The World Bank Group has announced the appointment of Qimiao Fan as the new country director for Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, and Uganda.

In this role, Fan will oversee the implementation of sector and project work within these nations and will report directly to the World Bank regional vice president.

Fan, who will be based in Nairobi at the World Bank Group’s regional office, is tasked with managing the Bank's relationship with the four borrowing member countries.

This role is critical as Kenya and its neighbouring nations increasingly rely on the World Bank for support in their development projects amidst constrained external financing.

Fan succeeds Keith Hansen, who has served in this position since September 2020. Like Hansen, Fan is a seasoned member of the Washington DC-based multilateral lender, having joined the World Bank Group in 1991.

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His extensive career includes roles as country manager for Cambodia and country director for Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.

Before his current appointment, Fan served as Director of Strategic and Corporate Initiatives.

His previous positions include Director of Strategy and Operations for the Equitable Growth and Finance and Director of Strategy and Operations in the Office of the Managing Director for Development Policy and Partnerships.