President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved to assure investors their investments are safe, as South Africa’s business operating environment is underpinned by the rule of law.
Delivering the keynote address at the South Africa Infrastructure Investment Summit in Cape Town on Wednesday, Ramaphosa said because it is the building block of every modern economy on earth, “infrastructure is the next great frontier of investment”.
The event was hosted by one of the world’s largest infrastructure platforms, BlackRock, which has made a $500m commitment towards the African Infrastructure Fund, with investments in energy systems, logistics corridors and transport infrastructure.
“It is in this context that institutional investors are increasingly looking to South Africa as a strategic, long-term investment destination,” he said.
Over the next three years, South Africa will be spending over $60bn (R1-trillion) on infrastructure across the three spheres of government, public entities and state-owned enterprises.
In his state of the nation address (Sona) in February, the president sold infrastructure as a primary driver of economic growth, saying that through the Infrastructure Fund, the government had committed R100bn in fiscal support over 10 years to crowd in private capital and blended finance into strategic infrastructure projects.
In the subsequent budget speech, finance minister Enoch Godongwana said the government was earmarking more than R1-trillion for public infrastructure over the medium term to drive economic activity, with key focus areas including rail, ports, water and energy projects, alongside private-public partnerships.
On Wednesday, Ramaphosa said infrastructure development in Africa presents one of the largest untapped “investment opportunities of our time”.
“South Africa has the largest, most industrialised and most diverse economy in Africa. We have a sophisticated financial sector, deep capital markets, substantial mining reserves, vast tracks of arable land, untapped wind and solar energy resources, and cutting-edge digital infrastructure,” said Ramaphosa.
“We have a young, dynamic and growing population with one of the highest rates of urbanisation on the continent. Sixty-three per cent of South Africans live in urban areas, where the demand for public infrastructure continues to rise.”
The economy is beginning to see signs of recovery, he said. “We have recorded four consecutive quarters of growth into early 2026, although we are yet to see this translate into a meaningful rise in employment. Inflation is stable. Our sovereign rating has been upgraded and last year we were removed from the Financial Action Task Force greylist,” he said.
The country was committed to sustaining a stable macroeconomic framework, and its structural reform agenda continued to gain momentum.
“Just over a month ago, we held the 6th South Africa Investment Conference, where we secured a record $54bn (R890bn) in pledges. This has encouraged us to set a new investment goal of R3-trillion — or $180bn — over the next five years,” the president said.
“These commitments represent factories being built, renewable energy projects being connected to the grid, logistics corridors being modernised, jobs being created and confidence being restored.”
These reforms, said Ramaphosa, are restoring South Africa’s logistics competitiveness and strengthening its role as a regional and continental trade hub.
“This summit is where the interests of private capital and the state converge. Investors seek certainty, transparency and efficiency…. Investors entering new markets need assurance that their investments are safe and that the business operating environment is underpinned by the rule of law.
“One of our key priorities is therefore to combat infrastructure-related crime, construction site extortion and illegal mining,” Ramaphosa said.
“We are deploying multidisciplinary teams to dismantle organised crime networks and root out police who collude with criminals. At the same time, we continue to rebuild institutions weakened by state capture. Corruption-accused are being prosecuted, stolen assets are being recovered and the capacity for sophisticated investigations is being strengthened.”
A structural shift was under way towards a more efficient, competitive and investment-friendly economy.
“Our objective is to translate reform momentum into greater investment, faster growth and more jobs. We remain committed to macroeconomic stability, to fiscal discipline and to forging ahead with the structural reform agenda that is firmly embedded within the state. We invite you all to be partners in shaping South Africa’s future.”
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