As SA prepares to host the G20 Leaders’ Summit on November 22 and 23, RMB CEO Emrie Brown emphasises the strategic importance of this international gathering and the actionable recommendations contained in the recently published B20 SA Final Papers compiled by eight global task forces.
The B20 refers to the Business 20, a forum that represents the business community’s interests within the G20, providing policy recommendations to G20 leaders.
We approach the G20 Leaders’ Summit with immense pride and purpose, recognising the extraordinary effort and intellectual depth represented by the rigorous deliberations of [B20 SA’s] eight global task forces [in compiling their Final Papers].
Each of the eight task forces brought together global business leaders, entrepreneurs, academics, and civil society representatives to advance inclusive growth and sustainable development.
[The recommendations in their Final Papers] reflect the global business community’s shared ambition to shape a more inclusive, resilient, and cooperative global economy.
Hosting this summit in SA is an important moment, allowing us to champion priorities particularly salient to emerging markets and the African continent.
The eight global task forces are Digital Transformation, Employment and Education, Energy Mix and Just Transition, Finance and Infrastructure, Trade and Investment, Integrity and Compliance, Sustainable Food Systems and Agriculture, and Industrial Transformation and Innovation.
Our immediate focus must be on implementation, particularly concerning the structural challenges we face regionally.
The B20 Final Papers strongly advocate for a fair and inclusive global energy transition. For SA, this means urgently scaling transition finance, localising clean energy manufacturing, and investing significantly in resilient grids and infrastructure to create value across the energy value chain.
Addressing the widening infrastructure gap, particularly prevalent in emerging markets and developing economies, is also crucial.
The B20 rightly calls for stronger early-stage project preparation and greater deployment of blended finance and partnerships to improve capital access and project investability. Improving cross-border financial flows is essential to ensuring infrastructure investment supports sustainable, inclusive development.
In support of this goal, RMB has facilitated R200bn in sustainable and transition finance, achieving our target a year in advance, and we are currently resetting the target for 2030. This includes blended finance structures to mobilise capital for early-stage projects and innovative technology.
Simultaneously, we must confront the employment and digital challenges.
The Final Papers highlight the critical barriers posed by the digital divide, urging the expansion of inclusive infrastructure and the embedding of digital and AI education to ensure digital transformation drives equity and trust.
Furthermore, addressing global unemployment and skills mismatches requires focusing on youth employment pathways and removing barriers to female participation.
We believe in backing these goals: our corporate social investment programme has facilitated youth employment pathways for hundreds of graduates through the RMB Graduate Programme and the FirstJob mentorship programme, equipping them with essential digital and professional skills.
Finally, the recommendations concerning Trade and Investment directly support our regional ambitions, emphasising the need to advance Africa’s competitiveness through African Continental Free Trade Area integration.
This effort, coupled with re-energising manufacturing through industrial strategies co-created with business and expanded SME competitiveness, will be key drivers of resilience and regional trade integration.
RMB remains committed to leveraging these rigorous recommendations to drive sustainable growth and embed integrity and trust into our markets, notably by harnessing technology for anti-corruption and strengthening transparency in sustainability finance.
We look forward to a successful and productive G20 Leaders’ Summit in SA.
This article was sponsored by RMB.
