BUSINESS PARTNERS – Small businesses urged to ‘go solar’ following the 2023 Budget Speech

Loading player...
GUEST – Jeremy Lang - Chief Investment Officer at Business Partners Limited



If anything, the 2023 Budget Speech revealed it was that devising a targeted plan to solve South Africa’s ongoing energy crisis remains the government’s top priority. The immediate future will see a concerted and collective focus on bringing together the public and private sectors in a bid to fuel the clean-energy transition and end loadshedding.



For small businesses looking to ride this wave on the path to post-pandemic recovery, the key is to “go solar”. This is the opinion of Jeremy Lang, Chief Investment Officer at independent small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financier, Business Partners Limited. Prior to the Budget Speech, Lang aired hopes that “large-scale interventions” would be on the cards for the small business sector in the form of much-needed relief measures. In light of the almost single-minded focus on boosting embedded generation efforts through various fiscal measures and policy reforms, this year’s speech delivered little in the way of SME-specific relief. It did, however, propose several measures that speak to the urgent need for government to address the resounding impact that rolling blackouts have had on small businesses.
6 Mar 2023 10AM English South Africa Business News · Investing

Other recent episodes

The Mental Health Cost of Financial Stress

Financial stress has emerged as one of the biggest threats to South Africans' mental wellbeing. Dr Rachel Moore, Chief Medical Officer at Mediclinic Southern Africa, discusses the psychological impact of economic pressure, barriers to accessing mental healthcare and what can be done to reduce stigma and improve support.
22 Oct 2PM 12 min

KPMG Africa CEO Outlook: Confidence vs Execution

African CEOs remain confident about growth despite geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and disruptive technological change. Tola Adeyemi, CEO of KPMG One Africa, unpacks why execution has become the defining leadership challenge, and why many organisations are still struggling to keep pace with artificial intelligence
22 Oct 1PM 20 min

South Africa’s Economic Report Card After the MTBPS

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement paints a mixed picture of South Africa's economy. Revenue collection is outperforming expectations, and fiscal stability appears to be improving, yet growth forecasts have been downgraded amid infrastructure constraints and global risks. Dr Nwabisa Kolisi of the HSRC unpacks what the MTBPS…
22 Oct 12PM 9 min

Clicks Crosses R50bn: Growth Through Scale

Clicks Group has become a R50 billion turnover business, cementing its position as one of South Africa's retail success stories. CEO Bertina Engelbrecht discusses the drivers behind the milestone, changing consumer behaviour, pharmacy-led growth and how the retailer plans to expand while navigating a tough consumer environment.
22 Oct 12PM 15 min

Strong Cash Flow, Softer Profits: Inside Famous Brands' Interim Results

Famous Brands delivered a resilient performance in difficult trading conditions, growing revenue and more than doubling free cash flow while navigating consumer pressure and global uncertainty. CEO Darren Hele discusses cash generation, expansion plans, shareholder returns, challenges in key regional markets and what current trading conditions reveal about South African…
21 Oct 1PM 14 min