Daouda Sembene

Daouda is the CEO of AfriCatalyst, a global development advisory based in Dakar, Senegal. He was an Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund where he represented 23 African countries on the Executive Board. During his IMF board tenure, he chaired the statutory Board Commitee that was tasked with strengthening collaboration at the board level between the IMF and other international institutions, notably the World Bank Group, the United Nations, and the WTO. He also served as senior economic advisor to the President of Senegal with ministerial rank. More recently, he was appointed by the Chairperson of the African Union for the year 2022 as Special Advisor on food security.

Daouda served as a senior advisor to the Minister of Economy, Finance, and Planning in Senegal. In that capacity, he was appointed as the IMF and World Bank Alternate Governor for Senegal and sat on a number of boards on behalf of the ministry. He also served briefly as Head of the Financial Sector and Competitiveness General Directorate in the same ministry. He began hiscareer at the World Bank in Washington as part of a team of lecturers in macroeconomic management.

Daouda has been invited to provide expert testimony on issues related to the work and the future of the IMF in the US Congress and legislative bodies from some African countries. He provided consulting services to the G20 Saudi Secretariat, the IMF watchdog, and the World Bank. Daouda is affiliated with the Washington-based Center for Global Development as Distinguished Nonresident Fellow. He is the founding CEO of a Sunu Bibliotech, a non-profit organization based in Senegal that aims to promote digital and social inclusion in local communities.

Daouda holds a PhD in development economics from American University in Washington and Master’s degrees from George Washington University, the University of Montreal, and the University of Dakar. He has authored, and contributed to several publications, including a book on macroeconomic policy in fragile countries published by Oxford University Press.