Cape Town, South Africa, 21 May 2025 – Enlit Africa 2025 officially opened this week at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), bringing together thousands of leaders from Africa’s power, water and energy sectors. This year’s theme, “Challenge the Status Quo”, calls on stakeholders to accelerate Africa’s infrastructure transformation through innovation, investment, and inclusive partnerships.
From power supply constraints and water stress to the urgent need for sustainable energy access, the event focuses on how integrated technology and finance can unlock scalable solutions to some of the continent’s most pressing development challenges.
Standard Bank Business and Commercial Banking (BCB) is in its third consecutive year as Platinum Sponsors for Enlit Africa. As a key financier in the power, water and energy ecosystem, the bank is engaging across multiple stages to drive actionable dialogue on infrastructure gaps, climate resilience, and investment readiness. As a long-term partner to a number of stakeholders, the bank’s presence reflects its commitment to enabling inclusive growth across all dimensions of Africa’s resource systems.
Standard Bank’s participation at Enlit Africa 2025 is centred on impact. By contributing to conversations that span infrastructure financing, workforce development, regional trade, and service delivery collaboration, the bank is helping shape the enabling environment for the sectors that keep Africa running, particularly those powering homes, moving water, and delivering clean energy solutions. As part of its commitment to being a trusted partner in growth across the continent, the bank’s Africa Regions & Offshore delegation brought together clients and colleagues from across nine African countries; East Africa (Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi), West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria), and Southern & Central Africa (Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, Mozambique, Angola), reflecting its strong African footprint.
Standard Bank supports integrated investment models, including decentralised energy systems, blended finance for water infrastructure, and smart, tech-enabled public-private partnerships, that can complement and strengthen municipal and industrial delivery efforts.
The bank’s presence also spans across its trade, sustainability, public sector and investment teams, reinforcing its role in supporting businesses that are adopting sustainable infrastructure models. Whether it’s helping clients decarbonise operations, invest in resource-efficient technologies, or navigate ESG-linked funding, Standard Bank continues to provide the financial tools and insights that enable long-term business resilience in the power, water and energy sectors.
Earl Of Arms
Domestic inflation: The highest inflation rate ever recorded in South Africa was in January 1986, at 20.7%. Some of you may remember those bad days where each wag of P.W. Botha’s finger put an extra percentile to the inflation rate. That year the average inflation rate was 18.7%. During the 2008 financial crisis, South Africa’s inflation rate was 11.5%. In July 2018, the latest official monthly inflation rate was 5.1%. With inflation, this low, production cost increases can be expected to remain low, despite the large hikes in the petrol price. This reduces the perceived risk of starting a business in South Africa. Compared to Venezuela (200 000% inflation rate) we are not doing too badly!