Biography
H.E. Ms. Bogolo Joy Kenewendo is an economic diplomacy professional whose 15-year career spans trade & investment, finance & development, and public policy.
She serves as a Specially Elected Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister of Minerals and Energy in Botswana responsible for the country's energy and mineral sector. formerly served as minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry where she stimulated investment, reformed Botswana's doing business environment, and negotiated key trade agreements as the Chairperson of the Southern Africa Customs Union Council of Ministers of Trade including the European Union EPA, The UK Post Brexit agreement and the African Continental Free Trade Area, etc. She most recently has been part of driving non-state actor ambition in climate action and crafting solutions for unlocking quality, efficient & affordable finance for sustainable development in Africa and EMDE markets as the Special Advisor to the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions. Her and her team in collaboration with partners have been instrumental in the creation of USD 20 Billion UN compendium of Climate action projects, Africa Carbon Market Initiative; Working Group for Sustainability-linked Sovereign Financing of Nature and Climate; Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance and the Africa Climate Risk Insurance Facility for Adaptation.
She served in various corporate and philanthropic boards including as Chairperson of Bank Gaborone, NED of the Africa Free Trade Area Adjustment Fund Corporation and the Africa Center for Economic Transformation. She has served the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, Advisory group on the gender architecture of the UN and group on Financing for Development. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum Trade Advisory Group, Global Future Council on Global Public Goods in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and a WEF Young Global Leader. She is a Non-Resident Fellow with the Center for Global Development.
In 2022 she was named among Prestigious Time magazine’s TIME100 Next Honorees highlighting 100 emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership.