GAIN Youth Summit

Chinwe Okoli

Chinwe Okoli is An Author, Economist and a Public Policy Analyst, trained in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and Israel. Well versed and experienced in the set up and management of physical innovation hubs, digital innovation hubs, science parks, co-working spaces, innovation districts, angel investment networks and thriving innovation/entrepreneurship ecosystems. She has been trained by Facebook, African Development Bank, Ideon Science Park, African Business Angels Network(ABAN) and International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation(IASP). As a professional Economist and Public Policy Analyst, she understands the importance and therefore promotes innovation and entrepreneurship among the youth as a catalyst for sustainable development of Africa especially in the era of 4th industrial revolution. This is evidenced by her works in recent years. To foster innovation and self development among the youth, Chinwe Founded Grand Africa Initiative (GAIN). A Pan-African Non-governmental organization on a mission to help African young men and women develop and harness their unique ideas, talents and abilities; working with them to unleash their full potentials in education, entrepreneurship and innovation through a unique Gather, Empower, Mentor and Monitor (GEMM) strategy. Through the GEMM strategy, GAIN drives digital inclusion in Africa. She is a Coach, Mentor and Motivational Speaker with special interest in youth development, innovation and excellent performance. Moulding motivated and committed youth for a more reliable and predictable future is her Passion. This led her to found Grand Africa Initiative (GAIN) - a platform to help the youth thrive irrespective of daily challenges.

Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo

Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo is an Economics Professor at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and was a visiting professor at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He joined the Federal Government in 2003 as Chief Economic Advisor to the President, became Chief Executive of the National Planning Commission. In May 2004, he was appointed as Governor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); a function that he held until 2009. He has been consultant to about 18 international organizations, including the World Bank, IMF, OECD Development Centre. Prof Soludo is also the Chairman of African Heritage Institution and Member Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

His Excellency, Ambassador Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti

His Excellency Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti took up his position as Secretary-General (SG) of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) on the 2 March 2020. A citizen of Angola, SG Mr. Chikoti has devoted almost 30 years of his professional career to diplomacy and international relations. Prior to his appointment as Secretary-General, H.E. Chikoti served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Angola to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and Head of Mission to the European Union. Before this, he held several high-level posts within the government of the Republic of Angola, which included Minister of Foreign Affairs, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs in charge of Co-operation, and Vice-Minister of External Relations in Charge of International Organisations. Having the distinction of being the first Lusophone Secretary-General of the OACPS, SG Mr. Chikoti is also fluent in English and French.

Her Excellency, Mrs Teneng Mba Jaiteh

She is the Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of The Gambia to The Kingdom of Belgium with concurrent Accreditation to The Kingdom of The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Federal Republic of Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic, as well as Mission responsible to the European Union, ACP, WCO, ICC, OPCW, UNFCC, CFC and CTBTO. Amb Jaiteh studied Modern History at the University of Sierra-Leone, Fourah Bay College Sierra- Leone and Masters in Development Studies at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) University of London, UK. She has served in the following capacities in The Gambia: Minister of Energy, Minister of Petroleum, Deputy Minister of Petroleum, Secretary General & Head of The Civil Service and the Permanent Secretary, Office of the President. She is happilly married with three children.

Fati N’zi-Hassane

Fati N’zi-Hassane, a national of the Republic of Niger, serves in Midrand, South Africa at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) as Supervisor of the Human Capital and Institutions Division. Her role is to provide leadership in the development and implementation of relevant projects, interventions, and tools to support governments of the 55 African Union Member States in leveraging their human capital for inclusive development. Prior to joining NEPAD, Fati worked in Europe for more than ten years as a management consultant and as a programme manager, supporting the transformation of private and public entities. Her interest in education, employability and equal opportunities has led her to take part in several initiatives serving communities in both France and Niger since 2007. Fati holds an engineer degree from the Ecole Nationale de Statistique et d’Economie Appliquée d’Abidjan, and an MBA from French Business School ESSEC. She speaks French, English and Hausa.

His Excellency S.F. Houmard

His commitment and follow up reflects his professional work ethics. This allowed him to be one of the most promising leaders of the younger generation and was officially elected in 2017 as the youngest president of a complex global public affairs office. As president of the global office of THE GLOBAL UNION & GU-GHCF & Permanent Mission to the global Safety of Nations and their People (a global supranational-intergovernmental organization-authority, its permanent mission and its igov. foundation), H.E. S. Fabrice Houmard, a committed young entrepreneur, political connected, has been involved with his business partners in various start-ups and projects and has served on various boards. ​ As an honor of his acceptance of his official election as President of the global Office, one of his family names, was included in the name of the GU's international-intergovernmental non-profit foundation - GU's GLOBAL HOUMARD & CO. FOUNDATION. He positions himself geopolitically and his travels enriched him culturally through the diverse network he established in both the public and corporate sectors. This has empowered him to play a pivotal role in ensuring that his team represents a diversified cultural background which is both inspiring and a source of enrichment for the GLOBAL UNION & GU-GHCF it's Permanent Mission Boards, Parliament, Committee, Councils and the population - for you, with you, for all. He believes that we rise by lifting others. This allows him to neutrally assess and handle national and global challenges, as well as develop preventive and innovative solutions for the benefit of humanity – to protect, save, rescue and empower lives around the globe! He is a member of different boards and councils, such as Care Team of Airlines (Star Alliance Member) and Institutions of neutral supervisory Board Members, such as H.H. Jawaher Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa Youth Empowerment Foundation & Innovation Center.

Mr. Pedro Lopes

Pedro is known for organizing the first TEDx of Cabo Verde and for being the founder of Generation B-Bright, a youth empowerment organization. In 2017 he won the prize of “We are Cabo Verde - Best of the Year” in the category of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and was selected by the US Government to participate in the YALI Program. In 2018 he was selected by MIPAD as one of the Most Influential People in the World of Afro Descent in the world under 40 years old and was chosen by former President Obama to be part of his first leadership initiative in Africa – Obama Leaders. At the age of 31, he became the youngest member of the current Government of Cabo Verde by being appointed as Secretary of State for Innovation & TVET. Pedro was also nominated in 2018 for the "Young World Politician of the Year" Award by One Young World and he was on the 2018 list of Apolitical of 100 Future Leaders: The World’s Most Influential Young People in Government. He designed the model for the creation of the Prime Minister's Youth Council and the innovation program "Cabo Verde Digital".

Dr Kenneth Okonkwo

Kenneth Arinzechukwu Okonkwo is an Actor, Producer, Lawyer, Diplomat and Politician. He graduated as one of the best students in Business Management, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he was awarded a certificate for academic excellence. He ia also a graduate of Law, University of Lagos. He attended Nigerian Law School and was called to bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He had his Masters Degree in International Law and Diplomacy, University of Lagos and was recently conferred with a Doctorate Degree by the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria. He has received numerous awards both at home and abroad. Some of the awards include:The Pillar of Nollywood Award 2013 by African Movie Academy Award (AMAA); The Best African Actor 2009 and 2011 by Zulu African Film Academy Award (ZAFAA), United Kingdom; Nollywood Legend Award 2013 by African Actors Recognition Awards (AARA) in Minnesota, USA; Best Nigerian Actor Award 2014 by Universal Achievement Award, Columbus, Ohio, USA; Best overall History Student, 1983 St Teresa's College, Nsukka; Dean's list award for academic excellence by faculty of Business Administration, University of Nigeria, Nsukka; A pioneer entertainer Award 2012 by Nsukka Local Govt. Area; Enugu Born Pioneer Nollywood Actor 2014 by Enugu State Govt; A special recognition award 2015 by City People Entertainment Awards; An Icon Award 2016 by Actors Guild of Nigeria, Abuja Chapter as the Light of Nollywood; Nigeria Youth Merit Award 2017 by National Youth Council of Nigeria as Member Order of Nigeria Youth Mentors; Ambassador Made in Nigeria; Ambassador Anti-Human Trafficking; Ambassador World Humanity Commission. And other awards too numerous to mention.
Kenneth is the first actor that acted the first movie, Living in Bondage, that started Northwood and has done over 250 movies, with most of them the greatest hits of Nollywood. He was recently conferred with the title of Agujiugo by eminent traditional rulers of Igboland in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of Igbo culture and tradition. Dr Kenneth is a prolific writer and a newspaper columnist. He presently writes the back page column of the Sunday Sun called Global Square. He is also the Principal Counsel, Supreme God Chambers; CEO - Goal Productions Ltd; Heavens Star Properties Development Ltd; Former President - Society of International Law and Diplomacy; Former Secretary General - Society for the Advancement of Business Management; Member APC National Convention Committee 2018 etc A Member Nigeria Bar Association; Nigeria Society of International law; Association of Professional Negotiators and Mediators; and Actors Guild of Nigeria.

Terfa Ashwe

Terfa leads the ITC’s in-country implementation of the SheTrades Commonwealth project by developing and delivering business support and capacity building programmes on international trade and competitiveness to small and medium-sized enterprises and relevant stakeholders. Terfa holds a bachelors degree in Law, and a post-graduate masters degree in international economic law from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. She became a member of the Nigerian Bar in 2010. Her professional interests are in trade and inclusivity, economic growth and sustainable development.

Yakubu Aboki Ochefu

Yakubu Aboki Ochefu is a 60-year old academic, university administrator and entrepreneur. He attended St. Gregory’s College, Obalende Lagos, University of Calabar and University of Birmingham graduating with degrees in History, Political Economy and Economic History. He began his academic career as an Assistant Lecturer in December of 1985 at the University of Calabar and in 1993 was a pioneer staff of Benue State University. In 2003, he was promoted to the rank of Professor of Economic History. At the Benue State University, he held various positions such as Head, Department of History, Dean Students Affairs, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Director of Consultancy Services and Director of Open and Distance Learning. From 2012 to 2017, he served as the Vice-Chancellor of Kwararafa University, Wukari, Taraba State, a privately promoted community-owned University. He is currently the Secretary General of the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, and Committee of Pro-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities. Professor Yakubu Ochefu is a specialist in Economic History and Development Studies and has over 75 publications to his credit. He is a Fellow and former National President of the Historical Society of Nigeria, the oldest professional body in the country, and a Member of Nigeria Academy of Letters. He is also Special Fulbright Fellow, a World Innovation Summit in Education (WISE) Leadership Fellow and recipient of the 2016 World Education Congress Award for Academic Leadership in Challenging Environments. The African Students Union Parliament under the Pan African Distinguished Leadership programme has also honoured him with an award of “Icon of Nation Building” in 2017.

In addition to his academic career, Ochefu see’s himself as an “Active Historian”. He has at various times, consulted for the World Bank, UNDP, DFID, and International Republican Institute on Social, economic and political issues. He was Treasurer of ASUU, University of Calabar chapter, a member of Governance Reform Team of the Benue State Government from 2000 to 2005, delegate to the 2014 National Conference representing Professional Associations, the Deputy-chair of Samuel Ortom Strategic Vision Planning Committee that produced the development plan document for the then APC Government of Benue State in 2015. He is currently the National President, University of Calabar Alumni Association Worldwide.

As an Information and Communications Consultant, Yakubu Ochefu was Chair of the Benue State Information Systems Committee and National Coordinator of the “Digital Bridge Initiative” and IT team leader for the development of transaction portals for numerous institutions of higher learning in Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana, and Uganda. As a part-time entrepreneur, he developed a number of businesses in Information Technology, Publishing, Renewable Energy and Waste-to-Wealth.

Ochefu is an active sportsman. In his undergraduate and post graduate days, he was a member of the University of Calabar Judo, cricket, basketball and hockey teams. He is NUGA 1982 silver medalist in Judo and a certified Judo coach. He was also Chairman, Benue Amateur Judo Association. His other sporting interests are Golf and handball. For general interests, Ochefu is at home with;  Futurology  Reading and researching on disruptive technologies as they apply to Higher education and agriculture.

2  Creative Funding for Education using Dynamic Funding Models  Deep interest in learning about advanced technologies including Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Biomimicry, Bioinformatics and Blockchain as well as their applications and effects on wider society.  Technology Driven Governance Reforms.  Keeping up to date with global trends, issues and technologies from publications such as FlipBoard, Business Insider, Forbes, TechCrunch, The Economist, BBC and Bloomberg.  Academic Publishing especially eBooks, Voluntary business management consulting for friends and family including branding, finance, marketing, and advertising, strategy implementation and technology research. A widely traveled man, Ochefu who is the Ola’Yala of the Yala kingdom in Cross River State has visited over 28 countries in Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia. He is married to Hilda Ihinwa Ochefu and they are blessed with three adult children. In his spare time, he enjoys reggae, heavy metal rock, and roll, soukous, Fuji, traditional opera and drum beats, and classical music. He also enjoys skydiving, rain forest hiking, martial arts, watching TV documentaries, Basketball, world motor rally championships, and superbike racing.

Hilary Barry

Hilary Barry is founder and Secretary General of the LadyAgri Impact Investment Hub. She is Irish. Since her first experience in Ghana in 1993, she has dedicated her career to the design and implementation of social impact programmes across Africa, Caribbean and Pacific states (public health, agriculture, water, social development, agri-SME support and women entrepreneurship). LadyAgri was founded in 2018 by Hilary and her co-founders, Ayélé Sikavi Gabiam from Togo and Aida Axelsson-Bakri, Ethiopian-Swiss. The hub comprises multi-disciplinary experts from across Africa and the international agri-business and financial sector. The LadyAgri approach is unique in that it takes a full 360° holistic approach to supporting women in agri-business through mentoring, tailor made technical assistance combined with B2B agri-business partnerships with buyers and technology-equipment providers. Connecting Women to Gender smart investment in the agri-value chain is our key focus. Hilary’s mindset in setting up ‘LadyAgri’ is that investing in women is simply smart economics! Without access to meso-financing through patient capital, women led agri-businesses cannot grow, cannot create jobs & provide necessary upskilling of their women farmers and workforce. LadyAgri works in partnership with DFI’s, investment funds, philanthropists, international donor community and local ‘Gender Smart’ banks, investing in women and agri-value chains. Hilary is a convinced venture philanthropist and believes patient investment in women in agri-supply chains, though challenging, will have a ‘rising tide’ effect and sustainable social impact. She leads a motivated team at LadyAgri both in Brussels, Belgium and across 29 African countries, where they have an extensive group of Women SME members and LadyAgri experts.

Darlington Akogo

"Darlington Akogo is a global leader in the field of AI. He is the Founder and Director of Artificial Intelligence at GUDRA and its subsidiaries: minoHealth, minoHealth AI Labs, karaAgro AI, Runmila AI Institute, and Gudra AI Studio. Akogo is involved in AI and tech across several other platforms and industries. He's the Lead of the Topic Group on AI4Radiology under the United Nations International Telecommunication Union and the World Health Organization's Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health (AI4H). At UN AI4H, Akogo leads the development of global regulations and standards for AI in radiology. He is an Advisory Board Member and Ambassador to West Africa at AI Expo Africa, the largest business focused AI community in Africa, as well as In addition to this work, Akogo is involved with the MIT Tech Review Global Panel and the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers. Akogo also taught as Lecturer (Adjunct Faculty) of Artificial Intelligence at Academic City College and is the Bioinformatics (AI & Data Analytics) Resource Person at West African Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP). He has spoken at numerous international conferences including NeurIPS, ​MIT's Global Community ​BioSummit, and the ACP Heads of States and Government Summit, amongst others. Akogo also writes reports and essays for ​Synapse Magazine and articles for MIT Tech Review Insights."

Dr Nelly G. Karma

Dr Nelly is a business expert with 17 years in the business field and has spent over 7 years teaching and training in the field of business and administration. She is well versed and experienced in Supply Chain Management, Report Writing Techniques, Human Resources Management, Strategic Planning, Leadership and Change Management, Developing Strategic Management and Leadership Skills, Strategic Change Management and Conflict Resolution Techniques She is a Certified Professional Trainer, IAPPD, UK. And has worked as Edexcel University Internal Verifier. Dr Nelly Posses and MBA in international Management and PhD in Business Administration.

Mehdi Alaoui

Mehdi Alaoui is a serial entrepreneur in new technologies, a Startup Evangelist, a lecturer, an investor and an expert in mobile application, advertising, innovation and startups. He founded several startups (La Factory.co, ScreenDy, Media Mobility, PubOnline, EMA, Play & Meet) and an association named Hack& Pitch.Mehdi Alaoui is a graduate engineer from la Sorbonne in Paris (2004) and also holds a master degree in Information Systems from ESIAC (2005). He worked in 30 countries and was awarded a dozen prizes (MIT, Harvard...) for his innovative mindset and his entrepreneurial achievements. Mehdi Alaoui is married and has two children. Parallely to his entrepreneurial activities, he is very active in the civil society namely through the Hack & Pitch association Presidency and is the vice-president of the Apebi department.

Cynthiah Asha Amani

Cynthia Asha Amani is a Kenyan-Born with an Engineering background- Instrumentation and Control major, residing in the United Arab Emirates as Business Development Manager at InterAfcon, an Oil & Gas Company with a focus on the Mozambique market. Responsible for business strategies, commercial and partnerships agreements, new market initiatives, strong business relationships and services implementations. An experienced technical operator in FMCG manufacturing companies having diverse knowledge in systems and operations both in the Procurement and Engineering departments. Appointed as Mozambique Chapter Leader at World Women Conference & Awards 2020/2021 an organization that aims at connecting power women from all sectors around the world. Founder & CEO at TETCO GROUP, a Mozambican company that focuses on powering up communities through global collaborations in the renewable energy, recycling and Agricultural sectors. Appointed as The Global Union & it’s mission Ambassador to Kenya; a Switzerland based organization that aims to empower, rescue and protect lives of people around the world. East African Regional Coordinator at Grand Africa Initiative an organization that aims at gathering and empowering African youths around the globe by training, mentorships, advocacy, workshops, partnership and creating opportunities.

Oscar A. Nchaso Bekari

Holds an MBA and a double degree in economics and trade, minoring in english. Selected among the 50 digital champions of Africa 2020. He is the Founder and Managing Director at Dreams Hub (Equatorial Guinea), also a Business Consultant and motivational speaker who invites his audience through his incursions to think or reflect on topics as current and necessary as uncertainty management, assertiveness for decision making, results management, vision strategic, active listening of the environment and attitudes to achieve success; as well as tools for the development of personal leadership, and effective communication for teamwork. He directed his country's first business guidebook (2013) and has also worked as a consultant at UNDP Equatorial Guinea during the preparation and visit of SE Ban Ki Moon. The Dreams Tech Hub is an initiative that he founded to promote free information technology teaching space in the community for children under 12 from families with limited resources. This project was born with the intention of articulating a network of organizations and prominent people in the business, professional, tech and cultural field of the country to foster a movement that values the importance of returning to reading and reflective listening, as a basis for managing uncertainty, prioritizing the management of values as a fundamental pillar of any society. Oscar is a futurist, polyglot and writer

Denise Cortês-Keyser

Denise Cortês-Keyser is a Mozambican Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, Finance and Investments Adviser, former TV Macroeconomic Analyst and ex-Sports Leader. Denise is a Certified Accountant, with honours degree in Management and Post-graduated in Corporate Finance. Denise founded DCK GLOBAL (DCK Africa), an online platform that empowers women and African entrepreneurs, by promoting intra-Africa trade and investments. Denise managed and advised several businesses and organisations in different sectors of activity. Denise is an International Public and Motivational Speaker in subjects related to Local Content, Entrepreneurship, Women Empowerment and Leadership.

She loves sports and soccer was her first love! It made her accept the challenge of being part of the Board of the Mozambique Soccer Federation from 2015 to 2019, as Vice-President for Studies, Projects and Marketing. Denise is Board Member of New Faces New Voices in Mozambique. An organization chaired by Mrs. Graça Machel, aiming to empower women working in the Financial Sector and promote Financial Inclusion.

In her capacity of Business Adviser, from 2013 to 2015 Denise was the Executive Director of the Association of Commerce, Industry and Services of Mozambique (ACIS). By that time, ACIS was the major business association in Mozambique, with more than 300 members, representing a combined investment of USD 70 Billions, with a combined workforce of more than 75,000 employees, and working with more than 450,000 community out-growers.

Denise was the Managing Director of Zoona Transactions Mozambique, a local remittance company established in Mozambique in 2015. She was responsible for:

 Establishing all necessary steps to ensure that the company would operate successfully throughout Mozambique with a network of 3,500 active outlets across Mozambique performing at greater than 85% performance levels and servicing 2,5 million monthly customers;

 Building strong relationships with our Banking partners and the Bank of Mozambique;  Secure and maintain Commercial agreements with key distribution and cash wholesaling partners;

 Implementing multiple services beyond Zoona’s core domestic remittance business into the Mozambique Market. 


Awards received:  New Leader for Tomorrow at Crans Montana Forum, in 2012 in Baku-Azerbaijan;

 In 2014, under Denise's management, as Executive Director of the Association of Commerce, Industry and Services of Mozambique, ACIS was awarded as the Best Business Association in Mozambique;

 In 2017, Denise was awarded Maputo Top Leader in an event organised by Jason Associates in Mozambique.

If you want to know more about me, kindly follow @denisecorteskeyser on LinkedIn and Instagram, as well @DCKAfrica on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

MODISE MOTLOBA

Afolabi Imoukhuede

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Fiyin Toyo

Fiyin is the East & West Africa Marketing Manager: Sensodyne at - GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare with responsibility for Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Ghana, Gambia. Her experience straddles across brand management, innovation, digital marketing and recruitment across Africa and Europe GAINed through managing world class brands. She’s been featured on the YNAIJA Powerlist for Corporate Nigeria twice and was nominated for the renown The Future Awards Africa Prize in the professional service category for excellence and impact in the corporate world. Fiyin is a seasoned speaker who’s spoken at many industry conferences and networks across Nigeria, Kenya, Turkey, Pakistan and the UK. Having started her career in the recruitment industry, she's an avid believer in the power of knowledge transfer and helping people rise to become the best they can be. She was therefore inspired to start EmpowerU; an emerging enterprise that trains and equips individuals with employability skills and tools they need for the future of work so they can truly excel in the workplace. In her spare time, she's an adrenaline junkie and enjoys travelling- 29 countries and counting.

Sainabou Jallow

Sainabou Jallow is a Gambian-American consultant at Technopolis Group Germany. She specializes in African development, with strong project management, stakeholder engagement, advocacy, research and policy analysis skills. Her expertise are in the areas of social innovation, gender, job creation and entrepreneurship. At Technopolis, Sainabou is the Community Manager for the incubators/accelerators and tech hubs in the respective Europe-India and Africa-Europe Innovation Partnerships. She also works on digital innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation in Africa projects. Sainabou previously worked at the African Development Bank Group in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on the AfDB’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa initiative, which focuses on bridging the finance gap and technical assistance for women owned businesses in Africa. Following her success as an intern, she was offered a Junior Consultancy with the Bank, covering a portfolio on mainstreaming civil society engagement and developing the Bank’s position paper on social innovation and entrepreneurship. Prior to Technopolis, she was a Project Coordinator Freelance Consultant at CoStruct, a Berlin based consulting company. She worked on CoStruct’s Africa portfolio projects on irregular migration, diaspora engagement and scaling social innovation in Africa. She also worked on a freelance basis for Ampion, a Berlin based NGO that implements capacity building programs to support aspiring African entrepreneurs in creating tech start-ups. Sainabou holds a master’s degree in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, United Kingdom. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Affairs from the University of Georgia, USA. During her Bachelor’s, she spent one year at Sciences Po University in Paris, where she took courses such as the Political Economy of Contemporary Africa, History of Education in Africa, and African Spaces; Sub-Saharan Africa Capacity to Develop.

Patrick Egwu

Patrick Egwu is an award-winning freelance investigative journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa where he is currently an Open Society Foundation fellow on Investigative Reporting at the University of the Witwatersrand. Patrick has more than five years of journalism experience covering conflict, migration, global health, education, climate change corruption and other development issues in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa which have been published by publications such as Foreign Policy, NPR, African Arguments, This is Africa, Bright Magazine, Ozy, Ripples Nigeria, International Centre for Investigative Reporting and elsewhere. In September 2019, he attended the 11 th Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Hamburg, Germany where he presented a paper on the challenges of doing investigative journalism in Nigeria. Two months later, he attended the Falling Walls Science Conference in Berlin and used the opportunity to cover the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall which had German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and leaders of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic in attendance. He has been recognized and awarded some international journalism prizes including the 2020 DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards in the United States for reporting on migration and human trafficking; the 2019 Hostwriter Story Prize in Berlin, Germany for a collaborative reporting on female genital mutilation in Nigeria, Kenya and Senegal; and; the Hostwriter Pitch Prize in Warsaw, Poland in 2018. In 2017 and 2016 respectively, he was announced winner of the Ameenah Gurib-Fakim award for Science and Technology in Ethiopia and the 2016 Haller Prize for Development Journalism in Kenya for reporting on victims of Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria. Last year, Hostwriter, a non-profit, cross-border organization based in Berlin, Germany which connects more than 5000 journalists from more than 150 countries around the world appointed him as a Hostwriter Ambassador for Nigeria. He organizes training and workshops for Nigerian journalists and also mentors hundreds of journalism students across Nigerian universities. Patrick graduated with a master’s and bachelor’s degree in media studies from the department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria in 2019 and 2014 respectively and presently studying for a PhD at the same institution.

Harry Tomi Davies (TD)

Harry ‘Tomi Davies (TD) is Collaborator-in-Chief at TechnoVision, co-founder of the Lagos Angel Network (LAN) and President of the African Business Angel Network (ABAN). For nearly two decades after graduating from the University of Miami TD led implementation of innovative technology-led transformation initiatives in the Oil & Gas, Retail, Information Technology and Telecommunications industries for influential global brands Elf Aquitaine, Marks & Spencer, Ernst & Young and Sapient across Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia. In 2000 his focus shifted to Africa where he helped create the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF), led the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative in Nigeria and delivered a World Bank pilot of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system (IPPIS) that uncovered over 20,000 ghost workers in the Nigerian Government payroll system. Leading these kinds of innovative initiatives in Africa using his goal-oriented approach to project delivery which consistently delivered effective results inspired his 2014 book “The African Project Manager”. TD is Chairman of TextNigeria (Telecoms) and Non-Executive Director at MBO Capital (Private Equity) and Big Cabal Media (Media & Entertainment). He is a member of the Lagos State Science, Research & Innovation Council (LASRIC) and sits on the board of Laptops4Learning (L4L) Nigeria, the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) and the Global Business Angels Network (GBAN). As a thought leader with increasing knowledge gained from nurturing entrepreneurs in a growing portfolio of tech-enabled early stage business ventures originating from Africa, TD’s personal mission is “to help drive Africa’s development by supporting young entrepreneurs using innovation and technology to create social impact and economic value.” TD can be reached at www.tomidavies.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as TomiDee

Jordan Green

Jordan is passionate about the contribution Angel investors make partnering with great founders in driving the high growth ventures that change our world and expand the envelope of our economies. He is founder and President of the Melbourne Angels, one of the top Angel groups in Australia where he initiated the national Angel community. An internationally sought after thought leader, author and speaker for early- stage ecosystems, Jordan is an adviser to governments, communities and investors developing Angel ecosystems. He has been a successful VC, is a seminal leader of the Angel communities in Australia and Asia, and actively engaged with the leadership of the Angel communities in New Zealand and the USA. Founder & Chairman Emeritus of the Australian Association of Angel investors, Jordan is currently cofounder & Chairman of the Asian Business Angel Forum, High Commissioner for Australia to the World Business Angel Investor Forum, Trustee of the Angel Resource Institute (USA), Chair of an Industry Advisory Group to the University of Melbourne where he is an Honorary Fellow, Victorian Chairman of the Pearcey Foundation, a successful serial founder, successful venture capitalist, always an Electronics Engineer, passionate adviser to founders and an eternal optimist.

Natilie Williams

Natilie Williams is an author, a speaker, and the founder of Nat Will, Speak! LLC in America. Her mission is to empower and inspire college students and millennials across the country to lead with a legacy in mind, and she believes that finding your purpose is one of the most important things a person can do. As a native of the South Side of Chicago, Natilie has received a bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University and a master's degree from Illinois State University, and she did so with no student debt whatsoever. Currently, as an author of Innerview: Lessons in Leadership, Natilie travels America to equip students with the leadership tools they need to achieve their wildest dreams. For info on Natilie, please visit www.natwillspeak.com.

Valentine Tobechukwu Okafor

Valentine Tobechukwu Okafor is an Effective leadership and productivity strategist, transformational speaker and social innovator. With an incredible passion to help individuals and corporations become the best version of themselves and achieve exponential results, he designs and spearheads the implementation of personal development and service excellence series for corporations, youths, adolescents and children across Nigeria and the Middle East. Through academic symposiums organized in several primary, secondary and tertiary schools, he has helped over 2000 students improve their performance, enabling them to pass their exams in flying colors within a period of five years. In order to accelerate his personal and professional development, he belongs to numerous membership associations, some of which include; Young African Leaders Initiative, African Change Makers Initiative, Grand Africa Initiative, Earthpreneurs, Headstart Africa, Platinum wellness club, Young hearts Plateau, Orphan Empowerment society, Portfolio 9, and the prestigious Fela Durotoye Leadership Network. He is also a Nigerian youth SDGs champion, African Change Makers fellow, Commonwealth open source leader, an alumnus of the YALI regional leadership conference West Africa and a proud ambassador of the Fela Durotoye Leadership Network. Val Okafor exudes an unsurpassed passion for Nation Building and Human Capital Development especially for developing nations across the globe.

Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. "CFA"

CFA is co-founder of Godo Hub Lagos and Founder Institute's Regional Director for Africa supporting the launching of startups on the continent. He actively promotes the African tech ecosystem through his weekly TV show, Tech Trends on Channels TV as well as a weekly column in Punch newspapers. He currently serves as Director of Innovation Support Network Hubs, a network of 100+ hubs and co-working spaces and Director, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), managers of .ng domain.

Tapera Jeffrey MUZIRA

Tapera is passionate about youth, private sector development and creating decent jobs. In this field, he has been designing projects, mobilizing resources and leading teams across the private sector, government and the UN System (ILO, UNEP, UNCTAD, FAO and ITC) in several countries mainly in Africa for more than 20 years. At the African Development Bank Group, Tapera coordinates the bank-wide Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy to equip 50 million young people and creating 25 million jobs through integration, innovation and investments by 2025. Tapera is a mathematics, business and marketing graduate from universities in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Switzerland.

Peggy Sefolosha

Peggy Sefolosha is the president of the board of trustes and president and founder of Sillage Association, an official partner agency of the Global Union and it’s permanent mission. As a partner agency she takes care about global union humanitarian aid peace and charity affair. She is Président and founder of Sillage Association which has a main office Switzerland and a second office in The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sillage is a non-governmental organisation which aims to promote education, the emancipation of women through training and reintegration and international solidarity to help vulnerable populations. Our various actions of solidarity around the world have led us to collaborate with organizations that serves the same goal building a better future for the next generations.

Ranga Zinyemba

Professor Ranga Zinyemba is the Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe, a position he has held since January 2013. He has previously served as Lecturer, Chairman of Department, Dean of Student Affairs and Registrar at the University of Zimbabwe as well as Visiting Professor at various universities in Africa, Canada and the USA. Prof Zinyemba is also an Organizational Development (OD) Consultant and Capacity Building Specialist who has worked with many organizations in a variety of sectors (private, public, NGO, United Nations Agencies, World Bank, Embassies, etc.) in various countries that include Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa, Ethiopia, Botswana, Lesotho, Angola, Swaziland, Mozambique, Namibia, Thailand and Afghanistan on a variety of OD assignments. Prof Zinyemba’s overriding passion is facilitating the transformation of lives and institutions.

Suzie Wokabi

Suzie Wokabi is the Founder of SuzieBeauty. This revolutionary line is Kenya’s first beauty brand and a global trailblazer in creating a bespoke product for the African woman, by an African woman. An International Relations degree holder, Suzie was trained by MAC Cosmetics and com- pleted an intensive Media Make-up certificate course at the Award Studio Make-up School in Los Angeles. She worked in New York within the fashion and beauty industries from 2001 until 2007, when she returned to her hometown of Nairobi, Kenya. She pursued her passion and created her authentic, affordable, high-quality African beauty brand in early 2009 and officially launched it in December 2011. She is considered to be one of the top make-up artists, whose extensive industry experience runs the full gamut from Print Media to Television, Film, Video, Commercials, Runway, and Bridal. She trains her team and mentees to run the artistry part of the business. To date, Suzie’s work has been featured in countless local glossy magazines. She has graced the covers of local and international magazines, been featured in vibrant design and lifestyle hubs, worked on numerous media houses and productions, and sponsored major beauty and fashion events on the continent. She has been interviewed by world-renowned journalists, featured in the New York Times, and dubbed by CNN as “The Face of African Beauty”. A devoted wife and a mother, her story has been profiled on countless TV and radio stations on the continent. Suzie is also a multiple award winner, with 30 nominations and/or wins under her belt. She has been a speaker on multiple stages both locally and internationally, as well as moderated and participated on numerous panels on various thought provoking topics. She also runs a podcast – The Suzie Wokabi Podcast. Suzie is respected as a thought leader in the beauty space, and her purpose is to be an instrumental contributor to the growth of the African beauty industry.

Aïssatou Toure Souare

Aïssatou is a development cooperation professional, youth activist, and entrepreneur. She has a solid field experience supporting Civil Society Organisations across Africa including conceptualizing and implementing a waste management project in Congo (DRC), supporting a women-led micro-credit association in Benin, building capacity for mutual health insurances in Senegal as well as experience collecting, analyzing data and advising in agricultural cooperatives in Rwanda. She has been involved in key intercontinental dialogues with the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) in particular as a diaspora delegate for the AU-EU Youth Plugin Initiative tasked to develop a Youth Agenda delivered to the Heads of State during the 5th AU-EU Summit. On top of running an artisanal chocolate family business in Senegal, Aïssatou is currently working in Ethiopia for the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) supporting the African Union Commission on youth volunteerism and exchange as well as being a Policy Advisor for the African Caribbean and Pacific Young Professionals Network (ACP YPN), a diaspora youth-led organization based in Brussels and creating spaces for young people from ACP countries in decision- making processes.

Adelaide Hirwe

Adelaide is the Program Manager at ACP Young Professional Network. She coordinated the first and the second Black History Month EU, a commemorative month of recognition and celebration of the contribution of black people in the past, present and future history of Europe’s socio-economic and cultural development, bringing together CSOs, institutions, industry leaders, private and public stakeholders from across the continent. She was in the team coordinating the Belgium visit of UN Experts of the International decade for PAD with the CSOs and the civil society. She was part of the consultation with the government ahead of the official Belgian Launch of the UN International Decade, and continuously advocated for the participation of the youth in all discussions. Adelaide is also the Secretary-General of the African Union Diaspora Youth Initiative, an initiative of the AU Permanent Mission to the EU that aims to foster collaboration between diaspora youth organisations. She is working to raise awareness amongst stakeholders on the role of diaspora Youth in the development of the AU, to empower the Youth through concrete actions and initiatives with AU- and ACP-EU stakeholders, and to mobilise the Diaspora Youth toward the achievement of Agenda 2063. She contributed to the design and delivery of the training of #DiasporaVote, which aimed to encourage election participation, especially amongst the PAD youth which were identified as the most absent voting group. She further mentored and coached the ambassadors through the creation and production of their local social impact actions. Adelaide has a background in Economics and Information Systems Management. She was a business and DM consultant in Manchester before relocating to Brussels. She was awarded the Make A Difference Entrepreneurship Award by Santander Bank UK for her initiative aiming to inspire and support youth social entrepreneurship and the Leadership Award for Outstanding Service to the University by Rhodes University, two consecutive years. She co-founded and managed the Hawa Project, a project that addressed the needs of women and girls refugees during their menstrual cycle. Twitter: @HirweAdelaide

Bora Kamwanya

Bora Kamwanya was born in Kinshasa, DRC and has been living in Belgium. He graduated in International Relations and is pursuing a master’s in business management. Bora has worked with different Diaspora NGO, such as the ACP Young Professionals Network (ACP YPN), the Africa Europe Diaspora Development Platform (ADEPT) and Wajibu among others and periodically advisesthe EU, the AU, the UN and the ACP among others on topics such as youth inclusion in all spaces. Since December 2017, Bora is serving in the Executive Committee of the Pan-African Youth Union as Deputy Secretary General in charge of Diaspora Affairs. Bora organized and took part in different Youth conferences and high level panels in Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. Bora was part of the United Nations Lisbon+21 Task force and is currently part of the Commonwealth International Task force organizing the Commonwealth Youth Forum. Bora is an active member of the African Union Diaspora Youth Initiative, convened by the African Union delegation to the EU.

Calista Okoronkwo

Calista Okoronkwo is an Economist, an Entrepreneur, a fast- rising and creative Nollywood actor, a Model and a TV Personality. She has been featured in over 50 movies and has played the lead role in many. She is also the CEO Ushers Afrique and Style Blazers .

Dana Chocron

Dana is a resourceful international relations professional with specialization in cooperation building, opportunities mapping, solutions matching and project management. She has an international background and thrives for creating meeting points between countries, cultures and peoples. She is a French born, who grew up in Spain, became Israeli in 2012 and lived in Ghana in the last two years. While Dana was honored to acquire a large part of her professional experience in the public sector, as a government employee (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then Ministry of Economy), she is currently expanding her activity and work into the private realm too. She is oriented towards the representation of "made in Israel" products, services and know-how and, through it, the establishment of mutually beneficial relations between Israel and other nations..

Moetaz Helmy

Uju Onah

Uju Onah is a lecturer at University of Nigeria. She is currently a PhD candidate at Memorial University of Newfoundland on Canadian government Scholarship. She has won so many Academic Awards and Honours which includes: Best Graduating Students Undergraduate; Best Graduating Student Masters; Prof. Nzewunwe award of Best student in African Archaeology; NSK/USA academic excellence Award; Traditions and Transition Doctoral Scholarship Award (Canadian Government); Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Archaeology Research Award and Certification; Institute of Science and Economic Research Award (Canada) and Amina Anthropological Resources Asssociation Incorporated Research Award.