Market insights: The view from South Africa
Almost all interpreneurs in South Africa are optimistic about the future: 98% expect the overall environment for international expansion to become more favourable in the next few years. Just under twothirds (63%) said this is an easy move to make in the current geopolitical and economic climate.
What do you see as the most significant opportunity for your overseas operations?
More than half (51%) were primarily seeking access to digital technologies and innovation by going global (a significant jump from 41% in 2024), just behind market growth opportunities (which remains the number one reason at 54%, despite falling from 67% two years ago). Looking ahead, adopting advanced technology is the number one biggest opportunity for their overseas operations (said 64%), while AI has had a significant impact on the international expansion strategy of 77%.
As they expanded internationally, the biggest challenges interpreneurs faced were logistics and supply chain issues (38%) and navigating global tax regulation (also 38%).
Going forward, currency volatility is viewed as the most significant threat to overseas operations (40%), followed by tariff-related cost increases (37%), increased competition from local firms (35%) and supply chain disruption (35%).
For interpreneurs here, the biggest challenge in maintaining organisational culture while expanding overseas is in adapting company values to local norms and customs (44% said so — higher than the global average of 30%). Balancing global standards with local flexibility and communicating culture consistently across countries came next (at 42% and 37% respectively).
