Clare Akamanzi is a Rwandan lawyer, public administrator, businesswoman and politician, who served as the executive director and chief executive officer of the

Rwanda Development Board Rwanda Development Board (RDB), is a government department that integrates all government agencies responsible for the attraction, retention and facilitation of investments in the national economy. Location The headquarters of RDB are located on K ...

From February 2017 to September 2023. The position is a cabinet-level appointment by the President of Rwanda. She has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer for NBA Africa where she is going to start in 23rd January 2024 , following a resignation by the former CEO Victor Williams.

Background and education

Akamanzi was born in Uganda to Rwandan refugee parents in 1979. She is the fourth-born in a family of six siblings. She attained pre-university education in various parts of Uganda. The family moved a lot, because her parents were refugees in Uganda. She is married and a mother to two children. She holds a Bachelor of Laws, awarded by Makerere University, in Kampala, Uganda's capital city. She also holds the

Diploma in Legal Practice A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

, obtained from the Law Development Centre, also in Kampala. Her Master of Laws in trade and investment law was obtained from the University of Pretoria, in South Africa. She also holds a Masters in Public Administration, obtained from Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. She received an honorary degree in Laws from

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

in June 2018.

Career

She began her career in 2004 in Geneva,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters. The government of Rwanda appointed her as a diplomat/special trade negotiator at the WTO. Later, she transferred to the Rwandan embassy in London, the United Kingdom as the commercial diplomat (

commercial attaché Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

). She returned to Rwanda in 2006 and was appointed Deputy Director General of the then ''Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency'' (RIEPA) "before RDB was merged with other institutions in 2008". In 2008, Akamanzi became the Deputy chief executive officer responsible for Business Operations and Services, at RDB. She later transitioned to being the chief operating officer of the Rwanda Development Board. She then took study leave to pursue graduate studies in the United States. When she returned, she served as "Head of Strategy and Policy" in the President's Office. In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Akamanzi was one of the founding board members of the

WHO Foundation Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

. On 27th of December 2023, Clare Akamanzi was announced that she will hold the position of the CEO of NBA Africa starting from 23rd January 2024.

Other activities

* Africa Europe Foundation (AEF), Member of the High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations (since 2020)

Publications

* In the Trenches: Open for Business * RWANDA'S PUSH FOR FIVE-STAR DEVELOPMENT: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE CEO OF THE RWANDA DEVELOPMENT BOARD ON THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF RWANDAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT * DEVELOPMENT AT CROSSROADS: THE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS WITH EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICAN COUNTRIES ON TRADE IN SERVICES

References

External links