National Business Initiative

19/10/2026

South Africa is heading to COP31: From climate ambition to implementation

From 9-20 November 2026, the global climate community will gather in Antalya, Türkiye, against a growing imperative to translate climate commitments into practical action.

For South Africa, COP31 presents an opportunity to demonstrate how climate action can support economic competitiveness, strengthen resilience and advance a just and inclusive transition.

The National Business Initiative (NBI), in partnership with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), will bring the South African Pavilion at COP31 to life as a platform to showcase South Africa’s climate action and implementation strengthen partnerships, bring African and international perspectives into global climate conversations and highlight the opportunities shaping our transition.

Follow the South African Pavilion at COP31 for updates, insights and conversations from Antalya.



African Climate Foundation | CHEP | Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) | Energy Council of South Africa | Eskom Hld SOC Ltd | Exxaro | Industrial Development Corporation | Minerals Council South Africa | Presidential Climate Commission | Prosus

16/10/2026

South Africa’s green transition must deliver more than investment. It must create jobs, viable enterprises and sustainable livelihoods for young people.

In a recent article published by Engineering News, the National Business Initiative (NBI) highlights the need for coordinated action to connect green investment with demand-led skills development, employment and inclusive economic growth.

At the Green Livelihoods Summit, NBI CEO Shameela Soobramoney emphasised the importance of moving beyond fragmented initiatives towards collective action, shared accountability and measurable outcomes.

The Summit also marked the launch of Powering Pathways: Building South Africa’s Green Workforce Pipeline - A Skills Development Zones Approach, exploring how place-based collaboration can connect regional skills needs with emerging economic opportunities.

The priority now is to ensure that young people, particularly young women, can access and benefit from the opportunities created by South Africa’s green transition.

🔗 Read the full article: https://www.miningweekly.com/article/green-transition-must-deliver-jobs-and-sustainable-livelihoods-for-south-africas-youth-says-nbi-2026-10-15

Green Livelihoods Summit calls for coordinated action to turn green investment into employment, entrepreneurship and inclusive economic growth South Africa's transition to a greener economy presents a significant opportunity to address youth unemployment, but realising this potential will require a....

13/10/2026

We’re live! 🔴

The Green Livelihoods Summit: Powering South Africa’s Green Economy Future is now underway.

Unable to join us in person? You can follow the discussions live on the National Business Initiative’s (NBI) YouTube channel as leaders from government, business and the skills ecosystem explore practical pathways to green skills development, employment creation and sustainable livelihoods for South Africa’s youth.

📺 Watch the livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/SKIUmIv5Ov0?si=sbD_UE8drd6Ro-Kk

Join the conversation as we work towards a more inclusive green economy.

Powering South Africa’s Green Economy Future​

13/10/2026

The wait is over! The Green Livelihoods Summit: Powering South Africa’s Green Economy Future is underway in Johannesburg.

Leaders from government, business, training institutions, youth employment intermediaries and development partners are coming together to explore how South Africa can translate the transition to a decarbonised economy into meaningful opportunities for young people.

The focus is on strengthening collaboration to advance green skills development, employment creation and enterprise growth, with particular attention to ensuring young women can participate and benefit.

12/10/2026

Speaker Announcement | Green Livelihoods Summit: Powering South Africa’s Green Economy Future

Simon Baloyi, CEO of Sasol, joins our Green Livelihoods Summit as a speaker on Accelerating youth access to the green economy through inclusive skilling, employment creation, and entrepreneurial growth.

Guiding Sasol’s strategic role in South Africa’s Just Energy Transition and serving as a JET SEP CEO champion, his leadership drives private sector alignment with national skilling goals to turn commitments into tangible employment and enterprise opportunities.

We extend our sincere thanks to Sasol for sponsoring the Summit and partnering with us to build practical, sustainable pathways for South Africa’s youth.

📅 Date: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
📍 Venue: The Forum The Campus, Bryanston

08/10/2026

CMAS 2026 is almost here.

From 13-15 October, Kigali will host the Carbon Markets Africa Summit, bringing Africa’s carbon markets onto the global stage.

CMAS connects projects, capital, buyers and policy to deliver credible pipelines and real transactions.

Join policymakers, project developers, investors, buyers and market enablers as the conversation moves towards high-integrity carbon markets and actionable solutions at scale.

There is still time to join the conversation. Register today: https://carbonmarketsafrica.com/

07/10/2026

What does the Just Transition mean for your business?

Join the National Business Initiative (NBI) and Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency (MGCA) for the JUST SA Business Symposium on 20 October.

Explore the risks, investment opportunities and practical actions shaping Mpumalanga’s transition with a focus on business-led economic diversification, transition planning and an investable project pipeline in Nkangala.

📅 20 October 2026

📍 Sandton, Johannesburg

🕘 09:00-16:00

Connect. Explore opportunities. Shape the transition.

👉 Register: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=Y4cKdvYc7kWviYdAhCoGn5wXS2hTRjNEtO2shlF3_RpUN1hGMEpSM1owVDNXRkVLMEpGWjFLQlpBUC4u&route=shorturl

07/10/2026

Speaker Announcement | Green Livelihoods Summit: Powering South Africa’s Green Economy Future

Kirsten Freimann, Head of the TVET, Skills Development and Employment Promotion Cluster at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, joins our Green Livelihoods Summit as a panellist.

Leading German Technical Cooperation’s skills and employment portfolio in support of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition and Digital Transformation, her work strengthens skills systems and education–industry linkages to improve labour market relevance, drive enterprise growth, and accelerate transitions from education into employment.

📅 Date: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
📍 Venue: The Forum The Campus, Bryanston

06/10/2026

Speaker Announcement | Green Livelihoods Summit: Powering South Africa’s Green Economy Future

Rudi Dicks, Head of the Project Management Office in The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa, joins the Opening Plenary at our Green Livelihoods Summit to bring a national delivery lens to green skilling and economic opportunity.

Leading state-level delivery on key growth imperatives, Rudi will address the transition from policy to implementation and impact, shaping the discussions on how government, business, and social partners can collaborate to translate green economy ambitions into tangible employment and sustainable livelihoods for young people.

📅 Date: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
📍 Venue: The Forum The Campus, Bryanston

01/10/2026

Speaker Announcement | Green Livelihoods Summit: Powering South Africa’s Green Economy Future

Kaloli Tsekoa, Manager of Just Energy Transition (JET) Portfolios in the JET Project Management Unit (JET PMU), will join the Closing Panel at our Green Livelihoods Summit.

With more than two decades of leadership across the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Small Enterprise Finance Agency and Eskom, his work focuses on ensuring the economic transition delivers measurable impact by expanding skills development, job creation and enterprise growth, while strengthening collaboration across government, business and key social partners.

📅 Date: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
📍 Venue: The Forum The Campus, Bryanston