I have been a research collaborator with the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development at London Business School since 2022, working on an initiative called the African Research Councillors programme. The programme is an extension of the Wheeler Institute's African History through the Lens of Economics course.
An important theme that emerged from the course presentations and discussions was the need to better understand the rich diversity of individuals across Africa and to also give a voice to those from the continent in this process. Motivated by this, Professor Elias Papaioannou of London Business School, Professor Nathan Nunn of the University of British Columbia, Professor Stelios Michalopoulos of Brown University, and I created the African Research Councillors programme. The programme works with individuals from several African countries to capture the important nuances of their communities, while directly increasing the representation of African scholars from these communities in academic knowledge creation. The programme allows scholars to contribute in a variety of ways, choosing the contributions that best suit their constraints and preferences.