Cyril Desponts is a Senior Economist in the World Bank’s Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment Global Practice, based in Washington DC and working on the Middle East and North Africa Region. A Canadian national, Cyril joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2019, contributing to the Madagascar analytical and operational program before moving to the MENA region as the Country Economist for Algeria. Since then, Cyril has led analytical, technical assistance and operational projects in Algeria and the broader MENA region. Before joining the Bank, Cyril spent several years as an economist working with international organizations and sovereign advisory firms in and on Europe, the MENA and Africa regions, on topics ranging from macroeconomics and growth to public finance or economic diversification. Cyril is a McGill University graduate, holding master’s degrees from Sciences Po Paris, the London School of Economics, and the Barcelona School of Economics.