Dr. Mima Nedelcovych

Dr. Mima Nedelcovych is the President and CEO of the Initiative for Global Development (IGD), a nonprofit organization that engages hat engages and harnesses the power of the private sector for sustainable development and inclusive growth through business investment in Africa. Since taking the helm of IGD, Nedelcovych has markedly grown the participation of African corporate leaders in the Frontier 100 Leaders Network and expanded IGD’s Advisory capacity and communications and advocacy efforts to amplify the voice of Africa’s private sector leaders. Prior to joining IGD, Dr. Nedelcovych was the Chairman of Schaffer International, the successor company to the Schaffer Global Group. For the Schaffer Group, he is the lead Partner in the establishment of the Markala Sugar Project in Mali, and serves as the Chairman of the Société Sucrière de Markala. He has also established an independent consulting practice focused on trade facilitation, project development, project finance, and public-private partnerships in Africa. Dr. Nedelcovych has worked with clients such as Carana Corporation, USAID, and Abt Associates to identify and advise investment opportunities in Africa, as well as with corporate clients such as International Green Structures, Illovo Sugar and JML Investments, Novel Commodities Group, and SATAREM Renewable Energies to develop specific investments. Dr. Nedelcovych previously served as the Director for Business Development and Country Director in Liberia for Buchanan Renewables (BR). He was Managing Director of the Schaffer Global Group (SGG) for 15 years until accepting a 2-year posting as Country Director of BR in Liberia, a renewable energy business based on biomass harvested and processed from old economically redundant rubber trees. Dr. Nedelcovych served in the Administration of President George Bush from 1989 to 1993 as the U.S. Executive Director to the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. He was instrumental in formulating the “private sector initiative” at the AfDB, the African Business Roundtable and the African Export-Import Bank. Dr. Nedelcovych held the position of Principal at Arthur Young’s International Consulting Group, specializing in privatizations and private investments in Africa. At the beginning of his career he served as Peace Corps Country Director in Gabon, as Special Assistant to the Assistant Administrator for Africa at USAID, and as Special Projects Officer at the US Trade and Development Agency. Dr. Nedelcovych serves on the Advisory Board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and presently sits on the Boards of Schaffer International, International Green Structures, the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, and Afriland First Bank SA (Cameroon). He is a past Director and President of the CCA and Member of EXIM Bank’s Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee. He received a BA in Political Science from Yale University, an MA in International Relations from George Washington University, and a PhD in Comparative Political and Economic Development from Florida State University (in conjunction with Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco).