Africa Futures Conference 2023

Join us this April 2023 for the Lauder Institute’s Africa Futures Symposium. This year’s theme, “Shifting Narratives,” is inspired by the work of many to recast how the story of Africa is told. We have, in turn, sought to identify panel topics to allow us renewed exploration and inquiry into factors long deemed critical to the story of Africa and the future of the continent, including such topics as the Digital Economy in Africa, the Demographic Dividend of Youth, and New Spaces for Investment.

Expect interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral conversations among a community of Africa-focused doers and thinkers who are making a difference.

• April 27 | Keynote Presentation & Ambassadors’ Roundtable (offered both in-person and virtually)

• April 28 | Panel Discussions (offered in-person only)

Registration is free.

In-person sessions take place at: Jon M. Huntsman Hall, 3730 Walnut St, 8^th Floor  |  University of Pennsylvania  |  Philadelphia, PA 19104

Keynote Speaker: Chinelo Anohu

We are thrilled to host Chinelo Anohu as the 2023 Africa Futures Symposium Keynote Speaker!

Chinelo Anohu runs the Africa Investment Forum (AIF), the preeminent investment platform on the continent. A flagship initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB), in concert with key founding partners, the AIF is charged with enhancing the quality of deals, raising capital, and accelerating financial closure of impactful transactions in critical sectors of Africa.

Prior to joining the AfDB, Chinelo served as Director-General of Nigeria’s National Pension Commission where she played a pivotal role in reforming the Pension system and mobilizing domestic resources with the introduction of the Contributory Pension Scheme.

Chinelo led the first ever AIF double boardrooms within a calendar year, the virtual boardrooms in March, and the physical boardrooms in November 2022, showcasing 92 projects with a total deal value of $102 billion, generated across 24 countries on the continent, and cutting across critical sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and creative industries, with a focus on women-led projects.

Chinelo executed the first ever World Pension Summit Africa, held in Abuja for three years in a row, convening global financial experts to

 deliberate on the opportunities in the African pension industry and was named one of New African magazine’s ‘Most Influential Africans’ in 2014 and

 2022. She is a member of the London Stock Exchange Africa Advisory Group and sits on the International Advisory Board, Edinburgh Business School, Scotland. Chinelo was recently appointed as a member of United

States EXIM Advisory Committee Council on Advancing Women in Business.

Chinelo earned an LLB from the University of Nigeria, a B.L from the Nigerian Law School and an LLMin Telecommunications and Computer Law from the London School of Economics.