The B20 South Africa 2025 Summit has opened in Johannesburg, with a call to shape dialogue that will influence prosperity, inclusion and cooperation as well as mainstreaming of women and small and medium enterprises.
Being held under the theme ‘The cooperation agenda: Inclusive growth for a changing world’, the summit calls for a renewed era of cooperation, one that is imaginative, equitable and grounded in trust.
Speaking during the opening of the summit at Sandton Convention Centre on Wednesday, B20 South Africa chairperson Nonkululeko Nyembezi said growth cannot be sustained if it is narrow, exclusive or extractive.
“It [growth] must be broad, fair and rooted. When women participate fully, when small and medium businesses can flourish and grow, entire economies become more resilient, more innovative and ultimately more prosperous,” she said.
Nyembezi further said when women participate fully, when SMEs flourish and grow, entire economies become more resilient, more innovative and ultimately more prosperous.
She said the cost of capital for infrastructure development, particularly in the developing world, is another contentious issue, adding that they are not asking for concessionary charity or special treatment.
“We are advocating for capital that is priced to real risk, not to inherited generalisations. Efficient markets require accurate information, not outdated assumptions that raise capital costs and stop viable projects before they start,” said Nyembezi.
In an interview on the sidelines of the summit, B20 South Africa co-chairperson Mxolisi Mgojo said with the B20, the potential of Africa is being put on the world map and being acted upon.
“This is Africa’s B20. We wanted this to be inclusive,” he said.
Mgojo said the African Continental Free Trade Area, a market of 1.3 billion people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.4 trillion, is an opportunity to harmonise policy regulations to deal with trade barriers.
International Finance Corporation vice-president Ethiopis Tafara spoke about inclusive growth for a changing world, outlining the critical role of equity investment in advancing sustainable growth in Africa and beyond.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the summit on Thursday while the US Chamber of Commerce president will formally receive the B20 presidency.
B20 is the business platform of the Group of 20 (G20), which generates roughly 80 percent of the global GDP and about 90 percent of the world’s jobs and whose presidency is currently held by South Africa.
Experts say B20 is not a side-stream to the G20, but it is its bloodstream, emphasising that B is easier than the G in that global business has continued to engage in “friendly, respectful dialogue and to seek consensus”.
The G20 leaders’ summit will be held this weekend at Johannesburg Expo Centre.
US President Donald Trump earlier said no US official would attend the G20 Summit in South Africa, citing “human rights abuses” in the country.
