Elsie S. Kanza is Director, Head of Africa, at the World Economic Forum.

Prior to joining the Forum in 2011, she held a number of positions with the Government of Tanzania, including serving as Personal Assistant to Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, where she was responsible for economic affairs, as well as working at the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Tanzania in various capacities from 1997 to 2006.

Kanza was nominated in 2011 to the Rising Talents Program of the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society, and is a 2008 awardee of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow.

She holds a BSc (cum laude) in International Business Administration from the United States International University - Africa, an MSc in Finance from the University of Strathclyde and an MA in Development Economics from Williams College.

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