Saïd Ibrahimi was appointed as CEO of Casablanca Finance City Authority in April 2010 by His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

He started his professional career in France in 1986, where he held various operational roles within the BNP Paribas Group in France and Morocco. In September 1995, he was appointed Managing Director of Banque Marocaine pour l'Afrique et l’Orient.

Two years later, His Majesty the late King Hassan II appointed him CEO of Caisse Nationale du Crédit Agricole (now Crédit du Maroc). In 2003, His Majesty King Mohammed VI entrusted Mr. Ibrahimi with the role of General Treasurer of the Kingdom.

Said Ibrahimi is an engineer alumni of « Ecole Centrale de Paris » and holds a graduate diploma of industrial engineering.

Hicham El Habti is the President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University since October 2020. With a combination of both corporate as well as education management and administration skills and leadership capabilities, he continues fostering organizational development, leading formulation and implementation of the university’s strategic vision and transformation aspirations, promoting the implementation of effective procedures and institutional reforms and building impactful collaborations and linkages at the local and international levels.

Hicham El Habti has extensive education, experience and background in Applied Mathematics and Economics. Hicham El Habti also holds an engineering degree from l’Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Economics, Management and Finance.

He joined OCP Group in January 2013 where he has served in various positions before being appointed Deputy General Secretary. Prior to joining OCP Group, he has undertaken several strategic and managerial positions including piloting strategic and operational projects, financial risk management, managing investments and providing consultancy services and guidance to leading companies in Morocco and France.

Sacha Michaud is a British-Canadian serial entrepreneur and business executive based in Spain who co-founded Glovo with Oscar Pierre in 2015. Glovo has since become the fastest growing multicategory player in Europe, Central Asia and Africa. After attracting ~1bn EUR of investments, expanding to 25 countries, 1,500+ cities, serving over 170,000 businesses and millions of monthly users, it was acquired by Delivery Hero (ETR: DHER) for 2.3bn EUR in 2022.  Prior to Glovo, Sacha was an executive at Betfair (now Flutter (LON:FLTR)) for 9 years. Between 1997 and 2005 he founded and grew LatinRed, one of the largest providers of internet services in Spanish, (sold in 1999 to StarMedia (NAS:STRM)). He has also founded successful companies related to data centers (hosting), digital communication and online translations.

Professor Akin Abayomi is a specialist in Internal Medicine, Haematology-oncology, Biosecurity and Environmental health. He received his First degree in Medicine at the Royal Medical College of St. Bartholomew's Hospital in the University of London, with fellowship from both Royal College of Medicine and Pathology in the United Kingdom and the College of Medicine of South Africa.

His Focus has been mainly on the concept of emerging infectious diseases and the development of diagnostic and clinical capacity in Africa.

Professor Abayomi was Chief Pathologist and Head of the Division of Haematology at the University of Stellenbosch's Faculty of Medicine Science in 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa. Prior to that he was a Consultant at the University of West Indies and the University of Zimbabwe. He has been exposed to a vast variety of geographical variations and disease patterns within the field of Internal Medicine having worked in diverse countries of the world. Prof. Abayomi is a fellow of the African Academy of Science.

Professor Akin Abayomi is the Founder of the Global Emerging Pathogen Consortium also known as GET, which was entrenched at the peak of the Ebola outbreak to address Biosecurity concerns in Africa. He is a member of the Board and Honorary Professor to the Centre for Biosecurity Studies, University of the West Indies. Cave hill Campus, Barbados, Caribbean. (2018), as well as a Professor of Medicine at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research in Lagos, Nigeria (2018).

He is a consultant to the West Africa Health Organisation (WAHO) Biosecurity and Biobanking framework to service the ECOWAS member. He is also a recipient of the National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) Award and an Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) as conferred by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in recognition of his excellence in the medical field and his high productivity especially in the expert containment of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Professor Akin Abayomi is serving a 2nd term as the Honourable Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Nigeria under the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Professor Akin Abayomi plays Lawn tennis, rides horses and in his more agile years played Polo for the Ibadan Polo club. He is an avid environmentalist and maintains a large forest reserve called “The Emerald Forest Reserve” situated at Ikoyi Osun near Asejire dam on the banks of the Osun River.

Saskia Steinacker currently serves as the Senior Vice President Strategy & Digital Transformation at Bayer. In 2018 she was nominated for the European High Level Expert Group for Artificial Intelligence, which included recommendations on future AI-related policy development and on ethical, legal and societal aspects related to AI. She is also serving on the Presidency Committee of the European Association of the Internet Industry as well as a board member of the Y-USA National Board.

She graduated from Ecosign Academy with distinction in Communication Design and holds a master’s in business administration from Liverpool University.

Ajai Sehgal has been Mayo Clinic’s Chief Data & Analytics Officer since December 2020 with a focus on enabling the ethical use of Mayo Clinic’s 159 years of data to inform the evolution of medicine and the development of future cures for the benefit of all of humanity. Ajai has extensive experience in data, analytics, and AI based product and technology with global scale. Ajai served as CTO/CIO for Eagleview from December 2017 until September 2020 and the Chemistry Group as its CTO/CIO from January to December 2017 as well as Hootsuite as its CTO/CIO from 2014 to 2017, leading Data & Analytics, Software Engineering, IT, Security, and Operations. Prior to Hootsuite, he spent 16 years with the Royal Canadian Airforce before joining Microsoft in Redmond WA. While at Microsoft, he helped found and scale Expedia from a small group of 40 people within Microsoft into a new public company that became the world’s largest travel agency.

Ms. British A. Robinson serves as the Coordinator for Prosper Africa, a U.S. Presidential, national security initiative aimed at strengthening the strategic and economic partnership with African countries. She collaborates closely with the White House National Security Council and 17 U.S. federal agencies to forge partnerships with businesses, investors and government leaders. Robinson is a visionary leader with decades of experience in public-private partnerships, social impact investing, corporate social responsibility, global public health, education, and government policy. She launched her career at Citibank in retail banking and private wealth. For more than a decade she worked with the U.S. Jesuit Conference as National Director of the Office of Social and International Ministries, where she managed their socially responsible investing program. Robinson began her career in government at the U.S. Department of State working on the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) as Deputy Coordinator/Director of Private Sector Engagement, where she oversaw public-private partnerships to strengthen the world’s largest global health program addressing HIV/AIDS. She recently served as President & CEO of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. In 2022, Robinson was recognized for her distinguished career by Forbes’ 50 Over 50 for Impact – a list of entrepreneurs and changemakers helping to make the world a better, more equitable place. She holds a master’s degree in government from Johns Hopkins University, a bachelor’s degree in public policy and business administration from George Washington University, and an honorary doctorate from Fairfield University

Hanna is leading the UNICEF Venture Fund from their Stockholm office, investing in frontier tech startup solutions from emerging markets that are just and open to all, particularly those who are routinely underrepresented, to benefit children and youth, everywhere. Prior to UNICEF, Hanna has worked in the global asset management and financial services industry, leading change initiatives within corporate- and investment strategy. During this time, she has also had an interest for blockchain technology and its usage within financial services, a curiosity that started during her work on the topic with the World Economic Forum 2015.

Mr. Pierre Celestin RWABUKUMBA a Rwandan national is the current President of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), Chairman of the East African Securities Exchanges Association (EASEA), and Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Stock Exchange Ltd. and serves as the President of the World Veterans Club Championship (VCWV) Business Club. He is the Co-founder and Chairman of Kigali Cement Company, a private company that produces and sells cement in Rwanda and neighboring countries. He is also serving on several other boards and advisory boards within the financial sector in Rwanda, hospitality, education, and manufacturing industries where he serves as a non – Executive Director. He is also involved in different investment projects ranging from Real Estate, Poultry, Agro-processing, and manufacturing to Energy production.

Mr. Rwabukumba started his career in financial services in New York City more than two decades ago after graduating from the University of Buffalo (UB), New York in the United States with A bachelor’s degree in economics.

He worked in different professional positions as a stockbroker, in Compliance and Operations, Institutional Investors’ Sales and Advisory before he joined the Central Bank of Rwanda in 2004 to help start the Capital Market Development Project in Rwanda.

Mr. Rwabukumba is a seasoned negotiator as he has been instrumental in different negotiations on regional integration of the East African Community and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECAS). He has served on different Capital Market Committees both at the national and the regional level the latest being the High-Level Task Force negotiating the EAC Monetary Union and the EAC Regional Capital Markets Infrastructure (CMI) Steering Committee where he serves as Chair.

Mr. Rwabukumba is an Alumni of a one-year international post-Graduate Advanced Management Program (AMP) for Executives run jointly by Strathmore Business School of Nairobi, the Lagos Business School, Pan- Atlantic University and IESE Business School, the University of Navara in Barcelona, Spain.

Elisabeth Moreno is a French-Cape Verdean, born in Cape Verde in 1970 and moved to France in 1976. She has successively been an entrepreneur, senior executive, consular judge, minister, and businesswoman.

Holding a Master’s degree in Business Law in France and a dual Executive MBA from ESSEC and Mannheim Business School in Germany, she completed her education and professional training at the National School of Magistracy to become a judge.

Elisabeth Moreno hasspent the majority of her career in the business world. In 1990,she co-founded a company specializing in thermal rehabilitation, which she directed for about a decade. She then made a transition to the tech world and worked for several multinationals, including France Telecom, Dell, and Lenovo, where she was appointed CEO of the French subsidiary in 2017. Six years later, she joined the Hewlett Packard group to lead the group’ssubsidiary forthe African continent

Ms. Moreno has also been a member of the AFD’s Investment Advisory Committee and a member of the ID Invest (Eurazeo)strategic committee.

In July 2020, Elisabeth Moreno was appointed by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, as Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity, and Equal Opportunities in Jean Castex’s government. Under her leadership, the French government passed a law aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence, another to promote women’s economic empowerment, and she successfully introduced a bill to protect victims of conversion therapy. In 2021, she launched a platform to fight discrimination supported by the Human Rights Defender. She also implemented a diversity and inclusion index for French and foreign companiesin partnership with non-profit actors.

In November 2022, Elisabeth Moreno created a governance strategy consulting firm - Elisabeth Moreno & Partners- whose mission isto assist public institutions and private companies on social and environmentalresponsibility issues.

She also joined the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion board of the Sanofi group and committed to impact financing issues with investment funds as an administrator.

In 2023, she founded “8 Mars - La Puissance du Lien.” This association aims to strengthen human ties (Women & Men, intergenerational and territorial) by transmitting, inspiring, and celebrating women and men around institutional, associative actors, and companies.

In June 2023, she was elected President of the "Femmes@Numérique" Foundation, which works to accelerate the feminization in digital professions.

At the World Bank, Marelize Gorgens Prestidge (B.Eng, PMP, MA (MPH), MSc) leads efforts on innovation, AI, and digital technologies for human development, working with countries around the world. With an academic background in engineering, public health, data science, and functional medicine, Marelize first rose to the ranks of a director at a management consulting firm before she worked at a Ministry of Education in a low-income country developing education management information systems. She also had a stint as an entrepreneur in the health analytics space, worked with several non-governmental organizations, and worked in academia as a University lecturer. She has an extensive academic publication record and is on the editorial board of two journals (Global Health Science and Practice, and Oxford Digital Health).

Lillian is a highly accomplished executive and leader with over 25 years of experience in the technology industry. She has made a significant impact through her leadership, strategic vision, and commitment to driving innovation. During her tenure at Microsoft, Barnard has played a pivotal role in transforming the company's operations and driving growth in South Africa. She has spearheaded initiatives to empower businesses and individuals with digital transformation solutions, helping them leverage technology to achieve their goals and drive economic development.

Lillian is renowned for her passion for driving inclusion and diversity in the technology sector. She has championed various programs and initiatives that support the development and empowerment of women in technology, aiming to close the gender gap and create equal opportunities. She has been pivotal in re-igniting the local chapter of Women@Microsoft and spurring a culture that encourages equality in the workplace. She was recently chosen as Central Europe Middle East Africa (CEMA) Executive Sponsor for Women at Microsoft.

She previously held various executive positions in the ICT Sector. Her leadership skills, strategic thinking, and deep industry knowledge have been instrumental in driving growth and success in these organizations. Barnard's strong leadership skills and commitment to excellence have been recognized with several accolades throughout her career.

She has been honoured as the Lifetime Achiever for Women in Technology in Africa and has received numerous awards for her contributions to the technology industry. This is a testament to her commitment to developing and advancing the next generation of leaders.

Overall, Lillian Barnard is a highly respected and influential leader in the technology industry. Her dedication to driving digital transformation, promoting diversity, and delivering impactful results make her an exceptional executive at Microsoft.

Lillian holds a BCom Honours in Business Economics from the University of the Western Cape.

Dr. Pascal Andrei has a French state PhD degree in Competitive Intelligence & Security from Paris University after a Mathematics and Physics Masters.

He started his career at AEROSPATIALE in 1993 as head of Competitive Intelligence before leading e-business activities in Munich for EADS headquarters. He created and led Aircraft Security within Airbus before becoming Chief Product Security Officer and Executive Expert for all Airbus divisions overseeing all Airbus products (aircraft, helicopters, satellites, launchers…).

Pascal Andrei is currently Airbus SVP Chief Security Officer, leading all Security activities globally for Airbus companywide, with a direct report to Airbus CEO.

He plays a very active role in international cooperative efforts to guarantee the overall (Cyber and Physical) security of the commercial aviation industry infrastructure. For this contribution, he was nominated personality of the year in 2015 by the Air Transportation System Security community in Dubai.

He is a reservist of the “GIGN” the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie and was decorated Knight of the Legion d’Honneur in 2017.

Awo is EVP for Strategy and Partnerships and Board Director at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, as well as Board Director at Oracle Corporation, Vice Chair of the Board for BBC Media Action, Vice Chair of the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex.

Omar Farouk Ibrahim holds a Doctorate degree in Political Science from Rutgers University, New
Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, 1988, a Master’s degree from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria,
1983, and a Bachelor’s degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, 1980.

Dr. Ibrahim assumed the position of APPO Secretary General on 4th January 2020. He is also the
Regional Chair, Africa, of the World Energy Council, WEC, a position he has held since 2022.
Until then he was Adviser on International Energy Relations to four successive Ministers for
Petroleum Resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In that position he represented Nigeria
on the boards of several inter-governmental energy organizations. He was Nigeria’s Governor to
the Vienna-based Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, 2015-2020, and
Executive Board Member at the Doha-based Gas Exporting Countries’ Forum, GECF, 2015-2020.
At the same time, he coordinated Nigeria’s affairs at the International Energy Forum, IEF, and
later the African Petroleum Producers’ Association, APPA.

Dr. Ibrahim was, between 2010 and 2014, General Manager and later Group General Manager,
Group Public Affairs Division, at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

Before joining the NNPC, he spent seven years February 2003 – December 2009 as Head of the
PR and Information Department and Member of Senior Management at the OPEC Secretariat, in
Vienna. He was the Executive Editor of the OPEC Energy Review and Editor-in-Chief of the OPEC
Bulletin.

Before venturing into the oil sector in 2003, Dr. Ibrahim was in the media where he was at various
times the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Federal Government-owned
media house the New Nigerian Newspapers between 1999 and 2003. He was also the chairman
of the Board of Directors of Newpack Printing and Packaging Company Limited. Before coming
to the New Nigerian, Omar Farouk Ibrahim had spent nine years in various positions at the Daily
Times of Nigeria, ranging from Member of the Editorial Board to a columnist and Op-Ed editor,
General Manager Nigerpack Press Limited, and Group Controller of Administration.

Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim joined Bayero University as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of
Political Science in 1981 after his national service and rose to the rank of Lecturer by the time he
left academia for journalism in 1990.

He has a number of publications

Three-time GRAMMY nominated musician and activist, Rocky Dawuni, straddles the boundaries between Africa, the Caribbean and the U.S. to create his appealing Afro Roots sound that unites generations and cultures. A galvanizing performer, Dawuni has shared the stage with luminaries including Stevie Wonder, Ozomatli, Sauti Sol, Janelle Monae and John Legend, among many others. Named one of Africa's Top 10 global stars by CNN, he has showcased his talent at prestigious venues such as The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and The Hollywood Bowl. Rocky is a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Environment for Africa, a UN Foundation Ambassador for the Clean Cooking Alliance and an Ambassador of Born Free USA. Rocky was also named the Global Ambassador for the World Day of African and Afrodescendant Culture which is a globally recognized by UNESCO. Through these and other designations he uses his music to shine a light on crucial issues facing humanity cross the globe through live concerts, speaking roles, panels, youth empowerment and more.

Influenced by the soulful beats of Fela Kuti and the positive messages of Bob Marley - Rocky Dawuni's infectious, sing-along sixth album, Branches of the Same Tree, (Cumbancha) was nominated for a GRAMMY for “Best Reggae Album” (2016) featuring the Afro Dancehall mashup video "African Thriller.” Branches highlights Dawuni's ability to communicate a universal, uplifting message that crosses borders and reaches out to the hearts of millions. The influential “Songlines Magazine named the album one of the “Top 10 Most Essential Reggae Albums of All Time!”

Rocky released a Ghana focused EP “Voice of Bunbon, Vol. 1” which was nominated for “Best Global Music Album” for the 2022 GRAMMY Awards. Three beautiful videos were released for the EP including “Ghost Town” shot in Los Angeles, CA by photographer Casey Bridges (son of legendary actor Beau Bridges) which is a poignant tribute to 2020 as well as “Beautiful People” which was shot by rising Ghanaian cinematographer Slinghot in Rocky’s home village of Bunbon, Ghana which explores how “a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude can shift our gaze to recognizing our personal and communal power.” The most recent video for the classic Palmwine Highlife song “Woara” which means “you or it’s you” is sung in the local Akan dialect of Twi. It is a love song that uses its call and response style to express the beauty and triumph of being in love. In a time when divisive rhetoric on the rise and the political climate prefers to build walls over bridges, Rocky’s music is a refreshing message about global unity and a worldview of oneness.

Rocky released “Neva Bow Down” featuring Blvk H3ro in late 2022 which was nominated for a GRAMMY for “Best Global Music Performance.” In spring of 2023, Rocky collaborated with world renown Jamaian Reggae group, Morgan Heritiage on their smokin track “Afreeca the Future” also featuting Lord Alhajiam of Daara J fame from Senegal. Rocky the released track and video with Highlife sensation and fellow Ghanaian, Kyekyeku for their collaboration track “Africa Till I Die” which is receiving rave reviews around the world and was launced with Pan African Music. Rocky recently released a brand new global roots anthem “Shade Tree” from his upcoming album which he plans to release in 2024 which got an amazing review in RollingStone Brasil! Rocky also just released a collaborative track with Kweku Flick, a bright young Ghanaian artist from Kumasi, called “Praise” which is blowing up the airwaves in Ghana and beyond for the holiday season!

“Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve been craving ‘til it’s served up on your plate....Shade Tree is a buffet of meaningful and joyful influences, crowned by an inspiring message to set the tone for a weekend of coming together." - KCRW

Celina Lee is an international development executive turned entrepreneur. As the co-founder of Zindi (www.zindi.africa), she is on a mission to make AI accessible to everyone. Zindi is the leading professional network of AI and data talent in Africa and is a driving force behind the AI revolution on the continent. Zindi has built a database of over 70,000 data and AI practitioners across 52 African countries and 190 countries world-wide and serves clients including Google, Microsoft, ABSA, and Ernst & Young.

Celina has 20 years of experience working at the intersection of data and impact. Originally from San Francisco, she has lived and worked across Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Celina holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and computer science, and a Master’s degree in International Affairs, both from Columbia University in New York City.

Recognised as a top-ranking leader in the realm of AI advancement globally, Lavina is #aiMOM who is creating a more intelligent tomorrow everywhere she goes.

Dr. Sidi Mohamed Dhaker is the Director General of the Institute for Economic Studies of the Central Bank of Mauritania, an Associate Professor of economics and management at the University of Nouakchott (Mauritania), and Executive Director at Africa Fintech Forum.

Before his actual position, he has been Chief of Staff and Principal Advisor to the Governor, Director of communications, and Director of Strategy and Transformation at the Central Bank of Mauritania (10 years). Prior to this, he was Director of Strategy, Monitoring & Evaluation for three years at World Vision International in West Africa and has led several consulting missions in Europe and West Africa for international organisations (WB, AFD, BMZ/GTZ, BPCE Bank, etc.)

Dr. Dhaker is a frequent speaker on financial innovation and inclusion, economic development and leadership in academic circles, conferences, and international events.

He is board member of several regional and international organisations as the Africa Fintech Forum, the Maghreb Economic Forum, Tod’aérs Global Network, Young African Economists Circle, etc.

A recipient of the prestigious “Transformer’s Award” for his work to boost Fintech in Mauritania, he is also recipient of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders (2015), the French-Africa Young Leader (2019), and the Emerging Leaders program (2017). He figures also since 2019 in the prestigious ranking “Choiseul 100 Africa” for the emerging economic leaders in Africa.

Dr Dhaker holds a PhD in Strategy from the University of Versailles (France), a Master's degree from HEC Paris in Strategic management, a Master’s degree in Development Economics from the University of Paris XII, a Postgraduate Diploma in international management from Georgetown University (USA), and an Executive Certificate in Fintech and innovation from the University of Cambridge (UK), among others

• Head of Venture Capital at Proparco (currently)
• Head of Credit and Equity Risks at Proparco
• Director M&A at Mandel Partners
• Deputy Head Structured Finance at Banco Espirito Santo

Carl focuses on enabling community impact with local, regional and global partners, co-creating partnerships that support Small and Medium Businesses, Individuals and households to thrive in the CEMEA region.

Prior to Visa, Carl served as the Chief Operating Officer at Ecobank Foundation where he led the bank’s social impact work in 33 markets in Africa. Before Ecobank Foundation, Carl held various leadership roles at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Economic Commission for Africa, The Global Fund and UNDP.

Carl holds an undergraduate degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Cape Town and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. He is a Mo Ibrahim Foundation Fellow and an Aspen Institute New Voices Senior Fellow.

Sherief is the Managing Partner of Climate Resilient Africa Fund, a venture fund backing early-stage African technologies at the intersection of agriculture and climate impact. He has 20+ years of experience farming and exporting fruits, veg, cereals and grains from Africa to 4 continents from a venture that he founded, operated, and exited.

With a background in Marketing, Brand Partnerships, and Business Development, Tega Oghenejobo leads the team at Mavin Global as Chief Operating Officer. Highly motivated, innovative and seasoned in Africa's emergent entertainment industry, Tega is one of the leading figures of the new school of Africa’s entertainment industry executives.

Convinced about the industry’s potential, Africa’s rich culture, and its growing youth populace, Tega, in his role as the COO at Mavin Records, have collaborated with brands across various industries. From telecoms to banking, eCommerce, FMCG, and a host of others, he oversees the daily operations of the company and executes executive functions, business strategies, positioning plans, and procedures for unprecedented growth.

Tega Oghenejobo, together with a team of industry experts at Mavin secured a multimillion-dollar equity investment partnership deal with TPG-backed Kupanda Holdings in 2019. Leveraging on this growth opportunity and his passion for showcasing African talents to the world,Tega and his team have discovered and backed some of Africa’s biggest and most promising global stars, while creating commercial value for stakeholders.

Tega loves connecting with new people, researching global trends, and acquiring new expertise. He is open to fresh and innovative collaborations, ideas, and experiences.

With a vision to transform and redefine the creative space in Africa, Tega alongside the amazing team he has put together at Mavin Records will keep creating groundbreaking opportunities for growth, networking, and brand promotions within the continent and beyond.

Sara Sabry is an astronaut, activist, and advocate for change. As the first Egyptian astronaut, the first Arab woman in space, and the first woman from the African continent to go to space, Sabry has made history with her contributions to space exploration.

Sabry founded and serves as executive director of Deep Space Initiative (DSI), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing accessibility and opportunity in the space field while enabling deep space exploration for all. Her leadership has enabled DSI to provide opportunities in research and education that are open to all audiences, regardless of nationality or resources.

As a PhD student in Aerospace Sciences, Sabry is currently conducting research at the NASA-funded Humanspaceflight lab. Along with her impressive contributions to the space field, Sabry has expertise in several areas including Mechatronics, Robotic Surgery, Stem Cell Development, Augmented Reality, Formula 3 Car design, and Bioastronautics.

Sabry, an acclaimed international speaker, is dedicated to amplifying the representation of Egyptians, Africans, and Arabs on global platforms. Through the lens of her remarkable journey to space, she inspires audiences to conquer life's challenges and to look beyond borders. Sabry shares insights on transitioning from engineering to entrepreneurship, recounts her journey to space and the Overview Effect, and emphasizes the pivotal role of Space Tech in addressing urgent climate issues on Earth.

A passionate advocate for equality and a staunch human rights activist, Sabry champions inclusivity on the world stage. She actively engages in humanitarian work, focusing on addressing human rights issues globally. Through her advocacy efforts, Sabry works to empower marginalized communities and promote social justice for all.

Her humanitarian efforts in the space industry earned her the prestigious IAF Emerging Space Leader award, STEAM Innovation award, Space Future award among many others and has been featured in major news outlets worldwide including CNN, Forbes, Vogue, BBC, CNBC, and France24. Sara Sabry's accomplishments as an astronaut, leader, entrepreneur, and advocate demonstrate her dedication to making a positive impact on the world, and she continues to inspire and motivate others to pursue their dreams.

On the sidelines of this event, it is also planned to sign a partnership agreement between UM6P, AfricaCERT and the DGSSI for the establishment of a Center of Excellence in cybersecurity of industrial control systems (ICS) at UM6P.

It should be noted that this center will benefit from a grant from CISA, the U.S. Agency for Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Security. It will include a laboratory that will serve as a platform to provide training, in partnership with ICAR, to strengthen the skills of cybersecurity officials in African countries in the field of industrial control systems (ICS) security.

Hangwi Muambadzi is the Head of Africa at CommerzVentures, a specialist growth-stage fintech venture capital fund. As a tech investor and strategic advisor, she has built a career that connects investment, innovation and technology, with significant experience across the African continent. She began her investment career as a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) specialist at Deutsche Bank, then went on to early-stage venture capital and impact investing in South Africa. Following that, she continued to build her investment portfolio across sub-Saharan Africa and joined the CDC Group (now British International Investment – “BII”) in London.

Most recently, Hangwi was Vice President at Barclays Africa (now Absa), driving the digital transformation and innovation strategy for the bank across its African markets, as well as leading various new business ventures within the bank, positioning it to seize growth opportunities across the continent. Hangwi sits on several boards in private equity, fintech, and agriculture across South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Zambia. She serves as an ambassador for One Young World, is a coach to young professionals and an honoured Desmond Tutu Fellow. Hangwi, a Saïd Scholar, holds an MBA from the University of Oxford and a Business Science degree from the University of Cape Town.

Mika is a business operator turned investor. He launched new products and scaled up ventures at early stage startups and Fortune 500 companies in the U.S., South Africa, China & France. He started angel investing in Africa in 2014 and founded P1 Ventures in 2020 that invested in the likes of Reliance Health and VertoFX in Nigeria, MoneyFellows in Egypt, Yassir in Algeria and Chari in Morocco. He was born in Dakar, Senegal and raised in Nouakchott, Mauritania. He grew empathy and inspiration for founders from a young age coming from an entrepreneurial family as his parents and grandparents-built businesses in West Africa for the past decades. He is a Berkeley engineer and Stanford MBA graduate.

Babs Ogundeyi is the Group CEO and founder of Kuda Technologies, a fintech company on a mission to make financial services more affordable, accessible and rewarding for every African.

Kuda’s money app for Africans is giving over 7 million people access to personal and business banking, free money transfers, investments, remittance and instant credit.

Before starting Kuda, Babs advised some of Africa's biggest banks whilst at PricewaterhouseCoopers and was a Special Adviser on Finance in the Nigerian government. He is also a founder of two other companies.

Art is a Managing Partner at Baobab Network, Africa’s #1 accelerator and early-stage investor. Art’s main focus is selecting and scaling the startups in Baobab Networks portfolio, helping them increase their traction, build partnerships and raise the capital they need to dominate their market. Art’s core expertise is in global investment banking, and the startup & venture capital landscape in emerging markets. Art is a Manchester United fan, amateur DJ, a lover of Afrobeats, and passionate about all things African.

Melvyn Lubega is an experienced technology entrepreneur and investor who has built businesses that serve customers on multiple continents. Most notably he built and scaled Go1, a leading technology platform used by 17,000 organisations and governments in over 60 countries. Go1 became the first South African unicorn (valued at +$2 billion) attracting over $450 million in investment from SoftBank, Salesforce Ventures and M12 (Microsoft Ventures) among other tier-1 international investors. Built through his passion for developing people, every 1.2 seconds someone somewhere in the world starts a course on Go1. Prior to Go1, he built, exited and invested in leading fintech companies in South Africa. He is a Partner at Breega, one of the fastest growing early stage venture capital investors in Europe and Africa, with over EUR600 million in assets under management, investing in disruptive technologies that solve significant economic and social challenges. He is also a referenced thought leader and invited speaker both abroad and locally on digital transformation, the future of work, venture capital, disruptive innovation, corporate governance as well as business strategy.

He has been recognized by Forbes and was the first-ever African recipient of The Lindas in 2021, Endeavor Global’s most prestigious accolade. The award is given by a community of 2,300 leaders from many of the fastest-growing companies in the world to the person to embodies the spirit of “dreaming big, scaling up, and paying it forward”. In 2023, given his success in building businesses from Africa that scale globally, Melvyn was recognized as a leading business person on the continent at the 11th All Africa Business Leadership Awards.

He began his career as one of Boston Consulting Group’s first consultants in Africa, where he worked in over 10 countries, advising forward thinking organizations on topics including financial inclusion and digital disruption. Today, he is a trusted advisor to governments and leading enterprises across Europe and Africa: serving on boards of listed companies as a non-executive director as well as on presidential and ministerial committees. His expertise are primarily focused on investments and the how to harnessthe global transition to both digital and green economies.

Giving back and paying it forward resonate strongly with Melvyn. He serves on the Council (Board of Governors) at St John’s College, where he is Deputy Chairperson of the St John’s College Foundation Board and its Investment Committee as well as Chairperson of the IT Committee leading the school’s digital transformation. An advocate for bolstering entrepreneur ecosystems, in South Africa he serves on the board of Endeavor where he remains one of its most active mentors, and is part of the team pioneering the Startup Act, which aims to create a policy framework conducive for ambitious tech entrepreneurs and high growth businesses.

An actuary by training, he holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Cape Town and postgraduate degrees from the University of Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar. At Oxford, Melvyn completed a double masters (MPP and MSc), receiving a distinction for his research into disruptive technologies in emerging markets.

Maelis Carraro is the Managing Partner of Catalyst Fund, a VC fund and venture builder dedicated to backing tech startups shaping a climate-resilient future in Africa. With a career spanning impact investing and tech, Maelis works closely with startups, investors, funders and ecosystem players to drive transformative solutions across emerging markets, benefiting people and the planet. She focuses on investing in and supporting early-stage entrepreneurs building tech-enabled solutions in areas such as fintech, agtech, insurtech, carbon finance, and energy and water access for underserved communities. Having backed over 80 startups across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Maelis has played a vital role in nurturing the innovation ecosystem in emerging markets. Prior to Catalyst Fund, she also worked at the International Finance Corporation, the OECD, Grameen Bank, and impact fund Global Partnerships, where she supported impact investing strategies, inclusive finance product innovation and research on microfinance schemes to enable climate adaptation and resilience. Maelis also co-founded RemitMas, an inclusive fintech startup that empowers immigrants through cross-border remittances, enabling them to save for long-term goals in their home countries. She holds a dual MBA and Master's in International Affairs from Columbia Business School and the School of International and Public Affairs, and a BA Cum Laude in Political Science and Development Economics from University College London.

Mrs. Lam is the Director General of the Investment Promotion Agency of Mauritania (APIM), the Governmental entity in charge of National and Foreign Direct Investments, as well as the business climate of the country.

Through the Agency, Mrs. Lam promotes and implements the vision of Mauritania, led by H.E President Mohamed Cheikh Ould Ghazouani, for a sustainable and more inclusive development driven by stronger productive sectors.

Ms. Lam is passionate about youth and women economic empowerment matters on the continent, pertaining to access to finance for start-ups & SMES and enabling the ecosystem for women entrepreneurs. She is the co-founder of the Youth Chamber of Commerce of Mauritania, an organization created with the mission to bridge the gap for young Mauritanian Professionals and Entrepreneurs, mainly through the i-Lab, an Innovation Lab and Venture Fund - launched in partnership with the National Bank of Mauritania.

Moreover, Ms. Lam sits on the monitoring committee of the Covid-19 $290M fund established in 2020 by the Mauritanian President. She is also a member of the advisory councils of the G7 Gender Equality Council and the Middle East Institute and an ambassador for the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative led by the African Development Bank.

Ms Lam is a Tutu fellow and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Tosin Eniolorunda is a leading innovator in the African Fintech space, with a passion for creating financial happiness and a track record of groundbreaking contributions to financial technology in Africa.

He is the founder and CEO of Moniepoint Inc., an all-in-one, digital payments and banking platform, and the second-fastest growing company in Africa.

With operations in Nigeria and an ongoing expansion into other emerging markets, Moniepoint has over 3 million users across its business and personal banking products. It aims to power the dreams of businesses and individuals by providing them with the financial technology tools they need to grow, no matter their digital literacy level.

He programmed the first point-of-sale software for Interswitch, on which the majority of POS terminals in Nigeria are being run, and is currently revolutionising payments for businesses in emerging markets. Moniepoint processes the majority of in-person payment transactions in Nigeria with over $12 billion processed monthly.

Tosin has been recognised by several leading institutions, among them The Central Bank of Nigeria, Financial Times, CB Insights, Endeavor, and PYMNTS, in appreciation for the impact of his work to create innovative solutions. He was listed among the 100 most influential people in Africa in 2022, and 100 Iconic African Leaders in 2023.

Romanna is BIAC by Public Investment Fund Head of Ventures with 17 years experience across Venture Capital, Investment Banking, and as an investor and serial entrepreneur across global markets. Romanna has managed global teams and scaled and exited Scaleups globally. An advisor to the largest Government and Corporate entities in the Middle East region, building innovation channels and the venture ecosystem. Romanna works directly with our clients to build unique venture propositions that accelerate time to market of new products and services and/ or that become greater catalysts for innovation. This may be through introducing a pipeline of disruptive startups, building Corporate Venture Capital Units, developing an internal investment thesis and structure around existing investments, making investments in companies we're convicted in and/or supporting startups to scale and access the best possible resources from our networks.

Renaud Glenisson joined Jumia Côte d'Ivoire in 2015 as CFO. He became CFO for West Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal) from 2017 to 2020. Between 2020 and 2022, Renaud was head of Finance and Risk for JumiaPay. He was the CEO of Jumia Côte d’Ivoire from April 2022 to November 2023. In December 2023, Renaud became the Regional CEO leading a cluster of 5 countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia and Algeria.

Before joining Jumia, Renaud worked in Paris (France) with Deloitte where he was an auditor from 2009 to 2012 (main clients: LVMH, Accor, and Orange) and then worked from 2012 to 2015 as Manager in the Transaction Services department focusing on Retail and Industry.

Renaud holds a MSc from HEC Paris Business School (France), a Master's degree in Business Law from La Sorbonne University (France), and is a Chartered Accountant.

Darlington Akogo is a global leader in Artificial Intelligence. He's the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at minoHealth AI Labs; an AI Healthtech company; karaAgro AI; an AI-powered Plant & Pest Disease Detection and Precision Agriculture platform, Runmila AI Institute; an AI and Data Science training institute, and Gudra AI Studio; an organization broadly exploring AI and Exponential Technologies applied various domains including Transportation, Sanitation and Energy.

Akogo has been named one of the Global Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) in Healthcare. He's the Chair (Topic Driver) of the Topic Group on AI for Radiology under the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and World Health Organization (WHO) Focus Group on 'Artificial Intelligence for Health' (FG-AI4H). At UN FG-AI4H, Akogo leads the development of global regulations and standards for AI in radiology. He also works with African Union, where he serves as the Chair for the working group on Artificial Intelligence Economy, working towards the development of a Continental African Union (AU) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Continental Strategy that includes legislative, regulatory, ethical, policy, and infrastructural frameworks in consultation with stakeholders such as AU Member States’ governments, private sector, academia, innovators, and consumers.

He serves as a Global Innovation Adviser (GIA) to the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA), where he provides advice on how to ensure international development agencies are implementing responsible and localized Emerging Technology across the various countries they are in. IDIA is an alliance between the top 15 international development agencies with the shared goal of “actively promoting and advancing innovation as a means to help achieve sustainable development”. Its members include the Rockefeller Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Affairs Canada, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), Global Innovation Fund, Grand Challenges Canada, Skoll Foundation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), UNICEF, and USAID.

He’s a Research Co-Investigator, Data Management Lead, and Chair of Data group for the project “NIHR Global Health Research Group on Digital Diagnostics for African Health Systems”, led by Imperial College London in partnership with minoHealth AI Labs and other organizations, with prior funding from UKRI. He served as the co-chair of the Digital Health & AI Global Health Strategy Group, created by University of Oxford and 13 partners from around the world including minoHealth AI Labs, Robert Koch Institute, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit - OUCRU Vietnam, Financial Times, Technische Universität Berlin, Clinical Information Network - KEMRI / Wellcome Trust Programme, Aga Khan Development Network.

He is the Team Leader (Director) for GIZ AI4Cashew project. KaraAgro AI won the contract to implement the activity “Leveraging Machine Learning For the Ghanaian Cashew Sector Based on Drone and Satellite Imagery Data'' for FAIR Forward. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) implements the project “FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for All”. He also serves as the Principal Investigator and Director for the Lacuna Fund project, Drone-Based Agricultural Dataset for Crop Yield Estimation, by KaraAgro AI in collaboration with Makerere AI Lab (Makerere University). He serves as the Director for another Lacuna Fund project in health under the title, Datasets for AI-Based Diagnosis of Malaria, which is a collaboration between Makerere AI Lab (Makerere University) and MinoHealth AI Lab. He serves as the AI Lead (Consultant) for the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab (RAIL) under Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and GIZ. He served as the Lead (Ghana) for the Lacuna Fund project, Crop Disease & Pest Image Data, by Makerere University and KaraAgro AI, the Nelson-Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, and Namibia University of Science and Technology, where he leads a team of 40 people across industry, academia and government towards the creation of large robust datasets for computer vision solutions towards early disease and pest detection. In addition to this work, Akogo served as a member of the MIT Tech Review Global Panel.

Akogo also taught as a Lecturer (Adjunct Faculty) of Artificial Intelligence at Academic City College, where he created a new Deep Learning AI curriculum for the university and served as the Bioinformatics (AI & Data Analytics) Resource Person at West African Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP). Akogo is an Advisory Board Member and Ambassador to West Africa at AI Expo Africa, the largest business focused AI community in Africa. He is a member of the MIT Tech Review Global Panel. And he's a Global Shaper under the World Economic Forum. He has served as an AI and Industry 4.0 expert and resource person to African Union (AU), various United Nations (UN) agencies, and African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) in the development of multilateral AI and Industry 4.0 strategies, policies and regulations.

He has spoken at numerous international conferences including NeurIPS, MIT’s Global Community BioSummit, African Union Africa Industrialization Week, EU: Africa The Post Crisis Journey, DASH with Harvard Global Health Initiative, MIT Critical Data and Novartis, NVIDIA GTC, World AI Cannes Festival, several United Nations meetings and workshops, Rightscon and the ACP Heads of States and Government Summit, amongst others. He has been a guest speaker at Yale University, Washington State University, Technical University of Munich, University of Lagos, University of Ghana, among others. His work was featured in the scientific book, ‘Advances in Information and Communication’. Alongside great minds including Yoshua Bengio, who's celebrated as one of the Fathers of Deep Learning, Darlington is featured in and wrote for the book, "Artificial Intelligence Simplified: 99 Use Cases And Expert Thoughts For Starters". He has written op-eds for Financial Times and other media outlets.

Daniel Yu is the founder and CEO of Wasoko, a B2B e-commerce platform providing free same-day delivery and financing for goods to restock over 50,000 informal retail stores across 6 African countries. Wasoko has been recognized as the fastest growing company in Africa by the Financial Times and has raised over $120M in venture financing, including a $100M round led by Tiger Global in February 2022. Prior to founding Wasoko, Daniel worked as a software developer for several early-stage startups in the US and attended the University of Chicago where he focused on International Studies and Linguistics before dropping out. Through his work with Wasoko, Daniel has received international recognition as the winner of the Prince of Wales Young Entrepreneur Prize, designation by the White House as an Emerging Global Entrepreneur, and as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs. Daniel has worked in or traveled to 70+ countries and speaks Mandarin, Swahili, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, and French.

Vincent is the Managing Director for Verve International, which is Africa’s premier & largest Domestic Payment Cards Scheme with over 50 million customers, over 270 member institutions on its network. and with presence in 13 African countries.

Vincent has over 20 years of industry experience in the electronic payment landscape, especially for markets in Africa. His professional career has been dedicated to delivering top quality fintech solutions and services to customers across West, East and Central Africa.

Prior to overseeing the affairs of the largest payment card scheme out of Africa, he was the Chief Executive Officer of National Payment Switch of The Gambia (Gamswitch); where he led the execution of the payment transformation agenda of the Central Bank. In that time, he established fully functional National domestic payment switch and domestic card scheme for the country.

He launched his professional career, as a pioneer staff at Interswitch, and was instrumental in building and expanding the Interswitch network. He occupied several solution-centric capacities, while at Interswitch, including Divisional Head of Systems Integration, Group Head of Business Incubation, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and Chief Product Officer (CPO).

He is a technology enthusiast, motivated by the desire to explore new transformational initiatives and approaches for solving customer pain points and overcoming uncommon challenges.