Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a reformer, notable economist and international development expert with well over 30 years of experience. She is Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and of the African Risk Capacity (ARC). She is Co-Chair of The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate. She is the former Senior Advisor of Lazard. Dr Okonjo-Iweala sits on several other boards and was recently appointed as AU Special Envoy to mobilise international financial support for the fight against COVID-19 and WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala is the first woman to hold the positions of Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria. Prior to this, she spent a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, working on economic development programs and policy reforms including trade policy in middle and low-income countries. She rose to the No.2 position of Managing Director at the World Bank, overseeing an $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala was named Minister of the Decade, People’s Choice Award (2020) by Nigeria’s This Day newspaper. In 2019, she was named one of Transparency International’s 8 Female Anti-Corruption Fighters Who Inspire. She has been ranked by Fortune as one of the 50 Greatest World Leaders in 2015, by Forbes as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World consecutively for four years, by Time as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2014, and by the UK Guardian as one of the Top 100 Women in the World in 2011.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from Harvard University and a PhD in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is an Angelopoulos Global Public Leader at Harvard University Kennedy School, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received over fifteen honorary degrees. She is the author of numerous articles on finance and development, and several books including Women and Leadership – Real Lives, Real Lessons.
The foundation of WISCAR was inspired by a keenly felt societal need. During her long professional and corporate career, the Founder; Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, constantly recognized a gaping need for an institutional framework that would provide to professional women inspiration, motivation, guidance, and support to help them better navigate their different career pathways.
