The African Development Bank has appointed Professor Kevin Chika Urama as Chief Economist and Vice President for the Bank's Economic Governance and Knowledge Management complex. The appointment is effective from the 1st of April 2023.

An internationally recognised development economist, Urama, a British citizen, has over 30 years of Africa-wide and global experience in economic policy and knowledge management. Before this appointment, he was Acting Chief Economist and Vice President at the African Development Bank. He is also Senior Director for the Bank's African Development Institute, a position he has held since October 2018.

As Acting Vice President, Urama, under the leadership of Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, introduced innovative flagship knowledge products, including the Macro-Economic performance and country-focused Reports, which have significantly raised the impact of the institution's annual Africa Economic Outlook report.

Before joining the African Development Bank, Urama served in various executive leadership positions in academia, international organisations, and the private sector. He was the inaugural Managing Director of the Quantum Global Research Laboratory in Zug, Switzerland; Executive Director of the African Technology Policy Studies Network in Nairobi Kenya; and lecturer at the University of Nigeria.

Urama holds a PhD in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, an MPhil in Land Economy from Cambridge University, and a bachelor's and Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Nigeria.

Urama has published numerous articles in various scholarly journals and media, and has served on many international and inter-governmental scientific panels.

Commenting on his appointment, Urama said: "I would like to thank the President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Adesina, for appointing me as the Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management complex at the African Development Bank Group. I am confident that together with the amazing teams in the vice presidency and across the Bank Group, we will build on the institution's role as the leading provider of knowledge solutions to drive inclusive growth and sustainable development in Africa."

Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina said: "I am pleased to appoint Professor Kevin Chika Urama as Chief Economist and Vice President for the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management. Professor Urama is a respected global development economist, and a business leader with extensive global experience in economic policy and knowledge management. He will lead the team and deliver on the Bank's mandate on Economic Research, Economic Governance & Knowledge Management."

Contact:

Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Communication and External Relations Department, email: [email protected]