Management

South Africa has a thriving and growing tourism market. It attracts local, regional and international tourists to our shores. Visitors come here because they want to experience something uniquely South African. They seek experiences that cannot be replicated anywhere else. Against this backdrop, hospitality emerges as a powerful catalyst for accelerating localisation.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has moved quickly from pilot projects to boardroom discussions across South Africa. For mid-market businesses, the pressure is very real. Costs are rising. Teams are stretched. Operational efficiency is no longer optional. What is becoming clear is that most organisations do not need ambitious AI programmes to see value. Instead, they need practical applications that reduce friction in existing work.

South Africa’s financial institutions are investing heavily in digital transformation, data capabilities and new financial technologies. However, technology alone will not determine which institutions succeed in the coming decade. Instead, leadership will serve as the real differentiator.

I have spent my career watching South African Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) owners achieve extraordinary results with limited resources. Their resilience is well known. However, this does not remove the difficult path that entrepreneurship often entails. According to our recent Emotional Tax Return report, 95% of South African SME owners make personal sacrifices to sustain their businesses.

South African labour law is often accused of being “too employee-friendly”. Employers complain that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) favours workers, that dismissal has become impossible, and that labour regulation is strangling business.

In April 2024, when 18 months of rain fell on Dubai in a single day, more than 1,200 flights had to be cancelled, stranding over 250,000 travellers in terminals. Late last year, Cyclone Ditwah wreaked havoc in Sri Lanka during peak tourist season, forcing mass evacuations of foreign visitors. Right now, conflict in the Middle East continues to ground flights and drive disruption, further intensifying ongoing business travel disruptions.

According to our latest C-suite barometer, business leaders entered 2026 with both confidence and caution. Notably, 92% of executives reported a positive growth outlook for their organisations. At the same time, Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerged as the most influential external trend. Specifically, 40% of respondents identified it as the key factor shaping business over the next 12 months.

A paradigm shift is necessary to ensure that shareholders, customers, employees and society benefit from good governance outcomes. The introduction of the King V Code on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2025 (King V) marks a clear turning point. Governance no longer functions as a simple administrative task.

South Africa's agribusiness sector offers substantial investment and entrepreneurial opportunities. Securing capital is often critical for agricultural projects. However, the fundraising process involves meeting sector-specific legal and regulatory requirements that distinguish it from other commercial financing.

In today’s South African corporate landscape, shaped by governance scrutiny, activist shareholders, geopolitical volatility, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) pressure and rapid technological disruption, the role of the CEO has changed fundamentally. Boards are no longer looking for steady operators. They are looking for strategic architects of resilience, growth and trust. Achieving CEO excellence is now essential.