Biography

Dr. Vera Songwe is Chair of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility and co-chair of the High-Level Panel on Finance for Climate Action. She is also a member of the Global Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings. Formerly, she served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Dr. Songwe has held senior roles at the World Bank and IFC, focusing on financial stability, climate finance, and innovative financing for development. She has worked extensively on economic governance, innovative financing, and macroeconomic reforms across Africa, East Asia, Europe, and South Asia.

Recognized among Africa’s 100 most influential people (2022) and Forbes Africa’s Top 50 Women (2023), she advocates for reforming the global financial system to meet 21st-century challenges. She holds a PhD in Mathematical Economics from Louvain-la-Neuve and dual BAs in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan.