THE INVISIBLE PEOPLE, how a quarter of humanity can thrive in Africa by 2050

277pp., paperback, Penguin Books, Cape Town, 2026

ISBN: 9781776392766

Phuthuma Nhleko calls for a new African renaissance based on three pillars: building a confident common identity rooted in Africa’s long and rich history, and its contributions to modern civilisation, religion and culture; unleashing economic development by leveraging Africa's significant assets and resources, abandoning outdated and inadequate economic models, and carving a new path grounded in a Pan-African vision and based on technological and economic leapfrogging; and bolstering Africa’s geopolitical influence by redefining its relationship with the USA and China, and embracing a strategic path in its own interests, to take its rightful place in world affairs.

"This book ... will serve as an irreplaceable source of inspiration to very numerous Africans, including those in the African Diaspora, who daily pray, like the author of this book, for Africa's Renaissance. More than this, surely, it must inspire these millions of African patriots to act with sustained vigour to being about this Renaissance. This is because it illustrates and communicates the message that the rebirth of a modern and humanist society of more that a billion people, rendered invisible by a hostile past, is actually possible and within reach if and when as Africans we allow ourselves to act together as Pan Africanists." Thabo Mbeki, Former President of South Africa

"This book is a tour de force, blending history, economic and political analysis, and strategic vision to show how Africans can forge unity, mobilize capital and talent, strengthen institutions, and reposition Africa from a peripheral player to a confident architect of the emerging global system. As an African American scholar and former diplomat, I especially appreciated its emphasis on the intentional reconstruction of a conscious African identity - one that fully integrates the continent and its global diaspora as necessary to overcome the legacies of slavery, colonialism, and self-imposed divisions." Jendayi Frazer, Former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Former US Ambassador to South Africa, and Duignan Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Phuthuma Nhleko is currently the chairman and co-founder of Phembani Group, a director of IHS Towers and Engen Petroleum (Pty) Ltd, and chairman of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund. The former CEO and chairman of MTN, Nhleko’s previous directorships include BP plc, Anglo American plc, the Nedbank Group, Old Mutual SA, Johnnic Holdings, the Bidvest Group and Alexander Forbes. He holds a BSc in civil engineering from Ohio State University and an MBA from Atlanta University,  and is a Transformational Leadership Fellow of the  Blavatnik School of Government and Public Policy at Oxford University.