Uncovering Africa's Sustainability Story

I had the fortune of moderating a fireside chat with South African rugby stars Jean de Villiers and Bryan Habana at an event in August in Johannesburg. The conversation was fortuitously sprinkled with several aha moments that a grateful audience happily lapped up, but there was a common thread: that even the stars who play in front of thousands in roaring stadiums can find the boardroom a completely different arena-one where speed and skill on the field don't always translate. Yet, the leadership and legacy they carry, shaped by the spirit of ubuntu (“I am because we are”), can be a powerful force for social change beyond the pitch. That same sentiment comes through in a brief interview with Springboks' captain Siya Kolisi featured in this edition.

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From boardrooms to ballrooms, and away from the political shrapnel wounding our ethos, the deeper truths of our shared humanity await. Most discussions in the corridors of business and power are now generously infused with commitments to sustainability and inclusive growth. And where the globe's high and mighty meet—such as at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) currently underway in New York as I write this—attention is also on climate finance, and the widening gap between rhetoric and real action. In the ever-expanding alphabet soup of summits—COP30 and the G20, both on the horizon this November—this dissonance will remain a dominant theme.