Ghanaian economist and development expert Dr. Victoria Kwakwa is the new Vice President of the World Bank for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Dr. Victoria Kwakwa first joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 1989 and has since served in diverse capacities across Africa, East Asia and the Pacific region. Including serving as Lead Economist in Nigeria, Country Manager for Rwanda, and Country Director for Vietnam.
She also served as Vice President, East Asia Pacific until August 2021 and later worked as Vice President, Corporate Strategic Initiatives, a role she occupied until her new appointment.
As World Bank’s Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Dr. Kwakwa will be leading the Bank’s engagement with 26 countries. She will also lead the Bank’s initiatives to promote private sector jobs and economic transformation, build human capital, strengthen climate resilience, agriculture productivity and food security, and improve access to critical infrastructure.
She assumes her new role on July 1, 2022 and succeeds Egyptian and French national, Hafez Ghanem who retired on June 30, 2022.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics from the University of Ghana, and a master’s degree and PhD in Economics from Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada.
