Exploring the Business Opportunities and Challenges in the Renewable Energy Sector of South Africa for UK Investors

Exploring the Business Opportunities and Challenges in the Renewable Energy Sector of South Africa for UK Investors | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Systematic Review Exploring the Business Opportunities and Challenges in the Renewable Energy Sector of South Africa for UK Investors Chimamanda Ngozi Ibeneme, Victor Uwakwe, Georgian Chiaka Ibeneme, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7401696/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: South Africa's renewable energy sector represents a strategic market for foreign direct investment, particularly from UK investors. Yet, investor participation remains constrained by regulatory uncertainty, technological dependencies, and uneven stakeholder engagement. This review synthesises empirical evidence through a theoretical framework incorporating Resource Dependency Theory (RDT), Institutional Theory (IT), and Risk Perception Theory (RPT) to elucidate how institutional, technological, and socio-political environments influence foreign investors' strategic decisions in the emerging market. Methods: A systematic review was conducted across five databases for literature published from January 2015 to August 2024, strictly following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Inclusion criteria targeted renewable energy studies in South Africa focusing on business opportunities, technological innovations, economic impacts, and policy frameworks. Two independent reviewers performed dual-stage screening, data extraction, and quality appraisal using validated Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Checklists. Narrative synthesis via thematic analysis, guided by RDT, IT, and RPT, identified key themes and their strategic implications. Results ; From 7,779 articles retrieved, six studies met the inclusion criteria. Key investment opportunities identified included biofuel production, waste-to-energy systems, and solar photovoltaic (PV) expansion. For instance, sugarcane waste from 330 smallholder farmers demonstrated a potential of 150,323.3MWh at 50% recovery efficiency, while only 14.3% of 176 businesses were active in solar PV services. Major barriers included policy instability, high dependence on imported technology, fragmented regulatory frameworks, limited innovation capacity, and uneven stakeholder participation. Thematic scores (9/12) highlighted regulatory uncertainty and investment potential as dominant factors, with notable variations observed in stakeholder engagement. Conclusion: This systematic review is the first to analyse South Africa’s renewable energy investment landscape specifically from the perspective of foreign/UK stakeholders. It offers a robust synthesis of systemic risks and strategic opportunities, identifying significant investment potential particularly in bioenergy, solar, and wind sectors. To maximize returns and ensure sustainable market entry, foreign/UK investors should adopt locally adaptive strategies that address regulatory coherence, infrastructure limitations, and community engagement. The proposed conceptual framework and research roadmap provide guidance for future comparative analyses and longitudinal studies on investor behaviour, emphasising the importance of targeted co-innovation partnerships and technology transfer for long-term stakeholder value. Clinical Trial Number: Clinical trial number: not applicable Renewable energy Foreign direct investment South Africa UK investors Policy frameworks Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7401696","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":516375244,"identity":"d8daab10-3ded-400c-ac0e-6a98024ff471","order_by":0,"name":"Chimamanda Ngozi Ibeneme","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nnamdi Azikiwe University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chimamanda","middleName":"Ngozi","lastName":"Ibeneme","suffix":""},{"id":516375245,"identity":"c4d2d628-6822-47ab-bc20-b08337cc6eb6","order_by":1,"name":"Victor Uwakwe","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Clinical Trial Consortium University of Nigeria","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Victor","middleName":"","lastName":"Uwakwe","suffix":""},{"id":516375246,"identity":"54c081c9-486d-42e4-8bfd-bc7e2da9e48a","order_by":2,"name":"Georgian Chiaka Ibeneme","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Georgian","middleName":"Chiaka","lastName":"Ibeneme","suffix":""},{"id":516375247,"identity":"dc881220-ed28-4c08-8606-445bf6d0813a","order_by":3,"name":"Sam Chidi Ibeneme","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLCCxAYwxfgAwk0gXguzAfFaGCFa2CSI0iLffjqB4eEOmzx+scPHqnl33GHgZ88xYC74hVuLwZncDQyJZ9KKJWenpd3mPfOMQbLnjQHzzD48WhhAWtoOJ264nWN2m7ftMIPBDaAtvD14HNb/FqTlf+L+2/nfikFa7AlpYbgBtuVA4gbpHDZmsC0SQC08P/A47MbbDQcSzyQnzridZiw5t+0wj8SZZwWHeRvwOSx348OfO+wS+2cnP/zwtu2wHH978sbHPH/wOAwIDiBzeMAijG34tWADBGwZBaNgFIyCEQUAihRWHigSX2AAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, Nigeria,","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sam","middleName":"Chidi","lastName":"Ibeneme","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-18 16:38:23","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7401696/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7401696/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":95228645,"identity":"52bc5d69-5faa-4897-93e6-beb01779763b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-05 16:34:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1118324,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ExploringtheBusinessOpportunitiesandChallengesintheRenewableEnergySectorofSouthAfricaforUKInvestors.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7401696/v1_covered_b065b005-c356-40ba-8c81-b920edc7739b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Exploring the Business Opportunities and Challenges in the Renewable Energy Sector of South Africa for UK Investors","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Renewable energy, Foreign direct investment, South Africa, UK investors, Policy frameworks","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7401696/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7401696/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground: \u003c/strong\u003eSouth Africa's renewable energy sector represents a strategic market for foreign direct investment, particularly from UK investors. Yet, investor participation remains constrained by regulatory uncertainty, technological dependencies, and uneven stakeholder engagement. This review synthesises empirical evidence through a theoretical framework incorporating Resource Dependency Theory (RDT), Institutional Theory (IT), and Risk Perception Theory (RPT) to elucidate how institutional, technological, and socio-political environments influence foreign investors' strategic decisions in the emerging market.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods: \u003c/strong\u003eA systematic review was conducted across five databases for literature published from January 2015 to August 2024, strictly following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Inclusion criteria targeted renewable energy studies in South Africa focusing on business opportunities, technological innovations, economic impacts, and policy frameworks. 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Thematic scores (9/12) highlighted regulatory uncertainty and investment potential as dominant factors, with notable variations observed in stakeholder engagement.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion: \u003c/strong\u003eThis systematic review is the first to analyse South Africa’s renewable energy investment landscape specifically from the perspective of foreign/UK stakeholders. It offers a robust synthesis of systemic risks and strategic opportunities, identifying significant investment potential particularly in bioenergy, solar, and wind sectors. To maximize returns and ensure sustainable market entry, foreign/UK investors should adopt locally adaptive strategies that address regulatory coherence, infrastructure limitations, and community engagement. 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