A conversation about education, entrepreneurship and employment in Africa with Elozi Lomponda, CEO of Books on Canoes operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a team member of the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in Belgium, Leila Ndiaye, President and CEO of Initiative for Global Development, Leonard Wantchekon, founder of the African School of Economics in Benin, Yaw Nyarko, Professor of Economics at New York University and Director of the Africa House, and Nabou Fall, CEO of VIZEO.

Kouakou Donatien ADOU will be a special guest at Planning for the Future 2019. Donatien was a part of IUGB's first graduating class in July 2015, where he graduated with a BA in political science and a minor in economics. Currently, Donatien is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Political Science department at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where his research interests are in Comparative Political Economy with a specific focus on the determinants of corruption in Africa.

The purpose of the conversation will be to highlight the solutions for how the continent of Africa can turn the youth bulge into a youth dividend harnessing the innovations of all the sectors of the economy to increase access to education, entrepreneurship and employment for the African youth.

We also would like to raise the profile of the International University of Grand-Bassam (IUGB) in Cote d’Ivoire and its contributions to the local and international community by providing high quality higher education to African students.