Location: Amesbury Ballroom

We’ll start the day with a recap of the past year and share more details about the new calculus and other exciting developments at the center. 

Dina H. Sherif, Executive Director, MIT KSC
Maria Yang, Vice Provost for Faculty, MIT

Poetry Reading by Donovan Alexander Beck

Location: Amesbury Ballroom

Dina H. Sherif, Executive Director, MIT KSC
Professor Jeffrey Sachs, University Professor & Director, Center for Sustainable Development in the Earth Institute, Columbia University  

Location: Amesbury Ballroom

The panel will explore how we can move beyond traditional measures of economic performance toward a broader framework that captures resilience, equity, and long-term prosperity.

Claude Grunitzky, CEO & Managing Partner, The Equity Alliance
Professor Daron Acemoglu, Faculty Co-Director of the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work, MIT
H.E. Dr. Ghada Waly, Former Minister of Social Solidarity, Egypt
H.E. Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President Office of the Vice President
Javier Lozano, Founder, Clínicas del Azúcar
H.E. Minister Mark-Alexandre Doumba, Minister of Digital Economy and Innovation, Gabon
Hon. Dr. Monica Musenero Musanza, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Office of the President, Uganda

Moderated by Dina H. Sherif, Executive Director, the MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship

Location: Amesbury Ballroom

Tracey Abbott, Founder, Leadership Current

Location: Amesbury Ballroom

As artificial intelligence reshapes economies, labor markets, and global power dynamics, a critical question emerges: who gets to design its future? This plenary will explore how machine learning can be developed and governed in ways that advance equitable growth, shared prosperity, and technological sovereignty for emerging and growth markets. Beyond technology itself, the discussion will examine how AI is transforming the future of work - redefining skills, productivity, and opportunity across industries.

Dr. Abeer Al-Humaimeedy, Associate Professor, King Saud University
Abdulakhad Kuchkarov, Advisor, IT PARK Uzbekistan
Kgothatso Meka, Founder & Managing Partner, Tiego Capital
Dr. Mona M. Hamdy, Founder & Managing Director, Anomaly
Hassan Fayed, CEO & Founder, Aydi Technologies

Moderated by Kathleen Kennedy, Executive Director, Center for Collective Intelligence

INVITATION ONLY

Location: Inman Square

The current model of venture capital and investment is misaligned with the realities of growth markets. It can be risk-averse, short-term, and impose Silicon Valley templates that stifle homegrown innovation. This panel confronts a central question: What does "fit-for-purpose" capital look like for the unique challenges and opportunities of growth markets?

Amr El Abd, CEO, Endeavor Egypt
Heather Henyon, Founding Partner, Mindshift Capital
Jason Jay, Director, the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative
Kola Aina, Founding Partner, Ventures Platform Fund
Sandeep M. Farias, Founder & Managing Partner, Elevar Equity; Chair & Co-founder, EPIC World

Moderated by Bunmi Akinyemiju, Founder & CEO, Venture Garden Group

All workshops (unless otherwise indicated by "invitation only") are open to conference attendees. Please register for your preferred workshops using the form link at the bottom of the conference program.

1. WORKSHOP: CAPITAL THAT IS FIT FOR PURPOSE
   The prevailing venture model used in growth markets is not localized; it is often risk-averse, and short-term, which stifles innovation in growth markets. This hands-on, by-invitation workshop confronts this misalignment. We will deconstruct outdated finance models and introduce Systemic Investing, an approach that intentionally links financial returns with local realities. 
   
   Location: Harvard Square
   Facilitators: Jason Jay, Director of the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative and Walid Bakr, Head of Strategy & Business Development, Middle East & Africa, Bühler Group
   
   

2. WORKSHOP: THE ROLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN BUILDING INNOVATION CAPACITY AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL THROUGH DEEP TECH COMMERCIALIZATION, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNIVERSITY MOHAMMED VI POLYTECHNIC (UM6P)
   The goal of the workshop is to launch a consortium of universities across global growth markets or focused on global growth markets, dedicated to accelerating and deepening their capacity to commercialize deep tech innovation as a contribution to building innovation capacity at the national level.
   Location: Porter Square
   Facilitator: David Hayes, Head of Entrepreneurship & Innovation, UM6P Global Hub
   
   

3. ROUNDTABLE: ENGAGING THE DIASPORA IN INNOVATION DRIVEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP GROWTH (By Invitation Only)
   The African diaspora holds immense financial power, yet remains the missing partner in Africa's growth story. This roundtable moves from identifying structural barriers to mapping a new path forward, exploring how we can strategically invest in the continent's most pressing opportunities.
   
   Location: Inman Square
   Facilitator: Ayo Sopitan, Founder & CEO, Metalex Commodities Inc 
   
   

4. ROUNDTABLE: THE COLLAPSE OF BRETTON WOODS: CHARTING THE WAY FORWARD
   As old systems come into question, an opportunity arises for designing an economic system for and by the global majority. The transition into this new system requires a careful orchestration that learns from the past and intentionally designs for a better future. This workshop will move from diagnosis to design, focusing on the specific financial and monetary architectures growth markets can create together to secure inclusive, sustainable, and self-determined prosperity.
   
   Location: Kendall Square
   Facilitators: Dr. Abla Abdel Latif, Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council for Economic Development and the Executive Director and Director of Research of The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES) and Mr. Marc Uzan, Founder & Executive Director, Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee
   
   

5. ROUNDTABLE: THE ROLE OF PHILANTHROPY IN BUILDING INNOVATION CAPACITY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SAWIRIS FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (By Invitation Only)
   The traditional charitable model of making grants to alleviate immediate needs is no longer sufficient to ensure long-term resilience. This roundtable zooms in on the critical for philanthropy in moving the needle on systemic challenges by shifting its role as a provider of a social safety net to a frontrunner in building innovation capacity, and in turn addressing root causes to pressing challenges.
   
   Location: Central Square
   Facilitators: Dr. Mona Atia, Professor, George Washington University and Dr. Munther Dahleh, Director of the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society and William A. Coolidge Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Location: Amesbury Ballroom

Thriving and prosperous economies are shaped by multiple stakeholders; universities that nurture new ideas, enablers who bridge gaps in talent and capital, policymakers who set the conditions for sustainable growth, and capital providers who provide the funding needed to turn ideas into reality. This panel brings together leaders from each of these stakeholder groups to talk about how multi-stakeholder action is a necessary ingredient of the new calculus for prosperity.

Funke Opeke, Founder & CEO, MainOne
Marc Alain Boucicault, Founder & CEO, Banj
Karima El Hakim, Partner, Plug and Play Africa; MIT KSC Foundry Fellow
Mohamed Musleh, Co-Founder, AdGPTise.com
Wayne Stocks, Managing Partner, University Technology Fund

Moderated by Emily Knight, CEO & President, The Engine