APJ@HKS

The Africa Policy Journal is partnering with Collateral Benefits to share stories of Africans about their experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown. In this #APJChat, Editor-In-Chief Ada Ezeokoli speaks with Co-Founder and Co-Editor of Collateral Benefits, Susana Edjang, about her vision for the project and how she hopes to see Africa grow chan change through the experience of the pandemic.

Interview of Dr. Murangi on the Nama and Herero Genocide by The Africa Policy Journal @ Harvard Kennedy School

Dr. Albert Zeufack, World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa, sat with Africa Policy Journal Lead Interview Editor, Mez Belo-Osagie. Dr. Zeufack answered questions on a wide variety of topics including his career path in academia and policy-making, digitization, Africa’s infrastructure gap, and Chinese engagement with the African continent.

the Harvard Africa Policy Journal and Harvard African Law Association hosted Jidenna at Harvard Law School. APJ Interview Editor Jacob Omorodion (JD ’20) sat down with Jidenna to discuss his latest album, the 85 to Africa Tour, the “Black Atlantic,” and transnational black identity.

Teju Abisoye, Acting Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), sat down with APJ editor Oladeji Tiamiyu for an interview. Formerly the Director of Programmes and Coordination at LSETF, Mrs. Abisoye is a lawyer with experience in development finance, project planning and management. Watch video of this interview here: https://apj.hkspublications.org/teju/

Olawale Rotimi Opeyemi, CEO & Founder of JR Farms Africa, sat down with the Africa Policy Journal for an interview during his visit for the 2019 MIT Africa Innovate Conference. JR Farms Africa has agribusiness operations in Nigeria, Rwanda, United States and Zambia respectively. In Nigeria JR Farms operates cassava value chain processing centers and in Rwanda they process, package, and export coffee to various parts of the world. Watch the video interview here - https://apj.hkspublications.org/olawale/

Thione Niang, Co-founder and Managing Partner of AKON Lighting Africa, sat down with our Partnerships Editor, Katherine Townsend for a conversation during his visit as a speaker at the 2019 MIT Africa Innovate Conference. In addition to his work with AKON Lighting Africa, Thione created the Give 1 Project, which promotes leadership and entrepreneurship through women empowerment and global leadership programs in its its incubation centers in over 30 countries. Watch the video interview here - https://apj.hkspublications.org/thione/

Adel Abdel Ghafar is a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings and at the Brookings Doha Center, where he was previously Acting Director of Research (2016-2017). He specializes in political economy and his research interests include state-society relations and socio-economic development in the MENA region. Abdel Ghafar is the author and editor of several volumes and reports including: “Egyptians in Revolt: The Political Economy of Labor and Student Mobilizations 1919-2011“ (Routledge, 2017), A Stable Egypt for a Stable Region (European Parliament, 2018), The European Union and North Africa: Prospects and Challenges (Brookings Institution Press, 2019) and “The Middle East: Revolution or Reform?” (Melbourne University Press, 2014). Just recent he is one of the authors of “Empowered decentralization: A city-based strategy for rebuilding Libya” 2019

The APJ sat down with Babatunde Fagbohunlu for an interview during a visit for the 2019 Africa Development Conference. Fagbohunlu is a partner at Aluko & Oyebode where he heads the firm’s dispute resolution and maritime practice groups, and specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration with particular emphasis on complex commercial matters. He regularly represents Nigerian, foreign and multi-national clients in high-profile proceedings before the ICC International Court of Arbitration and the London Court of International Arbitration. Fagbohunlu is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association; International Bar Association; London Court of International Arbitration; and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

The Africa Policy Journal conducted an interview with Anthony Nkinzo Kamole. Mr. Nkinzo is the Managing Director for the Democratic Republic of the Congo National Investment Promotion Agency (ANAPI). Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Nkinzo held the position of Partner specialized in Tax and Legal advisory at ABN Nzailu & Co. From January 2015 to December 2016 and from September 2012 to December 2014 respectively, He was the Chief of Staff at the Portfolio Ministry in charge of implementing and aligning rules and laws to increase efficiency and was the Chief of Staff at the Deputy Prime Ministry of Budget. Prior to this governmental experience, Mr. Nkinzo also worked as a Tax & Legal Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers DRC from and as Human Resources Business Partner at Nestlé. Mr. Nkinzo is a graduate in General Management from HEC Paris (France) 2014 and holds a Master in Law from Université de Kinshasa and a Master in International Public Law from Université de Kinshasa and Université Catholique de Bukavu. There are a few inaudible moments in the recording due to microphone issues.

The Africa Policy Journal sat down with Gwen Mwaba, the Director & Global Head of Trade Finance at the African Export Import Bank, for an interview. Ms. Mwaba was visiting Cambridge as a part of Harvard’s 2019 Africa Development Conference. Watch video of this interview here - http://apj.hkspublications.org/gwen_mwaba/

We sat down with Ambassador Walter Carrington, the former US Ambassador to Nigeria and former US Ambassador to Senegal, for an interview. Ambassador Walter Carrington was visiting for the 2019 Africa Development Conference at Harvard. He is an alumni of both Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Watch video of this interview here - http://apj.hkspublications.org/walter-carrington/

The Africa Policy Journal sat down with Stephen Kauma, the Director & Global Head of the Human Resources Department at the African Export Import Bank, for an interview. Mr. Kauma was visiting Cambridge as a part of Harvard’s 2019 Africa Development Conference. Video of the interview can be found here - http://apj.hkspublications.org/stephen-kuama/

We sat down with Ambassador Fatima Kyari Mohammed for an interview during her visit for the Africa Development Conference. Ambassador Mohammed is the Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations. Before her appointment, she was Senior Special Advisor to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and worked with the organization for over a decade. Prior to joining ECOWAS, she was the Executive Director at West Africa Conflict and Security Consulting. She has also previously worked as a Programme Manager for regional cooperation in West Africa at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS and as Regional Project Manager for security policy projects in West Africa with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Fatima holds a Master of Arts in Peace, Security, Development and Conflict Transformation from the University of Innsbruck, Austria and a Master of Arts in Sustainable Economic Development from the UN University of Peace in Costa Rica. She also holds an MBA in Business Communication from the European University in Switzerland and a BA in Environmental Design from the Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria.

Dr. Mima Nedelcovych is the Founder and CEO of AfricaGlobal Partners and was recently named President Emeritus and Senior Advisor of the Initiative for Global Development (IGD). Prior to taking up his position at IGD, he was a Partner at the Schaffer Global Group (SGG) and was the lead Partner in the establishment of the Markala Sugar Project in Mali, serving as the Chairman of the Société Sucrière de Markala. Dr. Nedelcovych served in the Administration of President George Bush from 1989 to 1993 as the U.S. Executive Director to the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. At the beginning of his career he served in the US Government as Peace Corps Country Director in Gabon, as Special Assistant to the Assistant Administrator for Africa at USAID, and as Special Projects Officer at the US Trade and Development Agency. Dr. Nedelcovych is on the Board of Directors of the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative (NDPI) and is a Founder and former Board Director of the Corporate Council on Africa as well as a Member of the inaugural US EXIM Bank’s Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee.

We sat down with Ipumbu Wendelinus Shiimi for an interview. Mr. Shiimi has served as the Governor of the Bank of Namibia since 2010, he was visiting Harvard as a keynote speaker at the 2019 African Development Conference.

Professor Aiah Gbakima, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Technical and Higher Education visited Harvard as part of the Center for African Studies’ “A Forum On Sierra Leone”. During his visit he sat down with the Africa Policy Journal’s Interview Editor Hamza Sebti for a conversation. Watch the video of this interview here: http://apj.hkspublications.org/aiah-gbakima/

Guy Baron, Chief Investment Officer, Rwanda Development Board came to Harvard to speak at a panel during the 2019 Africa Business Conference entitled, “Regionalizing Trade & FDI: Is Africa Ready To Grow From Within?”. During his visit he was interviewed by the Africa Policy Journal’s Interview Editor, Ameze “Mez” Belo-Osagie. Watch video of the interview here: http://apj.hkspublications.org/guy-baron/

Minister Nabeela Tunis, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, visited Harvard as part of the Center for African Studies’ “A Forum On Sierra Leone”. During her visit she sat down with the Africa Policy Journal’s Senior Interview Editor MbaMemme Onwudwe for a conversation. Watch video of this interview here - http://apj.hkspublications.org/nabeela-tunis/

Dr. Hynd Bouhia is the Chief Executive Officer of Global Nexus, a Morrocan based financial structure managing investment funds in infrastructure, clean energy, innovative technologies and education. Previously Dr. Bouhia served as the Head of Strategy and Development of Morocco’s Public Pension Fund, Director General of the Casablanca Stock Exchange and Economic Adviser of the Prime Minister of Morocco Dr. Bouhia received her Ph.D. in Environment Engineering from Harvard Universityand has a Diploma of Engineering from Ecole Centrale Paris in France. She also holds a M.A. in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. In 2008 she was ranked 29th of the 100 more powerful women of the world by Forbes Magazine and in 2012, she was selected among the 100 most powerful Arab women by Business Finance, and in 2015. Bouhia received the Oxford Said Business School certificate as a 2013 Archbishop Tutu Africa Leadership Fellow; and was elected into the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars, in 2016. Find an English language abstract of this interview here -https://apj.hkspublications.org/hynd-bouhia/