Ms. Karima Bounemra Ben Soltane

Karima Bounemra Ben Soltane has extensive experience in ICT development and policy planning across Africa, with career highlights that include serving as the Director of the ECA’s African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) since August 2015, where she oversees advanced capacity building programs for African member states’ leaders and development stakeholders.is the Director of the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP). 

Prior to IDEP, she held two leadership positions, serving as the Subregional Office for North Africa Director, where she promoted policy harmonization and regional integration across the subregion. She started her leadership roles at the ECA as the Director of the Information for Development Division, where she promoted pioneering work in ICT for socioeconomic development and the coordination of the African Information Society Initiative.

Before joining the ECA, she served as President and Director of the Institut régional des sciences informatiques et des télécommunications (IRSIT) in Tunisia, leading R&D and managing ICT policy and planning. In this role, she directed the Telecommunications and Networks department at IRSIT and contributed to the foundational blueprint for Africa's entry into the information age, the AISI.

Her early career began as an expert in ICT standardization. She chaired a group of experts at the French standards body AFNOR and played a significant role in developing national and regional ICT policies.

Ms. Bounemra Ben Soltane holds a PhD in information systems.