Financial sectors across Africa are transforming rapidly, deepening and diversifying, and forging new links across the continent and with global capital markets. Is growing financial integration a breakthrough for economic transformation on the continent? Do these trends pose new risks of financial instability, and growing public indebtedness? What is unique about financial sector development in Africa, and what can be learned from other regions?

Opening with a keynote address by the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, Dr Patrick Njoroge, this half-day workshop at St Antony’s College will bring together policymakers, private sector participants, and academic experts to address three topics with urgent policy relevance: (1) Integration and disintegration in banking sectors across Africa; (2) External finance and sovereign debt; (3) Developmental and political implications of financial sector development.