Driving Africa’s Structural Transformation: Highlights from the 6th Annual Structural Transformation and Economic Growth (STEG)

As Africa faces persistent challenges, including productivity gaps and employment pressures, the 6th Annual Structural Transformation and Economic Growth (STEG) Conference emphasised that enduring economic transformation depends on evidence, pragmatism, and policy coherence, rather than quick fixes.

Building on this theme, the STEG Conference took place from 7th to 10th January 2026 at Strathmore University Business School (SBS), under the Strathmore Institute of Public Policy and Governance (SIPPG). The conference brought together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from around the world to advance evidence-based thinking on Africa’s long-term development. The four-day event featured thematic workshops, plenary sessions, and high-level dialogues, each focusing on the drivers of structural transformation in low- and middle-income countries.

Welcoming participants, Kellen Kariuki, Associate Dean of Executive Education, emphasised the University’s role as a platform for driving change in Africa, bridging theory and practice, and supporting conversations that translate research into actionable solutions. Her remarks set the tone for a conference grounded in collaboration and impact.

The conference program was structured around six core STEG research themes, explored through in-person workshops and plenary sessions. On Wednesday, 7 January, parallel thematic workshops examined issues ranging from data, measurement, and conceptual framing to firms and industrial policy, as well as labour, households, and structural transformation. These sessions featured cutting-edge research on topics such as inequality, artificial intelligence, labour markets, firm productivity, and gendered employment barriers, with a strong emphasis on methodological rigour and policy relevance.

Complementing the focus on research, the conference deliberately emphasised early-career researchers and graduate students, many of whom presented STEG-funded projects. Key takeaways included the provision of structured feedback, valuable networking opportunities, and meaningful exposure to senior scholars, all of which reinforced STEG’s commitment to nurturing future development economists.

The plenary sessions on Thursday and Friday brought the entire conference together to engage with cross-cutting questions on growth, infrastructure, technology, and sectoral transformation. Academic keynote presentations explored themes such as service-led growth in the Global South, the role of infrastructure in local development, and whether electricity constraints remain a binding barrier to industrialisation. These discussions were enriched by formal discussants and robust audience engagement, underscoring the value of dialogue between theory and evidence.

Among the notable sessions was the STEG Policy Keynote Address by Dr. Kamau Thugge, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). He described the Central Bank’s role in maintaining price stability and supporting Kenya’s growth, highlighting the inflation-targeting framework. He noted recent successes: stable inflation, a steadier exchange rate, and relaxed monetary conditions.

Expanding on this, Dr. Thugge emphasised the importance of transparency and effective policy transmission, highlighting reforms such as risk-based credit pricing and the introduction of a reference rate for lending. These measures, he explained, are designed to improve commercial banks’ responsiveness to monetary policy signals and strengthen confidence in Kenya’s financial system. Beyond monetary policy, he noted improvements in Kenya’s balance of payments, rising foreign reserves, and strong performance in remittances, tourism, and exports, reaffirming the resilience of the country’s banking sector.

The policy discourse continued with a dialogue led by Dr. Patrick Njoroge, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya and Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management. Dr. Njoroge reflected on technology, productivity, and policy in shaping long-term development outcomes, cautioning against viewing innovation as a universal solution.

Building on recent technological discussions, Dr. Njoroge drew on Kenya’s experience with mobile money to illustrate how innovations can emerge from solving practical, context-specific problems. He highlighted M-Pesa as a case in point, noting its key role in raising Kenya’s financial inclusion rate from 26 per cent in 2007 to over 85 per cent today. He also stressed that such innovations thrive in supportive policy environments and when they develop into broader ecosystems.

Turning the focus to agriculture, Dr. Njoroge stressed the urgent need for a new productivity revolution in Africa. While past global agricultural revolutions brought widespread gains, he observed that structural and geographic constraints have left much of the continent behind. Addressing these challenges, he argued, will require pragmatic policymaking, sustained investment, and closer alignment between research and implementation.

The conference concluded by reinforcing the shared imperative: Africa’s development agenda depends on evidence-based policy, dialogue between scholars and policymakers, and ongoing collaboration across institutions and disciplines. Key takeaways included the need to integrate policies and expertise, avoid isolated interventions, and ensure sustainable development through collective effort.

STEG is a global research programme led by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, in partnership with institutions such as the University of Oxford, the University of Notre Dame, ACET, Yale Y-RISE, and the Groningen Growth and Development Centre. It continues to significantly shape development thinking and practice.

Article by Juliet Hinga