Africa Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina/eNCA
COTE D’IVOIRE, Abidjan, 24 Nov – Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has announced the appointments of Director Generals that will head 5 regions in Africa.
Janvier Litse as Director General, West Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office; Mr. Ousmane Dore as Director General, Central Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office; Mr. Gabriel Negatu as Director General, East Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office; Mr. Mohamed El Azizi as Director General of the Bank’s North Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office; Dr Tonia Kandiero as Director General, Southern Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office; and Mr. Ebrima Faal as Director of the Bank’s Nigeria Country Office.
“I am pleased to announce the appointments of five Director Generals,” said Adesina. “With the completion of the appointments of the Directors General and the Country Managers to support them, as well as the Director of the Nigeria Country Office – all following the recruitment of all Vice-Presidents – the Bank is now fully set to roll out its New Development and Business Delivery Model. This will allow us to achieve the High 5s to accelerate the achievement of our Ten Year Strategy.”
Mr. Janvier Litse, a Cameroonian, has been appointed Director General West Africa Regional leading a team of 700 people. Litse has twenty-four years of experience at the African Development Bank and has held various positions of responsibilities at the Bank. He served as Acting Vice President, Operations from 2011–2012, and from 2014 to present.
Dr. Ousmane Dore, who will take care of Central Africa, brings more than 20 years of experience spanning development finance, government, and academia. In 2007, he served as Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning for the Government of Guinea. He brings senior level and practical experience in engaging at the highest levels of government across the region.
Dr. Dore joined the African Development Bank in 2011 as Resident Representative and later as Country Director of Nigeria. In this capacity, he grew and diversified the Bank’s portfolio and played a key role in regional dialogues through his work with the Economic Community of West African States. He oversees a strong diverse portfolio of over US $4.5 billion.
The East Africa Regional Development and Business Development delivery office will be headed by Mr. Gabriel Negatu.
Negatu has more than 25 years of senior level program, operations and managerial experience, including 18 years at the African Development Bank. He brings extensive experience in operations, having been senior and principal program officer (1998-2002), Chief Program Officer (2002-2006) and Sector Director for Economic and Financial Governance, where he led the Bank’s first governance department.
He was credited for successfully leading the Bank’s response to the global financial crisis and for spearheading the use of budget support operations for fragile states.
Moroccan Mohamed El Azizi, is now the Director General North Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office.
He has 26 years of experience, including extensive senior level managerial experience in leading high performing teams in national, regional and international organisations. He is a well-respected development expert and has broad experience in successfully developing infrastructure projects in Africa. He is a Member of the Board of Governors of the World Water Council.
El Azizi is currently the Director, Water and Sanitation Department and African Water Facility at the Bank, managing a portfolio of 105 operations in 38 African countries worth about US $3.4 billion.
“Mr. Mohamed El Azizi is a proven leader with extensive experience in Bank operations. He has led and effectively managed very large and complex Bank projects. He brings years of experience in working with public and private sectors across Africa. Mohamed’s leadership, ability to build effective partnerships and deep knowledge of North Africa region will be great assets to the Bank’s as he leads our work in the region,” Adesina said.
Dr. Tonia Kandiero, who is currently the African Development Bank’s Resident Representative for Tanzania, will take care of Southern Africa
“Dr. Tonia Kandiero has successfully grown and managed the Bank’s operations in Tanzania, where she is overseeing the Bank’s largest operations under the African Development Fund. Tonia’s experience in regional trade, macroeconomics, policy and operations of the Bank, and deep knowledge of the region, will be very helpful as the Bank rolls out its New Development and Business Delivery Model for accelerating its operations in the Southern Africa region,” said Dr. Adesina.
In additional to the regional offices, Ebrima Faal, has been appointed Director, Nigeria Country Office
The Nigeria Country Office is the largest single office of the African Development Bank, which oversees a portfolio of over $ 5 billion and deals with 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
Faal is a seasoned development leader with diverse global operational experience. He brings substantive expertise in banking operations, administration, and strategy, developed over nearly 25 years working at the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
He is currently the Director of the Office of the Senior Vice-President of the African Development Bank, where he executes and manages corporate performance, provides oversight for operations across different departments and Vice Presidencies of the Bank and supports corporate planning and strategy execution.
He provided leadership on the design and approval of the new Development and Business Delivery Model of the Bank and the High Five priorities of the Bank to accelerate the achievement of the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy.
