Tunis, Tunisia, March 4 – 5, 2008
Despite achieving macroeconomic stability in recent years, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are still struggling to maintain a sustained economic growth path fostering economic development and poverty reduction. The consensus in academic as well as policy circles is that strong institutions are a necessary condition for sustainable growth. Many have argued that, among the large array of institutions that foster growth, a well functioning financial system is a sine qua non for development. The financial sector facilitates market exchange, mobilizes and pools savings, allocates capital efficiently and makes risk management possible.
The starting question of this high level seminar is: to what extent does the financial sector in Africa play these roles? And how can the efficiency of this institution be improved so that they can play a more active role in economic development? The seminar will allow participants to share their practical experiences in the financial sector. This will provide an opportunity to debate practical solutions for overcoming key obstacles that stymie financial sector development.
Targeted participants include high-level officials from governments, including ministries of finance, economy, planning, and development; financial regulation and supervision agencies, and central banks. The seminar will involve contributions by experts from official agencies in Africa, international financial institutions, the private sector, and academia.
The seminar is being organized by the IMF Institute under the auspices of the Joint Africa Institute. Cofinancing has been provided by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID). Attendance is by invitation only. Queries regarding the seminar may be addressed to insinfo@imf.org.
