The Finance and Management Workshop organized by the African School of Economics (ASE) and financed by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) continued at the SOS Children’s Village in Abomey-Calavi. The program included two modules: Project Management I taught by Professor Lavagnon Ika from the University of Ottawa and the second session of Financial Risk Analysis taught by Professor Issouf Soumaré from Laval University.

Using concrete examples drawn from reality, Professor Lavagnon Ika was able to illustrate the problems (such as exceeding its budget) that a project usually encounters, and how such problems ultimately affect the performance of the project.

Professor Soumaré’s presentation was also very informative and engaging. He outlined the importance of considering measures such as Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return when making investment decisions for a project. He also discussed how to determine the monetary flows of a project and presented practical cases that allowed participants to practice and better understand some of the concepts. Both sessions were very interesting, interactive and practical. Thay have certainly set a positive tone for the next few days of presentations.