Malado Kaba is AfDB’s new Director of the Gender, Women and Civil Society
The African Development Bank has announced the appointment of Malado Kaba as Director of the Gender, Women and Civil Society Department of the African Development Bank, effective 16th June 2022.
Malada, a Guinean citizen, takes of the helm left by Vanessa Moungar, who served in the post from June 2017 until her departure to join LVMH as head of diversity and inclusion, in July 2021.
brings over 25 years of experience in international development and finance, covering public policy, macroeconomic policies, gender and development strategies. She is an accomplished leader in international development and finance and has served as the first female minister of Finance and the Economy for the Republic of Guinea. Kaba has a combination of high-level experience in public and private-sector organisations and has worked with the government, global institutions, and non-governmental organisations.
Prior to her appointment, Kaba was the Managing Director of Falémé Conseil, a consultancy firm which provides advisory services to public and private sector organisations on strategy, economic development, governance, capacity building and financial inclusion.
As a minister from 2016-2018, she led successful initiatives to increase fiscal transparency, fight corruption and promote good governance. In 2017, Kaba successfully negotiated a new IMF Extended Credit Facility agreement, which included a commercial loan envelop of $650 million, and also led and completed negotiations for $2.5 billion in funding to build Guinea’s biggest dam (the 500MW Souapiti dam) and other infrastructure projects.
Before her appointment as minister, Kaba served as country head for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in Guinea, advising leaders and senior officials in government on both public policies and project implementation. She led a team in the implementation of a portfolio of government projects (energy infrastructure, health and governance) worth more than $2 billion. Before that, she worked as an economist for the European Commission in different countries and led a large portfolio of programs focusing on public, economic and government policy.
Malado is certified as a non-executive independent Director of the Institute of Directors, London, and sits on the advisory board of the African Women Investment Fund (AWIF) of the Economic Commission for Africa. She is also a board trustee at International Budget Partnership and the Chairwoman of Orabank Guinea. Since November 2021, she has been a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development, a US-based think-tank. A strong advocate for promoting women’s rights and leadership, Kaba mentors promising African women across the continent.
Commenting on her appointment, Kaba said: “I would like to thank President Adesina for giving me the opportunity to serve the Bank in this capacity. The promotion of the rights of women and girls, and the engagement of civil society are inextricably linked to the continued economic development of our continent. I am excited and honoured to work closely with President Adesina and the talented and dedicated team at the Bank, to help meet the Bank’s strategic priorities over the years ahead.”
President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said: “I am delighted to appoint Ms. Malado Kaba as the Director for Gender, Women and Civil Society Department. Malado, a respected gender and development professional, will lead the team, providing intellectual and strategic leadership to the Bank Group’s strategic framework on Gender, Women and Civil Society agenda, working across technical, geographic and institutional boundaries to support the delivery of development solutions to a diverse range of clients, across the continent.”
