A comprehensive report by South Africa's G20 Presidency calls for bold multilateral action to transform Africa's development trajectory. The report also recognizes the key role of the African Development Bank Group in catalysing productive investment across the continent.
"The release of the report of the Africa Expert Panel today marks a key milestone in South Africa's G20 Presidency, which has sought to advance solutions for the issues that matter most to the African continent," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa noted on Monday 17 November at a ceremony in Johannesburg to mark the handover of the report, produced by a panel of experts.
Ramaphosa added: "The panel's report reminds us that the greatest opportunity for global prosperity in the 21st century lies in Africa. We have a youthful and growing population, dynamic and innovative societies, and a wealth of natural resources." South Africa is the current holder of the G20 Presidency - the first African country to lead the group and to host, this week, its annual convening of leaders.
The Africa Expert Panel is a 25-member group of independent experts, convened by South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on behalf of the South African G20 Presidency, and chaired by Trevor Manuel, a former South African Finance Minister. Vice President and Chief Economist of the African Development Bank Group, Professor Kevin Chika Urama, and Director of the Macroeconomics Policy, Forecasting, and Research Department, Dr. Anthony Musonda Simpasa are members of the panel, alongside other distinguished economists, development practitioners, policy experts, and academics.
Call for Sustained Capitalisation of AfDB's African Development Fund
The new report, "Growth, Debt and Development: Opportunities for a New African Partnership," called for sustained capitalisation of the African Development Fund, the African Development Bank's concessional window, which remains vital for low-income, fragile, and vulnerable countries that require concessional finance.
It identified the World Bank Group's International Development Association (IDA) and the African Development Fund (ADF) as the largest sources of grant financing in Africa and vital players in concessional lending. The final meeting for the Seventeenth Replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-17) for the period 2026-2028 will take place in London, UK, from 15 to 16 December 2025.
The report outlines a paradigm shift from aid dependency to investment-driven development, anchored in African agency and global partnership. It also calls for the capitalisation and empowerment of continental and regional development finance institutions to complement national efforts.
African Development Bank Group's critical role in investment acceleration in Africa
The report emphasises that the Bank, alongside regional and national development finance institutions, must serve as the primary facilitators of frameworks for national investment, capacity-building initiatives, and the mobilisation of private capital.
"Africa needs a surge of productive investment in infrastructure, energy, education, health, and climate resilience," the report notes. "[The] growing effectiveness of pan-African institutions is also important, and the African Development Bank, as well as regional and national development lenders, must play a catalytic role."
The report further highlights the Bank Group's rollout of "innovative financing techniques, such as the Room2Run programme, a form of debt securitisation that increases lending capacity without a capital increase by transferring portfolio risks to the private sector."
The report's recommendations include, among others:
- Launching a new G20 Debt Service Refinancing Initiative for low-income countries with contributions from the official sector;
- Establishing a Borrowers' Club to strengthen the collective voice of borrowers and coordinate peer learning, technical assistance, and research;
- Building a multilateral sovereign debt resolution mechanism that is transparent, timely, and effective;
- Defining and developing national growth programmes and national and regional investment frameworks to drive economic transformation;
- Empowering African trade and finance institutions; and
- Strengthening international tax cooperation and efforts to combat illicit financial flows.
The report will inform discussions at the G20 Leaders' Summit this week in Johannesburg. The recommendations will guide the implementation of the G20 Africa Engagement Framework, launched by G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in October, on the sidelines of the 2025 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings.
Click here to read the Report.
