On the streets of Yeumbeul—a working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Dakar—Amadou Hott’s journey to the frontlines of African finance began with a quiet obsession: solving math problems. Raised by a garbage truck driver and a housewife who believed fiercely in the power of education, Hott went on to study applied mathematics, build a career in international investment banking, and serve as Senegal’s economy minister and a vice president at the African Development Bank.
Now, as he vies for t