African Development Bank appoints Mbekeani as deputy director general for Southern Africa
Kennedy Mbekeani, a seasoned development economist from Malawi with over 20 years of experience in development finance, project management, policy advisory services, and knowledge generation has been appointed as the regional deputy director for the Bank’s Southern Africa operations.
Mbekeani joined the Bank in 2009 as Chief Trade and Regional Integration Officer. He provided leadership in formulating the Bank’s trade assistance strategy to regional economic communities and on policy research on international trade, economic integration and development.
He was Lead Regional Economist (2012-2014) at the South African Resource Centre. Before joining the Bank, he worked for the UNDP as a Trade, Debt and Globalisation Advisor for East and Southern Africa. Prior to that he worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis, and as Senior Economist at the National Institute for Economic Policy in South Africa.
Commenting on his appointment, he said: “I am pleased to work with President Adesina to support execution of his vision for the Bank and the continent and accelerate delivery on the High 5s”.
He holds a Bachelor of Social Science degree from the University of Malawi, MPhil (Monetary Economics) from the University of Glasgow, MA and a PhD in International Economics from the University of California. He has published on trade, regional integration, and infrastructure development in Africa.
Commenting on the appointment, Dr. Adesina said: “Kennedy is a rounded professional, with broad experience in international development. His capacity to deliver in various areas will help to build strong partnerships in the region and to promote both private and public sectors operations.”
