The Monocle Banking Podcast

South Africa’s economic outlook is showing signs of improvement, but is the progress as promising as it seems?

Michael Avery was joined by Dr Azar Jammine, Director and Chief Economist at Econometrix, to unpack the country’s fiscal position and broader economic outlook. From narrowing budget deficits and the impact of rising commodity prices to persistent unemployment and growing infrastructure backlogs, the conversation explored whether recent improvements reflect meaningful progress or mask deeper structural weaknesses. They also discussed the role of economic reforms, investment and sustainable growth in shaping South Africa’s financial future.

Is South Africa’s economy being held back by its own policies? With unemployment remaining high and economic freedom rankings declining, the need for reform is becoming increasingly urgent.

In this episode of the Monocle Banking Podcast, Michael Avery spoke to Neil Emerick, Deputy Chair of the Free Market Foundation, about South Africa’s economic challenges, restrictive regulations and declining investor confidence. Drawing comparisons with Kenya and Argentina, the conversation explored the reforms needed to unlock investment, strengthen economic freedom and drive sustainable growth.

A more open, competitive payments system could reshape how South Africa transacts - but key reforms are still taking shape.

Michael Avery spoke with Lincoln Mali, CEO of Lesaka Technologies, about the progress made in reshaping South Africa’s payments ecosystem and the reforms still needed to unlock greater competition. They explored the shift away from bank-led self-regulation, the potential of activity-based regulation to open the market to fintechs, and why lower costs, greater transparency and more accessible digital payment options could benefit merchants and consumers alike. The conversation also examined the potential of PayShap and a unified QR standard to accelerate digital adoption, as well as the importance of regulatory clarity in turning reform into meaningful change.

Geopolitical disruption is no longer an occasional shock - it is becoming a permanent feature of the business landscape. From fractured supply chains and energy insecurity to infrastructure constraints and technological concentration, leaders are being forced to rethink how they plan, invest and build resilience.

In this episode of the Monocle Banking Podcast, Michael Avery spoke with Claudio Campanini, Kearney’s Middle East and Africa Regional Chair, and Prashaen Reddy, Partner at Kearney, about why traditional forecasting is giving way to scenario-based planning. They explored how geopolitical risk is reshaping capital allocation, infrastructure and supply chains, what South Africa could learn from the Middle East’s approach to resilience and diversification, and why boards need to build greater agility into their organisations to navigate an increasingly unpredictable global environment.

Absa’s appointment as master custodian for South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) marks a significant development in the country’s pension landscape.

Michael Avery was joined by Hazel Khumalo, Managing Executive, Pan Africa Sales, Investor Services at Absa CIB, to unpack what the mandate means and how the role of custody had evolved beyond simply safeguarding assets. They explored the growing importance of independent oversight as pension funds expanded into private and cross-border investments, as well as the role of local expertise, pension reform and emerging technology in shaping the future of custody in Africa.

Standard Bank processed R88 trillion in payments in the first half of 2026 alone - but as payment systems become increasingly open and interconnected, where will the real competitive advantage lie?

Michael Avery spoke to Richard de Roos, recently appointed Group Head of Payments at Standard Bank, about the changing payments landscape across Africa and why payment infrastructure could increasingly become a shared utility. They explored how this shift could move competition beyond the payment rails themselves towards the data, AI-driven services and broader banking solutions built around them, as well as the role of regulation in shaping more open and interoperable payment ecosystems across the continent.

In reputation management, the real work happens before the crisis.

Michael Avery spoke to Daniel Munslow, Managing Executive for Group Communications and Reputation at Absa Group, about why organisations need to rethink how they protect trust in a world of misinformation, social media scrutiny and rapidly shifting narratives. They explored the move from crisis response to early detection, and how organisations can build the trust equity they need before things go wrong.

Munslow also shared how AI was changing the way teams monitored reputation and identified emerging risks - while highlighting why human judgement, decisive action and credible communication remained essential.

South Africa is leading Africa in generative AI adoption, but the real opportunity lies not in using AI for everyday tasks, but in fundamentally changing how work gets done.

Michael Avery spoke to Ravi Bhat, Microsoft’s Commercial Solutions and AI Officer, about the rapid evolution of AI in banking and the shift towards an increasingly agentic workforce. They explored how banks, such as Investec, can move from AI pilots to meaningful, organisation-wide adoption, the role of AI in transforming customer experiences and legacy systems, and what the rise of AI means for junior professionals and the future of work.

South Africa has no shortage of entrepreneurial ambition - so why are so many businesses struggling to survive and scale? Michael Avery was joined by Angus Bowmaker-Falconer, research fellow at Stellenbosch Business School and co-author of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, and Prof Natanya Meyer, acting SARChI Chair in Entrepreneurship Education at the University of Johannesburg.

They explored SA’s entrepreneurship crisis, unpacking the systemic barriers holding businesses back - from red tape and fragmented government support to access to finance, markets and infrastructure - and discussed what needs to change to create a stronger environment for entrepreneurs to start, survive and grow.

To understand the investment opportunities shaping the third quarter, Michael Avery spoke to Anchor Capital Chief Investment Officers Peter Armitage and Nolan Wapenaar. They unpacked whether the scale of AI investment represented sustainable growth or signs of a bubble, where value could still be found in South African equities and bonds, and how investors could navigate geopolitical uncertainty, shifting interest-rate expectations and improving local reform momentum.