Biography

Tevin Tafese is a development economist and Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for African Affairs in Hamburg, where he is part of the research programme “Globalisation and Development.” His research examines economic development in the Global South, particularly in Africa, with a focus on trade, foreign direct investment, labour markets, and structural change. A growing part of his work explores how digital transformation and Africa’s emerging technology sector are reshaping employment and economic development opportunities across the continent.

His research has been published in leading field and area studies journals, including the Journal of Development Economics, Review of World Economics, and Africa Spectrum. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Göttingen. Beyond academia, he regularly engages in evidence-based policy debates through exchange with national and multilateral institutions such as the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the German Federal Foreign Office, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. He also writes commentary for a wider public audience on blogs and other outlets.

Fields of expertise