The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has appointed Heike Harmgart as its first Managing Director for sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr Harmgart, who is currently the EBRD’s Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region, will take up her new position on 1 September. She will continue to oversee the SEMED region and will remain based in Cairo until the new Managing Director for SEMED has been appointed and the Bank has decided on the location of its regional hub for sub-Saharan Africa.
A German national, Dr Harmgart will head up the EBRD’s banking operations in the Bank’s sub-Saharan Africa region, which will comprise Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal.
From the outset, she has contributed to the Bank’s planned expansion to sub-Saharan Africa and brings to her new role a strong track record of building operations from the ground up, delivering business and policy dialogue as well as recruiting and fostering local talent.
The move follows the Governors’ approval – at the EBRD’s 2023 Annual Meeting in Samarkand – of amendments to the Bank’s statutes to enable the limited and incremental expansion of its operations to sub-Saharan Africa and Iraq.
Dr Harmgart said: “I am thrilled to be leading the EBRD’s expansion on the ground in this important new region for the Bank and calling on our successful experience from SEMED as I do so. I look forward to setting up our offices and to launching operations in the six countries, for the benefit of the people who live there.”
Dr Harmgart joined the EBRD in 2006 as an economist. She was appointed Managing Director for the southern and eastern Mediterranean region at the end of 2019 and, under her leadership, the region has recorded record levels of private investment annually. The role followed her directorship for the wider eastern Mediterranean region, which includes Jordan, Lebanon and the West Bank and Gaza.
She previously worked for the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Dr Harmgart holds a PhD in economics from University College London.
The EBRD promotes private-sector development across 36 economies to help them become greener, more inclusive and more digital. Since its inception, the Bank has invested almost €200 billion, of which 80 per cent has been in the private sector.
The EBRD is a multilateral bank that promotes the development of the private sector and entrepreneurial initiative in 36 economies across three continents. The Bank is owned by 73 countries as well as the EU and the EIB. EBRD investments are aimed at making the economies in its regions competitive, inclusive, well-governed, green, resilient and integrated. Follow us on the web, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X and YouTube.