Smita Kuriakose is a Lead Economist in the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice in the World Bank. She is currently based in the Pretoria, South Africa where she leads the work program on private sector development, innovation and entrepreneurship for Southern Africa. Her expertise is in science, technology & innovation policy, skills development, business environment and competitiveness.
Her work has covered over 25 countries. She has led regional flagships publications in the Europe and Central Asia, East Asia and Pacific and Africa regions on innovation and entrepreneurship issues and multi-sectoral operations of both Development Policy and Investment Policy Instruments.
Prior to joining the Bank in Washington DC, she worked on a United Nations Project and the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit of the World Bank at New Delhi, India where she focused on fiscal and macro policies. Smita holds graduate degrees in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park in the US and the Delhi School of Economics in India.