Afef Haddad is the Country Program Coordinator and Deputy to the Director for the Maghreb and Malta at the World Bank (WB). She oversees the development and execution of WB strategies, programs and projects in the Maghreb countries and Malta and is leading the initiatives on gender issues. Afef Haddad has led the World Bank’s Women Economic Empowerment Initiative in the Maghreb. This innovative initiative leverages the creativity of the Maghreb’s Technology savvy millennials to empower rural women. The “EmpowerHer Maghreb” initiative aims at engaging the youth to develop solutions to address the economic opportunity challenges faced by rural women who are most in need and have much to offer.
Afef Haddad has extensive operational experience in three regions: Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. She also has extensive WBG corporate experience because of her work in the Office of the Global Practices’ Vice Presidents and in the Development Economics Group.
Afef Haddad holds a Ph.D in International Economics from La Sorbonne, Paris. She is a published author on International Trade and Human Capital topics.