Praful

A Ugandan national, Praful Patel is the World Bank's Vice President for the South Asia Region since June 2003. Praful joined the World Bank in 1974 through the Young Professional Program after completing his higher education from the University of Nairobi (Kenya) and later the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA). In a career spanning 29 years, Praful has provided strategic leadership in managerial and corporate positions in various parts of the Bank taking forward the institution’s mission of poverty alleviation in regions as varied as Africa, East Asia, Latin America,  Northern Africa and the Middle East. In the process, Praful has covered different sectors including urban, infrastructure, private sector, financial sector and macro-economic management. Praful’s management skills and experience have also been called upon to support the Bank’s institutional agenda. He has effectively led the organization’s Appeals Committee, supported the development of country teams, and played a primary role representing the Bank in developing and implementing the Africa Capacity Building Program. He has also taken on senior management oversight of complex Bank-supported initiatives in countries confronting major macro-economic shocks, post-conflict countries, and countries involving international cross-boundary undertakings, and piloted in Southern Africa the Bank’s increasing shift to country dialogue based on knowledge management and support of local capacity.