Addis Ababa Othow Akongdit (PhD): Born in 1974, in a town called Malakal, South Sudan, he attended undergraduate studies at Al–Neelain University, Khartoum where he graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree “Excellent with Second Class Honour” in economics studies. The Faculty Board later awarded him the prize for the best final student in the department of economics in the academic year 1994/1995.

He then joined Al-Neelain University as a Teaching Assistant the following year, before being recruited as a Banking Inspector at the Central Bank of Sudan, Khartoum in 1997. During his period as bank inspector, he has participated in the financial & accounting restructuring of Ivory Bank, Khartoum 1998 and after that he was seconded in 1999 to Council of Southern Sudan as Advisor & planner of Development Projects which were meant to improve the wellbeing of families in Southern Sudan.

The same year 1999, he completed a master’s degree in economic development at Al-Neelain University. Thereafter, he moved to the Netherlands, relentless in his pursuit of knowledge, he continued with additional studies earning himself a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and accounting at Hanze University, Groningen in 2007. Almost immediately after graduating, he landed a job with Dubios & Co Chartered Accountants Amsterdam as an assistant accountant/auditor until 2010 when he later decided to move back to his homeland, the Republic of South Sudan.