Joël has spent close to 30 years working for the IMF, including within the management team of the Africa department. Throughout its career, he has advised a broad range of countries, including in distressed situations
Joël Toujas-Bernaté was Assistant Director for the African Department of the IMF, acting as team leader and coordinator for the CEMAC region between 2016 and 2021. Prior to this he held various positions within the Fund as team leader, division chief, resident representative or economist.
Joël has led the IMF’s efforts on many countries, notably Algeria, the Central African Republic, Djibouti, Ghana, Gabon, the Republic of Congo and Tunisia. He worked on a diversity of issues, such as economic development strategies, macro and fiscal policies, reforms and restructuring cases.
Joël has developed a particular experience in advising crisis-hit countries. As a Resident Representative in the West Bank and Gaza, Joël advised the Palestinian Authority on its development policy during a period of infighting and isolation. He has also contributed to the negotiation of new programs for countries at a time of distressed situation, such as Ghana, Comoros, Madagascar or Pakistan.
Joël holds an engineering degree from École Polytechnique, Paris (1986). He also graduated from ENSAE (Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Économique), where he received a master-level training in macroeconomics, microeconomics and econometrics (1988).
