This report describes the annual cluster meeting of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Africa regional management team (RMT) comprising of RC/RRs, CDs and some DRRs from 45 UNDP country offices in Africa, which took place between from 11 to 13 November 2016 at the Marriott Hotel in Accra, Ghana, with the objective to reflect and deliberate on “Africa’s Money for African development: A Future beyond Aid.”

The prelude to the cluster meeting was marked by a High-Level Dialogue hosted by the H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on 7 November 2019, at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, Ghana. This one-day event explored how Africa can optimize the use of its own resources, creativity and innovation to effectively finance Africa’s development.

The dialogue was intended to reflect on the future of development in Africa and indicate ways to capitalize on the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), as well as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This event was the first of its kind at a UNDP Cluster meeting, and it was convened to feature a profound interaction between a select number of Africa’s political, traditional and business leaders. Leading voices in culture, entertainment, media and academia were also invited to be part of the conversation.

There was a high level of media engagement and press interest leading up to the High-Level Dialogue event, which raised the visibility of the UNDP cluster meeting and offered an opportunity to stimulate discussions about the Renewed Strategic Offer in Africa, which aims to “leverage UNDP’s trust capital to support Africa’s transformation and human development through cutting edge advice, partnerships, innovation and programme support”. The Government of Ghana were gratified that the 2019 Cluster Meeting was being convened in Ghana, bringing together nearly 200 of the senior leadership teams, representing a new cadre of leadership across 45 Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, to listen to the President of Ghana and business leaders across various sectors explore potential areas for implementation of development programmes for more inclusive and prosperous futures. The Foreign Minister of Ghana Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey gave a highly publicized press conference a month before the event to welcome the UNDP Taskforce who had been deployed to support the country office in preparations for the Cluster meeting.

The cluster meeting itself involved all key departments and corporate groups at the RBA. The first day, 11 November focused on the “big picture” issues for RBA, such as “The Panel of the Wise” which featured insights from former RBA Directors, followed by a sectoral deep dive into the new Strategic offer. These presentations were framed by the position paper written by the new Chief Economist for the RBA - Dr Raymond Gilpin, which shared the scope of the theme “Africa’s Money for Africa’s Development: A Future Beyond Aid”.