Kigali, Rwanda
The Africa NextGen Economist Prize, created by Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report, in partnership with the African Development Bank, has been awarded to Abdoulaye Ndiaye, a 37-year-old Senegalese economist, assistant professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business and affiliated with the Finance for Development Lab.
Presented in Kigali, on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum, the prize aims to spotlight a new generation of African economists whose research helps renew economic thinking on the continent and inform public policy. For this first edition of the Africa NextGen Economist Prize, the jury chose to recognize Abdoulaye Ndiaye for the rigor, originality, and relevance of his research in addressing the economic challenges facing African states.
Selected from more than 70 candidates from 14 African countries, Abdoulaye Ndiaye is a graduate of École Polytechnique and holds a PhD from Northwestern University in the United States. He conducts research at the intersection of public finance, development economics, and political economy. His work seeks to identify the institutional and market constraints that limit African states’ ability to ensure households, mobilize domestic resources, and preserve macro-financial stability. His research focuses on unemployment insurance in economies with high levels of informality, tax productivity, and sovereign debt management, with findings that can be directly applied to the design and evaluation of public policies.
Through Abdoulaye Ndiaye’s work, which combines structured macroeconomic models with data produced in partnership with national administrations, the jury sought to distinguish research of immediate value to African governments, financial institutions, and private investors.
Upon receiving the prize, Abdoulaye Ndiaye said: “Receiving this prize moves me deeply. What this prize means to me is that a jury of African economists has judged that my research serves not only the academic community, but also African citizens, private-sector investors, and public decision-makers on our continent.”
The winner also called for stronger ties among African economists: “My hope is that this prize will inspire younger generations to turn to research, and to see it as a vocation worthy of a lifetime’s dedication. Finally, I invite my fellow African economists to form a network, to work together on the issues specific to our continent, and to claim, at the table of intellectual influence and decision-making, the place that belongs to us. No one will give us that place: it is up to us to build it, through the rigor of our work and the solidarity of our efforts.”
For Aurélie M’Bida, editor-in-chief of Jeune Afrique, “this first edition confirms the importance of giving greater visibility to African economists who think through the continent’s transformations from the perspective of its own realities. By recognizing Abdoulaye Ndiaye, the jury is rewarding rigorous, useful research oriented toward public action.”
Nicholas Norbrook, editor-in-chief of The Africa Report, added: “African economic debates need new voices capable of connecting academic excellence, a fine-grained understanding of institutions, and concrete impact on the continent’s public policies. Abdoulaye Ndiaye embodies this ambition, and his career perfectly illustrates the spirit of the Africa NextGen Economist Prize.”
The selection process for the Africa NextGen Economist Prize is based on a system bringing together academic partners and leading figures in African economic debate. Candidates were first shortlisted on the basis of their applications with the support of the Foundation for Studies and Research on International Development, or Ferdi, in collaboration with the editorial teams of Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report.
The nominees were then submitted to the vote of an independent jury composed of Anthony Simpasa, Director of the Macroeconomic Policy, Forecasting and Research Department at the African Development Bank; Vera Songwe, Chair of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility; Daouda Sembène, Director of Africatalyst; Mahmoud Mohieldin, Egyptian economist and UN Special Envoy on Financing the Sustainable Development Goals; Grieve Chelwa, Associate Professor of Political Economy and Chair of the Social Sciences Department at The Africa Institute; Karim El Aynaoui, Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South; and Alban Ahouré, Professor at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny and Senior Fellow at Ferdi.
As the winner, Abdoulaye Ndiaye will receive a €10,000 grant as well as editorial visibility through an interview in Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report, complemented by training offered by Ferdi.
