Maria Schmidt

Maria Schmidt studied Political Science, focussing on development cooperation and policy analysis in sub-Saharan Africa early in her Franco-German studies at the Sciences Po Bordeaux Institute and University of Stuttgart. This led her first to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation, then to the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Benin and, most recently, to the GIZ in Ghana. She has been working there for the ComCashew project since December 2015, and, within her advisory duties, is primarily involved with public partners in promoting the cashew value chain. In this vain, she provided support in the development of the International Cashew Council, CICC (Conseil Internstional Consultatif du Cajou), in an advisory role, working in close collaboration with the Ivorian government. Her work leads her to Anglophone as well as Francophone project countries, where she contributes to strengthening dialogue between the partners.