Postcard from South Africa

Postcard from South Africa…

It was great to be back in Cape Town and Johannesburg after such a long time.

I was travelling wearing two hats which helps to give great perspective on both the country and the continent.

With my SYNCH hat on, the exciting discussions were around the increase to 45% in the offshore allocation under the Exchange Control rules - without geographic restrictions. With that comes (literally) a world of opportunity for asset managers. It also highlights the need for the right tools to navigate the global market and unearth the best assets. We are enjoying exploring with major institutions how SYNCH can help here.

That hat was swapped for my sustainability finance one.

I was fortunate to be invited to moderate two panel discussions at the Annual Meeting of the African Refiners and Distributors Association. One was on the relationship between OPEC and Africa in the Energy Discussion (Subtitled – The Road to #COP27) and the second on Carbon Abatement in Downstream Projects for Africa.

Both discussions were enlightening but the core themes were the same (as was the case for the whole event). 

With most of Africa suffering an energy infrastructure deficit, the dialogue around energy transition for the continent is a lot more nuanced than in developed markets. 

Enabling the right kind of energy investment whilst leveraging leapfrog technology means that Africa could and should be the investment destination of choice of those serious about genuine #ESG and #SDG goals. Think clean cooking fuel, micro-grids, adoption of highest quality emission standards – the list is long and somewhat obvious...

Capital markets will play a significant role as fund investors replace the receding bank liquidity from the region and the hydrocarbon sector more generally. 

Time for us to all get creative and level the playing field.

In our small way, Synch will look to help with this.

Come join the discussion.

Synch. Bonds unlimited.
www.synch.pro
info@synch.pro