The Ibrahim Governance Weekend is an initiative by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation that is conducted each year in a different African country wherein the Mo Ibrahim Foundation focuses on the critical importance of governance and leadership in Africa.

The 2023 Ibrahim Governance Weekend was held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Kenya from 28th April to 30th April 2023 where multilateral and regional institutions, prominent African political and business leaders, representatives from the civil society and Africa’s major partners convened. 

The Leadership Ceremony was opened by the Utamaduni Dance Troupe and later moderated by Zeinab Badawi who is an International Broadcaster and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Board Member. Mo Ibrahim, the founder and chair of Mo Ibrahim Foundation, was the first to give his introductory remarks. He acknowledged the presence of all dignitaries and highlighted the different challenges that would be discussed at length later that face Africa. After his remarks, a short clip was played that portrayed Africa’s assets in harmony with the year’s theme, Global Africa. H.E Amina J. Muhammed, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and former Cabinet Minister in Nigeria, was next. She addressed the effects of the challenges Africa is facing, particularly on women, children and youths. The African Union Chairperson and former Chad Foreign Minister H.E Musafaki Muhammad spoke at length about the 2021 Ibrahim Prize Winner, H.E Mohamodou Issoufou, former President of Niger, and recognized his ability to manage domestic and national affairs while being involved in international engagements, 

There was a short music interlude by Suzanna Owiyo, a champion of Social Change and Women Empowerment, with a performance dubbed ‘Today Our Dream’. And since the President of the European Council Charles Michelle couldn’t make it to the forum, his message was delivered and played by video after the entertainment. He asserted the need to have Africa at the G20 in addition to South Africa by virtue of being the 8th largest economy and having the 3rd largest population while thereafter, the Secretary General of Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the former Foreign Minister for Rwanda H.E Louise Mushikiwabo talked about the opportunity she has had working with the Ibrahim Prize Winner on developing the African Continental Free Exchange Area that aims to boost intra significantly - Africa trade, particularly trade in value-added production and trade across all sectors of Africa’s economy. Before the performance by the Senegalese superstar Youssou N’dour, the Founder and CEO of Umwuga Nasi Rwigema got to talk about the ‘Now Generation Network’ that amplifies and empowers voices of youth courtesy of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. 

After the exhilarating entertainment, it was time to award the Ibrahim Prize Winner. The President of the Network for Education for All in Africa, a former Minister of Education of Guinea and Ibrahim Prize Committee Member, read citation for President Mohamodou Issoufou where she commended him for giving power voluntarily at the end of his term, championing democracy and constitutional respect, and strengthening regional stability among other invaluable impacts he has done. She then invited H.E. President Mohamodou Issoufou on stage for the award. He gave his acceptance speech and highlighted some of his achievements. There was a final performance from Suzanna Owiyo after H.E William Ruto, the President of Kenya, addressed the unfair characterization of Africa and the contribution each person has in making a difference in Africa, stating the different commitments in governance he has fulfilled since his assumption of office.   

The next day, 29th April 2023, Mo Ibrahim insisted that policies should be driven by data after being invited to open the day’s forum by Georgie Ndirangu, the Head of Pan-African Program Communications Mastercard Foundation and the Now Generation Network Member, who moderated the first session. The chairperson of the African Union, H.E Musafaki Muhammad, was asked by Mo Ibrahim to give a keynote address on what Africa has to offer the world and what the world has to offer Africa. During the ‘Africa in the World: Multiple Assets’ discussion thereafter, the Vice President of Nigeria, H.E Yemi Osinbajo, emphasized the need to think through the African education curriculum towards building youth capacity while the Now Generation Network Member and Technical Advisor for the Ministry of Commerce Industry and Promotion of SMEs in Côte d'Ivoire Hafou Toure asserted the importance of linking African young entrepreneurs to what they need with the resources available that they are not able to tap to. The other panellist H.E Ibrahim A. Mayaki, the African Union Special Envoy for Food Systems and former Prime Minister of Nigeria, stated that food insecurity will be solved by regional integration and structural transformation of economies since the problem is poverty, not production. Donald Kaberuka, the Managing Partner at Southbridge Group and former African Development Bank President, reiterated how essential it is to harmonize regional policies to achieve economic liberation in Africa as Natasha Kimani from Africa No Filter and the Now Generation Network Member moderated the panellists hereinbefore.   

The second panel was moderated by Jendayi Frazer, MIF Board Member and CEO of 50 Ventures. ‘The World in Africa: A growing competition - State Actors’ discussion was commenced by Koen Doens, Director - General for International Partnerships (DG-UNTPA) European Commission, where he stated that Africa is taking its place at the global stage and it is for Africa to shape agreements as equal partners by saying what it wants and what it doesn’t want. The International Crisis Group President and CEO, Comfort Ero, agreed that there is competition, but it is the nature of the competition that we have to deal with, especially in making sure Africa’s interests are a priority and aligned. Jin - Yong Cai, former CEO of the International Finance Corporation and MIF Board Member, was of the contrary opinion that China is in competition and instead it is focused on a win-win arrangement in Africa by building infrastructure for easy access to the market, particularly with the Belton Road Initiative which purposes at improving connectivity and cooperation on a transcontinental scale. The UK Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell, also maintained that Britain is not in a competition but rather is driven by building partnerships to address the challenges in Africa as they are currently doing with the Bridgetown Initiative. But Amr Moussa, the Chair of Interpeace and former Secretary General of the Arab League, insisted that there is a competition that is even causing the emergence of a cold war, especially between the USA and China. He was also of the view that African problems and challenges should be discussed in Africa, not outside Africa. 

‘The World in Africa: A growing competition - Non-State Actors’ discussion was next, and it was moderated by Mo Ibrahim, the founder and chair Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Zein Abdalla talked at length about what Mastercard Foundation has been doing in Africa, where he is the chair. Apart from their primary mission of education and financial inclusion, they fund entrepreneurs' first losses and support government priorities for better outcomes, among other initiatives. William Asiko described the Rockefeller Foundation's mission as uplifting the well-being of humanity through food, health, clean energy and economic recovery initiatives across the world. He is the Managing Director of the Africa Region Office, and he pointed out the need for non-state actors to synergize their different programs instead of doing their initiatives separately, building local value chains and building long-term capacity for local partners and institutions in order to create deep-rooted impact. Gayle Smith spoke about the One Campaign organization, where she is the CEO and how it is part of changing the International Financial Architecture as well as creating political space for citizens in order to build pressure from the citizens towards the governments for service delivery. The Open Society Foundations is engaged in political philanthropies by assisting in building strong, accountable and progressive governments in achieving their agenda in addition to ensuring the organization’s mission on democracy and human rights, according to its President Mark Malloch - Brown. Mark Suzman was the final panellist, and he expounded on the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in healthcare, agriculture, financial inclusion, research and development, together with the data and metrics they share with governments for proper and impact-driven projects.

Vera Songwe, the former Executive Secretary General of The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Chairperson of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility took over the subsequent discussion on ‘Africa in the Multilateral Architecture: Where is its voice?’ and broke the conversation into four parts. The liquidity and access to resources, the debt suspension initiative, lack of investment grade countries in Africa and climate change. She also exemplified the Bridgetown Initiative on debt suspension, debt relief, creation of catastrophic bonds and action on loss and damage in low and middle-income countries. The first panellist Masood Ahmed, Center for Global Development President, indicated that the International Monetary Fund should raise its own financing back to the level it was in 2020 and borrow on its own balance sheet to reduce the interest rates of African countries to 3 or 4 per cent. The former CFO of the World Bank Group and Managing Partner and Founder of Blue Like an Orange Sustainable Capital, Bertrand Badre, declared that the best way to increase local currency lending is to invest in local capital markets through building physical, social and financial infrastructure which will enable mobilization in local domestic markets through tax and savings. He also stated that the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) are being faced by the US resistance together with other technical handles when it comes to their delivery along with their rechanneling and according to Amadou Hott, the Special Envoy of the President of the African Development Bank for the Alliance of Green Infrastructure in Africa and former Finance Minister of Senegal, the US Senator in charge of foreign relations has delayed the release of the SDRs pledges as a result of concerns that if the money is released, it will go to countries outside Africa. He urged African leaders to prioritize the hold-up and ensure that the pledges made during the Paris Summit have been converted to proper SDRs. Mark Malloch - Brown, former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and CEO of Open Society Foundations, stressed on the need to change the colonialism austerity model of accountability to a cooperative system that involves the private sector. Michael Mbate, MIF NGN and a Research Analyst at the United Nations Development Programme Regional Bureau for Africa echoed the sentiments by pointing out that the solution is not only mobilizing for resources but also protecting the existing and available resources from corruption. He also stressed out on developing homegrown solutions to enable the usage of international spheres as complements, not substitutes. 

As it is the norm every year, Mo Ibrahim had one-to-one conversations with the President of Kenya, H.E. William Samoei Ruto and the former Prime Minister of Sudan, H.E. Abdalla Hamdok. The President of Kenya, H.E William Samoei Ruto, was of the opinion that the global financial architecture is outdated and rigid, considering it doesn’t integrate emerging and frontier economies, and it is generally rigged against the global south since the interest rates at the global financial market are inflated while the western countries access capital at affordable rates. Additionally, he talked about the need for Africa to not only work on climate adaptation, loss and damage but also climate resilient development that will result in net zero. Mo Ibrahim concurred with his sentiments by pointing out that there should be a market incentive in the form of a global legal trust fund that will reduce the current carbon emission from 37 trillion to the recommended 24 trillion tons and below of carbon per year hence achieving the net zero emissions. Mo Ibrahim further suggested that the maximum carbon emission limit per person worldwide be 3 tons per year and the fines collected from countries that exceed international agreements to be channelled to the trust fund for the countries that abide. H.E. William Samoei Ruto further reiterated giving the African Union sovereignty since all African Heads of State have retained all the power and interrogating the management of the African Union because it has the wrong architecture. 

The former Prime Minister of Sudan, H.E. Abdalla Hamdok, talked in depth about the Sudan coup. He said the coup was a result of a cumulative revolution that started in 1989 and the resistance that followed. After the 2019 coup, they had planned to restructure institutions, remove the 30-year sanction and clear the debt of the multilateral banks. But they faced quite a lot of challenges, amongst them high expectations from citizens, civil wars from the regions and the fragmentation of the revolutionaries who went behind their different groups instead of continuing to work together as a united front. That resulted in his resignation, and chaos resumed. He was of the opinion that the current situation in Sudan could be remedied through a collective effort of the regional and international communities in calling for a ceasefire between the two fighting generals and working on a robust agreement that will ensure a long-lasting peace. 

Finally, there was an electrifying public concert on Saturday night that was graced by Otile Brown, Femi One, Mejja, Nviiri the Storyteller and Nyashinski, who are some of the best Kenyan musicians. Senegalese Superstar Youssou N’dour was also one of the performers at the concert.