8TH ANNUAL DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CONFERENCE 2026
About this event
We are pleased to call attention to the 2026 Annual Development Finance Conference (ADFC) to be held on 22nd and 23rd October, 2026. The conference brings together academics, policy makers, post graduate students and practitioners from around the world to present research, network, collaborate and engage in stimulating discussions that advance financial knowledge and research excellence. The 8th ADFC aims to provide a platform for the dissemination of cutting-edge research, innovative ideas, and novel approaches across all areas of development finance. The program will include keynote addresses, research papers presented in concurrent sessions and panels with journal editors. The conference will be held in a hybrid format, combining in-person and online sessions. THEME: Transforming Finance for Sustainable Development through Research Excellence, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies Sub Themes: 1. Development Finance and Financial Systems: Development finance institutions, financial systems, instruments, and products; Financing sustainable economic transformation; Financial inclusion and access to finance 2. Corporate Finance, Investment and Capital Formation: Corporate financial management; Investment decision-making and capital budgeting; Capital formation and financing strategies in emerging markets; Mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring 3. Capital Markets and Securities: Capital market development and regulation; Market efficiency and financial market microstructure; Portfolio management and asset pricing; Alternative investments and emerging asset classes 4. Banking, Credit Markets and Financial Intermediation: Commercial and development banking; Credit markets and lending innovations; Risk-based lending and financial intermediation; Microfinance and inclusive finance 5. Digital Finance and Financial Innovation: Financial Technology (FinTech); Digital Financial Services (DFS); Artificial Intelligence in financial services; Blockchain, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), digital currencies and crypto-assets; Digital payment ecosystems 6. Sustainable Finance and Climate Finance: Green finance and sustainable investment; Climate finance mechanisms; ESG investing and sustainable financial markets; Carbon finance and transition finance 7. Public Finance and Fiscal Sustainability: Public financial management; Public debt sustainability; Fiscal policy and government financing; Tax policy and revenue mobilization; Fiscal decentralization and intergovernmental finance 8. Public Finance and Fiscal Sustainability: Public financial management; Public debt sustainability; Fiscal policy and government financing; Tax policy and revenue mobilization; Fiscal decentralization and intergovernmental finance 9. Infrastructure and Project Finance: Infrastructure financing models; Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs); Project finance and infrastructure investment; Urban and municipal finance 10. Entrepreneurial Finance: Venture Capital; Angel Investment; Private Equity; SME financing; Startup financing ecosystems 11. Financial Risk Management and Financial Stability: Enterprise risk management; Credit market and operational risk; Financial crises and resilience; Systemic risk and macro prudential regulation 12. Accounting, Financial Reporting and Corporate Governance: Financial reporting and accounting standards; Audit and Assurance; Corporate Governance and Accountability; Integrated reporting and financial disclosure 13. Behavioural Finance and Financial Decision Making: Investor Behaviour; Household finance; Financial Literacy; Behavioural Asset Pricing; Decision making under uncertainty 14. Islamic Finance and Alternative Financial Systems: Islamic banking; Sukuk and Islamic Capital Markets; Ethical Finance; Blended Finance and Innovative financing mechanisms. 15. Finance for Economic Development and Industrial Transformation: Agricultural finance; Manufacturing finance; Health care financing; value chain finance; Financing industrialization and Structural transformation
Featured sessions
All sessionsKeynote: Strategies for Publishing in High Impact Journals
Students and Faculty in SSA are often disadvantaged in the process of identification and eventual publication in reputable high impact journals. This session explores the strategies scholars should use to tap onto the portfolios of High Impact Journals Publishing.
Keynote: From Inclusion to Ownership: Financing Africa's AI Future - Risk, MSMEs and the Next Frontier of Development Finance
Nairobi has been at the Centre of several significant discussions in 2026, the Nairobi AI Forum and the launch of the AI Billion initiative, the Africa Forward Summit, and the momentum behind the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD). Together, they are moving the conversation beyond adopting technology or expanding financial inclusion toward deeper questions of investment, ownership, risk and venture creation. The idea is that financial inclusion brings people into the system, but ownership determines whether they share in the value the system creates. The Central Question is: Will Africa merely participate in the AI economy, or will Africans own more of the enterprises, capabilities, data and value it creates?
Keynote: Decentralised Finance for Circular Fibre Supply Chains: Capturing New Value for Kenyan SMEs
Circular textile value in many developing economies is created locally but captured elsewhere. In Kenya, for instance, fibre producers, recyclers and informal waste workers generate material value that remains invisible to formal finance, leaving Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) locked out of credit and premium markets. This paper examines how decentralised finance (DeFi), anchored in Digital Product Passports (DPPs), can make that value visible, verifiable and financeable.
Keynote: From Prediction to System Design- Rethinking AIs Role in Investment Decision Making
AI has been integrated into Decision Making Processes including Investments. This session looks at the System Design thinking for Investment Decision Making
Coming up next
Keynote: Strategies for Publishing in High Impact Journals
Students and Faculty in SSA are often disadvantaged in the process of identification and eventual publication in reputable high impact journals. This session explores the strategies scholars should use to tap onto the portfolios of High Impact Journals Publishing.
Keynote: From Inclusion to Ownership: Financing Africa's AI Future - Risk, MSMEs and the Next Frontier of Development Finance
Nairobi has been at the Centre of several significant discussions in 2026, the Nairobi AI Forum and the launch of the AI Billion initiative, the Africa Forward Summit, and the momentum behind the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD). Together, they are moving the conversation beyond adopting technology or expanding financial inclusion toward deeper questions of investment, ownership, risk and venture creation. The idea is that financial inclusion brings people into the system, but ownership determines whether they share in the value the system creates. The Central Question is: Will Africa merely participate in the AI economy, or will Africans own more of the enterprises, capabilities, data and value it creates?
Keynote: Decentralised Finance for Circular Fibre Supply Chains: Capturing New Value for Kenyan SMEs
Circular textile value in many developing economies is created locally but captured elsewhere. In Kenya, for instance, fibre producers, recyclers and informal waste workers generate material value that remains invisible to formal finance, leaving Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) locked out of credit and premium markets. This paper examines how decentralised finance (DeFi), anchored in Digital Product Passports (DPPs), can make that value visible, verifiable and financeable.
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