The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) organized an Inception Workshop on the African Governance Outlook (AGO) project in Accra, Ghana this February.

The AGO project is an initiative of the AfDB aimed at assessing issues pertaining to financial governance in Africa through the lens of political economy as analytical tool. Under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions, ACBF is tasked to lead in the implementation of a pilot phase of the project.

The workshop was aimed at introducing selected Country Field Partners to the AGO concept, the rationale for the project and the key research instruments to be used to undertake Country research. Participants from ten countries, namely: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sierra Leone attended the workshop.

Each of the Field Partners made presentations on Country Highlights on Financial Governance. Opening the workshop, the Chief Operating Officer of ACBF, Mrs. Grace Kaimila-Kanjo, restated the necessity of the initiative and recommitted ACBF to the partnership under which the project is being implemented. A representative of the AfDB, Mr. Gebre-Selassie Kalayu, emphasized the relevance of the AGO project and indicated that to the Bank, the AGO flagship project is of immense importance. He pledged the Bank’s commitment to the success of the project.

A joint team of institutional and expert representatives are working on the AGO project.

ACBF was represented at the workshop by Mrs Grace Kaimila Kandjo,Chief Operation Officer, Dr Kobena Hanson, Head  Knowledge and Evaluation Department, Mr. Dickson Antwi, Senior Program Officer and Coordinator of the Project at ACBF, Dr Robert Nantchouang, Knowledge Expert,  Ms Patience Jambaya, Finance Officer,  Dr  Bernard Nzo Guty , International Consultant AGO, and Ms. Mayen Ndiong Bertille, Junior consultant AGO.