The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has shown a strong financial result as it has exceeded its target for infrastructure investment in the country by 47%.
The state-owned company, focused on investing in critical infrastructure and development projects in South Africa. The bank reported over R7.8 billion in profit for the 2026 financial year.
The bank also exceeded several investment targets for the year, including its contribution to South Africa’s fixed investment. The group aimed to contribute R6.2 billion to the value of infrastructure delivered and exceeded this target by approximately R300 million.
In addition, the “Value of infrastructure unlocked in under resourced municipalities” was roughly R900 million higher than targeted.
While the DBSA performed well financially, its investors and clients had concerns over the company, reflected in a lower-than-targeted client and stakeholder satisfaction index score.
The bank aimed for a four on this index, but only achieved 3.75, which it attributed to stakeholders not being fully aware of the group’s functions and concerns from clients.
“The underperformance is attributed to: A lower score for Stakeholder Relationship Index, which is due to some of the stakeholders not being aware of the DBSA’s products, channels and sector focus. A slightly lower than expected score for client’s satisfaction survey due to clients indicating concerns around product relevance, responsiveness, and innovation.”
South Africa’s fixed investment concerns
Despite the DBSA meeting and exceeding its investment targets for the year, South Africa’s fixed investment remains lower than in 2025. From the end of 2025 to the first half of 2026, the value of planned investment projects dropped by 81% to R137.7 billion.
The data came from Nedbank’s capital expenditure project listing, which, although noting a considerable decline in planned fixed investment, noted that the amount is expected to grow marginally from last year. It said that South Africa’s Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) is expected to rise in 2026, but at a slower pace than previously anticipated.
“Increased government infrastructure spending and continued investment in renewable energy capacity should help offset some of the drag from a less supportive global environment,” Nedbank said.
