SAN FRANCISCO, April 17, (THEWILL) – The United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, has appointed Ms Vera Songwe as the first female Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
According to a statement on the commission’s website on Monday, Songwe is a Cameroonian economist and a banking executive.
She has been working as the International Finance Corporation’s regional director for Africa covering West and Central Africa since 2015 and is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institute: Global Development and Africa Growth Initiative (since 2011).
The commission said she would be bringing to the position a longstanding track record of policy advice and result oriented implementation in the region, coupled with a strong strategic vision for the region.
Songwe was previously Country Director for Senegal, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania at the World Bank (2012-2015).
She was also the Adviser to the Managing Director of the World Bank for Africa, Europe, Central Asia and South Asia Regions (2008-2011) and Lead Country Sector Coordinator (2005-2008).
