Sarah Lawan is currently Advisor for Regional Co-operation in the Networks, Partnerships and Gender Division of the OECD Development Centre in Paris. In that capacity, she conceives platforms for regional and international public policy dialogue in order to share evidence-based knowledge, best practices, and actionable recommendations for sustainable development across policymakers.

She was previously Lead Manager for Program Partnerships and Innovations at the Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa (SDGCA), headquartered in Kigali. There, she articulated programmatic actions and co-operation agreements related to quality tertiary education and the innovation ecosystem in Africa.

Before joining the SDGCA, she was Senior Programme Officer of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA/NEPAD) in New York, performing Advocacy and Multi-Stakeholder Mobilization on the Post-2015 development agenda for Africa. Ms. Lawan started her collaboration with the technical body of the African Union back in 2010 by facilitating relations between the United Nations system, US-based partners and NEPAD Headquarters in South Africa. She served as the Sherpa of Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, NEPAD CEO, for the Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

From 2006 to 2008, Ms. Lawan was Deputy of the Scientific Attaché at the French Embassy in Israel. She worked on scientific cooperation between France and Israel involving both the private sector and academic research, focusing on state of the art innovation, technology transfer, and solar energy.

Ms. Lawan holds an engineer degree in scientific instrumentation and applied business as well as a master degree in innovation, industrial, and international marketing. She also completed the Harvard Kennedy School Innovation for Economic Development executive education program.

A firm believer in science, technology, and innovation as vectors for sustainable transformation, she created a system for disseminating knowledge and sharing innovative ideas for SDGs’ solutions made in Africa.