WASHINGTON, December 4, 2023— Donor and borrower country representatives of the International Development Association (IDA) have selected Mr. Sheku Sambadeen Sesay of Sierra Leone for the role of Independent Co-chair for IDA’s twenty-first (IDA21) replenishment meetings which will run through 2024 with the final pledging meeting in December.
In this role, Mr. Sesay will champion stronger policy and financial support for IDA21 at political and other stakeholder levels across IDA donor and borrower countries. He will co-chair the meetings with the World Bank’s Senior Managing Director, Axel van Trotsenburg, who is the Management Co-Chair. Together, they will facilitate dialogue and achieve broad consensus on policy proposals and obtain a level of partner pledges in line with the ambitions of the replenishment. They will also network with relevant stakeholders and decision-makers for IDA replenishment and ensure adequate consultations with stakeholders not represented at the IDA replenishment sessions such as other multi-lateral development banks, civil societies, and the private sector.
Mr Sesay is a retired international development expert with over 30 years of experience. During his career, he served for 23 years at the African Development Bank at professional and managerial levels with responsibilities covering country representation, economic analysis, project cycle activities, country operations, policy dialogue, planning and research, and corporate secretariat services to the Boards of Directors and Governors of the Bank. He acted as Secretary General of the AfDB providing support and guidance to the President and Board members of the Bank regarding relationships with member countries.
After his service at AfDB, he returned to Sierra Leone in 2007 where he became the technical and professional head of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for two years. He then moved to be the Governor of the Central Bank of Sierra Leone, a position he held for five years. Mr Sesay is familiar with IDA replenishment processes having served as an IDA Borrower Representative for the IDA14 and IDA15 replenishments. While serving as an IDA Borrower Representative, he co-chaired a committee on development effectiveness linked to replenishment discussions. An economist, Mr. Sesay holds a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in economics both from Howard University in the United States. He is fluent in English and French.
Mr Sesay was selected to this position from a shortlist of candidates by a search committee comprising donor and borrower constituencies.
About IDA Replenishments
IDA donor partners (called Deputies), representatives from borrower countries, and World Bank management come together once every three years to determine IDA policies and replenish IDA funds. The replenishment consists of contributions from IDA donors, the World Bank Group, and, until recently in 2018, financing raised from the capital markets. Since its founding in 1960, IDA has had 20 replenishment cycles. The current one ends in June 2025, and the next cycle — IDA21 — will run from July 2025 to June 2028. The whole of 2024, Deputies and Borrowers together with Bank management will meet over four scheduled meetings to negotiate the policy and financing framework for IDA21 and the final replenishment package will be announced in December 2024. Since IDA18, IDA replenishment meetings have had two co-chairs, comprising an independent eminent personality with adequate knowledge of Multilateral Development Banks, and a high-level representative of the World Bank Group appointed by the President of the institution.
