MR. ANDOH OBED MENSAH
Manager, Trade and Investment Climate Division at The African Development Bank Group.
Mr. Andoh O. Mensah is Division Manager for the Trade and Investment Climate Division at the Private Sector, Industrial Trade and Investment Climate Department (PITD). Mr. Mensah operationalized the AfDB’s foremost joint Trade and Investment Climate program, leads and manages both programs to strengthen business environments at economy-wide, firm, as well as industry/sector levels, and to increase formal trade, promote and boost intra-country-trade and investments. Mr. Mensah is recognized as an astute operations design, implementation and management expert on operationalizing new programs and institutional set-ups. Prior to this role, Mr. Mensah served in multiple roles as Chief Country Program Officer in the West Africa region with responsibility for the Nigeria Country Department of the Bank. Here Mr. Mensah managed a $6.5 billion portfolio and operations – a large part of this in Trade Development and Finance programs, industry, infrastructure and private sector development. As Principal Country Program Officer in the AfDB’s Sudan country program, Mr. Mensah coordinated capacity-building sessions, on export dynamics (trade for growth and work on removal of binding trade and business constraints), and trade facilitation within the IGAD region. Mr. Mensah led the Bank’s expansion and coordinated the groundwork that culminated into the set-up, footprints, and operationalization of the AfDB’s country office in Juba, South Sudan following independence in 2011. As Manager of the Trade Division, Mr. Mensah leads the Bank’s operations and interventions and portfolio; (in policy, trade capacity development and technical assistance and advisory) as well as the implementation of the Bank’s support to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as well as coordination with the RECs. Mr. Mensah also worked for some 12 years at the World Bank, Washington, D.C., on trade promotion and investment guarantees. Mr. Mensah advised Ministries of Trade and Finance in strengthening trade, private sector development and national investment policies for countries in West Africa. Prior to these roles, Mr. Mensah worked as Trade Specialist at the industrial and global trade promotion program of the State of Maryland, USA, providing technical and advisory support to small-medium-scale manufacturers and exporters. Mr. Mensah holds a, Bachelors (Economics) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees from the University of Maryland and Executive Management on Trade Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS).