You're watching Climate Conversations on Business Watch, as we build up to COP26 to discuss whether we’re turning the tide on climate change brought to you by Investec.

So far we’ve spoken to Minister Creecy about what the overall focus is for the South African government heading into this so called super COP.

We’ve debated the race to net zero and whether the science is congruent with the promises and greenwashing, and the looming climate finance fight.

Now we turn our attention to how this is shaping responsible investing.

Michael Avery is joined by Barry Shamley, Portfolio manager, Investec Wealth & Investment SA; Andrew Gilder, Director of Climate Legal and Maxine Gray, Strategic development, Investec Wealth & Investment SA

Africa is currently experiencing a demographic boom that is largely young and urban. Unlike Germany with a median age of roughly 47, the US at 38, or China at 37, the median age in Africa is roughly 19. In addition, this demographic of African youth is expected to double to 225 million by 2055.

Seizing the opportunity in this demographic dividend isn’t a given. And while tools like AI and machine learning can help deliver services like healthcare and education at greater scale and reduced cost, there are also concerns about job displacement, whether we are equipping the youth with the rights skills and bad state actors who might seek to take advantage of deep fakes and the like to suppress political dissent.

And just consider that the SA Local Government Association says 62% of municipal councillors don’t know how to use a computer, to help temper your enthusiasms for revolutions of any kind…
To talk about this Michael Avery is joined by Nomsa Nteleko, the Founder & CEO OS Holdings, and the Chief Commercial Officer at Amathuba AI; Jade Abbott, Machine Learning Lead at Retro Rabbit & Johan Steyn, Business Day contributor on tech and AI and Chair of the Special Interest Group on AI and Robotics with the Institute of Information Technology Professionals of South Africa

Combined Motor Holdings is back in the black. The company, which operates vehicle dealerships, has reported a half year profit of close to R150 million, supported by its retail division.
Alishia Seckam unpacked the results with CEO Jebb McIntosh

The past year-and-a-half has brought countless challenges for restaurants, from the early days when restaurant operators were forced to think on their feet as sudden shutdown orders brought dine-in business to a halt, to current struggles with cash flow and vaccinations.
During the course of the pandemic, restaurants have had to reinvent themselves countless times - ramping up off-premises sales, exploring virtual brands and rallying around their communities to support people in need.
Right now the industry needs those same communities to rally around it.
South Africa, like most countries, can’t afford for its hospitality industry to fail. With it would go thousands of businesses – cheesemakers, farmers, bakers and winemakers – and millions of jobs.
And the hospitality industry in South Africa faces another complication in that it leans heavily on tourism.
To talk about what happens next for Restaurants Michael Avery is joined by Grace Harding, CEO Ocean Basket; Catharina Bester, Marketing Manager: McCain Foodservice & Retail; Daniel Goldberg, Co-founder of financier Bridgement

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank expect South Africa to grow by 5% this year, largely due to the favourable global climate and base effects. Alishia Seckam spoke to Isaah Mhlanga, Chief Economist at Alexander Forbes for his view on the country’s growth trajectory

Three major global problems have dominated headlines and weighed on markets.

First, supply-chain snarls are straining everything from USPS delivery to Grape Nuts availability. Second, a chip shortage is slowing production of GM trucks, gaming consoles, and lots more. Third, a surge in ransomware cyberattacks has disrupted a large variety of organizations, including beef suppliers and big governments.

Meanwhile, the IMF lowered its forecast for 2021 global economic growth this week but raised South Africa's outlook.

To put things into perspective Michael Avery is joined by Nesan Nair, senior portfolio manager at Sasfin; Raymond Parsons, professor in the School of Business and Governance at Northwest University; Isaah Mhlanga, Chief Economist at Alexander Forbes