The economy: explore key business issues: PwC

The post-lockdown economy

The South African economy has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a challenging economic environment – both now and in the near future - companies of all sizes require insights, analytics and tools to identify opportunities and strategies to outperform competitors. What is your impact on the economy, and the impact of the economy on your business?

Navigating the South African economy amidst COVID-19

The South African economy experienced a deep recession in 2020. The impact of COVID-19 on the domestic and international economies resulted in local business seeing new challenges not imagined before. The economic landscape changed quickly – and dramatically – to a ‘new normal’ that is still unfolding in 2021.

Despite these challenges, South Africa offers a large market opportunity: a population of 58 million people with a sophisticated financial system, well-established manufacturing sector, a century-long legacy of commodity exports, highly innovative companies, top quality universities, and some of the most beautiful tourist attractions in the world.

Alongside previously unimagined challenges, local businesses will also see new opportunities open up in 2021. But like in many emerging markets, finding value and solutions in South Africa is now more challenging than ever. Understanding the local economic and political context is imperative in understanding the reshaped long-term opportunities that the country offers domestic and international investors.

South Africa is also a gateway into the rest of the continent. PwC has a wide network of experts across the continent who understand the intricacies of Africa’s economies. Many of the challenges seen in South Africa – and the solutions that we offer to our clients at the southern tip of the continent – are used to answer important questions elsewhere in Africa.

Measure your impact on the economy

Measuring your impact yields invaluable insights about your company, the role it plays in the economy and maintaining your license to operate. Our analysis can consider the impact of your organisation on GDP, taxes, employment, and household income, amongst other factors, both from a direct, indirect and induced perspective. Another topic of measurement is the impact of changing regulations in your business or industry.

Our services in this area include:

Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) / Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA)
Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA)
Total tax contribution
Localisation calculations

Make decisions about risk and investment

Understanding economic and industry drivers, as well as risk factors, is at the core of investment and market expansion decisions. Our research untangles demand and growth drivers (e.g. sales prospects), supply-side challenges (e.g. supply chain limitations), as well as political and regulatory elements. This information is critical to future business success in a new territory.

Our services in this area include:

Macroeconomic research
Market entry analysis
Country and industry risk assessments
Commercial due diligence assistance

Plan for future economic scenarios

By looking ahead at where an economy or industry is going, we’re able to provide our clients with the potential futures that their organisations face. Our experts identify and model/extrapolate the key trends today, to form a picture of what tomorrow could look like. The future is not singular, and a perspective is needed on multiple potential outcomes.

Our services in this area include: