Journal Launch Announcement
Alafarika for Studies and Consultancy is pleased to announce the official launch of KUDI: African Journal of Economic Development, an international, multilingual, peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to advancing rigorous research on economic development and structural transformation in Africa.
KUDI is established as part of Alafarika’s broader commitment to strengthening the production of African-centred knowledge and contributing to academic and policy debates with clarity, independence, and methodological rigour. The journal provides a platform for research that directly engages with the realities, challenges, and opportunities shaping African economies.
Unlike conventional development outlets that focus primarily on outcomes and indicators, KUDI emphasises the processes and mechanisms of economic development. It is particularly concerned with how African economies evolve structurally across sectors, regions, and institutions and how these transformations can be understood, measured, and guided.
The journal focuses on key dimensions of African economic development, including structural change, industrial development, urban and rural dynamics, infrastructure and energy systems, trade and integration, and institutional frameworks of the continent. It seeks contributions that analyse how productive capacities develop, how economies transition over time, and how policies and institutions shape development pathways.
KUDI is designed as a demanding yet inclusive platform that encourages high-quality theoretical, empirical, and policy-orientated research. It aims to promote work that is analytically strong, methodologically sound, and grounded in African contexts while also engaging with global academic debates.
The journal is intended for a wide range of contributors and readers, including
· Researchers and academics in economics and development studies
· Policymakers and public sector professionals
· PhD candidates and early-career researchers
· African and international research institutions and think tanks
· Development practitioners and consultants
KUDI will initially publish in English and Arabic, with plans to include French in future phases, reflecting its ambition to serve a broad and diverse African and international audience.
The journal adopts an open access model and commits to making research accessible to all readers and researchers. Submitting articles is free for authors during the initial phase of this journal (2026-2027). For international authors (non-African authors affiliated with non-African institutions), a publication fee (APC) will be applied when submitting the submission fee (after the initial phase).
Alafarika, the publisher, is also in constant contact with organisations and foundations to help African authors offset publication costs and thus make submission free for all Africans. However, after the initial phase and pending the securing of these cooperations and agreements to offset the publication fees, the submission fees upon introduction will be minimal for African authors (authors affiliated with African institutions) and will be designed to support researchers from low-income African countries while maintaining high publication standards, supporting the peer review process, and compensating reviewers.
All submissions undergo a rigorous double-blind peer-review process, ensuring fairness, objectivity, and academic quality. The journal is published biannually and emphasises quality, consistency, and long-term academic credibility.
Through KUDI, Alafarika seeks to contribute to a more structured, evidence-based, and context-sensitive understanding of African economic development while supporting the emergence of a strong and credible African research platform in the field.
Researchers and scholars are invited to submit their manuscripts for upcoming issues.
For more information, please visit the journal website (https://journals.alafarika.com/KUDI).
