Africa Evidence Summit: Hope and Community Amid a Struggling Development Sector
Luft Ventures
Director of Policy and Inclusion Maya Ranganath reflects on this year’s Africa Evidence Summit, held in Nairobi, Kenya from June 23rd to 25th. The Summit would not be possible without our partners the Network of Impact Evaluation Researchers in Africa (NIERA), the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and many others listed here.
CEGA’s 13th annual Africa Evidence Summit took place against the backdrop of deep uncertainty in the global development sector. Dramatic cuts to foreign aid, compounded by geopolitical crises, have negatively impacted many in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including our host country Kenya. Communities are losing access to critical healthcare, humanitarian aid, and water. Kenya’s innovative start-up sector has been significantly hindered. Researchers are seeing hard-won projects paused or canceled due to funding gaps. Understandably, early-career professionals and students are questioning their futures in the field.
As many of the 500+ students, faculty, and professionals in our audience face these challenges, the Summit offered hope, community, and a blueprint for resilience. Below we share key insights from our keynote panel on Day 1 of the Summit, featuring high-level perspectives on the new foreign aid landscape and a clear message for the future. We also highlight remarks from our keynote speaker, Ambassador Macharia Kamau, a lifelong diplomat, public servant, and one of the chief architects of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Power of Partnerships
Dean Karlan, former USAID Chief Economist and Professor of Economics at Northwestern University, opened our panel with a clear reminder: even at its peak, international aid is small relative to the scale of local government resources being spent in the service of social and economic development. The most transformative work the global development research community can do now lies in helping shape how those budgets are spent. “The biggest impact we can have is through evidence partnerships,” Karlan emphasized. “Helping governments spend their own money better is the greatest path toward leveraging our limited resources.”
This, he noted, is what makes gatherings like the AES so important. Not because any one study or researcher holds the key, but because collaboration across countries and sectors enables evidence to drive transformation.
Doing More with Less (or whatever we have)
A common thread across the discussion was the need to do more with increasingly limited resources. Catherine Kyobutungi, Executive Director, African Population Health Research Center (APHRC), shared how APHRC responded to USAID cuts by focusing on two things: “how to do more with less, and how to build back better.” Emilie Oftedal, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), noted that while Norway has sustained a high level of aid, the share directed toward LMICs has decreased due to the war in Ukraine. “We need to get as much [impact] as possible with the resources we still have,” she said, “and mobilize more capital.”
Karlan added that this mindset shouldn’t just be reactive: “Even in times of abundance, we should always be striving for the most effective use of funds. That’s the point of evidence—to do more with whatever we have.” He reminded us that shutting down USAID had nothing to do with its actual effectiveness, but was driven by politics. However, strong evidence might be able to help programs survive down the line.
All three panelists stressed the importance of long-term thinking in an era of constrained resources. Oftedal advocated for strengthening institutions through flexible core support. Kyobutungi echoed the need to fund models that allow relationships to grow and allow evidence to gain traction—“change happens when people gather around a shared goal—but we don’t have enough funding mechanisms that allow these relationships to be nurtured. We need frameworks that connect scientists with decision-makers in ways that are consistent, enduring, and meaningful.”
Evidence for Africa, by Africans
The Summit is one of the largest development economics gatherings in Africa. It’s become a high-profile platform where African scholars who are leading the generation of policy-relevant evidence on the continent can share their insights and connect with policymakers, funders, and collaborators. Amid global funding shifts, their leadership in addressing questions faced by African decision-makers is vital.
Ambassador Kamau’s keynote address on Day 2 of the Summit provided a powerful call to action: “Evidence is the language of transformation. Like any language, it must reflect the voices of all people.”
He emphasized that it is a scientific and moral imperative to center Africans in all stages of the research process—calling for “evidence for Africans, by Africans.” He challenged funders to invest in and expand African-led research institutions, particularly their research infrastructure; to ensure African leadership in research is structural, not symbolic; and to train scientists not only to be “discoverers of the truth, but also defenders of it.” Finally, he encouraged researchers to share their research findings widely—not just in journals but in “parliaments, schools, and communities.”
“The best way to predict the future is to create it”
Moderator Amos Njuguna, Chair of the Network of Impact Evaluation Researchers in Africa (NIERA), closed the keynote panel by asking: what would you say to the students in the audience wondering whether they chose the wrong time to enter the field of global development? The panelists urged them to stay curious, resilient, and dedicated. Oftedal emphasized that there are still “large opportunities to influence international development in this time of change” and that the sector “needs youth and fresh minds.” Kyobutungi powerfully concluded that “The best way to predict the future is to create it—if you want evidence to play a role, create a future where it does.”
The 2025 Africa Evidence Summit was a step in creating this future. The event reaffirmed the power of community and collaboration and local leadership in driving the generation of policy-relevant research. Platforms like this are always vital, but particularly now as we navigate a transformed global development landscape. CEGA is proud to co-host the Summit year after year as we strive to maintain connection, conversation, and action. We look forward to working with our partners to carry forward our mission of linking valuable insights from social science research to the decision-makers who can put it to work, while building a more inclusive and robust evidence ecosystem.
