The West African Center for Banking Studies and Training (COFEB) organized, in collaboration with the Directorate of Statistics (DSTAT), a face-to-face training seminar on “Time Series Processing and Forecasting Using R Software”, from January 20 to 24, 2020, at BCEAO headquarters.

The seminar was facilitated by two (2) experts from France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) and brought together eighteen (18) participants primarily employed as forecasters at the Bank’s headquarters and remote sites. The main objective of the seminar was to increase participants' familiarity with the use of R software, including time series processing, inflation forecasting, quarterly GDP calculation, and Bank condition data analysis.

The opening ceremony was conducted by Mr. Madani Touré, Advisor to the Director General for Economic and Monetary Affairs and Director of Statistics.

During his remarks, he applauded the productive partnership between the BCEAO and INSEE and urged the participants to focus on getting the most out of the training session. He emphasized that, at the end of their training, remote site staff should be able to compute country indicators at the local level, in addition to collecting the usual field data, before submitting them  to Head Office.

At the end of the session, the participants expressed their overall satisfaction with the training contents and the program, and their appreciation for the skills and expertise of the team of facilitators. They also expressed a need for additional training on other functionalities of R software.

The session ended with the presentation of certificates of attendance to the participants during a ceremony chaired by Mr. Touré.