(File photo)
As the world grapples with economic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, food insecurity, climate change and the urgent need for sustainable development, the role of Africa — both the private and public sectors — in shaping global solutions is critical.
This was the view of Anthony Costa, head of secretariat for B20 South Africa, based at Business Unity South Africa (Busa), under South Africa’s G20 presidency.
Costa spoke to the Mail & Guardian ahead of the Africa CEO Forum 2025 that kicks off in Abidjan on Monday, where President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to speak at the opening ceremony.
Africa’s largest private sector meeting, themed “It’s time to strike a new deal: Can a new deal between state and private sector deliver the continent a winning hand?”, will bring together 2300 business leaders, investors, policymakers and professionals from around the world. The two-day event includes seminars, debates and high-level meetings aimed to highlight the role of the private sector in the development of the continent.
The B20 — the official business group of the G20 — is designed to amplify the voice of the private sector and develop policy recommendations for the world’s largest economies.
Costa previously worked in the Private Office of the Presidency leading the President’s Investment Mobilisation Programme, and participated in several initiatives between government and the private sector.
He will participate in a session along with South African leaders such as Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa , African Development Bank (AfDB) presidential candidate Swazi Tshabalala, Brand South Africa chief executive, Neville Matjie, the deputy minister of trade, industry and competition, Zuko Godlimpi, and RMB Corporate Client Group head Nana Phiri on Tuesday.
The session titled, “Unlocking the AfCFTA [African Continental Free Trade Area] dividend through regional value chains and public private partnerships” will showcase South Africa’s strategic efforts to strengthen regional value chains through infrastructure and industrial development, foster multi-stakeholder public-private partnerships and to leverage the country’s G20 and B20 presidencies to attract sustainable investment and drive inclusive growth.
As secretariat head, Costa coordinates a process that culminates in the B20 Summit, scheduled for 18 to 20 November in Johannesburg.
But the real work takes place ahead of summit, involving dozens of virtual and in-person meetings across eight task forces, each focused on a critical area for business policy. They are: finance and infrastructure, trade and investment, digital transformation, employment and education, integrity and compliance, energy mix and just transition, sustainable food systems and agriculture, industrial transformation and innovation.
Costa emphasised that the B20 was not just a South African or African process, but one rooted in the shared interests of the G20 nations.
With participants including the US Chamber of Commerce and multinational corporations, the B20 process provides a platform for global engagement — but one Costa believes must better represent African realities.
He said the US Chamber of Commerce remained committed to the B20 despite global jitters regarding President Donald Trump’s tariff wars. He said the tariff crisis had led to businesses realising the inherent risk in relying on a single supply chain and that diversification is vital.
“We’ve created a task force specifically focused on industrial transformation and innovation, because we believe there’s an opportunity to redefine what manufacturing and economic growth can look like in the 21st century — not just metal and machinery, but advanced, diversified, sustainable systems,” he said.
Key to industrial development is moving beyond extraction toward beneficiation, where raw materials are processed and value is added locally.
“We’ve been talking about beneficiation for 25 years, but now we have a real opportunity,” Costa said.
“Critical minerals are central to the global energy transition, and Africa holds many of them. But we can’t beneficiate everything in every country — we need smart policies that make economic sense, and intra-African trade is key to that.”
According to the UN Trade and Development, intra-African trade remains low — at about 16% of total African trade — but integration efforts such at AfCFTA, aim to improve this.
“Look at the European Union — it took decades but it shows what’s possible. We’re still in the early days. We need governments to adopt policies that are not protectionist, but are in support of local production, and to do so when it’s economically sensible, you can’t finish everything in every country, but it’s about finding the right balance” he said.
“Probably the game changer is intra-African trade, because it makes a much stronger economic case to produce on the continent, if your market is here.”
Costa’s vision for growth is also focused on the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs).
He said that for infrastructure, energy and innovation, the partnership between government and business is non-negotiable, and South Africa has some successes in this area.
“The sector is key to economic growth but it can’t succeed in isolation. Government needs to provide for investment, in many cases, in public infrastructure. It’s not a purely private endeavour by definition, and so you need to have frameworks and mechanisms that enable private investment.”
He pointed to South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme as a success story.
“It was expensive at first, but it allowed investment in solar and wind and we’ve seen prices come down dramatically, and added clean energy to the grid that we otherwise would not have anticipated. That’s a successful PPP.
“I think we’ve struggled to really make progress on other public private partnerships in South Africa, and so the national treasury is particularly working on creating a new framework to try and make it easier. The big opportunity is investment in grid transmission and a lot of work is taking place,” he said.
Other success stories include investment by the South African National Roads Agency in toll roads such as the N3 and N1 and more recent cooperation between government and business in tackling the country’s energy and logistics crises.
As Costa heads to the November summit the challenges facing Africa and the global economy are many and dire: geopolitical instability, climate change, rising trade barriers and slowing growth.
But Costa remains optimistic that the B20 process can help forge a new path. To do so business must continue investing, growing productivity and supporting development — especially in areas like food security.
“We recognise that global food systems are under pressure from productivity and a climate perspective, as well as from a trade perspective — the international trading system is fragmented, there is a rise of tariff barriers. Business needs to find ways to continue to invest to become more productive.”
Costa said the Africa CEO Forum was an important event, because it gave the country the opportunity to engage with the continent’s business leaders and policymakers.
“Traditionally, South African business hasn’t necessarily participated in Francophone Africa to the same extent it has in Anglophone Africa, but in recent years we have seen more engagement and this is a great opportunity.”
He said this isn’t just about South Africa; it’s about ensuring African businesses and voices are part of shaping global policy — from trade to technology to development.
With less than seven months until the Johannesburg Summit, the pressure is on — but so is the potential.
“We aim to produce recommendations by mid-year so that they can be shared and debated widely before the November Summit. The final outputs are made public to allow for policy engagement — not just with G20 governments, but with business associations, the World Trade Organisations and others,” he said.
“I think we see South Africa’s G20 presidency, and with it both the B20 and the other engagement groups, as an opportunity for us to really put forward, to curate a process that allows issues relevant to Africa and the developing world to be heard, but it also speaks to markets across the G20 to receive feedback and attention, and to do so in a way that we create a legacy and have an impact,” he said.
“We do not have a lot of time left in seven months from the end of November … we will have to think: what have we done from a global perspective? What is the legacy we’ve created as South Africa?”
The African CEO Forum was founded by Jeune Afrique Media Group in 2012 and is now permanently co-hosted by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank.
