Bogolo Kenewendo is an economic diplomacy professional whose career spans trade and investment, finance and development and public policy.
A global economist and politician, she has an extensive background in economic policy and environmental sustainability, with significant contributions made during her tenure as the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry in Botswana from 2018-2019. In her role as Minister, Kenewendo was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in 2018 to the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation. In 2022, she was further appointed as Special Advisor and Africa Director to the United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions. Currently, she serves as Managing Director of Kenewendo Advisory.
Kenewendo serves in various corporate and philanthropic boards, including as Chairperson of Bank Gaborone, Non-Executive Director of the Africa Free Trade Area Adjustment Fund Corporation and the Africa Center for Economic Transformation. Among others, she has served the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, and the UN Advisory Group on Financing for Development. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Trade Advisory Group, Global Future Council on Global Public Goods in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and a WEF Young Global Leader. She is a Non-Resident Fellow with the Center for Global Development.
She is frequently named among Africa’s Most Influential People by various publications including the New African Magazine 2022. In 2022, she was named among Prestigious Time magazine’s TIME100 Next Honorees highlighting 100 emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership.
She holds a Master of Science in International Economics from the University of Sussex and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Botswana.