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Jean Van Wetter - CEO of Enabel

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België
Bruxelles / Brussel
Jean Van Wetter - CEO of Enabel

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Sharing news about Enabel as well as thoughts on international cooperation issues

28/10/2026

In een wereld waar meningen vaak sneller worden gedeeld dan beluisterd, zijn echte gesprekken belangrijker dan ooit. Onlangs had ik het genoegen te gast te zijn bij Amory Gillot voor de podcast Discours.

Een platform dat ruimte creëert voor open, respectvolle en genuanceerde gesprekken over de uitdagingen en kansen van onze samenleving. Tijdens ons gesprek hadden we het over de strategische rol die Enabel en internationale samenwerking vandaag spelen. In een wereld die geconfronteerd wordt met geopolitieke spanningen, klimaatverandering, migratie, gezondheidscrises en economische transities, zijn onze toekomst en welvaart meer dan ooit met elkaar verbonden. Internationale samenwerking is daarbij geen randthema, maar een strategische investering in stabiliteit, kansen en gedeelde vooruitgang.
We spraken ook over leiderschap, de noodzaak om verschillende perspectieven samen te brengen en het belang van dialoog in een steeds complexere wereld.

Bedankt, Amory, voor het boeiende gesprek en voor het creëren van een ruimte waar nieuwsgierigheid en verbinding centraal staan.

De aflevering verschijnt in de komende weken. Ik kijk ernaar uit om ze met jullie te delen.

28/10/2026

Building an international vision requires understanding the world through the eyes of others. That is why I always make time to meet with our partners and with new voices when they are in Brussels.

Last week, it was an honour to receive Steve Killelea, Australian entrepreneur, philanthropist, founder of the Global Peace Index and Executive Chairman of the Institute for Economics & Peace. Through his work, he has helped shape global thinking on the links between peace, development and prosperity.

I also had the pleasure of welcoming a delegation of health teacher trainers from Uganda, visiting Belgium to exchange experiences with our partners VIVES University of Applied Sciences on strengthening health education and training.

I was also delighted to meet Jacques Jonathan Nyemb, the President of The Okwelians, a Cameroonian "think-do tank" that promotes ethical leadership, social innovation, inclusive governance and sustainable transformation, while connecting ideas with concrete action for Cameroon, Africa and beyond.

Every conversation offers an opportunity to challenge assumptions, learn from different perspectives, and build the partnerships needed to navigate an increasingly complex world. That is how stronger international cooperation begins.

26/10/2026

On the occasion of Enabel’s participation in the Black Diaspora Fair in Brussels new month, I share here below my reflection on what could become a new pact between Europe and Africa.

Europe is ageing. Africa is the youngest continent on earth. What if, instead of viewing this reality primarily as a migration challenge, we saw it as a strategic opportunity?
What if Europe and Africa developed a genuine pact on human mobility and skills, based on a long-term assessment of needs on both continents? A partnership that invests in education and training, facilitates the circulation of talent, and promotes the exchange of knowledge, expertise and experience.

Young African professionals could help address labour shortages in key sectors across Europe. At the same time, experienced European professionals could contribute to skills transfer, education and institution-building across Africa.

And beyond mobility, should we not also rethink the role of diasporas? Every year, African diasporas transfer billions of euros to their countries of origin. These remittances already support millions of families. But could they also be mobilized more strategically, alongside public and private investments, to support entrepreneurship, skills development and local economic transformation, including through initiatives linked to Enabel's programmes?

Demography is one of the few trends we can predict with confidence. Have we been looking at this issue through the wrong lens?
Could a Europe-Africa Pact on Human Mobility, Skills and Diaspora Engagement become the next major chapter in cooperation between our two continents?

What do you think?

25/10/2026

I am often amazed that in many of today's debates about Europe's economic future, Africa does not feature more prominently.

Europe is facing profound challenges: an ageing population, the need to decarbonise its economy, growing competition for talent, and the imperative to innovate and remain globally competitive. Yet one of the most promising answers to these challenges lies just across the Mediterranean.

Africa is not only a development partner. It is a strategic partner for Europe's future prosperity. With its young and growing workforce, entrepreneurial dynamism, vast renewable energy potential and rapidly expanding markets, Africa can help drive the next wave of sustainable growth, innovation and industrial transformation.

In this context, Enabel offers a unique platform to bring together governments, investors, entrepreneurs and innovators around concrete opportunities. We have seen this repeatedly in recent weeks. One event I did not report yet on was the Green Industrialisation Days, co-organised 3 weeks ago at our office in Brussels with the Alliance for Renewable Electrification. It brought together an impressive community of actors committed to making this happen:
✅ More than 100 participants from over 20 countries
✅ More than 20 investors and financial institutions
✅ More than 100 business meetings organized in the Deal Room, in addition to countless informal networking and partnership opportunities

This week, through our work on decent work, the Scaling Forum on innovation, and other initiatives, we once again connected public and private actors around a common objective: turning ideas into jobs, innovations into scale, and partnerships into impact.

These events may focus on different themes, but they share a common conviction: Europe's competitiveness and Africa's economic transformation are increasingly interconnected. The value chains of the future, the markets of the future and many of the solutions to our shared challenges will be built together.

The question is no longer whether Europe should engage more with Africa. The question is whether Europe can afford not to

24/10/2026

Today is International Polio Day, a moment to celebrate one of humanity's greatest public health achievements and to renew our commitment to finishing the job. In this context, I was happy to attend yesterday at the city hall of Brussels the ceremony where Manneken P*s received his End Polio Now costume from Rotary International, alongside Philippe Close, Mayor of Brussels, Domenti Oxana, World Health Organization Representative to the European Union, and Xavier De Cuyper, member of Enabel board.

There is something fitting about seeing Brussels' most iconic symbol champion this cause. Small in stature but known around the world, Manneken P*s has long embodied resilience, optimism and a touch of irreverence. Yesterday, he became an ambassador for a message of global solidarity.

Polio cases have fallen by more than 99%, proving what international cooperation can achieve. Yet until the virus is eradicated everywhere, the job is not done.

At Enabel, we know that reaching the last mile requires strong health systems, trusted local partners and community engagement. The fight against polio reminds us that global challenges require global partnerships, and that international cooperation continues to save lives every day.

23/10/2026

I love moderating debates and bringing people together, especially when they come from very different sectors. Some of the best ideas emerge when perspectives collide. Yesterday, we brought together some of the best of Belgium: chocolate, diamonds, tourism, and port logistics, with representatives from Puratos, Antwerp World Diamond Centre, Joker, and Port of Antwerp-Bruges. What do they have in common? They all invest in Africa, are committed to creating decent jobs, and work with Enabel.

As part of the closing of our social protection programmes in Central Africa, we organized an international symposium on “Advancing Decent Work in Africa,” together with HIVA-KU Leuven. And when my colleague Géraldine Ladrière asked me to moderate the discussion, I immediately said yes.
Following a keynote by Merten Sievers from the International Labour Organization, we debated on how companies can partners with organizations such as Enabel to have more impact on social protection and create the stability and resilience that people and businesses need to thrive.

I have always been convinced that creating jobs in Africa and creating jobs in Europe are no longer separate agendas. Our value chains are increasingly interconnected. As I often say, industrialisation in Africa goes hand in hand with the reindustrialisation of Europe. The future lies in partnerships that create shared prosperity across continents.

A rich discussion and a powerful reminder that sustainable development, decent work, and economic growth are strongest when the public and private sectors work together.

Thank you to all panelists, Laure Clavel, Michaël Geelhand de Merxem Greet Huybrechts, Eva Vyncke, and to our superstar Géraldine Ladrière for a great organization!

22/10/2026

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending the award ceremony of the AI for Education Awards 2026, presented by d-teach online school to the Digify Africa Foundation for its innovative Kitso Learning Chatbot, a WhatsApp-based learning platform that helps young people, teachers and parents strengthen their digital literacy, online safety and responsible digital citizenship skills through accessible, self-paced learning.

Digify has been supported by Enabel through the Regional Teacher Training Initiative, funded by the European Commission. It is a powerful example of how complementary initiatives can reinforce one another. While the award recognises the quality and innovation of the Kitso platform, I am proud that Enabel support has contributed to strengthening Digifys capacity to work more systemically, expand its reach and scale its impact.

The event was also an opportunity to highlight something I strongly believe in: international cooperation is not a one-way street. Innovation does not only flow from North to South. The challenges of AI and education are global, and solutions can emerge from anywhere. Ideas developed in South Africa can inspire Belgium, just as European experiences can contribute to progress in Africa. This is what genuine partnership is about: learning from one another, challenging assumptions, and co-creating solutions to shared challenges.

Congratulations to Qhakaza Mbali Mthembui, and the entire Digify Africa Foundation team on this well-deserved award. Congratulations also to the D-Teach team for promoting innovation in education and creating opportunities for promising solutions to gain visibility.

And a special thank you to Dr Malebo Mabitje-Thompson, Ambassador of South Africa to Belgium, for hosting this inspiring ceremony and bringing together so many people committed to the future of learning Lieselot Declercq Koen Verlaeckt Joke Van Belle

22/10/2026

Do we care? That was the powerful question at the heart of the annual Be-cause health, the Belgian platform that brings together organizations and individuals active in global health, international conference, held last Tuesday at the Egmont Palace in Brussels.

I was delighted to introduce the afternoon session alongside Romeo Matsas from Mutualité chrétienne (MC) and Julie Meunier from CIRAD. Before speaking about health, I reflected on a broader concern: the slow disintegration of the multilateral system and the international cooperation architecture that has contributed to unprecedented progress in health, prosperity and stability over the past decades.

What strikes me most is how little attention this receives from the media and the wider public. Yet the consequences are very real. Health provides perhaps the clearest illustration. Without international cooperation, there are no effective responses to pandemics, no equitable access to vaccines, no coordinated disease surveillance, and no global health security. When health systems fail elsewhere, the consequences do not stop at borders. The same applies beyond health. Without strong international partnerships, economic opportunities decline, instability grows, migration pressures increase, and our societies become less resilient. In an ageing Europe, we also need trusted partnerships with the rest of the world to sustain our economies and care systems.

Isolation may appear attractive in uncertain times, but it is an illusion. Our security, prosperity and wellbeing are deeply interconnected with those of others. More than ever, we need to broaden the conversation and reconnect with a simple reality: caring for others is also caring for ourselves

21/10/2026

This gives me some hope in the brutal world we live in

21/10/2026

Innovation is not our biggest challenge anymore. Scaling innovation is.

Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of opening Enabel Scaling Forum, bringing together innovators, development actors, public institutions, philanthropies and private sector partners to reflect on a crucial question: how do we move from successful pilots to systemic impact?

My key message was that innovation does not happen by chance. It requires leadership and governance models that create the right conditions for experimentation, learning and calculated risk-taking. But leadership alone is not enough. If we want innovations to reach scale, we need stronger partnerships with the private sector. Businesses bring investment, expertise, networks and the capacity to expand solutions far beyond what any single public or development actor can achieve.

The challenges we face today, from climate adaptation to healthcare and economic inclusion, require us to work across sectors and build coalitions for impact. As we close our Wehubit innovation program and reflect on what comes next, one lesson stands out: innovation creates possibilities, but collaboration is what turns those possibilities into transformation. A big thank you to everyone who joined us today and special thanks to our innovation team: Toon Driesen Alizée du Bus Alice Bonjean Latifah Abdou (she/her) Arnaud Leclercq and all those who contribute every day to make Enabel a unique actor.
I look forward to continuing the conversation and building the partnerships that will help bring impactful innovations to scale

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Heures d'ouverture

Lundi	09:00 - 17:00
Mardi	09:00 - 17:00
Mercredi	09:00 - 17:00
Jeudi	09:00 - 17:00
Vendredi	09:00 - 17:00

Site Web

http://www.enabel.be/

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