Opening remarks/Left to right: Opirah Robert, Chief Technical Advisor, Ministry of Trade and industry; Dr Ian Miksch (GIZ); Ms Yemesrach Workie (UNDP); Dr Charles Ruranga (EPRN).
Kigali: The Economic Policy Research Network organized the 6th Annual Economic Research Conference that brought together researchers and policy makers to disseminate research findings from its scholars and those from other research and academic institutions.
The Conference targeted national and international researchers, academics, professionals and decision makers working in government, private sector enterprises and institutions, civil society organizations and development partners. This was the goal of the Economic Policy Network of Rwanda (EPRN), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in conjunction with the EPRN Annual Research Conference, Compact 2025, and the Food Security Portal, with support from the European Union.
The 6th Economic Research Conference aimed to provide a research platform and exchange forum for economic researchers from a wide spectrum such as academics, government officials, representatives of development partners, CSOs around the topic of “Building Productive Capacities for Structural Economic Transformation”. This was also an opportunity to brainstorm on our Country status with regard to the topic of productive capacities and suggest innovative policy solutions to achieve desired goals and targets.
The main theme of the conference was broken into six sub-themes:
- Enhancing productivity and competitiveness (incl. value chain linkages)
- Improving access to markets (EAC, AfCFTA, other regional integration initiatives)
- Promoting Made in Rwanda (domestic and external market capturing strategies)
- Strengthening human capital for Structural Economic Transformation
- Improving Business Environment for Structural Economic Transformation
The conference was highlighted by research paper presentations from representatives of partner institutions like The Africa Continental Free Trade Area: Impact Assessment for Rwanda by Yemesrach Workie (UNDP); and Trade and Poverty Branch (Reflections on Building and Utilizing productive capacities in Africa by Dr Patrick Osakwe (UNCTAD) followed by extensive Q&A sessions designed to engage not only high-level leaders in both research and policymaking, but also up-and-coming members of these communities, including mid-level policy analysts of EPRN network, students, and youth.
These individuals will subsequently play a critical role in Rwanda’s development, and their engagement in policy and research at all levels is important in ensuring the success of their future contribution. (End)