AfDB appoints Urama as VP, Chief Economist

African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced the appointment of Prof. Kevin Urama as Chief Economist and Vice President, Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Complex, with effect from April 1, 2023.

A passionate and result-oriented economist, Urama has over 30 years of Africa-wide and global experience in economic policy and knowledge management.

Prior to this appointment, Urama served as Acting Chief Economist/Vice President for the Economic Governance and Knowledge
Management Complex of the Bank from October 1, 2021, doubling as Senior Director for the African Development Institute at the Bank, a position he held from October 2018.

From 2016 to 2018, he was Senior Advisor to the President of AfDB Group on Inclusive and
Green Growth Strategy, Policy Development, and Implementation. He had also served as a senior consultant to the bank in various capacities, even before becoming a full-time employee in 2016.

As acting VP, Urama introduced innovative flagship knowledge products for AfDB, including Macro-economic Performance and Outlook (MEO) Reports as well as Country-focused Reports (CFRs), and significantly raised the impact of the bank’s yearly report on Africa’s Economic Outlook (AEO). He also led the establishment of the Public Finance Management Academy for Africa (PFMA) and several strategic reforms to reposition the bank as a leader in providing knowledge solutions for Africa’s development.

Commenting on the appointment, AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said: “I am pleased to appoint Urama as Chief Economist and Vice President for the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Complex.

A respected global development economist, business leader with extensive global experience in economic policy and knowledge management, Urama is expected to lead the team and deliver on the bank’s mandate on Economic Research, Economic Governance and Knowledge Management.

He is an elected Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS); a distinguished professor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN); an adjunct professor at the Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs, Murdoch University, Western Australia; and was an Extra-Ordinary

Professor in the School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University, South Africa; and a Visiting Professor at the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, University College, London.

Urama holds a doctorate in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; an MPhil in Land Economy from Cambridge University; a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from UNN.