Sim Tshabalala, Chief Executive of Standard Bank Group, delivered a pointed warning in Johannesburg: anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa is not just a domestic social problem. It is a threat to the continent’s economic future.
Speaking at a seminar organized by the foundation of former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, Tshabalala argued that migrants function as economic connectors across Africa. They build corridors of trade, information and finance that often precede formal regional agreements. When host countries embrace xenophobic policies and rhetoric, they destroy these natural bridges and signal hostility to the cross-border movement of people and capital that continental integration depends on.
Additional reference context is available at https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2026/standard-bank-ceo-says-anti-immigrant-protests-risk-african-economic-integration.
South Africa has seen a sharp rise in anti-migrant protests in recent months. Demonstrators have largely targeted other African nationals, holding them responsible for service delivery failures and employment scarcity. The result has been significant population outflows, with tens of thousands of migrants either departing voluntarily or being repatriated by their home governments. These protests reflect genuine public anxiety about economic opportunity. Tshabalala’s argument, however, challenges the premise that restricting migration does anything to address those concerns.
The numbers tell a striking story. United Nations data shows approximately 2.6 million migrants lived in South Africa in 2024, representing roughly 5% of the population. OECD-ILO estimates based on 2010 modelling suggested migrants contributed around 9% of South Africa’s GDP. Their economic footprint, in other words, far exceeds their share of the population.
Migrants participate in host economies through multiple channels. They are workers, consumers, tenants, commuters, savers, borrowers, traders and entrepreneurs. This multifaceted participation expands both labor supply and aggregate demand. Beyond that, migrants often pioneer financial products and services that later become mainstream, including cross-border payment systems, diaspora savings accounts and small-business banking relationships that support deeper commercial integration across African markets.
Meanwhile, the reputational stakes for South African firms operating across the continent are real and growing. Standard Bank generated 40% of its headline earnings from operations outside South Africa in the past year. South African companies remain the continent’s largest investors, with direct investments exceeding R500 billion. If South Africa comes to be seen as hostile to other Africans, those firms face potential damage to their standing with regulators, customers, employees, suppliers and governments across multiple markets. The public cost of that perception would not stay confined to boardrooms.
As Tshabalala noted in remarks covered by https://www.cnbcafrica.com/standard-bank-ceo-says-anti-immigrant-protests-risk-african-economic-integration, well-managed migration is an essential component of Africa’s economic integration agenda. Migrants frequently establish the networks and use the financial instruments that support deeper commercial ties long before formal regional frameworks are fully operational. They are often the first adopters of products designed to facilitate cross-border trade and capital flows, creating demand that encourages financial institutions and governments to invest in the infrastructure that integration requires.
The South African government has responded to the protests by calling for peaceful demonstration while rejecting characterizations of the country as xenophobic. President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed the unrest within a global pattern, noting that anti-migrant sentiment has surfaced in many parts of the world, including developed economies, often driven by divisive political messaging and false claims.
The harder question, one that neither government statements nor economic data alone can settle, is whether public anxiety about jobs and services can be addressed in ways that do not come at the expense of the migrant communities whose participation underpins the very growth South Africans are waiting to feel.