South Africa’s imaginative and prescient to make the G20 deliberations and outcomes resonate with the remainder of the continent has resulted in strategic visibility for Africa beneath the umbrella of this high-level initiative.
The themes of the year-long presidency, solidarity, equality and sustainability, body South Africa’s management as not being purely country-driven, however broadly targeted on growth and inclusivity.
The African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA) was a steady central theme all through South Africa’s 2025 presidency, showing in lots of statements, ministerial conferences, working teams and Africa-focused aspect conferences.
The ultimate declaration issued by the G20, learn out by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the finish of the Leaders’ Summit, linked G20 commerce and funding cooperation on to AfCFTA implementation.
It acknowledged that regional financial integration, together with the AfCFTA, is a key enabler of financial progress, resilience, funding and growth.
The declaration famous a “G20 Africa Cooperation Agenda on Commerce and Funding” promoted by the South African presidency. It is a voluntary and non-binding initiative that isn’t legally enforceable however offers a roadmap for cooperation and funding.
The goal is to mobilise funding into Africa’s productive sectors together with manufacturing, agriculture, prescription drugs and demanding minerals and into infrastructure, with an emphasis on regional infrastructure.
The agenda, which incorporates many current initiatives, will likely be overseen by the African Union and African Growth Financial institution.
Africa had an extra voice on the desk via the membership of the African Union, this yr represented by Angola’s president as the present chair of the African Union (AU). The AU’s first summit was in 2024 beneath Brazil’s presidency.
South Africa has lengthy pressed for the reform of worldwide monetary establishments, better illustration of the World South, and recognition of Africa’s financial weight. It was a founding member of the G20 in 1999, chosen on the idea of it being essentially the most refined and diversified economic system on the continent.
It has, over the previous few years, pushed for AU membership to reinforce the continent’s voice. The lobbying was profitable and in 2023, on the G20 summit in India, the AU was granted everlasting membership.
Among the many representatives of 42 international locations and establishments that attended the Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg have been many presidents from different African international locations, together with Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Egypt, Namibia and Ethiopia.
Ramaphosa met lots of them on the sidelines of the principle occasion and in different boards to make sure the G20 legacy is aligned to African growth aspirations, the federal government mentioned.
Nigeria hosted a G20 assembly, the primary exterior South Africa through the yr. It was a G20 Africa Outreach Assembly on Industrialisation and Agriculture.
Frequent points for Africa
The AfCTA is a central thread that has run via discussions that touched on most of the initiatives and initiatives introduced by and across the G20, masking many different frequent points affecting the entire continent.
These embody industrialisation, local weather funding, debt sustainability and the reform of worldwide monetary establishments, which goals to ease the burden on African international locations and promote progress and growth.
South Africa established cross-cutting G20 job forces on points that matter for Africa akin to inclusive financial progress, meals safety and synthetic intelligence.
Inequality was a key theme on the occasion. South Africa commissioned an Extraordinary Committee of Unbiased Consultants on World Inequality, chaired by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, which produced the G20’s first-ever report on world inequality.
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe are among the many most unequal international locations on the planet and the Stiglitz report discovered that world inequality is worsening, with the wealthiest 1% capturing 41% of all new wealth between 2020 and 2024, and the underside 50% only one%.
The Africa Engagement Framework is one other continental initiative pushed beneath the G20. A multi-year initiative, it’s meant to deepen and institutionalise G20 help for Africa’s financial and monetary growth. This additionally underpins the essence of the AfCFTA.
The purpose of this legacy initiative is to align G20 monetary and financial help with African growth priorities — not simply on a project-by-project foundation, however via coordinated, systemic engagement.
It was formally endorsed by G20 Finance Ministers and Central Financial institution Governors in October 2025, and South Africa has dedicated to coordinating and resourcing the initiative till 2030.
A complementary initiative, the G20 Compact with Africa, based in 2017, entered its second section (2025-2033) on the Johannesburg occasion and new financing was pledged to mobilise funding in Africa and help structural and enterprise local weather reforms.
Member international locations in Africa should meet reform standards with a purpose to profit from it. Zambia and Angola are the most recent members, whereas the World Financial institution and the African Growth Financial institution act as coordinators and facilitators.
Legacy initiatives
Industrialisation was one other key platform, focusing largely on vital minerals. South Africa superior a vital minerals initiative that emphasises worth addition, beneficiation, and inclusive provide chains, moderately than simply extraction.
The G20 Crucial Minerals Framework emanated from the South African course of. It’s a voluntary blueprint for worldwide cooperation and offers a template for African international locations to observe in pursuing alternatives associated to vital minerals.
The Ubuntu Legacy Initiative is one more Africa-focused legacy challenge to catalyse cross-border infrastructure growth, together with a toolkit produced by the African Growth Financial institution.
Local weather points have been a big a part of the ultimate G20 Declaration. Points raised have been the necessity to scale up local weather finance, construct capability and switch expertise to growing international locations, which might assist African nations entry extra concessional, climate-focused funding.
South Africa elevated catastrophe resilience (particularly climate-induced pure disasters) to a leaders-level challenge within the G20, arguing strongly that susceptible international locations (many in Africa) want extra help.
The summit’s remaining declaration dedicated the G20 to investing in catastrophe finance mechanisms akin to insurance coverage, threat swimming pools, disaster bonds and contingent credit score to assist international locations going through growing climate-related disasters. It additionally reaffirmed help for “simply transition pathways”, which can assist African international locations to maneuver to low-carbon sustainable fashions.
Infrastructure was additionally on the menu, with the Ubuntu Legacy Initiative being one among South Africa’s legacy initiatives. The purpose is to speed up cross-border infrastructure in Africa, selling regional integration and financial growth, utilizing a toolkit developed by the African Growth Financial institution to assist international locations overcome frequent obstacles to constructing infrastructure.
These are among the many initiatives mentioned, dedicated to or drawn up beneath the G20 presidency of South Africa guaranteeing that the Africa’s personal points, wants and challenges remained on the radar via the yr and proceed via legacy initiatives.
