Exclusive: Mike Abel, The Up&Up Group - Ons weet wat ons weet: There’s never been a better time to invest in SA

Mike Abel, The Up&Up Group executive chairman, reflects on The Up&Up Group’s decision to buy back all the equity in the previous M&C Saatchi Group South Africa from the global M&C Saatchi Plc (Image supplied)

Anxiety, a plummeting currency, a distressed consumer, political uncertainty and even fear among some, a looming technical recession and news report after news report of investors threatening to leave the country.

How things have changed in a few short months!

National unity government

A government of national unity (GNU) that few believed was possible has stood firm.

The rand is strengthening.

At least one commentator sees the rand strengthening to R16.20 to the US dollar within a year.

The investment community is sitting up, leaning in, paying attention. There is a buzz.

Ministers, despite political differences, are – by and large – saying and doing things that instil a sense of confidence.

The world

Now, take a moment to consider what’s happening around the world.

Wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the threat of looming recessions from countries as diverse as China, Germany and New Zealand, uncertainty around the US election: the bad news cycle seems relentless.

Relooking SA as an investment opportunity

The difference between today and six months or a year ago is that South Africa is not in the same state of depression.

All things considered, South Africa surely must be relooked as an investment opportunity.
To bet on South Africa is to bet on its potential, its resilience, its people. And South African people have spoken.

In May, more than two-thirds of South Africans chose the road of hope, reconciliation, collaboration and growth, and discarded the idea of hateful identity politics, corruption and disruption.

Of course, barely a day goes by without someone wondering aloud in the media and social media whether the GNU will last.

This is the nature of democracy.

And, this is the nature of our maturing democracy. A case can be made that it needed to become messy to start the journey of becoming clean.

Make no mistake, there is a long road ahead and no one is naive enough to believe that all the players in the GNU should suddenly love each other and sing Kumbaya, but so far, the signs are good that politicians are, finally, putting the country ahead of politics.

Eben Etzebeth: Symbolic of the South African way

Eben Etzebeth became the most capped Springbok ever during a riveting game at Mbombela stadium recently.

This stalwart, this giant among rugby players, is known for putting his body on the line in the trenches.

He’s not the flashy finisher. He’s in the engine room, week in, week out. In many ways, this is symbolic of the “South African way”.

His best friend, the inspirational Bok captain Siya Kolisi paid homage to the man he calls “brother”.

This brotherhood of talented leaders embodies the spirit of playing for the people of South Africa.

Consider this for a moment: Which team in the world would want to face 15 South Africans who are playing for the orphans, the homeless, the jobless, the victims of crime and corruption, the sunshine, the rainbow nation, reconciliation, dance, and the penchant for self-correcting every time doom appears the most logical outcome?

That’s not the same as facing 15 young men who happen to be playing for a team.

That, genuinely, is facing something far, far bigger than the sum of its parts. It raised two world cups in succession and not many would bet against a third. This is what it means to be South African.

Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie

Mixed martial arts is not everyone’s cup of tea, but many – who probably have never watched the sport – know about Dricus du Plessis, the UFC middleweight champion who wears his country’s colours with pride.

When he defended his title in Perth recently, it was fitting that Kolisi and Etzebeth walked him into the arena with the national anthem playing and embraced him in the octagon after his win.

These are sporting heroes embodying something remarkable about South Africa and its people.

Du Plessis’s famous saying, Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie” has reverberated across the country.

It means: They – the rest of the world – don’t know what we know.

What is it that we know?

We know we have a spirit and resilience that makes us formidable as a nation. We are a nation that chose peace in 1994 and not war.

We are a nation that stands up and dusts ourselves off in the face of the most heartbreaking circumstances. We are a nation that chose the GNU.

Our resilience and strength of character goes beyond the sporting arena, although sport – as the father of our nation Nelson Mandela reminded us – has an uncanny ability to unite us.

South African Mark Shuttleworth became the first African to travel in space and his Linux-based operating system is named after this continent’s most inspiring export: Ubuntu.

Elon Musk, who was born and spent his formative years in this country, is the wealthiest man in the world with a vision so big detractors often laugh him off, before realising he means what he says.

He’s electrified mobility and redefined space travel, among much more.

The wealthiest man in Los Angeles, Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, the son of Chinese immigrants, was born and educated in Port Elizabeth, completed his medical degree at Wits and did his medical internship at the Johannesburg General Hospital, today known as the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital. His pioneering medical work and philanthropy is shaping the world positively.

Belief in the potential of this country

Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie, but we do.

And it is high time more South Africans acknowledge it.

This unwavering and unflinching belief in the potential of this country and continent is behind The Up&Up Group’s decision to buy back all the equity in the previous M&C Saatchi Group South Africa from the global M&C Saatchi Plc.

The decision to make one of the biggest 100% locally owned creative groups of companies in Africa, while others were selling or exiting, was made before the elections, before the GNU.

It was made on the premise of: Ons weet wat ons weet.

We know what we know, and with the overwhelming evidence now in plain sight, about the resilience of our country, about all signs pointing to renewal and reform, there has never been a better time to invest in South Africa.