Brand South Africa, working with the South African High Commission in the United Kingdom, Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal (TIKZN) and the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism and Film Authority, today hosts the South Africa Country Summit

at the Investing in Africa Conference (AFSIC) at the Park Plaza Westminster Hotel, presenting South Africa as a credible, reform-driven investment destination. The session, themed around South Africa as the African business process outsourcing

(BPO), fintech and banking hub and the continent’s leading tourist destination, is aimed at prospective investors and fund managers among the more than 1,500 investors, fund managers, government and business leaders attending AFSIC.

Opening the summit, South Africa’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, His Excellency Jeremiah Mamabolo, said: “Trade between South Africa and the United Kingdom reached £12.5 billion in 2025, and UK investment in South Africa stood at £23.7 billion at the end of 2023. This is a relationship built on trust, and South Africa is a country in renewal, strengthening its institutions and accelerating the reformsthat unlock growth. We are open for investment and ready to partner.” Advocate Cawekazi Mahlati, Board Member of Brand South Africa, said: “Investors want evidence, not slogans. South Africa has exited the FATF grey list, received its first credit rating upgrade in nearly 20 years, and has gone more than 400 days without load shedding.

Add the strength of our BPO, fintech, banking and tourism sectors, and the evidence is there. Brand South Africa’s role is to make sure the world sees it.” From a provincial perspective, Innocent Hlongwana, Executive Manager: Investment Promotion at Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal, said: “UK investors already know KwaZulu-Natal: 38 projects, R9.34 billion and more than 5,000 jobs since 2003, with most of that investment coming from London. With two special economic zones, the country’s two busiest ports and a young workforce, the province is ready for the next phase of that

partnership.”

Reform that investors can verify

South Africa was removed from the FATF grey list in October 2025, confirming stronger anti-money-laundering and financial-integrity controls, and S&P upgraded the country’s rating to BB in November 2025, the first upgrade in nearly 20 years. Reform is moving from policy to delivery: more than 220 GW of renewable projects are in development, eleven private train operating companies have been selected to run 41 freight routes across six corridors, and the Independent Transmission Projects framework has been finalised. At the 2026 South Africa Investment Conference, investors announced commitments of R889.8billion across 81 projects from 22 source markets. These are commitments, not funds already disbursed.

Strengths in the summit’s four focus sectors

South Africa hosts Africa’s largest bond, derivatives and currency markets, and its fintechs are scaling into multiple African markets. It has more operational data centres than any other African country, and mobile broadband now covers more than 90% of the population. Tourism reached a record 10.5 million arrivals in 2025, the first time above the 2019 peak,

and 17.7% up on 2024. KwaZulu-Natal, the second-largest provincial economy in South Africa with a GDP of R781.8 billion, is already a major destination for UK capital. Since 2003, 38 UK projects

worth R9.34 billion have been recorded in the province, creating 5,313 jobs, with London the source of 21 of those projects and R8.15 billion of the investment. The programme includes a panel discussion on investing in South Africa’s tech

infrastructure and digital economy for industrial development, moderated by Namhla Mungwe, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ Regional Lead for the International Region. Panellists are Advocate Mahlati; Svend Littauer, CEO of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the UK; Jacqueline Rainers-Setai, Acting Investment Promotions Manager at the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism and Film Authority; and Monica Shupikai Simmons, Head of Private Capital at RMB. The summit closes with remarks from Batho Molapo, First Secretary Political at the South African High Commission. Brand South Africa’s presence at AFSIC supports its mandate to manage the nation’s brand reputation and improve South Africa’s global competitiveness.

ENDS