On the back of the publication of the 2023 African Economic Outlook report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in May 2023, Professor Kevin Chika Urama, Vice President and Chief Economist of the African Development Bank, and Mette Knudsen, the Executive Director who represents Ireland’s constituency on the Board of the African Development Bank, are doing a tour of several of the AfDB’s donor countries – including Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

During their stop in Ireland, the IIEA hosted Prof Urama for a keynote address where he discusses the recently published 2023 African Economic Outlook, the work of the AfDB, and the wider economic challenges and opportunities facing Africa. Additionally, Ms Knudsen provides opening remarks at the event and an interactive Q&A session follows the keynote address where both distinguished guests share their unique insights.

About the Speaker:

Kevin Chika Urama is currently the Chief Economist and Vice-President for Economic Governance & Knowledge Management at the African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Prof Urama is an elected Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS); a Distinguished Professor of the University of Nigeria; an Extra-Ordinary Professor in the School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University, South Africa; an Adjunct Professor at the Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs, Western Australia; and a Member of the Global Council on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the term 2021-2023. Prior to joining the AfDB, Kevin Urama was the inaugural Managing Director of the Quantum Global Research Lab, Switzerland; Executive Director of the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS); and Senior Research Fellow at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Scotland. Kevin holds an MPhil and a PhD in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Mette Knudsen is currently Executive Director in the Board of the African Development Bank in Abidjan, representing Denmark, Finland, India, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden. She has previously served as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for Political Affairs (DSRSG/P) in UNAMA, the UN mission in Afghanistan from 2021 to 2022. Before that she was Denmark’s Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2020 to 2021 and was Denmark’s Ambassador to Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, and the Seychelles 2015-2020. Earlier in her career she has served as Danish Ambassador to Greece and Cyprus (2012-2015), Ethiopia, the African Union, and ECOWAS (2004-2007). She has been head of the Africa Department in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2007-2012) and has also had postings in Zambia (2002-2004) and Tanzania (1995-1998).