South Africa to host high-level World Economic Forum event in 2027 after historic G20 presidency
South Africa has announced it will host a high-level World Economic Forum event in 2027, following the country’s landmark year as G20 president, which included hosting the first-ever G20 leaders’ summit on African soil in Johannesburg. Trade Minister Parks Tau made the announcement at the WEF annual meeting in January 2026, stating that the event will highlight Africa’s rising strategic role in the global economy and showcase the continent’s growing industries in fintech, digital services, logistics, renewables, agribusiness, and creative sectors. The 2027 event is intended to build on the G20 summit’s agenda, which placed global inequality and African development at its centre.
Key points
- South Africa will host a high-level World Economic Forum event in 2027
- The announcement builds on South Africa’s 2025 G20 presidency, the first hosted on African soil
- Trade Minister Parks Tau says the event will spotlight Africa’s rising role in the global economy
- Growth is increasingly driven by African firms in fintech, digital services, logistics, renewables, and creative industries
- A wave of youth-led startups across Africa is already attracting significant global investment
- By 2050, Africa will account for 85% of the expected increase in the global working-age population
South Africa is positioning itself as the continent’s leading convening power, capable of hosting and shaping international conversations that directly affect African economies and their relationships with global partners. The WEF event follows a G20 presidency in which global inequality and African development featured prominently in the final leaders’ declaration, even amid US absence from the summit.
Why it matters: Hosting global forums shifts the symbolic and practical centre of economic conversations toward Africa. It creates direct access for African entrepreneurs and officials to the investors, policymakers, and executives who attend these events, and it builds the continent’s credibility as a serious destination for global capital.
Source: World Economic Forum