Equity Group chief executive Dr James Mwangi has been appointed to a new international commission seeking to reshape cooperation between developed and developing countries.
Dr Mwangi is among 20 commissioners appointed to the South-North Commission on Development, an independent body established by the German government in June 2026 to rebuild trust between the Global North and Global South and strengthen multilateral cooperation.
The commissioners were unveiled in Berlin on October 5 by the commission’s co-chairs, former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla.
The commission brings together senior figures from politics, academia, civil society, development, international organisations and the private sector. Its membership includes former government leaders, representatives of international institutions, development and peace practitioners, researchers and business leaders.
Dr Mwangi said his appointment reflects a growing recognition of Africa’s role in shaping global development policy, adding that he would draw on his experience at Equity Group to contribute to the commission’s work.
“Willy Brandt’s Commission gave the world the language of interdependence. Fifty years on, our task is to turn that language into partnerships that work. Africa should no longer be seen through the lens of aid. It is a source of growth, talent, innovation and investment,” he said.
He said his contribution would also be informed by Equity’s experience in expanding access to finance and supporting businesses and entrepreneurs.
“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,” he said.
The new commission draws inspiration from the 1977 Brandt Commission, chaired by former German Chancellor Willy Brandt, whose work helped shape international thinking on development and economic interdependence.
The South-North Commission is expected to hold its inaugural meeting in Bangkok on October 16 and 17, alongside the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings.
According to Equity Group, the commission will release interim findings in 2027 before publishing its final report at the end of 2028. “Its recommendations will inform the global development agenda that follows the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals,” the Group noted.
Dr Mwangi will serve alongside several prominent international figures, including World Bank President Ajay Banga, World Trade Organization Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, UN Development Programme Administrator Alexander De Croo and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr Denis Mukwege.
Other commissioners include former South African deputy president and University of Johannesburg Chancellor Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, former Senegalese prime minister Aminata Touré, former Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and former Spanish foreign minister Arancha González Laya.
The commission also includes former Brazilian environment minister Izabella Teixeira, former Uruguayan foreign minister Omar Paganini Herrera and German Red Cross president and former German health minister Hermann Gröhe.
Academia and research are represented by Prof Kaushik Basu of Cornell University, who also co-chairs the UN High-Level Expert Group on “Beyond GDP”; Schwarzman College Dean Prof Xue Lan; and Elsy Milan, Lebanon’s COP30 negotiator and a researcher at Imperial College London’s Center for Environmental Policy.
Altagracia Gómez Sierra, chair of Promotora Empresarial de Occidente, is also among the commissioners.
