The Brenthurst Foundation Podcast

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) recognises that it needs to focus more on economic diplomacy, including upskilling its diplomats to promote trade and investment.

But this work needs to go further if South Africa is to pursue a foreign policy fit for economic growth and prosperity. There is a broad consensus that it needs to better coordinate the different elements - including business - which have a role to play in economic diplomacy, broadly defined.

One way of doing this, according to Peter Fabricius, would be to merge Dirco and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition into one department managing South Africa’s economic relations. That would be a big step towards a SA Inc. And it might free trade from the dubious grip of industrial policy makers.

Marie-Noelle caught up with the veteran journalist to find out more. 

The idea for this conversation came from a discussion paper Peter wrote for the Foundation, which you can read here.

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Between 2001 and 2019, two million men and women from abroad served in Afghanistan, and more than $2 trillion was expended, an extraordinary, once-in-a-generation commitment of resources to a poor country, a staggering opportunity cost.

The Western withdrawal from Afghanistan, set to be complete by September 11 2021, has gone hand-in-hand with a narrative of defeat, repeated so often it’s in danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, one damaging to Western moral authority and the value of its alliance.

Dr Greg Mills is joined in conversation with Rory Stewart, Former Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom and Yale University Fellow, and Dr David Kilcullen, author, strategist, and counterinsurgency expert, as they discuss what the future might hold for the people of Afghanistan.

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The recent unrest that took hold across parts of South Africa, following the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma, put inequality back in the spotlight. While some put the blame squarely on the Zuma faction within the ruling ANC, it is clear that, out on the streets, there was a boiling resentment fed by the government's failure to deliver basic public services.

This week, Marie-Noelle sat down with the Foundation's Machel-Mandela fellow, Gugu Resha, to learn more about her experiences growing up in South Africa, and whether the debate surrounding universal basic income, which gained new traction following the chaos, has any merit.

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The Ease of Doing Business indicator is a system that ranks the regulatory environment of countries around the world. Over time, the ranking, collated by the World Bank, has amassed considerable influence over business regulation as countries have sought to improve their score to attract investment.

This week, Marie-Noelle spoke to Dr Jumoke Oduwole, who serves as Special Advisor to the President of Nigeria on the Ease of Doing Business, about how the business environment has improved there and what more needs to be done to attract further investment on the continent.

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The US foreign policy approach to Africa has remained remarkably consistent since the Clinton administration. As President Biden’s State Department begins to take shape, analysts have started to wonder which direction his government might take.

This week, Marie-Noelle spoke to Ambassador J. Peter Pham, a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council, who formerly served as US Special Envoy for the Sahel and Great Lakes region during the Trump administration, to hear more about the relationship, and what President Biden’s nominees might say about the current direction of travel.

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Diaspora communities play an integral role in the economic, cultural and developmental growth of their countries of origin. 

However, research suggests that, too often, governments lack the expertise and capacity to effectively engage them.

This week, Marie-Noelle chats to Dr Martin Russell, an advisor at The Networking Institute, to learn a little more about where and when diaspora engagement has worked, and what it takes to harness the power of the international community.

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Industries without smokestacks – tradable services like tourism and transport – could hold the key to future meaningful employment for millions across Africa.

Following on from last week’s episode with Sharmi Surianarain, Marie-Noelle spoke to Antoinette Eckersley, Founder and Group CEO of KGI Holdings, whose focus on business process outsourcing is changing the way we think about what work could look like in South Africa.

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Automation. Artificial intelligence. Remote working. These are just some of the terms and phrases often deployed in conversations around the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ and the future of work.

Africa’s growing population will necessitate the creation of new jobs and industries to accommodate the millions more than will enter the job market over the next few decades. Covid-19 hasn’t changed that, it’s accelerated it.

This week, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator’s Chief Impact Officer, Sharmi Surianarain, gives Marie-Noelle an insight into what the future of work on the continent might look like.

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According to the IMF, Africa was home to the world's five fastest growing economies prior to the pandemic. Much has been written of the continent's looming population boom, and the levels of economic growth that will be required to sustain such change. 

While COVID has changed a lot, the need for rapid economic growth remains. Only now it’s even greater.

But how can Africa sustain its post-pandemic recovery while still creating enough opportunity for its burgeoning population? The Brenthurst Foundation’s founder, Jonathan Oppenheimer, believes the answer lies in engaged capital.

Join Marie-Noelle in conversation with Jonathan, as together they explore the idea behind engaged capital, and why it could be Africa’s best shot in creating its new future.

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Africa’s cities are growing. Fast. Some 500 million people live in one of the continent’s already burgeoning metropolises. Another 800 million are set to join them by 2050.

Unless action is taken, Africa will have to deal with a demographic crisis the scale of which has never been seen before. But how bad could it really get? And what does the right action look like?

This week Marie-Noelle was joined by Archimedes Muzenda, an author and former fellow at The Brenthurst Foundation who now works as a Senior Research Associate at the African Urban Institute, to find out more.

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