- Magnus kpakol
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Magnus L. Kpakol, Ph.D.
Education
Magnus L. Kpakol attended St. Pius X Secondary School, Bodo, and Baptist High School, Port Harcourt. He taught at Government Trade Center, Ahoada, before leaving for the United States as a teenager in the mid 1970s. Within three years he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin, Superior. He did graduate studies in Economics, and Industrial Relations at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and subsequently obtained a Master of Science Degree in Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, specializing in labor economics and labor relations. He also received a Master of Arts Degree, and a Ph.D. in Political Economy from the University of Texas, Dallas, specializing in economic development, international economics, policy analysis and data analysis.
Professional Experience
Dr. Kpakol specializes in economic development and is internationally recognized as an authority in poverty eradication strategies and local economic development, using new, creative and innovative ideas for competitiveness, economic growth and development. Dr. Kpakol is an expert in locating and evaluating local and international business opportunities and partnerships. He also has experience in risk analysis and in developing country opportunity and risk models. He has extensive experience in data collection and analysis and has specialized in economic analysis and forecasting over the course of his long career in business and government.
He is a teacher, trainer and motivator for increased work performance as his work has included analysis and evaluation of business performance and increased productivity.
Dr. Kpakol is the Chairman, CEO and Chief Strategist at the Economic and Business Strategies (EBS), with offices in Dallas Texas, USA and Abuja, Nigeria. Dr. Kpakol is also the founder and Chairman of the Economic Growth and Development Center (EGDC), the initiators and developers of SHAFRI an educational social network for kids in Africa and around the world. The EGDC developed the now popular Village Economic Development (Village Solutions) scheme. The EGDC has greatly modified the Generational Waves concept developed by Dr. Kpakol in his early days as President and Principal Consultant at VIJONS International. The EGDC now promotes what is known as African Generational Waves to effectively engage the young people of African origin and their friends around the world in building a more productive Africa.
At the EBS, Dr. Kpakol leads a team of professional strategists in designing policies and programs for trade promotion, business competitiveness and local economic development. His team conducts international and local training for private and public sector professionals seeking to be the best in their trade and in promoting economic efficiency, increased economic participation and performance and economic development. They also specialize in poverty solutions, developing programs for job creation, economic growth and development. Building on his vast experience, Dr. Kpakol is proficient in research techniques and policy development and also in program coordination, monitoring and evaluation.
Dr. Kpakol was the Chief Economic Adviser to the President of Nigeria from 2001 to 2003. While serving as Chief Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, he was also the Chief Executive Officer of the National Planning Commission, and was a member of cabinet in the Federal Executive Council, responsible for the nation’s economic planning, working closely with the Minister of Finance and Governor of the Central Bank on fiscal and monetary policies.
Dr. Kpakol later served for eight years as the senior Special Assistant to the President and National Coordinator of the National Poverty Eradication Program (NAPEP). In this capacity he also reported directly to the President, with a primary responsibility of coordinating, monitoring and overseeing of all of the country’s poverty eradication efforts.
He developed a unique Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program in Nigeria called COPE, with beneficiary households started with a temporary Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) to immediately reduce the intensity of their poverty, and later in the program given a Poverty Reduction Accelerator Investment (PRAI) fund to start a business and graduate from poverty and dependency. The unique Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) model developed by Dr. Kpakol has been adopted by various states in Nigeria, as it has proven exceptional in its potential as a social safety net to help eradicate poverty.
At NAPEP, Dr. Kpakol also created the Village Economic Development Solutions (Village Solutions) program where market driven meso and micro credit approaches were emphasized in an anchor and capacity widening strategy to promote and stabilize robust value-chain activities in the agriculture sector for job creation and economic development. He also introduced the Promise Keeper Partnership (PKP) scheme where the government partners with well-to-do citizens through faith-based organizations for job creation using micro credit or micro-grants.
Dr. Kpakol is well known for his superior expertise in poverty solutions, as he often shows how a poverty reduction strategy is a necessary but not sufficient condition for poverty eradication.
Before working with the government of Nigeria he was a senior economist in the Planning & Research department of JCPenney Company, a major multinational based in Plano Texas. He was also a visiting professor of economics at the University of Dallas and previous to that an adjunct professor of economics at the same university where he taught economic development, international economics, labor economics, statistics, econometrics and public economics. Dr. Kpakol also taught many courses in the Graduate School of Business at the University of Dallas. He was also an adjunct lecturer and professor at other universities and colleges, including the University of North Texas in Denton, and North Lake College in Irving, Texas. He was the Director and Principal Consultant at VIJONS, an international business and management consulting firm, based in Dallas Texas.
Dr. Kpakol once served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). He has spoken at various conferences around the world and has appeared on various radio and TV programs. He has been quoted in major newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal and USA Today as an international economist with expertise on the US, African and the global economies.
Dr. Kpakol has a passion for music and founded MAGONI Productions, the creators of Magoni music with roots in Ogoni rhythm to promote peace, freedom, love and economic development throughout the world.
Dr. Kpakol lives in Texas in the United States of America but has offices in Nigeria, the country of his birth.
Professional Affiliation
Dr. Kpakol is a member of the Board of Trustees of John Brown University in Siloam Springs Arkansas. He is a member of the Dallas Economists’ Club, where he was chairman of the Education Committee. He is also a member of the American Economic Association, the National Association of Business Economists (NABE), the International Roundtable of NABE, and the North American Economics and Finance Association.[1]
References
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