Linah Mohohlo

Linah Mohohlo at the 2011 World Economic Forum on Africa

Linah Kelebogile Mohohlo is a Botswana banker. She has been the Governor of the Bank of Botswana since 1999, and is a member of the Commission for Africa.

Mohohlo is also a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. As a Panel Member she facilitates coalition building to leverage and broker knowledge, and convenes decision-makers to influence policy for lasting change in Africa.

Education

Mohohlo has read accounting and business, economics, finance and investments at the University of Botswana, George Washington University and University of Exeter, respectively, and received executive management training from Yale University.

Career

Linah Mohohlo has been the Governor of the Bank of Botswana since 1999, following a 23-year career with the Bank, during which she worked in support and policy areas (e.g. Board Secretariat, Human Resources, Research and Financial Markets Departments). She has also worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a Special Appointee. In her capacity as Governor of the IMF for Botswana, she has been a member of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC: 2000-02), representing the Africa Group 1 Constituency, which comprises 21 Sub-Saharan African countries .

In addition to having been a member of the inaugural Botswana Economic and Advisory Council, Mohohlo serves on boards of major corporations in Botswana and abroad. Among her several international engagements, she was appointed Eminent Person in 2002 by the former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, charged with the responsibility of overseeing the evaluation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. She also served as a member of the Commission for Africa that was chaired by the former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair; the Commission’s Report, “Our Common Interest”, was published in 2005. Mohohlo is currently a member of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Committee on Financial Services for the Poor. She sits in the Investment Committee of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund and has co-chaired the meeting of the World Economic Forum for Africa in Cape Town in May 2011.

Moholo is also a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. Every year, the Panel releases a report, the Africa Progress Report, that outlines an issue of immediate importance to the continent and suggests a set of associated policies. In 2012, the Africa Progress Report highlighted issues of Jobs, Justice, and Equity. The 2013 report will outline issues relating to oil, gas, and mining in Africa.

In May 2015, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Moholo as member of the High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing, an initiative aimed at preparing recommendations for the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit.

Mohohlo has authored and/or published several papers and book chapters in economics, finance/investments, reserves management and governance.

Recognition

Mohohlo is a recipient of a number of national and international awards, among which is Botswana’s highest public service award for efficient and devoted service, the Presidential Order of Honour; both the FT Magazine (The Banker) and Euromoney bestowed on her the Central Bank Governor of the Year for Africa Award in 2001 and 2003, respectively.