Massari Sousa Pontes

She was born May 1977 in São Tomé.
She holds a degree in Economics (Universidade Nova de Lisboa – Portugal, 2003) and a Master (MSc) in Money
and Banking (University of Exeter –UK, 2007).
She joins the Board of the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe (BCSTP) in 2013 (until January 2019) and was in charge for Monetary Policy Implementation, Exchange Reserves Management, Settlement and Operations and Strategy and Policy definition for treasury. The of launching of the first series of Treasury Bills in S. Tomé, in 2015, took place on her leadership in the Markets and Payments System Department. The Monetary Reform of STP currency (in 2018) was also implemented under her guideline, after 20 years of use the same family of banknotes.
She has had a vast career within the Central Bank of Sao Tome and Principe, for almost 16 years, where she led teams of specialized studies and analysis of monetary statistics and the definition of macroeconomic policies. She was the Director of the Research Department (2011 to 2013) and Deputy Director of Research and Statistics (2008 to 2011).
She was part of the group that worked on the definition of the Economic Cooperation Agreement between Portugal and São Tomé and Principe, celebrated in 2009. This Agreement was the basis of the fixed parity regime stablished back in 2010. Her nomination to participate on the above working group was following the writing of her master's thesis named: "The optimal exchange rate regime for small open economies - the case of São Tomé and Príncipe", endorsed with Merit at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom). After the implementation of the new exchange rate regime (in early 2010), she was a member of the Macroeconomic Monitoring Unit (UAM) of the same agreement until her appointment as a board member, in 2013.
She was a consultant for the African Development Bank (AfDB) between 2010 and 2013, responsible for the country note on São Tomé and Príncipe.
Her interest in learn and share knowledge leads her to the academic world between 2009 and 2011 – when she works as coordinator professor at Universidade Lusíada de São Tomé, teaching – Seminar for the Economy of São Tomé and Príncipe, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Macroeconomics II – and in 1998, when she was a computer instructor for users.
After completing her degree in 2003 she did an internship at the Bank – Caixa Geral de Depósitos headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal, in the area of risk assessment and market monitoring.