November 03, 2025
Palermo, Italy
Africa Growth and Opportunity: Research in Action Conference
What will it take to unlock Africa’s growth and job potential? AGORA – Africa Growth and Opportunity: Research in Action – brings together policymakers, private sector and think tanks from Africa and Europe to tackle the continent’s most urgent priorities: job creation and growth.
Co-hosted by the World Bank Group Institute for Economic Development with the Bank of Italy, Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, and African partners, AGORA is an instrument for turning evidence into action, shaping policies, and building partnerships that deliver results.
Watch the opening on Nov. 3, 2025 at 9:30 CET on World Bank Live in English, French, or Arabic.
Continue watching the conference from November 3-5, on this page. Join the conversation on social media using #AGORA25.
AGORA is the flagship platform of the World Bank Group Institute for Economic Development for advancing development in Africa through evidence-based dialogue and cross-regional collaboration. Named after the ancient Greek public forum, AGORA is designed as an open arena where African and European institutions set the agenda together, ensuring balanced ownership and accountability.
AGORA addresses a structural gap in development dialogue: most Africa-focused conferences are either African-led in Africa or donor-led in the Global North, with little joint leadership. AGORA seeks to break that pattern, creating a recurring instrument for dialogue that is tied to implementation partners on both continents.
Designed for Long-Term Impact
AGORA is a standing instrument alternating between Italy and African host countries, with year-round engagement to track progress, respond to emerging challenges, and deepen partnerships. By combining the convening power of the World Bank Group and African institutions with the political momentum of Italy’s Mattei Plan, AGORA turns policy into tangible results for Africa’s future.
The 2025 Inaugural Conference in Palermo, Italy
From November 3–5, 2025, AGORA will convene top economists, researchers, private sector leaders, and policymakers to explore two transformative themes:
- Growth and the Energy Transition
- Agricultural Transformation and Job Creation
Africa’s stability and prosperity hinge on creating jobs at scale. Each year, more than 10 million young people enter the labor market, yet current growth patterns generate only about 3 million formal jobs. By convening partners from Africa and Europe, and aligning with Italy’s Mattei Plan, the inaugural AGORA will focus on energy and agribusiness as key themes in the context of job creation. Robust discussion on these sectors will connect policy dialogue directly to private-sector growth, infrastructure, and long-term competitiveness.
All times listed below are in Central European Time (CET).
| Day 1 - November 3, 2025 | |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Welcoming Remarks |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Opening Remarks |
| 10:00 – 10:45 | Keynote Speech: Growth and Opportunity for Africa |
| 10:45 – 11:15 | Coffee Break |
| 11:15 – 12:45 | High-Level Panel: Jobs and Growth for Africa’s Next Generation |
| 12:45 – 14:00 | Lunch Break |
| 14:00 – 14:45 | Keynote Speech: Jobs Creation in Ghana |
| 14:45 – 15:30 | Fireside Chat: Investing in Energy |
| 15:30 - 16:00 | Coffee Break |
| 16:00 – 17:16 | Round Table on Clean Energy |
| 17:15 - 18:15 | TED-style Presentations: Innovation and Technology to Power Africa |
| Day 2 - November 4, 2025 | |
| 09:00 – 09:15 | Opening Remarks |
| 09:15 – 10:00 | Keynote Address: Meeting Africa’s Energy Needs |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Coffee Break |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | Panel 1: The Energy Mission |
| 12:00 - 13:30 | Panel 2: Agenda 2063 and the Mattei Plan |
| 13:30 - 15:00 | Lunch Break |
| 15:00 – 16:00 | Keynote Address: Agribusiness for Jobs |
| 16:00 - 17:00 | AgriConnect: Driving Jobs and Incomes in Africa through Strategic Partnerships |
| 16:00 - 17:00 | The Future of Economic Research for Policy |
| Day 3 - November 5, 2025 | |
| 09:00 – 09:15 | Opening Remarks |
| 09:15 - 10:15 | Mattei Lecture: Trade and Investments |
| 10:15 - 10:45 | Coffee Break |
| 10:45 - 12:15 | Panel 1: Agriculture-Led Development |
| 12:15 - 13:30 | Lunch Break |
| 13:30 - 14:45 | Panel 2: Agribusinesses to Accelerate Growth |
| 14:45 - 15:00 | Coffee Break |
| 15:00 - 16:30 | High-Level Panel: Private Sector Development for Growth and Opportunity |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Final Panel: Research in Action |
| 17:30 - 17:45 | Closing Remarks |
| Mattei Lecture | |
 | Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala |
| Opening Session | |
 | Olayemi Cardoso |
 | Indermit Gill |
 | Florizelle Liser |
 | Lorenzo Ortona |
 | Fabio Panetta |
| Thematic Keynotes | |
 | Energy: |
 | Agriculture: |
| MC and Moderator | |
 | Lukwesa Burak |
| Confirmed Speakers | |
 | Iyinoluwa Aboyeji |
 | Carola Alvarez |
 | Bartholomew Armah Senior Economic Adviser to the CEO of the African Union Development Agency - New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) |
 | Bezawit Bahru |
 | Chris Barrett |
 | Ann Bernstein |
 | Benjamin Boakye |
 | Giulio Boccaletti |
 | Simone Borghesi |
 | Andrea Brandolini |
 | Guangzhe Chen |
 | Kevin Chika Urama |
 | Andrew Dabalen |
 | Robert Darko Osei |
 | Ousmane Diagana |
 | Ousmane Dione |
 | Munir Duri |
 | Karim El Aynaoui |
 | Roberta Gatti |
 | Markus Goldstein |
 | Rose Goslinga |
 | Anup Jagwani |
 | Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg |
 | Abbi M. Kedir |
 | Saweda Liverpool-Tasie |
 | Alpha Ly |
 | Mai Mahmoud |
 | Jane Mariara |
 | Andrea Montanino |
 | Michel Ndayikeza |
 | Daniel Njiwa |
 | Yaw Nyarko |
 | Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi |
 | Demetrios Papathanasiou |
 | Andrea Pestarino |
 | Brahima Sangafowa Coulibaly |
 | Salma Seetaroo |
 | Sarvesh Suri |
 | Johan Swinnen |
 | Saidou Abdoulaye Sy |
 | Ethiopis Tafara |
 | Zainab Usman |
