ISSUE 48/DEC2022 - Flipbook - Page 37
Oulimata Sarr
SENEGAL
Minister of Economy, Planning & Cooperation
PUBLIC SERVICE: Economic Empowerment Advocate
“
She is a fervent
advocate of policies
that deliberately
promote gendersensitive budgeting.
Oulimata Sarr has been serving
as Minister of Economy, Planning,
and Cooperation in Senegal for
just under 4 months now. But her
career history hitherto, is quite
remarkable, a great experience
which she brings as a new minister
in one of the country’s most
important portfolios.
Prior to her current post, she
was the Regional Director for
UN Women in West Africa and
CentralAfrica coordinating
UN Women activities in 24
countries. UN Women is an entity
mandated for gender equality and
empowerment of women.
Oulimata joined the UN after a rich
and successful career in the Finance
sector, including the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) — part
of the World Bank Group.
According to the blog
AfricanWomenExperts.com, it was
while working at the IFC that she
discovered her vocation for the
promotion of women’s rights. “It
all started when I was working at
the IFC and our Director asked
me to lead the women’s network.
I realised that we, women in
development institutions, have the
mandate to represent all African
women when decisions impacting
their lives are taken.”
The site further states that her
commitment to the cause of
women within the IFC led her
to join UN Women in 2016 as
Regional Advisor on Women’s
Economic Empowerment for West
and Central Africa. Two years later,
she became Deputy Regional
Director for West and Central
Africa; then Acting Director
in March 2019 before being
promoted to RD, her last post
before she was appointed Minister.
She is a fervent supporter of
policies that work not only to
advance women’s leadership and
entrepreneurship skills but also
those that deliberately promote
gender-sensitive budgeting —
more so in African government
institutions.
In other areas, Oulimata has
contributed to several initiatives
that advance women’s rights
and empowerment. She was
a member of the Jury for the
Cartier Women’s Initiative
Awards, an annual international
entrepreneurship program
dedicated to supporting and
empowering women with a cash
prize and mentorship. In 2017,
she was invited by Vital Voices
to join the Global Ambassadors
Program as a mentor for women
entrepreneurs around the world.
She would later become a
founding member of the Women
Investment Club of Senegal which
was set up to provide long-term
capital to women entrepreneurs in
the country.
The New African Magazine
featuring her as one of Africa’s
Most Influential people once
described her as “a continuous
source of energy and inspiration
with an indefatigable work ethic.”
We are convinced this is what she
brings to her ministerial position
and look forward to seeing
her excel and continue to be a
powerhouse for the empowerment
of others.
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