News & Events

The scoping study on regional trade & investment in West Africa conducted by the ASCL in cooperation with LEI Wageningen UR and the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) has now been finalized and has generated a number of written outputs.

ASCL's Director Ton Dietz presented a paper at the 33rd International Geographical Congress in Beijing that took place from 21-25 August. The paper examines the evidence in Africa regarding the intentions of municipalities and their leadership to develop more sustainable cities, and to mobilise business and popular support for more sustainable futures in a continent that is likely to have the fastest urbanization trends in the decades ahead. Read the paper.

In this seminar Vincent Hiribarren (King's College London) will analyse the history of the borders in the region of Borno (Nigeria). By focusing on borderlands known for harbouring Boko Haram terrorists, this seminar will bring a historical dimension to contemporary security issues in the Lake Chad region. It will be argued that British imperialism did not always destroy nineteenth-century African polities but, as in the case of Borno, favoured the reconstruction of a nineteenth-century territory within the Nigerian colony. 

The third edition of Africa Works! will take place on 10 & 11 November in Amsterdam. With over 500 participants, Africa Works! Innovation in Finance is expected to be the largest conference in Western Europe which focuses on doing business in Africa. Among the keynote speakers are Klaas Knot (Dutch Central Bank) and Amine Bouabid (Bank of Africa). Dr Chibuike Uche, senior researcher at the ASCL, will host the workshop 'Opportunities for Lease financing in Africa' on day 1.

In 2013, two thirds of Africans were reckoned to live in countries suffering from state fragility. The fragility of African states is regarded as a major explanation for the failure of countries to translate strong economic growth into sustained social and economic development. During this seminar Em. Professor Dele Olowu (Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria) will discuss approaches that would result in a change from state fragility to state resilience, based on lessons learnt from selected states in Eastern and Southern Africa.