(Togo First) - He is currently the Minister of Economy and Finance. Sani Yaya is a seasoned professional in the banking sector with nearly 30 years of experience. He holds a master's degree in economics from the University of Benin, now the University of Lomé, a DES in management from Paris 1-Sorbonne, and another degree from the Centre d'Etude Financière, Economique et Bancaire (CEFEB).

Thanks to his impressive academic background, the Togolese financier built up an equally impressive reputation in the region. From 1995 to 2004, he was successively the head of financial services and banking relations at the Société Nationale d'Investissement et des Fonds Annexes, its deputy commercial director, chief of operations and treasury at UTB, inspector and director at the WAEMU Banking Commission.

Sani Yaya joined ETI (Ecobank) in 2006. There, he was in charge of audit and compliance but briefly worked at NSIA from 2012 to 2014. After shortly working at NSIA, he was appointed to turn around and restructure the BTCI, which was then on the brink of collapse. In June 2015, the former Prime Minister, Selom Klassou, called on him to assist the Minister of State, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Development Planning, in drawing up the budget.

On August 1, 2016, as the country was facing some financial difficulties, Klassou appointed Yaya as minister of economy and finance. A winning gamble. During his mandate, Togo's finances were consolidated, the debt was reduced and the nation even ended up being the only one (so far) to meet the WAEMU's convergence criteria. Sani Yaya led Togo to proceed to its first issuance on the international financial markets and it was a complete success. He has been chairing since April 2020 the board of governors of EBID, the ECOWAS' financial arm.