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Africa Newsletter

Africa

In This Newsletter

Africa Leadership Council: Meet Our Newest Members
Global Financial Scholars Programs Welcome Newest Cohorts
Summer Highlights
Look Ahead
For More Information

Africa Leadership Council: Meet Our Newest Members

Please join us in welcoming the newest members of our Africa Leadership Council, who are supporting and advancing our efforts to ensure that African countries collectively become full participants in global capital markets.

Global Financial Scholars Programs Welcome Newest Cohorts

Since 2016, the Milken Institute, in collaboration with the World Bank Group and with the kind support of the Motsepe Foundation, has empowered nearly 300 rising financial leaders across 65 developing and emerging markets. Through intensive eight-month programs held in Washington, DC, and London, our Global Financial Scholars Programs engage scholars in tailored business-school coursework and hands-on industry placements. Our alumni are driving significant changes in financial policy and the governance of public financial assets in their home markets, advancing financial transformation and prosperity globally.

Last month, 42 scholars are beginning our programs across Washington, DC, and London, representing:

27 countries across Africa, South America, Asia, and Europe.
34 institutions, from central banks to stock exchanges to pension and sovereign wealth funds.

A large group of professionals pose together on a glass staircase in front of a bright digital backdrop of the U.S. Capitol dome, smiling for a formal group photo. — The 13th cohort of IFC-MI Capital Markets Program scholars with British Robinson and Rich Ditizio (Row 1, center left and right), Milken Institute CEO, at the Milken Institute offices, Washington, DC, September 4, 2025.

In the coming months, we will work with our corporate partners and leadership members to match these incredible scholars with internships for spring 2026.

Looking back on the past year of these programs, we’re proud to share the following:

Forty-four scholars from 30 countries completed their work placements across 38 partner firms in the United States and the United Kingdom, acquiring invaluable hands-on learning experience and graduating in May and June 2025.
Six new countries participated in our programs: Bhutan, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Gabon, and Peru.
After months of collaboration on capstone projects focused on policy implementation in their home markets, 10 scholars joined us to pitch their policy proposals at our Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles in May 2025. This included a memorable private meeting between Mike Milken, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, and the scholars.

Graduates in caps and gowns celebrate together on stage, joyfully tossing their graduation caps into the air while holding diplomas and certificates.

A group of men and women in business attire pose for a formal photo in front of a backdrop reading “2025 Global Conference – Toward a Flourishing Future.” — *Recent IFC-MI graduates with Mike Milken and Ajay Banga, Los Angeles, May 2025.*

Summer Highlights

June 16–17, 2025

NIGERIA (Abuja)—Milken Institute Africa Chair British Robinson attended the fourth annual meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum, hosted by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority. Robinson moderated a high-profile panel titled “Investment at Scale: Aligning African Sovereign Wealth Funds and Development Finance Institutions for Transformational Growth,” which explored Africa’s transformation through the mobilization of long-term capital at scale.

Group of five speakers standing on stage.

June 19

UNITED KINGDOM (London)—Together with our Africa Leadership Council member CrossBoundary Group, the Milken Institute cohosted a private roundtable on mobilizing long-term capital toward Africa. This high-level conversation gathered business leaders across sectors—from development finance and trade to FinTech and critical minerals—to discuss investment models and blended finance solutions that are breaking new ground at a time when private capital flows are more crucial than ever for Africa’s future.

June 22–25, 2025

TANZANIA (Arusha)—The Milken Institute’s International Africa team hosted the fourth Global Financial Leaders Symposium, which gathered more than 130 alumni of the Global Financial Scholars Programs. The event featured wide-ranging panel discussions and workshops on topics such as leadership for impact, financial technology, debt sustainability, credit ratings, and more.
The three-day event welcomed 34 speakers, including representatives from Fitch Ratings, Input Output Global, the Global Blockchain Business Council, Oceans Finance, TCX, and Anne-Sophie Avé, Ambassador of France to Tanzania.

A large group of people cheerfully raise their hands outdoors in front of trees and mountains, with an elephant visible in the background.

June 30–July 3, 2025

SPAIN (Seville)—Robinson represented the Milken Institute and B20 South Africa at the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, closely aligned with South Africa’s historic G20 presidency. During the event, she spoke on a panel titled “Turbocharging Private Capital in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies: Unlocking the Power of Public Markets,” and participated in several private roundtables, discussions, and receptions with business leaders and policymakers.

Two people smiling at a conference, wearing badges with booths in the background. — *British Robinson and Sim Tshabalala, Chair of the B20 South Africa Finance & Infrastructure Task Force and CEO of Standard Bank Group, Seville, July 2025.*

July 27–August 1, 2025

UNITED KINGDOM (London)—Robinson represented the Milken Institute at a Children’s Investment Fund Foundation conference on the future of development financing.

August 21, 2025

UNITED STATES (Washington, DC)—Applications for the Milken Motsepe Prize in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Manufacturing closed on August 21, 2025. This global prize recognizes established Series A+ companies using AI to boost efficiency and reduce waste across manufacturing value chains in Africa. With $2 million in total awards (including a $1 million grand prize) and unparalleled networking with Fortune 500 CEOs, investors, and experts, the competition represents a major opportunity to elevate entrepreneurship and innovation across the continent.

Two people stand indoors between the flags of Angola and the United States, smiling for a diplomatic-style photo beneath a framed portrait of João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço. — *Robinson with the ambassador of the Republic of Angola to the United States, H.E. Agostinho Van-Dúnem.*

Two women stand side by side in front of the Tanzanian and U.S. flags, smiling warmly and clasping hands for a formal photo. — *Robinson with the ambassador of the Republic of Tanzania to the United States, Elsie Kanza, DBA.*

August 21–24, 2025

UNITED STATES (Long Island, NY)—The Milken Institute brought together top supporters and friends for an exceptional weekend of activities and panels in the Hamptons. A select group of business leaders, policymakers, investors, and philanthropists—including several members of our Africa Leaders Council and two alumni of our Global Financial Scholars Programs—joined us for a series of intimate, content-rich, salon-style conversations. With sessions spanning health, finance, technology, national security, and philanthropy, the evolving relationship between the United States and the African continent was a recurrent and timely topic of conversation.

June–August, 2025

UNITED STATES (Washington, DC)—Throughout the summer, in addition to the convenings and engagements above, Milken Institute Africa actively engaged with Africa Leadership Council members and corporate partners, and members of the African diplomatic corps in Washington, DC, to shape the Institute’s new Africa strategy.
We had the pleasure of hosting private meetings with the ambassadors of Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, and Zambia, as well as with Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, among others. We look forward to continuing these conversations.

September 16

Welcome Reception for the fourth cohort of World Bank-Milken Institute Public Financial Asset Management Program Scholars (London, UK)

A woman speaks to a group of professionals in a richly decorated room with chandeliers, red carpet, and gold-framed mirrors, as attendees listen attentively during a networking event. — Welcome Reception for the fourth cohort of World Bank-Milken Institute Public Financial Asset Management Program Scholars, kicked off by Laura Deal Lacey, Executive Vice President for MI International (London, UK).

September 22–26

Milken Institute at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80; New York, New York). These were some of many conversations around investment in Africa.

Five panelists sit on stage in front of a banner reading “Risk | Reform | Return: Nigeria Investment Forum,” engaged in discussion about investing in Nigeria’s trade infrastructure. — *British Robinson moderated a conversation on new models for infrastructure financing in Nigeria, hosted by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Trade & Investment.*

Two women sit at the front of a gallery space in conversation before an audience, framed by large black-and-white portraits of historic figures on the walls. — Hosted by 7 Generations Africa, British Robinson held a fireside chat with DJ Cuppy exploring the catalytic potential of African philanthropic capital, and opportunities for innovation and job creation in Africa’s creative economy.

Four professionals in business attire stand together and smile for a group photo in a conference room, with chairs lined up along the wall behind them. — *British Robinson moderated a Concordia Executive Briefing on Investment in Africa, featuring leadership from the Africa Finance Corporation and DP World.*

September 30

After 23 years, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) expired. The Milken Institute supports AGOA’s reauthorization and remains committed to investing in African human capital through our Global Financial Scholars Program and in African entrepreneurship through the Milken-Motsepe Prize. Read our full reflection on AGOA’s expiration.

Look Ahead

October 14–16: Milken Institute Africa roundtables on the sidelines of the World Bank - IMF Fall Meetings, Washington DC and November
October 22: Milken Institute Global Investors' Symposium Mexico City 2025
November 4–6: Milken Institute Future of Health Summit 2025
November 9–10: Milken Institute at 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference COP30; (Belém, Brazil) and the Milken Institute Global Investors' Symposium São Paulo 2025
November 18–20: Milken Institute Africa participation in the B20 South Africa 2025 Summit
December 3–5: Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit (Abu Dhabi, UAE)

For More Information

Milken Institute Africa strives to ensure that African countries become full participants in global capital markets. We collaborate with our Africa Leadership Council members, Global Financial Scholars Programs alumni, and partners across the continent to advance sustainability, health, and shared prosperity.

We look forward to hearing from you. Please reach out to us at [email protected]. Further details are available.

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