Green Energy leads the charge in South Africa’s sustainable future – SAIC 2026
- Dylan Naidoo
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By: Dylan Naidoo
The South African Investment Conference (SAIC) 2026 was hosted on the 31 March 2026 at the Sandton International Convention Centre in Johannesburg, with green energy leading the charge in South Africa's sustainable future and attracting foreign investment. Led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the conference aimed to position South Africa as an excellent hub for investment opportunities for both domestic and international investors alike.
Highlighting South Africa as a golden investable market, President Ramaphosa mentioned that from 2018 – 2023, South Africa accumulated R1,5 trillion in credible investment commitments. He commented, “This proved that South Africa is an investable market and ready for business.”
President Ramaphosa also touched on the improvements in the electricity and energy sector, crediting the new Energy Action Plan announced in 2022 to bringing an end to traditional load shedding and stabilising the electrical grid. For the next five years, President Ramaphosa has proposed regulatory reforms in the electricity sector. The project is aiming to utilise more than 220 GigaWatts (GW) in renewable energy for project developments, with 36GW already being used in the grid. He outlined that renewable energy will be a key focus of the electrical grid for South Africa. President Ramaphosa said, “We are now moving rapidly to establish a competitive wholesale electricity market and to complete the unbundling of Eskom, through the establishment of a fully independent transmission operator.”
President Ramaphosa welcomed private investment in expanding the transmission network through ‘Independent Transmission Projects’, with the goal to reduce carbon emissions. Through this initiative, President Ramaphosa explained that the decarbonisation will create new industries in the green sector, leading to job opportunities, as well as accelerate the adoption of green hydrogen, battery storage and electric vehicle production. As such, with an investment of R29 billion, President Ramaphosa said this investment, “is a vote of confidence in our rapidly transforming energy sector.”
South Africa is positioned as an excellent partner for mineral reserves, leveraging resources for the growing clean energy sector. Within the green energy and sustainable vehicle production sector, Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) has pledged a R10.4 billion investment to support the energy segment of the auto sector in KZN. According to the South African government, this investment seeks to strengthen local vehicle production in KZN and prepare the automotive sector for its sustainable energy transition.
Digital transformation in South Africa was also a key area of discussion, with it being classified as holding significant value for potential economic growth and investment. New reforms are being implemented to reposition South Africa as the leading digital hub in both digital and financial services. “In these ways, we are positioning South Africa to become a major player in the economy of the future, combining the lowest-cost solar and wind power in the world with advanced digital infrastructure and a skilled workforce that can compete at a global level,” says President Ramaphosa.
Green, renewable energy is now the focus for South Africa, leading the charge for the country’s transformation in sectors such as the automotive and electrical sector. This investment conference highlighted significant investor confidence in choosing South Africa, through these projects, to create a sustainable and environmentally friendly future for the country.
You can view the entire SAIC 2026 speech by the president here: https://www.gov.za/news/speeches/president-cyril-ramaphosa-south-africa-investment-conference-31-mar-2026
