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AERC Summit 2025: A New Vision for Africa’s Economic Future

Africa’s top economists, policy leaders, and development experts have gathered in Nairobi for the 2025 AERC Research and Policy Summit—an event already shaping up to be one of the most influential conversations on the continent’s economic direction.

Hosted by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), the three-day summit brings together a diverse community of scholars, central bank leaders, private sector players, and international partners united by a shared goal: redefining Africa’s development priorities for the next decade.

A New Era of Economic Thinking

Opening the summit, AERC Executive Director Prof. Victor Murinde emphasized that Africa is at a turning point. He described the gathering as an essential space for clear thinking and bold conversations about the continent’s economic future.

“This summit gives us a space to rethink how African economies can grow sustainably and inclusively,” he said.

Representing the National Treasury, Economic Planning Principal Secretary Bonface Barasa Makokha delivered remarks from Treasury CS John Mbadi who challenged Africa to tell its own economic story.

“For years, others have defined our development agenda. That must end,” Mbadi said. “Africa’s future depends on courageous ideas that prioritize dignity, resilience, and shared prosperity.”

He urged African countries to reduce reliance on foreign aid and instead maximize local talent, innovation, and resources.