Access to growth capital remains a significant constraint for South African businesses. While traditional bank funding plays an important role, many growing businesses are caught between debt providers seeking established cash flows and larger private equity funds pursuing sizeable transactions. This “missing middle” has created both a structural funding gap and an investment opportunity. A new generation of emerging investment managers is stepping into this space, combining flexible capital with specialist expertise to support businesses through the next phase of their growth.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a core capability within the finance profession. What started off as a useful tool for answering questions and generating content has evolved into an integrated workplace assistant capable of accelerating research, analysing large volumes of information, automating routine tasks and enhancing decision-making.

The finance industry can be an unforgiving environment for young professionals entering the workforce. From the outset, many are confronted by intense pressure, an ‘always on’ culture, fierce competition and the accelerating pace of technological change reshaping the sector.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has not displaced Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations. If anything, AI has made ESG more immediate, more complex and harder to balance. As organisations accelerate AI adoption, they must navigate the tension between innovation and the responsibility to operate sustainably and ethically. In South Africa, where structural unemployment and energy constraints persist, the stakes related to this debate are especially high.

South Africa frequently emphasises business transformation, but capital flows tell a different story. The country’s major deals are still largely determined within a small circle of advisors, financiers and executives who repeatedly sit at the centre of the same transactions.

The Barloworld take-private and delisting was a 26-month, multi-jurisdictional transaction that set a new benchmark in South Africa’s M&A landscape. The transaction brought together a buyer consortium comprising Entsha, a 100% black-owned entity controlled by the Sewela Family Trust, and Falcon Holdings of the Zahid Group, a Saudi-based conglomerate with a long-standing relationship within the global Caterpillar dealership network.

The recently published book, Coal, Courage, and Change: The Rise of Exxaro, written by Nokuthula Mazibuko and Ntsika Msimang, chronicles the South African mining company’s journey from formation to global leadership, highlighting transformation, innovation, and empowerment.

As South Africa’s private credit and mid-market investment ecosystem matures, investors are increasingly asking a fundamental question: “Does fund structure meaningfully influence performance, exit discipline, and long-term value?” The answer is yes, but not in a one-size-fits-all way. Both open-ended and closed-ended funds carry strengths and trade-offs, and the right choice depends squarely on an investor’s liquidity needs, return expectations, and risk appetite.