On April 4, 2009, at the 15th annual International Development Conference at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA, a panel discussed the « Legal and Regulatory Environment for Investment in Africa », with a focus on achieving poverty reduction by private sector development and market integration. OHADA was recognized as a major actor in this effort. Jean-Baptiste Blanc, a barrister in France, a former assistant to OHADA's Permanent Secretary in 1998, and currently a Mid-Career Master in Public Administration candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School, organized the panel. Claire Moore Dickerson, Breaux Professor of Law at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, summarized OHADA's uniform acts and institutions, and discussed its contribution to commerce in West and Central Africa, as well as its future prospects. Justin Chinyanta, Fellow at Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Chairman and CEO of Loita Holdings Corporation, and a Barrister in Zambia, emphasized the contributions, direct and indirect of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), and noted that both NEPAD and OHADA are integral parts of a much larger integration effort on the African continent. For any additional information, please contact the panel coordinator, Barrister Jean-Baptiste Blanc, email : jbblanc33@gmail.com, or consult the IDC's website at: http://www.harvard-idc.com/index.html