Ann Pettifor, the British economist widely recognized for her role in some of the most consequential debt relief efforts of the modern era, is set to headline the 9th Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference (GiTFiC) later this year. The gathering, scheduled for October 29 to November 2 in Accra, will focus on the second Global Debt Initiative and the maiden AfCFTA Tertiary Students’ Congress.
Pettifor rose to global prominence as one of the architects of the Jubilee 2000 campaign, a grassroots movement that mobilized world leaders and civil society to address unsustainable debt burdens in the developing world. The campaign ultimately secured the cancellation of more than $100 billion in external debts for 42 of the world’s poorest nations, reshaping international finance and setting a new precedent for debt negotiations.
Her influence was particularly felt in Nigeria during the mid-2000s. Working alongside the country’s Debt Management Office and then-Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Pettifor helped engineer a landmark deal with the Paris Club of creditors. The agreement, concluded between 2004 and 2005, wiped out over $30 billion in arrears and gave Africa’s most populous nation crucial fiscal space to stabilize its economy. In recognition of her contribution, former President Olusegun Obasanjo awarded her the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) in 2002—an honor rarely extended to foreign nationals.
Beyond debt relief, Pettifor has remained active in policy research and advocacy. She currently directs Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME), a UK think tank focused on sustainable finance, and serves on the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Commission, where she advises on climate finance and equitable economic strategies. At GITFiC 2025, she will deliver the keynote address and act as lead discussant for the Global Debt Initiative and the GITFiC Agenda 2031, bringing decades of experience to debates on Africa’s debt sustainability.
Selasi Kofi Ackom, Chief Executive Officer of GITFiC, emphasized that the Global Debt Initiative was born from Africa’s need to design its own solutions rather than rely on external prescriptions. “Over the past years, we noticed that solutions designed outside Africa for Africans were not helping the continent’s financial architecture,” he said. “This highlighted the need for an integrated, indigenous African financial architecture—cooked by Africans, made for Africans, and implemented by Africans. This vision gave birth to the Global Debt Initiative.”
With Pettifor at the helm of discussions, GITFiC 2025 is expected to spark critical conversations on debt reforms, trade integration, and Africa’s place in the global economic order.