The African Development Bank Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Jean-Guy Afrika as Acting Director of the Regional Integration Coordination Office, effective 16 December 2021.
Afrika, a citizen of Rwanda, has extensive experience in public policy, regional integration, infrastructure finance, and project management.
Afrika holds a Master of Arts degree in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University. He is an alumnus of executive programs in trade, leadership, and negotiations from the Harvard Kennedy School, Oxford University, and the Graduate Institute of Geneva. Before this appointment, he was Officer-in-Charge of the Regional Integration Coordination Office.
As Officer-in-Charge of the Regional Integration Coordination Office, Afrika was responsible for the day-to-day management of the department and reported on the strategic performance of the Bank's regional integration portfolio, currently valued at $13 billion. During this time, he sharpened the operational mandate of the department, streamlined coordination mechanisms, and deepened partnerships with the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, and the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Working closely with regional and country offices, Mr. Afrika helped increase the pipeline of regional operations from the Bank's concessional window (15th replenishment of the African Development Fund) by more than $1 billion. He advised on and helped structure one of the largest regional operations in the Bank's history, the recently approved $555 million Central Africa Republic-Congo (Brazzaville) Multimodal Transport Project, co-financed with the Development Bank of Central African States.
Since joining the Bank in 2010, Afrika has worked in various capacities and roles in the Agriculture and Rural Infrastructure Department, the NEPAD Regional Integration and Trade Department, and the Industrialization and Trade Development Department. During this period, he contributed to the design, appraisal, or implementation of more than 35 projects, spanning sectors such as trade facilitation, transport, energy, agriculture, and private sector development. In collaboration with the African Union, he also spearheaded the design of Africa's flagship regional integration knowledge products such as the Africa Regional Integration Index and the Africa Visa Openness Index.
Before joining the Bank, Afrika worked as Senior Policy Expert with the East African Community, and Director of Export Promotion at the Rwanda Investment & Export Promotion Agency, where he supported several policy and institutional reforms to improve Rwanda's business environment and sustain export growth. At the East African Community, he supported the adoption and implementation by partner states of protocols, policies, and regulations that deepened regional integration.
Commenting on his appointment, Afrika said: "I am deeply grateful to President Adesina for this appointment, which provides me with the opportunity to continue to contribute to the realization of the Bank's High 5s (especially Integrate Africa), the African Union's Agenda 2063, and the African Continental Free Trade Area."
African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina said: "Jean-Guy is a development specialist with good leadership skills, an understanding of Bank systems, and knowledge of Africa's regional integration challenges and solutions. He will provide leadership to the department during this transitional period."
