About me

I am the Head of the State Fragility initiative (SFi) at the International Growth Centre (IGC). Based at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) and operated in partnership with Oxford University, the IGC brings together a global network of leading researchers and in-country teams in Africa and South Asia to support partner governments with demand-led policy advice based on frontier research. 

The SFi builds on the work of the LSE-Oxford Commission on State Fragility, Growth, and Development to develop and promote actionable recommendations to address dimensions of state fragility. 

Within IGC, I lead the initiative strategy and ensure its overall effectiveness at national, regional, and global scale, including liaising closely with SFi funders. I have overall responsibility for the continued quality of the initiative work which include: 

• national-level engagements with policymakers of countries undergoing pivotal moments, where exit from fragility may be possible, with the flagship engagement being in Yemen

• the DFI Fragility Forum, which brings together DFIs to improve the effectiveness of job-creating private investment in fragile and conflict-affected environments, as well as broader work on development finance and private sector development in fragile contexts

• programme of work on scaling up investments in energy access in fragile settings

• thematic leadership on state fragility issues within the wider IGC. 

In addition to my role at the IGC, I am deeply committed to policymaking, with a particular focus on advancing economic development in Somalia.

In November 2022, I was honoured to be appointed to the National Economic Council of Somalia through a presidential decree till 2026. This council is an integral part of the Office of the President and plays a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s economic strategies and policies. As a member of NEC, I am entrusted with the responsibility of contributing to the formulation of policies that aim to enhance Somalia's economic recovery and development. This role involves collaborating with fellow council members, government officials, stakeholders and experts to develop innovative policy solutions that foster sustainable growth.

Contact details:

Email: A.Ali49[at]lse.ac.uk or abdilahi.ali[at]theigc.org or abdilahi.ali[at]nec.gov.so

Public profiles:

IGC: https://www.theigc.org/people/abdilahi-ali

NEC: https://nec.gov.so/teams/abdilahi-ali/

Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com › abdi-ali-5b632416a

Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Abdilahi_Ali

Ideas.repec profile: https://ideas.repec.org/f/pal833.html

Researcher ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5398-0450

Google Scholar: 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4uni1_UAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao