EIB-GDN Program in Applied Development Finance

About the Program

The Global Development Network (GDN) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have partnered to create the EIB-GDN Program in Applied Development Finance to study the impact of projects in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries financed under EIB’s Impact Financing Envelope. The purpose of the program is to provide a select group of highly qualified and motivated young researchers a practical opportunity to hone their impact assessment skills, by working on real-world projects in private sector development funded by one of the world’s leading financial institutions, under the mentorship of top international experts. The researchers will be inducted into the Program as Candidate Fellows; at the end of the 12-month program cycle and on satisfying all program requirements, they will receive joint certification from EIB and GDN as EIB-GDN Fellows in Applied Development Finance.
Read more about the program here. You can find the EIB press releases here and here.

Eligibility, Location and Scope of Work

The Fellowship is open only to nationals of ACP countries. Once inducted into the program, Candidate Fellows will be assigned projects from EIB’s investment portfolio in these countries. There will ideally be a match between the investment geographies and the residencies of the researchers, which may be a factor in selection of the researchers. While EIB will make every effort to match location with project assignment, Candidate Fellows may be required to travel to countries outside of their home countries.
Candidate Fellows will be assigned projects either on an individual or joint basis. Given the wide range of EIB’s projects in the ACP region, the Candidate Fellows can expect to work on some of the most interesting and challenging areas in private sector development. Projects in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 cycles have included, among others, mobile payment services, energy guarantee initiatives, microfinance, and internet service provider and other technology startups.
The full list of countries can be found at this link.

Benefits

The program offers a unique opportunity to the researchers to use and improve their skills and knowledge in impact investing and development finance fields. Qualified young researchers interested in evaluation will get a practical opportunity to hone their impact assessment skills by working on real-world projects under the mentorship of top international experts and to work with the EIB, GDN, and with young, innovative private sector companies. There is also the opportunity, in some cases, to work together with other research partners. The program is designed to provide career growth and learning opportunities along multiple dimensions, including soft-skills, modeling consumer preferences and business problems, formulating theory-of-change, econometric and methodological issues, and writing skills.
For successful candidates, the program offers the following benefits:

Firsthand experience in the rapidly developing fields of Impact Investing and Development Finance;
The opportunity to apply academic knowledge and training to real world private sector development projects;
Deepening of subject matter expertise in evaluation methodologies, with mentoring from some of the world’s leading evaluation experts;
Working with two leading international institutions;
Professional certification;
Inclusion in a knowledge network which can work locally in ACP countries for national and regional development; and
Part-time commitment with excellent financial support.

What We Are Looking For

The program aims to fast track the professional development of promising young researchers and research professionals in the field of evaluation and impact assessment. The ideal candidates should be first-rate, early career researchers or research professionals at universities, think tanks, government, development institutions, economic consultancy, or in professional transition. Applications from qualified female candidates are particularly encouraged. The typical profile of an inductee should be as follows:

Subject matter knowledge: Demonstrated academic knowledge and/or professional experience in impact investing, development finance or impact evaluation or assessment. For those without professional experience, the doctoral dissertation should be focused on impact evaluation or assessment.
Academic credentials: PhD in Economics, Finance or Business with significant exposure to the Social Sciences or Development. Candidates with specialization or experience in International Finance (with deep knowledge of currency markets, financial markets, and instruments, including derivatives), Agricultural Economics (with understanding of supply chains), or sustainable, renewable and off-grid energy technologies are particularly encouraged to apply.
Ability and willingness to think and work creatively, flexibly and proactively, in cooperation with other partners: candidates should have the ability to work independently and proactively and should be able to demonstrate that, for example through experience in research consultancy or through independent and self-driven collection of field data. Preference will be given to candidates who, in addition to academic credentials, have employment or other substantive experience with the private sector.
Language Skills: Demonstrated professional written and oral communication skills in English. Some of the projects may be in Francophone Africa or the Caribbean, for which fluency in French or Spanish may be required.
Age: The program targets professionals of up to 35 years of age. However, slightly older, but otherwise qualified, candidates will also be considered.

Financial and Non-financial Support

Each researcher inducted into the program will receive a stipend of €15,000 (to cover time costs), along with a grant of up to €10,000 to cover all direct and indirect expenses of conducting the research (including field trips, data collection and analysis). These will be disbursed in installments through the length of the 12-month program cycle and will be tied to deliverables and contingent upon satisfaction of all program requirements. GDN will provide administrative, management and logistical support.
See FAQs relating to remuneration, deliverables and other details here.

Meet the Fellows

In every cohort, the program inducts diverse and highly qualified group of researchers from all across the ACP region. The 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 researchers are:
2017-2018

Yesuf Awel, Ethiopia (PhD, Maastricht University)
Francis Hypolite Kemeze, Cameroon (PhD, University of Ghana)
Guylaine Nouwoue Njofang Dtchouya, Cameroon (Masters, University of Toulouse)
Charles Yaw Okyere, Ghana (PhD, University of Bonn)
Oluwasola Omoju, Nigeria (PhD, Xiamen University)
Mariam Sangare, Mali (PhD, University of Toulouse)
Bassirou Sarr, Senegal (Doctoral candidate, Paris School of Economics)
Gloria Uwingabiye, Rwanda (Doctoral candidate, University College London)
Eleni Yitbarek, Ethiopia (PhD, Maastricht University)

2018-2019

Abdi Yuya Ahmad, Ethiopia (PhD, Aalborg University, Denmark)
Franklin Amuakwa-Mensah, Ghana (PhD, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden)
Laura Nelima Barasa, Kenya (PhD, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands)
Edward Cooke, (PhD. University of Sussex, The UK)
Hamidou Jawara, (PhD, University of Kiel, Germany)
Gilles Quentin Kane, Cameroon (PhD, University of Yaounde, Cameroon)
Timothy Kinoti, Kenya (PhD Candidate, Jomo Kenyatta University, Kenya)
Sied Hassen Mohamed, Ethiopia (PhD, University of Gothenburg, Sweden)
Soazic Elise Wang Sonne, Ethiopia (PhD candidate, UNU-MERIT)
Muhammed A. Usman, Ethiopia (PhD, University of Bonn, Germany)

Read more about them here.

Meet the Expert Advisors

Candidate Fellows will receive mentoring from five of the foremost experts in evaluation and impact assessment, listed below. They have extensive experience in academic and institutional settings on breadth and depth of topics in the field. The expert advisors will be assigned to the selected researchers based on researchers’ backgrounds and the projects they will be working on.

François Bourguignon, Emeritus Professor, Paris School of Economics, and Former Chief Economist, the World Bank
Shahrokh Fardoust, Research Professor, ITPIR, College of William and Mary
Emmanuel Jimenez, Executive Director, International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)
Arianna Legovini, Manager, Development Impact Evaluation, The World Bank
Alexandros Sarris, Professor of Economics, University of Athens

Read more about the Expert Advisors here.

Selection Process

Candidate Fellows will be selected through a three-stage process:

Initial Screening: In this stage, applications will be judged on the following criteria:
1. Relevance of academic training,
2. Professional experience,
3. Private sector experience,
4. Research experience,
5. Professional experience in evaluation and impact assessment,
6. Academic knowledge of evaluation and impact assessment,
7. Written communication skills and career aspirations, as stated in the Statement of Purpose (SoP), that will be judged on:
  1. Language,
  2. Motivation,
  3. How well the candidate explains the fit of the program to his/her background.
8. Location, i.e. match with project geographies.
Written Assignment: Candidates who pass through the screening stage will be issued a written assignment designed to test their grasp over basic statistical and econometric concepts,their understanding of impact evaluation (a case-study) and their written communication skills
Interview: Candidates will be ranked on the combined scores they receive in the previous two stages, and shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by skype or over the telephone to assess their oral communication skills and overall fit for the program.

The profiles of the finalists will be reviewed by the Expert Advisors and EIB for final selection.

The written assignments for Program Cycle II can be downloaded here: Set 1, Set 2.

How to Apply

To apply, please visit https://gdn.catsone.com/careers

The last date for submission of application is 05-May-2019.

Additional Details

No Objection Certificate: If selected, the candidate has to provide a No-Objection-Certificate from his/ her current employer or PhD supervisor.

More Information

For more information, contact Anindya Chaudhuri, Senior Economist at achaudhuri@gdn.int, marking copies to Abhay Gupta, Consultant at abhayg@gdn.int and eib.2016@gdn.int.