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

SAFDA’s plan to rescue Tongaat-Hulett and protect farmers’ livelihoods

South Africa’s sugar industry faces a critical moment as Tongaat-Hulett, one of the country’s oldest and most prominent sugar producers, confronts provisional liquidation despite ongoing efforts to stabilise the business. South African Farmers’ Development Association (SAFDA), led by Chairperson Dr Siyabonga Madlala, has stepped in to assure farmers and employees…
19 Feb 2PM 17 min

South African professionals are facing a new era of stress

South African professionals are facing a new era of stress, one that is no longer confined to busy periods or isolated pressures but embedded in the fabric of everyday life. The 2025 Profmed Stress Index released on Thursday reveals a workforce grappling with financial strain, toxic workplace cultures, systemic instability…
19 Feb 2PM 11 min

Budget 2026: Tax Policy Choices and revenue strategy under fiscal pressure

As South Africa prepares for the 2026 National Budget Speech on 25 February, revenue collection and tax policy are expected to take centre stage. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana faces the difficult task of sustaining fiscal consolidation while supporting economic stability in an environment of modest growth and rising expenditure pressures…
19 Feb 2PM 12 min

Navigating personal finance challenges

As South Africans face a growing cost-of-living squeeze, more households are turning to credit not for luxury, but simply to cover everyday essentials. Rising prices for groceries, transport, school fees, rent, and electricity mean many families are borrowing just to survive, and debt is increasingly becoming a lifeline, with dangerous…
19 Feb 2PM 12 min

PG glass, Glasfit accused of price fixing in automotive glass market

South Africa’s automotive glass industry is under the spotlight after the Competition Commission found that two major players, PG Glass and Glasfit, allegedly operated as a cartel, working together to fix prices. The Commission has now referred the matter to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution, arguing that the companies entered…
19 Feb 2PM 11 min