Prof. Callisto Madavo has joined the Africa Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) as the Chairman of its Executive Board. Prof. Madavo was selected by the Board of Governors of the ACBF in October 2014 to take over from Mr. Paul Baloyi who chaired the Executive Board for four years.
The ACBF Executive Secretary, Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie said Prof. Madavo will not only serve as the chair of the Executive Board but also as a prominent development practitioner that the ACBF can approach for its diverse capacity building initiatives on increasing development in Africa.
Prof. Madavo is a noted Zimbabwean economist. He previously served at the World Bank for 35 years where he held several senior-level positions, including Vice President for the Africa Region in charge of 47 sub-Saharan countries, and Country Director for East Asia and East Africa. Most recently, he served as a special advisor to the president of the World Bank. Earlier he worked on urban projects in Africa and Latin America. He joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 1969.
He has extensive experience in development work focusing on issues of economic growth, urbanization, poverty reduction, good governance, private sector development, post-conflict programs, and social development. As Vice President for Africa at the World Bank, he championed a number of initiatives on HIV/AIDS, capacity building, and infrastructure.
Currently, he is a visiting professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he teaches courses on the development of African economies, and the new and growing role of emerging economies of the South (China, India, Brazil) and Africa. He has consulted for a number of international organizations such as the Global Fund, UNAIDS, and the African Development Bank, and served on several working groups particular reference to development issues in Africa.
He is Founding Director and Chairman of the Management Committee of Centennial Group Africa. He has also served in other Boards including; Trustee, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics, African Center for Economic Transformation and AFRICARE.
Prof. Madavo received his PHD in Development Economics in 1969 from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, (USA).
