Vanguard Economics and the African School of Governance launch
new initiative to strengthen public financial management across Africa
The Public Finance for Prosperity and Resilience (PFPR) initiative will support African governments to
build effective, modern public finance systems in a post-aid world.
KIGALI, 26 August 2026 – Vanguard Economics and the African School of Governance today
launched the Public Finance for Prosperity and Resilience (PFPR) initiative at the Africa Mindset
Reset Forum in Kigali. The partnership, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU),
will strengthen public financial management (PFM) systems in African countries.
PFPR responds to a clear and growing need. As traditional development assistance contracts, African
governments must mobilise their own resources, manage them well, and translate them into
services that reach citizens. PFPR will support that shift by combining hands-on technical assistance,
leadership development for public officials, and the responsible use of emerging technology in the
management of public money.
The initiative will work across three connected areas. Through technical assistance, PFPR will engage
directly and over the long term with finance ministries and public bodies, deploying on-the-ground
teams that support reform from design through to delivery. Through capacity building, it will deliver
a fellowship and peer-to-peer learning programme that equips government officials and develops a
generation of African public finance leaders. On technology and innovation, the initiative will apply
artificial intelligence, blockchain, fintech, and e-governance in practical ways to budgeting, revenue
collection, expenditure tracking, and citizen-facing services.
“Beyond technical skill, Africa’s hardest public finance problem is a shortage of
ethical leaders equipped to reform the system from the inside, with the right mindset
about public funds they hold in trust. The new PFPR, developed with Vanguard
Economics, gives us the agency to develop that generation of African officials, and to
turn public resources into services citizens benefit from.”
— Francis Gatare, President, African School of Governance
“Vanguard Economics is partnering with the African School of Governance to tackle
public financial management challenges across the continent through the PFPR
initiative and its PFM Centre of Excellence. Together, the programme will build the
capacity and capability of African countries to deliver more effective, efficient PFM
systems that maximise limited public resources.”
— Dr. Kato Kimbugwe, Managing Director, Vanguard Economics
The two organisations bring complementary strengths. Vanguard Economics contributes more than
a decade of applied research, advisory, and implementation work with African governments and
development partners across development economics, climate adaptation, food systems, and trade
policy. The African School of Governance brings a pan-African platform for training, convening, and
developing public sector leaders.
With the MoU signed, the partners will now move PFPR from concept to operation: finalising
governance arrangements, mobilising founding partners, and rolling out a five-year business plan.
Find out more about the PFPR initiative at pf-pr.org.
About the African School of Governance
The African School of Governance is a pan-African institution co-founded by H.E. Paul Kagame, President of
Rwanda, and H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, to develop the next generation of
governance practitioners on the continent. Based in Kigali, Rwanda, ASG offers Master of Public Administration
and executive leadership programmes to professionals from across Africa.
About Vanguard Economics
Vanguard Economics is a Rwanda-based research and advisory organisation. We identify, develop, and help
implement homegrown solutions to the challenges that populations face on their path to sustainable and
inclusive prosperity. We work with governments, donors, and the private sector across development
economics, climate adaptation, food systems, trade policy, and data and research services.
Media contacts
Alice Lambert Rutayisire
Communications Analyst, Vanguard Economics
alice@vanguardeconomics.com
Stella Tushabe
Communications Specialist, African School of
Governance
stushabe@asg.ac