Ramaphosa: Investment conferences drive jobs and economic growth

President Cyril Ramaphosa used his weekly newsletter to push back against suggestions that investment conferences are “just for show”, asserting that pledges from SA Investment Conferences are translating into concrete investments and jobs.

• Main announcement: President Ramaphosa stated that investment conferences are an opportunity to connect investors with local opportunities, bringing together governments, business, banks and development finance institutions; he cited R1.5 trillion in pledges from the conferences of which R634 billion has already been invested into factories, mines, data centers, power plants and other infrastructure (examples: BMW R4.2 billion for Rosslyn electrification; Tetra Pak R500 million upgrade in KwaZulu-Natal; Corobrik R500 million Kwastina plant; Newlyn PX terminal began operating in 2024; Ivanplats Platreef mine opened last year and originated from a R2.8 billion pledge).
• Background and details: He acknowledged challenges such as GFCF at ~14% of GDP vs 30% target by 2030; noted actions to stabilise public finances, resolve the energy crisis and improve project planning, funding and execution; cited that South Africa’s non-financial companies held R1.8 trillion in reserves by July 2025; highlighted Microsoft’s partnership with the Youth Employment Service and a more than R5.4 billion commitment to expand cloud and AI infrastructure by 2027. The recent Infrastructure Investment Summit was convened by BlackRock (held last week).