Anna Bjerde oversees the World Bank’s operations across developing and emerging markets with the goal of stepping up the World Bank Group’s impact by creating more and better jobs as a pathway out of poverty. Under her leadership, the World Bank Group has achieved record levels of financing in 2025 and launched bold new initiatives, including Mission 300 to bring electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030.

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Andrew Dabalen is the World Bank’s Africa Region Chief Economist since July 1, 2022. The Chief Economist is responsible for providing guidance on strategic priorities and the technical quality of economic analysis in the region, as well as for developing major regional economic studies, among other roles.

Baroness Chapman was appointed Minister of State (International Development and Africa) in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in September, 2025. Baroness Chapman has held previous senior roles in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. On February 28, 2025 she was appointed Minister of State (International Development, Latin America and Caribbean). Before that she was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office between July 8, 2024 and February 28, 2025.

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Julien Paluku Kahongya is the Minister of Foreign Trade of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a position he has held since 2024. A seasoned political and public sector leader, he previously served as Minister of Industry from 2019 to 2024 and Governor of North Kivu Province for more than a decade, from 2007 to 2018. Over the course of his career, he has played a central role in strengthening territorial governance, promoting decentralization, and supporting economic and institutional development in the DRC. He brings extensive expertise in public administration, conflict resolution, and development policy, with a long-standing focus on regional stability and economic transformation. Mr. Paluku Kahongya holds advanced academic training in political and administrative sciences, community health, and rural development, including a Master’s degree from the University of Kinshasa.

Mariama Sylla is in charge of the ministry of economy, finance and budget, since February 2026. Prior to this appointment, she served as Minister of Agriculture (July 2025-January 2026), where she initiated reforms aimed at strengthening agricultural productivity, value chain development, and the integration of agriculture into Guinea’s broader economic transformation agenda. Before joining the Government, she served as Resident Representative of the World Bank Group in Namibia, IFC Country Representative, and IFC Regional Coordinator for Fragile and Conflict Affected States in West Africa and the Sahel. Her professional background further includes significant experience in the international private sector, notably with Maersk Line in Guinea and Safmarine Lines in Belgium, as well as in the financial and advisory sectors, including BRED Bank in France and KPMG.

Minister Sangafowa-Coulibaly has served as Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Mines, Petroleum, and Energy since 2022. He was the Minister of Agriculture from 2010 to 2019 and was the Chair of the FAO African Ministers of Agriculture Conference from 2016 to 2018. He is also the Vice President of the International Foundation for the Adaptation of African Agriculture to Climate Change (AAA). Mr. Sangafowa-Coulibaly was elected Vice President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) for 2025 and currently assumes the APPO Presidency in 2026. Prior to joining the government, Mr. Sangafowa-Coulibaly was the Founder of an international trading company in 1992, specializing in freight transport and the export of tropical products to North Africa and Europe. A graduate of the University of Abidjan’s Faculty of Science and Technology and Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program, he brings decades of public and private sector experience. He is a member of Côte d’Ivoire Parliament, and a recipient of numerous national and international honors.

Aliko Dangote is the founder and chairman of the Dangote Group, one of Africa’s largest industrial conglomerates with interests spanning cement, sugar, and oil refining. He established the company in 1977 as a commodities trading firm before expanding into large-scale manufacturing, including Dangote Cement and the Dangote Refinery, now key players in Africa’s industrial sector. Dangote has played a significant role in shaping Nigeria’s economic landscape, both as a businessman and as a philanthropist at the helm of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, a private foundation focused on addressing childhood malnutrition, access to healthcare and education inequality. In 2011, he was appointed to Nigeria’s economic management team and has since remained an influential figure in business and public policy across the continent. He was most recently appointed to the World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab, an initiative geared towards job creation in developing countries. 

Linda Mabhena-Olagunju is the Founder and CEO of DLO Energy Resources Group (Pty) Ltd, a 100% Black woman-owned independent power producer operating wind farms in Africa. In 2014, through DLO Energy Resources Group, she co-developed two utility-scale wind farms under South Africa's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). She continues to develop projects across the African continent. She serves as Chairperson of J.P. Morgan's Abadali Fund in South Africa and has previously served on the advisory boards of the University of Oxford, the Zayed Future Energy Prize, Energy for Access, and City Power Johannesburg. In 2022, she launched the DLO Skills Initiative, an AI-powered training platform focused on technical and entrepreneurial skills in the renewable energy sector. Mabhena-Olagunju holds an LLB from the University of Cape Town, an LLM (with distinction) from the University of Aberdeen, and is an MIT Kuo Sharper Foundry Fellow.

Harsh Kothari is the Chief Executive Officer of the Mohan Group of Companies, a leading industrial conglomerate in Ethiopia. Under his leadership, the group has become a pivotal figure of Ethiopia’s private sector, driving industrialization through value addition, import substitution, and the creation of essential industrial linkages. A pioneer in regional trade infrastructure, Mr. Kothari led Mohan PLC to become the first fully operational entity within the Dire Dawa Free Trade Zone. He is an expert in the manufacturing and logistics of industrial chemicals and polymers, and he provides strategic insights into the regulatory frameworks that enable businesses to thrive in East African special economic zones. Representing a multi-generational business legacy, Mr. Kothari is also a dedicated observer of global economic trends and is currently documenting the evolution of the Ethiopian business landscape.

A British national with Nigerian heritage, Femi Oke is an international journalist, writer and moderator. Since the 1980s, she has worked for BBC television and radio, Sky TV, all U.K. terrestrial television networks, CNN and U.S. public radio. Oke’s reporting has been recognized by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Communications Agency and InterAction. In addition, she is the co-founder of Moderate the Panel, and a graduate of Birmingham University, where she received a bachelor's degree in English literature and language. You can connect with her anytime via X @FemiOke