Aissata Lam – Minister of Fisheries, Maritime and Port Infrastructures

BIOGRAPHY

Personal Information

• Name: Aissata Lam.
• Date and Place of Birth: October 16, 1985, Boghé.
• Marital Status: Married, mother of one child.

 

Professional Profile:
Areas of Expertise

• Strategy and economic development.
• Promotion of investments and public-private partnerships.
• Economic diplomacy.
• Development financing.
• Climate risk management and resilience building.
• Strategic communication and stakeholder relations management.
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards and economic inclusion.
• Private sector development in Africa.
• Investor relations and fundraising.

 

Academic Background

• 2025–2026: Master’s in Public Administration, Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Fellow in the Executive Leadership Initiative (ELI) and recipient of the Edward S. Mason Fellowship.
• 2012–2014: Graduate studies at Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, in finance and organizational behavior.
2005–2008: Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montréal, with a double major in Corporate Finance and International Business, including an international exchange program at the Bordeaux School of Business in France in 2007.
• 2024–2025: Preparatory year at HEC Montréal.

Executive Education Programs

• 2025: “Leadership for the 21st Century” program, Harvard Kennedy School.
• 2021–2022: Executive Education Certificate from the United Nations Environment Leaders Program, in collaboration with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Herti School.
• 2022: Desmond Tutu Fellowship, University of Oxford – Saïd Business School.

 

Professional Experience

• October 10, 2026: Appointed Minister of Fisheries, Maritime and Port Infrastructures.
April 2021 – October 2025: Director General of the Mauritanian Investment Promotion Agency (APIM), Nouakchott, Mauritania.
• April 2017 – March 2021: Regional Director for West and Central Africa at the African Risk Corporation (ARC), Johannesburg, South Africa, and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
• September 2014 – April 2017: Program Officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Nouakchott, Mauritania.
• January 2012 – April 2014: Founding President of the Mauritanian Youth Chamber of Commerce (JCCM-iLab), Nouakchott.
• January 2011 – January 2012: Underwriting and Insurance Officer at Liberty Underwriters International (LIU), Montreal, Canada.
• May 2009 – January 2011: Underwriting and Insurance Manager at Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA), Montreal, Canada.

 

Honors, Awards, and International Participation

• 2023: Selected for the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders program.
• 2022: Desmond Tutu Fellowship, African Leadership Institute and Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
• 2020: Knight of the Order of National Merit, Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
• 2019: Selected for the BBC’s list of the 100 Most Influential Women in the World.
• 2019: Member of the G7 Advisory Council on Gender Equality.
• 2015: Recipient of the Award of Excellence for Emerging Leaders from the Montreal School of Business.
• 2014: Recipient of the International Award for Active African Women (TIFAA).
• 2010: First-place winner in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)
• 2009: Finalist in the Case Competition at the University of Navarra, Spain.
• 2009: Silver medalist at the Trade Games, International Business category, Canada.
• 2008: Finalist in the John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition, Canada.

Membership on Boards of Directors and Advisory Bodies

• Member of the Board of Directors of the Arab Youth Leaders Organization, Government of Dubai.
• Member of the Board of Directors of UNESCO’s “Women Artists of the World” organization.
• Member of the Board of Directors of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.
• Member of the G7 Advisory Council on Gender Equality in 2019.

 

Public Service and Leadership

• Since September 2019: UNICEF Ambassador and Advocate in Mauritania.
• Since March 2020: Member of the National Committee for Monitoring the Solidarity Fund to Combat COVID-19.
• Since May 2023: Ambassador for the African Women in Business Finance Initiative (AFAWA), affiliated with the African Development Bank.
• Since December 2023: Co-founder of the “La Maison du Terroir” project.

 

Articles and Publications

• March 2024: “Promoting Digital and Inclusive Finance in Africa,” an opinion piece published by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• December 2022: “Travelogue – Mauritania: A Journey Through Mauritania During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” a photo book that reached the final round of the Egger Award for Best African Photo Book of 2024.
• March 2019: “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Africa,” an op-ed published in Jeune Afrique magazine.
• September 2019: Contributed to the official report of the Biarritz Partnership for the G7, which reviews initiatives and reforms aimed at promoting gender equality during France’s G7 presidency.
• 2015: Contributed to several technical publications by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on social protection, food security, and resilience in the Near East and North Africa region.

 

Languages

• Fluent in French.
• Fluent in English.
• Professional-level Spanish.
• Basic knowledge in Arabic.