Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi

Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi is a Ghanaian political economist and international development specialist who serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the African Center for Economic Transformation, one of the continent's leading economic policy institutes. Based in Accra, she leads an organisation devoted to moving Africa beyond simple economic growth toward genuine, diversified transformation.

Owusu-Gyamfi's career spans more than twenty-five years of work in economic and social policymaking and development across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. She holds a Master of Philosophy from the University of Sussex and is a Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow of the African Leadership Institute, a distinction that recognises emerging African leaders committed to driving change on the continent. This blend of academic training and leadership development shaped her approach to policy and institution-building.

Her professional experience includes senior roles with major international organisations. She worked for many years with the United Kingdom's Department for International Development, holding a series of private sector development specialist positions and rising to Deputy Director with responsibility for private sector development policy and technical specialists across the department. She also served as Director for Programme Policy and Quality at Save the Children UK and worked with The Power of Nutrition, gaining broad exposure to development finance, programme delivery and organisational leadership.

Owusu-Gyamfi joined ACET as Executive Vice President in 2020, a newly created role in which she helped shape the institute's strategic direction, strengthened its partnerships and mobilised resources to secure its long-term sustainability. She played a central part in expanding the organisation's research, advisory and policy advocacy work. After four years in that position she was elevated to President and CEO, succeeding the institute's founding leadership and taking charge of its mission to advance economic transformation across African economies.

As head of ACET she has become a prominent voice on questions of industrialisation, economic diversification, youth employment and the structural changes African economies need to prosper. She engages regularly with continental and international forums, including the African Economic Conference and African philanthropy platforms, advocating evidence-based policy and stronger institutions. Combining deep development experience with strategic leadership, Owusu-Gyamfi continues to guide one of Africa's most respected think tanks as it works to influence the policies that will determine the continent's economic future.