President of Mastercard Middle East and Africa, Raghu Malhotra, has just been appointed to the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA).
This appointment will see Malhotra serve a two-year term on the council and help to build seamless trade relationships (between US and Africa) and foster investment on the continent.
A business leader, Malhotra has been involved in various senior leadership roles at Mastercard over the last decade and is instrumental in driving the company’s global strategy across 69 markets (including the Middle East and Africa). He holds an honors degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne.
Prior to joining Mastercard, he had worked at Citicorp, American Express and ANZ Grindlays Bank with a career spanning 25 years and accolades to show for it. He has been listed among top business leaders by Forbes consecutively from 2014 to 2018.
Currently, Malhotra holds a number of board and advisory positions across international markets. This includes INJAZ (Junior Achievement Worldwide), World Economic Forum Africa Business Council and the Rwandan Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning’s Informal Sector Pensions Project.
Malhotra has expressed his delight on joining the council.
I am deeply honored to be selected to serve on the PAC-DBIA, and support its mission to help bridge the gap between the U.S. and African public and private sectors. Africa is home to 54 countries, each at different stages of development, and is well-positioned for tremendous socio-economic growth.
Raghu Malhotra, President of Mastercard Middle East and Africa.
PAC-DBIA plays an important role in providing American private sector insights to inform the U.S. government’s policies and engagements within Africa. This in turn helps to boost economic development.
Since its founding in 2014, the council has made appointments every 2 years. Appointees of the just concluded 2016-2018 term toured several African nations and yielded high impact outcomes. Notably, they made available a report analyzing the top obstacles faced by American companies delving in African markets for the first time and/or expanding their businesses on the continent. The tour also led to the signing of nearly $2 billion in deals and commercial engagements with four African countries.
Now in his new advisory role on PAC-DBIA, Malhotra will be drawing on his expertise and understanding of African markets to help the US strengthen commercial engagement in Africa and advance the current administration’s new economic strategy, Prosper Africa. He will also be joined by 25 other private sector leaders on the council.
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