Tag: economic crisis

Let’s not pretend! Times are tough! A flailing economy, escalating costs, load shedding, geopolitical tensions and elections coming up in 2024 - to name a few challenges. So how do we keep our heads down and our businesses afloat? Often, the same strategies that help achieve success during ‘easier’ years still largely apply – albeit with a heightened focus.

The need for trust within the banking sector has, in recent years, never been more important than it is today. Recent times have seen the South African banking public being exposed to news of bank failures elsewhere and if that was not enough worry for the consumers, their stresses are further aggravated by their inability to meet their repayment obligations to their creditors brought about by the rising global cost of living crisis and the ongoing energy crisis.

The notion of a polycrisis – various systemic crisis occurring simultaneously and interacting with one another – has been around for a while but has gained renewed traction for obvious reasons.

Businesses should prepare for a rise in civil unrest incidents as the cost of living crisis follows hard on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. What can we learn from the protests we saw during the height of the pandemic and what role could social media play in intensifying future disruption?  

Whilst listening to a recent presentation by Absa's equity analyst Samantha Naicker titled 'Navigating the Maze' on South African Food Producers, I stumbled on a theory dubbed 'The Lipstick Effect'.

The bank is taking a cautious approach due to pandemic uncertainty but says payouts may resume as early as June. Nedbank won't be paying a final dividend for 2020 after rising credit impairments, fewer transactions and falling interest rates resulted in a big decline in full-year earnings. But it is confident that payouts will resume this year.

South African companies are acknowledging that the post COVID-19 period requires new thinking on talent and skills retention, embracing technology, incorporating sustainability in business models, and investing more in employee well-being, benefits and engagement.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a highly volatile and uncertain environment for businesses resulting in a litany of new or heightened risks for directors and officers (D&O) as well as exacerbating the situation in an already strained D&O insurance market.

We hope you will join us for an upcoming public webinar, The Zimbabwe Crisis: from revolt to reform, on Tuesday, 22 September 2020, at 15:00 – 17:00hrs (SAST). Please register online to attend HERE | The event will be held over Zoom |