#SHSI S2 Episode 11 - R500 BILLION Invested— Is the UK Finally Betting on SA Again? Mike Foster- UK Economic Counsellor SA

While in Cape Town for the Mining Indaba, I had the privilege of attending the UK High Commissioner’s Eve of Parliament Address. Amidst the buzz of the State of the Nation Address (SONA), I had a interesting chat with Mike Foster, the Economic Counsellor at the British High Commission.Mike is a heavy hitter in the diplomatic space, as he bridges the gap between UK investment and South African growth thats set to come from it. We took a deep dive into everything from geopolitics and macroeconomics to the current & future of UK tourism to SA and of cause trade. It was a fascinating, wide-ranging conversation at least to me—so, listen in and I hope you enjoy!KEY UK - SA NUMBERS:R250 billion – Annual trade between the UK and South AfricaR500 billion – UK investment in South Africa (making the UK the largest international investor)100,000+ – South Africans directly employed by UK companies~130 – G20 working groups and ministerial meetings the UK participated in during 2025R250 million – Infrastructure partnership investment target (water, sanitation, transport, urban services)R25 billion – V&A Waterfront expansion project (designed by UK architects)R1 billion+ – Combined capital value of infrastructure projects supported through UK-Gauteng collaboration40+ – Officials from Durban and Cape Town connected with Transport for London40 – South African SMEs supported through the UK Trade Partnerships programmeR9 billion+ – New export deals unveiled during PM Starmer's Johannesburg visitR81 billion+ – South African investment in the UK19,000 – Brits employed by Nando's across 480 locations