Equity Group CEO James Mwangi has been elected to the twenty-person international commission on South-North development, set up by Germany to find new ways of working together between developing and developed nations.
The South-North Commission on Development was launched in Berlin on 5 October by its co-chairs Olaf Scholz, former Chancellor of Germany, and Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica.
The new development finance initiative’s mandate is to “consider new ways to strengthen the partnership between the Global North and South and to intensify joint action on global development and international cooperation beyond 2030 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
In his capacity as a member of the commission, Mwangi will provide insights from the perspective of the financial services industry on topics such as unlocking investment, supporting small businesses, and enhancing financial inclusion.
“Africa is no longer viewed through the prism of aid but as an opportunity for investment, talent, innovation, and growth,” said Mwangi in the statement released by his company.
He added that he would “leverage Equity’s experience in mobilizing capital, financing entrepreneurs and small businesses.”
Among the other members of the commission are the President of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, and the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. By rethinking the future of development finance, the initiative hopes to influence national governments and multinational organizations to fund economic growth, reduce inequality, and enter a new era of international cooperation.
According to Equity Group, the first meeting of South-North Commission on Development “will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 16-17, 2026, with the publication of a midterm report in 2027 and a final report at the end of 2028.”
The organization added that the final report will “feed into the conversations around the future of international development and humanitarian assistance,” and that its “recommendations will be informed by the contributions of the commission members and their impact on the multilateral system.”