An economist by training, Lamin Barrow has been appointed by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) as Managing Director for West Africa.

The economist by training joined the ADB as a senior financial analyst in the Infrastructure Department. He has held other positions including as Senior Country Programme Officer at the Country Office for Rwanda, Resident Representative in Ethiopia and Head of the Division for Operations, Technical Support and Regional Approaches in the Department of Transition States Support. He also served as Chief of Staff to the President, with the rank of Director, and Director of the Support Office of the Joint Secretariat of the African Development Bank, the African Union Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. A Gambian national, Barrow brings in-depth knowledge and a wealth of experience to this new position, having joined the African Development Bank in 2000. Prior to this appointment, he was Senior Director of the Nigeria Office in the Vice Presidency for Regional Development, Integration and Service Delivery

Barrow holds a master's degree in economic policy from Boston University in the United States and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. He has also completed executive finance programs at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania (United States) and investment and risk analysis programs at Queen's University