2026 Seminars

At the AidEx Nairobi 2026 regional convening, a high-level discussion explored how access to livelihoods, finance and markets strengthens resilience and reduces vulnerability in fragile contexts.

Building on that conversation, this session will examine a critical challenge in global development: how to shift from externally driven interventions towards locally led approaches that place communities at the centre of shaping and sustaining pathways out of poverty.

While economic inclusion is increasingly recognised as essential to achieving SDG 1 (No Poverty), lasting progress depends on recognising communities as collaborators, decision-makers and agents of change, rather than beneficiaries of aid. The discussion will explore how localisation, economic inclusion and resilience-building can reinforce one another to create more effective and sustainable development outcomes.

A defining feature of the session will be the inclusion of a community representative as a core contributor, bringing a perspective grounded in lived experience. Their insights will demonstrate how communities design, implement and sustain their own solutions, while challenging conventional narratives about who leads development and how lasting change is achieved.

Bringing together community leaders, development practitioners, donors and private sector partners, the session will explore what it takes to move from externally designed programmes to locally led systems that strengthen resilience, expand economic opportunity and deliver long-term poverty reduction.