Future Leaders Programme 5: Green Industrialisation in Africa

Future Leaders Programme 5: Green Industrialisation in Africa (2-6 September 2024, Muldersdrift).

Our 5^th  Future Leaders Programme was held in partnership with Trade and Industrial Policy Strategy (TIPS), an independent, non-profit, economic research institution based in Pretoria, South Africa, and supported by the South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARChI-ID) and the South African Department for Trade, Industrialization, and Competition (DTIC). 

It formed the 5^th Industrial Policy for Policy Makers (IPPM) programme and coincided with the 18^th edition of the African Programme on Rethinking Development Economics (APORDE).

Senior government officials, policy makers, civil society leaders and researchers from 14 countries across Africa gathered outside Johannesburg to discuss the critical topic of ‘Green Industrialisation in Africa’. 

Discussions were led by a global faculty of leading international experts with extensive knowledge and experience in different areas related to the theme of the programme including DLD Directors Christopher Cramer, Ha-Joon Chang, and Jonathan Di John, as well as  Adeyemi Dipeolu (former special economic adviser to the Vice-President of Nigeria), Gaylor Montmasson-Clair (TIPS), Seutame Maimele (TIPS), Amir Lebdioui (University of Oxford), Shingie Chisoro (CCRED), Arkebe Oqubay (former adviser to three Prime Ministers of Ethiopia), Pamela Mondliwa (Industrial Development Corporation) and Nimrod Zalk (Mandela School of Public Governance).

Key themes discussed

The debates covered diverse thematic areas such as the impact of climate change on industrial development; the role and challenges of securing long-term finance; the importance of development banks in industrial policies and the challenges of operating an effective development bank; the role of agriculture in driving industrialization; the role of AfCFTA and continental organizations in reducing trade barriers and facilitating intra-regional trade and market development; the policies from the European Union, United Kingdom, and United States on carbon requirements that may affect the competitiveness of firms in strategic sectors in Africa; developing productive capabilities as a key strategy for green industrialization; among others.

Header image credit: Red Zeppelin via Unsplash.

Future Leaders Programme (FLP) workshops bring together a small number of people who are expected to be in senior leadership positions in the coming years for a workshop involving lectures, discussion sessions, and debates.

Each FLP workshop has a key theme and/or regional focus and is led by presenters with a wealth of senior experience in government, academia, the private sector, civil society, and international organisations.