Risk Insights ESG GPS Sustainable Newsletter

DEAR VALUED STAKEHOLDER,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Risk Insights Newsletter!

We are delighted to share the latest highlights of our journey at the forefront of ESG and sustainability across Africa. This month’s edition reflects the growing momentum across the continent’s sustainable finance landscape, strengthened by South Africa’s active leadership in the G20. These platforms are elevating Africa’s voice in global discussions on energy transition, sustainable finance, and inclusive growth.

At Risk Insights, our mission remains clear: “Pioneering ESG, Powering Africa’s Tomorrow.” Through continuous innovation, strategic partnerships, and data-driven intelligence, we are empowering businesses, investors, academia, and policymakers to advance transparency, capacity building, carbon accounting, resilience, and sustainable growth across African markets.

Together, we are shaping a more sustainable and competitive future for the continent.

ANUSHKA AND ANDREY BOGDANOV ADVANCE AFRICA'S VOICE IN GLOBAL BUSINESS AND ENERGY TRANSITION DIALOGUE

Anushka and Andrey Bogdanov proudly represented Risk Insights at the B20 South Africa 2025 Summit, engaging with global leaders on trade, sustainability, and the future of inclusive economic growth. Their participation extended beyond the summit floor-both as task force members, they contributed to the Energy Mix and Just Transition Policy Paper, shaping strategic recommendations on sustainable energy, climate finance, and the pathways required for emerging markets to transition equitably.

Risk Insights continues to champion Africa’s perspective in global policy discussions, ensuring the continent’s priorities in energy transition, climate resilience, and sustainable development are reflected on the world stage.

We are delighted to share that Anushka Bogdanov delivered a keynote address at the Inaugural Pan-African ESG Awards held alongside the 26th ASEA Annual Conference in Kigali.

The event brought together stock exchange CEOs, regulators, policymakers, investors, and leading corporates to recognise excellence in ESG disclosure and sustainable market leadership across the continent.

Key Themes From the Address

In her keynote, Anushka Bogdanov emphasised:

• The growing importance of credible ESG data in shaping Africa’s access to capital.
• Africa’s a unique opportunity to play a central role in the global sustainability transition.
• The responsibility of exchanges and regulators is to strengthen ESG data transparency, market resilience, and deepen the capital markets in Africa through sustainable investments.
• Africa’s young population requires support in skills and technology, which can become a competitive advantage rather than a risk.
• The role of locally developed tools such as ESG GPS® in enabling high-quality, comparable ESG insights for the continent.

A Milestone for Africa’s Capital Markets

The awards recognised companies across sectors for leadership in climate action, governance, DEI, environmental disclosure, and community impact. This inaugural platform signals Africa’s commitment to global standards and positions the region for deeper sustainable investment.

At Risk Insights, this milestone reaffirms our mission:

At Risk Insights, our thought leadership continues to shape the dialogue on Africa’s sustainable future. Through research, policy engagement, and insights grounded in data, we contribute to advancing transparent, resilient, and future-ready markets, ensuring Africa’s perspectives are represented in global discussions.

SOUTH AFRICA'S CARBON TAX | ESG, CLIMATE FINANCE & AFRICA'S MOMENT

In this recent episode of our podcast series ESG Matters with Risk Insights, we dive deep into how carbon tax works in South Africa and what it means for businesses across Africa’s markets. Hosted by Anushka Bogdanov, the conversation sheds light on carbon-pricing mechanisms, regulatory shifts, and the implications for firms navigating ESG compliance, investment risk, and sustainable growth. This episode offers timely and practical insights for investors, corporates, and policymakers committed to Africa’s just transition and climate-resilient future. Listen here!

LATEST MEDIUM FEATURES

In this article, Risk Insights argues that carbon is no longer just an environmental issue; it’s a new currency. As Africa’s economies evolve, companies that measure, price, and manage their carbon emissions position themselves for long-term competitiveness, regulatory compliance, and investor trust. From corporate footprinting and value-chain emissions to strategic carbon pricing and offsetting, the article explains how firms can transform climate risks into opportunities. By embedding carbon accounting into ESG strategy, African businesses can lower costs, strengthen governance, and prepare for global carbon-pricing mechanisms and emerging carbon markets. Read the full article here!

This article, authored by Anushka Bogdanov and Kunaal Kalyan, explores how ESG GPS® data uncovers Botswana’s evolving economic landscape beyond diamonds. The analysis highlights strong governance performance across BSE-listed companies, while environmental disclosure remains an emerging area of opportunity. As Botswana advances its climate ambitions, economic diversification efforts, and carbon-market development, enhanced ESG transparency is poised to attract new investment and support long-term sustainable growth. Read the full article here!

SOUTH AFRICA'S ESG DATA CAN BE A NEW OPERATING SYSTEM FOR THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS - RI AT LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS & POLITICAL SCIENCE BLOG

In this article from the London School of Economics and Politica Science blog, Risk Insights argues that ESG data should form the backbone of modern business in South Africa. With climate shocks, social change, and global instability reshaping economies, the old shareholder-first model is no longer enough. Instead, ESG transparency can act as a stakeholder-centred operating system, enabling accountability, trust, and sustainable capital allocation. While governance disclosure among JSE-listed firms is relatively strong, many companies still lag on environmental, social, and supply-chain disclosures. The piece underscores that better, comparable ESG data could deliver competitive advantage, resilience, and long-term growth for businesses across South Africa and beyond. Read the full article here!

RISK INSIGHTS' RESEARCH NOW LIVE ON GOOGLE SCHOLAR & SSRN

We are proud to announce that Risk Insights’ latest research on African sustainability, ESG, and capital markets is now accessible on both Google Scholar and SSRN. This collection features peer-reviewed studies and industry-shaping papers authored by Anushka Bogdanov, Andrey Bogdanov and Kunaal Kalyan, offering deep insights into Africa’s evolving ESG landscape, disclosure practices, and market dynamics. By making our work available on global academic platforms, we continue to strengthen Africa’s voice in sustainability research and ensure that evidence-based insights guide the continent’s future. View here!

RISK INSIGHTS AT THE AI REGULATION & COMPLIANCE CONFERENCE 2025

Risk Insights participated in the AI Regulation & Compliance Conference held on 4–5 November 2025 in Fourways, Johannesburg, joining policymakers, legal practitioners, and technology leaders in shaping the future of responsible AI. The event provided a powerful platform to explore how governance, law, and innovation must evolve in an era defined by rapid technological advancement.

Representing Risk Insights, our leadership contributed insights on the role of AI in strengthening ESG compliance, emphasising the importance of data integrity, ethical AI, and transparency in building corporate accountability and investor trust. Through ESG GPS™ and our advanced analytics capabilities, we demonstrated how AI-driven intelligence can bridge the gap between regulatory expectations, sustainability commitments, and responsible business growth.

Our participation reinforced our commitment to aligning technology with purpose, ensuring that Africa’s digital transformation is guided by ethics, grounded in trust, and empowered by data.

RISK INSIGHTS AT THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE 2025

Risk Insights recently participated in the Strategic Risk, Resilience, ESG & AI-Enabled Risk Leadership Conference 2025, held from 11–14 November at Capital on The Park Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg. The convening brought together leaders, practitioners, and innovators to address the growing complexity facing organisations today.

The conference explored critical themes including strategic risk and organisational resilience, ESG integration for long-term value creation, and the role of AI-enabled tools in advancing risk management and decision-making.

Representing Risk Insights, our leadership engaged in discussions on how ESG intelligence, sustainability data, and AI-driven analytics can strengthen Africa’s risk landscape and equip institutions to navigate volatility with confidence.

Our participation reaffirmed our commitment to pioneering ESG and powering Africa’s tomorrow, contributing to important conversations shaping the continent’s resilience, sustainability, and digital transformation.

4TH ANNUAL AFRICA DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION & BELONGING SUMMIT

Risk Insights is pleased to share that our Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Andrey Bogdanov, will participate as a speaker at the 4th Annual Africa Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) Summit and Expo 2025.

As a leader dedicated to embedding ESG and inclusive risk management across the continent, Andrey brought invaluable insight into how DEIB strengthens organisational resilience, drives innovation, and supports long-term sustainable growth in African markets. His contribution also drew on his academic interest in ESG and gender in leadership, highlighting the distinction between true gender leadership and symbolic representation within the African context.

RISK INSIGHTS PARTNERS CBONDS AT DUBAI 2025

The Cbonds Emerging Markets Fixed Income Conference held in Dubai on 13 November 2025. The event brought together global investors, issuers, and market leaders to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of emerging market debt.

THE MARKET 2.0 - BAHRAIN WITH AFCM

The Market 2.0 Conference held on 20 November 2025 at the Sheraton Bahrain Hotel in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This influential global platform convened forward-thinking leaders, innovators, and policymakers to examine how markets are transforming amid technological acceleration and shifting sustainability priorities.