The state of southern Africa

The state of Southern Africa

The 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip revealed a region that is rapidly changing, but where old constraints persist.

By Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and editor of the WhyAfrica magazine

After spending 45 days on the road, driving more than 9000km, visiting 35 project sites in South Africa, southern Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini, and interviewing more than 50 stakeholders and decision makers across a range of sectors, I am optimistic about the region.

But, and that’s a big BUT, there are challenges on the ground that are not always highlighted at international conferences and in the mainstream media.

The main aim of our annual WhyAfrica Road Trip is to gather on-the ground information and business intelligence about the countries we visit and to package that information and content in a way that WhyAfrica’s first tier clients can make informed business decisions, conduct thorough risk assessments and carry out detailed due diligence studies before investing in the region and in projects across southern Africa.

New momentum visible      

In South Africa demand for critical minerals is driving renewed interest in historic mining operations in established mining regions. There are also opportunities in underexplored areas.

The country should be a natural leader in exploration, yet its exploration pipeline remains thin and regulatory bottlenecks continue to slow progress.

Namibia, by contrast, is drawing significant exploration capital with companies targeting lithium, REEs, copper, uranium, oil and gas.

Eswatini remains a small but interesting market, with isolated pockets of opportunity in agriculture, conservation-linked tourism and light industry. However, structural constraints weigh heavily on investor confidence.

There is interest in renewable energy projects and niche tourism, especially around protected areas, but these opportunities need clearer regulatory support and stronger institutional capacity to translate into bankable investments.

Lesotho presents a similar mix of potential and structural challenge. Its water resources are central to South Africa’s long-term water security, and the hydropower and water-transfer schemes remain the country’s most strategic assets.

Biodiversity conservation across the region faces pressure but could be a great investment for the future. South African National Parks’ Vision 2040 is encouraging.

Tourism stands out as one of the most promising sectors across the region but is heavily dependent on reliable infrastructure, safe roads, functioning border posts and consistent marketing support.

You can read more in the WhyAfrica Review Report which is now available to purchase in the WhyAfrica online shop.

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The state of southern Africa