News & Events

The Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA) held a strategic meeting with the Centre for Health Economics and Development (CHECOD) on March 30, 2026, to strengthen  institutional collaboration.

The meeting brought together  representatives from both organisations to discuss opportunities and strategies aimed at   strengthening health economics and research  through shared expertise and coordinated efforts.

A key highlight of the meeting was the proposal to formalize the partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Both organizations emphasized the importance of establishing a structured framework that would guide the collaboration. Priority areas identified for collaboration within health economics include: education and training, research, and policy engagement/ advocacy. 
 

The Executive Director of the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa, Dr. Chukwuka Onyekwena, participated in  the Growth Summit 2026, held from March 24–26 at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Rabat, Morocco. The summit was convened by the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS) in collaboration with the Center for Global Development (CGD) and Growth Teams (GT) and h brought together policymakers and practitioners to address unique economic challenges facing Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) amid evolving  on global geopolitical shifts.
Building on the success of the inaugural Growth Summit held in October 2024, this second edition  themed “Economic Growth in a Changing Geopolitical and Development Landscape,” focused on  identifying actionable, evidence-based interventions to drive  sustainable economic growth. The program featured curated discussions and presentations  of global strategies, with an emphasis on equipping participants with scalable solutions tailored to the specific  challenges of the Global South.
Over the course of three days, participants engaged in  showcasing practical examples of growth-promoting interventions, exploring regional growth challenges and opportunities, and deepening partnerships among leading academics, policymakers, funders, and development practitioners working to advance  growth.
 

The Tobacco Control Data Initiative (TCDI) team led by Dr. Adedeji Adeniran,Director of Research at CSEA, alongside the International Institute of Legislative Affairs (IILA) team, Ken Marau (Kenya Country Lead for TCDI) and Winlight Harrison, (Assistant Digital Communication and Advocacy Officer) paid a courtesy visit to the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) on March 12, 2026. The visit aimed to discuss continued collaboration in research and data use to  address tobacco use in Kenya. During the meeting, the TCDI team expressed appreciation to NACADA for its role as  a key stakeholder and continued support in advancing evidence-based approaches to tobacco control. Discussions focused on strengthening collaboration in  joint research, enhancing data sharing, and improving the use of the TCDI Dashboard to inform policy and programmatic interventions targeting tobacco use.
The TCDI team also paid a courtesy visit to the Division of Drugs and Substance Abuse Control (DDSAC) at the Ministry of Health. The visit acknowledged the Division’s critical leadership and coordination role in implementing tobacco control initiatives in Kenya. The team expressed  appreciation for DDSAC’s  continued partnership and its technical review of the dashboard pages. The meeting reaffirmed the importance of sustained collaboration in leveraging data to inform policy decisions, track progress, and strengthen national tobacco control efforts.
The visits reinforce the importance of strong partnerships between TCDI and key government institutions, highlighting the role of collaboration in advancing data-driven tobacco control interventions in Kenya. 
 

The CSEA team, led by the Executive Director, Dr. Chukwuka Onyekwena, alongside Drusilla David (Head of Communications), Dr. Chidozie Uzoma-Nwosu (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow), Dr. Isiaku Raifu (Research Associate), Anthony Okon (Research Fellow), and Gift Ejeh Ojima (Communications Officer), paid a courtesy visit to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) on March  11, 2026.
The primary objective was to introduce the Centre’s research capabilities and explore collaborative pathways that align CSEA’s evidence-based policy work with the Council’s mandate for industrial self-reliance. In recognition of  CSEA’s technical expertise, the Director General of RMRDC extended an invitation to the Centre to join the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the upcoming Africa Raw Material Summit, scheduled for June 9–11, 2026. The summit will present a high-level platform for CSEA to contribute to  continental discourse on mineral resource governance and industrial policy.
 

The East Africa Data Governance Conference 2026 was held in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 10 -11, 2026. The event brought together key policymakers, technologists, civil society leaders, and academics to discuss balancing innovation with data protection. Co-hosted by the Open Institute and Amnesty International Kenya, the event focused on the theme “Navigating Duality in Data Governance: Innovation and Accountability in East Africa”. 
CSEA was represented by its Director of Research, Dr. Adedeji Adeniran, who presented the organisation’s  latest research titled “Implications of AI for Data Governance Development in Africa: Evidence from a Survey of Digitally Enabled Firms.”
The  conference convened  a  distinguished lineup of speakers, including Immaculate Kassait, SC, MBS, Kenya's Data Commissioner, who delivered the keynote address. The discussions explored data sovereignty, privacy-enhancing technologies, and human-centric data, as well as how the region can harness data and emerging technologies to drive innovation while strengthening responsibility, trust, and accountability in data governance.