Collaboration between the government and private sector is key to unlocking Africa’s potential, empowering youth-led SMEs and driving sustainable growth, says the B20 co-chair and president of Business Unity South Africa (Busa).
Mxolisi Mgojo spoke at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance (G20 YEA) Summit, an annual event held ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit that champions the causes of young entrepreneurs at local, national and international levels, connecting more than 500,000 entrepreneurs globally.
Referring to Africa’s growth, he said: “For too long, our continent has been described as a place of potential. Potential is important, but it’s not enough. Potential without action is merely a promise unfulfilled.”
To help fulfil this potential, Mgojo explained, the B20 aims to foster effective collaboration between the public and private sectors. “We have been shifting the narrative as a relay race. Business passes the baton of actionable recommendations. Government receives it and turns those ideas into policy. Society ultimately crosses the finish line with shared prosperity,” he said.
We need leaders. We need entrepreneurs. We need those who are going to create a vision for a better future.
— Mxolisi Mgojo, B20 co-chair and president of Business Unity South Africa
“I think if some of those recommendations will and can be taken and adopted by governments right across, I think we have a really good opportunity to actually get a lot of action on some of what could be undertaken.”
Across the G20 nations, the B20 convened more than 1,500 business leaders to craft 30 evidence-backed recommendations aimed at driving sustainable growth and innovation.
Mgojo said these were shaped by eight task forces and five strategic themes: blended financing for SMEs and women-led enterprises, food security through agriculture, climate action, digital transformation and industrialisation through critical mineral value chains.
He added that the themes rest on three key enablers: transparent public-private partnerships, women’s empowerment and resilience to shocks. Highlighting Africa’s rapidly growing youth population, he said: “So we need a skilled youth force in the future, and a lot of that is also going to be driven by SMEs.”
He noted that supporting this workforce will require ensuring young entrepreneurs have access to finance, markets and the digital tools needed to innovate and bring their products to market efficiently.
Mgojo highlighted India, the G20 host two years ago, as a workable example, where biometric IDs now give 1.3-billion people access to banking, healthcare and government services, while its digital payments system processes 10-billion transactions a month.
He said this shows B20 policy recommendations can drive systemic change and that Africa can achieve similar results.
“Imagine a future where a smallholder farmer in Kenya uses a Pan African digital ID to access cross-border trade finance.
“We need leaders. We need entrepreneurs. We need those who are going to create a vision for a better future, not only for this continent, not only for this period, but for the generations to come.”
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