The AUDA-NEPAD Policy Bridge Tank program successfully hosted its inaugural Inception Think Tank Conference in Addis Ababa from January 10-11, 2024. Themed “Africa Futures”, this significant event was a collaborative effort with the African Futures and Innovation (AFI) program. The conference centered around Africa’s development prospects, aligning with the visionary Agenda 2063.

During the conference, there was a strong emphasis on capacity building within RECs, research institutions, and think tanks. Participants discussed the critical need for sustained investment in training opportunities, resources, and support for researchers and policymakers. These efforts aim to enhance their skills in foresight and data analysis, policy formulation, and strategic planning.

The Policy Bridge Tank program played a pivotal role in supporting AUDA-NEPAD initiatives. It underscored the importance of focusing on catalytic priorities to achieve the ambitious goals set forth in Agenda 2063. Visionary leadership, strategic investments, and the active involvement of youth were also highlighted as essential components for Africa’s transformation.

Overall, the conference served as a dynamic platform for fostering evidence-informed engagement and advancing Africa’s journey toward a brighter future.

Speeches

Opening Remarks - Mr Msingathi Sipuka, on behalf of Mrs Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, AUDA-NEPAD [DOWNLOAD]

Opening Remarks - H.E. Albert M. Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission, African Union Commission  [DOWNLOAD]

Keynote Remarks - Ms Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, Executive Vice President, African Centre for Economic Transformation  [DOWNLOAD]

Remarks - Mr Kossi Toulassi, Head of Industrialisation, Market Trade, Economic Analysis and Foresight Unit, AUDA-NEPAD  [DOWNLOAD]

Remarks - Pamla Gopaul, AUDA-NEPAD  [DOWNLOAD]

Closing Remarks - Dr Msingathi Sipuka, Chief of Staff, AUDA-NEPAD  [DOWNLOAD]

Parallel Workshop Documents

Preparatory dialogues

AUDA-NEPAD has partnered with AFI to forecast Africa’s development prospects. The African Futures website reflects a unique effort to model and forecast Africa’s development potential using the International Futures forecasting platformhosted and developed by the Frederick S Pardee Center for International Futures at the University of Denver.

Over the past three months, the two organisations in partnership, hosted a series of eight ‘Erudite’ seminars that unpacked the foresight analysis and evidence provided on the  African Futures website. This eight-part series dealt with various themes such as demographics, education, agriculture, manufacturing, the AFCfTA, large infrastructure and leapfrogging, financial flows and governance. The full list of seminars and access to the various documents are summarised below.

- Demographics: Africa’s population future and the impact of a more rapid demographic transition and investments in health on development outcomes [Link to recording] | Download the full report or interact with the results here

- Agriculture: Can Africa be food secure by 2043? Africa’s agriculture futures and the impact of a green revolution [Link to recording] | Read the full Agriculture report here or interact with the results here

- Free Trade: The African Continental Free Trade Area presents a unique opportunity to create an integrated, continent-wide market, a vital step towards building the ‘Africa we want.’ [Link to recording] | Read the full AfCFTA report here.

- Education: Lifting all boats: the effect of better quality and more education on Africa’s development. [Link to recording] | Read the full Education report here.

- Manufacturing: The importance and impact of policies to industrialise Africa. [Link to recording] | Read the full Manufacturing report here.

- Leapfrogging and infrastructure: The impact of leapfrogging and large infrastructure build on Africa’s development potential. [Link to recording] | Read the full Leapfrogging report here. Read the Large Infrastructure report here.

- Governance: How could better governance improve development outcomes? [Link to recording] | Interact with the results here.

- Financial flows: Inward financial flows including aid, remittances and investment have the potential to improve Africa’s development prospects. [Link to recording] | Read the full Financial Flows report here.

The various webinars also presented the impact that ambitious policies might have for Africa’s long-term future in each of these sectors. This eight-part seminar series serves as input into the conference. Substantively the conference will start by showcasing the culmination of the sectoral work presented in the seminar series, consisting of a presentation and review of Africa's development prospects and potential, serving as the keynote and introduction to the event. Thereafter the conference will take the form of parallel working sessions, drawing on the expertise of various African based Think Tanks and Regional Economic Communities. The conference will be followed by a day-long training workshop in which representatives from the various RECs will have the opportunity to engage with the African Futures website and the modelling platform in more detail.

Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Members

						Dr. Denis Foretia, Co-Chair of the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation and Executive Chairman of the Nkafu Policy Institute, a leading Cameroonian think tank.
						Dr. Bitrina Diyamett, Founder and Executive Director, Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organisation (STIPRO).
						Dr Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, Executive Vice President of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET).
						Dr Jakkie Cilliers, Chairman of the Board and Head of African Futures & Innovation & founder and former Executive Director of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
						Ms. Elisabeth Sidiropoulos, Chief Executive of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA).
						Karim El Aynaoui, Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Dean of its Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences Cluster. He is also Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South.
						Professor Njinkeu, Interim Executive Director of the African Economic Research Consortium.

For more information contact:

Pamla Gopaul, AUDA-NEPAD, PamlaG@nepad.org

Alize le Roux, AFI-ISS, aleroux@issafrica.org