The annual JSE Corporate Affairs Symposium brought together South Africa’s leading voices from business, government, labour, and civil society to explore how corporate affairs leaders can shape national competitiveness in a time of slow growth, fragile confidence and shifting trust.
Delivering the keynote address, Mr. Sandile Shabalala, CEO of Access Bank South Africa called for a stronger CEO–corporate affairs compact and practical, measurable commitments that translate belief into delivery.
A moment for leadership and delivery
Mr Shabalala opened with a powerful story of a young Gauteng entrepreneur who succeeded once she found a financial partner who believed in her and backed that belief with action. “Belief is not sentiment. Belief is a decision to move from intention to delivery,” he told the audience
Against the backdrop of South Africa’s 33.2% unemployment rate and the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer showing that 77% of South Africans trust their employer to do what is right, Mr Shabalala stressed that leadership must focus on credibility and tangible outcomes.
“This is not a narrow communications conference,” he said. “It is a leadership forum about credibility, policy alignment, and national competitiveness.”
The CEO–corporate affairs compact
Mr Shabalala outlined what he called a compact between CEOs and Corporate Affairs leaders, “CEOs owe corporate affairs the clarity of purpose tied to national outcomes, a mandate to work across silos, and cover when trade-offs become tough.” He added, “Corporate Affairs owes executives the foresight, insight into what communities value, visible progress and reliable execution”.
He explained how Access Bank operationalises this through a quarterly “trust and impact review”, a three-page working session mapping key stakeholder issues, commitments and progress, and the next 90 days of action
SA Inc as a Shared Mandate
Highlighting the concept of “SA Inc”, Mr Shabalala urged business, government, labour and civil society to align around executable outcomes.
He proposed two practical steps:
- Paying small businesses on time by setting a 30 day payment standard across corporates to relieve cash flow pressure.
- Turning training into income by linking training investments to a young person’s first revenue within 90 days.
“These outcomes are practical, measurable and within reach of every leader in this room,” he noted.
Lessons from Access Bank’s journey
Mr Shabalala shared three stories from Access Bank South Africa’s journey:
- Backing women entrepreneurs through Access Bank for Women and Womenpreneur Pitch & Match, which earned the bank recognition as Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs in Africa and SME Financier of the Year for Africa.
- Partnerships as a method of collaborating with universities, incubators and fintechs to accelerate inclusion.
- Transparency and correction by setting public service standards, acknowledging shortfalls and correcting them openly to build durable trust.
Practical tools for leaders
In his keynote, Mr Shabalala shared tools that any leadership team can use:
- The Outcomes Scorecard by measuring commitments like supplier payments, youth placements, and women-led business support.
- The Coalition Playbook, a one-page agreement defining roles, outcomes, and timelines for partnerships.
- Testable Narratives by ensuring that public promises can be independently verified.
“If you cannot describe the proof in one sentence, do not say it yet,” he advised
The broader symposium agenda explored G20 and B20 priorities, digital disruption, misinformation risks and sustainability and placing corporate affairs “firmly at the strategy table.”
Mr Shabalala closed with a call to action: “Belief is not a press release. Belief is backing people with action. If we believe in our entrepreneurs, our young people and in women who are building businesses, and act on that belief, SA Inc will move forward.”
