Team SA at Davos with sense of optimism that's been well received - Investec CEO

The 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos is in full swing, with Wednesday dominated by the address from US President Donald Trump, who is not on the best of terms with Pretoria.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is leading South Africa’s delegation under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue”, aiming to spearhead dialogue particularly on the practical implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), trade facilitation, and where capital will flow as Africa integrates at scale.

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Investec Group CEO Fani Titi says Team SA has come to Davos with a sense of optimism because there has been general agreement about the country's reform programme and architecture. "Now we just have to deliver into it, and we have seen some positive progress already", he goes on.

This is the message they have brought to the WEF, and they have been well received, Titi says.

But not only are they at Davos to talk about South Africa get investment into the country, they are promoting investment into Africa as a continent.

"If you think about the world today there's a fracturing of the global trading system and blocs have developed... and for us first and foremost as Africans and as South Africans specifically, we have to do more trade with the continent."

This is why AfCFTA - a priority for the SA delegation at Davos, is so important, Titi says. There are still too many barriers on the continent with respect to payments, and the movement of people and goods, which is where governments need to start, he emphasizes.

"I think in this fracturing world there remains a significant opportunity as countries and trading blocs look for new partners that they can do business with."

When it comes to some of the key thoughts around current geopolitics, he points to the speech by Canadian PM Mark Carney at the Forum, where he talks about a concept of variable geometry which Titi summarises as meaning that smaller countries need to get into alliances for specific purposes, to achiever certain goals, as opposed to trying to go it alone.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the conversation with the Investec Group CEO