Senegalese Makhtar Diop appointed head of the International Finance Corporation

Makhtar Diop, former World Bank Vice President for Africa, has just been appointed head of the IFC, the International Finance Corporation, the private investment arm of the World Bank.

 

Makhtar Diop, the first African to occupy this strategic position, is a seasoned economist with a passion for sustainable development.

“Makhtar Diop has deep development and finance experience and a career of energetic leadership and service to developing countries in both public and private sectors,” said WB President David Malpass when announcing the appointment.

Where will Makhtar Diop stop? The former Vice President of the World Bank, who headed the Africa Department for six years and then the Investment Department, will take charge of the IFC as of March 1.

As Managing Director of this WB branch dedicated to financing the private sector around the world, and whose role continues to grow in importance, Diop will be in charge of mobilizing private capital for the development of economies.

 

As Vice President for the Africa Region, he oversaw a major expansion of the WB work in Africa and the delivery of a record-breaking $70 billion in commitments. A passionate advocate for Africa and sustainable development globally, Diop led efforts aimed at increasing access to affordable and sustainable energy and promoting an enabling environment for innovation and technology adoption, according to a WB press release.

 

At the age of sixty, Makhtar Diop has become a key player at the World Bank. Since 2018, he has been managing the institution’s reactor core, i.e. the huge infrastructure projects piloted by the bank.

 

This financier trained in London and Paris, who was also an economist at the International Monetary Fund, had a brief ministerial spell in Senegal, occupying the Economics and Finance portfolio between 2000 and 2001. He was responsible for a major reform of the Senegalese Customs and Treasury.

 

A recognized opinion leader in development, Makhtar 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. He holds advanced degrees in economics and finance.

This lawyer’s son, native of the Louga region, is reputed to be calm and discreet. A martial arts enthusiast who practiced martial arts in his youth up to university level, he may have meditated on the maxim of the master in the matter, Bruce Lee: “In life, there are no limits, but levels that must be reached and then exceeded”.