Tag: Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)

Small and Medium Enterprises are the cornerstone of the global economy. The 2024 United Nations General Assembly designated June 27 as "Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Day" to raise awareness of their contributions toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - specifically SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure).

The operating environment during the first 6 months of 2024 was challenging and economic activity remained weak, impacted by geopolitical uncertainty, high interest rates, persistent inflation and general uncertainty ahead of the national elections in South Africa (SA).

Three decades into our constitutional democracy, the remnants of our dark past continue to lurk in the layered echelons of our unequal society. In commemoration of Freedom Day, we are reminded that though blood was shed and sacrifices were made to attain this freedom, not all South Africans are privy to its gains. Many South Africans are politically free yet economically poor.

When we think about the impact that private credit and other forms of financing have on African companies, we tend to think about things like business growth and success. But the impact that private capital in particular has goes far beyond that.

A world in which women thrive is a better world. Although gender inequality remains rife globally, significant strides are being made on one of society’s most influential platforms: the boardrooms of big businesses. There is consensus that change in workplaces in Africa and around the world generally start at the top, at board level.

We are working towards developing a new breed of entrepreneurs, one that’s future fit, disruptive, and geared to solving the challenges of an increasingly complex world. As South Africa considers the challenges and opportunities facing our youth, there has never been a greater need for inclusive entrepreneurship.

ESG investing is a term that is often used interchangeably with sustainable investing and socially responsible investing. It began in the 1960s with investors excluding stocks or entire industries from their portfolios based on business activities such as tobacco production or involvement in the South African apartheid regime.

We are pleased to share our fifth South Africa Economic Outlook report for 2023. This edition focuses on the need for companies to report non-financial data in order to help measure socio-economic progress better than is currently being done by the calculation of gross domestic product (GDP).

Strong revenue growth enabled headline earnings growth of 20% to R14bn, an increase in ROE to 14% and a CET1 ratio of 14%

The world is emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, more fragmented and further away from the more equal and equitable iteration imagined in 2015 when the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were conceptualised. As we hurtle at seemingly lightning speed towards the 2030 deadline to achieve these goals, the urgency is palpable.