Page 72 - IRMSA Risk Report 2023
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TOP 5 CHALLENGES TOP 5 RISK TREATMENT OPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES
TARGETS ▶
TO ACHIEVING ▶
South Africa has attempted to remain neutral in all these conflicts (although this is
increasingly difficult, as even being neutral sometimes means being deemed to have
picked a side). South Africa remains a trading and political partner with every world
power, although recently some republicans in the USA tabled a (relatively toothless)
motion against SA, and the SA government appears to be taking a stronger pro-
Palestinian stance.
It’s important to develop scenarios for how you would deal with significant shifts in
global power, including regional conflicts and international blockades/sanctions.
Shifting global alliances and the Consider especially (and do an audit of) direct impacts on employees and operations,
danger of South Africa ‘picking 01. as well as implications for insurance, communication, markets and supply chains.
the wrong side’. Shifting global power bases may require your organisation to take a values-based
stand for or against issues that will create divisions in your customer base and staff. For
example, when Russia invaded Ukraine, many companies chose to close their stores
in Russia and exit the country. What would you do? Where are your moral, ethical
and socially responsible red lines – and would you live out your values if these were
crossed?
South Africa remains well placed as a potential business partner with every other
country in the world. Take advantage of the opportunity to seek out diverse partners in
different regions to spread geopolitical risk.
Inflation is causing geopolitical upheaval, especially in regions where inflation has been
negligible for an extended period before COVID-19.
The disruption of supply chains, It’s important to anticipate and plan for more disruptions in global supply chains, with
significant variations in prices 02. associated cost fluctuations.
(of both imports and exports) Consider near-shoring, diversifying or integrating supply chains where feasible, to
and the inability to forecast exercise more control and mitigate risk. Build more redundancies into your supply
shipping costs. chain.
South Africans understand the impact of inflation on business and can provide much-
needed insights and planning assistance to international partners.
Global instability may affect FDI
in South Africa. It may even lead Traditional sources of FDI may be less inclined to invest in South Africa in the next year
to capital flight and a decline or two, due to political instability (real or perceived) leading up to the national elections
in business confidence. With 03. in 2024. It may be better to seek out investors with mandates to invest in developing
foreign investors already jittery, markets, as well as highlight the attractiveness of South Africa as opposed to other
any signs of upheaval in South BRICS, CIVITS and G-20 developing nations. Be proactive in providing on-the-ground
Africa could be exacerbated insights to foreign partners and investors, so they are not spooked by news reports.
and have a knee-jerk reaction.
Social media and modern Activists who target companies and industries (and, increasingly in the future, also the
communication tools allow individuals who head them up) will continue to have global influence.
momentum for a cause, which 04. Develop pre-emptive campaigns in old-school media and online to create positive
to
people
build
quickly
translates into real-world brand equity.
Track social media mentions of your brand, as well as key hashtags associated with your
actions and impact more than organisation and your industry. Be prepared to respond to activists.
ever before.
Cyber-terrorism is likely to increase dramatically in the next few years, especially the
hijacking of key systems for ransom, along with activist hackers using cyber-attacks to
Deep fake technologies (both make ideological statements.
video and audio) will be used for Enhance your cyber security systems and regularly stress-test them. Have adequate
both scamming/phishing and 05. back-up and restore plans.
for brand attacks or smearing. Train all staff in cyber security, including entry-level protections against phishing, scams
This will include targeting key and deep fakes. Update your team’s skills in using the latest technologies, especially
persons and operations by AI-driven apps and tools (don’t just ban them – rather empower your team to use them
faking statements (public and wisely and safely).
private). Specifically, have a plan to be able to verify fake audio and video. Know how you will
counter them if they start to go viral.
72 IRMSA RISK REPORT 2023/24
