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About the African Diaspora Investment Symposium

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Past Barka Awards Winners​

The Barka Award honors a notable individual for their distinguished contributions to the African and African diaspora community.

The ADN Annual Barka Award is one of the African Diaspora Network’s highest honors, recognizing exceptional leadership, service, and long-standing commitment to Africa and its global diaspora. Rooted in the spirit of barka, a word meaning blessing and gratitude, the award celebrates individuals whose work has meaningfully advanced opportunity, dignity, and shared prosperity across communities. Each year, ADN spotlights leaders from the private sector, public service, philanthropy, civil society, and the global diaspora whose vision and actions exemplify values that move beyond remittances, toward transformational impact, institution-building, and long-term economic and social progress.

A Community of Distinguished Leaders

Past Barka Award winners represent a diverse and influential community of global changemakers, from entrepreneurs and investors to philanthropists, whose contributions have shaped ecosystems, influenced policy, mobilized capital, and inspired the next generation of leaders.

Through this award, ADN honors and elevates models of leadership that demonstrate what is possible when vision, responsibility, and diaspora engagement come together.

Sir Mo Ibrahim’s legacy as a visionary businessman and changemaker aligns with the very spirit of the Barka Award. As the founder of Celtel, he revolutionized telecommunications across Africa, bringing connectivity and opportunity to millions. Through the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, he continues to set global standards for transparency, accountability, and principled leadership on the continent.
Sir Mo Ibrahim, Businessman & engineer
2025
Agnieszka has held numerous leadership positions as founder of two companies, Winkler Advertising and TeamToolz until they were acquired and on boards of directors of public and private companies such as RenoAir, SuperCuts, Cheesecake Factory and numerous not for profits such as Ascension Health, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, the board of trustees of Holy Names University. She currently serves on the board of African Diaspora Network, the Executive Committee of the Board of the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at SCU, as a Trustee of Santa Clara University and is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Jesuit School of Theology. She has a deep interest in building more equitable societies through social impact enterprises.
Agnieszka Winkler, Founder, Winkler Group; Board Member, African Diaspora Network
2024
Dr. Amadou A Sall is the CEO of Institut Pasteur de Dakar in Senegal and director of the WHO collaborating center for Arboviruses and viral hemorrhagic fever. He has been chairman of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network and a member of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI) Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Sall is a virologist with a Ph.D. in Public health. He is an expert in epidemics response and control, more specifically for arboviruses and viral hemorrhagic fevers (Ebola, Zika, Yellow fever…). He is a member of several expert committees for WHO (GOARN, TDR, SAGE, STAG-IH…) and OIE. Dr. Sall is the co-chair of the COVID-19 laboratory technical working group of the Africa Center for Disease Control and a member of the task force for COVID-19 in Senegal.
Dr. Amadou Alpha Sall, Executive Director of Manufacturing and Supply Chain, CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations)
2023
Helen Kim is a Senior Operations Executive with extensive experience leading cross-functional teams in Product, Engineering, and Program Management across high-tech, e-commerce, and professional services sectors. Proven success in driving strategic initiatives and delivering business outcomes by aligning teams with company goals and fostering a culture of customer success. Expertise in building and leading high-performance teams, executing operational excellence, and driving sustainable growth. Well-versed in strategic planning, financial oversight, and optimizing processes to increase productivity and product quality
Helen Kim, Strategy & Operations Executive
2020
Twum Djin is a software executive with extensive experience in organizational leadership, large scale system architecture, and product management. Prior to Stripe, Twum was the Chief Technology Officer at Goodwater Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on consumer tech companies. Twum served as the chairman of the ADN board from 2018 – 2021.
Twum Djin, Engineering leadership at Stripe, Angel Investor
2019
There are rare individuals whose commitment to the greater good extends far beyond obligation. Melissa Greer was one such person. An investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and community leader, Melissa was also, above all, a deeply present and generous friend. She made time for others, offered support readily, and gave with remarkable openness and sincerity. Everything she did was grounded in care and love. In 2016, Melissa became the lead sponsor of the inaugural African Diaspora Investment Symposium, helping to launch what has since become our signature convening. For years thereafter, she remained a steadfast supporter, annually hosting our ADIS speakers dinner as a way to personally thank those who shared their time and expertise. Melissa embodied generosity in its truest form, and her spirit continues to inspire us. She represents the very best of our shared humanity.
Melissa Greer, Investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, community leader
2018
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