Samwel Mwigeka | Social Sciences | Best Researcher Award

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Mr. Samwel Mwigeka | Social Sciences | Best Researcher Award

Ruaha Catholic University | Tanzania

Samwel Mwigeka is a Tanzanian academic and researcher specialising in public finance, macroeconomics and econometrics. After completing a B.A. in Economics & Geography at the University of Dar es Salaam and an M.A. in Economics at the same institution, he pursued doctoral studies at Henan University in China. He began his professional career in secondary education before joining Ruaha Catholic University as an Assistant Lecturer in, where he continues to teach and mentor students. His published work examines key issues in Tanzanian economy such as budget deficits and inflation, the crowding–out effect of deficits on private investment  and determinants of foreign direct investment (International Journal of Management and Economics Invention), as well as pricing dynamics in the sharing-economy (Airbnb listings, International Business & Economics Studies). His research interest lies at the intersection of fiscal policy, investment flows and macro-economic stability in developing countries. Although his bibliometric profile presently lists an h-index of 1 and citation count of 15 according to an academic-indexing source, he is actively establishing his scholarly trajectory. He is motivated to advance the quality and impact of research and contribute to policy-relevant economic development in Tanzania and beyond.

Profile : Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Mwigeka, S. (2012). The budget deficit and inflation in Tanzania: A causal relationship (Unpublished master’s dissertation). University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Mwigeka, S. (2016). Do budget deficit crowd out private investment? A case of the Tanzanian economy. International Journal of Business and Management, 11(6), 183–190.

Mwigeka, S. (2020). Determinants of foreign direct investment in Tanzania: An autoregressive distributed lag approach. International Journal of Management and Economics Invention, 6(5).

Mwigeka, S. (2022). What factors drive the Airbnb listing’s prices? International Business & Economics Studies, 4(1), 26–35.

Faustin Maniraguha | Social Impact of Scientific Discoveries | Best Researcher Award

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Mr. Faustin Maniraguha | Social Impact of Scientific Discoveries | Best Researcher Award

University of Rwanda College of Business and Economics, Gikondo Campus | Rwanda

Dr. Faustin Maniraguha is an economist and data scientist currently serving as Acting Manager and Principal Economist in the Modelling and Forecasting Division of the Research Department at the National Bank of Rwanda. He is completing a PhD in Data Sciences and Econometrics at the African Centre of Excellence, University of Rwanda. He holds a Master’s (DEA) in Applied Macroeconomics from Omar Bongo University, Gabon, and has participated in advanced quantitative economics training in Germany and Rwanda. Over more than a decade, he has held roles in research, consulting, monitoring and evaluation, teaching, and policy advisory. At the central bank, he leads medium- and near-term macroeconomic projections (covering real, fiscal, external, monetary, and inflation sectors), works with survey design, micro-simulation, time series and panel econometric models, and contributes to policy briefs and international publications. His research interests span econometrics, macroeconomics, development economics, monetary economics, microeconomics, international trade and external shocks. He has published several peer-reviewed articles in academic journals and contributed to policy work, including in forecasting inflation, exchange rate transmission, financial development, poverty, and external shocks. He has also participated in numerous conferences, workshops, and capacity building programs.  Dr. Maniraguha continues to shape economic policy analysis in Rwanda and the East African region.

Profile : Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Bayale, N., Traoré, F., Diarra, S., & Maniraguha, F. (2022). Endogenous threshold effects and transmission channels of foreign aid on economic growth: Evidence from WAEMU zone countries. Transnational Corporations Review, 14(1), 77–93.

Maniraguha, F., & Ndemezo, E. (2022). Exports, finance, and economic growth: Does financial development boost the impact of exports on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa? Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies, 1–44.

Maniraguha, F. (2020). Does formalization of informal enterprises matter? Evidence from Rwanda. Randwick International of Social Science Journal, 1(3), 419–432.

Maniraguha, F., Uwilingiye, J., Ndemezo, E., & Ruranga, C. (2025). Economic growth and poverty in sub-Saharan African countries: Non-linearity and exports threshold effect. Journal of Applied Economics, 28(1), 2557407.

Maniraguha, F., Uwilingiye, J., Ndemezo, E., & Ruranga, C. (2025). Financial development and economic growth amid external shocks in the East African Community. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies.