The World Bank has announced the appointment of Farouk Mollah Banna, a Togolese-American expert, as its new Resident Representative in Chad. Banna is expected to play a leading role in managing and coordinating the bank’s operations in the country, which currently has an active project portfolio valued at $2.7 billion.
According to a statement by the World Bank, Banna’s portfolio will cover a range of sectors crucial to Chad’s development. These include agriculture, energy, education, social protection, and digital transformation. His appointment is part of the bank’s effort to strengthen its presence in the Sahel region and provide hands-on leadership for its country-specific programmes.
Farouk Mollah Banna brings a wealth of global experience to his new role. He has worked across multiple continents—including Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa—handling projects related to sustainable development, infrastructure, and policy reforms. Prior to this new assignment, he was based in Bamako, Mali, where he coordinated World Bank programmes across the Central Sahel region. His role in that position already involved oversight and engagement with Chad, providing him with direct experience in the country’s development landscape.
The new World Bank representative trained as an engineer at the University of Lomé in Togo and later obtained a postgraduate degree from the University of North Carolina in the United States. He holds dual citizenship—Togolese and American—and has spent over 23 years in professional service, including more than a decade within the World Bank system.
His extensive international career has seen him involved in major development initiatives focused on resilience, human capital development, and economic growth. The World Bank described him as a seasoned development expert with a strong record in managing complex programs across diverse political and institutional environments.
Banna’s assignment in Chad comes at a time when the country is facing multiple challenges, including food insecurity, youth unemployment, limited access to electricity, and underdeveloped infrastructure. The World Bank has been a major development partner to Chad over the years, providing funding and technical assistance aimed at improving public services and strengthening governance.
In recent years, Chad has seen significant inflows of support from multilateral institutions to boost its economic resilience and implement structural reforms. The ongoing projects cover key areas such as rural electrification, education access for girls, water management, road networks, and social safety nets for vulnerable communities. Banna is expected to work closely with the Chadian government, civil society, and international partners to ensure efficient delivery and monitoring of these programmes.
Observers say Banna’s engineering background and deep development experience will be valuable in coordinating cross-sectoral projects and addressing implementation bottlenecks. He is also expected to push for greater community participation and data-driven decision-making in World Bank-financed initiatives.
His appointment further signals the World Bank’s intention to maintain a strong, localized presence in the Sahel region as it confronts issues of poverty, insecurity, and climate vulnerability.
