End of a five-month winning streak for South Africa

South Africa's five-month winning streak in economic health came to an abrupt end with a record 123 insolvencies recorded in September 2026, pushing the total number of insolvent businesses this year to 1,136. This sharp decline marks a 23.4% decrease from the same period last year, a stark contrast to the country's projected economic recovery. The IMF's latest outlook now downgrades South Africa's growth rate to 1% in 2026, before slowly climbing to 1.3% in 2027.