Public Policy in Africa Initiative

We favor a circular vision whereby we take into consideration, in addition to the economy, the society and the environment.

The mission of the PPAI is to promote evidence-informed policies, economic liberty, entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment, human rights, democracy, government integrity, effective and fair justice systems that help countries in Africa prosper in free, fair and sustainable economies.

We believe

It is vital for Africa which is under-researched to invest in collecting fresh, cheap and better data and develop new models and in using the findings and recommendations forevidence informed policy at the local, regional and national levels.

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Circular vision

The mutations happening in our African economy, society and environment and how they interact together are difficult to understand - we need to, for better decision-making.

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Data driven

By collecting better data on the environment, society and the economy, Africa can power innovations in the fields of heathcare, house & road constructions, new sustainable energy, governance, education, internet, engineering, geology, climate changes, entrepreneurship et cetera.

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Evidence-informed policy

The prescription to help solve a problem in our community which concerns a large number of people, requires a diagnostic (research study) which provides relevant information concerning the causes of the problem amongst other things. Evidence-based conclusions are obtained and converted into policy prescriptions in an easy-to-read language to the attention of decision makers.

“We can no longer continue to make policies for ourselves, our countries, our region and our continent on the basis of whatever the westerners will give us. It will not work, it has not worked...Our responsibility is to charter a path which is about how we can develop our nations ourselves.”

—Ghanian President His Excellence Nana AKUFO-ADDO’s Speech, 07 December2017

 “only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable.”

— Milton Friedman

“The society that puts equality before freedom will end up with neither. The society that puts freedom before equality will end up with a great measure of both.”

— Milton Friedman

“Basic institutions that protect the liberty of individuals to pursue their own economic interests result in greater prosperity for the larger society.”

— Adam Smith

“...where effective competition can be created, it is a better way of guiding individualefforts than any other... regards competition as superior not only because it is in mostcircumstances the most efficient method known but even more because it is the only methodby which our activities can be adjusted to each other without coercive or arbitraryintervention of authority.”

— Frederick Hayek

"The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge."

— Arthur Lewis

"The end of Law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law there is no freedom."

— John Locke

read our latest publications

The Gendered Dimensions of Politics and Governance in Zimbabwe

March 18, 2024

Leveraging Women In Peacemaking - Women And Peacebuilding In The Sahel

December 19, 2023

Leaving No One Behind: A Policy Blueprint For Eradicating Hunger In Sub-saharan Africa

November 12, 2023

Pathways to evidence-informed and inclusive regulation on artificial intelligence in Africa

October 2, 2023