About the EPM Program

At the beginning of the 1990s, it was apparent that existing masters programs in Africa and overseas could not adequately meet the economic management training needs in the context of debt crises and structural reforms that were occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.  With the assistance of the Economic Development Institute (EDI) of the World Bank, the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) based in Harare launched an initiative in 1994 to develop a new Masters Degree Program in Economic Policy Management, aimed at training government officials primarily from sub-Saharan Africa. 

Through this initiative, two EPM programs were established in 1994: An “Anglophone” Program at McGill University in Montreal (Canada) and a “Francophone” Program at Centre d’ Etudes et de Recherchés sur le Development International (CERDI) of Auvergne University at Clermont – Ferrand (France). These programs targeted promising mid – career policy advisors and managers from developing countries, especially in Africa. McGill was required to establish 2 EPM Programs in Anglophone universities while CERDI was supposed to do the same in Francophone universities.

 A  meeting held in Nairobi  on 5^th  June 1995, involving representatives of the ACBF, the AERC Secretariat and McGill set up the selection process for the in-Africa EPM Program and drew up the list of possible partner universities (University of Ghana, Legon, University of Nairobi, University of Ibadan, University of Dar es Salaaam, Makerere University and University of Zimbabwe).  Makerere University and University of Ghana, Legon were selected to host the EPM Program in Anglophone countries while Younde II and Abidjan Universities were to host the Program for Francophone Africa.

At Makerere University, EPM is hosted at the Faculty of Economics and Management. The 12 months MA progromme boosts of over 400 alumni spread over the African continent. The programme has had Participants from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Rwanda,, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Liberia, Lesotho, and Sudan.

The overall goal of the program is to build a highly competent and capable human resource capacity base in the region to improve the efficiency of the public and private sectors in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa through the enhancement of capacity for economic policy analysis and management. The program aims at training individuals to be well-rounded economic policy advisors, who will contribute to the management capacity of government ministries, central banks, parastatals and non-governmental organizations. Specifically, the program seeks to (a) Provide high level training, focusing on both the theoretical and practical aspects of economic policy management; and (b) Train policy advisors in macroeconomic management for developing countries.