By Marie-Noelle Nwokolo
Marie-Noelle Nwokolo is with the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) as coordinator for the G20 Compact with Africa programme.
The centre was established in 2017 under the German G20 Presidency to promote private investment in Africa by increasing its attractiveness through improvements in the macro, business and financing frameworks.
As well as policy research, Nwokolo helps provide independent reviews of the G20 countries’ progress. Before that, she was the senior researcher at the Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation.
Nwokolo says: “Sustainable growth demands more than macroeconomic fine-tuning – it requires confronting structural blind spots. Chief among them: the undervaluation of care work, predominantly carried by women, which silently subsidises economies.
“G20 Finance Ministers ought to consider shifting from GDP tunnel vision to investing in systems that also recognise, redistribute and reward care. A well-supported care economy boosts productivity, unlocks female labour force participation, and creates jobs across income levels. For Africa, where demographic shifts and informal employment dominate, this is not a sidebar issue, it’s central.
“Growth is not just about capital flows, it’s also about who gets to contribute, and how we design economies that include them. The opportunity is clear, and as someone working closely on investment promotion under the G20 Compact with Africa, I see first-hand the opportunity to align inclusive growth with investment logic. Recognising care as core economic infrastructure is a smart next step.”
