Washington D.C.: The International Monetary Fund (IMF), supported by financial contributions from the Governments of Japan and Germany and in collaboration with regional technical assistance centers (AFRITACs Central and West), has successfully organized three editions of the Interregional Seminar on Public Investment Management (SEIGIP) in 2022, 2023, and 2025. These seminars took place across different locations in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa, bringing together approximately 60 senior officials from 21 countries within the region.
According to International Monetary Fund, the SEIGIP seminars have served as a crucial platform to evaluate the direct impact of IMF capacity development and the advantageous role of South-South cooperation. The first seminar centered on addressing Public Investment Management (PIM) challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of robust legal and institutional frameworks to tackle these challenges. Additionally, discussions highlighted methods for identifying and supporting climate change-sensitive public investments.
The second seminar, held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from May 30 to June 1, 2023, continued to focus on PIM reforms, covering a broad range of topics such as project appraisal and selection, budgeting and execution, asset management, and fiscal risks. Emphasis was placed on the relationship between budgeting quality and execution quality, and on the use of multiyear budgetary authorizations alongside annual payment appropriations.
The third edition, which took place in Libreville, Gabon, from April 28 to 30, 2025, delved deeper into the upstream phases of the PIM cycle. It focused on ex-ante evaluation, project selection, and PIM digitalization. The seminar underscored the necessity of systematizing ex-ante evaluations to improve project selection and shared best practices regarding project selection criteria, including strategic alignment, socioeconomic return, and financial viability.
The successive SEIGIP seminars have demonstrated the value of long-term exchanges between technical assistance providers and national experts. The increasing technicality of exchanges, the strong participative lever of country experiences, and the productive group exercises reflect the growing expertise of participants. The established seminar format has been well-received, with 97.7% of participants believing they can apply the acquired knowledge and skills, and 95.6% expressing overall satisfaction.
Looking forward, there is a strong need to consolidate the momentum achieved over the past three years. Suggestions for improvement include extending the seminar duration to four and a half days to allow for more practical exercises and in-depth training, and disseminating best practices during the seminars. SEIGIP 4 is scheduled to be held from January 26 to 30, 2026, in Nouakchott, Mauritania.