Economic and business decisions must be data-driven, based on hard facts and numbers, but the less measurable aspects of sentiment, perceptions and confidence play a critical role too.
Fears of volatility and instability after the May national elections, in which no party gained an outright majority have been replaced by a wave of optimism and positive local and global sentiment driven by the formation of a government of national unity (GNU).
Despite public spats among political leaders from the different GNU member parties, on the whole there appears to be commitment to make it work and stay the course of unity in the best interests of the country.
Even though the GNU is more than 100 days old, and there are some green shoots emerging, the positive sentiment around the unity government has seen a renewed interest from abroad in investment in SA Inc and a positive uptick in financial markets and indicators.
Consumer confidence, effectively a measure of consumers’ optimism about their personal finances and willingness to spend, rose to a five-year high in September, returning to pre-Covid-19 levels, due to “a confluence of positive developments” — the formation of the GNU, load-shedding in abeyance, a stronger rand and declining inflation among the reasons cited.
Shortly thereafter, the Reserve Bank responded to improving local and global economic conditions with the first cut in interest rates in four years and potential further interest rate cuts expected.
Government and state-owned enterprises are becoming more positive about private sector participation in problem-solving as has been seen in the national workstreams where good progress has been made in the energy workstream.
It is now key that urgent focus is placed on accelerating public private partnerships to improve the efficiencies of the country’s rail and ports infrastructure and services.
SA is looking better placed to seize opportunities for investment and growth — and this is largely as a result of improving sentiment.
Similarly, the Business Chamber’s Bay of Opportunity campaign to position Nelson Mandela Bay as a manufacturing and export hub for Africa is thus not only about putting the hard facts of this region’s advantages on the table, but about driving a positive mindset locally that inspires confidence in global decisionmakers.
We are taking a message to local business and prospective investors, to government and to international audiences that speaks about the unique strategic advantage of our two ports, an economy anchored by automotive manufacturing here in SA’s automotive hub that ripples out into a strong and diversified manufacturing base, with depth of technical and manufacturing skills and innovation.
We speak about the world-leading elements of our agriculture sector and agro-processing, the supporting environment for hydrogen, renewable energy and green economy development, the diversity of the natural environment and the lifestyle advantages.
While also being frank about the challenges to achieving our goals, we share how a unified local business community shares this vision, believes in the potential of the Bay and is working together, volunteering time and resources to solve problems and assist in fixing what is broken and dysfunctional in the metro.
Their support shows the power of sentiment and confidence in driving action.
Recently we took our Bay of Opportunity roadshow to Cape Town, where we briefed the consulates of Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the US and Zimbabwe on Nelson Mandela Bay.
All admitted to having negative perceptions of the Bay, and were pleasantly surprised by the facts and progress that we shared with them.
Underscoring the importance of sentiment and perceptions in driving investor confidence, the feedback was that we need to change the narrative, tell the positive stories, and ensure more balance in the news coming out of the metro.
Changing the narrative starts with us, how we as the people of the Bay talk about our place.
Talk is not enough, but — supported by facts — it is the starting point of shifting perceptions and building confidence that we are an attractive investment destination.
The prevailing mood of hope and optimism needs to be backed up by concrete action that demonstrates progress in tackling the real challenges relating to infrastructure, logistics, energy security, poverty and unemployment, and crime and corruption.
This applies as much to the GNU as it does to our local efforts to bolster confidence in the Bay of Opportunity.
This is why the Business Chamber is driving multiple multi-stakeholder collaborative initiatives targeted at addressing challenges such as unscheduled power outages and malfunctioning infrastructure, the integrity of the sanitation and sewerage system, safety and security, road infrastructure, waste management, and the current fuel pricing issue, while at the same telling the positive stories of the Bay.
The message needs to get out that the Bay of Opportunity is the untapped frontier for industrial and business development in the country and on the continent, and can be kick-started by all the local stakeholders taking action.
Denise van Huyssteen is CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.
HeraldLIVE
Changing Nelson Mandela Bay’s narrative is up to each of us
Columnist
Economic and business decisions must be data-driven, based on hard facts and numbers, but the less measurable aspects of sentiment, perceptions and confidence play a critical role too.
Fears of volatility and instability after the May national elections, in which no party gained an outright majority have been replaced by a wave of optimism and positive local and global sentiment driven by the formation of a government of national unity (GNU).
Despite public spats among political leaders from the different GNU member parties, on the whole there appears to be commitment to make it work and stay the course of unity in the best interests of the country.
Even though the GNU is more than 100 days old, and there are some green shoots emerging, the positive sentiment around the unity government has seen a renewed interest from abroad in investment in SA Inc and a positive uptick in financial markets and indicators.
Consumer confidence, effectively a measure of consumers’ optimism about their personal finances and willingness to spend, rose to a five-year high in September, returning to pre-Covid-19 levels, due to “a confluence of positive developments” — the formation of the GNU, load-shedding in abeyance, a stronger rand and declining inflation among the reasons cited.
Shortly thereafter, the Reserve Bank responded to improving local and global economic conditions with the first cut in interest rates in four years and potential further interest rate cuts expected.
Government and state-owned enterprises are becoming more positive about private sector participation in problem-solving as has been seen in the national workstreams where good progress has been made in the energy workstream.
It is now key that urgent focus is placed on accelerating public private partnerships to improve the efficiencies of the country’s rail and ports infrastructure and services.
SA is looking better placed to seize opportunities for investment and growth — and this is largely as a result of improving sentiment.
Similarly, the Business Chamber’s Bay of Opportunity campaign to position Nelson Mandela Bay as a manufacturing and export hub for Africa is thus not only about putting the hard facts of this region’s advantages on the table, but about driving a positive mindset locally that inspires confidence in global decisionmakers.
We are taking a message to local business and prospective investors, to government and to international audiences that speaks about the unique strategic advantage of our two ports, an economy anchored by automotive manufacturing here in SA’s automotive hub that ripples out into a strong and diversified manufacturing base, with depth of technical and manufacturing skills and innovation.
We speak about the world-leading elements of our agriculture sector and agro-processing, the supporting environment for hydrogen, renewable energy and green economy development, the diversity of the natural environment and the lifestyle advantages.
While also being frank about the challenges to achieving our goals, we share how a unified local business community shares this vision, believes in the potential of the Bay and is working together, volunteering time and resources to solve problems and assist in fixing what is broken and dysfunctional in the metro.
Their support shows the power of sentiment and confidence in driving action.
Recently we took our Bay of Opportunity roadshow to Cape Town, where we briefed the consulates of Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the US and Zimbabwe on Nelson Mandela Bay.
All admitted to having negative perceptions of the Bay, and were pleasantly surprised by the facts and progress that we shared with them.
Underscoring the importance of sentiment and perceptions in driving investor confidence, the feedback was that we need to change the narrative, tell the positive stories, and ensure more balance in the news coming out of the metro.
Changing the narrative starts with us, how we as the people of the Bay talk about our place.
Talk is not enough, but — supported by facts — it is the starting point of shifting perceptions and building confidence that we are an attractive investment destination.
The prevailing mood of hope and optimism needs to be backed up by concrete action that demonstrates progress in tackling the real challenges relating to infrastructure, logistics, energy security, poverty and unemployment, and crime and corruption.
This applies as much to the GNU as it does to our local efforts to bolster confidence in the Bay of Opportunity.
This is why the Business Chamber is driving multiple multi-stakeholder collaborative initiatives targeted at addressing challenges such as unscheduled power outages and malfunctioning infrastructure, the integrity of the sanitation and sewerage system, safety and security, road infrastructure, waste management, and the current fuel pricing issue, while at the same telling the positive stories of the Bay.
The message needs to get out that the Bay of Opportunity is the untapped frontier for industrial and business development in the country and on the continent, and can be kick-started by all the local stakeholders taking action.
Denise van Huyssteen is CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Latest Videos
Most Read
Opinion
Opinion
Opinion
Opinion
Opinion