Amani Abou-Zeid

Amani Abou-Zeid
Born	Egypt
Other names	أماني أبو زيد
Occupation(s)	Development aid specialist, African Union Commissioner
Years active	Since at least 1981
Known for	African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy, Tourism, and ICT; work at African Development Bank, UNDP, USAID
Notable work	Cooperation on Noor solar energy complex; leadership in Single African Air Transport Market; trustee of 5Rights Foundation

Amani Abou-Zeid (Arabic: أماني أبو زيد, DMG: Amānī Abū Zaid) is a distinguished Egyptian specialist in development aid. Since 2017, she has been serving as the African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission based in Addis Ababa. Her professional journey includes high-level positions within prominent international institutions such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), UNDP, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Additionally, Abou-Zeid acts as a trustee for the 5Rights Foundation, an organization established by Baroness Beeban Kidron that advocates for children's digital rights.

Life

Abou-Zeid earned her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Cairo and holds a Baccalauréat en arts from the Sorbonne. She completed master's degrees in project management at Senghor University in Alexandria and public administration at Harvard University's Kennedy School. In 1981, she was awarded a PhD, and in 2001, she received an honorary doctorate in Social and Economic Development from the University of Manchester.

Over a span of three decades, she has worked extensively across Africa, Europe, and North America within the infrastructure and energy sectors, collaborating with organizations such as UNDP and USAID. During her tenure at the African Development Bank, she occupied senior roles including director of the Africa Natural Resource Center, where she aided African governments in optimizing natural resource management. Among her notable achievements was fostering cooperation between AfDB and Morocco on the Noor solar energy complex—recognized as the world’s largest solar power project inaugurated in 2018. She was also instrumental in obtaining concessional financing for economically disadvantaged African countries.

Chosen as one of eight commissioners for the African Union in 2017, Abou-Zeid initially took charge of infrastructure and energy portfolios. In 2019, Avance Media listed her among Africa’s top 100 most influential women; she was the sole Egyptian and one of two representatives from North Africa alongside Aya Chebbi.

Following her re-election in 2021 to serve an additional four-year term, her responsibilities broadened to encompass tourism as well as information and communications technology sectors. Garnering 50 votes—the highest ever recorded for this office—she surpassed 24 contenders representing 18 nations. Her leadership portfolio includes overseeing projects such as the Single African Air Transport Market and actively participating in the Broadband Commission for Africa.

In 2023, during Zimbabwe’s SmartAfrica Summit convened by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Abou-Zeid collaborated with prominent leaders including Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, ITU's Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Smart Africa Director-General Lacina Koné, along with ICT ministers from Rwanda, Benin, and Ghana to promote advancements in digital infrastructure and broadband connectivity throughout Africa.