Hammond Kwaku Wolanyo Mensah is a development professional with over 20 years of experience spanning programme leadership, monitoring, evaluation and learning, development finance, and inclusive growth. He serves as a short-term Senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist at the International Center for Evaluation and Development (ICED), bringing practical experience in connecting evidence, programme implementation, and strategic decision-making.
Through his work with TANGO International, Hammond has contributed to learning agenda development for the Mastercard Foundation’s education programme, alongside the Education Landscape Assessment, Data Quality Assessment, and Capability for Impact, Evaluation and Learning assignments. He has also supported data collection for Programme Outcome Assessments of programmes funded under the Foundation’s Secondary Education and Transitions portfolio. His contributions span developing learning questions, organising evidence, engaging stakeholders, and supporting reliable data collection to inform programme improvement and adaptive management.
As a Senior Consultant with EMPERIKS, Hammond supported the baseline evaluation of the Mastercard Foundation-funded Financial Inclusion for Last Mile Actors (FILMA) programme. His work encompassed mixed-methods research, value chain analysis, and market systems diagnostics, examining labour dynamics, youth and women’s economic participation, enterprise competitiveness, and barriers to finance and markets. He contributed recommendations to strengthen programme design, financial inclusion pathways, and private-sector engagement.
He also supported the midline evaluation of the Greater Rural Opportunities for Women, Phase 2 (GROW2) programme with Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). His work examined savings groups, matching grants, financial sector engagement, and the relationships between gender, climate-smart agriculture, and market access. He contributed recommendations to refine programme strategy and strengthen the sustainability of rural women’s economic empowerment.
Hammond has held programme and specialist leadership roles at Solidaridad West Africa, including Regional Cocoa Programmes Lead, Head of Access to Finance, and Impact Investment Lead. His work has addressed smallholder livelihoods, sustainable agricultural value chains, financial inclusion, and climate finance across West Africa. This combination of implementation and evaluation experience gives him a practical understanding of development challenges and the evidence needed to improve results.
Hammond holds an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Liverpool and a degree in Mathematics. He is also a Certified Expert in Climate Adaptation Finance and a Certified Expert in Microfinance, with qualifications from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.
