A commitment to create economic champions November 1, 2026

At the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Khady Evelyne Denise Ndiaye is responsible for the private sector. A position that allows him to tirelessly transmit his passion for the economy and to concretize his commitment to the emergence of economic champions in the area. An ambition serving impact, regional integration and economic and social development.

In the middle of an audience composed mainly of journalists, Khady Evelyne Denise Ndiaye gives her presentation, microphone in hand. His gaze, focused on the projection screen, accompanies a radiant face with a caramel complexion. The tone is modulated, the flow controlled. With fluidity, it presents the private sector support policy implemented by the UEMOA Commission.

This ease reflects a solid economic training, built over the course of his university career. “After studying at Toulouse 1 Capitole University, I specialized in economic intelligence, with a master’s degree in this field. I then completed this training with a master’s degree in private sector development and financing, delivered by the University of Auvergne–Clermont-Ferrand,” she explains.

At the end of this course, the young woman began her professional career in France, at the Limousin Regional Economic Development Agency, where she worked in the areas of economic monitoring and intelligence.

Determined to climb the ladder, she joined the UEMOA Commission in February 2010, as a young professional, as part of a three-year program from which she graduated top of her class.

This experience, she emphasizes, proves to be particularly structuring. It allows him to discover the institution from several angles: multilateral surveillance of the Union’s economies, the development of the private sector, then cooperation and mobilization of resources.

“At the end of the program, I continued my career within the Commission as an economist responsible for strategic monitoring. I was then responsible for the private sector, then head of the Private Sector Promotion Division, which became the Business Climate Improvement Division, before being appointed director of the private sector in January 2019,” recalls Khady Evelyne Denise Ndiaye.

“It’s hard for me to pick just one. My arrival at the UEMOA Commission was obviously a turning point. Several experiences have marked me, but three particularly come to mind, for very different reasons,” she confides, with a smile that almost never leaves her.

The first is the “Investing in UEMOA” initiative, notably the International Investors Conference organized in Dubai in 2014. Khady Evelyne Denise Ndiaye took an active part in the preparation of this initiative, which aimed to raise awareness of the economic potential of the Union and to connect structuring projects of Member States with international investors.

“This experience reinforced my conviction: our region is full of opportunities; we still need to know how to structure them, make them visible and bring them to the right partners,” says the director of the private sector at the UEMOA Commission.

Another highlight of her career: the Tremplin Startup Uemoa initiative, to which she is particularly attached because of its impact potential.

“I am particularly attached to this program. There, we are as close as possible to entrepreneurs, their ideas, their ambitions, but also their difficulties. Seeing young companies identified, accompanied, highlighted and supported is extremely rewarding. This gives a very concrete face to our action in favor of the private sector,” she notes.

UEMOA, a significant experience

Throughout her career in the service of the “community house”, this Senegalese executive also held the presidency of the Mutuelle du personnel des organs de l’UEMOA, which she held for five years.

A responsibility that allowed him to understand another dimension of leadership. “She taught me a lot about leadership, but especially about people. Being responsible for a mutual means being confronted with the very concrete concerns of people, having to listen, arbitrate, bring together and sometimes make difficult decisions. It taught me that you only truly lead by listening to others,” she believes.

At the UEMOA Commission, the Private Sector Directorate occupies a strategic place. It contributes to creating the conditions for the emergence of strong, competitive regional businesses that create jobs and added value.

For Khady Evelyne Denise Ndiaye, this responsibility above all taught her that occupying a management position is not an achievement, but an additional requirement for results and exemplarity.

With this conviction in mind, it intends to stay the course, particularly through the implementation of the various strategies adopted by the institution.

“We now have a clearly defined course with the Private Sector Development Strategy 2026-2030 and the Public-Private Dialogue Promotion Strategy, adopted in March 2026. The ambition is to make the WAEMU private sector one of the most competitive in Africa, a source of prosperity and inclusive growth,” she explains.

According to her, the priorities relate in particular to improving the productivity of businesses, their access to financing, strengthening the legal and institutional framework, as well as access to economic infrastructure and more efficient services.

Behind these axes lies a central conviction: helping the Union’s companies to change scale. This requires better supporting SMEs, stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship, diversifying financing instruments, reducing the cost of production factors and continuing to improve the business climate.

“We also need to further transform our raw materials,” insists the director of the private sector at the UEMOA Commission. A way of reminding us that regional competitiveness also requires a greater capacity to create value locally.

Far from economic issues and institutional imperatives, Khady Evelyne Denise Ndiaye cultivates other centers of interest. She loves traveling, discovering new worlds, reading and, above all, creating.

“I also have a real interest in entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity,” she reveals.

Among his passions, scents occupy a special place. “I have always had a particular sensitivity to scents, beautiful materials and everything related to the olfactory world,” she confides.

It is from this interest that a personal initiative around intentional perfume oils was recently born.

The allure of good scents

The universe is certainly far from his daily professional life, but it offers him another space for expression. She explores a more creative and intuitive side of her personality, with the pleasure of starting from an idea and gradually transforming it into something concrete.

“And finally, even in my leisure time, I probably find something that characterizes me: I like to imagine, build and bring projects to life. Besides that, I remain very attached to simple moments, to family, to loved ones and to these moments of calm which allow you to refocus,” she confides.

After several years of career and increasing responsibilities, his main challenge is now to continue to evolve without losing his balance.

“After several years of increasing responsibilities, we understand that the challenge is no longer just to progress professionally. You must continue to learn, remain demanding of yourself, preserve your capacity for innovation, but also find time for your religion, your family, for yourself and for what gives meaning to your life,” explains Khady Evelyne Denise Ndiaye.

Beyond the functions and responsibilities, the same line of conduct emerges: continue to learn, create and serve, without ever losing sight of the essential. A quest for excellence and impact which, for her, is nourished as much by professional ambition as by personal balance.

By Demba DIENG