To conclude the year, our final episode for 2024 explored the dynamic landscape of Africa's insurance industry. Michael Avery was joined by Andrew Warren, Director of Deloitte’s Financial Services Advisory Business Unit, where they delved into key insights from Deloitte’s Africa Insurance Outlook 2024/25.

From the resilience of South African insurers to the impact of digital innovation and climate change, they unpacked the complexities of Africa's insurance. Andrew also shared his expert views on the imperative for accessible insurance, the pressing issue of underinsurance, and a hopeful outlook for the future.

For decades, South Africa hasn't been able to fully leverage our sophisticated financial sector to facilitate capital flows into the country. Fortunately, new initiatives such as Operation Phumelela have been established by industry leaders to find ways to better stimulate economic growth and job creation through policy reforms and public-private partnerships. Michael Avery was joined by two of these industry leaders, Leila Fourie, Group CEO at the JSE, and Stuart Theobald, Chairman of Krutham, to share their ambitions and plans for Operation Phumelela and the challenges the initiative faces.

Join us as we celebrate our 50th episode of The Monocle Banking Podcast with a special guest, Emrie Brown, CEO of RMB. In this conversation with host Michael Avery, Emrie shared her unique perspective on navigating career progression as a "jungle gym" as well as outlining her strategic vision for RMB. She also explained her optimism about the future of M&A in South Africa, considering our improved political stability, a favourable interest rate outlook, and growing international interest.