In Johannesburg today, TIME’s iconic red border finds new ground on the African continent. As world leaders gather for the G20, TIME Africa hosts its inaugural G20 Impact Summit, a landmark convening that marks both a new chapter for the TIME brand and a defining moment for Africa’s place in global leadership.
Held at Hill on Empire in Johannesburg, the Summit brings together heads of state, policymakers, innovators, investors, and cultural icons to explore one urgent question: what does shared global progress look like when Africa leads the conversation?
A New Era of Global Influence
For decades, the G20 has stood as the primary forum for international economic cooperation—a gathering of the world’s major economies shaping global growth and governance. Yet as the 21st century unfolds, it is increasingly clear that no vision of the future can be complete without Africa at its center.
With one of the fastest-growing populations on Earth, vast natural and digital resources, and a youth demographic driving global innovation, Africa has become indispensable to the world’s economic and environmental trajectory. The TIME Africa G20 Impact Summit places that truth at the heart of this year’s global dialogue.
“This is more than a conference—it’s a reflection of a global realignment,” said Josh Wilson, Managing Director of TIME Africa. “Africa is not the future—it is the present. And the world is beginning to recognize that the solutions to our shared challenges, from sustainability to digital transformation, will be forged here.”
A Historic New Chapter for TIME
The TIME Africa G20 Impact Summit marks the first major convening under the TIME Africa banner—a milestone moment in the brand’s expanding global footprint and its deepening engagement with the continent.
Building on TIME’s legacy of convening the world’s most influential figures through platforms like the TIME100 and the TIME Impact Series, this new chapter is designed to spotlight Africa’s leadership in shaping global progress.
While TIME has previously hosted select events on the continent, including the 2023 TIME100 Impact Awards in Rwanda, this Summit marks the brand’s first continent-wide forum dedicated to Africa’s role in the world, aligning directly with the G20’s global agenda.
For TIME, whose century-long legacy has chronicled the moments and movements that define our era, the event symbolizes a deeper commitment—not just to report Africa’s story, but to convene it.
A Distinguished Line-Up Reflecting Africa’s Global Voice
The Summit’s roster of speakers exemplifies Africa’s evolving global influence:
- H.E. Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of AUDA-NEPAD, will open the Summit with a keynote on Africa’s leadership in redefining global development frameworks and the importance of multilateralism in a new world order.
- Hon. Bogolo Kenewendo, will be joining H.E. Nardos Bekele-Thomas on the keynote. The Minister of Minerals and Energy for Botswana will highlight Africa’s role in the green-energy transition, from critical minerals to renewable infrastructure, equitable energy access, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) as a catalyst for investment, and how Africa can leverage the G20 platform to secure equitable reforms and access to sustainable capital.
- H.E. Ambassador Emmanuel Hategeka, Rwanda’s High Commissioner to South Africa, will discuss innovation-led diplomacy and how nations like Rwanda are building governance models for the future.
- Fatima Tambajang, Africa Partnership Lead at NVIDIA, will explore the power of artificial intelligence and frontier technologies in accelerating inclusive growth and competitiveness across African economies.
- Dr. Nabhit Kapur, Permanent Observer to the United Nations from the WSA (Pan-African Intergovernmental Agency for Water and Sanitation for Africa), will address Africa’s growing leadership within the UN framework and its role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.
- The event will be hosted by Nandi Madida, award-winning artist, entrepreneur, and advocate, whose presence bridges Africa’s creative energy with its global cultural influence.
The G20 Context: Africa as a Strategic Pillar
This year’s G20 coincides with a period of immense global recalibration. The themes dominating international discourse—energy security, climate resilience, digital equity, and inclusive trade—are all areas where Africa’s leadership is not just relevant but essential.
From renewable energy corridors in Southern Africa to fintech ecosystems in West Africa and AI innovation hubs in East Africa, the continent’s development model offers lessons for a world searching for balance between growth and sustainability.
TIME Africa’s decision to anchor its inaugural summit during the G20 underscores this point: the path to a stable and sustainable global future runs through Africa.
As international institutions debate the reform of global financial systems and climate frameworks, African nations are no longer observers—they are architects of a new global order.
“The G20 has long shaped the trajectory of the global economy,” Wilson noted. “What we are witnessing now is Africa stepping forward—not to be invited into the conversation, but to redefine it.”
Beyond the Summit: TIME’s Long-Term Commitment
The TIME Africa G20 Impact Summit is more than an event—it is the foundation of a sustained platform that will continue to amplify African leadership on the world stage. Through high-level convenings, digital storytelling, and partnerships, TIME Africa will serve as a year-round lens through which global audiences can engage with Africa’s most dynamic ideas and innovators.
From Johannesburg to Kigali, Accra to Nairobi, TIME Africa’s editorial mission is to chronicle the continent’s transformation in real time—through the people and policies shaping it.
A Defining Moment for TIME—and for the World
As the Summit unfolds in Johannesburg, it reflects both continuity and change: a continuation of TIME’s mission to illuminate the individuals and ideas shaping our era—and a recognition that Africa now stands at the heart of those stories.
In bringing TIME’s red border to Africa’s economic and cultural core, the G20 Impact Summit signals the beginning of a new era: one where the continent’s leadership, creativity, and innovation are no longer emerging—they are defining.
It is a powerful statement—not only about where the world is going, but about who will lead it there.