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#KnowYourG20 | SU20: The G20 start-ups with global ambitions Ntandoyenkosi… Wed, 10/29/2025 - 16:30 JOHANNESBURG - When 22 On Sloane was appointed as the Secretariat of the G20’s Startup20 Engagement Group, it was not merely an organisational milestone, it was a moment of global acknowledgement that Africa’s innovation story belongs at the centre of the world’s economic conversations.For us, it marked the intersection of purpose and influence, where the work we do every day to build resilient entrepreneurial ecosystems, now contributes to shaping global policy.Serving as Secretariat is not just an operational role, it represents our long-held conviction that Africa must have a voice in the global language of entrepreneurship.Startup20, the youngest engagement group of the G20, was established to bring startup ecosystem founders, MSMEs, investors, policymakers, and enablers into global dialogue. It seeks to create frameworks that support entrepreneurship as a driver of economic growth, inclusion, and sustainability.
At its heart, Startup20 embodies a simple but profound idea: that the future of inclusive growth lies in the ingenuity of those who build from the ground up.It affirms that startups and innovation ecosystems are not peripheral actors, but central to shaping the policies, partnerships, and frameworks that will define the global economy in the decades ahead.At 22 On Sloane, our journey has always been rooted in enabling entrepreneurs to thrive.As Africa’s largest entrepreneurship campus, we have seen firsthand how innovation emerges from places often overlooked, from township enterprises rethinking food access, to youth-led startups building digital solutions for public health,
and climate-focused founders redefining green industries. These lived realities now inform our work within Startup20.Through our Secretariat, we ensure that policy frameworks are not abstract but grounded in the lived experience of entrepreneurs who innovate despite resource constraints.
Africa has always innovated from nec now, through Startup20, that ingenuity shapes global policy.The role of the Secretariat is multi-dimensional.
It involves coordinating the global activities of Startup20, convening member countries and guiding the development of key policy recommendations across the five taskforces: Foundation Alliances, Inclusion Sustainability, Trade Market Access, Finance Investment, and Township Rural Entrepreneurship.Yet beyond the administration lies a deeper function ensuring that diversity in innovation is not symbolic but structural.This ensures the experiences of entrepreneurs from underserved areas are elevated, highlighting solutions that are both locally relevant and globally instructive.Through Startup20, the global startup community gains unprecedented influence. Founders contribute directly to shaping international standards, regulatory practices, and market access strategies.Innovation, digitalisation and entrepreneurship are increasingly recognised as central to national and global competitiveness.Startup20 illustrates how international cooperation can harness these drivers effectively.
Cross-sector collaboration and dialogue ensure that policies are informed by practical realities while remaining globally coherent.Each recommendation produced through the initiative is a synthesis of expertise, creativity, and lived experience, bridging between ideas and implementation.

Beyond policy outcomes, Startup20 fosters a culture of collaboration that transcends borders and sectors.Conversations under its platform span sustainability strategies, regulatory alignment, women’s entrepreneurship and digital inclusion, producing tangible insights for both domestic and international contexts.These discussions help shape ecosystems where entrepreneurship thrives, not just economically, but socially and environmentally.Perhaps the most striking impact of Startup20 is the narrative it is reshaping. For too long, regions like Africa have been framed as “emerging” rather than as leaders in innovation and adaptation.Startup20 challenges that perception, showing that resilience, creativity, and problem-solving are global commodities, not regional exceptions.Startups from Johannesburg, Kigali, Accra and beyond are influencing the design of international frameworks, demonstrating that locally rooted innovation can have global significance.Beyond the operational role, the Secretariat ensures that these contributions are amplified and coordinated effectively.It is less about institutional recognition and more about sustaining the integrity, inclusivity, and impact of the platform.By connecting insights from diverse ecosystems to global dialogue, Startup20 bridges the local and the international, the entrepreneurial and the policy-oriented, the emerging and the established.Ultimately, Startup20 is more than a G20 Engagement G it is a movement redefining how the world views progress. It exemplifies how innovation can drive inclusive, forward-looking growth, while ensuring that policies reflect the realities of those building the future on the ground. Through structured engagement, cross-border collaboration and practical insight, Startup20 demonstrates that entrepreneurship is not only a pathway to economic growth, but a platform for global cooperation, sustainability, and shared prosperity.Carmen Rudd is the Executive of Operations at 22 on Sloane, the Secretariat of the StartUp20 (SU20), which is one the G20 engagement groups.

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