Resource mobilization and management is among eight core issues identified as vital to Africa’s economic transformation during the African Transformation Forum jointly convened by the Government of Rwanda and the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) in March 2016 in Kigali. The main outcome of the forum was the launch of the Pan-African Coalition for Transformation (PACT), a network designed to bring together key stakeholders around shared themes to speed up economic transformation in Africa. PACT identified eight core pathways and drivers to economic transformation.

These pathways and drivers are being addressed not only in Africa but at the global level as well, through various instruments. These include the European External Investment Plan to boost investments in Africa, the World Bank’s IDA18 Replenishment, the G20 Summit, which is taking place July 7-8, 2017 and the Development Finance Forum, taking place in November 2017.

In all of these conversations and developments, there is room for a more substantive African voice. The aim of this policy learning meeting, therefore, is to discuss development finance issues in the context of Africa’s transformation agenda and how African perspectives can be given a stronger voice as part of the dialogue. The main objectives of the event will be to:

Develop a shared understanding of the critical changing landscape in development finance and what it means for Africa;
Discuss how Africa can influence upcoming meetings related to development finance;
Agree on the main elements of PACT country action plans for implementing recommendations from an ACET study on external development finance management in six countries—Burkina Faso, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia;
Identify key issues on domestic resource mobilization for a follow-up multi-country study to further contribute lessons, models of best practice and recommendations to help African countries shape their transformation strategies and plans.

The event will bring together over 50 experts and senior officials from key government ministries, departments and agencies, a broad range of development partners, civil society organizations, academia and the media, all playing critical roles in the development finance (EDF) architecture on the continent.

Confirmed panelists and speakers:

David Kuijper, Adviser, Financing for Development, World Bank
Richard Carey, Chair of the International Advisory Committee of the China International Development Research Network (CIDRN) and former Director, Development Co-operation Directorate (DAC), OECD
Abebe Shimeles, Director of Research, African Development Bank
Neil Cole, Executive Director, Collaborative African Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI)
Annalisa Prizzon, Senior Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
Lamin Momodou Manneh, One UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative, Rwanda
Emmanuel Kofi Nti, Commissioner-General, Ghana Revenue Authority
Edward Larbi-Siaw, Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Ghana
Siaka Fanny, Adviser to Finance Minister, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cote d’Ivoire
Robert Liebenthal, Senior Country Advisor at International Growth Centre
Ed Brown, Director of Policy Advisory Services, ACET
Joe Amoako-Tuffour, Director of Research, ACET