Dr. James Mwangi, Group Managing Director and CEO of Equity Group Holdings, has been appointed as a Commissioner on the South‑North Commission on Development, an independent body created by the German government to rethink relations between the Global South and North.

The 20‑member commission was presented in Berlin on 5 October by co‑chairs former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla.

Mwangi is one of two business leaders on the panel and the only commissioner from Africa, joining heads of the World Bank, World Trade Organization, UN Development Programme and a Nobel Peace laureate among others.

A majority of the commissioners come from the Global South.

The commission will hold its inaugural meeting in Bangkok on 16‑17 October, alongside the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, and plans to release interim findings in 2027 with a final report by the end of 2028.

Mwangi will serve in a personal capacity, while Equity Group will continue its own development programmes, including the US$6 billion Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan that aims to reach 100 million customers and 5 million borrowing businesses by 2030.

Equity’s broader agenda also features a private‑sector financing proposal for the 2025 UN Financing for Development Conference and ongoing support for the Accra Reset, a Ghana‑led initiative to strengthen sovereign capacity across the Global South.

Equity serves 23.3 million customers across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, with 98 % of transactions now occurring digitally.

About 30 % of Equity’s loan portfolio is allocated to agriculture, and the bank targets more than 30 % of its lending to climate‑aligned sectors by 2030.

Mwangi said the commission builds on the legacy of the 1977 Brandt Commission, aiming to turn the language of interdependence into partnerships that move Africa beyond an aid‑centric view.