Hippolyte Fofack Joins the SDSN as a Parker Fellow
The SDSN is pleased to announce that Dr. Hippolyte Fofack, a leading development and financial economist with more than 20 years of experience in leadership and management, development economics, banking and international finance, and academia, has been appointed as our organization’s newest Parker Fellow beginning May 1, 2024.
The Parker Fellowship was established by SDSN Association Board Member, Dr. Betsee Parker, to support an individual of world-leading excellence to promote the mission of the SDSN to achieve the SDGs. The Parker Fellow joins the SDSN Leadership Team for a one year term, with the possibility of renewal.
In his capacity as a Parker Fellow, Dr. Fofack will work closely with the SDSN’s Leadership to advance the SDSN’s work in Africa on a myriad of critical issues, including African monetary reform and development, international finance, and higher education.
"We are honored to have Dr. Fofack join us as a Parker Fellow. His deep expertise and pioneering efforts have been essential for shaping the future of African development and finance, as well as the global debate on financing development and efforts to reform the global financial system. The SDSN will benefit enormously from his insights, and I look forward to working closely with him to expand our work in promoting inclusive growth, knowledge sharing, and structural transformation across the African region,” said Professor Jeffrey Sachs, SDSN President.
Dr. Fofack has served in several capacities, including most recently as Chief Economist and Director of Research and International Cooperation at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), where he made significant contributions to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Before serving at Afreximbank, Dr. Fofack worked at the World Bank in operations and research, and as an economist for Great Lakes countries in Africa and Head of the Macroeconomics and Growth Program.
Dr. Fofack’s additional achievements include contributing to the development of the Integrated Macroeconomic Model for Poverty Analysis (IMMPA), a quantitative dynamic framework for analyzing the impact of policy and exogenous shocks on income distribution, employment, and poverty in low-and-middle-income countries; leading the conception and design of the Nelson Mandela Institution for Knowledge Building and the Advancement of Science and Technology in Africa; serving as a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences and a member of the American Economic Association and the African Finance and Economic Association; among others.
He has taught and lectured at several universities and research institutions, including most recently at Harvard University, where he delivered the inaugural “Africa Lecture” organized by Harvard Kennedy School’s Africa Policy Journal and Harvard’s Africa Center and Business and Government.
Dr. Fofack holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Lille, an advanced degree (DEA) in international economics and finance from the University of Bordeaux, and a Ph.D. from American University in Washington, DC.