Final Communiqué
This communiqué concludes the B20 South Africa cycle, a major, collaborative effort shaped by a shared theme and key strategic pillars. Eight task forces produced 30 practical recommendations to drive inclusive, sustainable, and resilient economic growth.
From this work, five strategic themes and essential enabling conditions were identified, each refined into focused priorities with both immediate and long-term value. These priorities were strengthened by input from the Local Business Advisory Council, which highlighted Africa-specific needs, as well as insights from the International Business Advocacy Caucus, sponsors, and partners.
Digital Transformation
The Final Paper identifies the digital divide as a critical barrier to growth, with billions still offline and lacking digital skills. Recommendations include expanding inclusive infrastructure, embedding digital and AI education, strengthening ethical governance of emerging technologies, and advancing interoperable digital public infrastructure. These measures aim to ensure that digital transformation drives equity and trust.
Employment and Education
The Final Paper highlights the urgency of tackling global unemployment, skills mismatches, and gender inequality that limit inclusive growth. Recommendations focus on affordable early childhood education, youth employment pathways, and removing barriers to female participation. They also emphasise re-skilling, upskilling, and adapting to digital platform work to prepare a workforce that can thrive in rapidly changing labour markets.
Energy Mix and Just Transition
Recommendations from the Task Force underscore the need for a fair and inclusive global energy transition. Priorities include scaling transition finance, localising clean energy manufacturing, building skills for future energy jobs, and investing in resilient grids and infrastructure. The Final Paper envisions a transition that creates value across energy value chains.
Finance and Infrastructure
The Final Paper addresses the widening infrastructure gap, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) where capital access and project investability remain limited. Recommendations call for stronger early-stage project preparation, more blended finance and partnerships, and greater use of data for transparency. The Task Force also highlights the importance of improving cross-border financial flows to ensure that infrastructure investment supports sustainable, inclusive development.
Industrial Transformation and Innovation
With slowing growth, shifting supply chains, and rising debt pressures, the Task Force recommendations focus on re-energising manufacturing as a driver of resilience. The Final Paper emphasises industrial strategies co-created with business, expanded SME competitiveness, and deeper regional trade integration. It also highlights the adoption of green and digital technologies, supported by finance, infrastructure, and institutional coordination.
Integrity and Compliance
The recommendations highlight the risks corruption poses to inclusive growth, especially amid new challenges such as AI-enabled fraud and opaque climate finance. The Final Paper focuses on harnessing technology for anti-corruption, strengthening transparency in sustainability finance through global standards, and expanding collective action initiatives. Together, these efforts aim to embed integrity and trust into global markets.
Sustainable Food Systems and Agriculture
The recommendations reflect the vulnerabilities in global food systems exposed by climate shocks, conflict, and fragile supply chains. The Final Paper calls for resilient agrifood supply chains, expanded access to technologies and finance for farmers, and inclusive livelihoods for women and youth. It also stresses integrating trade into food security strategies and accelerating sustainable practices to achieve climate-resilient, productive agriculture.
Trade and Investment
The Final Paper highlights restoring stability in multilateral trade, advancing Africa’s competitiveness through AfCFTA integration, and embedding climate responsiveness in trade rules. Together, these measures aim to create a more balanced, inclusive global trading system.
Africa Trade Barometer
The SB Africa Trade Barometer was launched in 2022 to create Africa’s leading trade index, address the information vacuum of reliable African trade data, and support and enable the growth of intra-African trade.
Availability of trade data remains a challenge across Africa. The Standard Bank Trade Barometer fills a gap by providing up-to-date survey data on African businesses’ views of the environments in which they operate, their trade behaviour, trading activities, and perceptions of trade.
This Issue focuses on 10 countries: Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The Trade Barometer is based on seven broad thematic data categories, including trade openness, access to finance, macroeconomic stability,
infrastructure, foreign trade, governance, economy, and trade financial behaviour.
Inclusive Trade for MSMEs, Women, and Youth
This report explores how Africa can unlock more inclusive and sustainable trade by empowering micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), women, and youth. It highlights the structural barriers that limit participation in regional and global markets, from restricted access to finance and complex border procedures to uneven digital connectivity, and proposes practical solutions to address them. Through data-driven analysis and case studies from Africa and beyond, the paper outlines five key areas of action, including expanding trade finance, improving export readiness, harmonising trade regimes, and integrating MSMEs into digital marketplaces.
Africa at the Core of Critical Minerals
This briefing paper examines Africa’s expanding role in the global critical minerals landscape and outlines pathways to turn its resource potential into sustainable economic transformation. It highlights the need for coordinated regional action, integrated infrastructure, harmonised standards, and a cluster-based approach to develop upstream, midstream, and downstream capabilities. Regional clusters around key resources can strengthen linkages between countries, industries, and supporting ecosystems. Bilateral collaboration and early adoption of common standards and technologies will help accelerate responsible project development. Strong governance, sustainability standards, and the use of digitalisation and AI can boost transparency and investment confidence. By shifting from strategy to coordinated implementation, Africa can progress from raw material supply to value-added processing, manufacturing, and innovation.
Implementing Funding Platforms: A Solution to Fragmentation
The global economy is at a crossroads. Fragmented and volatile, it urgently needs a new engine for growth. The G20’s recommendations emphasise collaboration, standardisation, and alignment across different areas to achieve sustainable development goals. In this context, this paper recommends to G20 Leaders to seek synergies across different domains to support financing for investments in Africa in order to generate enduring and resilient growth, with particular attention to local communities and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The 2024 G20 Leaders’ Communiqué laid the foundation for this shift, endorsing flexible, country led platforms to drive enduring economic progress.
Sanlam ESG Barometer: B20 Policy Impact Special Report
The B20 Policy Impact Report, a special edition of the Sanlam ESG Barometer developed by SanlamAllianz, a lead sponsor of B20 South Africa, presents a first of its kind analysis of how previous B20 policy proposals have translated into tangible action across G20 nations.
Through dynamic panel discussions and expert insights, the report explores the implementation of B20 recommendations, the role of business in driving sustainable impact, and the pathways toward inclusive growth.
Final Communiqué
Final Communiqué
This communiqué concludes the B20 South Africa cycle, a major, collaborative effort shaped by a shared theme and key strategic pillars. Eight task forces produced 30 practical recommendations to drive inclusive, sustainable, and resilient economic growth.
From this work, five strategic themes and essential enabling conditions were identified, each refined into focused priorities with both immediate and long-term value. These priorities were strengthened by input from the Local Business Advisory Council, which highlighted Africa-specific needs, as well as insights from the International Business Advocacy Caucus, sponsors, and partners.
Final Task Force Papers
Digital Transformation
The Final Paper identifies the digital divide as a critical barrier to growth, with billions still offline and lacking digital skills. Recommendations include expanding inclusive infrastructure, embedding digital and AI education, strengthening ethical governance of emerging technologies, and advancing interoperable digital public infrastructure. These measures aim to ensure that digital transformation drives equity and trust.
Employment and Education
The Final Paper highlights the urgency of tackling global unemployment, skills mismatches, and gender inequality that limit inclusive growth. Recommendations focus on affordable early childhood education, youth employment pathways, and removing barriers to female participation. They also emphasise re-skilling, upskilling, and adapting to digital platform work to prepare a workforce that can thrive in rapidly changing labour markets.
Energy Mix and Just Transition
Recommendations from the Task Force underscore the need for a fair and inclusive global energy transition. Priorities include scaling transition finance, localising clean energy manufacturing, building skills for future energy jobs, and investing in resilient grids and infrastructure. The Final Paper envisions a transition that creates value across energy value chains.
Finance and Infrastructure
The Final Paper addresses the widening infrastructure gap, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) where capital access and project investability remain limited. Recommendations call for stronger early-stage project preparation, more blended finance and partnerships, and greater use of data for transparency. The Task Force also highlights the importance of improving cross-border financial flows to ensure that infrastructure investment supports sustainable, inclusive development.
Industrial Transformation and Innovation
With slowing growth, shifting supply chains, and rising debt pressures, the Task Force recommendations focus on re-energising manufacturing as a driver of resilience. The Final Paper emphasises industrial strategies co-created with business, expanded SME competitiveness, and deeper regional trade integration. It also highlights the adoption of green and digital technologies, supported by finance, infrastructure, and institutional coordination.
Integrity and Compliance
The recommendations highlight the risks corruption poses to inclusive growth, especially amid new challenges such as AI-enabled fraud and opaque climate finance. The Final Paper focuses on harnessing technology for anti-corruption, strengthening transparency in sustainability finance through global standards, and expanding collective action initiatives. Together, these efforts aim to embed integrity and trust into global markets.
Sustainable Food Systems and Agriculture
The recommendations reflect the vulnerabilities in global food systems exposed by climate shocks, conflict, and fragile supply chains. The Final Paper calls for resilient agrifood supply chains, expanded access to technologies and finance for farmers, and inclusive livelihoods for women and youth. It also stresses integrating trade into food security strategies and accelerating sustainable practices to achieve climate-resilient, productive agriculture.
Trade and Investment
The Final Paper highlights restoring stability in multilateral trade, advancing Africa’s competitiveness through AfCFTA integration, and embedding climate responsiveness in trade rules. Together, these measures aim to create a more balanced, inclusive global trading system.
Partner Papers
Africa Trade Barometer
The SB Africa Trade Barometer was launched in 2022 to create Africa’s leading trade index, address the information vacuum of reliable African trade data, and support and enable the growth of intra-African trade.
Availability of trade data remains a challenge across Africa. The Standard Bank Trade Barometer fills a gap by providing up-to-date survey data on African businesses’ views of the environments in which they operate, their trade behaviour, trading activities, and perceptions of trade.
This Issue focuses on 10 countries: Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The Trade Barometer is based on seven broad thematic data categories, including trade openness, access to finance, macroeconomic stability,
infrastructure, foreign trade, governance, economy, and trade financial behaviour.
Inclusive Trade for MSMEs, Women, and Youth
This report explores how Africa can unlock more inclusive and sustainable trade by empowering micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), women, and youth. It highlights the structural barriers that limit participation in regional and global markets, from restricted access to finance and complex border procedures to uneven digital connectivity, and proposes practical solutions to address them. Through data-driven analysis and case studies from Africa and beyond, the paper outlines five key areas of action, including expanding trade finance, improving export readiness, harmonising trade regimes, and integrating MSMEs into digital marketplaces.
Africa at the Core of Critical Minerals
This briefing paper examines Africa’s expanding role in the global critical minerals landscape and outlines pathways to turn its resource potential into sustainable economic transformation. It highlights the need for coordinated regional action, integrated infrastructure, harmonised standards, and a cluster-based approach to develop upstream, midstream, and downstream capabilities. Regional clusters around key resources can strengthen linkages between countries, industries, and supporting ecosystems. Bilateral collaboration and early adoption of common standards and technologies will help accelerate responsible project development. Strong governance, sustainability standards, and the use of digitalisation and AI can boost transparency and investment confidence. By shifting from strategy to coordinated implementation, Africa can progress from raw material supply to value-added processing, manufacturing, and innovation.
Implementing Funding Platforms: A Solution to Fragmentation
The global economy is at a crossroads. Fragmented and volatile, it urgently needs a new engine for growth. The G20’s recommendations emphasise collaboration, standardisation, and alignment across different areas to achieve sustainable development goals. In this context, this paper recommends to G20 Leaders to seek synergies across different domains to support financing for investments in Africa in order to generate enduring and resilient growth, with particular attention to local communities and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The 2024 G20 Leaders’ Communiqué laid the foundation for this shift, endorsing flexible, country led platforms to drive enduring economic progress.
Sanlam ESG Barometer: B20 Policy Impact Special Report
The B20 Policy Impact Report, a special edition of the Sanlam ESG Barometer developed by SanlamAllianz, a lead sponsor of B20 South Africa, presents a first of its kind analysis of how previous B20 policy proposals have translated into tangible action across G20 nations.
Through dynamic panel discussions and expert insights, the report explores the implementation of B20 recommendations, the role of business in driving sustainable impact, and the pathways toward inclusive growth.