Tag: insurance

The past two financial years brought significant financial disruption across sub-Saharan Africa. Economies, corporates, and consumers faced sustained pressure due to challenging macro-economic factors. Structural changes in the video entertainment industry further compounded this disruption.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms have fast-tracked automation in South Africa’s insurance industry. However, these solutions also introduce unique cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Specifically, adversarial attacks can compromise the accuracy of risk assessments, bypass fraud detection and disrupt claims processing. Without proper digital security in place, this can lead to compliance violations and severely damage the reputation of local insurers.

Capitec, South Africa’s leading digital bank, has achieved a remarkable milestone, now serving more than half of the country’s adult population. Over the past five years, the bank's journey has included the introduction of business banking, value-added services (VAS), Capitec Connect and insurance under its own insurance licence.

Businesses have ranked political risks and violence as a top 10 global risk for the past three years, according to our Risk Barometer 2025. This demonstrates that soaring civil unrest and protest activity has become a key concern for companies of all sizes.

Extreme weather events - floods, droughts, typhoons and wildfires - and their frequency - are getting worse. In the past, these disasters were considered unpredictable, inalterable natural events. Today, extreme weather events are largely accepted as inevitable, and their severity and frequency influenced, if not caused, by human activity.

Read our exclusive cover story titled Blurred lines – [un]natural disasters and insurance risk by Donald Dinnie, Director, and Danita Mungaroo, Candidate Attorney, Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa, plus a host of other topical management articles written by professionals, consultants and academics.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) increases customs duties for online retail orders as part of a broader strategy to promote local businesses and address global supply chain imbalances. The clothing and textile industry has faced widescale criticism for controversial environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. South African consumers may imagine themselves to be far from the hub of these issues. However, we are all participants in the global supply and demand for fashion.

Conversations about the war for talent in financial services have persisted for many years. Competition to attract skilled individuals has always been intense, with high demand for talented professionals. This competition has intensified recently as hiring activity accelerates to meet today's significant challenges.

Despite unprecedented external headwinds, MultiChoice achieved positive operational outcomes. Most notably, currency depreciation reduced trading profit by ZAR7 billion. This impact was felt over the last 18 months. However, through active interventions, MultiChoice navigated these challenges effectively. These efforts spanned the six months ending 30 September 2024 (1H FY25).

When was the last time you bought something with physical cash or wrote out a cheque? In fact, how often do you even have to do money transfers on your laptop rather than your phone? When did you last have a one-on-one appointment with your insurance broker? Pick any area of finance and you’ll likely find similarly big changes over the past couple of decades.