Bekele Debele is a Program Leader for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure for Southern Africa, including Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa, coordinating the Bank’s work spanning agriculture, environment, energy, transport, urban and water. He previously held the same title for China and Mongolia. He has supported the Bank’s work on the economics of BRI study and sharing China’s development experiences with other developing countries. Before China, Bekele worked out of the Bank’s Washington office for over 10 years in several regions, including South Asia, Middle East and Africa covering more than 30 countries.
Prior to joining the Bank, Bekele worked in academia and the private sector in the US as well as for the Government of Ethiopia. Bekele holds a PhD in water resources engineering from Cornell University, USA; an M Sc in environmental engineering from University College Dublin, Ireland; and a B. Sc in agricultural engineering from Hara Maya University, Ethiopia.