BUSINESS REPORTER
The World Bank Group has appointed development professional Nathan Belete as the new country director for four countries including Zimbabwe.
The Ethiopian national, with over 25 years’ experience across Africa, East Asia, and South Asia, will oversee Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.
He was previously the World Bank’s country director for Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Senegal, based in Dakar.
The World Bank said Belete would be based in Dar es Salaam from where he will oversee a portfolio of about US$12.5bn in total commitments for the four countries. This support covers priority areas of human capital, agriculture, infrastructure, private sector development, climate, and gender, among others.
Prior to Belete’s country director assignments, he managed the World Bank’s Food and Agriculture Global Practice in the East Asia and Pacific Region, based in Vietnam, from 2014 to 2019.
Before that, he was sector manager for the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Department in Indonesia.
His career at the World Bank has included assignments in the World Bank’s country offices in Nairobi, New Delhi, and Beijing with responsibilities for investments and technical assistance activities in agriculture and rural development, among others.
