FIRM team
The FIRM Department leads the Bank Group's resource mobilization, partnerships, and management of donor & partner relations. The Department achieves its mission by targeting sovereign and non-sovereign parties which have an interest in Africa.
Désiré has been with the African Development Bank since August 2005. He is Director of the Resource Mobilization and External Finance Department which oversees the African Development Fund, partnerships, trust funds, and co-financing. Désiré also served as Director of the Operational Policies Department, and Director of the Research Department of the African Development Bank. Prior to joining the Bank, Désiré was Professor of Economics at HEC Montréal, Université de Montréal, Canada. Désiré holds a Ph.D. in Economics (Queen’s University, Canada) and a Magistère Ingénieur-Économiste (Université d’Aix-Marseille II, France). He is a resource person for the African Economic Research Consortium. Desire is a citizen of Mauritius.
Gauthier has joined the Bank for the second time in November 2015 as Chief Resource Mobilization Officer in the sovereign division of the Resource Mobilization and External Finance Department (FIRM). He works on the coordination of the African Development Fund (ADF) replenishments and monitoring and he actively participate in the internal committee and external working group on financing innovations for the future of ADF. He also leads on the Bank’s partnerships with several sovereign counterparts and manage both Co-financing facility and trust funds to support the Bank Group financial capacity to better deliver on its development mandate. Before Joining the Bank, Gauthier was in the Treasury, Ministry of Finance of Belgium, where he gained a strong experience on the Multilateral Development Banks and the European Union. In particular, he was the Delegate (Deputy) representing Belgium in the ADF-13 negotiations and he was also member of the European Investment Bank (EIB)’s Board of Directors. He has also been designated by the Government of Belgium as national expert and member of the Tripartite (European Commission-EU Member states-European Investment Bank) Special Task Force for the design of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) in the EU. Between 2003 and 2009, Gauthier was Member of AfDB’s Board of Directors as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director representing Belgium, France and Italy. He holds 2nd and 3rd cycle diplomas in Political Science and International Relations and Political Sociology from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). He was also educated at the Brussels Business and Management School in the context of a post-graduate degree in Management (advanced level).
Ms. Veronica Giardina works in the Resource Mobilization and External Finance Department (FRMB) of the African Development Bank and is a member of the team that is in charge of monitoring and replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF), resource mobilization and management of technical cooperation trust funds and programmes, co-financing, as well as partnerships with sovereign actors. She has experience in fundraising, negotiations and building various forms of institutional partnerships and cooperation arrangements with external partners as well as strategic planning. Before joining the Bank, Ms. Giardina worked with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) where she managed the resource mobilisation, developed relationships with donors and international partners; coordinated the development and implementation of the Strategic Plan for the Arab Region; planned and designed new projects; and managed regional/country specific programs on health including rights. She also worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the legal aspects of access to water and water rights for project formulation purposes. Before then, she worked with the Directorate General for the Italian International Cooperation of the Ministry of External Affairs (DGCS). In this capacity, she was responsible for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of projects funded by the Italian Government. She also participated at coordination meetings with donors and partners coordination.
Riadh Ben Messaoud has been with the Group of the African Development Bank since August 2008. He is currently Senior Officer at the sovereign Division of the Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Department, which oversees the replenishment and resource allocation of the African Development Fund. He has previously worked as individual consultant in the Bank’s Research and Private Sector Operations Departments. Prior to joining the Bank, he was an Associate Professor for eight years in the area of Information Management at Université de Carthage, Tunisia. Riadh, who is a citizen of Tunisia, holds a Ph.D. in Business Intelligence and a Master degree in Knowledge Management from Université Lumière Lyon II, France. He is basically an engineer in Statistics and Data Analysis graduated from Université de la Manouba, Tunisia. His main areas of interest are statistics, economics, financial modeling, business intelligence, knowledge management and information systems.
Since September 2014, Ms. Dabady is manager within the Resource Mobilization and External Finance Department handling non-sovereign actors such as bilateral and international institutions and philanthropic foundations. (FRMB2) Ms. Dabady is an experienced transactional and policy lawyer who has worked on award winning deals in Africa in the power, equity and transportation sectors. Ms. Dabady’s experience includes investment in smaller, regional SME-focused to larger, pan-African based equity funds; as well as funding to regional African banking institutions. From 2009-2012, she was Advisor to the Vice-President responsible for country and regional programs and policy which saw two notable achievements of the Bank’s decentralization policy and re-engagement with Zimbabwe. From 2013 to September 2014, she was Advisor to the Vice-President responsible for the return of the Bank to Abidjan, which involved the move of more than 1000 staff and their families to Abidjan after 10 years in Tunis . In the context of this return, Ms. Dabady ‘s role was to ensure the continuity of the Bank’s business and operations, and to implement a comprehensive change and communication management plan involving all stakeholders. It should be noted that the return to Abidjan was the largest change management exercise of its kind. Ms. Dabady received her JD from Harvard Law School (’92), her Bachelor of Arts from Brown University (’89) and previously to joining the Bank, worked at the law firms of Baker & McKenzie and O’Melveny & Myers in New York. She is admitted to the Bar of New York and is also a registered Prince 2 Practitioner.
Joel MOLEL is a Principal Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Officer at the African Development Bank (AfDB) based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Joel task manages specific resource mobilization efforts through statutory replenishments, co-financing, fundraising for trust funds, special initiatives and other innovative partnership mechanisms with the Bank Group’s traditional, sovereign and non-sovereign partners. Prior to joining the AfDB in 2018, Joel was a Regional Business Development Manager (SAF) with Oxfam International and previously worked with UNWOMEN ESARO, Save the Children International among other organizations. Joel holds a B.A. Honors from Egerton University, Kenya and MSC in Development Studies from Moi University, Kenya
Seconded to the Bank from the Exim Bank of India, O’Neil comes with over 11 years of experience in areas ranging from economic research, project finance, international trade, administration, journalism, visual communication & education. Prior to joining the Bank, O’Neil had worked in various departments of Exim Bank such as Research & Analysis, Export Services and Project Exports. O’Neil also comes with considerable African experience, having opened the West Africa Regional Office of Exim Bank in Dakar, Senegal and serving as the Resident Representative from 2007-2012. He joined FRMB in June 2015.
Caroline is currently Principal Resource Mobilization Officer in the Resource Mobilization and External Finance Department (FRMB) at the African Development Bank (AfDB) and has been in charge of coordinating resource mobilization and partnership initiatives with a wide range of partners including China, Switzerland and UN Specialized Agencies. She joined the Bank in 2012 serving in the Office of the President. Prior to joining the AfDB, Caroline served as Regional Program Advisor for West Africa and subsequently the Americas region at the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) in Geneva, Switzerland. She also worked as a Relationship Banker at the ABN AMRO Investment Bank in Paris, France. Caroline holds an MBA in Finance from EPF, Ecole d’Ingénieurs in France and a Masters degree in International Relations from the University of Strasbourg II, France.
Currently Cooperation Officer in charge of the Portfolio of Nigeria (Nigeria Trust Fund and Nigeria Technical Cooperation Fund) in the Mobilization of the Resources and the External Finances Department, Kader Moussa is a staff of the African Development Bank since 2000. Before joining the Bank, Kader Moussa was among other Posts, Project Manager (1994-1999) under the Partnership UNHCR/CARITAS-CI to the profits of the Liberian and Sierra Leoneans refugees in Côte D’Ivoire. Holder of a POST-GRADUATE DIPLOMA in Economy obtained at the National University of Ivory Coast, Kader Moussa is also accredited member PRINCE2 FOUNDATION and in the process of being accredited PBAS (Partnership Brokers Accreditation Scheme), United Kingdom.
Nana Spio-Garbah is the relationship manager for AfDB shareholders including Korea and manages partnerships between the Bank and philanthropic organizations, foundations and high-net worth individuals. She currently manages the USD 80 million KOAFEC Trust Fund with an active portfolio of over 80 activities. Prior to joining the Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Department, she was a Senior Financial Analyst within the Treasury Department’s Financial Technical Services Division responsible for following African bond markets and developing and marketing the Bank’s menu of sovereign and non-sovereign financial products. In that role, she also successfully structured a number of large scale private sector infrastructure deals. Prior to joining the AfDB, she worked for Deloitte Consulting as a Senior Consultant in the Public Sector practice where her principle clients were the U.S. Treasury and U.S. Justice Department. She began her career as a Financial Analyst at IBM Consulting. She is co-author of the December 2013 economic brief: “Diaspora Bonds: Some Lessons for African Countries”. Ms. Spio-Garbrah holds a M.Sc. in Finance and Development from the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies and a B.Sc. in International Economics from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service.
SEFI Malek works as a senior data analyst for the Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Department. Over the past four years, SEFI Malek has applied his skills in the areas of resource mobilization for the African Development Fund (ADF) and Trust Funds. He is in charge of monitoring ADF and TFs resources and ensures compliance with the Bank's standards and rules. before that he worked on operational policies; and the AfDB’s public sector operations portfolio. He has a significant understanding of the Bank’s policies, strategies, and operational processes. He also has considerable experience in monitoring and evaluation as well as defining and assessing Key Performances Indicators at the organization and department levels. Malek is a Tunisian Citizen, he holds a Master Degree in Information Systems Management, and Network Security.
Lauréline Pla coordinates AfDB's resource mobilization efforts with the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). She also contributes to the elaboration of the African Development Fund (ADF) key resource mobilization and negotiation documents. Previously, she was the Coordinator of the ADF Policy Innovation Lab, created with financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the strategic reform the ADF. Lauréline has also worked as an Economist in the Research Department for over six years. Prior to joining the AfDB, she was a consultant for the Trade, Finance, and Economic Development Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Lauréline holds a MSc in economics from Université Pierre Mendès France, Grenoble.
Mrs. Farma DIABATE-DRAME joined the Resources Mobilization and External Finance Department (FRMB) as a Senior Research Assistant in November 2014. She’s in charge of the department’s internal communication as well as co-financing activities. Within the Bank, she was awarded twice by Management for excellent performance: when she acted as CPO for Abidjan office when the Bank was in Tunis and also when she played a key role as the coordinator of the Bank Group’s housing Unit during the return of the Bank to its Headquarter in Abidjan. Prior to joining AfDB, she started her career as a teacher and also worked as a communication officer for ‘’Société ivoirienne de raffinage” (SIR), one of the biggest petroleum enterprises in West Africa. She has a “DESS” (Higher Specialized Diploma Course) in Communication & Marketing and “DEA Lettres Modernes” (Post-graduate course in Arts). She successfully completed a full time Intensive Course at Advanced Level in English Language Center (Bristol/ England) and other courses at HEC Paris.
Abir Bdioui is currently an IT Consultant with the Resource Mobilization and Partnerships Department. She is responsible for developing, designing, testing, maintaining and implementing IT Systems supporting the activities of the Department, including communication on resource mobilization and allocation for the African Development Fund and various trust funds hosted by the Bank. Prior to this, Abir had served as an Infomaster within the Communication & External Relations Department of the AfDB. Abir holds a master degree in New Technologies of Telecommunications and Networks and a master degree in computer science from Tunis Faculty Sciences as well as a CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate and CCNA Security certifications.
Mrs. Ada Esther Adi-Tity is currently a Team Assistant with the sovereign division in the African Development Bank’s Resource Mobilization and External Finance Department (FIRM). Prior to joining the Bank, Ada worked with British Council Abuja in Nigeria as Customer Service / IELTS Examination Assistant. She has over 15years of working experience within international development and private sector both in the United Kingdom and Africa. She worked as a Program Coordinator for Life Changers Club International London; with Greenwich Leisure Limited London as Customer Service Advisor; as a Research Assistant with Africare/Nigeria; a Program Officer with Gender Empowerment Initiatives and as a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Educator in various communities in Nigeria. She is an ardent Volunteer with WaterAid International, Terence Higgins Trust, The Food Chain and a Member of United Nation Women in London, United Kingdom. Mrs. Adi -Tity holds a Master’s Degree in Education, Health Promotion and International Development from University College London (UCL) and a BA in International Relations and International Development from London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in HIV/AIDs & Social Development from Concepts College London and holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accounting from Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
