B20 and Africa

B20 and Africa

The G20 Compact with Africa (CWA) Initiative

Africa is a continent of vast opportunities. Despite the high volatility of commodity prices as well as geo-political and geo-economic uncertainties, the continent’s average real GDP growth is forecasted to pick up to 3.8 and 4.2 percent in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Africa thus remains the second fastest-growing economic region after East Asia. At the same time, there are many challenges including poverty, hunger, poor education, ill health, unemployment and inequality, bad governance and corruption. Just to absorb new entrants into the labor force, around 20 million jobs need to be created every year until 2035.

In order to realize the many opportunities, but also to tackle the challenges, more investment is needed –among others in health, education, climate change mitigation, energy access, and infrastructure. As pointed out in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, private investment is a powerful lever for successful socio-economic development. However, to boost investment, the business climate and especially good governance must be improved.

In a B20 Survey conducted, respondents pointed out the many impediments to investment in Africa, primarily corruption, followed by regulatory and political barriers, lack of infrastructure, legal uncertainties, and a lack of skilled labor. Being asked to identify the most promising measures to address these barriers, respondents pointed at good regulation, improvement of administration through one-stop shops for investors, capacity building, financial sector development and regulation, as well as better public-private-partnership processes.

The G20 Compact with Africa (CWA) Initiative aims to increase investment in Africa, in particular in infrastructure, by improving the macroeconomic, political, and financial environment. The B20 strongly welcomes this initiative.

The B20 calls on the G20 to upgrade its partnership with Africa by strengthening the environment for foreign direct investment, boosting investment in infrastructure, enabling reliable and affordable energy, increasing digital connectivity, fostering open and inclusive trade, improving good governance and responsible supply chains, creating an enabling environment for small and medium-sized enterprises, improving financial inclusion as well as advancing health, employment, and education.

The G20 should build on existing initiatives such as the Agenda 2063 of the African Union. The initiative needs to be demand-driven. Compacts need to be signed with individual African countries and should be tailored to the needs and interests of the respective country.

The B20 strongly welcomes the intention of Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Tunisia, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the IMF, the World Bank Group (WBG), and other interested bilateral partners to work on investment compacts and develop strong investment climates.

The B20 hopes that more African countries will join the initiative. The B20 therefore appreciates the interest voiced by Ghana and Ethiopia. The B20 also urges the G20 to set up a mechanism that ensures implementation and monitoring of the Compacts. The B20 stands ready to assist the G20 and Compact countries in order to ensure a successful implementation of the partnerships.

 

The G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation –responsible for 85 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) and three-quarters of global exports (goods and services), representing about two-thirds of the world’s population. It should take a leading role in working with African countries in a partnership of equals.