Prof. Kevin Urama

Professor Kevin Chika Urama, FAAS is currently the Acting Chief Economists/Vice President for Economic Governance & Knowledge Management, African Development Bank Group. He is also the Senior Director of the African Development Institute at the African Development Bank Group, responsible for shaping and leading the bank-wide capacity development in the Regional Member Countries (RMCs) to accelerate delivery of the High 5 priorities of the Bank, the 2030 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063.

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, Murdoch University, Western Australia; an Expert Partner of the Africa Progress Group Chaired by Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and was Visiting Professor at the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, University College London. He is currently a member of the Global Council on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the term 2021 to 2023. Prior to his appointment as Senior Director of the African Development Institute, he was Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank Group on Inclusive and Green Growth – Strategy, Policy Development, and Implementation. Kevin has held various executive leadership positions in the academia, international organizations, the private sector, and is currently in a multilateral development bank. Prior to joining the African Development Bank, he was the inaugural Managing Director of the Quantum Global Research Lab established in Zug, Switzerland; former Executive Director of the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) established in Nairobi Kenya; Director of Research and Training of the ATPS; Senior Research Fellow at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute established in Aberdeen, United Kingdom; Deputy Chairman of the OMFIF Economists Network, and inaugural President of the African Society for Ecological Economics (ASEE), and Lecturer at the University of Nigeria.

Kevin holds a Ph.D. in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; an MPhil in Land Economy with a Distinction form Cambridge University; a Master of Science in Agricultural Economies from University of Nigeria, and a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics with a First-Class Honors from the University of Nigeria. He won the 2002-2003 James Claydon Prize for the most outstanding Ph.D. thesis in economics or related fields at St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge. He was named the Technology Executive of the Year by the Africa Technology Awards in 2012. He has published in various media and has served on / contributed to many international and inter-governmental scientific panels/reports including the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC); Green Growth Best Practice (GGBP); the International Resource Panel (IRP); the OECD Green Growth and Poverty Reduction Task Team; the UNESCO Governing Board of the International Research and Training Centre for Science and Technology Strategy (CISTRAT), Beijing, China; and the Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) Advisory Committee; the High Level Panel on Global Assessment of Resources for implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020; among others. He serves on various boards and global research committees to deliver inclusive green growth and sustainable development.