The Hidden Economy That Funds South Africa - With Sanisha Packirisamy (Momentum Economist)

Description

More than 10% of South Africa's GDP runs through the illicit economy. Iran's war is going to change what you pay at the pump in Johannesburg. And the US dollar is not going anywhere - at least not in our lifetime. Sanisha Packirisamy is an economist at Momentum and one of South Africa's sharpest voices on the global economy. In this conversation she takes us through the SA economy, geopolitics, BRICS, Bitcoin, organised crime, and what young South Africans should actually do with their money right now. She also opens up about one of the hardest seasons of her life. She lost her father at 20. Her sister at 23. Her mother just before COVID. The three people who championed her most were gone before she was 35 - and she had to learn to start championing herself instead. She talks honestly about how yoga, work, and the search for purpose pulled her through, and why building your own resilience matters more than any single career move you will ever make. This is the rare conversation that moves from personal resilience to global macroeconomics without losing either thread. What you'll get: • Growing up in Port Elizabeth in the 80s - and why the Eastern Cape was left behind • Losing three family members in her 20s and early 30s - and the practice that saved her • Starting her career at RMB Asset Management in 2008 - when the financial world was collapsing • What the Iran war actually means for petrol, food, and everyday South African costs • Why the world is reglobalising without the US at the centre - and what that means for SA • The truth about BRICS currency - and why it is more pipe dream than near-term reality • What would have to happen for the US dollar to actually fall • Why pension funds will not touch Bitcoin - and how to think about crypto as an investor • South Africa's organised crime economy - more than 10% of GDP • If she were Finance Minister - the structural reforms she would push first • How young South Africans in their 20s should actually start investing • The one global economic risk no one is pa