The People’s Commission on Sovereign Wealth Funds Side Event

Overview

Across Africa, Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are emerging as critical instruments for advancing sustainable growth, economic independence, and long-term investment in national development priorities. As the global landscape evolves — with declining concessional financing and mounting fiscal pressures — African nations are turning to sovereign capital and development finance partnerships to shape a new model of economic self-determination.

This side event, hosted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) in collaboration with the National Treasury, Public Investment Corporation, UNDP, Open Society Foundations, and other partners, forms part of South Africa’s G20 Social Summit legacy track. It brings together policymakers, fund managers, multilateral institutions, and development practitioners for a high-level dialogue on leveraging SWFs and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) as catalysts for inclusive, sustainable transformation.

Objectives

The roundtable seeks to:

• Evaluate SWFs as instruments of public development in Africa and the Global South, focusing on design, governance, and measurable…