Prior to joining the International Budget Partnership in 2018 as Country Manager for Ghana, Karim was the Program Manager for Active Citizenship & Accountable Governance with Oxfam in Ghana where he led Oxfam’s efforts to increase revenue transparency and state accountability through citizen’s influence over public finances, particularly those derived from extractive industries and foreign assistance. Karim also led advocacy initiatives for political reforms and citizen-driven social accountability aimed at consolidating Ghana’s democratic experiment. His experience includes capacity building of local partners in setting advocacy agendas, policy targets, and budget tracking, as well as advocacy on global platforms for implementation of global norms in countries and across regions.
Karim recently supported the formation of a civil society platform to engage the International Monetary Fund on a bailout program for the government of Ghana that secured unusually significant social safety nets, leading to the passage of a longtime pending petroleum exploration and production bill, a new public finance management law, and other important fiscal regulations. Prior to that, Karim worked with the Canada-based Parliamentary Centre as a Governance Advisor on Extractives and Environment and as a Program Officer. In these roles, he supported parliamentary review and the passage of Ghana’s Petroleum Revenue Management Act Рwidely touted as model policy in the region. He also supported the rejection of a flawed Exploration and Production Bill, and the establishment of an independent regulatory body, the Petroleum Commission of Ghana. Karim also worked with the Danish International Development Agency, where he supported Ghana’s Judicial Service, the public service institution responsible for the administration of the courts and tribunals.
Karim holds a Master of Science degree in Development Policy and Planning from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana and a Certificate in Petroleum Policy and Resource Management from PETRAD in Norway.