Capital for Change: Recent Episodes
Namhla Saba
Do you business, government, individual, organisation, investment fund want to make a meaningful, systemic, long term contribution to human development by making the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) a reality, without compromising your fiduciary duties? But so far your endeavors though good, are not quite hitting the target nor moving the needle as you’d like? You are not alone.The Capital For Change Podcast is here to demystify, unpack, distill and repackage the sustainable development universe with industry leaders to give you actionable insights, tools, frameworks to use in your world so that you can simply “plug and play” your capital for meaningful change with greater clarity and confidence.Our focus is on all things CAPITAL that directly or indirectly contributes to CHANGE in AFRICA and other emerging countries.We keep it simple, so that you can keep it moving.
On this episode of Responsible Business Conversations, Namhla Saba speaks with Cuma Zwane from the CIPC about the future of Sustainability Reporting from a South African regulatory perspective.
Over the past few years, the CIPC and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) have been exploring the role of Sustainability Reporting within South Africa's regulatory landscape. Their focus extends beyond whether reporting should be mandated to understanding how it can support the country's broader economic and developmental priorities, as outlined in the National Development Plan.
This conversation therefore goes beyond compliance to explore a bigger question: Can Sustainability Reporting become a catalyst for stronger governance, greater accountability, and a more inclusive and sustainable South African economy?
This month on the Responsible Business Conversation, Namhla Saba and Lebogang Senne unpack the current sustainability reporting landscape in South Africa and across the rest of Africa.
Together, we explore what is driving adoption, how organisations are responding to the rapidly evolving reporting environment, and what both the private and public sectors should already be preparing for.
Lebogang Senne is a Chartered Accountant (SA) with nearly 20 years of experience in standard-setting, regulation, stakeholder engagement, and governance. She has worked with the IFRS Foundation and the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) to advance the adoption and contextualisation of international reporting and ethics standards across Africa.
We would love to hear from you. Please send any questions or topic suggestions to info@integratedthinking.co.za.
For listeners looking to connect with like-minded professionals committed to driving economic growth through doing the right thing, join the Responsible Business Community by completing the joining form at:
www.integratedthinking.co.za/home/responsiblebusinesscommunity
We’ve seen this year and in recent years the frequent and severe weather events. Unfortunatlely these don’t only remain weather events, they are increasingly impacting daily business operations, the bottom line and overall business resilience.
CDP research notes a $900billion financial loss due to extreme weather events, but the cost to companies to mitigate environmental risks was substantially lower – nearly 13 times – than their anticipated financial impact. (ESG Today).
In this Responsible Business Conversation, Namhla Saba speaks with Sashen Singh a Senior Sustainability Manager from Commercial Banking from Nedbank Group about what this means in practice for SMMEs.
We unpack:
• Why climate risk is becoming a business resilience issue
• What banks are actually looking for when assessing long-term sustainability
• What information businesses should start organising today
• How SMMEs can have more constructive conversations with their bankers in preparation for financing ther decarbonosation, mitigation and adaptation plans.
The aim of this conversation is not to add another burden to already stretched businesses, but to highlight practical ways leaders can strengthen resilience using information and resources many organisations already have.
If you are a business leader navigating today’s pressures while trying to prepare for tomorrow’s risks, this conversation is for you.
Responsible Business Conversations, brought to you by Integrated
Thinking Solutions, is a space for courageous leaders who believe business can create shared value: growing organisations, uplifting communities,
and caring for the planet.
Join our community of responsible business leaders at : www.integratedthinking.co.za/home/responsible-business-community
To contact us on topics you'd like us to cover to help you practically navigate your sustainability journey email us at : info@integratedthinking.co.za
Namhla Saba in this episode talks to Sibulele Ndandani a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with close to 20 years of experience in investment banking focusing on Africa private markets (debt and equity), corporate credit and project finance. She currently works at a pension fund as a capital allocator to funds across Africa.
With growing global climate change concerns and significant inequality and poverty challenges especially in Africa and other merging markets, capital plays a vital role in contributing towards alleviating some of these key challenges. Institutional investors are best placed to partner with general partners in allocating capital to deals and investments that can meet both the financial return and the imperative impact objectives.
Namhla and Sibulele discussed the following:
- What does the ESG integration landscape look like in Private Equity (General Partner) funds in Africa?
-What are key considerations that emerging funds should consider when creating their policies and procedures to align with capital allocators' key imperatives?
- What are the key considerations for reporting between underlying investment and the LP?
- How are institutional investors navigating greenwashing/ impact washing in Africa?
ESG integration is an important tool that helps GPs and LPs manage ESG risks while creating value for multiple stakeholders. However, a recent study and report by PwC, surveying 300 general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs) in Europe, Asia Specific, the UK and the United States notes that Private Equity GPs have limited entrenchment of ESG considerations and that PE LPs attribute the lowest degree of strategic importance to ESG reporting.
For more information or topics to discuss email us at info@integratedthinking.co.za
Namhla Saba in this episode talks to Sibulele Ndandani a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with close to 20 years of experience in investment banking focusing on Africa private markets (debt and equity), corporate credit and project finance. She currently works at a pension fund as a capital allocator to funds across Africa.
Namhla and Sibulele discussed the following:
- What does the ESG integration landscape look like in Private Equity (General Partner) funds in Africa?
-What are key considerations that emerging funds should consider when creating their policies and procedures to align with capital allocators' key imperatives?
- What are the key considerations for reporting between underlying investment and the LP?
- How are institutional investors navigating greenwashing/ impact washing in Africa?
With growing global climate change concerns and significant inequality and poverty challenges especially in Africa and other merging markets, capital plays a vital role in contributing towards alleviating some of these key challenges. Institutional investors are best placed to help encourage fund managers and allocators to find deals and investments that can meet both the required financial return and the imperative impact objectives.
ESG integration is an important tool that helps GP and LPs manage ESG risks while creating value for multiple stakeholders. However, a recent study and report by PwC, surveying 300 general partners (GP) and limited partners (LP) in Europe, Asia Specific, the UK and the United States notes that Private Equity GPs have limited entrenchment of ESG considerations and that PE LPs attribute the lowest degree of strategic importance to ESG reporting.
For more information or topics to discuss email us at info@integratedthinking.co.za
Namhla Saba in this episode talks to Sibulele Ndandani a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with close to 20 years of experience in investment banking focusing on Africa private markets (debt and equity), corporate credit and project finance. She currently works at a pension fund as a capital allocator to funds across Africa.
Namhla and Sibulele discussed the following:
- What does the ESG integration landscape look like in Private Equity (General Partner) funds in Africa?
-What are key considerations that emerging funds should consider when creating their policies and procedures to align with capital allocators' key imperatives?
- What are the key considerations for reporting between underlying investment and the LP?
- How are institutional investors navigating greenwashing/ impact washing in Africa?
With growing global climate change concerns and significant inequality and poverty challenges especially in Africa and other merging markets, capital plays a vital role in contributing towards alleviating some of these key challenges. Institutional investors are best placed to help encourage fund managers and allocators to find deals and investments that can meet both the required financial return and the imperative impact objectives.
ESG integration is an important tool that helps GP and LPs manage ESG risks while creating value for multiple stakeholders. However, a recent study and report by PwC, surveying 300 general partners (GP) and limited partners (LP) in Europe, Asia Specific, the UK and the United States notes that Private Equity GPs have limited entrenchment of ESG considerations and that PE LPs attribute the lowest degree of strategic importance to ESG reporting.
For more information or topics to discuss email us at info@integratedthinking.co.za
Namhla Saba, in this episode, discusses ESG integration into the core operations of the business. The key pillars that can help business leaders navigate the process of ESG integration.
ESG Integration into core business allows organisations to:
- Respond to their client's/customer's supply chain sustainability requirements
- Collect and analyse relevant data to support their sustainability assertions, hence avoiding greenwashing
- Systemically work towards meeting net zero targets
- Position themselves positively for raising capital through ESG funds
For more information, email us at info@integratedthinking.co.za or subscribe to our weekly newsletter at https://www.integratedthinking.co.za/subscribe
Namhla Saba in this discusses the objectives of ESG and how it is applicable to business leaders and their day to day activities. It is becoming increasingly crucial for business leaders to understand ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and its day-to-day application to business operations. Although ESG started as purely a risk management tool used by investors, it is swiftly moving into the core of business operations. It endeavours to encourage businesses to adopt sustainable business practices that
- strengthen long-term ROI,
- protect and preserve the environment,
- unlock symbiotic relationships with communities and
- build strong business ethics throughout the organisation.
For more info email us at info@integratedthinking.co.za or subscribe to our weekly newsletter at https://www.integratedthinking.co.za/subscribe
Namhla Saba and co-host Renoud Willemsen unpack "GREENWASHING" as it relates to business. We discuss
- What is greenwashing
- How greenwashing manifests its self
- The current incoming regulations and how they can affect business as usual
- How business can avoid the greenwashing trap
For the past two years, global regulators have been adopting laws that will heavily fine organisations found guilty of intentionally or unintentionally misleading consumers in their labelling, advertising and promotions."Greenwashing is regarded as false, unsubstantiated claims that are more marketing spin than transparent, traceable credentials".
A 2022 study conducted by The Harris Poll for Google Clouds and reported by Axios noted that 58% of 1,491 “C-suite or VP-level executives at global corporations admitted their companies have engaged in some form of greenwashing.
Understanding the different formats in which greenwashing manifests itself will allow you as business leaders to make informed decisions and create processes within the organisation that ensures greenwashing is avoided Terra Marketing in 2007 published the 7 ways organisations can avoid unintentional greenwashing
If you would like to get in contact with us, email info@integratedthinking.co.za
Namhla Saba discusses impact measurement for SDG signed financing, with Reinoud Willemsen a partner at Embedding Impact. Approximately $3trillion-$4trillion are required per year to meet the SDG agenda. However, we understand that financing is an impact enabler; it does not always drive real change in communities. Hence understanding the importance of the impact value chain from deal-making to monitoring and review is essential to complement and support the impact driven by the financed projects and investments.
The discussion tackles the following questions, in an endeavour to equip investors make better-informed decisions about their investments:
- What should investors look for in the prospectus as it relates to the impact value chain?
- What is the impact value chain?
- What are the advantages of incorporating impact at the beginning of deal making?
- What can the investors use the impact reports for?
If you have any further queries or suggestions of topics you'd like us to pursue, contact us at namhla.saba@gmail.com
In this episode, Namhla Saba (MD of Integrated Thinking Solutions), interviews Zintle Raziya the founder of Igniting Humanity who is a Mandela Washington Fellow and One Young World delegate and has been selected as a representative for South Africa to receive an award as a New Leader for Development for the international organization Crans Montana Forum.
Youth unemployment is one of South Africa's stubborn significant challenges, we discuss the benefits and opportunities in effectively alleviating youth unemployment through the demand led approach, inclusive growth and co-creation.
In this episode we discuss
- her vested interest and experience in supporting inclusive growth, economic and social justice, and delivering youth employability initiatives in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, to create shared value.
- Igniting Humanity the NPC and its core objectives around youth development
- the merits of the "demand led approach" to Youth employment and how it fosters youth employability by setting youth up for national and global work opportunities
- the importance of co-creation between the private sector and communities for social impact driven imperatives
For more information or request for topic discussion email namhla.saba@gmail.com
Find Igniting Humanity at www.ignitinghumanity.co.za
The host, Namhla Saba, brings awareness to investors who want to understand what and how their investments, managed by asset managers and investment companies, contribute to sustainability. This enables investors to understand better the contribution they themselves are ultimately making to sustainability. This episode also helps investors have clarity of their investment companies ESG strategies.
Namhla unpacks some of the predominantly used sustainable finance strategies by financial institutions and investment companies in their quest to contribute to social, environmental or economic sustainability. The host unpacks how these different strategies contribute to meeting the SDG's.
This episode is as follows:
03:36- 10:00 Recap on the core objectives of sustainability
10:01-30:01 Sustainable Finance Strategies used by Investment Companies as they contribute to sustainability
For any improvement suggestions and topic requests you'd like us to discuss for you, email us at capital4changepodcast@gmail.com
In episode 1, Namhla Saba, the host, spends the first 11 minutes articulating the purpose and contextual background of the podcast. The remainder of episode 1, Namhla unpacks the “sustainable development” definition as the initial building block to gaining understanding of the sustainable development universe. She repackages the definition in such a manner that it becomes a generic framework for listeners to use and filter subsequent topics.
This podcast of unpacking “sustainable development” definition answers the following questions?
-what is “sustainable development” aiming to achieve and why?
-why is it essential for business, asset managers, institutional investors, financial institutions?
-what role can and should individuals play in, holding brands accountable?