64% of German companies surveyed expect rising revenue in South Africa

Following the elections in South Africa, German companies are cautiously optimistic and expect high investment momentum:

44% plan to invest in the country within the next three years, 10% at least three million euros

• 77% expect the economic environment in South Africa to improve in the future – but only 12% expect significant improvements

• Positive profit expectations: 48% of companies in South Africa and 35% in the Southern Africa region* expect profits to rise

• Top 3 growth factors: improvement in political stability (50%), reduction of bureaucratic hurdles (44%) and stricter anti-corruption measures (35%)

• Top three demands on the new South African multi-party government: systematically fight corruption and crime (each 46%) and modernize infrastructure (39%)

Berlin/Johannesburg, 11 March 2025 - Around nine months after the parliamentary elections, German companies in South Africa and the Southern African region are optimistic about their business prospects for the current year: In South Africa, 64% of the companies surveyed expect sales to increase in 2025. In the Southern Africa region, the figure is 58%.

Profit expectations are also positive. 48% of companies in South Africa and 35% in the other countries in the region expect higher profits. The fundamentally positive assessment is also reflected in a strong willingness to invest: 44% of German companies are planning to invest in South Africa in the next three years – 10% of them with a volume of at least three million euros.

In the other countries of Southern Africa, however, investment momentum is significantly lower: Only a fifth of companies (20%) have investment plans; only 3% want to invest more than three million euros. Regarding the economic climate, the picture is ambivalent: almost eight out of ten respondents (77%) believe that the outcome of the elections will have a positive impact on the economic climate. However, 65% expect only moderate improvements.

These are the key findings of the "German-Southern African Business Outlook 2025". The survey by KPMG Germany (KPMG) and the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK Southern Africa) was conducted between 11 November and 31 December 2024. It analyses the business expectations of the member companies in the region.

"Following the parliamentary elections in South Africa in May 2024, the new government of national unity was formed. Local companies are cautiously optimistic that reforms could come from this government and that their businesses will grow in 2025. In recent years, problems with energy and water supply and transport logistics as well as rising costs coupled with falling productivity have put a strain on the business activities of many companies," says Andreas Glunz, Managing Partner International Business at KPMG Germany. "The new government now has the opportunity to create the conditions for growth through infrastructure programs and a sustained fight against corruption and crime."

Almost one in two companies (46% each) see the systematic fight against corruption and crime as the most important tasks of the new South African multi-party government. 39% see the expansion and modernization of infrastructure as a crucial field of action, 28% a stable energy supply