News & snippets Industry
News & snippets Industry insights from the past quarter B20 South Africa urges global collaboration When South Africa took on the G20 Presidency, the Business 20 (B20) was also activated. Under the leadership of Business Unity South Africa, a June 2025 meeting of B20 South Africa highlighted the need for global cooperation as geopolitical fragmentation threatens to derail progress. At a high-level briefing, business leaders and select task force chairs presented emerging policy recommendations aimed at fostering inclusive growth, combating corruption and closing Africa’s infrastructure funding gap ahead of their official handover to the G20 Presidency in September. Busi Mabuza, Chair of the Trade and Investment Task Force, warned against rising protectionism. She called for a “New Deal for Africa”, accelerating the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), harmonising investment rules and ensuring climate policies do not exclude developing nations. Mxolisi Mgojo, B20 South Africa Co-Chair, noted that South Africa’s B20 Presidency is not Photograph, left to right: Sim Tshabalala, Chair of the Finance and Infrastructure Task Force, Busi Mabuza, Cas Coovadia, B20 South Africa Sherpa, Mxolisi Mgojo. just a national milestone but Africa’s moment to shape global economic policy. “In a fragmented world, Africa can be a bridge, balancing global tensions while driving inclusive growth,” he said. From dairy packaging to homes for bees One of South Africa's largest dairy manufacturers, Woodlands Dairy, has joined forces with Infinite Industries and Botes Honey Farms to create innovative beehives from recycled materials. Infinite Industries, which specialises in upcycling packaging material, transforms the packaging material from Tetra Pak, commonly used for packaging milk and other liquids, into sheeting boards. This collaboration marks a significant step towards enhancing environmental sustainability and supporting the vital bee population in the Eastern Cape. The upcycled sheeting boards help divert waste from landfills and oceans, reducing the need for virgin materials and promoting a lower carbon footprint. Infinite Industries is working closely with all Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) to establish the buyback value for these materials. In partnership with Botes Honey Farms, the team developed beehives and discovered that bees readily accepted the new material. The temperature inside the recycled hives remained consistent with that of traditional wooden hives. The art of fine wine Rare wines were the centrepiece of an online auction in June 2025 when the inaugural auction, The Grand Pour: Rare & Premier Wines, was hosted by Aspire Art and Rueda Wine Co. Among the South African bottles that went under the metaphorical hammer were Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2015, the first local wine to ever score a 100-point rating from Master of Wine, Porseleinberg Syrah 2018 and a product of the Swartland, Sadie Family Columella 2019, another Tim Atkin 100-pointer. International trophy wines included Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Grand Cru 2002, Masseto 2010, a so-called “Super-Tuscan” with a 100-point pedigree, and Château Lafite-Rothschild 2008, Bordeaux First Growth icon. South African gems included Mullineux, Boekenhoutskloof, Kanonkop and Porseleinberg, together with prestigious international estates with impeccable storage history and collector-grade provenance. The auction marked the launch of Aspire Art’s new dedicated wine-auction category, in partnership with Rueda Wine Co. The intention is to “cultivate and elevate premium collecting genres for both local and international audiences”. 4 | www.opportunityonline.co.za
ECONOMIST OF THE YEAR Unveiling the top three economists of 2024 Joint winners of the 2024 BMR/Unisa Economist of the Year Competition were Dr Johannes Jordaan, left, and Ulrich Joubert, centre. The runner-up was Jee-A van der Linde, shown here on the right addressing the audience at the awards evening. Top prize in the 2024 BMR/Unisa Economist of the Year Competition was shared. The top three economists of the 2024 BMR/Unisa Economist of the Year Competition were announced at an awards ceremony in June 2025 in Pretoria. The top three economists of 2024 include two joint winners and one runner-up. The 2024 joint winners of this prestigious competition are as follows: • Dr Johannes Jordaan, Chief Economist and Managing Director of Economic Modelling Solutions. He is also an associate econometrician at Econometrix. This is the third time that Dr Jordaan has been a winner in this competition. • Mr Ulrich Joubert, who is an independent economist. He is a past chairman of the Johannesburg Afrikaanse Sakekamer as well as the Economic Advisory Committee of the Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut (AHI). This is the sixth time that Joubert is a winner of this competition. The runner-up of the 2024 competition is Jee-A van der Linde who is a Senior Economist at Oxford Economics Africa. Van der Linde was a runner-up in the 2023 BMR/Unisa Economist of the Year Competition. The two winners and the runner-up succeeded in masterfully forecasting the eight economic variables of the competition with remarkable precision throughout the tumultuous year of 2024. This was achieved despite the overwhelming social, economic, business and political uproar during the year, which collectively posed formidable challenges to crafting precise and reliable economic forecasts. Such challenges included persistent and crippling levels of loadshedding, very high public debt levels, the economic stigma and constraints of greylisting, political uncertainty and freight and logistics issues which had a big impact on trade and supply chains. These uncertainties were compounded by governance issues such as corruption and systemic inefficiencies, global geopolitical conflicts, structural and infrastructural constraints, depressed levels of business and consumer confidence, social instability and the deterioration of crucial international relations with key trading allies. Performance of the economy Given all these challenges, it is no wonder that the economists who participated in the 2024 Economist of the Year Competition were fairly pessimistic about the performance of the South African economy throughout 2024. The initial consensus forecasts in February 2024 showed a median real economic growth rate of 1.0%, for which forecasts remained at that low level throughout the year. The same is true with respect to the median forecast for real household consumption expenditure growth in 2024, which remained at about 1.2% throughout the year. The actual figures indicate that the South African economy recorded a real economic growth rate of 0.6% and real household consumption expenditure of 1.0% in 2024. Value of forecasts Despite all the challenges to producing accurate economic forecasts, forecasts of greatest likelihood remain indispensable to government institutions, businesses, investors and the broader public. Drawing on artificial intelligence insights, the most effective forecasters are characterised by traits such as data realism, intellectual curiosity, openmindedness, mathematical rigour and a commitment to lifelong learning. The economists who participated in the 2024 BMR/Unisa Economist of the Year Competition exemplify these traits. As the 2025 leg of the competition continues, the BMR and Unisa look forward to recognising another cohort of forecasting excellence in June 2026. COMPETITION STRUCTURE Participants enter the competition at the start of the year and submit their predictions for a number of prescribed economic variables. Economic forecast figures are updated on a monthly basis by each participant. The first forecast at the start of the year is made without guidance or “benchmarks”. For subsequent months the organiser (BMR) sends each participant a spreadsheet with all the participants’ forecasts for the previous month, together with the “consensus forecast” (the mean of all the submitted values) for each variable. Participants then submit an updated set of predictions. When the adjudication panel performs the calculations to determine the winner of the competition, the “consensus forecast” is treated as a participant. The winner of the competition is determined by means of a formula that has remained unchanged since the competition’s inception. The adjudication panel obtains most of the data against which the forecasts are measured from the March issue of the Reserve Bank’s Quarterly Bulletin of the following year. www.opportunityonline.co.za | 5
