Former KPMG consultant appointed Director at African Development Bank

Hanan Morsy, a former consultant at KPMG Consulting in Egypt, has been appointed Director at the African Development Bank. Primarily an economist, Morsy has over two decades of professional experience, spanning consulting, academia, and senior advisory positions at leading global institutions. 

Founded in 1964, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is a financial institution aimed at accelerating social and economic development on the African continent, with special emphasis on equitable and sustainable growth. The institution’s authorised capital is sourced from 53 African nations and 25 non-African countries.

Over recent years, AfDB has grown in relevance in light of the dichotomous economic scenario across the continent. On the one hand, major economies in Africa are thriving and more connected, and are therefore turning to financial institutions for development support, significantly boosting banking revenues in the process. On the other hand, a dip in global commodity prices has dealt a blow to the several oil-dependent economies in the region, which has created the need for borrowing from the AfDB.

In order to control this spike in activity, the AfDB has replenished its senior ranks with the appointment of five new professionals at the Director level. Wambui Gichuri has been appointed Director for Water Development and Sanitation, Olivier Eweck is the new Director for Syndication and Technical Services, Stella Kilonzo is now the Senior Director of the Africa Investment Forum, and Moono Mupotola is the new Director for Regional Integration.

The fifth appointment, as Director of Macroeconomic Forecasting and Research, comes in the form of celebrated Egyptian economist and Harvard alumnus Dr. Hanan Morsy. As an economist through and through, Morsy completed a Masters in economics from the University of California in Davis, following which she completed a Ph.D. in economics from The George Washington University.

She began her career at Big Four professional services firm KPMG, where she was hired as an Economic Consultant. Morsy worked in the Barents Group division of KPMG, which was formerly the consulting services arm of the firm, but later broke off to form an independent consulting firm by the name of BearingPoint.

Following a brief stint as a Teaching Assistant at the George Washington University, Morsy then entered the world of international financing, joining the International Monetary Fund as an Advisor to the Executive Director. After two years as an advisor, Morsy was promoted to the position of Senior Economist at the IMF, which she held for the next seven years before moving to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as the Lead Economist for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region.

Morsy is a member of the board at SOAS in London, as well as a member of the Aberdeen Economic panel of the Aberdeen City Council. In 2017, she completed an executive program in the application of behavioural insights to public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. She will now take office as the Director for Macroeconomic Forecasting and Research at the AfDB as of the 12^th of March.