Carl Manlan is a development practitioner and thought leader driving financial inclusion and human sustainability across emerging markets. His work, currently at AGRA centers on building ecosystems where entrepreneurs, small businesses, and communities can access the tools and opportunities they need to thrive.
Carl’s career spans influential roles at global institutions and the private sector, consistently bridging policy, finance, and social impact. He previously led the social impact and sustainability function for Visa across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. As Chief Operating Officer at Ecobank Foundation, he earned the Euromoney Award for Excellence while leading transformational programs across 33 African markets, addressing critical challenges in health, education, and economic development.
His experience includes strategic roles at AUDA-NEPAD, the Economic Commission for Africa, The Global Fund, and UNDP, connecting high-level policy with on-the-ground impact.
Carl’s insights on inclusive economies and sustainable development have been featured in Project Syndicate, Forbes, Le Monde, Scientific American, El País, and the World Economic Forum’s Agenda.
His work is guided by a core belief: real change happens when innovation meets purpose.
When Dédé Rose Gamélé Creppy, one of Togo's last original Nana Benz, died in 2023, she took with her more than a successful business legacy. She represented the disappearance of an entire...
With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening to overwhelm much of Africa, companies on the continent must broaden their perspective. Instead of focusing on short-term returns for owners and inv...
People are the world’s most important resource, yet stunting in children limits human capabilities and reduces current investment in the future. Fortunately, the rapid growth of digital t...
African leaders continue to discuss their countries’ health-care systems in terms of funding gaps. In fact, those gaps will close only when Africa is viewed as an investment destination, ...
LOMÉ – Le secteur de la santé en Afrique représente une importante filière d’investissement que la Commission économique pour l’Afrique dont la valeur est estimée par les Nations unies à ...
If every African with the means contributed a dollar a month for a year to pool their own resources, the continent could move from charity case to wealth creator. But to achieve this shif...
India has lately been pursuing an ambitious goal: a cashless economy. Despite early missteps and frustrations, it will turn out to be a change for the better for the country’s 1.31 billi...
Últimamente, la India ha apuntado a un ambicioso objetivo: una economía sin dinero en efectivo. A pesar de los primeros errores y frustraciones, resultará ser un cambio para mejor para lo...
The billions of dollars in aid delivered to Africa annually may do the continent much good, but it cannot deliver a solution to poverty. Only creating more high-quality jobs can do that. ...
