Speakers

His Excellency, Mr. Abdoulaye DIOP, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali (MAECI) , Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation since June 11, 2021, held the same position from 2014 to 2017. A career diplomat, his Excellency is a skilled negotiator, a proven mediator and an effective advocate and fundraiser with over 30 years of experience. With a sound background and track record in highly strategic and political positions at the national and international levels, I hold a Master’s degree in International Relations from the International School of Public Administration (Paris, France). He have more recently served as Chief of Staff of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission playing a strategic role of providing vision, strategic planning and establishing priorities, oversight and management of the entire Commission, ensuring integrity, compliance, and administrative and management support services, facilitating the translation of the Chairperson’s leadership's policy intent and high-level direction into viable tasks and priorities, ensuring coordination in the Commission and providing overall management. He was also a Special Advisor to the Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), a Specialized Agency of the African Union, acting as ACBF Representative, ACBF Liaison Office to the African Union with a focus on advocacy, partnership building and resource mobilization. Previously, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali as the country was recovering from a political and security crisis. As Foreign Affairs Minister, He worked on behalf of the Malian government as chief negotiator in the drafting of the 2015 Algiers Peace Accords with rebel groups. This was a critical contribution to peace and stability in Mali and in the Sahel region. As chair of the Council of Ministers of the G5 Sahel countries, He was instrumental in mobilizing international support for the operationalization of the G5 Sahel Joint Force aimed at combatting terrorism and setting a regional development agenda for the Sahel. At the United Nations, he began my career as Country Director of World Food Program in Malawi, where He repositioned the organization as a partner to the government in food security and social safety nets. He later served as the Director of the World Food Program (WFP) Africa Office in Addis Ababa where he mainly mobilized resources for projects and strengthened a partnership with the African Union on food security and nutrition. Prior to working with the United Nations, he served as Mali’s Ambassador to the United States, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay and as Senior Diplomatic Advisor to two Presidents of Mali. He also sit on multiple Boards and Governance Committees, including as an Independent Member of the Governance Committee of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA), a Member of the Reform Task Force for CAF-FIFA and an International Advisory Board (IAB) Member of the Aswan Forum. I hold a Doctorate Honoris Causa Degree in Public Service of Chatham University, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA. I am fully bilingual in English and French.
Mr. Mahmoud Ould MOHAMED, the Minister of Industry and Trade of Mali, was Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and of Fishing . He was until his executive appointment of the CMA (Coordination Des Mouvements de l'Azawad) and Member of the CSA (Agreement Monitoring Committee) within the Economic, Social and Cultural Development Sub-Committee. A great connoisseur of issues relating to the issue of economic development in the Sahel and fragile ecosystems, Ould Mohamed has proven skills in the field of assessments and studies taking into account themes relating to the consideration of the environment and gender. He worked at the Presidency of the Republic of Ma + li as Head of the Local Development component within the Special Program for Peace, Security and Development in North Mali (PSPSDN). Ould Mohamed also served for several years in senior positions within Oxfam Great Britain, he is a program evaluator and specialist in capacity building, results-based management (RBM). During his years, he developed a capacity to manage large programs while ensuring the expected results. He has a great capacity to manage human resources and ensure their performance. Minister Ould Mohamed intends to use this rich experience accumulated to raise the rural development of our country higher.
Tarik Ali Khan is the Director General for West and Central Africa at Global Affairs Canada. He is responsible for policy advice, program management, and the administration of Canada’s political relations, trade, and development cooperation in the region. Prior to this position, he served as Director General for Central America and the Caribbean, Executive Director to the Deputy Minister of International Development and as Director of Cooperation in Colombia. Tarik has also held a variety of management positions in the former Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), including Director of the Haiti Development Program, Director of Cooperation in China, and Director of Democratic Institutions and Conflict. He also served as a manager and director at the Department of Canadian Heritage, providing policy advice and managing programs in the areas of cultural development and minority inclusion. In the early years of his career, Tarik served as director of a primary school for underprivileged children in Nepal. He worked for rural development NGOs in Pakistan and he owned and operated his own Himalayan trekking company. Tarik also worked for several years in Canada’s reforestation industry in the provinces of Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Tarik holds an MSc in International Rural Development Planning (University of Guelph) and a BA in English (University of Toronto). He is married and a father of three.
Mr. Mohamadou Mansour N’Diaye, FAO Representative in Mali , Senegalese national, holds a Masters in Economic and Social Administration - Political Economy -, a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) and a Doctorate (Ph. D.) in Environmental Economics, Planning and Regional Planning of the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne, France. Dr. N’Diaye began his career in 1993 as a Consultant for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) / Club du Sahel, in Paris, France. In 1994, he joined the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), in Geneva, Switzerland, where he worked as Program Officer in the Africa Division, until 1998. From 1999-2007, he was Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary, UNCCD in Bonn, Germany. From 2008 to 2011, he served as Chief of Staff, which he combined, from 2011, with those of Acting Deputy Executive Secretary, Bonn, Germany. Dr. N’Diaye joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2015 as Representative in the Republic of Chad
Mr. Douglas Scott Proudfoot is currently the Chargé d'affaires of the Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Mali. He has an (Honors BA [Philosophy], University of Toronto, 1981; MA [History], McGill University, 1996) joined the Department of External Affairs in 1987. At Headquarters, he was Director of Afghanistan Task Force from 2006 to 2007 and Sudan Task Force 2007 to 2011. Abroad, he was posted to Nairobi from 1988 to 1991, New Delhi from 1995 to 1998, Vienna from 2002 to 2006, and in London from 2011 to 2016, where he was Minister-Counselor for Political and Public Affairs. Most recently, he was Chef de Mission in Ramallah and Representative of Canada to the Palestinian Authority from 2016 to 2019, and then Ambassador to South Sudan from 2019 to 2020.
Pr. Komlan SEDZRO Dean, of the School of Management Sciences, University of Quebec at Montreal (ESG UQAM) , Before his election in 2018 as Dean of ESG UQAM, Professor SEDZRO occupied during his career several positions of academic and scientific responsibility, in particular those of scientific director of the Institut de Finance Mathématique de Montréal, director of the finance department, director of the MBA in financial services, director of the doctoral program in administration, as well as director of the M. Sc. in applied finance and DESS in finance and derivative financial instruments that he initiated and developed in collaboration with the Montreal Stock Exchange. Professor SEDZRO sits on several boards and committees such as, Chairman of the Board of Directors (CA) of the UQAM Entrepreneurship Center, members of the CAs of the Montreal International Finance Circle, of the CEGEP Marie-Victorin, of the UQAM foundation or the evaluation committee of the fund for education and good governance (2011-2018) of the Autorité des marchés financiers du Québec, etc. Prof. SEDZRO's research activities focus in particular on optimal portfolio allocation, performance evaluation, hedge funds, application of operational research methods in finance, microfinance, financial engineering. He has also carried out several consulting, research or training mandates on various subjects, among others, for the Montreal Stock Exchange, the World Bank, the National Bank of Canada, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the National Commission of Digitization of the Major State Registers (Ministry of Finance, Libreville, Gabonese Republic), Revenue Canada, the Institute of Economy and Finance in Gabon, the National Management Center in the Republic of Congo, etc. Professor SEDZRO holds a master's degree in business economics from the University of Clermont 1 in France and a Ph. D. in Business Administration (Finance and Insurance) from Laval University.
Yolanda Banks, Director, Cooperative Affairs and Operations , Yolanda Banks manages the practices associated with stakeholder relations at FinDev Canada. Previously, she worked at Export Development Canada (EDC), the parent company of FinDev Canada, in roles related to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Prior to joining EDC, Ms. Banks worked for several years at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, for which she held positions in London, in Dhaka and Addis Ababa with multiple accreditation in Burma (Myanmar) and Sudan. Ms. Banks currently serves as a volunteer chair of the Board of Directors of the Trade Promotion Office Canada, Canada's premier source of information, advice and contacts for exporters in emerging and developing economies. Ms. Banks holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and an MBA from the University of British Columbia.
Mr. Steve Tipman is the general manager of TFO Canada , and he makes sure that the organization fulfills the mission that it sets was entrusted with improving living conditions through international trade. While overseeing the implementation of TFO Canada's strategic plans and activities, Steve is in charge of overall administration and strategic management, in addition to reporting to the Board of Directors. With over 25 years of experience in the private and not-for-profit sectors, Steve has spent most of his career in the areas of business and international development. He worked for eight years for Livingston International, a business services firm focused on customs brokerage and customs compliance. He was also Vice President of CARE Canada and President and CEO of Volunteer Canada. He is a past member of the board of directors of the Canadian Association of International Development Professionals. Steve holds a Masters in International Business Administration from the University of Ottawa and is bilingual in French and English.
Mr. Dansiné Coulibaly is since May 2019, the National Coordinator of the Integrated Framework Implementation Unit (UMOCI) , the Reinforced Integrated Framework Program for strengthening Mali's international trade capacities, which is under the institutional supervision of the Mali Ministry of Trade and the United Nations Program. It was in July 2017 that he joined the Integrated Framework Implementation Unit (UMOCI). Holder of an MBA (Master of Business Administration), Project Management option from the African Institute of Management (IAM), then an MSTCF (Master of Accounting and Financial Sciences and Techniques) from the University Institute of Management ( IUG), the University of Bamako and a DUT (University Diploma of Technology) option Finances - Accounting from the University Institute of Management (IUG) of Bamako. His proven expertise in the field of Management, Finance, and Accounting, enabled him to assume in turn the positions of Administrative and Financial Manager, then of Interim National Coordinator before taking the reins of the Program. Previously, he held the position of Senior Financial Controller, Deputy Manager, in charge of management control, budget monitoring and reporting of the ECOBANK Mali Group. Accountant and financial auditor, Head of missions FINAUDIT SARL, Financial auditor at the Company of Accounting Expertise DIARRA SARL, earned him the confidence of the administration of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), where he was responsible for the Supervision of the Micro-Finance Sector and the Decentralized Financial System (SMSFD). Mr. COULIBALY, has carried out several trainings, in particular that of Trainers on the New Guide to the Inspection of Decentralized Financial Systems of the West African Center for Training and Banking Studies (COFEB / BCEAO), Training on Public Procurement, World Bank and AfDB Procedures, (EST-Training), and training on the TOM2PRO software from TOMATE. Married and father of 4 children, he is fluent in French, English and Bambara.
Mr. Karl Miville-de Chêne, Expert in international trade, Firm, CFCI, TFO partner , has been working on the international scene since 1984, At the base a coffee trader, he has dedicated himself for twenty-five years to the promotion of trade, the indoor and online training of exporters and trainers in support of foreign trade, the management of promotion associations of trade, to the development of the trade of trader, head of mission and to the support of exporting SME. He is a manager, trainer and advisor recognized in Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa in terms of associative management, strategic planning, international marketing, financing of operations, analysis in risk management, management of trade and export promotion associations, value chains, creation of SMEs, e-commerce, trade promotion via social networks, international web marketing aimed at foreign trade as well as distance education.
Mr. Moussa Ismaïla Touré, Director General of the Agency for the Promotion of Investments in Mali (API-MALI) , is an expert in management, management company, business development, project management, piloting strategy and team leadership. Graduated from the University of Paris IX Dauphine in 1995 management of business and ENA of Mali in management in 1993, he was, until his appointment, Regional Director for Central Africa of Coca-Cola Company, based in Douala, Cameroon. He had been previously Director of Operations and Marketing of the same company in Gabon, Benin and Togo. Before going to prove yourself in these country, he had been Commercial and Marketing Director of Coca-Cola Mali and responsible for stocks and transport & amp; Shell Mali ticket cell. He was named best employee 2011 of the Coca-Cola Africa Business Unit the east, central west covering 39 countries.
Mr. Hamed Salif Camara Director General of AGETIC of the Information and Communication Technologies Agency (AGETIC) , has held this position since May 10, 2016, he was previously Deputy General Manager of AGETIC from 2015 to 2016. Before his appointment to the Information and Communication Technologies Agency, Mr. CAMARA served in the Administration, in several positions of responsibility: from June 1, 2011 to December 31, 2014, he was Head of the IT Division at the Directorate of the Central Narcotics Office of the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection. From October 2010 to May 2011, he served as Head of IT Department at the Pharmacy and Medicines Directorate of the Ministry of Health; During his career, the current CEO of AGETIC was also a Consultant at Cabinet SHATT-Conseil for the IT audit and capacity building of Public Administration executives, from February 2010 to March 2010. He is Note that Mr. CAMARA is a Senator of the JCI - Internationale Mali When he was appointed to AGETIC, first as DGA, then CEO, Mr. Hamed Salif CAMARA was able to use his rich professional experiences and in associative life, to give a new dynamic, a new vision to AGETIC, whose cardinal mission is the modernization of the Malian Administration, through ICT. Mr. Hamed Salif CAMARA, helped create the Information System department, comprising the Geomatics division, the Data Center management or the Audit and Internal Control department. Through this new architecture, the CEO of AGETIC displays his vision, his ambitions for the digital future in our country.
Mr. Dramane SIDIBE, Director of the Inclusive Sector Funding Project agriculture in Mali (Inclusive Project) , since September 2018, is a specialist in financing rural and agricultural. The inclusive project is a project initiated by the Government of the Republic of Mali, co-financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Kingdom of Denmark and the Government of Canada. He was also Program Director of Rural Microfinance (PMR) between August 2010 to September 2018, financed by IFAD and the Government of Canada. Mr. SIDIBE was for 6 years (2004-2010) in charge of control and surveillance of the microfinance sector at the Control and Supervision of SFDs (Ministry of Economy and Finance). His mission was to ensure compliance with regulations, management standards and performance indicators financial performance by MFIs. Holder of a Diploma of Higher Banking Studies and Financial (DESBF) in 2007, at the West African Center for Training and Studies BCEAO Banking (COFEB) in Dakar, Senegal. He also holds a master's degree in public administration from the National School of Administration in Bamako. Mr. SIDIBE has followed several internships and training courses, in particular on the financial management of projects development, digital finance, Capitalization and knowledge management, strategic and operational management of projects and programs financed by IFAD, the Boulder seminar on microfinance (Turin - Italy), the specific accounting framework to Decentralized Financial Systems in WAEMU.
HE Mr. Fatima Braoulé Méïté is the Ambassador of Mali to Canada, in addition to her role as Permanent Representative of Mali to the Organization of international civil aviation (ICAO) . She is a graduate of the University of Quebec, Montreal, (UQAM) and Stony-Brook University, New York. She holds a master's degree in business administration, as well as a specialization in sociology. She was technical advisor to the Presidency of the Republic, in charge of mission at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, as well as municipal councilor, in commune II, of the District of Bamako. She has worked in Public Health, her expertise has been to ensure the continuity of Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health (SMNIA) services and the protection of OVC. She was a consultant for the United Nations, the European Union and Luxembourg Cooperation.
The Director General of the Agency for the Promotion of Exports of Mali (APEX-MALI), Mr. Demba KANTE , is in the Management Results-oriented public for several years, Inspector of Finances, he proven expertise in public finance management, in particular the preparation, execution and control of the budget in Budget-Program mode, strategic and operational planning of sector policies, monitoring evaluation of programs / projects linked to deconcentration and budgetary decentralization, financial management (Bank procedures Global), public procurement as well as the design and administration of training modules. Holder of a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) in Analysis and Development Practices, obtained at the Faculty of Economics and Management of Bamako, he also holds a Master of Science Economics, option: General Economics, obtained at the National School of Administration (ENA) of Bamako. During his career, he rose through the administrative ranks, occupying several positions of responsibility, in fact he was in charge of monitoring and evaluation at the Administrative Department of the Ministry of National Education, Head National Budget Preparation and Monitoring Section at the Administrative Directorate of the Ministry of National Education, Head of Budget Execution Section National to the Administrative Department of the Ministry of National Education. During this period, he carried out training in Monitoring and Evaluation of Projects and Programs "Cycle 27 of the FORHOM Institute" in La Rochelle in France. Head of the Procurement and Public Procurement Division in the Finances and Material of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Deputy Director of Finance and Material Ministry of Mines, Director of Finance and Equipment of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Worship, Technical Advisor to the Minister of Trade and Competition. He speaks French, English and Bambara.