Africa’s debt landscape has undergone a profound transformation over the past two decades. African sovereign borrowers find themselves navigating negotiations in isolation. This division dilutes collective bargaining power and perpetuates a system where African nations remain ‘ruletakers’ rather than active ‘rule-makers’ in the global financial architecture. Borrowers need to start discussing these differences and determine a strategy to ensuring creditors match the needs of borrowers. This side event aims to help borrowers’ forums complement one another by asking:

• What terms and conditions should they be aiming to build consensus around when it comes to a) debt reprofiling; b) debt restructuring and c) debt relief? What are the helpful precedents in this regard?
• What are the acceptable, benchmark terms around the tenor and interest rate (and other issues e.g. transparency) for new, fresh finance should they be aiming to build consensus around – when it comes to different creditors

Speakers and Panelists

Ivory Kairo, Decolonizing Development Programme Manager, Development Reimagined
Raphael Owino Otieno, Director General of the Public Debt Management Office, The National Treasury of Kenya
Paul Nondo Sikazwe, Technical Advisor on Public Debt at the Africa Union Commission
Africa Kiiza,  Pan Africa Advocacy and Policy Lead, Christian Aid
Pratik Patel, Nairobi Bureau Chief, AfriCatalyst
Frank Adu, Senior Economist and Consultant, African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET)
Tumba Tshimanga, Advocacy Lead, Economic Management, African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) (Moderator)