IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop to Highlight Private Sector-Led Solutions at the AFRICA CEO FORUM

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, June 10, 2022 - Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), will participate in the AFRICA CEO FORUM on June 13 and 14 to underscore IFC's commitment to supporting sustainable, private sector-led growth in Africa as the continent recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and navigates new challenges.

Members of IFC's senior leadership team, including the IFC Vice Presidents for Africa, for Economics and Private Sector Development, for Cross-Cutting Solutions and for Treasury, will join Mr. Diop and will participate in key sessions during the FORUM.

With new external shocks such as economic and supply chain fallout from the war in Ukraine pressuring Africa's post-COVID-19 recovery, Mr. Diop will lead discussions with heads-of-state and CEOs on how the private sector can deliver goods, services, and jobs for Africans across the continent.

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 deliver opening remarks ahead of a presidential panel, highlighting private sector-led solutions to help Africa, particularly the Sahel region, rise to the growing food, climate and security crises impacting the continent.

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 13, 2022 – Tuesday, June 14, 2022                   
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. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 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 the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 1, 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.