“This is an entrepreneurial country. Everybody’s hustling,” says Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria, where she serves as finance minister. “My vision is that Nigeria will join the group of large emerging markets.” A former managing director of the World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala asserts that it is time for developing countries to have a greater say in global financial institutions. “The low-income countries in Africa and elsewhere are some of the most rapidly growing economies in the world,” she says. “These countries ought to be given more of a voice. If the whole idea of Bretton Woods is to assist developing countries, those being assisted also ought to have more of a voice in how that assistance should work.” When asked whether she gets frustrated about Nigeria’s persistent corruption, Okonjo-Iweala responds, “Yes, absolutely. But I’m also frustrated by diversionary attention.” She also discusses the politically motivated kidnapping of her 83-year-old mother in 2012. “In terms of fighting corruption, I don’t need to prove anything,” she says. “I paid a personal price.”
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