Africa’s prosperity is within reach—if we choose to awaken to it, writes Tshegofatso Motaung.
At a time when Africa is redefining its place in the global economy and hosting the G20 Summit for the first time, Cedarleb Africa Group hosted a Global Entrepreneurship Conversation themed Awakening to Africa’s Prosperity and G20 opportunities for SMMEs. This meeting brought together distinguished leaders, entrepreneurs, and ecosystem builders for a morning of deep insight and transformative dialogue.
Featuring keynote reflections from Dr Nonkululeko Gobodo, Prof JJ Tabane, and Dr Pali Lehohla, and with contributions from 22 On Sloane who hosted the meeting at their campus in Johannesburg, the event served as both a wake-up call and an invitation to reimagine what is possible for the continent.
Held in an atmosphere charged with expectation, the gathering explored the mindset shifts, policy interventions, and leadership approaches required to unlock Africa’s next era of prosperity. More than a meeting, it became a catalyst for reawakening purpose, ambition, and continental consciousness among those in attendance.
Confronting Continental Blind Spots and Economic Limitations
Prof JJ Tabane delivered an opening reflection that challenged South Africans to confront their long-standing ignorance about the continent. Drawing from his recent experience in Mombasa, Kenya, he described arriving to unusual traffic late at night. Curiously, he asked why the roads were still so busy at that hour. The response was simple but profound: Mombasa operates a 24-hour economy.
Tabane contrasted this with South Africa’s entrenched eight-hour economic culture, raising a provocative question: “What if South Africa’s unemployment crisis could be significantly addressed by shifting toward a 24-hour economy? What if opportunity lies not only in policy reform, but in extending the very hours during which our economy is active?”
His reflection underscored a broader point—South Africa cannot afford to remain economically or psychologically insular. The continent is evolving rapidly, creating new opportunities daily. Yet many South Africans continue to operate from outdated assumptions and limited continental engagement. For Tabane, reimagining the economy requires both structural reforms and a fundamental shift in mindset.
Reviving a Pan-African Vision: Cedarleb Africa Group’s Journey
Tshegofatso Motaung, CEO and Founder of Cedarleb Africa Group, took the opportunity to introduce the Global Trade & Leadership Institute, Cedarleb Africa Group’s flagship platform for empowering African entrepreneurs to trade across borders and evolve into homegrown multinational companies.
She shared how Cedarleb Africa began after serving as a Trade and Investment advisor for UK Trade and Investment. The company was officially registered in 2017, but went through great challenges that almost led to the vision being completely abandoned.
“In hindsight, I guess we were ahead of our time,” she reflected. In South Africa, talking about doing business in Africa was not a conversation many people were keen to have, a sad reality of our past. Also, the economy in South Africa doesn’t give an incentive for small companies to look to expand beyond the borders.
The other contributor is that for South Africa, being the last country to gain independence from colonisation, there was a deliberate effort to cut the people of South Africa from the rest of the broader continental agenda—which was Africa’s liberation in the early years. While many South African leaders played a part in this early continental agenda to liberate the continent, there has not been consistent and deliberate action to reintegrate the people of South Africa to the Africa agenda. “There is therefore a need to be deliberate and intentional about reintegrating the people of South Africa to the continental agenda, in the same way the country has been intentional about economic empowerment,” said Motaung.
However, the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) changed everything. AfCFTA not only opened new markets but also awakened the imagination of entrepreneurs to the reality of a unified continental marketplace. This revived Cedarleb’s vision, leading to its relaunch in Kigali in 2023.
Since then, Cedarleb has led successful trade missions to Rwanda and Ghana, opening access for SMMEs seeking new markets and partnerships. These trade missions, combined with uniquely designed leadership training interventions and thought leadership, will position Cedarleb Africa as a catalyst of raising SMMEs to become Africa’s next generation of multinational companies.
Motaung also used the platform to honour Prof JJ Tabane, acknowledging him as a mentor whose vision and persistence inspired her own journey. She shared the story of facilitating the launch of Frank Dialogues in Nigeria on behalf of Vuka Africa Foundation. This took place at a time when Frank Dialogues were had not yet gained traction in South Africa. For her, seeing the current success of Frank Dialogues in South Africa has demonstrated the power of perseverance and staying committed to one’s vision even when conditions appear unfavourable.
Motaung also introduced Cedarleb Africa’s partners in Accra, Ghana—the Africa Prosperity Network (APN), a non-profit organisation with the goal of promoting economic integration and prosperity in Africa aligning with Africa Union’s Agenda 2063. The APN brings together leaders in business, politics, and civil society to collaborate on solutions, primarily through its flagship annual event, the Africa Prosperity Dialogues, and she extended the invitation to all delegates to be part of the next trade mission to Ghana, which will coincide with APD 2026 from 2–7 February 2026.
22 On Sloane: Elevating Africa’s Voice
in Global Entrepreneurship Policy
Bernadette Pule from 22 On Sloane delivered an insightful overview of the organisation’s role in supporting entrepreneurship across the continent. She explained that 22 On Sloane serves as a launchpad for thousands of start-ups annually—providing incubation, acceleration, capacity building, and access to funding.
This consistent impact is the primary reason why 22 On Sloane was appointed the Secretariat for the G20 Start-Up 20 (SU20), the official G20 engagement group responsible for elevating the needs, challenges, and recommendations of global entrepreneurship ecosystems.
Through this work, 22 On Sloane has strengthened Africa’s footprint in global entrepreneurship conversations, ensuring the continent is no longer a passive recipient of development policy but an active contributor shaping it.
Amplifying Africa’s Voice on the G20 Stage
Adding to this, Boitshoko Shoke provided an overview of the SU20 journey, explaining how the team worked tirelessly to gather insights from African entrepreneurs and transform them into actionable policy recommendations for the G20 Heads of State.
Among the key recommendations delivered were:
Improving access to financing for start-ups
Enhancing regulatory harmonisation to ease cross-border expansion
Investing in digital and innovation infrastructure
Prioritising youth entrepreneurship
Strengthening global collaboration for start-up ecosystems
The Power of Accurate Data: Dr Pali Lehohla’s Warning
Former Statistician-General Dr Pali Lehohla delivered a compelling critique of the ways in which flawed statistics and misplaced national priorities distort South Africa’s development trajectory.
Using the fixation on the matric pass rate as an example, he explained how this single indicator has unintentionally driven schools to discourage learners from taking mathematics—simply to maintain favourable statistics. The result is a generation increasingly detached from the value of data literacy and weakened in global competitiveness.
He emphasised the need for integrated reporting, arguing that national planning must be rooted in accurate, holistic data. Anything less risks creating the illusion of progress while the country regresses in critical areas. Lehohla also argued that South Africa must build an economy culturally and geographically aligned with the lived experiences of its people. His statistical evidence highlighted a troubling disconnect between economic planning and the realities on the ground.
The missing ingredient, he suggested, is not knowledge but leadership courage—the willingness to take bold, sometimes uncomfortable decisions to reorient the nation’s priorities.
Identity, Vision, and the Awakening of the Entrepreneurial Spirit
Dr Nonkululeko Gobodo shared her personal journey to becoming a pioneer and role model to many. She shared how growing up in the Transkei, surrounded by examples of black business leaders, including her father contributed to her journey. However, when she became a teenage mother at 17 and getting married afterwards, it felt like there was no hope for the future. She later worked in her father’s business and it was in the process that she woke up to her identity despite what looked like failure and began a journey to become a Chartered Accountant.
“I shudder to think what would have become of me had I not woken up at that time,” she said. Her message was clear that entrepreneurs need to have a sense of identity, clarity of vision and courage to take necessary action in order to succeed. These ingredients are what has carried her throughout her carrier at every stage of journey.
She praised Tshegofatso Motaung for her visionary leadership, noting that it takes courage to gather people around a dream that many may not yet fully grasp.
Audience Reflections: Encouragement, Connection, and Hope
The engagement session facilitated by Prof Tabane opened space for reflection on the impact of corruption, education, and the lived realities of entrepreneurs. Attendees shared deeply personal insights—many of which revealed just how transformative the morning had been.
One powerful reflection came from Molebogeng Mmolotsi, Professional Valuer and CEO of Nonofo Property Group: “The awakening breakfast for me was firstly just that—an awakening. I was struck by how many individuals are intentionally working to uplift Africa for Africans. Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, but meeting others who are walking the same path was truly inspiring. I left the meeting with renewed hope, not only for my business but for the continent. I now intend to travel the continent and explore the opportunities beyond my own borders.”
This sentiment echoed across the room, reaffirming the power of community and shared purpose. The event left participants deeply inspired.
“This meeting reminded me why I started my business—it was about building something bigger than us and the story of Dr. Gobodo was the reminder I needed to hear,” said Masego Moagi, Managing Director at GMTC Holding.
Nontokozo Mangquku, CEO of Ezi Omume, a clothing manufacturing factory looking to scale to the rest of the continent, expressed her appreciation to Cedarleb Africa for this meeting, saying: “This breakfast meeting connected me to valuable networks, potential partners, and distribution channels that would have been difficult to reach otherwise.”
A Continental Call to Leadership
The Awakening to Africa’s Prosperity Breakfast Meeting was a powerful platform for reflection, learning, and recommitment. It underscored that Africa’s prosperity will not emerge from policy alone, nor from vision alone—but from the convergence of bold leadership, accurate data, entrepreneurial courage, and continental collaboration.
From Cedarlab’s efforts to empower African SMMEs, to 22 On Sloane’s global policy influence, to the profound insights shared by the speakers and participants, one message echoed clearly: Africa’s prosperity is within reach—if we choose to awaken to it.
