Foresight Africa Podcast

Oct 01 2024 65
Foresight Africa Podcast artwork

Foresight Africa podcast celebrates the dynamism and optimism across Africa and explores strategies for broadening the benefits of growth to all people in the region. Host Landry Signé, senior fellow in the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, interviews policy experts and leaders from the public sector, private sector, and civil society on key trends affecting people and nations on the continent.

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The promise of free trade and integration across Africa’s nations

Oct 01 2024 40 mins  
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to create one market across the 55 countries of the African Union, promising free movement of goods, services, investment, people, and cooperation. In this episode, host Landry Signé speaks with Francis Mangeni and Andrew Mold, both experts on African trade and regional integration, about the status of African integration under

Why the climate crisis is a generational opportunity for Africa

Sep 17 2024 31 mins  
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges the continent of Africa faces, but with severe challenges come generational opportunities. In this episode, host Landry Signé interviews Vera Songwe, chair of the board of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility and a Brookings Africa Growth Initiative nonresident senior fellow, about those opportunities including, as she argues, c

Angola’s innovative approach to managing debt distress

Sep 03 2024 30 mins  
Angola has faced waves of economic uncertainty over the last decade—from oil price shocks in 2014 and 2023 to the spillover effects’ of COVID-19. Despite these challenges, Angola is determined to manage the ramifications to its economy. Host Landry Signé is joined by Angola's minister of finance, Vera Esperança dos Santos Daves de Sousa, to discuss the country’s tools for a

What’s on the World Economic Forum’s agenda for Africa?

Aug 20 2024 20 mins  
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the African Free Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) are two examples of landmark efforts to positively transform the continent. Host Landry Signé is joined by Chido Munyati, the head of Africa at the World Economic Forum, to discuss how the program is supporting these unprecedented initiatives. Munyati shares the current regional integration

Addressing public procurement barriers will empower women-owned businesses in Africa

Aug 06 2024 26 mins  
Public procurement is the system of laws and operational arrangements that allows the public sector, including the government, to purchase goods and services, with the aim to maximize social welfare and do public good. However, many African countries fail to address legal and social impediments women-owned businesses face when trying to participate in procurement activities. Host L

Shifting the narrative on AI in Africa

Jul 23 2024 24 mins  
Artificial intelligence’s acceleration has increased the need for data regulation and privacy protections globally. Chinasa Okolo joins host Landry Signé to discuss AI’s impact on the African continent and the continent’s current policy landscape. Okolo explains why a lack of policy and privacy protection is harmful, and how to design an inclusive AI regulation framework ben

A fairer credit rating system for African countries could save billions

Jul 09 2024 44 mins  
Subjectivity and bias in credit ratings cost African countries up to $24 billion in interest and over $46 billion in foregone lending. On this episode, host Landry Signé is joined by Raymond Gilpin and Daouda Sembene to discuss their 2024 Foresight Africa piece “Making Africa’s credit ratings more objective.” Gilpin and Sembene discuss the reasons this subjectivity and bias

Expanding digital entrepreneurship in Africa

Jun 25 2024 30 mins  
Africa has a growing problem: a large population of youth and working-age people with limited employment opportunities. She Leads Africa co-founder Afua Osei joins host Landry Signé to discuss the role entrepreneurs play in closing that gap. Highlighting the importance of technological access, the Africa diaspora and the outsourcing of digital talent, Osei offers insights and solu

African policymakers have the tools to make Africa globally competitive

Jun 11 2024 30 mins  
Policymakers have the tools to make Africa globally competitive as a continent. With an increasingly young and underemployed population, there is a large gap between the continent’s current stasis and its potential for economic growth. Landry Signé is joined by Zouera Youssoufou, CEO of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, to discuss how proper investments in education, health, and inf

New trends in Africa-Asia economic relations

May 28 2024 30 mins  
Africa’s relationship with Asia has changed dramatically over the last few decades. From little economic integration in the early 1990s to the strong trade partnerships seen today, the regions are now strongly intertwined. The continents also face similar economic and development challenges and share colonial histories and cultural values. Host Landry Signé is joined by Amit Jai