On November 20, the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Chinese Research Society of African Affairs(CRSAA) and the Symposium on African Development and China-Africa High-quality Cooperation was held at the Xianlin Campus of Nanjing University. The conference was sponsored by CRSAA and undertaken by the Institute of African Studies of Nanjing University and the Academy of Belt and Road Initiative of Nanjing University. Nearly 100 African studies scholars and experts from all over China participated in this academic event. Teachers and students from CWAS of UESTC were invited to participate in the conference.

The seminar held three symposiums including Symposium on China-Africa International Development Cooperation, Symposium on African Development and Related Issues, and Graduate Students Session. The experts and scholars who participated in the conference and the graduate students with selected papers made special speeches. Bruce Emmanue, PhD Researcher and Priscilla Owusu-Ansah, Master Student from CWAS of UESTC made speeches titled “The Effect of the expansion of E-Commerce on the African Market” and “Assessing the impact of Livelihood empowerment against poverty(LEAP) program in reducing poverty in the Dohanayil area of northern Ghana” respectively.

Bruce Emmanue said in his speech “The Effect of the expansion of E-Commerce on the African Market” that gobalization and integration of financial markets are as a result of the growth of information communication technology, The accessibility of mobile phones, the rapid growth of internet penetration and the adoption of information technology (IT) innovations of products and services have enhanced production and sales in Africa through the use of electronic payment systems and the availability of goods, therefore boosting the strong basis for e-commerce development on the continent. His study, therefore, seeks to assess the impact of the expansion of e-commerce on the African Market. Specifically, the study explore the overview of the digital economy and e-commerce platforms in Africa. Secondly, the study investigates the effect of e-commerce on the African Market through its contribution to the economic and social development in Africa. Finally, the study examine the impact of e-commerce in the context of Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and suggests policies for the e-commerce expansion in the African Market.

In “Assessing the impact of Livelihood empowerment against poverty(LEAP) program in reducing poverty in the Dohanayil area of northern Ghana” , Priscilla Owusu-Ansah pointed out that poverty has long been a developmental challenge in the Global South, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, various strategies and programs, such as the Millennium Development Goals, have been implemented in recent decades to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. Since Ghana’s independence in 1957, various governments have implemented a variety of policies, plans, programs, projects, and strategies aimed at accelerating growth and development and reducing poverty. The Livelihood empowerment against poverty program (LEAP) is a social cash transfer that was introduced as a scheme in Ghana that offers cash and health care to severely disadvantaged families, aiming to reduce poverty in the near term while also encouraging long-term human capital growth. Her study is primarily focused on the LEAP social grant program in Ghana and how it has aimed to assess the program's impact on poverty reduction in rural Ghana, expecting to justify and assess the steps taken by Ghana’s successive governments to reduce poverty and insecurity and making contribution to the body of knowledge on poverty reduction measures in Ghana and around the world. The results of this study are intended to contribute to knowledge base on social protection in Ghana and the world at large and bring to bear some of the challenges of LEAP intervention while providing recommendations.