Mama Keita (Ms.) is the director of the sub-regional office for East Africa of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, based in kigali, Rwanda. She has worked in the field of development economics for over 20 years. Prior to her employment at ECA, which began in 2011 with a position of Economic Affairs Officer, Ms. Keita held positions as Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Guinea and Poverty Economist at the World Bank in Burkina Faso. She has assumed various academic roles, notably as a lecturer in public economics and development economics in Canada and conducted various consultancies for organizations such as AfDB, UNDP and the EU. She has also carried out several research studies and publications in the development field. She holds a Masters in Statistics and Applied Economics from ENSEA in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and a PhD. in economics from the University of Montreal, Canada.