Ed Olowo-Okere

Senior Advisor, Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions (EFI), The World Bank Group

Ed Olowo-Okere is the Senior Advisor, Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions (EFI), The World Bank Group. A Nigerian, Ed has three decades of experience working on governance issues around the world. Previously, he led the World Bank’s Governance Global Practice, which focuses on helping countries build capable, effective, accountable, transparent, and inclusive institutions that deliver citizen-centric services, facilitate private-sector growth, and improve trust in Government. The Global Practice provides expertise on governance issues, ranging from public financial management, public procurement, public investment governance, public institutions reform, decentralization/subnational governance to anti-corruption policies, fiduciary assurance, political economy analysis and GovTech (i.e. leveraging technology to modernize the public sector to improve service delivery to citizens and businesses, and increase efficiency, transparency and accountability). 

He joined the World Bank in 1998 and has held various positions in operations, including Director of Governance overseeing Africa, MENA and ECA regions, Senior Advisor in the Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions practice group, and Director of the Core Operational Services Department in the Africa region. Before joining the Bank, Ed held public and private sector positions. 

He has researched and published in reputable international journals and lectured at undergraduate and graduate levels in Nigeria and New Zealand on accounting and finance. 

Ed was recognized as a Governance Pioneer in 2021 by the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Agile Governance among the world’s 50 most influential people.