As the COVID-19 daily confirmed cases and death rates decrease in some African countries, the need for strategically re-opening economies and developing sustainable recovery plans has become increasingly imminent. The pandemic offers an opportunity to build forward better. To understand what building forward better means in practice, our correspondent Hafsa Anouar is joined by Professor Kevin Chika Urama, Senior Director of the African Development Institute at the African Development Bank. Professor Urama draws a picture of the opportunities that have emerged across the African continent amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and provides recommendations for policymakers in designing resilient and sustainable economic, fiscal, and social policies. To get the private sector perspective on building forward, our host Sruthi Palaniappan engages in a discussion with Tonye Cole, the co-founder and former Group Executive Director of the Sahara Group, an energy conglomerate with operations across Africa. 
The executive producer of this season of OPP is Lian Ryan-Hume. This episode was researched and produced by Hafsa Anouar and Sruthi Palaniappan, and edited by Allisha Azlan. To keep up with the latest on our episodes, follow us on Instagram @OxfordPolicyPod_ and Twitter @OxfordPolicyPod.