Johannesburg, South Africa — In what is the first-ever G20 summit on African soil, the “G20 Women to Africa” forum served not as an afterthought, but as the beating heart of a historic movement. Over the course of a singular day, South Africa’s economic development, social welfare, and community building converged with ancestral memory, Pan-African solidarity, and unflinching optimism.
Newly minted advocate, Nzinga Qunta, masterfully steered the proceedings. As business-anchor-turned-emcee, she embodied what many described this event to be: not just a national moment, but an African one, rooted in unity and forward momentum. Her role symbolized the growing recognition that a new generation of African women leaders must not only speak but be given platforms to shape the global agenda.
Women, Pan-Africanism, and the Promise of “We”
From the outset, Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga framed the gathering as Africa’s—not merely South Africa’s. She invoked the ethos at the core of Pan-Africanism: “This is not just South Africa’s G20 — it is Africa’s G20, the People’s G20.” This simple, declarative truth cut through national boundaries, affirming that we are African before we are from anywhere else—a sentiment woven into every address.
Chikunga continued by weaving together liberation past and economic freedom present. She urged the audience to remember the women of 1956—the marchers of the Union Buildings—and continental giants like Yaa Asantewaa, Wangari Maathai, and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, as reminders that “Africa’s story of liberation and progress cannot be written without women.” For decades, women have served as both the moral conscience and the economic backbone of African societies, yet their contributions have too often been overlooked. The minister reminded delegates that economic liberation must stand on the same pillars of courage, sacrifice, and unity that defined political liberation.
Her invocation of Graça Machel’s words—“Women’s strength, women’s industry, women’s wisdom are humankind’s greatest untapped resource. The challenge of the 21st century is to ensure that this resource is brought into the heart of all human development efforts.”—resonated like a call to arms rooted in both history and urgency. By grounding today’s struggles in a lineage of Pan-African thought, she underscored that the forum was not merely about one policy or one pledge, but about generational change.
Finally, she closed with the words of Thomas Sankara:
“The revolution and women’s liberation go together. … Women hold up the other half of the sky.”
“Friends, the future can indeed be African and women — but only if we act boldly, finance differently, and govern with accountability.”
These statements anchored the forum in Pan-African gravitas—unyielding in principle and exacting in demand. The message was not sentimental but strategic: African unity is hollow without the full participation of women.
From Words to Capital: Standard Bank, AWIF, and Matched Impact
The forum was more than promises—it was action. Standard Bank pledged $10 million to the African Women Impact Fund (AWIF), a Pan-African gender-lens investment vehicle aligned with Agenda 2063 and the UN SDGs. AWIF, a collaboration between the UN Economic Commission for Africa, UN Women, and the African Union Commission, under the stewardship of the African Women Leadership Network, channels capital to women-led enterprises through Pan-African women fund managers. Steered by Standard Bank as the anchor investor, RisCura Invest as the investment manager, and MiDA Advisors as the strategy advisor, the AWIF is a symbol of bold collaborative action towards inclusive and sustainable African economies. It is designed not just as a charity, but as a systemic lever to redirect resources toward women in leadership roles who, studies show, reinvest in their communities at higher rates than their male counterparts.
As Dr. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi has argued, “Africa must have more women serving on company boards to sharpen the continent’s competitive edge and to make inclusive growth a reality – all the way to the top.”
Luvuyo Masinda, CEO of Standard Bank’s Corporate & Investment Banking division, emphasized the transformative drive: “Our focus is on driving sustainable growth across Africa by mobilising capital for women-owned businesses. By strengthening the role of women as fund managers and decision makers, we are helping expand access to finance, unlock opportunities, and drive growth.”
Echoing this, Lindeka Dzedze, Executive Head of Strategic Partnerships Global Markets & Chair of AWIF, added:
“This is the reason we must be intentional about gender-focused investing and ensure that women are well represented in decision-making roles within the investment management industry.”
These remarks pointed to a deeper truth: access to capital is power, and power cannot be fully Pan-African if women remain excluded from its circulation. The result of these pledges and statements is a clarion call uniting capital and conscience, with Pan-African impact at its core.
Accountability, Ubuntu, and Legacy
This was not business-as-usual. Minister Chikunga articulated a path beyond rhetoric, insisting on a measurable, accountable legacy: “Conferences do not change the world — systems do.”
Her call for enforceable targets, transparent tracking, and embedded zero tolerance for gender-based violence laid the foundation for real transformation. The emphasis on systems spoke to a recognition that Africa’s challenges—whether in finance, governance, or safety—are structural, and therefore require structural solutions.
Moreover, the forum echoed Ubuntu—“I am because you are, I am because we are”—the guiding principle of the W20 under South Africa’s G20 Presidency. This African philosophy, centered around collective existence and mutual empowerment, became the thematic backbone of the event. It linked Pan-African unity, gender equity, and economic inclusion—not as add-ons, but as threads in a single tapestry. Ubuntu offered a cultural and moral lens for thinking about the economy: prosperity cannot be individual if it is not also collective.
A Moment of Continental Reckoning — and Rebirth
This G20, Africa’s first, stands at the crossroads: Will it be an echo or an engine?
The forum’s leaders framed it as the latter. From Graça Machel’s wisdom to Sankara’s revolution, from Ubuntu to AWIF, from speeches to capital flows—the message was clearer than ever: Africa will only rise when women are central to its ascent.
By situating women at the center of policy, finance, and leadership, the Johannesburg forum turned symbolic firsts into substantive commitments. Its significance lies not just in its timing but in its vision: an Africa where women are fully present in the rooms of decision-making, shaping the trajectory of the continent in ways that honor both its ancestral memory and its global future.
Final Thought
Pan-Africanism is not nostalgia—it’s survival. By uniting in vision, funding, and accountability, the G20 Women to Africa forum reminded the continent that we are African, first and foremost. That reality is our greatest strength and greatest responsibility. The name of women must indeed be praised—because in them, Africa holds up the sky. This first G20 on African soil may be remembered not only as a milestone in global governance but as a turning point where Pan-Africanism, women’s leadership, and collective will converged to chart a new course for the continent.
Watch more event coverage here from the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group (EWWG) Women to Africa event: