Professional Affiliation

Strategy Advisor to the Assistant Administrator and Director, United Nations Development Programme Regional Bureau for Africa

Expert Bio

Dr. Joy Kategekwa  is a globally respected international trade and investment law, policy and capacity development expert. She has an unyielding passion for the power of trade for Africa’s development. At UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa in New York, she leads advisory on the AfCFTA portfolio and advises the Assistant Secretary General on design and implementation of high–impact – development-accelerating initiatives under the Renewed Strategic Offer in Africa - in her role as Regional Strategy Advisor. She is the Founding Head of the UNCTAD Regional Office for Africa in Addis Ababa, where she led the UNCTAD teams supporting design of the historic AfCFTA, and advised governments on trade – led growth and capacity development strategies.  Previously, at the  WTO Secretariat in Geneva, she led institutional support to African delegations, and for negotiations on Special and Differential Treatment to make multilateral trade agreements work better for developing countries. She was appointed to the AfCFTA Secretary General’s Advisory Council on Trade, Investment and Industry; is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Trade & Investment, and the Advisory Board of the African Journal on International Economic Law (AJIEL). She is the author of the book: “Opening Markets for Foreign Skills: How Can the WTO help?” and has been invited to give guest lectures at leading institutions of higher learning including The Harvard Kennedy School; Howard Law School; Tufts University, The World Trade Institute; The Trade Policy Training Centre; University of the Western Cape, among others. She holds a Ph.D in International Trade Law from the prestigious World Trade Institute–University of Berne. She is a trained classical vocalist, a pianist, and a songwriter.  She is married and is the very proud mother of 4 beautiful girls.