How Africa Works: Success and Failure on the World’s Last Developmental Frontier

Development economist Joe Studwell discusses his FT-longlisted book on Africa's economic development in conversation with LBS's Sukrit Puri.

The Wheeler Institute for Business and Development and the Africa Business Club at London Business School host Joe Studwell for a conversation about his book How Africa Works, longlisted for the 2026 Financial Times and Standard Chartered Business Book of the Year Award. Drawing on a decade of research and travel across the continent, the discussion examines why conventional assumptions about Africa's growth prospects deserve reconsideration, what separates successful countries from struggling ones, and the roles of agriculture, urbanisation, demography and the state in development. The talk will be moderated by Sukrit Puri, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School.