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 program will build the capacity and capability of African countries to deliver more effective, efficient PFM systems that maximize limited publicresources.”
— 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 www.pf-pr.org