South Africa is hosting the first G20 summit on African soil this weekend, with the pressing issue of a debt crisis in developing countries topping the agenda. Many African nations face a "snowball effect" of accumulating debt, high servicing costs, and structural biases in the global financial system.

• Developing countries currently hold $31 trillion in global debt, double their share from 2010.
• African governments spent an average of $70 per person on interest payments between 2021 and 2023, exceeding spending on education and health.
• The African Union plans to launch its own credit rating agency in 2024 to address perceived structural biases.