The news of Mrs. Elsie Addo Awadzi becoming the 2nd deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana in February 2018 was a big deal, as she became only the second female to take on that position.
Mrs. Awadzi is a Ghanaian international economic and financial lawyer with over 25 years of professional experience working in various capacities in Ghana and internationally.
Educational Background
Elsie Addo graduated from and University of Ghana Faculty of Law with a degree in LLB in 1993.
In 1995, she obtained her post-graduate Qualifying Certificate to practice Law from the Ghana School of Law.
In 2000, she got her MBA in Finance from the University of Ghana Business School. She then furthered her education at the Georgetown University Law Center, where she acquired a master of law degree in international business and economic law in 2012.
Additionally, she holds an LL.M. degree (International Business and Economic Law) with distinction and a Certificate in W.T.O. Law from the Georgetown University Law Center. At Georgetown, she became a fellow of the Institute of International Economic Law.
Career
Elsie Addo has over 25 years of experience working in various capacities in Ghana, Japan, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
In the corporate world, she has worked as a commissioner of Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission for about of six years.
She joined IMF in 2012 and worked as a Senior Counsel of the IMF’s Legal Department (Financial and Fiscal Law Unit). In this unit, she advised on financial sector reforms in the context of the IMF’s surveillance, lending and technical assistance activities.
Currently, she holds the position as the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana appointed in 2018. In this role, she became the second woman to occupy the position after the bank’s formation in 1957.
In February 2022, Elsie was re-appointed for another 4-year term by Ghana’s president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo for the same position.
Awards
In 2020, she was recognized by the 5th Ghana Women of Excellence Awards for her contribution to Ghana’s economic development. The award was part of the 2020 International Women’s Day celebrations.
The same year, 2020, Elsie Addo was also awarded the Glitz Africa Corporate Personality of the Year Award at the 2020 edition of the Ghana Women Honors event. She was honored for her sterling contribution towards shaping the economic management in Ghana.
Additionally, she holds Honorary Fellowships awarded by the Chartered Institute of Bankers (Ghana) and the Institute of Directors (Ghana). These awards are in recognition of her contributions to Ghana’s banking sector and corporate Governance in Ghana respectively.
Books
Elsie Addo has authored three books: Designing Legal Frameworks for Public Debt Management, Resolution Frameworks for Islamic Banks and Private law underpinnings of public.
The books not only showcase her wittiness as a woman but teach on the financial and legal ways through management and leadership.
Governance positions
Elsie Addo serves as a board member in; the bank of Ghana, the statutory Monetary Policy Committee, and Ghana’s Financial Stability Council.
She chairs the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI)’s Gender Inclusive Finance Committee and served as one of 7 Trustees of Ghana’s COVID-19 National Trust Fund.
She is also a member of the Expert Leaders Group on Women’s Financial Inclusion in the Digital Economy established by the Graça Machel Trust.
Additionally, Elsie is a member of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Centre, an organization that provides capacity-building programs and guidance to financial supervisors and regulators, primarily in developing nations.
