Nelson Mandela Bay, 11 May 2026: The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber will host its Annual General Meeting on 27 May 2027, at the Capital Boardwalk, bringing together business leaders and key stakeholders to engage on the theme, “Actions required to unlock the potential of South Africa and the Bay of Opportunity,” at a time when global economic shifts are reshaping the competitive landscape and placing increasing pressure on countries and metros to adapt, innovate and position themselves for survival and sustainable growth.
The panel discussion will feature Busi Mavuso, the dynamic and courageous Chief Executive Officer of Business Unity South Africa, alongside automotive industry stalwart Martina Biene, Managing Director and Chairperson of Volkswagen Group Africa.
Mavuso, a Chartered Accountant with extensive academic credentials, including two Master’s degrees and ongoing PhD studies, is widely recognised for her leadership in business and governance. In addition to leading BLSA, she serves on multiple boards as a non-executive director and contributes actively to national development. Her work has earned her numerous accolades, including Runner-Up in the 2024 Business Leader of the Year Awards and a Future Leader Award from the BPI Iconic Leadership and Excellence Awards Foundation. She is also associated with the Allan Gray Centre and Foundation.
Biene brings over two decades of global automotive industry experience, having started her career with Volkswagen in Germany in 2001. She has held several senior leadership roles across product development, sales and marketing, including Head of the Golf Product Line and Head of Small Cars globally. During her previous tenure in South Africa, she led the Volkswagen brand to a record 20.4% market share in 2019. Since her appointment as Chairperson and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa in November 2022, she has overseen operations across the Sub-Saharan Africa region, further strengthening the company’s strategic footprint on the continent.
The conversation comes at a pivotal moment where the need to retain existing jobs, while unlocking new avenues for growth has become increasingly urgent, especially as local industries face a multitude of challenges at local, national and global levels.
Central to the discussion will be the recognition that while innovation, efficiency and forward-looking industrial strategies are essential, they cannot be realised in the absence of an enabling domestic environment and a stable and supportive regulatory framework and policies, Van Huyssteen emphasises that Nelson Mandela Bay’s ability to capitalise on its industrial strengths will depend on how effectively these structural challenges are addressed, while simultaneously positioning the metro within the evolving global economy, noting that “Our metro is one of South Africa’s foremost manufacturing hubs, with deep capabilities in the automotive and broader industrial sectors, but in a rapidly evolving global economy, those historic strengths alone will not guarantee future competitiveness.
We are operating in an environment where agility, innovation and reliability are no longer differentiators, but absolute requirements.”
She adds that stabilising the basics is an urgent priority, stating that “to unlock the Bay of Opportunity, we must urgently get the basics right. Reliable electricity, water security, efficient logistics and capable local governance are not optional extras; they are the baseline conditions required for businesses to operate, invest and grow.”
Van Huyssteen further underscores the Bay’s potential, while cautioning against inaction, explaining that “the reality is that Nelson Mandela Bay is the most fixable metro in South Africa, and is uniquely positioned to lead in reinventing its economy as a low carbon manufacturing base on the African continent.
She concludes by stressing the need for urgent collaboration, saying “unlocking South Africa’s economic potential requires a genuine partnership between business and government, grounded in accountability and execution. We need urgency in strong leadership and decision-making, and consistency in delivery, because every delay further weakens our competitiveness and places additional pressure at an unprecedented time when the world trade order has been upended and the conventional rules and norms are no longer in place. If we get the basics right, proactively find the opportunities and move with the necessary urgency, we have a shot at unlocking the potential of the Bay and positioning the metro, and South Africa more broadly, as credible and competitive players in the global economy, but the window to act is narrowing, and the cost of inaction is simply too high.”
