By Aalaa Halaka
Dr. Albert G. Zeufack is chief economist for Africa at the World Bank. He was a panelist on the 1st plenary session of our 25th annual conference in Kuwait, filling in for the Vice President of the World Bank Africa Hafez Ghanem. Following the theme of the plenary session “Knowledge, Economic Networks, and Development Policy”, Dr. Zeufack expresses the World Bank’s growing investment in supporting research networks across Africa, with a continent-wide approach.
More on the practical solution side of the dialogue, Dr. Zeufack drew attention to a continent-wide moonshot project that the World Bank is launching in Africa on the digital economy. Stemming from the Bank’s belief in the importance of knowledge creating and sharing as a pillar and driver of their work, Dr. Zeufack stresses their commitment to working with researchers and policymakers to generate evidence-based, data-driven knowledge that guides policy making in the continent.
Finally, Dr. Zeufack emphasizes the role of knowledge networks and research institutions such as the ERF and the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) in supporting knowledge production through promoting access to quality data and building the capacity of young researchers in the continent.
The Economic Research Forum’s 25th Annual Conference is held in Kuwait City, on 10-12 March, 2019, under the theme of Knowledge, Research Networks, and Development Policy. . Visit the conference website to find out more about the event and access papers, videos and blogs.
