Equity Group Chief Executive Officer Dr James Mwangi has been appointed to the South-North Commission on Development.
Dr Mwangi Joins 20 other commissioners who have been appointed to join the independent body set up by the German government to rethink how the Global South and North work together.
The Kenyan banking executive is one of two business leaders on the Commission and the only one from Africa.
“I am honoured to join the Co-Chairs and my fellow Commissioners. 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,” said Dr Mwangi following the appointment.
He brings 35 years of evidence that private capital and financial inclusion can deliver development at scale.
Equity currently serves 23.3 million customers across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan with 98% of transactions now happening outside a branch.
Among the twenty commissioners include World Bank President Ajay Banga, World Trade Organisation Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Nobel Peace laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege.
The Commission which is co-chaired by former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla will meet 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 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.
