Nathalie Francken, a Belgian national, is the Alternate Executive Director and Director for MIGA representing the constituency of Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Turkey (EDS10). She has been Member of the WBG Board since 2018.
Prior to joining the WBG, Ms. Francken served as Advisor on Agriculture and Food Security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Cooperation of Belgium, Research Manager at the Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS) at the Catholic University of Leuven, Associate Researcher at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels, and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Belgian Development Agency, Enabel.
Ms. Francken has field experience from various developing countries and worked for the Cornell University Food and Nutrition Policy Program, the Government of Madagascar, UNICEF, FAO and the World Bank. She was also a Young Professional/Economist at the African Development Bank.
Ms. Francken conducted research on development economics and political economy, more specifically on public finance, service delivery, food and nutrition security and the social implications of the natural resource curse. She published in several peer-reviewed international journals. She is also the main author of the strategic policy note on ‘Agriculture and Food Security’ for the Belgian Development Cooperation.
Ms. Francken earned a Ph.D. in Economics, an M.Sc. in Economics, and a Master of Agricultural Engineering at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.