Ndiamé Diop has been named the new World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, effective May 1, 2025. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Diop will lead a vast portfolio, a nearly 400-project array totalling over $76 billion spanning 26 countries. His role also includes managing a wide range of initiatives such as cutting-edge research, technical guidance, and policy advice. 

In his new position, Diop is set to drive the World Bank’s work on key challenges in the region. This includes boosting job creation, improving energy access, enhancing digital connectivity, and fostering regional integration. There’s also a strong focus on health, water and sanitation, and education as pillars for reducing poverty and accelerating economic growth. Additionally, he will spearhead strategies to combat the roots of fragility, conflicts, and violence, aiming to build more resilient local communities.

Diop comes with more than 25 years of international experience, having worked across East Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. His impressive track record includes increasing World Bank support to the Philippines threefold and, more recently, managing the bank’s largest African portfolio—valued at $17 billion—while serving as the Country Director for Nigeria. In that role, he was instrumental in steering Nigeria’s economic evolution through crucial policy reforms, digital expansion, improved access to finance for businesses, and support for agribusiness.

Academically, Diop holds a PhD in Economics and has contributed extensively to peer-reviewed journals and books. His published work covers topics like fiscal and monetary policy, natural resource management, economic diversification, and even phenomena like the Dutch disease. He is fluent in French, English, and Wolof, and also speaks intermediate Arabic and Bahasa.

Diop takes over from Victoria Kwakwa, who retired on March 31, 2025. This transition marks a new chapter for the World Bank in its mission to better serve the growing and dynamic needs of Eastern and Southern Africa.