Ethiopian born Mimi Alemayehou is a global leader in finance. In her work, she continues to lead initiatives which are driving African development and growth. Mimi has worked as Managing Director at Black Rhino and Chair of Blackstone Africa Infrastructure LP. The Blackstone group is one of the world’s largest private equity groups and is currently expanding its investment portfolio in Africa. Before joining Blackstone in 2014, Mimi served as Executive Vice President at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation(OPIC),  the US government’s private sector oriented development finance arm. During her stint at OPIC, Mimi managed an investment portfolio of over $16 billion spanning some 100 countries. She also helped to grow OPIC’s Africa’s investments to $ 4 billion.  Mimi has also been involved in the design of key Africa facing development and financing initiatives. Before joining OPIC, Mimi represented the US on the board of the African Development Bank as an Executive Director having been appointed to the position by former US  President George W. Bush. In this role, Mimi helped to advocate for greater infrastructure and private sector investments on the continent.

Credit: Mimi Alemayehou/Twitter

Mimi was also involved in the development of the US government’s Power Africa Initiative which is focused on expanding energy access in Africa. Mimi has also been an entrepreneur,  having founded and led the development consulting firm Trade Links LLC.  Among other advisory services, Trade Links LLC provided export promotion consulting services under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Mimi also served as Director of Regulatory Affairs for World Space,  a global satellite and telecommunications company. The Ethiopian born Mimi lived for some time in Kenya prior to moving to the United States. She holds a Masters degree in International Business and International Law and Development from Tufts University.