Why Think tanks Matter in Africa 2020

January 30, 2020

The Policy Center for the New South hosted a "Why Think Tanks Matter in Africa", in the framework of the annual Why Think Tanks Matter Forum, organized by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP). The Why Think Tanks Matter events serve not only to demonstrate the value and importance of think tanks around the world but also to highlight their instrumental role for determining in an early stage the new challenges that countries may face in various political and economic contexts. In this edition, speakers discussed the critical work think tanks perform in Africa according to their expertise.

Speakers
Mouhamadou Moustapha Ly
Economist, African Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Currently economist within the African Department of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, where he works on East African economies on various macroeconomic policy subjects and surveillance, he is also an affiliate professor of economics at Mohamed-6 Polytechnic university in Rabat (Morocco). Prior to that, Mouhamadou was senior economist at the Policy Center for the New South in Rabat (Morocco) working on development related issues and regional integration in the African continent. Mouhamadou also spent several years as assistant professor at Gaston Berger university in Saint-Louis (Senegal) and a lecturer at Auvergne university (France) and City university (London). He also worked as research fellow at the African Center for Statistics in the United Nations Econo ...
Khalid Chegraoui
Senior Fellow
Khalid Chegraoui is Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South and Vice Dean of Political Sciences and International Relations at the Faculty of Governance, Economic and Social Sciences of the Mohammed VI University.  He began his teaching and research career in 1992 as a Research Assistant Professor at Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah University in Fez after earning his first doctorate in African Studies from the Mohammed V University in Rabat focusing on West Sub-Saharan Africa. He also earned a Doctorate of State in African Studies from the same University in 2002, where he focused on Contemporary West Africa, in 2003 he became Professor of History and Political Anthropology at the Institute of African Studies, Mohammed V University, consultant on African and Midd ...
Luigi Narbone
Director, Mediterranean Platform & Professor of Practice, Luiss Guido Carli University
...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    Eugène Berg
    May 19, 2026
    L’Organisation pour la coopération et le développement économiques (OCDE), forte de 38 membres, a longtemps fait figure d’Organisation regroupant les « démocraties industrielles développées ». Cette image n’est plus vraie, du fait de l’adhésion en son sein de pays, qualifiés jadis en développement, et que l’on considère souvent comme faisant partie du « Sud global ». C’est ainsi que l’ont intégrée : le Mexique (1994), qui lui a donné un Secrétaire général, Angel Gurria, la Corée du ...
  • May 15, 2026
    In this podcast recorded during the Growth Summit, Naomi Kengurungu, Director of Marketing and Communication at the African Management Institute, discusses the key conditions needed for h ...
  • Authors
    May 15, 2026
    This paper is the third in a series of country and comparative studies that together comprise a research program on services as drivers of economic growth and structural transformation in the Global South. The paper analyzes the pattern of Tunisia's services-led economic growth from 2012- 2022 using a specialized three-category framework: knowledge services (KS), enabling services (ES), and local services (LS). Using data from the OECD Trade in Value Added (TiVA), Trade in Employmen ...
  • May 14, 2026
    In this episode of Africafé, Neema CHUSSI discusses the opportunities and challenges artificial intelligence presents for Africa. She highlights the need for the continent to develop its own AI governance approach, rooted in African democratic values, while addressing critical issues su...
  • May 13, 2026
    The meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing this week goes far beyond the traditional framework of a bilateral encounter between the world’s two largest economies. In many respects, it is a symbolic moment in the transition toward a new international order—one increasingly shaped not only by great-power competition but also by the Global South’s growing political consciousness and strategic relevance. ...
  • Authors
    Hajar Kabbach
    May 11, 2026
    Closing Morocco's gender employment gap could increase GDP per capita by 40-50 percent; yet female labor force participation stands at just 19 percent—among the lowest in the world and still declining. This policy paper argues that investing in the care economy is not merely a social expenditure, but a productive economic strategy with measurable returns. Drawing on international evidence from Uruguay, Mexico, Colombia, and India, the brief demonstrates that well-designed care syste ...
  • Authors
    Mohamed Benabid
    May 8, 2026
    La montée en puissance des technologies d'intelligence artificielle générative reconfigure en profondeur les dynamiques de désinformation à l'échelle mondiale. Sur le continent africain, cette évolution s'inscrit dans un contexte particulièrement tendu : accélération des usages numériques, vulnérabilités institutionnelles persistantes, séquence électorale d'une densité inédite. La désinformation synthétique — deepfakes, contenus automatisés, campagnes coordonnées — n'y constitue pas ...
  • May 6, 2026
    Dans cette interview, l’évolution de la politique industrielle marocaine est analysée : planification étatique (1960–1980), libéralisation (1980–1990), puis intégration dans les chaînes de valeur mondiales (à partir des années 2000). Aujourd’hui, face au protectionnisme et au nearshorin...