One of the striking features of the B20 summit in Sao Paulo, Brazil last week, which I attended as part of the business delegation, was that South Africa’s problems are certainly not exclusive:  many other countries are battling with the same sort of deep-seated problems that we are grappling with.

These are reflected in the B20 priority areas: trade and investment; jobs and education; digital transformation; energy and climate transition; finance and infrastructure; integrity and compliance; sustainable food systems and agriculture; and women, diversity and inclusive business.

The B20 is the “Global Business Forum for the G20” and brings together business representatives from the G20 countries, from selected invited countries and international organisations to discuss economic and business issues. Workstreams on priority areas focused on developing policies and explored ways to work together to address the challenges. Their recommendations feed into the G20, which meets on the 18-19 November 2024, in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, and into next year’s B20, which South Africa hosts.

On Friday, Brazil successfully concluded the B20 Summit marking the end of their presidency. South Africa takes over the presidency of the B20, synchronising with the country’s presidency of the G20 for 2025. Next year will therefore be extremely important for the country to showcase itself to the world as we host both the B20 and G20 summits. President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged that we use the opportunity to shine a light on local business opportunities with a view to increasing foreign direct investment, but also to present an African perspective, particularly with the African Union having been formally admitted as a member of the G20.

It gives South Africa the chance to shape the debate: as part of the process, South Africa has an opportunity to introduce additional custom priority themes while hosting next year’s B20 and G20 gatherings.

It also strengthens our relationships with other member countries – heading the South African delegation in Sao Paulo was Mxolisi Mgojo, president of Business Unity SA and a former CEO of Exxaro Resources. He is an eloquent speaker and he emphasised how the co-operation and support extended to the South African delegation had been remarkable. It was something that impressed me as well, particularly the Brazilian delegation in supporting us in the transition to the B20 presidency, using their experiences to guide us. The US delegation was also particularly helpful and is keen to similarly work with us in preparing for their B20 presidency the following year.

In the presidential ceremony, Mgojo presented South Africa’s key principles to guide its presidency. The starting point is to build on the important work initiated by predecessors, ensuring continuity. He outlined ways to build on those foundations.

South Africa’s primary strategy would be to pivot from the planning stages to action and implementation. “B20 Brazil played an incredible role in defining key actions,” he said. “South Africa’s focus will be on executing and delivering tangible outcomes from the established policies to ensure meaningful impact.”

He also identified three areas in which South Africa aims to build on the policy foundations laid by Brazil B20.

The first is to continue to drive gender inclusivity and he got a standing ovation when he reiterated his pledge that all South Africa’s structures, including the task teams on the various workshops, would have 50% women representation at next year’s B20 South Africa summit. I’ll hold you to that, Mxolisi!

The second is to push for stronger collaboration between business and governments, to work together to achieve global social and economic development goals. He emphasised the huge benefits that South Africa had experienced in such collaboration, initially in reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic and then continuing through the business-government workstreams and other areas to address our national crises, including reforming our energy and transport sectors, where we are already feeling the benefits of initial improvements, though there is still a long way to go.

He said business-government collaboration was critical to effectively address social challenges, particularly because policies were designed to be better aligned with real-world challenges.

The third area of focus also entails improved collaboration – but between nations. The goal is to build bridges between developed and developing nations while recognising the need for a more effective international order to address geopolitical conflicts.

In the same panel discussion, there was much interest in finding out the business sector and government work together to address social challenges. Mgojo emphasised how important it was for political leaders to understand that both parties were working towards the same goals.

He used the successful South African Covid crisis as an example, highlighting how government recognised the important role business could play and that “there was no time for arguments or agendas.” He said extensive resources and initiatives driven by the private sector assisted government in addressing the challenge together. “Both parties were saying, let’s forget everything that divides us and meet this challenge together.”

I also experienced many questions about our business-government collaboration and it’s a reminder of how important it has been, and will continue to be, as we execute the numerous reforms that prevent our economy from operating at its full potential.  It was also a proud moment, where South Africa was being used as an example of how effective such collaboration could be in addressing social and economic challenges.

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BLSA is a business organisation that believes in South Africa’s future and shares the values set out in the Constitution. BLSA is committed to playing its part in creating a South Africa of increasing prosperity for all by harnessing the resources and capabilities of business in partnership with government and civil society to deliver economic growth, transformation and inclusion.