Unlocking Africa’s manufacturing potential

Energy, transport and reforms are strategic priorities for Africa’s industrialisation.
-
Date: 17 September 2025
-
Time: 11:00 to 12:00 (GMT+2)
-
Venue: Online via Zoom, registration required
Overview
Africa faces the challenge of premature deindustrialisation, but targeted policy interventions can enable re-industrialisation over the next two decades. This seminar launches key policy recommendations from the African Futures and Innovation programme’s updated Manufacturing theme.
The discussion will present Africa’s current manufacturing landscape, exploring how renewed industrialisation can support structural transformation, job creation, economic growth, government revenue, and improved living standards. This offers a more dynamic alternative to the business-as-usual trajectory.
Read the full report on the state of Africa’s industrialisation.
This event is co-hosted by the ISS and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).
Moderator: Mahao Mahao, Advisor, Africa Policy Bridge Tank, AUDA-NEPAD
Presenter: Dr Marvellous Ngundu, Senior Researcher Consultant, African Futures & Innovation, ISS
Panelists:
- Freda Yawson, Senior Manager, Infrastructure and Innovation, African Center for Economic Transformation
- Alejandro Lapova, Research and Industrial Policy Officer, Industrial Policy Research and Statistics Unit, United Nations Industrial Development Organization
Image: RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP
RegisterDevelopment partners
This seminar is made possible with support from the government of Sweden and the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The ISS is also grateful for support from the members of the ISS Partnership Forum: the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the European Union, the Open Society Foundations and the governments of Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
More to explore

14 Feb 2025
UNDP Report Launch - Advancing Inclusive Development
Policy options for Burkina Faso, Guinea, Gabon, Mali and Niger

03 Apr 2025
Imagining Democratic Futures in Southern Africa and South Asia
International IDEA's Democracy Assessment Unit is hosting a discussion event on Thursday, 3 April 2025, aimed at exploring how strategic foresight can help shape democratic futures.

26 Aug 2025
Africa at work: redefining employment for a changing continent
Digitisation and youth-oriented policies could offer Africa’s vast youth population the prospect of adequate and productive jobs.

03 Jun 2025
Transforming Governance in Nigeria: Harnessing the Power of Strategic Foresight and Futures Thinking for Long-term National Planning
This event will showcase Nigeria’s development trajectory, providing insights into potential pathways for sustainable growth.