Exchange to Change Sept 2017 20170911 E2C zomer web | Page 21

in the picture
a l umni
21
Nahom Girma Fikresilassie
DEM 2010-11| Ethiopia
Jonathan Kamkosi Banda
DEM 2004-05 |
Malawi
Where do you work?
Senior Private Sector
Officer at Africa
Development Bank
Group (AfDB) Country
Office Malawi working on
private sector development
in Malawi and also on portfolio management
for the AfDB’s Financial Institutional Projects in
Southern Africa.
How did IOB experience affect your life/
career? My IOB experience was a game
changer in my life and my career. It developed
my keen interest in addressing the development
challenges African countries face through
sustainable engagement of the private sector.
If you were the director of a research fund,
what is a research
question that you would agree to finance?
My passion is private sector development, with
a focus on how the private sector can engage in
a sustainable manner in addressing some of the
development challenges Africa is facing.
Where do you work? I am working at the Embassy of
Ethiopia in Brussels as First Secretary in the Development
and Technical Cooperation Affairs.
How did IOB experience affect your life/ career?
I would say the IOB experience has affected my life/
carrier positively in two major ways. The first one is that
it has broadened my perspective and view of the world
in a significant way. It allowed me to meet pleasant and
smart people along the way that made my stay not only
enjoyable but a truly learning one. I have also come to
know and appreciate the rich Belgian culture and the
hospitability of its people. By the same token, my stay at
IOB has also opened my eyes to wonderful personalities
and cultures of my classmates from my own continent,
Africa, to Asia and Latin America. Secondly, the whole
academic experience has changed how I approach my
day-to-day work for the better. I believe the combination
of these two has contributed for me to be assigned in
Brussels.
If you were the director of a research fund, what is a
research question that you would agree to finance?
I believe the availability and accessibility of
high quality data is crucial for an effective
and hands-on policy making as well
as to fighting corruption and lack of
good governance, especially in many
developing countries. Currently, rapid
technological advances and increasing
internet accessibility are playing a major
role in many aspects of our daily lives. So,
my research question would be how could
developing countries apply IT technology
to install a comprehensive institutional capacity
that enables them to produce better quality data in a
relatively short period of time for policy making, increasing
accountability and transparency and reducing corruption
simultaneously.
E xchange to change S eptember 2017