South Africa Puts Delivery Record on Show at London Investment Forum

At the Investing in Africa Conference in London, Brand South Africa and its partners are putting the practical machinery of South Africa’s economic renewal on display, framing the country not through ambition but through what has actually been built, fixed and delivered. On 13 October 2026, together with the South African High Commission in the United Kingdom, Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal (TIKZN) and the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism and Film Authority, the agency hosts the South Africa Country Summit at the Park Plaza Westminster Hotel. The session is designed to show prospective investors and fund managers a country whose reforms have moved from policy documents into operating reality.

The reform record presented to delegates is one the organisers describe as verifiable rather than rhetorical. South Africa exited the FATF grey list in October 2025, confirming stronger anti-money-laundering and financial-integrity controls. In November 2025, S&P raised the country’s rating to BB, the first upgrade in nearly 20 years. The national grid has now run for more than 400 days without load shedding, an operational milestone that carries as much weight in investment conversations as any rating action.

Delivery is also visible in the infrastructure pipeline. More than 220 GW of renewable energy projects are in development. Eleven private train operating companies have been selected to run 41 freight routes across six corridors, putting private operators onto the country’s freight network. The Independent Transmission Projects framework has been finalised, giving the power sector a new structural tool. At the 2026 South Africa Investment Conference, investors announced commitments of R889.8 billion across 81 projects from 22 source markets. The organisers are careful to note that these are commitments rather than funds already disbursed, an honest distinction in a country trying to convert pledges into shovels in the ground.

Opening the summit, South Africa’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, His Excellency Jeremiah Mamabolo, put hard numbers behind the working relationship with the host country. 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 reforms that unlock growth. We are open for investment and ready to partner,” he said.

Advocate Cawekazi Mahlati, Board Member of Brand South Africa, framed the pitch in terms of proof rather than promise. “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.”

Meanwhile, provincial delivery took centre stage through KwaZulu-Natal, the country’s second-largest provincial economy with a GDP of R781.8 billion. Innocent Hlongwana, Executive Manager: Investment Promotion at TIKZN, presented the operating track record: 38 UK projects worth R9.34 billion and more than 5,300 jobs recorded in the province since 2003, with London the source of 21 of those projects and R8.15 billion of the investment. On the operational side, the province offers two special economic zones, the country’s two busiest ports and a young workforce. “UK investors already know KwaZulu-Natal … the province is ready for the next phase of that partnership,” Hlongwana said.

The summit’s sector focus sessions sit on top of this delivery story in four areas: business process outsourcing, fintech, banking and tourism. The underlying capacity is measurable. South Africa hosts Africa’s largest bond, derivatives and currency markets, 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 delivered a record 10.5 million arrivals in 2025, the first time above the 2019 peak and 17.7% up on 2024.

Implementation runs through the programme itself. A panel discussion on investing in South Africa’s tech infrastructure and digital economy for industrial development is moderated by Namhla Mungwe, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ Regional Lead for the International Region. Alongside Advocate Mahlati, the panellists are 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. Batho Molapo, First Secretary Political at the South African High Commission, delivers the closing remarks.

The summit sits within the 2026 AFSIC edition, running 13 and 14 October at the Park Plaza Westminster Hotel, which draws more than 1,500 investors, fund managers, government and business leaders, over 350 speakers and investment opportunities from more than 40 African countries. For Brand South Africa, whose mandate is to manage the Nation Brand reputation and improve the country’s global competitiveness, the event is an exercise in matching a national story to operational proof. Spokespeople are available for interview during AFSIC on 13 and 14 October, with media enquiries directed to Phindile Mathebula. The question the day leaves open for the delegation is the one that matters to operators of any economy: whether the commitments announced can be converted into completed projects at the pace the reform agenda now demands.