African countries are growing at an astonishing rate. Cities are forced to develop solutions for the effects of rapid population growth, urbanization, deficient infrastructure, and over-stressed governance structures. These problems present an enormous challenge for states across the continent, and afford a tremendous set of opportunities for new charter cities to provide solutions.

Charter city developments, by creating new jurisdictions and adopting the best laws, can help draw the resources necessary to improve infrastructure, attract businesses, and provide new job opportunities. Several businesses and organizations are currently working on building these cities across Africa.

Furthermore, there is a rich history of pre-colonial city-states along the Western and Eastern coasts of Africa. These largely autonomous city-states often formed thriving trade civilizations and local cultures, many of which still play a role in their respective regions today. Examples of these proto-charter cities can provide a treasure trove of wisdom for current and future charter city developments.

This virtual event will be a conversation about the past and the future of African charter cities, bridging the lessons we can learn from historical charter cities in Africa with the practical experience of developers working on the ground today.

About the guests:



Heba Elhanafy

Heba Elhanafy is an Atlas Fellow and Researcher at the Charter Cities Institute. Born in Egypt, she has a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from Alexandria University and a master’s degree in Urban Development from the Technical University of Berlin. She is currently working on a project for the CCI called Building Africa, a blog series about pre-colonial urban development in Africa. Heba became interested in charter cities after observing, and experiencing their significant impact on the economy of city-states in Africa. 

Iyinoluwa “E” Aboyeji

Iyinoluwa “E” Aboyeji is the founder and general partner at Future Africa (also known as The Fund for Africa). Future Africa is a venture capital & private equity firm with the mission of expanding prosperity and innovation in Africa. He is also the founder & chairman of Talent City Inc., a network of Charter Cities across Africa with a focus on technology and the digital economy. 

Previously, he was the co-founder & managing director of Flutterwave, an integrated payments platform for Africans to make and receive payments all across the world with over one hundred million transactions under his leadership.

‍

We invite you to join us at this event at:

‍

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/history-and-future-of-african-charter-cities-tickets-116307556031#listing-organizer

‍

This event took place in August 2020. You can find the recording here:

‍https://youtu.be/Me7E6KEGA3Y