Burundi’s transition to a path of sustained and inclusive growth requires effective strategies to tackle the causes of multidimensional economic, political, and environmental fragility that has characterized its economy since the early 1990s. The National Development Plan for 2018–27 assigns a central role to the private sector in transforming the Burundian economy into an attractive (for investment) and compete (regionally and internationally) ecosystem that generates job-creating and sustained growth over time. Finance and insurance must feature prominently into this agenda. In particular, there is a need to develop the capital and microfinance markets, expand digital financial services, expand long-term saving instruments, improve access to long-term financing for new and emerging sectors (including small and medium enterprises), and reduce investment risk in labor-creating and growth-generating sectors. This panel will present the state of finance and insurance industry in Burundi, their potential and challenges in supporting the national goal of achieving sustained private-sector led growth.
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Zoom link beginning October 13 at 4pm ET: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
All participants are invited to a reception following the panel in the Atrium on the 2nd floor in Gordon Hall.
PERI African Development Program Speaker Series is sponsored by the Political Economy Research Institute.
Event Start Date & Time | October 13, 2023 4:00 pm |
Location |
Gordon Hall Conference Room (3rd Floor) |
Frederic Ntimarubusa holds a Doctor of Law degree from the University of the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Currently Chief Executive Officer of Burundi Insurance Corporation (BICOR), Dr Frederic Ntimarubusa also has served as Director General of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) and Secretary General of the East and Central Africa Social Security Corporation (ECASSA), a regional organization based in Arusha, Tanzania that promotes social security for all in the region and facilitates cooperation for the harmonization of social protection policies between member countries - Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He is also Vice-President of the Association of Insurers of Burundi and in this capacity, works on improving insurance coverage in the country, especially universal health insurance coverage.
Léonce Ndikumana is Distinguished Professor of Economics and co-Director of the African Development Policy Program at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT). He held management positions at the African Development Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). He is an Honorary Professor of Economics at the University of Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. His research focuses on African development and Macroeconomics and covers the issues of external debt and capital flight, financial markets and growth, macroeconomic policies for growth and employment, and the economics of conflict and civil wars in Africa.