Mamadou Biteye, a seasoned agricultural economist and development expert, is the Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), the African Union’s specialized agency for capacity development.
Mr. Biteye joined ACBF from VISA, where he served as Vice-President, Global Head of Inclusive Growth and before that as Regional Head of Social Impact for the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa Region.
Among his achievements at VISA, he collaboratively developed a global financial digital equity and inclusion strategy focused on leveraging VISA products and forging strategic multi-stakeholder partnerships for impact.
He also led the development and implementation of global strategy frameworks for financial education and small and micro-business support for growth and resilience.
He also worked as Managing Director Africa for the Rockefeller Foundation, overseeing the organization’s work across the continent. This included work on youth employment, health, philanthropy, agriculture, and food security.
Prior to joining the Rockefeller Foundation, Mr. Biteye served as Oxfam’s Regional Director for West Africa.
Major highlights of his service at Oxfam include providing leadership during responses to major humanitarian crises on the continent. As Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for Oxfam International, his strategic leadership was present in responses to several large multi-country humanitarian crises, which included responses to food crises in the Sahel (2010 and 2012), Cholera in Sierra Leone and Liberia (2012), Floods in Nigeria (2012), conflicts in Cote d’Ivoire (2011) and Mali (2012).
In recognition of his humanitarian work, Mr. Biteye was made Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for leadership.
Mr. Biteye serves on several advisory boards, including the Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE), African Women Impact Fund, Center on African Philanthropy and Social Investment, Niyel and currently serves on the Board of Directors of myAgro. In 2019, he was listed among the 100 Most Influential Africans by The Africa Report.
Mr. Biteye holds a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from Ohio State University in the U.S, and a Master’s Degree and Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics from The Crimean Agricultural Institute in Ukraine.