M-RCBG Senior Fellow-Led Study Group: Jumoke Oduwole
Monday, April 22, 4:15-5:30
M-RCBG Conference Room (B-102)
Nigeria is a trading nation, with an economy that urgently needs to increase its foreign exchange supply through non-oil exports, yet, Ports reforms are notoriously difficult to implement.
This session will explore the challenges faced by Ports users, particularly exporters, in Nigeria, and our firsthand attempts at reforming the system in the last few years. We will share the actions and tools that were employed in the reform process, the outcomes and lessons learned.
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole MFR will be joined remotely for this session by Dr. Titilola Akindeinde. Dr. Akindeinde has over 20 years’ professional experience leading, managing, and advising PFM, tax, and macro fiscal programmes in the context of development countries. Titilola is currently the Executive Director, Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI), an initiative of the International Centre for Tax and Development, based at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy where she leads the development of policy-relevant research, knowledge, expertise, and tools to support governments to raise more local government revenue more equitably and fairly. Throughout her career, Titilola has worked with governments at the highest levels in UK, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Malawi and Zambia.
This in-person study group / discussion is open only to HUID holders.
M-RCBG welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs. To request accommodations or ask questions about access provided, please email: mrcbg@hks.harvard.edu
Dr. Jumoke Oduwole MFR, is currently Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and Investment in the Office of the Vice President. She served in the previous Presidential Administration from November 2015 to May 2023, first as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade, and Investment, and then as Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business. Since July 2016, she and her team have facilitated the mandate of the PEBEC from ideation to implementation of impactful reforms for MSMEs. Under her watch, Nigeria moved up an unprecedented 39 places in the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings and was twice recognized as a top ten reformed economy in three years. In 2022 she was appointed Governance Advisor to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Governance Lab and has been the recipient of a number of awards, including a national honour, Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR). Dr. Oduwole has served on various specialized reform committees in the federal government such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation Committee and the Tax Policy Reform Committee. She chaired the Technical Working Team on Legislative Imperatives for the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025 and was instrumental in the conceptualization and formation of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) in 2017. A global thought leader, writer and speaker, Dr. Oduwole is on loan to the federal government from Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria, where she taught international economic law. From 2013 to 2015 she was holder of the Prince Claus Chair in development and equity at the International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. Jumoke sits on the Board of Trustees of the Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS) in South Africa and previously served on the Board of Ecobank Nigeria. While an M-RCBG Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, Jumoke will interrogate the role of businesses in strengthening government reforms. Her faculty mentor is John Donahue, Raymond Vernon Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Email: olajumoke_oduwole@hks.harvard.edu