Ethiopian-born American to head ADB Ethiopian Reporter

21 September, 2008

An Ethiopian-born American, Mimi Alemayehou, has been nominated by President George W. Bush to be the new director of the African Development Bank.

“America’s style of government and its liberalized economic model puts us in an exceptional position to help steer the Bank towards the right policies and usher in an unprecedented era of sustainable economic growth in Africa,” Mimi said during her appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July last year.

Mimi had previously served as Director of International Regulatory Affairs at the Worldspace Corporation.

She was nominated for the ADB position in March last year and currently serves as Founder and Managing Partner of Trade Links, LLC – a company established to assist AGOA eligible member countries in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) increase their exports to the U.S.
Prior to that, she served as a Program Manager at the International Executive Service Corps. She received her bachelor's degree from West Texas A&M University and her master's degree from Tufts University.

Mimi left Ethiopia with her family at the age of eight and stayed in Kenya for another four years before heading to the United States.

“Today’s Africa is a far cry from my early years in Ethiopia under a communist regime that left an indelible mark on me. Entrepreneurship and democracy are now the order of the day; but the African private sector cannot thrive without a significant upgrade of the continent’s infrastructure and financial systems. These challenges call for a strong and active African Development Bank to finally help turn Africa’s long-held promise into a reality,” she told the committee.

“The implementation of US policy towards Africa, as well as our role on the Board of the African Development Bank, together constitute key tools to help Africa achieve this growth. It would therefore be a privilege to work with Secretary Paulson, the Treasury Department, and Congress to increase the African Development Bank’s impact and effectiveness,” she said.