Fiscus is an international consultancy company, established in 2007. It comprises of two full-time directors, an in-house team and a wide variety of associates. These bring extensive experience of public finance and public policy issues in the OECD countries and in developing and transition countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the South Pacific. We have worked in 40+ countries, with governments, international financial institutions, bilateral and multilateral development agencies and not-for-profit organisations such as CABRI, IBP and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The in-house team – presented below – is multi-lingual, working in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, while our international associates cover other language requirements.
Andrew Lawson is co-founder and Technical Director of Fiscus Limited and was until July 2007, the Director of the Centre for Aid and Public Expenditure (CAPE) at the Overseas Development Institute, London. He is an economist, with an extensive experience of the design and implementation of PFM reforms, of PFM diagnostics and of complex evaluation work. He has led a number of major evaluations, and has established a reputation for a rigorous and insightful approach, with a strong emphasis on follow-up actions, through honest and open communication, careful development of recommendations, and clear presentation of final results and proposed solutions. He has led several PEFA assessments as well as analyses of public expenditure in education, health, agriculture, and the environment. Andrew has specialised in the design and evaluation of budget support and financial aid instruments. He was co-author of the OECD-DAC framework for the evaluation of General Budget Support (2008) and subsequently applied it in evaluations. Andrew is a strong communicator with a wide experience in training, capacity development and senior level advice to strategic management. He is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
Fermina Lawson is co-founder and Managing Director of Fiscus. She is a trained Sociologist and Anthropologist and has been responsible for the Finance and Business development of the company since its inception. Fermina has over 20 years experience in Africa and Europe of project administration, including work in the private and NGO sectors and for the Government of Equatorial Guinea, USAID and the Spanish Cooperation Agency. This experience as well as her language skills, have been invaluable in the growth of Fiscus, and in the development of the excellent relationships it has with its partners, clients and collaborators. She speaks Spanish, English, French and conversational Ki-Swahili. Fermina obtained a Certificate of Human Resources Practice in 2011-12 and works continually to improve further her knowledge in the management of people, so as to lead the company forward as an innovative, people-centred business.
Antonio N Lawson has been working for Fiscus Ltd since 2011 as the Office Manager and Project Coordinator. He has 16 years work experience in different industries such as the Oil Industry, the Retail Industry, and most recently in the Catering Industry. He has taken over the accounting section and completed a Book keeping course in January 2016 to further aid him in this process. In 2020 he completed two courses (Basic Project Management) and (Beyond the Basics) to upgrade his project management skills. He speaks Spanish (Mother tongue) and English.
Gonzalo Alvarez de Toledo is a senior Public Sector Change Management specialist for Fiscus, with 22 years of experience in the design, management, monitoring and evaluation of public policies in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. He holds a Master’s in “Social Policy and Planning in Developing Countries” (LSE ,2004), and a Master’s in “Cooperation for Development Policies” (Madrid Complutense 1998). More recently, he has undertaken Change Management studies at SOAS (2020). Gonzalo has supported change processes in the public sector in Latin America (Nicaragua, Perú, Puerto Rico) and Africa (Ethiopia and Mozambique) working for a wide range of Development Agencies (SECO, BMGF, WB, EU). He is a talented team leader and proficient manager of technical assistance teams. Gonzalo has also participated in a number of complex studies and evaluations. His prior experience with Civil Society Organisations in the Middle East and Africa have provided him with excellent cross-cultural understanding and skills. Gonzalo is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
Jamelia Harris is a Research Economist with over eight years of experience in international development. She has been part of the Fiscus Team since 2017. Her work lies in the area of technical assistance, research and evaluation. Before joining Fiscus, Jamelia gained policy and consulting experience having worked as an economist on various projects with organisations such as the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NGRI) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). She also has a range of academic research and teaching experience having held positions at the University of Oxford, University College London (UCL), Warwick University, ISM University in Lithuania, Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone, and the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago. Jamelia holds a DPhil (PhD) in International Development from the University of Oxford, an MSc. in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BSc. in Economics and Actuarial Science from the University of Southampton.
ABAT ABEBE
Fiscus Associate
Abat Abebe, a multidisciplinary legal and finance senior expert, is an Associate at Fiscus and is a teaching faculty member in Addis Ababa university, Ethiopia. In his more than 20 years of experience, Abat, mostly practices in the areas of Public Financial Management (PFM), Accounting/IFRS based financial reporting, tax laws, company and finance, Capital markets law, Auditing, Performance and project management. He cofounded Milabi Trading PLC and served as a General Manager for six years. In the past, he served as a Risk Management and compliance Department Manager at Abay Bank Share Company. As a consultant, he has worked for various Ministries of the Ethiopian Federal Government, as well as other public and private institutions, including the IFC and the World Bank. He has a BA in Accounting and a Master’s Degree in Accounting and Finance from Addis Ababa University. In addition, he has LLB Degree in Law and is currently pursuing a second masters’ degree in Business Law as well as an ACCA certification. He is a certified member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment- a London based financial services professional body. He graduated from all of these degrees either with very great distinction or top scoring with merit. He speaks Amharic (Mother tongue) and English.