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At a time when we are facing rising socioeconomic inequalities and an array of crises in the form of climate change, energy insecurity, global supply chain disruptions, inflationary shocks and rising debt burdens, never before has the world needed large-scale investment so urgently.
And yet public budgets and global cooperation to confront crises and sustain technological, environmental and infrastructure progress are declining. Europe is an exception. While others are retreating, we remain the largest provider of development finance in the world. Nearly half of all official development assistance globally comes from Europe.
Since 2021, we have already raised more than €300bn (R5,7-trillion) and we are confident we can surpass €400bn by 2027.
Despite this success, the reality is that individual countries and public money alone cannot overcome these challenges and close the investment gap.
Europe's answer to this investment paradox is the Global Gateway, Europe's outward investment strategy launched in 2021. Unlike traditional, donor-recipient aid programs, Global Gateway focuses on high-quality investments for mutual benefit.
What sets Global Gateway apart is the scale, focus and credibility of Europe as a partner. The funding is leveraged through Team Europe, which brings together the economic strengths of the EU's 27 member states to mobilize partnerships to bring private sector capital, technology and innovative solutions.
Global Gateway is built on a simple idea: to make a real impact you have to be strategic and focused. That's why we focus on the value chains that will define economic growth in this century – sustainable raw materials, clean energy, digital infrastructure, transportation, or pharmaceuticals.
And what drives sustainable growth for our projects is our human-centred approach: training, education, strong governance, enforceable environmental standards, and a real commitment to creating local jobs and processing capacity to retain local value in our partner countries – not shipping them out without it.
Africa is Europe's closest neighbour, strategic partner and at the center of the Global Gateway for high-quality investments. An example of this is our work with African partners to strengthen their local pharmaceutical systems and manufacturing capacity.
It is a historic public-private financing effort designed to strengthen the continent's health security and vaccine self-reliance.
Launching in 2021 and raising over €2bn of investment to date, it is boosting vaccine production, research and skills in South Africa as well as Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda and Senegal.
This is done by de-risking investments in local pharmaceutical and biotech companies and tightly linking them to local strategies and priorities. Building on this, last month I signed an agreement in Washington DC with the European Investment Bank and the International Finance Corporation to support Cape Town-based pharmaceutical company BioVac to develop Africa's first end-to-end multi-vaccine manufacturing facility.
It is a historic public-private financing effort designed to strengthen the continent's health security and vaccine self-reliance.
With South Africa, we are doubling down on our strategic partnership, a mature relationship that is predictable, reliable and based on trust. We are following the €11.5 billion Global Gateway Team Europe investment package, unveiled last year by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In South Africa, the investment package is being delivered. Project pipelines are being built and concrete deals are being signed in important sectors.
Examples include our recent R66m investment in Green eFuels Producers to develop South Africa's first waste-water-to-green-manol plant, a basic feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel, for which South Africa has the potential to become a global hub; and our almost R7bn investment in Transnet to support rail modernisation, port efficiency and freight decarbonisation.
Starting tomorrow, the first-of-its-kind EU investment roadshow will visit Johannesburg (1 June), Cape Town (3 June) and Durban (5 June). It is an innovative programme, which brings together European and South African investors, companies, financial institutions and project promoters about concrete, high-potential business and investment opportunities. Around 250 South African and European companies will pitch their projects and have one-to-one meetings with investors to access capital, technology and know-how.
- Sikela is the European Union's Commissioner for International Partnerships. The EU Investment Roadshow is the global gateway into action: mutual benefits, sustainable investment and credibility