In the last two quarters, business operations globally have experienced unstable shifts. Through episodes of continued AI disruption in the work place, geopolitical tensions especially in the middle east whose impact was felt throughout the West, even Asia and Africa was not spared the consequences of the halt in global trade and commerce. Migration clampdowns and rise of epidemics in Europe and Africa has further strained global economies, so much so that industry operators worldwide are wary, now more than ever of the uncertainties that are to be unveiled for the remaining half of the year. The tumultuous events of the past months however does not completely erode the prospects, and business leaders remain positive about key opportunities that could be leveraged despite the chaos.
As artificial intelligence continues to frontline the conversations about the sustainability of jobs in the work place, there is a colder feet on the census for those who will soon be replaced by machines, or the guys who will get ahead of the challenge, and the ones who literally have nothing to worry about, either because they have already been replaced, or the machines are not coming for their spot anytime soon. Influential thinkers on the other hand, warn of “technological unemployment” due to widespread AI deployment and adoption.
Andrew Likierman, a Professor of Management Practice in Accounting stated in a London Business School publication that as much as AI can do quite a lot now, it is still incapable of exercising judgement. Managers and business leaders who are sold out on integrating AI in their businesses and the workflows, need to understand this shortcoming and seek to improve the quality of human judgement needed to make high-value business decisions.
Socio-political conflicts on the other hand are on the rise, and have a stronger tendency to affect how organisations interact internally as well as with other establishments. As business landscapes continue to ride on trust and viable relationships, we cannot overlook personal sentiments and disparities across the globe on sensational topics like the armed conflict between the US and Iran, Europe’s and parts of Asia’s choice of non-alignment in the conflict, Xenophobic uprisings in West and South Africa.
Businesses must brace up to deal with strong differences between co-workers that can make it hard for people to collaborate and work together, even in organisations that are determined to steer clear of politics. Entrepreneurs across the globe will have to read the room on these topical issues to protect existing business relations and partnerships or to establish new contacts in the nearest future.
Funding for entrepreneurs continues to get stricter, as investors embrace more strategic measures to separate wheat from chaff. Stakeholders remain on the look out for startups with solid revenue and fundamentals, while those without clear economics and proven models are denied the free passes enjoyed in cash rains of 2021 and 2022. In startup hubs in Africa, the bar for raising capital has shifted significantly, forcing founders to maximise limited resources, and demonstrate real product market fit early. Across the globe, entrepreneurs continue to seek out and leverage alternative sources of financing away from equity raises. Venture debt, revenue-based financing (RBF), and strategic corporate investments have all grown in prominence and will likely dominate the funding scene into 2027.
As reported by the World Bank, earlier into the year, we saw retail sales and services continue to improve, while manufacturing and services expanded. However, the disruptions in supply of energy products through the Strait of Hormuz, and the spike in energy prices caused by the US-Iran conflict have softened confidence in the markets and weakened broader economic activity. In the second half of 2026 operators and stakeholders will continue to monitor the situation as economic activities pick up slowly.
The dynamics of international trade is already shifting with Iran enacting tolls and tariffs, and establishing the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to control, escort, and monitor traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Fees are as high as $2million per ship as reportedly charged. Businesses who conduct operations along these trade routes must find clever ways to navigate these measures to keep providing value and to protect their customers from these harsh realities.
While global priorities are shifting, with a lesser number of business leaders vested on the topic of Climate Change, a World Economic Forum report identified top three long-term risks (10-year horizon) to include extreme weather events, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, and critical change to Earth systems. However, Ioannis Ioannou, an Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, cited that the UK government needs to balance fiscal discipline and the need for green investment in the long run. Climate and energy initiatives will have to be framed as levers for industrial renewal, energy resilience among other transformation goals.
In the US, it is a more regional approach, as California, Massachusetts and New York are advancing ambitious clean-energy agendas while red states continue to champion oil and gas. Across the Middle East, sovereign wealth funds are stepping up as the nucleus of the region’s transition, directing investment toward hydrogen, clean manufacturing, and circular-economy infrastructure.
As business leaders brace themselves for the second lap of the year run, it is very important to stay proactive to manage the developments as regards AI in the workplace, building resilient operations, ensuring better compliance with broader socio-economic and environmental regulations, while providing value to their stakeholders through stickier inflation and minimal resources at their disposal.
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