Sara Mbago - Bhunu

Sara Mbago-Bhunu is the Director of IFAD’s East and Southern Africa Division.

Mbago-Bhunu brings to IFAD rich work experience spanning more than 20 years in the agriculture sector across Central, East, and Southern Africa. She has worked on agriculture policy and sector reviews, value chain development, access to agricultural finance, social enterprise models, and the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises in peri-urban and rural areas. She has also led and managed teams in other development organizations in the design of development projects and capacity-building programs.

Prior to joining IFAD, Mbago-Bhunu worked at the World Bank as a Senior Agricultural Economist for the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of Congo, based in Kinshasa. From 2013 to 2016, she served as Country Director for SNV-Netherlands Development Organisation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mbago-Bhunu holds a Masters in Business Administration from Maastricht School of Management, the Netherlands, and a BSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Reading, United Kingdom.