Manka Angwafo

With almost twenty years of experience in development policy and finance, Manka Angwafo has built deep expertise in rural economic development and inclusive market systems. She founded Grassland Cameroon to expand access to finance and connect rural African farmers to high-value markets. Under her leadership, the company has doubled yields per hectare, reduced production costs by sixty percent, and tripled farmers’ incomes.

Prior to founding Grassland, Manka spent eight years at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., supporting multiple teams, including the Office of the Chief Economist for Africa. Her work included data analysis for policy briefs, operational support for field offices, and co-authoring Africa’s Pulse, the Bank’s biannual report on macroeconomic trends in Sub-Saharan Africa. She also gained significant field experience in South Sudan, designing and implementing baseline surveys for pilot results-based financing programs, establishing critical health data prior to the country’s independence.

Manka holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Relations from Tufts University and an Executive Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship from INSEAD. She is fluent in English and French, and enjoys problem-solving, traveling, playing tennis, and hiking.