The 2025 Africa PEFA PFM Flagship Training, a collaboration between African Development Bank (AfDB) and PEFA Secretariat took place in Nairobi, Kenya, from September 16 to 18, 2025. This capacity-building event aimed at enhancing public financial management (PFM) expertise among government officials and specialists from East African regional member countries.
The training covered all critical aspects of the PEFA methodology. The event was covered on Kenyan TV and its conclusions were announced on the AfDB’s Website.
Inaugural session
The inaugural session had key interventions from representatives of several institutions (pictured below), including:
African Development Bank: Bubacarr Sankareh, Lead Operations Advisor (on behalf of Dr. Alex Mubiru, Bank Group Director General for East Africa); Legesse Eshetu, AfDB Manager of the FM Division for East Southern regions and Nigeria; and Timothy Mkandawire, Lead FM Policy Officer
The Government of Kenya: Chris Kiptoo, Principal Secretary for the National Treasury;
The World Bank: Manuel Vargas, Regional Practice Manager responsible for Financial Management;
International Monetary Fund: Selim Cakir, Resident Representative;
PEFA Secretariat: Srinivas Gurazada, Head of Secretariat.
The PFM PEFA Flagship training
The training was delivered by PEFA Secretariat experts Srinivas Gurazada, Head of Secretariat, and Victor Boakye-Bonsu, Senior Financial Management Specialist.
Sixty-two participants attended, including senior government officials from 13 countries and AfDB Financial Management Specialists and representatives from the Procurement, Governance, Climate Change and Gender Team, particularly those engaged in fiduciary assessments, PFM policy dialogue, and implementation support for AfDB Bank-financed operations. The sessions were interactive with a lot of quizzes and exercises and were conducted in English with simultaneous French interpretation for the benefit of participants from francophone countries.
This event reflects the growing importance of Africa in the PEFA community, with the largest share of PEFA assessments being conducted in the region. Attendees appreciated the high quality of the event, including the clarity of the presentations, the level of interactivity, and the high relevance of the content to their own work.
Feedback and takeaways from some participants:
“My key takeaway is that PEFA assessment is a diagnostic tool—not the medicine. It should be conducted based on the current state of the public financial management system, not on how we wish it to be.”
“If I had completed this training beforehand, my work would have been more focused, efficient, and rigorous.”
“When you get PFM right, you get everything right.”
Conclusion
The Nairobi PEFA PFM training successfully delivered a comprehensive and engaging learning experience, equipping participants with enhanced skills and knowledge in PFM and PEFA methodologies. The high satisfaction rates and constructive feedback underscore the training’s effectiveness and the value of continued and expanded offerings in this domain.
The PEFA Secretariat would like to extend its warmest thanks to all those who joined us in Nairobi.
