JULY VIRTUAL COHORT · FROM GHC 2,000
Programme 01 · Flagship

Training in Investment Appraisal & Project Selection

Build and defend the financial models that justify a project. A 6-day expert-led programme in financial and economic appraisal across the public sector, private investment, and PPP arrangements. Until you defend a model in front of a board, you haven't truly learned investment appraisal.

The difference between "I think this project will work" — and a defended model.

This is an expert-led training programme focused on the financial and economic appraisal of investment projects across both the public and private sectors, with additional coverage of Public-Private Partnership arrangements. The faculty bring a deliberate blend of industry expertise and academic rigour, designed to enable policy and decision makers to determine the financial and economic viability of projects with confidence.

You will work through pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, learn to discount real cash flows, build live Excel models, and apply alternative investment criteria — NPV, IRR, MIRR, payback, DSCR, LLCR, CEA — on the kinds of projects you actually appraise: mining, oil & gas, commercial agriculture, infrastructure.

Past editions ran in-person at our North Ridge campus. You asked for greater accessibility, so the 2026 edition is now fully virtual and priced at GHC 2,000, without compromising the practical workshop model.

By the final weekend, you will have built models you can show your boss, your investors, or your next employer.
What you'll learn

Seven core competencies. One repeatable workflow.

01 / 07

A repeatable strategy for appraising any investment project

From idea screening through pre-feasibility, feasibility, detailed design, and ex-post evaluation: a single framework you can apply across sectors.

02 / 07

Fluency in NPV, XNPV, IRR, XIRR & MIRR

Not just the theory. Live workshops in Excel with the actual functions and the discounting logic behind them.

03 / 07

Discounting & time value of money in practice

Compounding, discounting, choice of discount rate, fixed vs variable rates, applied to real cash flows, not textbook abstractions.

04 / 07

Pre-feasibility & feasibility study workflows

How professional analysts structure feasibility work, from idea determination through detailed project design.

05 / 07

Price definitions, indices & inflation

Consistent prices in cash flow forecasts, nominal interest rates, expected nominal exchange rates, and how to incorporate inflation correctly.

06 / 07

Alternative criteria — and when each one fails

NPV, IRR, MIRR, payback period, DSCR, LLCR, and Cost Effectiveness Analysis. Knowing which to use is half the skill.

07 / 07

Excel modelling skills used by professional analysts

Model setup standards, named ranges and Excel tables, SUMIFS/COUNTIFS, date functions, ROUND family: the toolkit behind every defensible model.

+ EXTRA

Live African case studies you can take back to your desk

By the final weekend, you'll have built models on real projects you can reference in interviews, boardrooms, and Monday morning meetings.

+ AFTER

Continued advisory mentorship after the programme ends

When a real deal lands on your desk, the EM Advisory team is still a call away. The certificate is not the end of the relationship.

The Curriculum

Six days. One workflow you can defend.

6 days · 4 weekends Click any day to see the topics covered
Day 01 Prerequisite — Microsoft Excel for Modelling

Before we appraise anything, we set up Excel the way professional modellers do. By the end of Day 1 you'll have a clean model architecture, working named ranges, and fluency in the core time and financial functions used every day after.

  • Model setup & standards
  • References, named ranges & Excel tables
  • Core time & financial functions
    • DATE, EDATE, EOMONTH
    • NPV/XNPV, IRR/XIRR
    • PV, FV, PMT, RATE, NPER
    • SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, MIN, MAX
    • ROUND, ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN
Day 02 Introduction — Project Definition & Building Blocks

An integrated approach to understanding what a project actually is, and the four lenses through which any project must be evaluated before money moves.

  • Project definition & building blocks for evaluation
  • A project as an incremental activity
  • An integrated approach to project evaluation
    • Financial analysis
    • Economic analysis
    • Stakeholder analysis
    • Risk analysis & management
Day 03 Strategy for the Financial Appraisal of Investment Projects

The professional workflow from idea to delivered project, and how to know which study phase you should actually be in.

  • Idea and project determination
  • Pre-feasibility study
  • Feasibility study
  • Detailed project design
  • Ex-post evaluation
Day 04 Discounting & the Time Value of Money

The discounting logic behind every investment criterion, and the often-fudged question of which discount rate to use, and when.

  • Time dimension of a project
  • Time value of money — compounding & discounting
  • Choice of a discount rate — fixed and variable discount rates
Day 05 Alternative Investment Criteria & Practical Sessions

The full toolkit of investment criteria, and the working understanding of which ones fail under which conditions. Hands-on Excel sessions throughout.

  • Net Present Value (NPV)
  • Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Modified IRR (MIRR)
  • Pay-out or Pay-Back Period
  • Debt Service Coverage Ratios (DSCR)
  • Loan Life Coverage Ratios (LLCR)
  • Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA)
  • Practical sessions on alternative investment criteria
Day 06 Financial Appraisal of Projects — End to End

The capstone day: putting it all together on a real African project. You leave with a working pro-forma cash flow model you can show your team on Monday.

  • Financial appraisal for public sector projects
  • Construction of financial cash flows
  • Investment phase
  • Operating phase
  • Cessation of project operations
  • Pro-forma cash flow statement
  • Use of consistent prices in the cash flow forecast
  • Definition of prices & price indices
  • Nominal interest rate
  • Expected nominal exchange rate
  • Incorporating inflation in the financial analysis
2026 Cohorts

Pick your cohort. Reserve your seat.

Limited seats per cohort. The virtual edition runs in July; a single in-person cohort is scheduled for Q4 2026 (date to be confirmed) for organisations that prefer face-to-face delivery.

Virtual · July cohort
July 2026
04 July
onwards
FormatVirtual option
Duration4 weekends
FeeGHC 2,000
Reserve seat
In-person · Register interest
Q4 2026
Date
to be confirmed
FormatIn-person, Accra
Duration6 days
FeeGHC 9,500
Register interest
Who should attend

Built for the people who actually approve deals.

Whether you sign loans at a bank, allocate public capital at a ministry, or run a portfolio of private investments, this programme is calibrated for working professionals.

01

Government institutions, departments & units

Responsible for investment appraisal, project selection, and financing decisions in the public sector.

02

Banks & financial institutions

Loans and disbursement approval officers from local and international banks involved in project or investment financing.

03

Development banks & international NGOs

Grants and disbursement officers from development finance institutions and donor-funded programmes.

04

Private sector with capital at risk

Institutions with active investments in mining, oil & gas, commercial agriculture, and infrastructure development.

The Faculty

Taught by the people who actually build the models.

Every facilitator on this programme is a working advisor, currently briefing ministers, building financial models on active deals, or guiding multinational tax positions. They were trained at Queen's, Oxford, Durham, and Sheffield Hallam, but they earned their teaching credentials in the field.

NK

Dr Nhial Kuch

Lead Facilitator · Associate Partner

Lead facilitator of the Training in Investment Appraisal and Project Selection (TIAPS) at EM Advisory. Ten-plus years as Senior Country Economist of the IGC in Uganda, with significant lead advisory roles across East Africa. Previously an economist at the Canadian Revenue Agency, advising on multinational tax. Since 2017, he has facilitated training across East and Southern Africa, and contributes to the Program in Investment Appraisal and Risk Analysis at Queen's University.

Credentials PhD & MA Economics, Queen's University (Canada)
BA Economics, University of Western Ontario
Certificate & ToT, Investment Appraisal & Risk Analysis, Queen's
AG

Dr Abudu Abdul-Ganiyu

Managing Partner · EM Advisory

Extensive experience in baseline and endline studies, large systems interventions, organisational restructuring, and cost-benefit analysis. Worked on Ghana's National Identification System Project, leading its transition into a fully-fledged public sector organisation. Former Technical Advisor at Ghana's Ministry of Finance, advising on public sector efficiency, power sector reforms, and SME growth.

Credentials DBA, Sheffield Business School (UK)
MA & PGD Org. Development, UCC
MBA Strategic & Project Mgt, ESG-PGSM (France)
Certificate, Investment Appraisal, Queen's
BH

Benjamin Hornsby-Odoi

Senior Partner · Research & Transactions

Applied economist with over a decade in public finance, infrastructure and deal advisory, and strategy consulting. Former Technical Advisor at Ghana's Ministry of Finance, evaluating PPP and public investment projects and developing financial models for transaction structuring. Earlier Senior Associate at KPMG Ghana in transaction advisory, corporate finance, and strategy consulting.

Credentials BSc Economics & Finance (First Class), University of York
MSc Finance & Investment, Durham University
Reading at University of Oxford (Policy Evaluation)
ID

Isaac Danso Agyiri

Senior Partner · Tax & Law

A rare blend of skills as a Lawyer, Chartered Accountant, and Chartered Tax Practitioner. Over 15 years of experience including Tax Advisor to Ghana's Minister for Finance, Senior Counsel at the Volta River Authority, and Policy Manager at Tax Justice Network Africa. An academic high-flier: three-times valedictorian, graduated national best at the Ghana Bar Finals in 2017, and Ghana's youngest Chartered Accountant.

Credentials LL.B, MBA
MPP (Distinction), Oxford
PhD candidate in Law, Oxford
Chartered Accountant & Tax Practitioner
Investment & Inclusions

One fee. Everything you need.

Tuition covers the full six days, all training materials, the working Excel models you build, your professional certificate, and continued advisory access from the EM team.

Virtual Edition
GHC2,000
Per participant · 4 weekends from July 2026
In-person Edition
GHC9,500
Per participant · Accra · 6 working days
What's included
  • Full 6-day expert-led tuition
  • Working Excel modelling templates
  • Live African case studies
  • Professional certificate on completion
  • Training material & reference packs
  • Lunch, breakfast & coffee breaks (in-person)
  • Post-training advisory access
  • Optional Accra office support (virtual)
Team discount: 10% off for three or more participants from the same organisation. Payment due at least one week before the start of each cohort. Bank: Zenith Bank · Account name: Emerging Markets Advisory Ltd · Account: 6012639317 · Branch: Premium Towers.
Apply Now

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Programme Application — TIAPS 2026

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