Rob Swinkels was a Lead Economist at the World Bank, based in Abidjan, until 31 December 2025. Over the past 2.5 years, he has coordinated the Bank’s economic program in Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo, and Guinea. Previously, he worked with the World Bank based in Tanzania and Vietnam. He has also led initiatives in Zimbabwe, Cabo Verde, and several countries in Europe and Central Asia. Rob, a Dutch national, has more than twenty years of experience as a development economist.