When President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the 2026 State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall, two priorities emerged as central to South Africa’s economic agenda: infrastructure reform and SME support.
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The government signalled a renewed commitment to revitalising rail corridors and modernising ports, alongside pledging over R2.5bn in SME funding and additional credit guarantees.
By placing trade and small-business growth at the heart of policy, the Sona emphasises that physical and financial infrastructure must progress hand in hand, providing exporters and SMEs the tools needed to drive inclusive, job-rich growth.
“Revitalising rail and ports are fundamentally a trade intervention,” says James Booth, Head: Revenue at Verto. “Efficient logistics reduce costs and improve competitiveness. But as trade volumes increase, so do the financial flows that sit behind every shipment.”
Finance fuels exports
Every container that leaves Durban or Cape Town triggers a parallel process of invoicing, foreign-exchange conversion and cross-border settlement. As businesses expand into African and global markets, managing currency risk, navigating fragmented banking systems and absorbing high transaction costs can quickly erode already thin margins, particularly for SMEs.
“Access to credit enables businesses to grow,” says Booth. “But if SMEs are going to scale beyond South Africa’s borders, they also need fast, transparent and cost-effective cross-border payment infrastructure.”
Delays in settlement constrain cash flow. Currency volatility can wipe out profits between invoice and payment. Intra-African trade, while growing, still presents practical financial friction that limits participation by emerging exporters.
Investment in rail and port infrastructure signals a commitment to restoring South Africa’s competitiveness as a trading nation. However, to fully unlock export-led growth, particularly inclusive growth driven by women- and youth-led SMEs, financial infrastructure must evolve alongside it.
“If rail is the backbone and ports are the arteries of trade, payments are the bloodstream,” says Booth. “South Africa’s export ambitions will ultimately be measured not just by how efficiently goods move across borders, but by how efficiently value moves with them.”
