Contribution focuses on sustainable finance and strengthening Africa’s role in global systems
Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 April 2026
Africa International Advisors (AIA) supported the 2025 Amplifying African Voices for Strategic Action (AFSA) Conference, held from 25 to 27 November 2025 at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Convened under the theme “Africa in the G20: Advancing Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability,” the conference brought together stakeholders from across the continent and beyond to engage on Africa’s role in global governance at a critical moment following South Africa’s G20 presidency.
A central message from the conference was clear. Africa must increasingly rely on its own capabilities, resources, and institutions to drive development outcomes. While global partnerships remain important, the discussions emphasised that sustainable progress depends on stronger African ownership, coordination, and decision-making.
AIA supported AFSA because it provides a platform for advancing practical, African-led thinking on these challenges. The discussions moved beyond theory and focused on how Africa can strengthen its position within global systems and translate that position into tangible economic and strategic outcomes.
Too often, he argued, these relationships have been structurally unequal, with “global capital privatising the gains and socialising the losses in Africa.” This shifted the debate away from aid dependency toward systemic reform. If the problem is structural, the solution must be structural. Partnership cannot remain rhetorical; it must become a systems-based framework integrating public–private partnerships, blended finance, concessional capital, and even community co-ownership.
Sustainable finance is not merely technocratic. Africa’s development trajectory is inseparable from political economy realities, and financing models must reflect that interconnectedness.
Discussions at the conference emphasised the need to rethink how partnerships are structured. This includes shifting from externally driven models towards approaches that incorporate local ownership, improve accountability, and better reflect how value is created on the continent.
The conference also reinforced the importance of moving beyond fragmented approaches. Issues such as debt, climate finance, industrial development, and emerging technologies are interconnected and require coordinated responses if they are to deliver meaningful change.
For AIA, this aligns with a core focus on ensuring that insight leads to implementation. AFSA 2025 highlighted both the scale of the opportunity and the urgency of action. From reforming financial systems to strengthening Africa’s position in global value chains, the discussions pointed to the need for deliberate, coordinated effort across the continent.
AIA’s support for the conference reflects its commitment to contributing to these conversations and to supporting work that drives practical outcomes.
Apr 2026 SustainableDevelopment AfricanAgency G20 AfricaDevelopment
