Professor: Economics 

Faculty of Commerce, Human Sciences & Education

Professorial Inaugural Lecture Title:   Foreign Direct Investment-Led Development in Africa: Myth, Evidence, and Policy Directions

Professor Teresia Kaulihowa is a Namibian economist whose academic and professional trajectory exemplifies intellectual distinction and sustained scholarly contribution to the fields of development economics, macroeconomic policy, and international economics. Her formative education was undertaken at Onheleiwa Primary School and Eengendjo Secondary School, after which she obtained a Diploma in Agricultural Economics at Ogongo Agricultural College,  a Bachelor of Economics at the University of Namibia, a Master of Economics at the University of Botswana, and ultimately a Doctor of Philosophy in Development Finance at Stellenbosch University.  She currently serves as Professor of Economics (the first woman in Namibia to attain that rank in Economics)  and Associate Dean of the School of Commerce and Management Sciences. She previously served at the University of Namibia for a decade, during which she headed the Department of Economics, before joining the NUST.

Over the course of more than 15 years in higher education, Prof. Kaulihowa has established herself as a scholar of considerable influence, with over 30 publications in internationally refereed journals. Her research portfolio is distinguished by its depth and breadth, spanning foreign direct investment and growth dynamics, fiscal sustainability, competition policy, and development finance. Her work critically interrogates the orthodoxies of the FDI–growth nexus, advancing nuanced theoretical and empirical insights that challenge prevailing policy prescriptions and offer context-specific strategies for African economies. Prof. Kaulihowa has demonstrated exemplary academic leadership, having played a pivotal role in curriculum design, programme development, and postgraduate supervision. She has successfully supervised over 35 graduate students across leading universities in Namibia and South Africa, thereby contributing to the cultivation of the next generation of economists and policy researchers.

In recognition of her expertise, Prof. Kaulihowa has been entrusted with significant governance and advisory responsibilities at both national and international levels. She previously served as a Commissioner at the Namibia Competition Commission (NACC), and is currently a Commissioner and Deputy Chairperson of the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST). At the continental level, she has served as an Academic Board Member of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and the Chartered Institute of Development (CIDEF), where she has contributed to shaping the direction of applied research and economic scholarship in Africa. She also contributes to advancing scholarly publishing as Assistant Editor of the African Journal of Business and Economic Research (Scopus-indexed), where she successfully edited two special issues in 2021. At the international level, she is further affiliated with premier scholarly networks, including the Econometric Society, the African Economic Research Consortium, and the Pan-African Scientific Research Council, through which she continues to engage in high-level collaborative research and thought leadership. Her consultancy and advisory engagements extend her influence beyond the academy, shaping policy discourses on competition regulation, fiscal governance, and sustainable development strategies.