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.
Read the energy and agriculture briefs with key takeaways from the discussions. See more highlights from AGORA here and join the online conversation using #AGORA25.
All times listed below are in Central European Time (CET). Download the agenda here.
| Day 1 - November 3, 2025 | |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Welcome Remarks
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| 09:30 – 10:00 | Opening Remarks
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| 10:00 – 10:45 | Keynote Address: Growth and Opportunity for Africa Florizelle Liser, President and CEO for Corporate Council for Africa |
| 10:45 – 11:15 | Coffee Break |
| 11:15 – 12:45 | High-Level Panel: Jobs and Growth for Africa’s Next Generation Following the keynote address by Ms. Florizelle Liser, this high-level panel discussion will delve into key initiatives that have a significant impact on Africa’s development, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Mattei Plan. The goal of the session is to convey the importance of strategic and sustained engagements with Africa, moving beyond periodic summits to foster long-term partnerships. Panelists will share practical experiences, discuss the process of project selection, reflect on lessons learned to date, and discuss the alignment of these initiatives with African development priorities. Moderator: Lukwesa Burak, International News Anchor - BBC News Panelists:
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| 12:45 – 14:00 | Lunch Break |
| 14:00 – 14:45 | Keynote Speech: Jobs Creation in Ghana Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Vice President of Ghana |
| 14:45 – 15:30 | Fireside Chat: Investing in Energy This session will look at practical building blocks for investments in energy to turn into development opportunities, in a context where debt pressures are high, interest rates are rising, and the geopolitical context is shifting. Moderator: Karim El Aynaoui, Executive President, Policy Center for the New South This session will feature a conversation between Zainab Usman, Author Economist, and Roberta Gatti, Chief Economist for MENAAP, World Bank Group. |
| 15:30 - 16:00 | Coffee Break |
| 16:00 – 17:15 | MEF Dialogues: Partnerships for a Resilient and Interconnected Africa This session will spotlight two initiatives that reflect Italy’s Mattei Plan vision: Resilient and Inclusive Supply Chain enhancement for green energy transition, and A Roadmap to Connect Africa to Europe for Clean Energy Production. Together, these initiatives capture the Plan’s dual focus on continental integration and country-led transitions that attract investment, build resilience, and drive growth. Introduction: Stefania Lenoci, World Bank Group Resident Representative in Italy. Special Representative to Southern Europe, the Holy See and the United Nations Agencies in Rome 1st Panel: RISE – Resilient and inclusive supply chain enhancement for the green energy transition Panelists:
2n Panel: A Road Map to connect Africa to Europe for clean energy production Panelists:
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| 17:15 - 18:15 | TED-style Presentations: Innovation and Technology to Power Africa Four African entrepreneurs will showcase bold ideas transforming African markets through agri-tech and energy, discussing scalable innovations shaping future growth. The Session will also feature Italian entrepreneurs who will share their experience in investing and working in African countries. Moderator: Martin Raiser, Senior Representative for European Economic Cooperation, World Bank Panelists:
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| Day 2 - November 4, 2025 | |
| 09:00 – 09:15 | Welcome Remarks Gaetano Galvagno, President of the Sicilian Regional Assembly Opening Remarks Guangzhe Chen, World Bank Group Vice President, Infrastructure |
| 09:15 – 10:00 | Keynote Address: Meeting Africa’s Energy Needs Jakkie Cilliers, Chairman of the ISS board of Trustees and Head of the African Futures and Innovation Program Watch the replay here | Read the energy brief with key messages |
| 10:00 – 10:30 | Coffee Break |
| 10:30 - 12:00 | The Energy Mission This panel brings together leading voices from academia, development finance, and policy to discuss how mission-driven approaches can unlock Africa’s energy transformation. What is the energy mission that African needs? Should resources go to households or firms? Can bold regulatory, financial, and institutional missions help turn Africa’s vast energy potential into engines of growth? This panel will explore these key questions and more. Moderator: Maura Francese, Deputy Head of Structural Economic Analysis Directorate, Bank of Italy Panelists:
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| 12:00 - 13:30 | Agenda 2063 and the Mattei Plan Two strategies, one goal. Agenda 2063 sets Africa’s long-term vision for inclusive growth, resilience, and transformation, while government-led initiatives like Italy's Mattei Plan aim to unlock new partnerships and financing for infrastructure and energy. This panel will discuss how to go from plans to impact – how to unlock investments, align policies, and deliver Agenda 2063 targets, leveraging efforts under the Mattei Plan. Moderator: Demetrios Papathanasiou, Global Director Energy, World Bank Panelists:
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| 13:30 - 15:00 | Lunch Break |
| 15:00 – 16:00 | Mattei Lecture: Trade and Investments Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,Director-General of the World Trade Organization |
| 16:00 - 17:00 | AgriConnect: Driving Jobs and Incomes in Africa through Strategic Partnerships Following the launch of AgriConnect at the 2025 World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings, this session will convene policymakers, development partners, and private sector leaders to share evidence and lessons, and recommend practical approaches and partnerships to deliver on the ambition. Moderator: Ivan Ivanov, Senior Operations Officer, International Finance Corporation Panelists:
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| 16:00 - 17:00 | The Future of Economic Research for Policy This panel will feature emerging researchers from across Africa to present data-driven insights on jobs, agriculture, and macroeconomic reform to inject new voices into the policy conversation. Moderator: Abbi M. Kedir, Director of Research, Africa Economic Research Consortium Panelists:
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| Day 3 - November 5, 2025 | |
| 09:00 – 09:15 | Welcome Day 3 Lukwesa Burak, International News Anchor - BBC News |
| 09:15 - 10:15 | Keynote Address: Agribusiness for Jobs Agnes Kalibata, Founder and Chair: C4Impact Advisory Group Watch the replay here | Read the agriculture brief with key messages |
| 10:15 - 10:45 | Coffee Break |
| 10:45 - 12:15 | Agriculture-Led Development How can Africa pursue a new generation of agriculture-led transformation? Drawing on lessons from global experience and economic research, this panel will challenge and revise outdated models of rural development by linking research, education, and trade to a modern vision of agriculture-led structural transformation. Employment and job creation, in light of youth increase will be center of the discussion. Moderator: Jane Mariara, Executive Director, Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) Panelists:
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| 12:15 - 13:30 | Lunch Break |
| 13:30 - 14:45 | Agribusinesses to Accelerate Growth With 1.2 billion young people entering the global workforce and food demand set to rise by 30% by 2050, Africa’s vast agribusiness potential remains underexploited. This session will explore how to accelerate agribusiness-led growth by aligning initiatives, promoting innovation, and mobilizing investment to create resilient and job-rich opportunities. Moderator: Emmanuel Owusu-Sekyere, Director Research, Policy and Programs, African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) Panelists:
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| 14:45 - 15:00 | Coffee Break |
| 15:00 - 16:30 | High-Level Panel: Private Sector Development for Growth and Opportunity With the right enabling environment, private sector can become the real engine of growth in Africa. This session will put the reflectors on the private sector and explore policies and financing tools that can unlock enterprise potential, strengthen local capital markets, and accelerate private-sector solutions for inclusive growth. Moderator: Lukwesa Burak, BBC Framing of the session: Ethiopis Tafara, IFC Vice President for Africa Panelists:
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| 16:30 - 17:30 | Final Panel: Research in Action AGORA is a platform for continued exchange to co-create solutions through research in action. This session will highlight some of the tools that can help boost such exchange and provide space for crafting a plan to work together on a Research in Action agenda for Africa. Presentation by: Renos Vakis, Program Manager, World Bank Institute for Economic Development Moderator: Lukwesa Burak, International News Anchor - BBC News Panelists:
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| 17:30 - 17:45 | Closing Remarks Indermit Gill, World Bank Group Chief Economist & Senior Vice President for Development Economics |
Keynote Address: Growth and Opportunity for Africa
Florizelle Liser, President and CEO for Corporate Council for Africa
Keynote Speech: Jobs Creation in Ghana
Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Vice President of Ghana
Keynote Address: Meeting Africa’s Energy Needs
Jakkie Cilliers, Chairman of the ISS board of Trustees and Head of the African Futures and Innovation Program
Keynote Address: Agribusiness for Jobs
Agnes Kalibata, Founder and Chair: C4Impact Advisory Group
TED-style Presentations: Innovation and Technology to Power Africa
Entrepreneurs from Africa and Europe present their innovations and ideas driving impact in agriculture, finance, manufacturing, and technology
The Future of Economic Research for Policy
Young researchers from across Africa present data-driven insights on jobs, agriculture, and macroeconomic reform
| Mattei Lecture | |
 | Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala |
| Opening Keynote: Jobs Creation in Ghana | |
 | Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang |
 | Riccardo Barbieri Hermitte |
 | Indermit Gill |
 | (Video message) |
 | Roberto Lagalla |
 | Florizelle Liser |
 | Lorenzo Ortona Deputy National Coordinator, Mattei Plan |
 | Luigi Federico Signorini |
 | Ethiopis Tafara |
| Thematic Keynotes | |
 | Energy: |
 | Agriculture: Agnes Kalibata Founder and Chair: C4Impact Advisory Group |
| 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 Executive Director, Centre for Development and Enterprise, South Africa |
 | Benjamin Boakye |
 | Giulio Boccaletti |
 | Simone Borghesi |
 | Andrea Brandolini |
 | Gero Carletto |
 | Guangzhe Chen |
 | Belhassen Chiboub Director General of Electricity and Energy Transition at the Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Mines of Tunisia |
 | Andrew Dabalen |
 | Robert Darko Osei |
 | Riccardo De Zan Head Project Management Center of Expertise, Terna SpA |
 | Ousmane Diagana |
 | Munir Duri |
 | Karim El Aynaoui |
 | Maura Francese Deputy Head of the Structural Economic Analysis Directorate, Directorate General for Economics, Statistics and Research, Bank of Italy |
 | Roberta Gatti |
 | Markus Goldstein |
 | Rose Goslinga President & Co-Founder, Pula Advisors |
 | Pamla Goupal Head of the Africa Policy Bridge Tank, Economic Analysist and Foresight Unit, AUDA-NEPAD |
 | Anita Guelfi |
 | Natasha Hayward |
 | Cruisvia Hichikumba Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary for Investment and Industrialization, Zambia |
 | Ivan Ivanov Senior Operations Officer, International Finance Corporation |
 | Anup Jagwani |
 | Arianna Legovini |
 | Stefania Lenoci World Bank Group Resident Representative in Italy. Special Representative to Southern Europe, the Holy See and the United Nations Agencies in Rome |
 | Paolo Lombardo |
 | Abbi M. Kedir |
 | Saweda Liverpool-Tasie |
 | Alpha Ly Assistant Professor at École Nationale De La Statistique Et De L'analyse De L'information (ENSAI) and the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST) |
 | Mai Mahmoud |
 | Mohamed Manssouri Investment Centre Director, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) |
 | Jane Mariara |
 | Raffaello Matarazzo Head, International Public Affairs Africa, Middle East & Asia-Pacific, ENI |
 | Iacopo Meghini |
 | Andrea Montanino Chief Economist and Director for Sectoral Strategies and Impact Assessment, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) |
 | Michel Ndayikeza |
 | Daniel Njiwa |
 | Yaw Nyarko |
 | Emmanuel Owusu-Sekyere |
 | Demetrios Papathanasiou |
 | Andrea Pestarino Director of the Donors, Financial Institutions Unit, RINA Consulting |
 | Walter Peviani Director Commercial Management - Africa, RINA Consulting |
 | Martin Raiser |
 | Brahima Sangafowa Coulibaly |
 | Salma Seetaroo |
 | Johan Swinnen |
 | Saidou Abdoulaye Sy |
 | Zainab Usman |
 | Francesca Utili |
 | Renos Vakis |
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 - Energy brief (key messages from the discussions)
- Agricultural Transformation and Job Creation - Agriculture brief (key messages from the discussions)
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.
