The African Chief Economists Network (ACE-Network) was launched on Sunday, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
It is hosted by a partnership among the African Development Bank Group, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The event was attended by ministers, central bank officials, chief economists, academics, development practitioners, private-sector leaders and researchers from across Africa and beyond.
Speaking on behalf of the African Development Bank Group, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Senior Vice-President, described the launch of the ACE-Network as a landmark achievement that would strengthen Africa’s capacity to develop practical, evidence-based policy solutions.
She urged members of the new network to translate research into policies and actions that improve the lives of Africans.
The network aims to fill that gap by creating an informal, invitation-only community of chief economists and senior policy advisers to exchange evidence, coordinate research, identify emerging risks, and jointly develop policy recommendations for African governments.
Members will include chief economists from African development finance institutions and multilateral organisations, chief economic advisers to African presidents and prime ministers, deputy governors of central banks responsible for economic policy, heads of leading think tanks, deans of economics faculties, and senior private-sector economists.
Rather than establishing another formal institution, the network will operate as a collaborative platform, meeting annually alongside the African Economic Conference and holding quarterly virtual sessions and rapid-response meetings during major global or regional economic shocks.