African Institute for Climate, Trade and Economic Modelling
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About AICTEM

Advancing Africa’s development through integrated economic and climate modelling, knowledge production, and digital innovation.

Mission

Our mission

The African Institute for Climate, Trade and Economic Modelling (AICTEM) strengthens Africa’s capacity for evidence-based policymaking by developing and applying integrated analytical tools that connect climate change, trade integration, infrastructure, and structural transformation.

We aim to bridge research and policy through African-led modelling, locally grounded analysis, and digital platforms that help decision-makers design strategies that are economically efficient, environmentally sustainable, and practical to implement.

Work

What we do

  1. Develop advanced modelling frameworks that integrate multi-regional input–output systems, environmentally extended satellite accounts, and computable general equilibrium models to analyze trade flows, value chains, emissions and structural-transformation pathways — complemented by spatial economic and power-sector models as well as granular geospatial data to diagnose national transport, power and digital infrastructure systems.
  2. Produce interactive web applications providing accessible tools for real-time policy analysis.
  3. Generate high-quality research and analytical outputs that inform policy debates on climate change, trade integration, structural transformation, and infrastructure investments in Africa.
  4. Provide direct policy advisory services to governments and regional organizations, while building institutional and human capacity among policymakers, researchers and practitioners.
Approach

How we work

Our work combines research, policy engagement, data development and digital innovation. We prioritize African ownership in knowledge production, working with governments, regional organizations, researchers and practitioners to build lasting analytical capacity.

Leadership

Founders

Dr John Mary Matovu

Director & Lead, Macroeconomic Modelling

Dr John Mary Matovu is an experienced economist who worked for nearly a decade for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the level of Senior Economist. He has undertaken high-profile consultancy assignments in macro-econometric modelling for countries including Uganda, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Tanzania, and specializes in Computable General Equilibrium modelling for both policy and academic work. He holds a D.Phil. in Economics from Oxford University, an M.Phil. in Economics from Cambridge University, and a B.Sc. (Economics/Statistics) from Makerere University. He is currently Managing Partner of Research for Transformation and Development Consultants.

Dr Sebastian Krantz

Lead, Spatial Economics, Data, and Software Engineering

Sebastian specialises in infrastructure, spatial economic models, global and regional value chains (GVCs), and software engineering. He holds a PhD in Quantitative Economics from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy / Kiel University on the topic of "Africa's Economic Transformation: A Big Data Perspective", a Master in International Economics from the Geneva Graduate Institute, and a Bachelor in Social Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics from UCR/Utrecht. He served the Ugandan Ministry of Finance and Planning as a Senior Economist, consulted for the World Bank and CPCS on African regional integration and infrastructure projects, and created state-of-the-art statistical software libraries.