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Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari is a distinguished economist and policymaker who currently serves as the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana. He brings over two decades of experience in central banking and international finance to his role, having held senior positions at both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank of Ghana.

Prior to his appointment as First Deputy Governor, Dr Opoku-Afari worked at the IMF for nearly a decade, where he rose to the positions of Deputy Division Chief and Mission Chief. In this role, he led the production of the Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa, one of the IMF’s flagship publications, and served as the Mission Chief for Mauritius. He also participated in IMF negotiations with several African and Caribbean countries and was a reviewer of policy documents for many developing nations.

Dr Opoku-Afari’s work at the IMF focused on monetary policy modernization and macro-financial linkages, and he co-authored several IMF policy papers on these topics. He has also published extensively on monetary policy, inclusive growth, short-term output indicators in low-income countries, aid effectiveness, capital flows, and real exchange rate dynamics.

Prior to his tenure at the IMF, Dr Opoku-Afari worked for 13 years at the Bank of Ghana, where he rose to the position of Head of the Special Studies Division in the Research Department and later served as Special Assistant to the Governor. He was also a member of the Ghana Government’s Capital Markets Committee from 2006 to 2008.

Dr Opoku-Afari holds a first degree in Economics and Statistics, an MPhil in Economics, both from the University of Ghana, Legon, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. His expertise and leadership have been widely recognized, and he has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career.