(Bloomberg) -- McKinsey & Co. is partnering with a South African business-lobby group to prepare for an event aimed at connecting global policymakers, civil-society organizations and business leaders that will form part of next year’s Group of 20 gatherings.
The partnership between the consulting firm and Business Unity South Africa comes after McKinsey this week agreed to pay more than $122 million to resolve criminal allegations tied to a corruption scandal. The impropriety involved former leaders of state-owned ports and rail operator Transnet SOC Ltd. during an era of endemic government graft, known locally as state capture.
The deal resolved both a US investigation and charges brought against McKinsey by South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority.
South Africa assumed the 2025 presidency of the G-20 body and its private sector engagement group known as Business 20 this month. The continent’s most industrialized country plans to spotlight the development priorities of the region and broader Global South.
Business Unity South Africa will represent the country’s private sector in B20 and is engaging McKinsey in preparation for a summit in 2025.
The business grouping considers it “appropriate” to partner with McKinsey following the restitution deal and the company’s pledge to work with authorities to address the damage of state capture, said Cas Coovadia, the sherpa for B20 South Africa and outgoing head of Busa.
The consulting firm is a “development and knowledge partner” and is supporting the organization on a pro-bono basis, McKinsey Africa Director of Communications Kerry Naidoo said.
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