Risk factors present and future should be planned for carefully by corporate leaders
The 2025 edition of Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey tracked the most pressing risks for business decision makers for nearly two decades. Economic slowdown remains a main concern in South Africa, with 78% of respondents having suffered a loss as a result, while political risk climbed three places to the second most pressing risk for businesses.
The rise of risks related to trade and geopolitical challenges reflects growing instability across regions, with implications for supply chains, regulatory environments and financial performance.
Despite rising volatility, most organisations remain underprepared: only 14% of respondents track their exposure to the top 10 risks and only 19% use analytics to evaluate the value of their insurance programmes. These findings underscore the urgent need for organisations to rethink their approach to risk, moving from reactive measures to proactive, integrated strategies.
The fact that economic slowdown remains a top risk for South African organisations means that volatility and uncertainty are now constants for organisations. From evolving global scenarios to shifting economic realities, these forces are converging and impacting balance sheets. Building resilience through analytics and scenario planning is essential for navigating this environment.
More resilience needed
Trade tensions and geopolitical instability have intensified significantly in the past two years, slowing economic growth and creating risks and uncertainty across several fronts for businesses. These trends are placing companies at a disadvantage, where they are often unable to use tactics they leaned on in more stable times. Consumer demand and business attitudes typically change, which can immediately impact revenue. At the same time, raising capital can become more expensive and difficult if market liquidity diminishes, drastically affecting profitability.
Economic slowdown or slow recovery is ranked as the number-one risk facing South African businesses, with 78% of respondents saying that their organisations suffered a loss as a result. Yet, only 35% of respondents have assessed the risk and only 25% developed a risk management plan to mitigate the risk.
Organisations can bolster their resilience and set themselves up for long-term success by remaining vigilant, strategic and focused on fundamental best practices. While economic slowdown is not an event that can be insured directly, the value of having an expert risk advisor in your corner who is able to provide data and analytical insights from a global and local perspective will create a clearer picture of emerging technologies, trends and risk management approaches to help organisations make better decisions.
Cyber risk topped the global risk agenda in last year’s global risk management survey but dropped out of South Africa’s top 10 entirely – despite digital threats evolving. It’s alarming to see cyber risk slip down the rankings when the challenges remain deeply connected to every aspect of business resilience. Both business interruption and damage to reputation can be a direct result of a cyber incident. Treating these risks as isolated issues creates blind spots for organisations.
Future fears
As AI continues to transform how organisations operate, fundamentally shifting risk profiles, it is crucial for organisations to develop a strategic board-level response that integrates people, processes and technology to boost resilience in the face of rapid change. Quantification and risk transfer are vital tools to protect organisational value and ensure business continuity.
The 2025 survey also provided a forward-looking perspective on the risks that business leaders expect to be most critical by 2028. Cyber risk appears to make a return by 2028, while economic slowdown will continue to remain a top risk alongside political risk.
The top six South African risks by 2028 are expected to be economic slowdown/slow recovery; political risk; cash flow/liquidity risk; increasing competition; commodity price risk/scarcity of materials; and cyber attacks/data breaches.
All the risks in the current and future top risks for South Africa remain deeply entrenched in economic growth and stability, with many organisations deeply aware of the risk that political risk poses from both a local and global perspective. Success in this environment will go to those who embrace risk not just as a challenge to be managed but as a lever for growth.
Text | Clayton Ellary and Zamani Ngidi
Photography | Black Salmon
Clayton Ellary is a Risk Advisor and Zamani Ngidi is Business Unit Manager for M&A and Cyber Solutions at Aon South Africa. For more information, go to aon.co.za.
