Education

• Intermediate and secondary school education in Denmark (Fredericia Gymnasium: http://www.fredericia-gym.dk/)

• Undergraduate degree from Aarhus University, Denmark (https://www.au.dk)

• Postgraduate studies from the Economics Department of the University of Manchester, UK

  • Postgraduate Diploma in Economics - 2005

  • MSc in Development Economics (with Distinction) - 2007

  • PhD in Economics - 2012 (fully funded, on merit basis, through a PhD Studentship awarded by the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester)

  • Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (with Distinction) 

Professional background

I am an economist, academic, consultant and researcher with over 20 years of professional experience. 

Prior to my current role, I was employed by the Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) as an Executive Director and Chief Economist. At CBS, I was a member of the Bank's Senior Management Team and I led the Monetary, Financial and Regulatory Policy Group (MFRPG). 

• The MFRPG supports the CBS in achieving its monetary and financial stability goals by providing comprehensive and timely statistical, analytic, and research papers; and through monitoring the safety and soundness of banks, non-bank financial institutions under its authority, including money transfer businesses, payment system(s), and the domestic financial system more generally. 

• The Group is responsible for providing all the material advice for the formulation and conduct of monetary policy and for maintaining stability in the financial system. It conducts fundamental research on monetary policy targets and tools, the domestic financial transmission mechanism, financial stability, and foreign exchange policies. 

Besides the CBS, I was also involved in other high-level policy activities within Somalia:

• member of the core technical team who successfully represented the central bank and the wider federal government of Somalia in IMF and World Bank missions and negotiations on the country’s reform and debt relief programmes. 

• member of Somalia's National Economic Council (Golaha Dhaqaalaha Qaranka), as a National Economic Advisor (Office of the President).

• member of the National Economic Development Pillar Working Group (Guddiga Farsamada), coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister.

• member of the Project Steering Committee (PSC) for Somalia’s Integrated Statistics and Economic Planning Capacity Building Project (SISEPCBP).

• member of Somalia’s National Anti-Money Laundering Committee Task Force.

I also have significant experience in academia having spent over a decade working in various British Universities. I worked at Salford Business School, the University of Salford (Manchester) as a Lecturer (Asst Professor) in Economics and Finance and Research Coordinator for Accounting, Finance & Economics Unit. Prior to that I was Asst Professor in Economics at Aberystwyth University, as well as the Director of Postgraduate Studies in Accounting, Finance and Economics. I previously taught at the Universities of Manchester and Northampton. I am an External Research Associate at the Global Development Institute of the University of Manchester and at the China and Emerging Economies Centre, Northampton Business School. 

I have in the past worked in the public sector in Denmark. I also worked as a professional economist and analyst and provided consultancy for the UN, World Bank and the Somali government.

I am currently an External Examiner at the Economics Department of Kingston University London and at the Bournemouth University Business School (Bournemouth University). I am also on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Journal of Emerging Economies and Policy as well as on the Journal of Sosyoekonomi.  I am a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.