On Thursday, April 16, at 9:30 a.m. ET, the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center will host its first Investing in Africa Forum at the Decatur House on the margins of the 2026 International Monetary Fund-World Bank Spring Meetings.
Africa is experiencing a period of historic economic growth, outpacing Asia for the first time in recent history, as the United States increasingly takes a “trade, not aid” approach toward the continent. The conversations held during the forum will aim to help define a pragmatic, forward-looking roadmap for sustainable investment and long-term economic cooperation with Africa, connecting geopolitics with real-world investment opportunities. International tensions provide an additional reason to increase commitments to Africa, where ongoing structural shifts will impact the coming decades.
This forum builds on the Council’s 2020 conference, Investing in Africa’s Future, during the first Trump administration in partnership with the US Development Finance Corporation. The forum will convene senior policymakers, business leaders, development finance institutions, and civil society leaders to discuss topics such as critical minerals, artificial intelligence and data centers, creative industries, and sports as vehicles for economic growth and engagement.
New policy: In-person attendees will be required to show photo ID upon arrival, and no on-site registration will be permitted.
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Speakers
Please stay tuned for additional speakers.
Agenda
9:30–9:35 a.m. | Welcome remarks
Featuring
Frederick Kempe
President and CEO,
Atlantic Council
9:35–9:45 a.m. | Keynote speaker
Featuring
Mustafa Rawji
CEO, Rawbank;
Board Member,
Atlantic Council
9:45–10:20 a.m. | Beyond extraction: Building value from Africa’s critical minerals
Speakers
Alan Carroll
Deputy Director of Government Affairs,
KoBold Metals
Joshua Kroon
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Consumer Goods,
Materials, Critical Minerals & Metals, Industry & Analysis,
US Department of Commerce
Chris Showalter
Chief Executive Officer, Director,
Lifezone Metals
Mahmoud Mohieldin, Ph.D
Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development,
United Nations
Moderated by
Aubrey Hruby
Senior Advisor, Africa Center,
Atlantic Council
10:20–10:30 a.m. | Report presentation
Please stay tuned for further details.
10:30–11:10 a.m. | AI, data centers, and connectivity: Africa’s infrastructure
moment
Featuring
Tidiane Ouattara, Ph.D
President,
African Space Agency Council
Speakers
Dan Ball
Public Policy Director,
Meta
Jeffrey Haley
CEO,
Nclusion, Inc
Nvalaye Kourouma
Chief Digital Officer,
Ecobank
Thierry Wandji, Ph.D
President and CEO,
Cybastion
Moderated by
William Yancey Brown
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Energy Center,
Atlantic Council
11:10–11:50 a.m. | From culture to capital: Creative industries and sports as growth engines
Featuring
Dante Disparte
CSO and Head of Global Policy & Operations,
Circle
Speakers
Mehdi El Khatib
Managing Director,
Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) Global Hubs
Lauri Fitz-Pegado
President & Co-founder,
Beyond the Ballet Barre Inc.
Moderated by
Jeannine B. Scott
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Africa Center,
Atlantic Council
11:50 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Closing remarks
Featuring
Doudou Fwamba Likunde
Minister of Finance,
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Supported by
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The Africa Center works to promote dynamic geopolitical partnerships with African states and to redirect US and European policy priorities toward strengthening security and bolstering economic growth and prosperity on the continent.
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