There are several areas that require attention if South Africa and other African countries are to succeed in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s (AU’s) Agenda 2063, as part of the efforts to engender sustainable socioeconomic growth on the continent.

This was noted by speakers at the inaugural Socioeconomic Impact Summit, held in Sandton, on October 14.

Brand management consultancy Brandfusion CEO Katie Mohamed pointed out that socioeconomic inequality does not just hurt individuals, but also impacts on the collective, as it can lead to social unrest and stifle economic growth.  

She emphasised the importance of collaboration in devising innovative solutions to tackle poverty.

Mohamed also underlined the importance of transparency, education and knowledge sharing.

She averred that while socioeconomic challenges are difficult, they also present an opportunity for transformation.

Delivering the keynote address, AU continental governance officer Sara Hamouda pointed out that Africa was grappling with challenges including poverty, unemployment, inequality, lack of proper infrastructure, crime and corruption.

While some progress was made in addressing these, a lot of these gains were lost during the Covid-19 pandemic and other crises.

Foreign direct financing also declined considerably following the pandemic and this requires innovative solutions that leverage domestic and regional resources, she asserted.

Moreover, despite emitting the least carbon on the global scale, the continent is the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, Hamouda warned.

She therefore stressed the need for innovative solutions for climate finance, with the continent securing only a very small percentage of the global funds, and much of this being concentrated to about ten countries.

She also emphasised the important role that women must play in this, as they are often the most impacted segment, working in agriculture and rural areas.

Another challenge highlighted was that of illicit financial flows.

Hamouda highlighted that the AU is aiming to address these challenges, through collaboration with different partners.

She also mentioned the potential that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could offer.

Pivotal to this would be digital transformation, to create good social contracts between citizens and governments. This requires considerable effort, given that Africa is the least connected globally, with the need to enable free access to information, she emphasised.

Moreover, AfCFTA also requires infrastructure to enable mobility between countries in the region, Hamouda stressed, also calling for women entrepreneurs to be boosted as part of this.