Ivorian Nathalie Kouassi Akon Appointed IFC Regional Director for West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced the appointment of Nathalie Kouassi Akon as Regional Director for West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea, based in Accra. With over 25 years of experience in finance and development, her mandate will be to strengthen the private sector, drive job creation, and promote inclusive growth across the region.

Since September 2023, Kouassi Akon has served as IFC’s Global Director for Gender and Economic Inclusion, a role in which she spearheaded initiatives aimed at fostering equitable opportunities within the private sector. Prior to joining IFC, she spent more than four years at the Mastercard Foundation, where she led major programs focused on entrepreneurship, the digital economy, and agri-food systems.

Her background also includes extensive experience in private finance and banking. During nearly 14 years as a partner at Equator Capital Partners in South Africa, she managed a private equity fund specializing in impact investments across Africa. Earlier in her career, she worked with Citibank as Treasurer (1997–2000) and later joined Standard Chartered Bank, where she held senior leadership positions for nearly a decade.

At Standard Chartered, she oversaw relationships with financial institutions in African markets where the bank had no physical presence, and later managed global markets operations in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. These roles provided her with deep insights into the dynamics and challenges of the financial sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Beyond her executive career, Kouassi Akon is also active in governance and investment. Since March 2021, she has served as an independent board member of Banque Populaire du Maroc and, since October 2022, as chair of the Investment Committee of the African Development Bank’s Private Sector Facility.

A graduate of the University of Abidjan in Accounting and Financial Techniques, she also holds a master’s degree in Management and Strategy from the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP). Her dual Franco-African background gives her a unique perspective on the economic interconnections between the two continents and strengthens her ability to promote sustainable and inclusive growth.