Africa Roundtable

INSOL International Africa Roundtable on Insolvency Reform

The Africa Roundtable was established at a meeting organized by INSOL International in February 2010 in Dubai to:

• Provide a platform for high level dialogue with both private practitioners and public policy makers on insolvency reform in Africa.
• Set up a forum for a coordinated approach by international bodies, countries and experts by sharing experience and knowledge.
• Elevate insolvency reform on the African policy agenda.

The meeting was attended by representatives of INSOL International, the IMF, the World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation, UNCITRAL, International Association of Insolvency Regulators, OECD and practitioners from many African countries.

The first meeting of the INSOL Africa Roundtable was convened on September 30, 2010 in Abuja, Nigeria supported by the World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation and the International Monetary Fund. The Roundtable brought together policy makers and insolvency experts from a number of African countries (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia). In addition, the Senior Advisor on insolvency reform from the 17 West African OHADA countries also attended.

The Roundtable noted that the problem of overburdened courts was common and there was a need to encourage specialized insolvency judges. There was also extensive discussion about the need to strengthen political will across the continent to implement insolvency reform and improve understanding about the correlation between robust insolvency regimes and economic growth. Having uniform, coherent laws was felt to be an important element in this process. There was also consensus that the lack of "barriers of entry" and quality control for insolvency practitioners was a common problem, and that minimum qualifications along with better regulation and oversight were required.

The participants of the Abuja Roundtable agreed that the participation in the Roundtable led to an important sharing of ideas and experiences.

The second INSOL Africa Round Table was held in Cape Town, South Africa 16-17th September 2011. The theme of the two day meeting was "Preserving value in distressed businesses" and was held in partnership with The World Bank Group, supported by other international organisations including IMF. 55 government officials, regulators, policy makers, bankers, judges and practitioners from 16 Africa countries plus a delegation from the OHADA countries attended. One of the final sessions was a discussion on improving co-operation within the region, a number of suggestions were put to the table including making the round table an annual event, and the establishment of this web site where information can be shared between African countries. Any articles for posting on this site should be sent to Penny Robertson at pennyr@insol.ision.co.uk

Roundtable Reports

INSOL Africa Roundtable Abuja 2010 report – click here

INSOL World article 2010 - click here

INSOL Africa Roundtable Cape Town 2011 report – to follow

INSOL World article 2011 - click here

Information sharing
Link to INSOL Statement of Principles – A Guide to Global Approach to Multi-Creditor Workouts

Effective Insolvency Systems discussion paper by World Bank

Using existing insolvency framework to drive business recovery in Nigeria: The role of the judges by Anthony Idigbe

Out-of-Court debt restructuring

Mauritius - IP Regulations draft

Participation in the INSOL Africa Roundtable is by invitation only.