DIRECTORS
Board of Directors
CoDA’s work is guided, and the institution is governed, by a Board of eminent African and non-African personalities. The Board Members serve in their personal capacity and are selected among the most eminent, effective and esteemed African and international personalities noted for their professional accomplishments, their national and international leadership experience, and their commitment to Africa’s growth and development.
The current Chairperson of the CoDA Board of Directors is H.E. Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Sudan. Prior to this, the Board was led by H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The work of the Board of Directors has always been supported by the CoDA secretariat which currently has offices at the AUC and ECA. However, reflecting on the various pertinent decisions made by the Board of Directors at its 11th meeting in April 2015, it was proposed that a technical committee should be formed to support the Board.
In line with this proposal, the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for the CoDA Board was established following the approval of the Board. The establishment of the TAC was necessary to avoid unchecked autonomy of the secretariat and ensure that its leadership diligently adheres to the Board’s decisions. CoDA is, therefore, led by its Board of Directors with the support of the TAC, which also oversees the CoDA secretariat.
TAC is responsible for reviewing the analytical papers and other documents prepared by the CoDA secretariat and submitting recommendations to the board accordingly. It provides guidance to the secretariat regarding the CoDA annual work programme and oversees the day-to-day functioning of the secretariat on behalf of the Board.
H.E. Dr. Abdalla Hamdok
Chairperson
H.E. Dr. Abdalla Hamdok presided over the Transitional Government of The Sudan as Prime Minister during the period of 2019 to 2021. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Hamdok served as Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
Policy Analyst/Economist by profession with over forty years’
experience with public, private and international organizations, with
extensive work experience in Africa and the Middle East.
Over the years have developed an interest in economic and social policy
analysis, focusing on issues related to sustainable development,
strategic & corporate planning, poverty analysis, regional integration
and trade, labor market, social protection & micro-credit, governance &
public financial management and accountability, macroeconomic
policies, institutions, capacity development and resource management.
H.E. Mr. Erastus Mwencha
Board Member
H.E. Erastus Mwencha was Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission from 2008 to 2012. He is a Pan Africanist with over thirty years of progressive experience in policy formulation and institutional transformation at national, regional and continental levels in Africa. Prior to his election at the African Union Commission, he worked at the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa for over 25 years and served as its Secretary General for 10 years. He contributed to the expansion of intra-COMESA trade, developing programmes for private sector cooperation and trade with the rest of world and leading regional hard and soft infrastructure programmes in transport, communication and energy. Mr Mwencha developed the continental negotiating position for the Doha Round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization, Economic Partnership Agreements, African Growth and Opportunity Act and actively supported programmes to integrate women in development. H.E. Mwencha has held several senior positions within the Ministry of Industry in Kenya.
H.E. Dr. Maxwell Mkwezalamba
Board Member
Preceding his service as Minister of Finance for the Republic of Malawi
in 2013, Dr. Maxwell Mkwezalamba was the Commissioner for Economic
Affairs, African Union from 2004 to 2013. He has also served as the Executive
Director for the Africa Group 1 Constituency comprising 23 African countries,
at the International Monetary Fund. In addition to lecturing and heading the
Economics Department at the University of Malawi, he has worked in various
capacities for the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and
Industry, the World Bank and the Malawi Government. From May 2013 to
October 2013, he was a Consultant for the World Bank, Africa Region's
Regional Integration Division. He has also worked as a consultant on
development, financial and economic management issues for the Malawi
Government, the UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, and the former GTZ. He also
served on the Board of the Reserve Bank of Malawi as Non-Executive Director
and chair of the Board’s Audit Committee. Currently, he serves as
Non-Executive Director at the African Risk Capacity Limited. As Senior
Adviser, he oversees CoDA/AU HLP - IFF Secretariat’s work on measurement
of IFF in Africa and other undertakings related to domestic resources creation
and mobilization. He graduated in Economics from Chancellor College,
University of Malawi, and obtained a Master's degree in Economics in 1984
from the University of Manchester, UK; and a Master's degree in Policy
Economics in 1992 as well as a Ph.D in Economics in 1995 from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA.
Dr. Hakim Ben Hammouda
Board Member
H.E. Dr Hakim Ben Hammouda is a former Minister of Economy and Finance of Tunisia, and Member of CoDA Board of Directors. Dr Ben Hammouda served as Minister of Economy and Finance under the interim Prime Minister of Tunisia, Medhi Jomaa. He held several other positions, including as Special Adviser to the President of the African Development Bank, Chief Economist of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and Director of the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation at the World Trade Organization.
Amb. Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu
Board Member
Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu is former Special Adviser to the President on Economic
Matters in the Office of the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Prior to this, Dr. Dipeolu was Director of the Capacity Development Division of
the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). In this role, he
was also Member of the Technical Committee and Head of the Secretariat of
the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. Dr. Dipeolu’s earlier
assignments at the ECA included serving as Chief of Staff and as Coordinator
of the African Trade Policy Centre. Before joining ECA, Dr. Dipeolu served in
the Nigerian Diplomatic Service in Geneva, Pretoria, Addis Ababa and
Caracas. He has also been Special Assistant in the Office of the Chief of Staff
to the President of Nigeria. He studied economics at Ife University and
diplomacy at Oxford University.
He obtained his M. Phil. with distinction from Cambridge University and his
Ph.D. from the University of South Africa. He was awarded a D.Sc. in
Economics (Honoris Causa) by Lead City University and conferred with a
Fellowship of the Nigerian Economic Society in 2019.
Dr. Amany Asfour
Board Member
Dr. Amany Asfour graduated from Faculty of Medicine – Cairo University
and had her Master Degree & M.D. degree in Pediatrics at the National
Research Center of Egypt. She joined the private sector since she was a
student at the Faculty of Medicine. Within a few years she was able to
establish her company for Health Care Management and Medical
equipment with more than 30 brands. She established the Egyptian
Business Women Association in 1995 with the objectives of promoting
young generations of Women Entrepreneurs & giving guidance to women business owners of Small & Medium
enterprises, increasing role of women in the value chain and value addition. Dr. Asfour than established The
Federation of Business & Professional Women BPW – Egypt and subsequently founded the African Alliance for
Women Empowerment which has focal points all over Africa & its main target is Women Empowerment in Africa &
establishing projects and marketing of products for women entrepreneurs and women owners of small & medium
enterprises in the African continent for Africa's economic Growth and increasing Intra Africa Trade. Dr. Asfour is the
founder and Chair of the African Congress for Women Entrepreneurs. Dr Asfour is also elected as the Chair of the
FEMCOM-Egypt Federation of Business Women Associations in the COMESA Region (Common Market for Eastern
& Southern African) .Dr Asfour was also elected as the Chair of the COMESA Business Council the apex Body of
Private sector in COMESA and she is the first Woman to chair this organization for 2 terms till 2018. She currently serves as the Chairperson of the Interim Executive Bureau of the African Business Council (AfBC).
African Union Commission
Ex-Officio Board Member
African Development Bank Group
Ex-Officio Board Member
African Export-Import Bank
Ex-Officio Board Member
H.E. Mr. Claver Gatete
Ex-Officio Board Member (UNECA)
Mr. Claver Gatete was appointed as Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in October 2023, and took up his post on 1 November 2023. Prior to this, he served as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Rwanda to the UN from February 2022 until October 2023, where he also co-facilitated financing for development and global digital compact.
Mr. Gatete has served in various senior government positions for the Republic of Rwanda, notably as Minister of Infrastructure from 2018 to 2022, and as Minister of Finance and Economic Planning from 2013 to 2018. During this time, he was awarded the 2015 Finance Minister of the Year award at the African Bankers Awards on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Annual Meeting and the 2016 African Finance Minister of the Year by Global Capital on the sidelines of the World Bank Annual Meeting. He has also served as the Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda (2011 to 2013) and Deputy Governor from 2009 to 2011.
Mr. Gatete also served as Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Iceland from November 2005 to December 2009. In the 1990s, he worked as an economist for Statistics Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and then at the United Nations Development Programme in Rwanda as a National Economist.
He also served as the President’s Personal Representative on the NEPAD Steering Committee in the Office of the President of Rwanda, Coordinator of the National African Peer Review Mechanism, and Director General in Charge of Economic and Social Affairs in the Office of the President of Rwanda. He also served as the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.
Mr. Gatete has served in various senior government positions for the Republic of Rwanda, notably as Minister of Infrastructure from 2018 to 2022, and as Minister of Finance and Economic Planning from 2013 to 2018. During this time, he was awarded the 2015 Finance Minister of the Year award at the African Bankers Awards on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Annual Meeting and the 2016 African Finance Minister of the Year by Global Capital on the sidelines of the World Bank Annual Meeting. He has also served as the Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda (2011 to 2013) and Deputy Governor from 2009 to 2011.
Mr. Gatete also served as Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Iceland from November 2005 to December 2009. In the 1990s, he worked as an economist for Statistics Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and then at the United Nations Development Programme in Rwanda as a National Economist.
He also served as the President’s Personal Representative on the NEPAD Steering Committee in the Office of the President of Rwanda, Coordinator of the National African Peer Review Mechanism, and Director General in Charge of Economic and Social Affairs in the Office of the President of Rwanda. He also served as the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.