Benedicta Lasi

Benedicta Lasi (born 15 August 1987) is a Ghanaian lawyer, development economist, and politician. She is the founder of the Africa Governance Centre and the African Trade Chamber, and was elected to the Presidium of the Socialist International as Secretary-General together with other world leaders including Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez and Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, becoming the first woman, first African, and youngest person to ever hold the position

Early life and education Lasi was born on 15 August 1987 in Ghana. She attended the University of Ghana, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree. She completed professional legal training at the Ghana School of Law and was called to the Ghana Bar.

Her practice integrates legal, financial, and economic policy advisory to design bankable frameworks for industrial projects, public-private partnerships, and cross-border investments. As a development economist, she advises governments on fiscal and monetary policies and advocates for intra-African trade, regional value chains, and sound regulatory frameworks as drivers of sustainable growth.

International Development Work

Africa Governance Centre Benedicta Lasi founded the Africa Governance Centre - an independent, non-partisan think tank promoting governance excellence and institutional capacity across Africa. As Executive Chair, she leads programmes to strengthen democratic governance and cross-party co-operation, including the African Political Parties Initiative (APPI) and the African Political Parties Summit (APPS). Her public addresses emphasise that African nations’ progress is interdependent and that governance reform must underpin economic transformation.

Advocacy and Impact Beyond her institutional roles, Lasi supports initiatives on women’s leadership and youth empowerment and frequently speaks at international forums on governance and development. She argues that political stability must translate into broad-based prosperity and human development.