Jean Luc Mastaki Namegabe

Jean Luc Mastaki Namegabe is an economist with a PhD in Rural Economics from the University of Liège, Belgium. He has over 20 years of experience in researching, formulating, and evaluating development policies in Africa, spanning sub-regional, regional, and national levels. 

He began his career with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in December 2004, joining through the Young Professionals Program (formerly the National Competitive Examination). Over the last fifteen years, he has held various posts, including Economic Affairs Officer in the former Sustainable Development Division at ECA headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Economist at the sub-regional offices for Southern Africa in Lusaka, Zambia, and for West Africa in Niamey, Niger.

Mr. Mastaki was subsequently seconded as Senior Economist and Team Leader, responsible for trade and markets of tropical products at the FAO Trade and Markets Division (EST) in Rome, Italy. Upon his return to the ECA, he was posted to Yaoundé, serving successively as Principal Economist and Head of the Economic Diversification Policy Support Section. He served as the interim Director of the Sub-Regional Office for Central Africa between November 2021 and April 2023.

Mr. Mastaki has played a crucial role in developing structural transformation policy frameworks for the region. His notable contributions include the regional AfCFTA Strategy for Central Africa and the Industrialization and Economic Diversification Master Plan for Central Africa. At the national level, these industrialization strategies and plans are now operational in all countries. For instance, the Central African Republic, historically focused on very short-term emergency plans, has now developed and adopted its national development plan with the support of the Office.

Among Mr. Mastaki's major initiatives is the Battery and Electric Vehicle Initiative, which is currently establishing a Cross-border Special Economic Zone between the DRC and Zambia for the processing of cobalt, copper, manganese, and other critical metals.