Political Environment and Investment Outlook in Africa: Leapfrog Effect, Diaspora, and Optimism

Dr. Christopher Marks discusses the current investment outlook and political environment in Africa, as well as his experience supporting economic development in Africa as a public finance specialist and investment banker.

Dr. Marks is Managing Director, Head of Emerging Markets EMEA, at the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). Prior to his current role, Dr. Marks served as Senior Advisor at the African Development Bank, responsible for the origination, structuring, and execution of synthetic structured finance and capital markets transactions for the AfDB’s balance sheet and African sovereign and quasi-sovereign clients. He was previously Global Head of Debt Capital Markets at BNP Paribas in London, and has worked for the World Bank, OECD, Price Waterhouse International Privatization Group, and as a three-year resident US Government Advisor to Poland's Ministry of Finance. 

Dr. Marks holds a M.A. from Johns Hopkins SAIS, a D.E.A. from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School for Public Policy and International Affairs. 

Dr. Marks gave a presentation in Princeton titled “Successful Risk Management in Development Finance: Cutting-Edge Case Studies from Africa” in November, 2018. For more information, please visit: https://jrc.princeton.edu/events/successful-risk-management-development-finance-cutting-edge-case-studies-africa.