Africa must move decisively to accelerate economic reforms if it is to unlock sustained growth and withstand the pressures of a rapidly shifting global economy, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said on the sidelines of the G20 Investment Breakfast Dialogue in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Delivering the keynote address at a forum convened by MTN, CEOs from across South Africa, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), and development partners, Edun said Africa is meeting at a moment of “profound global economic change” that demands coordinated action, deeper regional collaboration, and an investment climate built on stability and reform.
Setting the global context, Edun outlined four major disruptions reshaping the prospects of developing regions. First, global trade dynamics are being rewritten, with the old rules that supported the rise of China, India, and Brazil changing rapidly. Second, capital flows to emerging markets have tightened dramatically. Many developing economies, he noted, now pay more in debt service than they receive in development assistance. Africa alone is estimated by the African Development Bank to be paying about $163 billion in debt servicing in 2024, while total foreign direct investment is less than $100 billion.