Temvert Empowerment Foundation attended the Eastern Africa Association’s 4th Annual John Small Lecture, held on Monday 12 October 2026 at the Royal Over-Seas League in London. The lecture asked how Africa can finance its own growth, under the theme “The Architecture of African Capital: Pension Funds, Connected Exchanges and the Diaspora Capital”. Investors, financial institutions, exchange operators, policymakers and business leaders gathered for a keynote, a panel discussion and an open debate on pension funds and savings, international financial centres, exchanges and tokenised funds, calculated risk, institutions, and the relationship between governments and the private sector.
Our Founder and Executive Director, Temitayo Olatunde, attended the lecture and the reception that followed at the UK House of Commons, hosted by the Westminster Africa Business Group and the Eastern Africa Association. At the reception he met investors and thought leaders from different parts of the world, and shared ideas on trade and investment in Africa, including his perspective on social risk assessment.
The discussion pointed to a clear message. Africa generates substantial funds within its own borders, and projects need to be well prepared, supported by strong institutions and developed in step with the private sector and the communities they serve, so that capital reaches the people it is meant to benefit.
Drawing on the lecture, Temitayo has written a brief policy paper, “From Capital to Communities: Financing Africa’s Growth from Within”. The paper sets out seven lessons from the discussion and makes recommendations to governments, financial regulators, pension fund trustees, exchanges and investors, with a closing section on the part that civil society and grassroots communities play. You can read and download it here: READ PAPER
Temvert Empowerment Foundation is committed to engaging with the forums that shape trade and investment in Africa, and to connecting investors and policymakers with grassroots realities, so that capital goes where it can make a real difference.
