Home | African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research

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Leading Africa in overcoming inequality and poverty

The African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research is a leader in the study of inequality in Africa. By producing excellent and innovative policy-relevant research, we aspire to lead African research in overcoming inequality.

Photo of ACEIR participants in the Wealth Data Science Summer School, Africa campus

Nurturing the growth of young and emerging African researchers

The African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research places African scholars at the forefront of its research agenda and nurtures the growth of young and emerging African researchers in this field.

Our model of collaboration

The Centre uses a hub-and-spoke model. The University of Cape Town hosts the hub and the South Africa node. The Ghana node is convened by the University of Ghana and the Kenya node by the University of Nairobi.

Photo of panelists and audience at the Inequality, Work, and Nature Conference, Cape Town, November 2023

Contributing to policy debates

ACEIR researchers often work with national statistical offices, government departments of different African countries and international development agencies to profile, map, and analyse multidimensional inequalities and their interactions.

More about the research programmes

Meet the African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research

A short video that introduces ACEIR's research and policy engagement on poverty and inequality in Africa as part of 13 African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) centres of excellence that address the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Research themes

Growth, poverty, and inequality Drivers of inequality Social mobility and inequality Climate change and inequality

Featured

Working paper | Inequality and climate change: Measuring interlinkages to inform equitable climate policy. ACEIR WP no. 19

Working paper | Taking stock of the complexities between economic growth, poverty, and inequality in Africa. ACEIR WP no. 18

Established in 2018, ACEIR is one of the 13 centres of excellence of the African Research Universities Alliance.

Arial view of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, depicting spatial inequality

The global panel on inequality needs African evidence: here’s how it could work

"... global initiatives are a great step forward. The problem is that frameworks built mainly on the data and institutions of the global north might not be accurate where inequality is most severe": Prof. Murray Leibbrandt, Dr Anda David

African Inequality Review to fill in the gaps for policymakers

Scrutinising the factors that drive inequality in Africa so that better decisions can be made to deal with them – this is the aim of a multi-country research and policy initiative launched in September by ACEIR and the project partners.

Photo of Dr Kamundia with colleagues from ACEIR's node at the University of Nairobi.

“A transformative experience that strengths research and deepens appreciation for collaborative, Africa-centred scholarship”

The ARUA Early Career Research Fellowship was a "valuable opportunity to engage with leading researchers and broaden my understanding of inequality research within the African context" writes Dr Susan Kamundia on returning from ACEIR Kenya.