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Makhtar Diop

Makhtar Diop

Managing Director, IFC

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.


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    Back to the Future

    Can Africa leapfrog its way into the future? There is no doubt that technology and innovation are transforming Africa.
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    On Forced Displacement, We Must Listen to Africa

    Africa hosts more than one fourth of the world¡¯s forcibly displaced population. In this op-ed, Makhtar Diop, the World Bank¡¯s Vice President for Africa, argues that it¡¯s time to think outside the box and empower host communities.
  • To promote human development, we must bet on sports.
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    Poverty in Africa Must be Quantified Before It Can Be Defeated

    This decline in the poverty rate in Africa masks a reality that is hard to ignore: because of rapid population growth, Africa is now the region with the highest concentration of poor.
  • IDA17 Mid-Term Review: Opening Session, November 18, 2015
  • Policymaking in Africa: Reflections from Decades of Experience, March 31, 2015
  • Lessons for Africa from China¡¯s Growth, January 13, 2015
  • Helping DRC Become Africa¡¯s Powerhouse, July 25, 2014
  • Africa Innovate: Celebrating Successes and Addressing Challenges, May 16, 2014
  • The African Gold Rush: 2014 NYU Africa Economic Forum, April 26, 2014
  • Speech by Makhtar Diop at the University of Michigan STEM-Africa Initiative Third Biennial Conference, April 1, 2014
  • Speech by Makhtar Diop at the High-level Forum on Higher Education, Science and Technology in Africa, March 13, 2014
  • Speech by World Bank Africa Region Vice President Makhtar Diop to the Senegal Consultative Group, February 24, 2014
  • Remarks by Makhtar Diop, Vice President for the Africa Region, World Bank - Nairobi, Kenya, December 11, 2013
  • Celebrating 50 Years of Development Partnership with Uganda - Remarks by Makhtar Diop, Vice President for the Africa Region, World Bank, December 10, 2013
  • Statement by World Bank Group Vice President for Africa Makhtar Diop on the Death of Nelson Mandela, December 6, 2013
  • From Growth to Transformation, October 13, 2013
  • Strengthening Agriculture Public Expenditure in Sub Saharan Africa, October 10, 2013
  • Getting Africa¡¯s Infrastructure Built, by World Bank Vice President for Africa Makhtar Diop, October 10, 2013
  • Private Sector Solutions for the Water Crisis in Agriculture, October 9, 2013

 

  • Back to the Future: why Africa¡¯s Leapfrogging Means Going Back to Basics, October 11, 2017
  • Making Everyone Count: How Identification Could Transform the Lives of Millions of Africans, June 24, 2017
  • What can we learn from Africa's approach to forced displacement? June 6, 2016
  • Closing the Gender Gap: Lessons from Africa, February 25, 2016
  • Banking on agriculture for Africa¡¯s future - Brookings Institution,
  • Cop 21: An Opportunity For Africa, December 1, 2015
  • Listen More Closely to Africa¡¯s Voice on Climate Change, Septembrer 22, 2014
  • Powering Science and Technology for Africa¡¯s Economic Transformation, May 20, 2014
  • More Irrigation and Pastoralism Could Transform Africa¡¯s Sahel Region, October 28, 2013
  • Securing Africa's Land for Shared Prosperity - All Africa, 

 

  • Canal +, June 6, 2017 -
  • Devex, February 15, 2017 -
  • Paris Match, December 15, 2016 -
  • France 24, December 9, 2015 -
  • RFI Radio, December 5, 2015 - 
  • TV5 Monde, December 3, 2015 -
  • La Nouvelle Expression, December 3, 2015 -
  • Le Figaro, December 1, 2015 - 
  • RFI Radio, December 1, 2015 -
  • France Inter, December 1, 2015 -
  • Le Point Afrique, November 30, 2015 -
  • Afriquinfos, November 30, 2015 -
  • France Inter,  November 30, 2015 - 
  • Jeune Afrique, November 25, 2015 -
  • Le Monde Afrique, November 2, 2015 - 
  • Le Monde Afrique, October 20, 2015 -
  • RFI Radio, October 16, 2015 - 
  • AFP, October 16, 2015 -
  • This is Africa, October 11, 2015 -
  • Liberation, October 5, 2015 -
  • France 24, September 21, 2015 -
  • RFI Radio, September 15, 2015 -
  • Lusa, February 22, 2015 -
  • TV 5 Monde, Febuary 8, 2015 -
  • Jeune Afrique, February 2, 2015 - 
  • Le Figaro, November 29 2014 - 
  • RFI Radio, November 7 2014 - 
  • Jeune Afrique, 5 novembre 2014 - 
  • RFI Radio, September 19, 2014 -
  • France 24, August 9, 2014 -
  • Jeune Afrique, August 6, 2014 -
  • RFI Radio, August 1, 2014 - Listen
  • Canal +/Jeune Afrique, July 18, 2014 -
  • RFI Radio, February 1, 2014 - 
  • Le Soleil, November 5, 2013 - 
  • Al Jazeera, November 2, 2013 - 
  • RFI Radio, Octobre 31, 2013 - 
  • RTS1, October 30, 2013 - 
  • Citizens Platform, January 14, 2013 - 
  • Jeune Afrique, November 22, 2012 - 
  • RFI Radio, November 15, 2012 - 
  • RFI Radio, October 13, 2012 - 
  • Africa24, July 25, 2012 - 
  • RFI Radio, July 23, 2012 - 
  • Jeune Afrique, July 22, 2012 - 
  • Jeune Afrique, July 22, 2012 - 
  • Les Echos, July 18, 2012 - 
  • Africa24, July 18, 2012 - 
  • Africa Investor, July 1, 2012 - 

 

Interviews
Jim Rosenberg
Washington
jrosenberg@ifc.org

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