SA’s presidency of the G20 is not merely a ceremonial milestone — it’s a strategic lever at a pivotal moment in both our national development and global economic history. As the only African country in this influential forum, SA has a rare opportunity to elevate African priorities in global economic governance while positioning itself as a credible voice for emerging markets.
The G20 represents 85% of global GDP, more than 75% of international trade and 67% of the global population. These figures highlight the G20’s pivotal role in shaping international economic policies and addressing global challenges. This also implies that shifts and economic development within the G20 could influence interest rates, the competitiveness of African commodities exports, and the viability of informal enterprises across the African continent.
From township entrepreneurs in Diepsloot to digital freelancers in Gqeberha, what happens at the G20 reverberates in the daily lives of millions. One of the clearest lenses through which to demonstrate our leadership is financial inclusion. To make the G20 presidency matter for the majority of South Africans — and Africans more broadly — we must address the persistent economic access gaps that inhibit productivity and resilience.
Financial inclusion — moving from rhetoric to results
Despite over 91% of SA adults having access to formal financial products and services, financial inclusion remains one of SA's most pressing challenges, with about 3.6-millions adults still excluded from formal financial systems, while SMMEs are only marginally served. Our G20 presidency should champion innovative approaches to extending financial services to underserved communities and small businesses from rural Limpopo to peri-urban Ghana.
At FirstRand we’ve seen first-hand the power of digitising ecosystems and lowering entry barriers for micro-entrepreneurs. If we are to truly advance financial inclusion on a global scale we must move beyond individual innovations to systemic enablers — interoperable digital ID systems, equitable cross-border remittance frameworks and global standards that reward, rather than restrict, innovation. This is the insight we must take to the G20.
SA must push the G20 to fund regulatory sandboxes, champion digital trust frameworks and formally elevate financial inclusion to the same level of urgency as macro-stability. Yet policy ambition without national alignment means little. Driving financial inclusion requires more than smart regulation or global goodwill, it demands a co-ordinated national effort to unlock growth across every level of society.
Fuelling the nation’s ambition
We must approach the G20 presidency not as a government event but as a national — and continental — undertaking. The macroeconomic levers discussed in G20 working groups can either unlock or constrain our ambitions at home and across Africa. Their effect depends on our ability to act in unison. The Treasury cannot champion inclusive finance without the private sector innovation. Infrastructure cannot drive growth unless it connects real people to real opportunity.
This is the moment to build on “SA Inc” an approach that transcends rhetoric. It’s a strategy rooted in co-ordination, coherence and collective accountability. We need to show the world and ourselves that SA is investable, not only because of its resource base but because of the institutional alignment between its economic actors. Nowhere is that co-ordination more urgent or more globally visible than in our energy transition. The G20 presidency must be a springboard to secure the kind of climate financing that truly reflects our development priorities.
Just energy transition — financing our future
SA is the test case for a just energy transition. Our energy mix is largely coal dependant, our growth is uneven and government fiscal space is constrained. Yet recent financial deals have shown it’s possible to structure instruments that align decarbonisation with development goals. But we need more than a few pilot deals. We need scale, innovation and risk-sharing.
Success means securing firm, differentiated financing terms for the Global South. Terms that recognise our distinct developmental paths. It means climate-linked debt relief. And it means wealthy nations, whose industrial revolutions were fuelled by carbon, must move beyond rhetoric and start making reparative financial commitments. This is not about charity — it’s about fairness. Africa contributed the least to the climate crisis yet bears the highest cost of adaptation. A just transition is not a side project; it is central to global economic resilience.
Securing finance and building resilience is not only about the terms of a deal, but also about the confidence investors and partners place in us. To mobilise resources at scale, we must deepen trust — both within our borders and across them.
Building trust, locally and globally
A country’s attractiveness to investors is not determined only in capital markets, it’s earned through predictability, trust and clarity of purpose. SA’s G20 presidency allows us to shape global narratives about who we are and where we’re going.
To do this SA must present a unified message to the world: that we are serious about structural reform, that we have the institutional frameworks to deliver, and that we are positioning ourselves as a platform for innovation and African-led solutions.
It’s important that this message is heard at home too. If the G20 presidency is to mean anything beyond policy documents, its outcomes must reach spaza shops in Mamelodi and fibre corridors in Mafikeng. Let’s move beyond tired metaphors and say it plainly: the true test of global economic leadership is whether it improves domestic wellbeing. That is how legitimacy is built not just in multilateral forums, but in homes, schools and marketplaces across SA.
All of this points to the fact that our G20 presidency is a leadership test — not just globally, but nationally. Its success hinges on whether we can turn diplomatic capital into tangible, measurable improvements for our people.
Our presidency, our responsibility
SA’s G20 presidency gives us the microphone but what matters is the message we deliver, and who we bring to the table with us. It’s an opportunity to shape not only policy but paradigm as we shift global economic governance towards a model that recognises our shared humanity and collective interdependence.
At the heart of this shift is the African philosophy of ubuntu — “I am because you are.” This principle challenges the outdated, zero-sum logic of global competition, replacing it with a co-operative ethos that affirms our interconnected destinies. In practice, it means trade frameworks that work for all, climate finance that acknowledges differentiated responsibilities, digital infrastructure that includes the excluded, and financial systems designed to empower communities not just institutions.
This is not idealism it’s economic necessity. In an age where global shocks ripple across borders, inclusive growth is a non-negotiable strategy for resilience. If we can connect our diplomacy at the G20 to the lived realities of Africans in townships, rural villages and urban innovation hubs, we will not only make the process more legitimate, we will affirm SA’s leadership, and Africa’s rightful place in shaping the future of the global economy.
This presidency is a call to lead differently with clarity, with unity, and with ubuntu.
• Silinda is CEO of FNB Public Sector.
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