## Capacity Development in Africa: the Faces behind the Numbers

_IMF Blog, April 7, 2016_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Capacity Development in Africa: the Faces behind the Numbers](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2016/04/07/capacity-development-in-africa-the-faces-behind-the-numbers)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2016/04/07/capacity-development-in-africa-the-faces-behind-the-numbers/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/blogs/articles/2016/04/07/capacity-development-in-africa-the-faces-behind-the-numbers/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/blogs/articles/2016/04/07/capacity-development-in-africa-the-faces-behind-the-numbers/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Carla Grasso
- Published: April 7, 2016

---

### Overview
- Author: Carla Grasso
- Date: April 7, 2016
- Versions in: عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)
- Central premise: Without good data, it is difficult to assess how an economy is performing and formulate smart policies that help improve lives.
- Illustration of progress: Mozambique went from having no national accounts or consumer price index to creating one of the leading statistical agencies in Sub-Saharan Africa in little over twenty years.
- Field engagement: The author’s 10-day visit in early March provided first-hand observations of IMF capacity development work in sub-Saharan Africa.

### Peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing
- Observed practice: A workshop in Tanzania organized jointly by the IMF and the central bank where officials from across the region discussed expanding access to finance and financial vulnerabilities.
- Value emphasized by participants: Experience-sharing outside formal courses—“peer-to-peer learning”—is important for capacity development.
- Objectives of peer learning platforms:
  - Facilitate policymakers facing similar challenges to learn from each other.
  - Help set common policy goals.
- Example of outcomes:
  - Senegal is using peer learning to implement its new development strategy with the goal of becoming an emerging market economy within the next two decades.
  - Senegal is drawing on experiences from Cape Verde, Mauritius, and Seychelles to:
    - introduce tax identification numbers,
    - set up credit information bureaus,
    - develop tourism and special economic zones.

### Hands-on learning and integration with policy advice
- Approach: Capacity development is integral to IMF dialogue with member countries and goes beyond issuing policy advice or technical reports to working hands-on with officials.
- Practical collaboration areas:
  - Country teams and fiscal experts work together when advising how to broaden the tax base or spend more productively.
  - Strengthening knowledge management systems to make expert knowledge easily shareable throughout the IMF.
- Tailoring: Capacity development must be tailored to country needs and integrated into development strategies.
- Presence: Anchoring capacity development in the economic realities of countries is easier when the IMF is present on the ground in regionally based centers.
- Training example: The Africa Training Institute in Mauritius hosted a regional conference on the future of monetary integration in Africa, relevant as the region plans deeper monetary integration including setting up an East Africa Monetary Union.

### Fiscal frameworks, commodity shocks, and building cushions
- 2014 initiative: The IMF co-sponsored a major conference in Mozambique on the theme of “Africa Rising,” recognizing the risks that natural resource wealth can become a curse without strong frameworks.
- Policy focus: Work with governments to begin putting in place strong fiscal frameworks to manage resource revenues for current and future generations.
- Changing context:
  - Fast forward two years, officials see the urgency of stronger fiscal frameworks as they grapple with the effects of oil and other commodities’ plunging price.
  - This underscores the need for countries to build cushions and develop the capacity—in good times and in bad—to respond to potential shocks.
- Partnerships: IMF capacity development relies on close work with recipient countries and many partners around the world whose financial support enables the provision of capacity development advice.

### The people behind the numbers
- Motivating insight: Face-to-face engagement and human stories underscore the purpose of capacity development—improving lives and futures.
- Personal observation: Visit to Watoto Wetu orphanage in Tanzania where children sang as a reminder of the real-world impact of economic policy and capacity development.

*Source: Capacity Development in Africa: the Faces behind the Numbers — Carla Grasso, April 7, 2016.*

---

## Content in this bundle

- **非洲能力建设：数字背后的面孔; iMFdirect博客; 2016年4月7日**
  - [非洲能力建设：数字背后的面孔; iMFdirect博客; 2016年4月7日 (Markdown version)](/external/chinese/np/blog/2016/041116c.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [非洲能力建设：数字背后的面孔; iMFdirect博客; 2016年4月7日 (PDF)](/external/chinese/np/blog/2016/041116c.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **アフリカの能力構築：数字の裏にあるもの: カルラ・グラッソ iMFdirect ブログ 2016年4月7日掲載**
  - [アフリカの能力構築：数字の裏にあるもの: カルラ・グラッソ iMFdirect ブログ 2016年4月7日掲載 (Markdown version)](/external/japanese/np/blog/2016/040716j.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [アフリカの能力構築：数字の裏にあるもの: カルラ・グラッソ iMFdirect ブログ 2016年4月7日掲載 (PDF)](/external/japanese/np/blog/2016/040716j.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Desenvolvimento de capacidades em África: os rostos por trás dos números**
  - [Desenvolvimento de capacidades em África: os rostos por trás dos números (Markdown version)](/external/lang/portuguese/np/blog/2016/040716p.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Desenvolvimento de capacidades em África: os rostos por trás dos números (PDF)](/external/lang/portuguese/np/blog/2016/040716p.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Развитие потенциала в Африке. Люди, стоящие за цифрами**
  - [Развитие потенциала в Африке. Люди, стоящие за цифрами (Markdown version)](/external/russian/np/blog/2016/040716r.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Развитие потенциала в Африке. Люди, стоящие за цифрами (PDF)](/external/russian/np/blog/2016/040716r.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **040716s**
  - [040716s (Markdown version)](/external/spanish/np/blog/2016/040716s.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [040716s (PDF)](/external/spanish/np/blog/2016/040716s.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

---

## References

- [عربي](http://blog-montada.imf.org/?p=4146)
- [a workshop](http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2016/pr1689.htm)
- [regionally based centers](http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/afritac.htm)
- [Mozambique](http://www.imf.org/external/country/moz/rr/index.htm)
- [Africa Rising](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2014/car052914a.htm)
- [Tanzania](http://www.imf.org/external/country/tza/rr/index.htm)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2016/04/07/capacity-development-in-africa-the-faces-behind-the-numbers_