How mental health affects entrepreneurs New Act for SMEs Morobe notes that the introduction of the National Small Enterprise Amendment Act is a step in the right direction, but unfortunately, it is not enough. The Amendment aims to simplify access to both financial and non-financial support by reducing bureaucratic hurdles. He calls on the private sector to play a role in providing the capital, mentorship, networks, and exposure that entrepreneurs need to succeed. Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Entries for the 37th annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards have opened and will close on 31 August 2025. The awards aim to identify and support South African individuals who run successful SMEs. 'The awards are open to owners of SMEs across three categories: Emerging Entrepreneur, Small Business Entrepreneur, and Medium Business Entrepreneur. 'Five finalists will be selected in each category, with the finalist who makes the most contribution to employment and skills development in the country being awarded the Job Creator award.' Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the end of October 2025 and share in R2 million worth of prizes, including cash awards, mentorship, technical assistance and business exposure opportunities. Entrepreneurs interested in participating can enter at NOW READ: From cutting hair on the stoep to franchising: Legends Barber named top entrepreneur for 2024
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pioneering Impact Strategy, Record EM Sustainable Finance (EMSF), Celebrates Its Fourth Anniversary With Strong Outperformance Since Inception
LONDON, July 01, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Record Currency Management, in partnership with UBS Wealth Management, is proud to celebrate the fourth anniversary of its pioneering Emerging Market Sustainable Finance (EMSF) Strategy. Operating at the intersection of impact investing, Emerging and Frontier Market currencies and private placements, the strategy offers investors an opportunity to achieve financial returns, alongside measurable impact. Since inception, EMSF has grown to over U$1 billion in AUM and delivered positive returns of +18.7% since inception. The strategy has significantly outperformed both USD and local currency EM Debt benchmarks with around 30% lower volatility - reaffirming that investors need not compromise between financial returns and measurable impact. By taking currency risk across a wide universe of emerging and frontier currencies, EMSF helps MDBs and DFIs raise local currency funding. This allows borrowers in Emerging Markets to receive funding in local currency, eliminating FX risk. Simultaneously, the strategy directly supports the financing of development projects through its investments in bond instruments issued by MDBs and DFIs with active operations in Emerging Markets. "The need for capital in Emerging and Developing Economies continues to grow as we approach the 2030 deadline for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is now estimated by the UN that an additional US$5-7 trillion of annual private sector funding is required to meet the SDGs by 2030. Innovative sustainable finance solutions, such as EMSF, have a vital role to play in bringing private investors into the development finance marketplace. We are proud to have delivered tangible impact and strong outperformance relative to Emerging Market Debt benchmarks, demonstrating that you don't need to sacrifice returns to do good. We remain committed to helping MDBs and DFIs with their local currency operations in Emerging and Frontier Markets." – Andreas Koester, Head of EM and Frontier Investments. About Record Founded in 1983, Record is a specialist currency and asset manager offering best-in-class bespoke products to large global investors. The Group manages over US$100bn AUM for 140 institutional clients worldwide across FX Risk Management, Absolute Return and Private Markets. View source version on Contacts For further information please contact:Andreas Koester, CEO, EM and Frontier InvestmentsTel: +44 (0) 1753 852 222ClientTeam@
Mail & Guardian
27-06-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
We need to upgrade to Development Finance 4.0 — business as usual won't get us there
The UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Development finance has long served as the quiet scaffolding behind the social and economic progress of emerging markets. Today, we stand at a pivotal moment. As the global development landscape evolves, so too must the models that guide our financial strategies and instruments in delivering the development mandate. By building on past gains and embracing new forms of collaboration, we can design a more aligned and impactful financial ecosystem for the future. To meet the scale and complexity of today's development challenges, we must give careful and consolidated thought to how we organise, deploy and measure capital earmarked for development projects. This is the impetus behind Development Finance 4.0, a model I've begun to articulate that foregrounds collaboration, contextual intelligence and impact as central pillars of sustainable finance. In my years working across academia, government and development institutions, I've seen how even well-intentioned finance can underperform when it operates in isolation. Too often, governments, private investors, multilateral agencies and civil society pursue development goals independently and apply distinct metrics, risk appetites and timelines. This result is duplication, missed opportunities and diluted impact. Development Finance 4.0 proposes a fundamental shift — from fragmentation to alignment. It urges us to replace parallel pipelines with shared frameworks that enable mutual accountability and maximise developmental returns. This is not a rhetorical shift. It is an operational one. At its core, this next iteration of development finance rests on four non-negotiables: equity, ethics, sustainability and collaboration. These are not lofty ideals. They are the minimum conditions for meaningful effect. Blended finance will continue to be a central tool. When well-structured, it enables public and philanthropic capital to de-risk investments and mobilise private finance toward development goals. Between 2012 and 2020, blended finance mobilised over $51 billion in private capital, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Yet this figure remains modest in light of the $2.5 trillion annual financing gap for the sustainable development goals in developing countries. To strengthen these partnerships, the five anchoring principles of blended finance must be enhanced. These are the development rationale — begin with purpose. What development problems are we solving and why? Second, the mobilisation of commercial capital — does the partnership unlock private finance that would not otherwise materialise? Then comes local context and the question: are we designing solutions that reflect the institutional realities and lived experiences of the communities they serve? Effective partnership is vital too and whether roles are clearly defined and there is a mechanism to manage disputes, risk and accountability. Last, transparency and impact must be considered as well. Are we measuring what matters — and sharing those findings across stakeholders? Despite the growing chorus around impact investing, meaningful impact measurement remains the Achilles heel of development finance. The sector is rich in Without reliable, disaggregated data, we cannot answer some basic questions. What is the long-term value of improved access to education? How does a new health facility shift labour productivity over time? These ripple effects are critical for policymaking but often go undocumented. And this leaves gaps in learning and weakens trust between actors. Robust impact measurement goes beyond reporting. It is a shared learning process and a precondition for partnership. Governments, investors and communities need a common view of what success looks like, how we measure it and why it matters. In this model, impact or, more importantly, measured and communicated impact, becomes a currency of trust. If Development Finance 4.0 is to become more than a framework, education must play a catalytic role. The next generation of finance professionals must be equipped, not only with technical tools, but with a deep understanding of context, systems and ethical complexity. Students need to be challenged on their understanding of conventional financial instruments and assets, principles and their applicability to the ever-evolving development landscape. They must be able to grapple with contextual dynamics, systemic trade-offs and the ethical dimensions of development. They need to be equipped, not only as finance professionals, but as system builders and changemakers. That means going beyond case studies and spreadsheets to explore trade-offs, engage with community realities and interrogate the true meaning of development. Because, ultimately, finance as a catalyst for development, must reflect what we value, who we serve and how we define and achieve ethical, equitable, sustainable and collaborative development. Development finance is not charity, nor is it conventional capitalism. It is a form of purposeful capital deployment, designed to address systemic inequities and catalyse sustainable growth. But, to achieve this, we must move beyond legacy models built for a different era. The AU's Agenda 2063 and the UN's sustainable development goals set ambitious visions. Yet current fiscal trajectories and fragmented ecosystems place these targets out of reach. Africa alone faces a $1.6 trillion financing gap between now and 2030. Bridging this gap demands that all actors, be they public, private or philanthropic, come together, not as competitors, but as co-creators. The message is simple. The future of development finance will not be built alone. All hands must be on deck. Thus, financing sustainable development should be done with an ethical, equitable, sustainable and collaborative approach. Latif Alhassan is the professor of development finance and insurance, and programme director of the Master of Commerce in Development Finance,* at the UCT Graduate School of Business.
Zawya
04-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa's SMEs optimistic about 2025 economic climate, but will it last?
South African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) entered 2025 with an encouraging sense of optimism. This is according to the latest SME confidence Index, conducted by Business Partners Limited, which reveals that over 58% of respondents felt optimistic about the economic climate in 2025. David Morobe, executive general manager: Impact Investing at Business Partners Limited, notes that this surge in confidence is a positive shift for a sector that has weathered significant economic uncertainty in recent years. 'SMEs have displayed resilience and renewed hope for business growth in 2025, supported by factors such as the first interest rate cut since 2020 and lower inflation,' he says. Confidence indicators show positive trends Year-on-year, SME confidence improved across multiple areas. Levels of confidence that the South African economy will be conducive to business growth in the next 12 months increased by 9 percentage points, reaching 69%, while confidence levels that SMEs will experience business growth in the next 12 months rose to 84%, a 6-percentage point increase year-on-year. Confidence levels in access to business finance also climbed to 64% - up by 7 percentage points year-on-year – while levels of confidence in finding skilled staff improved to 72%, up by 3 percentage points year-on-year. Despite these gains, confidence in certain key areas remains subdued. SME confidence in South Africa's labour laws supporting business growth declined by 4 percentage points year-on-year to 59%. Whereas confidence in government efforts to foster SME development increased by 5 percentage points year-on-year, it dropped 3 percentage points quarter-on-quarter to 47%. Can this optimism withstand external challenges? While SMEs started the year with confidence, several external factors have already posed challenges for business growth in the first quarter. The national return of loadshedding and the introduction of water shedding in Johannesburg raise concerns about operational stability. Additionally, while South Africa's Government of National Unity (GNU) has remained somewhat stable, policy differences surrounding the outcomes of the rescheduled Budget Speech and international relations could impact SME confidence. 'SMEs thrive on stability, and while their confidence was high going into 2025, it remains critical that external factors such as infrastructure reliability be addressed. It is also important that investment into initiatives that stimulate economic growth and advance cooperation among Government leaders is prioritised to support sustained business growth,' says Morobe. The top three challenges identified in the SME Index are cash flow, economic conditions, and funding. While late client payments continue to be a concern, h the confidence that clients will pay on time has remained at 72% quarter-on-quarter. However, this represents a 3-percentage point improvement year-on-year. What SMEs need to thrive Access to finance remains a critical factor, with SMEs indicating importance levels of 86% when it comes to funding as essential for growth and sustainability. The importance of access to SME-specific information and resources increased to 85%, while mentorship remains highly valued, with an 83% importance rating. Social media as a marketing tool gained further recognition, rising to 86% in importance, a 2-percentage point increase year-on-year. Infrastructure concerns and opportunities For the first time, the SME Confidence Index explored perceptions of local infrastructure and its impact on business success. While a majority of SMEs view road (53.85%), water (62.35%), and waste/sanitation (61.65%) infrastructure in their business areas as suitable, a notable percentage of respondents indicated that infrastructure remains inadequate or only slowly improving. 'The findings highlight the need for ongoing investment in infrastructure to ensure businesses can operate optimally,' says Morobe. 'The government's commitment to accelerating infrastructure investment, as outlined in the recent 2025 Budget Speech, is a step in the right direction,' he concludes. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
