LSE Africa Summit 2019 – Speakers, Panellists Revealed
In the build-up to announcing keynote speakers, organisers of the annual conference, which is held at the London School of Economics and Political Science, have announced sets of panellists and speakers for its 2019 edition.
This year’s summit, the sixth since the inception of the gathering of policymakers, business leaders, artists and professionals, explores the theme “Africa’s Future Frontiers.” It will “explore how Africa can navigate its crossroads to position itself for economic and social sustainability and inclusivity by tapping into Africa’s future frontiers,” said the student-led organising team.
Six panels have since been announced for the event scheduled from March 30th to 31st in London, and open to attendance by all keen about contemporary issues and debates around Africa and the African.
The panel “African Unity: Breaking Down the Barriers” have Dr David Luke, Coordinator of African Trade Policy Centre at UNECA; Bogolo Kenewendo, of Botswana’s Minister of Investment, Trade & Industry; and Dr Oladiran ‘Ola’ Bello, Executive Director, Good Governance Africa. The panellists will revisit trending debate around the integration across the continent as a result of weak political will, limited intra-continental transport networks, restrictive visa regimes, insecure border crossings and high trade tariffs driven by rabid protectionism, and creeping xenophobia together present the greatest challenge to African Integration.
The “In Pursuit of Justice” panel has Meaza Ashenafi, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ethiopia; Nicole Fritz Nicole Fritz, CEO of Freedom Under Law; and Tanya Charles, gender activist ad LSE Atlantic fellow. Their focus is the current state of Africa’s legal and policy environments, and will offer some recommendations for improved judicial systems at the national and continental levels. Particularly, with regard to safeguarding the rights of the voiceless and disenfranchised to create a just and equitable Africa for all.
Maya Khonje-Stewart, the Managing Director of Maeve, Kagwe Njoroge, Director at Prosaic Invest, and Fumani Mthembi, Co-Founder of Pele Energy Group, will discuss the energy crisis and potentials of the continent on the “Green Economy: Powering Africa Through Renewable Energy” panel. Their discussion will be centred around the experiences of key players in the energy sector who are exploring current barriers towards power generation and access to energy whilst showcasing the economic potentials that lie in the renewable energy market.
On the panel “e-Entrepreneurs in The New Age” are Obinna Okwodu, the CEO of Fibre, Dr Bitange Ndemo, Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Nairobi and Faith Keza, the CEO of RwandaOnline. The panel is designed to explore the potentials of digital entrepreneurship in Africa by focusing on the opportunities that are available to aspiring e-entrepreneurs and infrastructural and policy tools, the “African Soft Power” panel explores how the arts have been used to address and campaign for social and political agendas on the continent.
On the “African Soft Power” panel are Kalaf Epalanga, musician and author; Kemiyondo Coutinho, filmmaker and playwright; and Polly Alakija, artist and illustrator. The panel will explore how the arts have been used to address and campaign for social and political agendas on the continent. In this panel, three renowned artists will address the difficulties they face and effective means of managing them in this industry
Panellists for “Money Matters: Promoting Financial Inclusion” will be announced alongside the keynote speakers a week to the summit. The panellists will examine the importance of financial inclusion and explore the current strategies and opportunities for providing access to finance for marginalised African citizens. In addition, they will further explore existing financial inclusion initiatives and their role in promoting a financially inclusive Africa.
Ticket sale for the 2019 conference is ongoing and available at https://lse.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8phS95oYo2RwxG5 via www.lseafricasummit.org.