The President and Founder of Cameroon Economic Policy Institute has in the last eight years, succeeded in building one of the fastest-growing economic policy institutions on the African continent, laying grounds for aspiring youngsters to flourish in the hitherto dreaded field.
Economic policy is rated and considered around the world to be one of the most challenging fields to build a career. The field is notorious for its unpredictability and complexity due to a range of internal and external dynamics that on most occasions include political constraints which actors in the sector say can easily limit effectiveness. The situation is believed to be even more dire on the African continent where access to data and communication barriers remain a major limiting factor for those in the sector. The challenges, experts in the field say, have highly limited the number of persons daring to venture in the business of picking to build a career in the sector talking less of building flourishing ones that contribute to the overall well-being of their communities.
However, one Cameroonian youngster, Kouam has been able to fearlessly change the narrative. The youthful President and Founder of the Cameroon Economic Policy Institute, a globally-recognized body that is specialized in researching crucial policy questions and translating them into action, has under his belt, eight years of professional experience in the economic policy business. The United Kingdom-schooled has Since venturing in the sector eight years ago, recorded groundbreaking successes in the areas of economic development, trade, private sector development and financial inclusion all under the economic policy scheme. The tried and tested financial expert and economist has also displayed outstanding performances in the fields of development financing innovation and technology policy, small and medium-sized enterprises financing, value chains and regional integration. Kouam has attracted plaudits from his peers and authorities at both the national and international levels for being a selfless, principled and community development-oriented figure with actions impacting thousands of lives in and out of Cameroon.
Tried and tested by multiple institutions
Kouam’s expertise have been tried and tested by several national and international institutions besides his organization, the Cameroon Economic Policy Institute, a company he is steadily work towards establishing as a global force in economic policy. Since creating the Cameroon Economic Policy Institute known by its acronym as CEPi, in May 2023, the company has under Kouam’s distinguished, itself as force to deal with in the field of economic policy. The institution has succeeded in providing skills-oriented training to at least 1000 Cameroonians each year since its creation, in the process, implementing a participatory approach to policy research, advocacy and decision-making. Kouam and the company also assists marketing teams in developing and delivering innovative campaigns to support activities on all social media platforms.
The company also writes, edits and publishes articles, reports and policy briefs on the Cameroonian economy on its website and local media. The institution equally raises awareness and funds by working with donors and members of civil society organizations across the nation. Under the guidance of the youngster, the company also works in supervising and monitoring the work of external professionals, contributors and consultants, fearlessly gaining new grounds in the formerly extremely limited sector. The various projects carried out by the Cameroonian and the company has attracted praises from local and international partners, placing the body and the youthful economic expert as one of the most trusted forces in the field.
Proven records across Africa, globally
Kouam’s strides has changed lives beyond the circles of the Cameroon Economic Policy Institute. He has left traces working for companies in Africa, Europe, Asia and a host of others, starring for institutions in the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark and a host of others. Since April 20222, the respected figure has been working as a contributor for The Economist Intelligence Unit, The EUI, an institution based in London in the United Kingdom. Between March 2023 and May 2023, he equally worked as a Public Policy Consultant for NATO Strategic Direction-South Hub.
Per experts, the Cameroonian’s role in the project helped in contributing to NATO’s thinking with a specially crafted scheme designed to equip NATO with a more efficient understanding of issues surrounding upcoming debt crises on the African continent and in the Middle East. Between November 2023 and March last year, Kouam worked for and provided his expertise as an Investment Analysts for Australian company, Nosis an all in-one company focused on tracking financial data from multiple asset classes all in one place. During the five-month stint with the institution, the Cameroonian among other things, assisted the company in researching companies and their financial state by notably examining their profits and losses in detail. He also engaged in creating financial models and reports designed to convey complex information succinctly and accurately while also keeping up to date with political, financial, and economic changes, and their possible impacts.
The youngster also broke new grounds in making result-oriented recommendations for the company anchored strongly on research and understanding the various political and economic events. Another major company that Kouam has worked and strived for is the London-based Roubini Global Economics where he was a Research Assistant. In the course of the eight-month collaboration with the company, he amongst others investigated, researched and carried out analyses on the impact of monetary and Central Bank policy by investigating various transmission mechanisms such as bank lending surveys, household credit growth and gross fixed capital formation. He equally worked in compiling and preparing various economic data sets for the company’s “global themes” including global currency pairs and commodities, macroeconomic indicator and various asset classes.
He has also worked Continuum Economics, London-based Company, as an Economist and Commodity analyst where he covered Oil, foreign exchange market and credit markets and macro for Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland. He has also worked as a Research Analyst for MC Saatchi Mobile, a company based in the United Kingdom and as a Research Editor for 4 4CAST4CAST also located in the United Kingdom.
A hero at home
Kouam’s strides at the international level has not limited his chances of working and making impact with institutions based in Cameroon and other regional nations on the continent. He has rendered services for dozens of well-respected companies including the award-winning Cameroonian organization, Nkafu Institute of the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation. Kouam served as a full-time staff at Economic Policy Analyst for Nkafu Policy Institute, a policy institute striving in the area of development-oriented policy schemes.
During the one year, eight month-long stint with the body, he was repeatedly lauded for his outstanding contributions in establishing the structure as one of the most referenced in the sector in Cameroon and out of the country. The youthful and charismatic professional economist has also worked as Research Fellow for the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation, a think tank which per its founders, seeks to advance Cameroon and Africa’s economic interest via evidence-based research and actionable recommendations. As a Research Fellow in Economic Affairs, he covered economic, Central Bank and trade policy via evidence-based findings and global best practices with his reform-oriented approach notably ensuring actionable recommendations and a community-driven approach to advocacy and policy change. While at the Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation, he also strategically researched economic and Central bank policy in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC zone with his work spanning across monetary policy normalization in emerging markets to intra-regional trade in the West African region.
Rich economic background
Kouam has a rich academic background. He holds postgraduate diploma in Business Administration and Management obtained in the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in the United Kingdom in 2018. While at the UK institution, he notably served as President of the London Student Union. He also holds a Master of Business Administration in the University of Wales in the United Kingdom. The youngster has also had stint at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.
