Atsu, Francis
Francis Atsu holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Brunel University London, United Kingdom, and a Master's degree in Financial Mathematics from Uppsala University in Sweden. Currently, he serves as a Senior Lecturer, a Pensions Trustee, and the Head of Enterprise Risk Management at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). He is a Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and a Certified Sustainability and Climate Risk Professional (SCR) through the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), USA. Additionally, he holds the title of an EXIN Agile Scrum Foundation Certified Professional. He coordinates the activities of the Resilience and Adaptation Mainstreaming Program (RAMP) in Ghana.
Research Interests
Atsu's primary research areas encompass sustainable finance, risk management (financial, environmental, and climate change factors), as well as survival analysis, including univariate and multivariate frailty models. Currently, Atsu is focused on examining the double materiality of biodiversity loss within the financial space and its various actors. This research explores two key dimensions. The first dimension involves assessing how biodiversity loss may affect financial institutions, primarily through risks related to their counterparties. The second dimension delves into how financial institutions and shareholders can influence these risks, such as when they provide funding to industrialized agriculture and mining companies that contribute to biodiversity loss through practices like land clearing, excessive fertilizer use and mining in forest reserves.
Additionally, Dr. Atsu and his team at GIMPA have secured a small grant from the World Resources Institute to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the Government of Ghana's "Hand Pollination" (artificial pollination) program, which has been implemented across cocoa farms in Ghana as part of the country's broader "Productivity Enhancement" initiatives.
Mentoring
Supervised over 20 masters and over 15 undergraduate theses. Participated in supervisory committees of 2 PhD theses in the area of finance.
Grants and Consultancy
- Hand Pollination, World Resources Institute Grant for the benefits of climate change adaptation, 2023
- Fiscal Risk Management Consultant, Ministry of Finance, Ghana Economic Management Strengthening Technical Assistance (GEMS-TA) project funded by the World Bank, 2021
- Report Writing Consultant, Ministry of Finance, GEMS-TA project funded by the World Bank, 2021
- Basel Accords Consultant, Ministry of Finance, GEMS-TA project funded by the World Bank, 2020
- Lead programmer, Statistical Analysis Software (SAS), USAID and GHANA FTF Agriculture Policy Support Project, 2018
Policy engagement
- A member of the Board of Trustee of Occupation and Provident pension funds, under the remit of Ghana National Pensions Regulatory Authority
Awards
- Best reviewer, African Journal of Economic and Management Studies (AJEMS), 2016
- Commonwealth Scholar, Received Commonwealth Scholarship to study PhD Finance at Brunel University, UK, 2012
- Gold Medalist, Member of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) 2002 gold medal team in Ghanaian National Interuniversity Cross-country
- Gold Medalist, Member of KNUST’s 2001 gold medalist team in Ghanaian National Interuniversity Cross-country