World
Geopolitical Implications of South Africa’s G20 Presidency Without United States
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
South Africa, for the first time, heads the G20, a multilateral organization, and it is taking pecuniary measures to balance the heightening complexities around the world. With President Donald Trump in the helm of power in the United States, the most different pragmatic approach in being adopted towards a number of issues ranging from politics through the global economy to social and humanitarian parameters. Geographical regions, including Africa, are also affected to a distinctive extent.
Below is an insightful interview conducted by Kestér Kenn Klomegâh with Mr Tariq Khan, a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD) associated with the University of South Africa. Tariq focuses on economic, security and diplomatic issues in areas such as Pakistan-Africa Relations, Africn Relations, and Major Powers’ relations with Africa, Asia-Africa Relations and South-South Cooperation, Maritime Affairs. In this interview, Tariq Khan discussed Global Powers, G20 and Africa relations in the emerging new world. Here are the significant excerpts.
What are the practical implications of the United States, a major contributor among G20 members, skipping South Africa’s February summit?
The absence of the United States at the South Africa G20 summit poses diplomatic and strategic connotations of some importance. As a key global economic player, the U.S. influences major policy decisions within the G20, and its non-attendance could signal a de-prioritization of Africa within its foreign policy agenda.
First, it seems that there is no real commitment to the critical issues which the African continent is facing including debt relief, fair trade and development funding. South Africa, as the only African G20 member, has been a strong advocate for the continent’s economic priorities. If the Washington give unimportance or sideline this engagement, it risks reinforcing the perception that Washington is more focused on geopolitical tensions in Europe and Asia while offering only rhetorical support to Africa.
In adding up, such a move will give BRICS a boost, of which South Africa is a component and plays a prominent role. With BRICS growing and positioning itself as an alternative to Western-led institutions, the U.S. absence might encourage African nations to deepen their economic and political cooperation within BRICS which will lead to reduce reliance on Western-dominated frameworks.
Finally, absence of US could deteriorate or weaken the trustworthiness or credibility of the G20 as an inclusive global forum. South Africa has effectively championed the inclusion of the African Union (AU) as a permanent G20 member. If the U.S. disengages from the summit, it could slow momentum for integrating African priorities into global decision-making, reinforcing existing frustrations about Western dominance in multilateral institutions.
Can South Africa’s presidency change perceptions of the G20’s role in global politics and its contributions to Africa’s development?
South Africa’s G20 presidency presents a significant opportunity to reshape Africa’s role in global governance. Traditionally, the G20 has been dominated by the economic priorities of Western and Asian powers, often sidelining the challenges of the Global South. As the only African G20 member, South Africa can drive a more inclusive agenda through three key areas:
- Reinforcing Africa’s Economic Potential: South Africa can emphasize Africa’s role as a strategic investment destination rather than just an aid recipient, advocating for reforms in global financial institutions to support Africa’s economic growth.
- Advocating for Structural Reform: Building on its success in securing AU membership in the G20, South Africa can push for concrete actions such as debt restructuring, fair trade terms, and increased voting rights for Africa in institutions like the IMF and World Bank.
- Shaping Global South Solidarity: By aligning G20 priorities with those of BRICS and the broader Global South, South Africa can challenge the perception that the G20 merely upholds Western economic dominance and instead position it as a balanced institution where emerging economies wield real influence. On the other hand, South Africa must navigate its complex diplomatic positioning. At the same time as maintaining strong Western ties, its BRICS membership and increasing alignment with China and Russia could generate tensions. Achievement will depend on its capability to bridge these divides and promote an Africa-first agenda.
In the context of a rapidly changing global landscape, do we see G20 competing or collaborating with BRICS?
The relationship between G20 and BRICS is distinguished and characterized by both competition and selective collaboration. BRICS as an organization has turned out to be more and more self-confident to challenge Western domination in global governance, mainly following its expansion to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Iran, and Ethiopia and other states.
This reflects a broader shift toward a multipolar world where such organizations similar to the G20 face substitute governance frameworks. Though, collaboration between G20 and BRICS remains indispensable. Several BRICS members such as South Africa, China, India, and Brazil are also in the G20 which means they have an interest in shaping both platforms rather than abandoning one for the other.
Cooperation on issues such as debt relief, climate change and development financing is promising, but ideological and strategic differences may persist. If the G20 remains inflexible in its Western-centric approach, then BRICS could become a direct competitor, attracting more nations disappointed with Western-led economic policies.
The challenge of South Africa is to balance its engagement with both which ensures that interests of Africa are advanced across multiple platforms and could not be compromised its broader economic and diplomatic objectives.
What is the future of the G20, particularly in relation to Africa, given BRICS’ growing influence?
The G20’s significance to Africa will depend on whether it can transition from symbolic commitments to tangible actions. Traditionally, African engagement with the G20 has been marked by unfulfilled promises. To remain a meaningful partner for Africa, the G20 must focus on:
- Debt Relief and Fair Financing: Many African nations struggle with unsustainable debt burdens. The G20 must push for genuine restructuring mechanisms rather than perpetuating cycles of dependency.
- Infrastructure Investment: Africa’s development hinges on infrastructure, yet financing remains a challenge. The G20 should support merged financing models that combine public and private investment in sustainable projects.
- Technology and Industrialization Support: Africa’s long-term prosperity depends on industrialization and technological advancement. The G20 must facilitate technology transfer and capacity-building initiatives that give power to African economies. If the G20 fails to deliver meaningful reforms, African nations may increasingly turn to BRICS, which is enthusiastically positioning itself as a more responsive and approachable alternative.
Should African leaders first reform the African Union (AU) and regional blocs like ECOWAS before expecting changes in global institutions?
Of course yes, African leaders must first strengthen internal institutions before expecting global institutions to treat the continent as a unified force. Weak regional organizations undermine Africa’s bargaining power in global negotiations.
Key areas for reform include:
- Financial Independence: Reducing reliance on external donors would allow the AU and regional blocs to act with greater autonomy in decision-making.
- Stronger Enforcement Mechanisms: Regional organizations need better mechanisms to uphold democratic norms and economic agreements to prevent instability from weakening Africa’s global influence.
- Policy Coordination: A fragmented Africa cannot effectively engage with global institutions. Greater intra-African coordination is needed to present a unified front in international forums. If Africa wants to negotiate from a position of strength, its institutions must be stable, credible, and self-sufficient. Strengthening the AU and regional organizations will enhance Africa’s ability to engage effectively with both G20 and BRICS.
Final Thoughts: The Vision of ‘Africa We Want’
The realization of the “Africa We Want,” as outlined in the AU’s Agenda 2063, requires strategic engagement with external partners. However, Africa must ensure that these partnerships are mutually beneficial rather than reinforcing external dependencies. South Africa’s role is fundamental in this vision. As a bridge between the West, BRICS, and the African continent, it must advocate and promote policies that advance Africa’s long-term interests and objectives. Africa’s engagement with the G20, BRICS, and other international platforms must be strategic to ensure that these institutions contribute to Africa’s broader development agenda rather than perpetuating historical imbalances. In the end, Africa’s success in the global arena will depend on its ability to take advantage from both external partnerships and internal reforms.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
One year after launching a continental initiative designed to make excellence in public governance the foundation of a new drive to transform Africa, LEAD, the Africa CEO Forum’s pan-African leadership programme, takes stock of its first cohort and announces the launch of its second class. Built around a community of senior public decision-makers committed to modernising the state and to the continent’s digital transformation, this new cohort gathers for three days, from 28 to 30 August 2026, on the campus of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Rabat, Morocco.
A second cohort that confirms the programme’s durability
For its second class, LEAD brings together 50 fellows, senior public decision-makers engaged in the design and implementation of the continent’s economic and social policies. Over three days, participants take part in collective and collaborative working sessions, peer exchanges and meetings with figures from the public, business and academic spheres, in order to compare their practices and build shared responses to the major challenges of governance.
Speakers include Mehdi Jomaa, former Head of Government of Tunisia, Donald Kaberuka, Managing Partner & Founder, SouthBridge Group, and former President of the African Development Bank, Serge Ekue, President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD), Sanjay Jain, co-creator of India Stack and Director of Digital Public Infrastructure, Gates Foundation, and Mauricio Cardenas, Professor of Professional Practice in Global Leadership, Columbia SIPA, and former Finance Minister of Colombia (2012-2018).
They share their reform experience, their public policy trade-offs and their view of continental priorities. Throughout the programme, the cohort benefits from the dedicated support of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Asafo & Co, BOAD, BCG and the African Development Bank, LEAD partners that have chosen to invest in the transformation of African public action.
LEAD, a pan-African community serving public action
Created by the AFRICA CEO FORUM, LEAD is a leadership programme whose ambition is to reposition Africa’s administrative elite as a driver of reform, of performance and of dialogue with all the continent’s stakeholders.
Designed for senior African public decision-makers, LEAD sets out to build a lasting community of public officials able to share their experience, compare their practices and build common solutions to the major economic, technological and institutional transformations under way in Africa. That community is structured around three pillars: modernizing the state, improving public services, and strengthening cooperation between governments, development institutions and private-sector players.
From fellows to alumni: a long-term initiative
Made up of 36 fellows drawn from a range of administrations and institutions and representing 24 countries across the continent, LEAD’s first cohort demonstrated the quality and the potential of this community from its very first year. In less than twelve months, six of its members have taken a significant step forward: two have been appointed ministers, two have moved into strategic positions at the highest level of the state and two have been promoted to chief executive roles. These moves, which account for 16.7% of the first class, show the role LEAD plays as an accelerator of impact within African administrations.
By bringing together a new cohort of fellows every year, each of them joining the LEAD alumni community, the initiative follows a long-term trajectory: in time, to unite several hundred African public decision-makers around a shared culture of transparency, performance and regional cooperation.
A first year devoted to public service and digital public infrastructure
Throughout the year, the fellows devoted their work to strengthening African public action, to make excellence in public governance a central lever of transformation. An awareness campaign, run as part of Africa Public Service Day, brought to light those who, within the continent’s administrations and institutions, are concretely transforming public policy and improving the services offered to citizens.
Members of the cohort also took part in a special round table held in Kigali during the ACF 2026, in order to carry their thinking to a wider community of public and private leaders. That forum reinforced LEAD’s role as a platform for dialogue between the administrative elite and the continent’s economic players. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) formed the main thread of this first year of work.
Discussions covered issues at the heart of the digital sovereignty of African states: digital identity, payments, secure data exchange, interoperability, governance and the protection of citizens. This work examined the conditions under which African states are developing, in some cases, and can develop, in others, shared, open infrastructure robust enough to improve the quality of public services while supporting local innovation and preserving the capacity of public authorities to set the rules of the game.
A white paper to move from consuming technology to creating value
This year of work concludes with the publication, in collaboration with BCG, LEAD’s Knowledge Partner, of a white paper on Africa’s place in the digital economy and in artificial intelligence. With the digital economy still accounting for around 5% of African GDP, against close to 15% worldwide, the paper calls on the continent to shift from a logic of technology consumption to one of value creation.
The white paper identifies three structuring priorities for African public actors:
- Building shared digital infrastructure that serves as the backbone of public services and private innovation.
- Pooling investment in order to reach critical mass and avoid the fragmentation of efforts across the continent.
- Favouring open and interoperable architectures, with trust and governance built in by design, so as to protect citizens while stimulating the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The white paper is available here to all public decision-makers, technical partners and institutions concerned.
“LEAD’s first cohort confirms a simple conviction: Africa already has the women and men capable of profoundly transforming public action. Our responsibility, either with our partners, is to give them, at pan-African level, a space in which to compare experience, build common solutions and bring forward a new generation of public policy. With this second cohort, we want to accelerate the move from ambition to execution, in particular on digital public infrastructure and artificial intelligence, two decisive issues for sovereignty, for the effectiveness of the state and for value creation across the continent,” says Amir Ben Yahmed, President of the Africa CEO Forum.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Africa is set to make history as it hosts the World Public Summit for the first time, with Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, welcoming global leaders and changemakers from July 29–30, 2026, for the landmark gathering under the theme “New World: Africa in Shaping a Shared Future.”
The inaugural African edition of the World Public Summit marks a significant milestone in the continent’s growing role in shaping international dialogue on governance, sustainable development, human-centred leadership and global cooperation.
Hosted by the World Peoples Assembly in partnership with African and international organisations, the summit will convene government officials, diplomats, business leaders, academics, journalists, youth representatives, civil society organisations and cultural leaders from across Africa and around the world.
According to Andrey Belyaninov, General Secretary of the World Peoples Assembly, “the Summit is not just a meeting—it is a space for unity. A space where the ‘values that unite us’ come to life: respect for people, openness to the world, responsibility for the future, and a commitment to creation.
“Today, we understand more clearly than ever: the future cannot be built alone. It is born in dialogue, in trust, in the ability to listen to one another and to act together.”
The programme begins on July 29 with a series of high-level roundtables and expert discussions covering Pan-African economic integration, civil society, education, scientific cooperation, cultural diplomacy and humanitarian partnerships.
The opening plenary, “Values, Development and Partnership as the Basis of a Sustainable and Just World,” will explore how African values—including Ubuntu—can help shape a more inclusive and sustainable global future. Discussions will also focus on youth leadership, innovation, civil society, ethical AI, public initiatives and international partnerships.
The summit will also showcase Africa’s creativity and innovation through the “Innovations for the Future” exhibition, the contemporary African art exhibition “Unity,” and the international exhibition “The World Paints Happiness.”
Another featured initiative is “The Zambezi River: Economy, Society, Soul,” an international interdisciplinary project exploring the river’s socioeconomic importance across Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, highlighting the shared heritage and development potential of one of Africa’s most important waterways.
The event will conclude with the adoption of the African Communiqué, reflecting the summit’s shared vision for stronger international cooperation, sustainable development and people-centred leadership.
Tsegaye Chama, General Secretary of the Global Black Centre, promised that, “The Summit will be delivered with exceptional distinction, reflecting the magnitude and spirit of the World Peoples Assembly. It embodies a unity that is not transactional, but purposeful and conscious, a unity that shapes new contours for a world that works for all peoples of the World.”
As delegates prepare to arrive in Addis Ababa, anticipation continues to build for what promises to be one of Africa’s most significant international gatherings of 2026—one that will place the continent firmly at the centre of global conversations about the future.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria regained its position as Africa’s leading destination for equity startup investment in the first half of 2026, raising $214 million in equity financing and a total of $254 million across equity and debt, according to the latest Africa: The Big Deal report.
The report, titled H1 2026: Mapping the Money, showed that Nigeria ranked second on the continent in total funding, behind Egypt, which attracted $327 million, while Kenya and South Africa followed with $126 million and $83 million, respectively.
However, the report noted that Egypt’s top position was largely driven by a single fundraising by electric mobility company Spiro, which secured $327 million, including $270 million in equity and $57 million in debt. Excluding debt financing, Nigeria emerged as Africa’s largest equity funding market in the first six months of the year.
According to the breakdown by Africa: The Big Deal, Nigeria’s equity funding of $214 million was higher than Egypt’s $183 million, while South Africa and Kenya attracted $66 million and $46 million, respectively.
Beyond funding value, Nigeria also led the continent in the number of startups that raised at least $100,000 during the review period, reclaiming the top spot after what the report described as an “underwhelming” second half of 2025.
The publication observed that Nigeria’s fundraising performance has remained relatively stable over the past few years and exceeded the $250 million mark for the first time since 2022, pointing to renewed investor confidence in the country’s startup ecosystem.
It also found that while the Big Four startup markets—Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa—continued to dominate Africa’s investment landscape, their combined share of total funding stood at 58 per cent in the first half of 2026.
“Zooming back on the Big Four (110 out of 190 $100k+ deals, i.e. 58%), Nigeria is head and shoulders above its peers, with Egypt and Kenya almost tying, and South Africa in fourth position again,” the report noted.
The report highlighted contrasting performances among the continent’s largest startup ecosystems. While Nigeria and Egypt maintained strong funding momentum, Kenya recorded its weakest funding performance since early 2021 after a strong second half of 2025, and South Africa failed to attract $100 million in funding during the period despite leading the continent a year earlier.
Africa: The Big Deal also noted a broader shift in investor behaviour, with funding increasingly concentrated in larger transactions while early-stage investments continued to decline. According to the publication, the drop in smaller funding rounds reflects growing concerns about limited capital available for early-stage startups across Africa.
