Financing Africa's Post-COVID-19 Development
African Economic Conference
Date: 2 – 4 December 2021 Venue: Cabo Verde
The 2021 edition of the African Economic Conference, jointly organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), is planned to be held in Cabo Verde from 2 to 4 December 2021. The theme of this year’s conference is “Financing Africa’s post-COVID-19 development”. Considering the multidimensional impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Africa’s development, this theme will bring together various stakeholders, including policymakers, the private sector, and researchers, to examine ways and means to expand Africa’s development finance sources sustainably. Africa’s different financing frameworks should be explored to find innovative solutions, beyond the beaten track, so that Africa does not emerge from the COVID-19 crisis with a real loss of more than a decade of efforts to strengthen its economy and human capital.
The deepening of financial intermediation mechanisms and monetary policy instruments is therefore much more urgent. The monetary models of certain African sub-regions such as West Africa are thus urgently questioned by the populations.
The shock of COVID-19 presents Africa with a game-changing opportunity to put its financing strategies on a more sustainable footing. The AEC 2021 will be an occasion to stimulate this reflection.
Diverse perspectives will be represented at the conference, which will be attended by researchers, policymakers, the private sector, financial institutions and banks, development practitioners, young people, and women from Africa and from around the world. The conference will provide a platform for established academics and young researchers to present their solution-oriented research to policymakers and decision-makers. It is expected that at the end of the conference, policy recommendations will be made on strengthening Africa’s financing system to build-forward better within the framework of the United Nations decade of action for the Sustainable Development Goals.