Discovery CEO Adrian Gore says South Africa has reached a critical point

Discovery CEO Adrian Gore said that a fundamental shift has occurred in South Africa, with the country’s narrative becoming significantly more positive over the past year. 

This has been built on the back of a strong partnership between the government and big business, which has steadied the ship and positioned the country for faster economic growth. 

Gore told Daily Investor that this faster economic growth will take time to play out, with the country needing to capitalise on the momentum it has built. 

“I have been part of the business-government partnership, and I think that we have steadied the ship to a large degree, particularly on Eskom and around logistics,” Gore said. 

“I think a lot of work is taking place on crime, and you see that indicators are trending in the right direction. Directionally, South Africa is turning the corner.” 

These are greenshoots that have the potential to drive meaningful change in the country, with Gore being a vocal proponent of a shifting narrative that is able to drive real-world outcomes. 

“I am totally convinced about the rubric we have created about growth, jobs, and confidence. Whatever we do must be about creating economic growth that creates jobs and confidence,” Gore said.

“Getting the growth to come through will take some time, but it will come through. South Africa is in a very important phase right now.” 

In his presentation for investors, Gore pointed out some of the positive developments South Africa has experienced over the past year. 

The CEO highlighted that South Africa only experienced seven days of load-shedding in 2025 compared to 290 days in 2023/24. There has also been a 15% increase in rail volumes year-on-year. 

One of the most notable ways in which South Africa has turned this corner is the state’s fiancial health, which has improved remarkably. 

This can be seen in South Africa’s declining bond yields, which have fallen from 10.38% to 8.1% year-on-year. S&P Global also gave the country its first credit rating upgrade in well over a decade. 

Gore admitted to Daily Investor that the situation in the Middle East could reverse some of these gains, but many of them are fundamental and are in South Africa’s control. 

Vibe shift

Gore explained that South Africa’s improvements go beyond numbers on a page, with changes occurring on an individual level that indicate things are improving. 

“There are two things. As an individual, I believe optimism lets you see opportunities. We are not coded for that. We are coded to be negative. That is a tactical issue,” Gore said. 

“But as a mass of people, there is a huge number of opinions floating around, and they change from time to time for better or worse.” 

Gore said it is these opinions that have changed in South Africa, with people becoming generally more positive about the country. 

“My sense at the moment is that people are talking differently about the country. Just the same people compared a few years ago to now,” Gore said. 

“My impression is that the world has become less appealing and South Africa is now more appealing. People who used to say they are going to the UK are now saying that it is terrible and that things in South Africa are not that bad.”

Gore has seen it with regard to Discovery as a business, with it not having to fight to try and keep as many of its staff as it had to previously. 

“I mean, we are not facing emigration anymore. At one stage, three to four years ago, you were holding on to people. It has changed,” Gore said. 

“Opinions change irrationally over time in different ways, but one thing is for sure, and the studies show that opinions are causal.” 

This is vital for the country’s economy and improvements to the lives of South Africans, as a positive narrative can create a flywheel. 

“We have got to try and ditch the sense that the country is in inevitable decline. The current thought is that no matter what happens, it will revert to decline. I think that stops investment,” Gore said.  

“And so, if you can create a different narrative with economic growth, you will see people on the street feeling more positive and businesses investing more. The narrative in our country is always worse than it really is.” 

“I think, you know, if you change that narrative and give us some confidence with the economic growth, I think you will see a massive transfer of benefit to the ordinary person, and then you get a kind of a flywheel effect.”

Gore explained that opinions often drive investment and thus economic growth, with all three being part of a loop rather than individual factors that have no link.