The African Development Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Leila Mokaddem as the Country Manager for the Central Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office with effect from 1 December 2016. The Central Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office is part of the new business approach of the Bank to accelerate its business and development impacts across Africa. As Country Manager, a new senior executive position in the Bank, Ms. Mokaddem will be responsible for management oversight over country resident representatives and portfolio operations in key countries and serve as the deputy to the Director General in the overall management of the regional office operations.
Ms. Mokaddem, Tunisian, is a seasoned development professional with rich experience in banking operations, policy, finance and private sector development. She has special skills and experience in managing Bank operations in fragile states by forging successful dialogues with governments.
Ms. Mokaddem joined the African Development Bank in 2002. She was Manager of the Financial Institutions Division and was responsible for financial and private sector development, microfinance and the small and medium size enterprise portfolio. She led the development of the Africa Guarantee Fund. In 2011, she was promoted to the role of Resident Representative of the Senegal Regional Office. She provided leadership and management to Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania and Cape Verde. She was later appointed in 2014 as Resident Representative to Egypt, where she has delivered an impressive turn-around of the Bank's portfolio in the country, at a time of great instability and uncertainty. She currently manages a portfolio of US $2.3 billion in Egypt, where she has significantly improved the performance of the country portfolio, bringing it up to 71% disbursement.
Ms. Mokaddem earlier worked at the Tunisian Ministry of Economy from 1984 to 1996, as Director in charge of export policies and strategy, from where she joined the International Monetary Fund and served as an advisor to the Minister of Finance in Haiti. She was appointed by the President of Haiti as advisor to the presidential public-private committee developing a new investment code, amongst other advisory roles. She worked variously from 1998-2002 as a consultant for different international organizations, including the World Bank and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.
Ms. Mokaddem studied business, finance, administration, and public sector management at the Institute des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Tunisia. She has a master's degree in international business and foreign trade policy from the Institut Superieur de Gestion, Tunisia.
The President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said of the appointment: "Ms. Leila Mokaddem brings deep experience in managing operations within fragile situations. She has been instrumental in turning around the Bank's operations in Egypt, at a time of high fragility and uncertainty, due to her strong managerial and diplomatic skills. As the Bank rolls out its new business model to accelerate its operations in the Central African region, I am delighted that Leila will provide the needed managerial support for our efforts across the region".
