Professor Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, PhD
Senior Special Adviser on Industrialization to the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB)
Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka is currently the Senior Special Adviser on Industrialization to the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) where he is coordinating the establishment of Agro-Industrial Processing Zones and Industrial Policy in several African countries.
Professor Oyelaran-Oyeyinka holds a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Master’s in chemical engineering, University of Toronto, Canada, and Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Development Economics specializing in the Economy of Technological Change and Industrialization, University of Sussex, United Kingdom.
He is the first Nigerian professor in the field of Development Economics and Industrial Policy.
Professorial Fellow and former Professor of Development Economics at the United Nations University – Institute for New technologies (UNU-INTECH) for six years (2001-2006). UNU-INTECH is a globally acclaimed Centre for research and training. The Centre benefited from Professor Oyelaran-Oyeyinka’s research and training during its earlier years. He earned global acclaim for his pioneering work in the field of Industrialization, Technological Change and Innovation Policy. He continues to be affiliated with the Centre (now United Nations University-MERIT) as Visiting Professor.
Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering.
Fellow, Nigerian Academy of Chemical Engineering.
Visiting professor, The Open University, UK.
Former member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Social & Economic Research (NISER).
Member, Advisory Council on Industrialization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Winner of the National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM).
Prof. Oyeyinka is a global thought leader and an astute administrator who served at a very high level within the United Nations (UN) system for 20 years, his last positions being Director, Regional Office for Africa, overseeing 24 countries; Chief Scientific Advisor, UN-HABITAT, and Director Monitoring & Research Division.
He provided intellectual leadership for UNHABITAT flagship reports: “State of the World Cities Report” and the “Global Report on Human Settlements”, and guided work on the introduction of new ways to look at development and prosperity issues in Africa in several UN organizations, including at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva, where he coordinated the ten-year review of performance of Least Developed Countries (LDCs)., The “City Prosperity Index”, a monitoring metric for city performance, that he introduced under his leadership, is now used in over 400 cities globally.
Academic Work and Books
He is a prolific writer, and his books include Industrialization and Economic Diversification: Post Crisis Development Agenda in Asia and Africa co-authored with Kaushalesh Lal, Routledge Publishing (2022); Resurgent Africa: Structural Transformation in Sustainable Development, Anthem Press, 2020; Structural Transformation and Economic Development: Cross-Regional Analysis of Industrialization and Urbanization, Routledge Publishers (2017); Sustainable Industrialization in Africa: Toward a New Development Agenda, co-authored with Padmashree Gehl Sampath, Palgrave Publishing, 2015; Urban Innovation in China’s Shanty Towns coauthored with Pengfei Ni and Fei Chen, Springer Publishing (2015), Rich Country Poor People: The Story of Nigeria’s Poverty amid Plenty, Technopol Publishers, (2014), Rich Country Poor People: The Story of Nigeria’s Poverty amid Plenty, Technopol Publishers, (2023, revised and updated), Uneven Paths of Development: Innovation and Learning in Asia and Africa, co-authored with Rajah Rasiah, Edward Elgar Publishing (2009); Latecomer Development: Knowledge and Innovation for Economic Growth co-authored with Padmashree Gehl Sampath Routledge Publishing, (2010); The Gene Revolution and the Global Food Crisis: Biotechnology Capacity in Latecomer Countries, co-authored with Padmashree Gehl Sampath, Palgrave McMillan (2009); Learning to Compete in African Industry, Ashgate Publishing (2006); and Industrial Clusters and Innovation Systems in Africa, co-authored with Dorothy Mc-Cormick, United Nations University Press, (2007).