22 February 2018 | How ‘smart’ trade policy can help Africa industrialise

Thursday 22 February, 16.30-18.00
Overseas Development Institute
203 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NJ

Despite promising signs of economic growth, many African countries are struggling to develop the strong industrial sector required for economic transformation and job creation. Fresh thinking is needed on how to achieve Africa’s industrialisation objectives, with trade and trade policy increasingly being looked to as key tools for the task.

Much recent research has explored this idea by analysing the extent to which current trade policies and tariff structures are positively contributing to the content’s industrialisation policy, and providing assessments of what African economies can do to industrialise ‘smartly’ through trade.

This event sees an expert panel debate these issues and seeks to put forward concrete policy recommendations for African economies looking to realise their industrialisation ambitions.

Chair

Dirk Willem te Velde @DWteVelde – Principle Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute (ODI)

Panel

David Luke – Coordinator, African Trade Policy Centre at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

Linda Calabrese @lindacalab – Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute (ODI)

Abbi M. Kedir – Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in International Business, Sheffield University

Chi Atanga @ck_atanga – Founder, Walls of Benin

Photo credit: Jonathan Ernst/World Bank. Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.