Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, June 1, 2022 - Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), will participate in the Africa CEO Forum on June 5 to underscore IFC's commitment to supporting sustainable, private sector-led growth in Africa as the continent faces an array of challenges and opportunities, from rising inflation and climate change to rapid advances in digital technology.
Mr. Diop will be joined by members of IFC's senior leadership team for talks with African government and business leaders at the Forum, Africa's largest and most high-level annual gathering dedicated to strengthening and growing the continent's private sector.
Mr. Diop will open the Forum alongside H.E Alassane Ouattara, President of Côte d'Ivoire, and Amir Ben Yahmed, President & Founder of the Africa CEO Forum. Mr. Diop will also participate in a panel discussion along with UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen focused on how Africa can create a circular economy for plastics and green its manufacturing sector.
With Africa showing resilience in the face of a series of global shocks, including from COVID-19 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Diop will lead discussions with heads-of-state and CEOs on the opportunities for Africa's private sector to continue to grow sustainably and adopt new technologies and strategies.
Media are invited to register for the Africa CEO Forum and to submit requests for interviews with Mr. Diop.
IFC has co-hosted the Africa CEO Forum since 2018, underscoring its commitment to supporting the private sector to build a better, greener, and more inclusive future for Africa.
WHO: Makhtar Diop, Managing Director, IFC - @Diop_IFC
WHEN: Monday, June 5, 2023
WHERE: Sofitel Hotel Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
For media requests, please contact:
- Kristina Nwazota | knwazota@ifc.org | +1 202 422 2408
- Abdoul Maiga | amaiga7@ifc.org | +1 202 967 8969
About IFC
IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. IFC works in more than 100 countries, using its capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2022, IFC committed a record $32.8 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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Makhtar Diop
Makhtar Diop is IFC's Managing Director. He assumed this position on March 1st, 2021. Prior to this appointment, he was the World Bank's Vice President for Infrastructure, where he led the Bank's global efforts to build sustainable infrastructure in developing and emerging economies. In this role, he oversaw the Bank's critical work in energy, transport, digital infrastructure, and public-private partnerships.
Prior to this, Mr. Diop served for six years as the World Bank's Vice President for Africa, where he oversaw the delivery of a record-breaking USD$70 billion to Sub-Saharan Africa to help tackle development challenges such as increasing access to energy; boosting women's and youth's economic empowerment; and promoting an enabling environment for more innovation and technology adoption. A passionate advocate for Africa's right to clean and affordable electricity, he also called for greater investment in renewable energy and pushed for stronger regional interconnectivity in the power and transport sectors. He previously served as World Bank Director for Finance, Private Sector & Infrastructure in the Latin America, and the Caribbean Region; Country Director for Brazil, where he helped finance major infrastructure work; and Country Director for Kenya, Eritrea, and Somalia.
Mr. Diop brings to the post a deep level of experience and understanding of development challenges and a firm grasp of the public/private sector interface. His main priorities will be to mobilize investments in the poorest and most fragile countries and create the conditions for a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable recovery. In addition to his international organization experience, Mr. Diop, an economist by training who started his career in the banking industry before joining the IMF and later the World Bank, has extensive private sector experience. He has also held government positions, most notably as Minister of Economy and Finance of Senegal, where he played a key role in instituting structural reforms that helped build a strong foundation for Senegal's growth in the late 1980s.
A recognized opinion leader in the economic and social development field, Makhtar Diop has been named one of the 100 most influential Africans in the world. In 2015, he received the prestigious Regents' Lectureship Award from the University of California, Berkeley.
Mr. Diop holds degrees in economics from the Universities of Warwick and Nottingham in England.
