International leaders, representatives from The World Bank, academics, CEOs and investors are gathering at George Washington University in Northwest D.C. on April 14 to raise awareness about the economic challenges and opportunities facing countries across Africa.
The third annual Future of Finance and Trade in Africa conference will address topics such as financial innovations, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), sustainable farming to combat food insecurity, and renewable energy and solutions.
“We’re really excited to be welcoming large numbers of members of the African delegation to campus,” Kyle Renner, the university’s assistant director of the Institute for International Economic Policy, told The Informer. “We want to ensure that the conference is not a discussion that is only taking place among individuals who are already in the Washington, D.C. area, but that, in fact, it bridges change-makers on the continent with leading thinkers and policy makers.”
A day of engaging conversations and programming, one of the keynote speakers will be Ousmane Diagana, the World Bank’s regional vice president for Western and Central Africa.
Danny Leipziger, a professor of practice of international business and the managing director of The Growth Dialogue, emphasized the wealth of resources across Africa. While the continent faces challenges, Africa has an abundance of natural resources and the most possibilities of hydro-power, a renewable energy source that generates electricity through fallen water, said Leipziger. Further, Africa currently has the fastest-growing population, increasing urbanization.
“There are tremendous opportunities, there are all sorts of advances that the continent has great potential in,” Leipziger said. “This conference is a forum that allows people to get more information than they themselves can gather.”
The conference was launched back in 2024, in a partnership through the university’s business school and Elliott School of International Affairs.
The university aims to bring as many businessmen and women and policy makers into dialogue with each other.
“Africa’s economic transformation is one of the defining stories of our time,” said Sevin Yeltekin, the university’s business school dean. “From digital finance to trade realignment, new models of growth are emerging across the continent.”
For Yeltekin, the annual conference is about providing information, offering resources and empowering future changemakers.
“Three years ago, we launched this conference because we believed in the power of creating a dedicated space where heads of state, central bank governors, and business leaders could convene around that transformation alongside the next generation of global leaders, our students,” Yeltekin said. “That’s what Africa 3.0 has become.”
Renner, who is in charge of facilitating partnerships with the guest speakers and overseeing the content of the conference, expressed optimism for the future of the conference.
“I would actually anticipate that the conference should only grow in both, potentially in size but in importance, because, as you can see from global economic activity, firms and countries and individuals are constantly looking for new opportunities,” Renner told The Informer. “They’re constantly looking for new resources, and the continent is rich in both.”