Dr. Hippolyte Fofack

Hippolyte Fofack is a world-renowned authority in international finance and development economics. He is widely recognized for his innovative thinking and effective strategies for addressing complex development challenges, such as overcoming poverty and debt traps, the nexus of illusory growth and climate change, and international debt and financial crises. Over the course of three decades, he has undertaken a series of senior roles within prominent international development finance institutions, including Chief Economist and Director of Research and International Cooperation at the African Export-Import Bank in Cairo, Egypt; Head of the Macroeconomic Policy Assessment Skills Program at the World Bank Institute; and Senior Country Economist at the World Bank Group in Washington, DC.

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He obtained a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Lille in France; a master’s degree in international economics from the same institution; and an advanced degree (DEA) in international economics and finance from the University of Bordeaux, France. In 1998, he was awarded a Ph.D. from American University in Washington, D.C. More recently, he participated in the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program titled “Preparing to Be a Corporate Director.” In 2001, he was honored with the World Bank President’s Award for Excellence. In 2006, he was distinguished as one of the youngest individuals in recent history to be elected a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences.

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He presently holds the inaugural SDSN Parker Fellowship at Columbia University in New York, USA; is a Distinguished Fellow at the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC); and serves as a Research Associate at Harvard University's Center for African Studies. In addition to his research, Dr. Fofack regularly contributes to several esteemed news outlets, including African Business, CNBC, and Project Syndicate. Through these contributions, he continues to influence global policy discourse.