The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has officially announced a call for competitive participation proposals under its Knowledge Acceleration Programme (KAP), and is inviting researchers to contribute to national development through thematic workshops scheduled in Abuja.
According to the announcement, the workshops will take place over three sessions: August 4–5, August 7–8, and August 11–12, 2025. The initiative, driven by the CBN Governor’s commitment to fostering innovation and research, aims to generate impactful research that addresses Nigeria’s wealth creation, human development, and global competitiveness.
CBN emphasized, “The programme will leverage peer interaction to improve proposal quality, with the goal of producing working papers that eventually become published research. It supports the Bank’s aim to remain a leading knowledge hub and fulfill its advisory role to the Government.”
Thematic areas:
The call is open to researchers who can submit concise, two-page proposals aligned with any of the following thematic areas:
a. Theme I: Development Cluster – Growth, Income, and Employment.
b. Theme II: International Finance Cluster – Internal and External Balances, Capital (FDI and Portfolio) Flows, Domestic Resource Mobilisation, Exchange Rate Dynamics, and Asset Pricing.
c. Theme III: Regulation, Bank Structure, and Competition Cluster – Monetary Economics, Behavioral Finance, Fintech (not limited to evolution of money and digital assets), Illicit Financial Flows, Payment Systems, Systems Competition and network externalities.
To ensure clarity and effectiveness, proposals must be written in Georgia 11-point font, single-spaced, and should focus on explaining the “What” and the “Why” of the research topic. Tables, charts, references, and endnotes do not count towards the page limit, and all references must be properly cited. Submissions should use endnotes, and figures or tables must be numbered with sources identified or marked as the author’s rendition if original.
The selection committee will prioritize submissions that address systemic risks linked to nonbank financial intermediaries. As stated in the release, these include “how vulnerabilities affect monetary policy transmission, supervision, and financial stability.”
It will also welcome papers discussing macroprudential policies in relation to differential fund flows, reserve stability, self-regulation, off-balance sheet activities, risk-based capital requirements, and audit technologies under uncertainty.
“This is a significant opportunity to explore important financial questions such as illicit financial flows, asymmetric information, and emerging risks that could impact Nigeria’s monetary ecosystem,” the CBN noted.
How to apply:
Proposals must be submitted between July 15 and July 22, 2025, before midnight. The submission portal is available at https://kapsubmissions.cbn.gov.ng/. Notifications to successful applicants, including their thematic workshop dates and venues, will be sent out by July 30.
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The programme offers a chance for researchers to contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s financial policy development, tapping into high-impact areas such as exchange rate dynamics, asset pricing, and digital finance.