The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, and the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, will headline the 7th Africa Emerging Markets Forum scheduled to be held in Abuja next week.
The two-day forum will take place at the CBN Headquarters on Wednesday, July 29, and Thursday, July 30, 2026, with senior policymakers, central bankers, ministers, development partners, private-sector leaders and economists expected to attend.
Organised by the CBN in collaboration with the Emerging Markets Forum (EMF) and the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), the event is themed “Building Resilience Amidst Geoeconomic Uncertainties.”
A fireside dialogue between Cardoso and Okonjo-Iweala will serve as the forum’s main attraction, with discussions expected to focus on how African economies can strengthen resilience, sustain reforms, deepen regional integration and drive long-term growth in a fragmented global economy.
The forum will also feature keynote addresses by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, and the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kingsley Udeh.
Other participants expected at the event include Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President for Development Economics at the World Bank Group; Harinder Kohli, Founding Director and Chief Executive of EMF; and Professor Adamu Ahmed, Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria.
According to the organisers, discussions will cover macroeconomic stability, regional economic integration, cross-border payments, financial technology, infrastructure, foreign direct investment, technology transfer, artificial intelligence, food price volatility, inflation and monetary policy transmission in fragile and post-crisis economies.
The organisers said the forum is designed to promote open dialogue and practical policy solutions for emerging markets and developing economies, while strengthening regional cooperation and evidence-based policymaking across Africa.
