How global power shifts reshape Africa’s financial inflows
Africa needs more external finance, but can it convert that finance into development?
Date: 2026-09-22
Time: 15:00 to 16:30
Venue: Online via Zoom
Global economic and geopolitical shifts are changing the composition and sources of finance available to Africa. Aid from traditional donors is under pressure, remittances are increasingly important, and competition for foreign investment is intensifying. Yet attracting more finance alone will not guarantee stronger development outcomes.
Speakers at this seminar will discuss Africa’s changing external financing landscape and how governments can strengthen domestic absorptive capacity so that aid, remittances, foreign direct investment and portfolio investment translate into higher productivity, employment, government revenue and poverty reduction.
This event is co-hosted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Federation of German Industries (BDI) and Megatrends Afrika.
Moderator: Michelle van Rooyen, Researcher, African Futures & Innovation, ISS
Presenter: Dr Marvellous Ngundu, Senior Researcher, African Futures & Innovation, ISS
Panelists:
- Dr Stefan Mair, Director, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik
- Vanessa Wannicke, Senior Expert, Development Policy and Foreign Trade Promotion International Affairs, BDI
- Dr Olivia Gumbo, Senior Policy Officer, Strategy and Operational Policies
- African Development Bank, Côte d'Ivoire
