Urbanization and industrialization for Africa's transformation

The 2017 edition of ERA, the main flagship publication of the ECA, examines how to accelerate industrialization as a vehicle for structural transformation in Africa by harnessing the opportunities arising from rapid urbanization. It provides a robust assessment of the bi-directional association between industrialization and urbanization in Africa, including through actual practice and experiences using eleven case countries, as well as select evidence from other countries and cities. The Report will thus inform and enrich policies and strategies to ensure that Africa's urbanization supports industrialization to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth.

In particular, the Report identifies and analyzes specific challenges and opportunities, as well as drivers, enablers and policy levers for strengthening linkages between industrialization and urbanization, explores best practices to identify lessons and necessary conditions for optimizing the urban advantage for Africa's industrialization, and further examines and provides a policy framework to better harness urbanization for Africa's industrialization. In doing so, the Report illustrates that industrialization requires better functioning cities. In turn, cities require better performing industrialization. Therefore, under the right policy framework anchored in national development planning, it is possible to leverage the momentum of urbanization to accelerate industrialization for a more prosperous and equitable future.

The objective of the meeting is to bring together prominent experts to review the draft publication and discuss the findings, policy messages and recommendations towards the finalization of the Report.