JOHANNESBURG – There’s no shortage of incredible stories about the central role Africa will play in the world’s future, but there is one theme in particular that captures my attention.
UN demographers project that Africa will be home to a quarter of the world’s population by 2050, and as much as 40 per cent by 2100.
This is happening because a significant portion of the world’s population growth between now and 2050, and between 2050 and 2100, is being driven by Africa.
It is in this context that SA will be abuzz with excitement when the Group of 20 (G20) Leaders’ Summit occurs in the country between November 22 and 23 to mark the culmination of SA’s assumption of the G20 Presidency from December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2025.
The G20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the AU and EU.
The G20 was founded in 1999 in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. It now serves as the ‘premier forum for international economic co-operation’.
SA is Africa’s only sovereign country representative on the G20, and this might be the only time the G20 Presidency is held by an African nation in our lifetime.
The world’s evolving demographics will lead to pronounced changes in the global economy, international trade and the manner in which the world’s supply chains – the complex, dynamic and constantly evolving systems that enable production and consumption – function.
Certainly, there will be several outcomes of the dialogues that occur during G20 SA. Among these outcomes, industrial transformation, storytelling and free trade are three that have to be front and centre if Africa is to start fulfilling its potential this century.
The world needs Africa to industrialise and quickly. According to the UN, Africa is home to some 30 per cent of the world’s mineral reserves, 8 per cent of the world’s natural gas and 12 per cent of the world’s oil reserves.
The continent has 40 per cent of the world’s gold and up to 90 per cent of its chromium and platinum. The largest reserves of cobalt, diamonds, platinum and uranium in the world are in Africa.
It holds 65 per cent of the world’s arable land and 10 per cent of the planet’s internal renewable fresh water source.
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