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<p>In this Focus On special we place Absa&#8217;s sustainable financial interest in the spotlight. We found out what how important Africa&#8217;s mineral and metals are to speed up the green transition journey and where Absa&#8217;s interests lie.</p>


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Focus On: Driving the future of green energy forward

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<p>The mining and metals sector is evolving to meet the growing demand for improved operations, higher safety standards, cost-efficiency, and increased profitability. While innovative technologies lead this transformation, collaboration across sectors, along with supportive policies and investments, is vital to redefining the industry&#8217;s role in the global economy. A panel of industry experts joins CNBC Africa to explore the technological and strategic innovations shaping the future of mining amid the great energy transition.</p>


African Mining Indaba: Key Themes & Takeaways from the 2025 Mining Indaba

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<p>The largest mining Indaba returns to Cape Town for its 2025 addition. This Focus On highlights what Absa&#8217;s strategy is for 2025 and what the current PGM trends are.</p>


Focus On African Mining Indaba 2025: Future-proofing African mining, today

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<p>The Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) was one of the many South African organizations attending the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. We catch up with some of South Africa&#8217;s key messaging at the Forum.</p>


Focus On WEF 2025: Gauteng prepares to host G20 Summit

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<p>This session unpacks the broad spectrum of investment opportunities within Africa’s critical minerals and rare earth projects. It will focus on creating an enabling environment that attracts key producers and buyers, as well as navigating the competitive landscape and exploring collaborative approaches among governments, private sector players and international partners.</p>


Critical Minerals Conference 2024: Investment Forum

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<p>This episode of Focus On explores initiatives to empower and support women-led SMEs through access to funding, resources, and network opportunities just ahead of Women’s Month in South Africa. CNBC Africa spotlight one such initiative called She’s Next, a collaborative effort by Visa and Absa that has rolled out recently.</p>


Focus On: She’s Next Programme

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<p>This Focus On episode, hosted at the ninth Forbes Woman Africa Leading Women Summit highlights the importance of International Women&#8217;s Day and the initiatives global payment technology company Visa is taking to advance women in business and society. Lineshree Moodley, Country Head at Visa South Africa and Vusi Fele, Chief Procurement Officer at Absa joins CNBC Africa to expand on their partnership on Visa&#8217;s initiatives.</p>


Focus On Forbes Woman Africa: Absa, Visa partner to empower women-led businesses in South Africa

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<p>CNBC Africa puts the Focus On opportunities for mining in Africa, and embracing the power of positive disruption &#8211; coming from the 30th Mining Indaba in Cape Town.</p>


Absa Focus On Mining Indaba: Investment opportunities in Africa’s mining industry

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<p>From the 30th Mining Indaba in Cape Town, we look at the effect of at mineral export bans on investment opportunities and finding a balance between reducing mineral exports and feeding global demand.</p>


Absa Focus On Mining Indaba: Reflecting on Africa’s mining industry

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<p>At this year&#8217;s WEF meetings, South Africa is determined to establish itself as a thriving technological hub, enabling development through technological advancement and centering innovation at its core of governance and operations.</p>


DAVOS 2024: Focus On the development and progress of South African banking


<p><em>Despite a string of supply-side shocks to the manufacturing sector, Justin Schmidt, Head of Manufacturing Sector at Absa Retail and Business Bank, found a positive mood and encouraging interactions at the 2022 Manufacturing Indaba.</em></p>



<p>The mood from delegates and exhibitors at the 2022 Manufacturing Indaba was more positive than what the data is indicating. “Overall, the conference had surprisingly strong attendance, with some great engagements across the manufacturing sub-sectors,” says Schmidt.</p>



<p>According to Absa’s Q2 Manufacturing Survey – published just a day before the Manufacturing Indaba opened at the Sandton Convention Centre – confidence levels in the sector dropped by 14 points from the first quarter of the year to 29 in the second, following a string of bad-news events.</p>



<p>“After surviving the past two years, manufacturers continued their recovery despite the headwinds,” says Schmidt. “However, the additional shocks caused by the floods in KwaZulu-Natal (Africa’s second-biggest manufacturing hub), the increased intensity of load shedding and the knock-on effects of the Russia-Ukraine war have weighed heavily on manufacturers. Unsurprisingly, that resulted in this knock to confidence.”&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spillover-effects"><strong>Spillover effects</strong></h2>



<p>The quarterly survey covers approximately 700 businesspeople in the manufacturing sector and was conducted by Stellenbosch University’s Bureau for Economic Research in May. The confidence index ranges between zero and 100, with zero reflecting an extreme lack of confidence and 100 extreme confidence, where all participants are satisfied with current business conditions.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The manufacturing sector’s seasonally adjusted output for April 2022, as published by Statistics South Africa, also fell by 5.4% month-on-month. At the same time, Absa’s survey indicated a drop in both domestic and export sales, with manufacturers noting insufficient demand as a more serious constraint to current activities than at the start of the year.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“As consumers feel the pinch of rising food and fuel prices, along with increasing interest rates, the manufacturing sector may experience the spillover effect of reduced disposable income resulting in lower demand,” Schmidt notes.</p>



<p>Load shedding has also taken its toll. For manufacturers, Stage 2 load shedding – while difficult – is manageable because it allows for planning and scheduling, and it tends to happen at night. However, when South Africa moves into Stage 4 (as it did in Q2) or higher, it is a lot more difficult and costly for manufacturers to operate.</p>



<p>“Power is both the biggest enabler of, and the biggest constraint on, South Africa’s manufacturing growth going forward,” says Schmidt. “We must solve the power crisis – and while we are seeing some positive moves there, it needs to happen much quicker.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Reigniting economic growth through manufacturing</strong></h2>



<p>Manufacturers are fully aware of the constraints on and hindrances to production with shortages of raw material ranked as their second largest constraint to activity. “There remain overarching concerns around supply chain uncertainty and rising prices,” says Schmidt.</p>



<p>The Manufacturing Indaba included breakaway sessions focused on precisely those issues: energy, transport and logistics, localisation – and, of course, value chain integration in the age of the African Continental Free Trade Area. It’s a busy sector, and one that – as the event’s theme underlined – has the potential to “reignite economic growth”.</p>



<p>With that big picture in mind, Schmidt says the short-term sentiment for South Africa’s manufacturing sector remains generally positive. “Looking further ahead, we need to see structural reforms taking place to see long-term growth and recovery,” he says. “But overall, it’s a positive sector. Manufacturing has survived the shocks of the past two years, and the sector was showing an unexpectedly strong recovery into Q1 2022. It’s reasonable to expect that it will survive those Q2 shocks and bounce back in time.”</p>



<p></p>



<p>Justin Schmidt<br>Head of Manufacturing Sector at Absa Retail and Business Bank</p>



<p><em>“Power is both the biggest enabler of, and the biggest constraint on, South Africa’s manufacturing growth.” – Justin Schmidt | Head of Manufacturing Sector at Absa Retail and Business Bank</em></p>



<p></p>


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Mixed mood sets the tone at Manufacturing Indaba

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<p>East African countries yesterday presented their respective FY2021/22 budgets and S&#038;P Global Ratings affirmed Uganda’s B/B foreign and local currency long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings. Ridle Markus, Africa Strategist for Absa Corporate &#038; Investment Banking joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


S&P Global affirms Uganda’s B/B foreign and local currency

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<p>The ABSA Purchasing Managers&#8217; Index rose to 57.8 points in May, the highest it’s been in 7 months. Absa says four of the five subcomponents remained well above the neutral 50-point mark with only the employment index dipping back into negative terrain. Joining CNBC Africa for more is Miyelani Maluleke, Macroeconomist at ABSA Corporate &#038; Investment Banking.</p>


ABSA May PMI jumps to 7-month high

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<p>The exit of Daniel Mminele from his post as Absa CEO has sparked conversation on transformation in banking.</p>


Evaluating transformation in SA’s banking sector

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<p>Absa Corporate and Investment Banking is hosting a virtual round table on the outlook on South Africa&#8217;s economy for the second quarter of this year. The bank says recent macroeconomic performance has surprised to the upside, with strong activity indicators, subdued inflation, robust trade surpluses and much better-than-expected tax collections. Now with no sign of the anticipated third wave of Covid-19, the future picture of our economy may be changing. Peter Worthington,  Senior Economist at Absa joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


South Africa’s economic performance surprises on the upside

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<p>Last week former Absa CEO left the bank in a surprise exit after just 15 months at the helm. He cited the non-alignment on matters of strategy and culture transformation and the bank has since appointed Director, Jason Quinn as interim CEO. But Despite this there are still some questions about Mminele&#8217;s abrupt exit and the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals also has questions about this. The Association’s Treasurer General, Khaya Sithole joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


What Mminele’s abrupt departure means for black professionals in SA’s financial sector

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<p>ABSA employees have been called to demonstrate over former CEO, Daniel Mminele&#8217;s abrupt exit from the bank, and to share their goodbye messages Mminele resigned from the bank earlier this week citing differences with the board on strategy, but unions say they are puzzled by this move. General Secretary of Banking and Finance Union SASBO, Joe Kokela joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Absa

Focus On: Driving the future of green energy forward

African Mining Indaba: Key Themes & Takeaways from the 2025 Mining Indaba

Focus On African Mining Indaba 2025: Future-proofing African mining, today

Focus On WEF 2025: Gauteng prepares to host G20 Summit

Critical Minerals Conference 2024: Investment Forum

Focus On: She’s Next Programme

Focus On Forbes Woman Africa: Absa, Visa partner to empower women-led businesses in South Africa

Absa Focus On Mining Indaba: Investment opportunities in Africa’s mining industry

Absa Focus On Mining Indaba: Reflecting on Africa’s mining industry

DAVOS 2024: Focus On the development and progress of South African banking

Mixed mood sets the tone at Manufacturing Indaba

S&P Global affirms Uganda’s B/B foreign and local currency

ABSA May PMI jumps to 7-month high

Evaluating transformation in SA’s banking sector

South Africa’s economic performance surprises on the upside

What Mminele’s abrupt departure means for black professionals in SA’s financial sector

SASBO questions ABSA interim CEO appointment

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Absa

Focus On: Driving the future of green energy forward

African Mining Indaba: Key Themes & Takeaways from the 2025 Mining Indaba

Focus On African Mining Indaba 2025: Future-proofing African mining, today

Focus On WEF 2025: Gauteng prepares to host G20 Summit

Critical Minerals Conference 2024: Investment Forum

Focus On: She’s Next Programme

Focus On Forbes Woman Africa: Absa, Visa partner to empower women-led businesses in South Africa

Absa Focus On Mining Indaba: Investment opportunities in Africa’s mining industry

Absa Focus On Mining Indaba: Reflecting on Africa’s mining industry

DAVOS 2024: Focus On the development and progress of South African banking

Mixed mood sets the tone at Manufacturing Indaba

S&P Global affirms Uganda’s B/B foreign and local currency

ABSA May PMI jumps to 7-month high

Evaluating transformation in SA’s banking sector

South Africa’s economic performance surprises on the upside

What Mminele’s abrupt departure means for black professionals in SA’s financial sector

SASBO questions ABSA interim CEO appointment

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