The newly appointed Director of the Gender, Women and Civil Society Department of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Malado Kaba, has remarked her determination to help in promoting the rights of women and girls, and the engagement of civil society.
Kaba, whose appointment was announced by the bank on 20 May, said the rights of women and girls, and the engagement of civil society are inextricably linked to the continued economic development of Africa.
The Guinean brings over 25 years of experience in international development and finance, covering public policy, macroeconomic policies, gender and development strategies.
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.
‘I would like to thank President Adesina for giving me the opportunity to serve the bank in this capacity’, she said in the statement.
‘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’.
Kaba served as the first female Minister of Finance and the Economy for Guinea. In that role, from 2016 to 2018, she led initiatives to increase fiscal transparency, fight corruption and promote good governance.
In 2017, she 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 and other infrastructure projects.
‘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’, AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, said.
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.
The international development and finance expert is 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 Centre for Global Development, a United States-based think-tank.
Kaba, according to the bank, will resume on 16 June, 2022.
Photo source: Malado Kaba
