Banker Dr. James Mwangi has been picked to join the South-North Commission on Development, a Germany backed forum that seeks to enhance growth and cooperation between the two regions.

In an announcement on Thursday seen by Maudhui, Equity Group CEO Dr. Mwangi will be joining a high-level panel featuring the World Bank President Ajay Banga, WTO Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nobel Peace laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege and 16 other global leaders to shape the next era of international cooperation.

The South-North Commission on Development is an independent unit set up by the German government to rethink how the Global South and North work together to drive prosperity across economies. 

The body's Co-Chairs Olaf Scholz, former Chancellor of Germany, and Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica, presented its 20 Commissioners in Berlin on 5 October.

Dr. Mwangi is one of two business leaders on the Commission and the only one from Africa. His fellow Commissioners include the heads of the World Bank and the World Trade Organization, the Administrator of the UN Development Programme and a Nobel Peace laureate. 

They also include former senior government leaders from South Africa, Senegal, Indonesia, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay and Germany. A majority of the Commissioners come from the Global South.

“Africa should no longer be seen through the lens of aid. It is a source of growth, talent, innovation and investment," noted Dr. Mwangi on his appointment. 

He added, "I will bring what Equity has learned about mobilising domestic and global capital, backing entrepreneurs and small businesses, and making financial and economic inclusion a platform for jobs and shared prosperity.”

The Commission builds on the legacy of the North-South Commission chaired by Willy Brandt from 1977. 

It meets for the first time in Bangkok on 16th – 17th October, alongside the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings. It will present interim findings in 2027, fifty years after the Brandt Commission began, and a final report at the end of 2028. Its recommendations will inform the global development agenda that follows the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr. Mwangi brings 35 years of evidence that private capital and financial inclusion can deliver development at scale. Equity serves 23.3 million customers across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

Dr. Mwangi will serve on the Commission in a personal capacity, an update from the lender noted in part. 

Alongside his service, Equity will deepen its own initiatives for Africa’s development, including the Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan, its work on private-sector financing for development, the Accra Reset and the Africa Prosperity Compact.

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