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Our Team

ADN board press release

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

JOSH GHAIM, Ph.D.

Founder and Managing Partner, Ignite Venture Studio; Board Chairman, African Diaspora Network

Josh Ghaim is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ignite Venture Studio, a new brand and innovation accelerator focused in the Health and Beauty markets as well as investments and support of Women and Minority led start-ups. Prior to his new venture, Josh was the former Chief Technology Officer of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health.
Raj Aji

Raj Aji

General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, BILL

Raj Aji is the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at BILL, a leading provider of cloud-based software that simplifies, digitizes, and automates complex, back-office financial operations for small and midsize businesses (NYSE: BILL). He is a legal and technology executive with experience living and working in Silicon Valley, Asia and the Middle East with financial technology, e-commerce, enterprise and media companies. He is passionate about using innovative technology solutions to provide financial services to consumers and small businesses. As a technology leader he has worked with banks and telecom companies to enable mobile payments and other financial services in East and West Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Prior to BILL, Raj worked with Intuit, Cisco Systems and global law firms. Raj studied engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai and got his law degree at the University of California, Berkeley.
Josephine Fubara

DR JOSEPHINE FUBARA

Chief Science Officer, Opella

Dr. Josephine Fubara is a purpose driven leader who brings science and innovation to life in her role as Chief Science Officer. Driven by the mission to make self-care accessible to all, Josephine and her team deliver impactful health outcomes, continuously keeping up with the needs of consumers worldwide and via Opella’s brands.
Manoj Jain

Manoj Jain

Venture Partner at 3i Partners

Manoj is an accomplished finance executive with a proven track record of success in high-growth technology companies. Based out of Silicon Valley, Manoj has held key leadership roles in companies such as SingleStore, CrowdStrike, Financial Engines, SquareTrade, and Marin Software. Prior to his work in the technology sector, Manoj spent over a decade with PricewaterhouseCoopers, gaining valuable experience in finance and accounting. In his last gig as the CFO at SingleStore, Manoj played a pivotal role in the company’s growth, helping it raise over $275M in equity funding and scale operations from $20M to over $75M in annual revenue.

Rick Levenson

CTO, Rippleworks

Rick is the CTO of Rippleworks, a nonprofit foundation that is relentlessly focused on the needs of social ventures, providing the practical support entrepreneurs and their teams need to improve more lives across the global south. Previously, he had spent his career as a technologist, starting in the early days of Silicon Valley, from research labs to nascent startups.

NDEYE MAKALOU

BioPharma Executive

As a bold and visionary Pharmacist with over 20 years in the BioPharma industry, Ndeye leads global transformation with courage. Her expertise spans program management, quality control, and global supply chain in both developed and emerging markets, emphasizing Health Equity. Passionate about shaping health systems in Africa, she is passionate about influencing policies for equitable healthcare access. A dynamic leader, she inspires individuals to collaborate seamlessly, fostering a team spirit that achieves exceptional outcomes. As a risk-taker and problem solver, she challenges the status quo, develops innovative solutions, and implements decisive actions for impactful results.
Almaz Profile Pic

ALMAZ NEGASH

CEO and Founder of ADN

Almaz Negash, a prominent trailblazer in Silicon Valley, has been recognized as one of the 12 inaugural members of President Biden’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States. Leveraging 25 plus years of experience in international trade, business management, and social innovation, Negash is able to build successful partnerships with a variety of stakeholders, including Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, investors, and entrepreneurs based in the USA and around the world. In 2010, Almaz founded African Diaspora Network (ADN) to inform and engage Africans in the diaspora and facilitate direct collaboration with social entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders to invest and improve the lives of everyone on the continent.She has also been named as one of Silicon Valley 100 outstanding Women of Influence for her significant contributions to social innovation.

INNOCENT SHUMBA

US-West EY Private Leader and Assurance Partner, Ernst & Young

Innocent Shumba is a member of EY’s Assurance practice and has diverse accounting and auditing experience. He is involved in several organizations, including the EY Black Professional Network, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Certified Fraud Examiners, Institute of Internal Auditors and the National Association of Black Accountants.

Kedest Tesfagiorgis

Deputy Director of Global Partnerships & Grand Challenges, Gates Foundation

Kedest Tesfagiorgis leads the Global Partnerships & Grand Challenges team within the Discovery & Translational Sciences group at the Gates Foundation. Kedest is deeply committed to building collaborative, inclusive, long-term partnerships that address the biggest challenges in health and development. Her career has been rooted in the conviction that, as a global community in pursuit of equity, we go faster and further by working together. Kedest is a non-voting member of the board.

AGNIESZKA WINKLER

Founder, Winkler Group; Board Member, African Diaspora Network

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.

OUR ADN STAFF

Almaz Profile Pic

ALMAZ NEGASH

CEO and Founder

Almaz Negash, a prominent trailblazer in Silicon Valley, has been recognized as one of the 12 inaugural members of President Biden’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States. Leveraging 25 plus years of experience in international trade, business management, and social innovation, Negash is able to build successful partnerships with a variety of stakeholders, including Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, investors, and entrepreneurs based in the USA and around the world. In 2010, Almaz founded African Diaspora Network (ADN) to inform and engage Africans in the diaspora and facilitate direct collaboration with social entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders to invest and improve the lives of everyone on the continent.She has also been named as one of Silicon Valley 100 outstanding Women of Influence for her significant contributions to social innovation.
Nicholas Bassey

Nicholas M. Bassey

Chief Operations & Programs Officer

Nicholas M. Bassey has been part of ADN’s network for more than a decade, coordinating with leadership on events and campaigns. Prior to joining the ADN team, he served as Deputy Vice President for the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Department of Congressional and Public Affairs, focusing on creating and sustaining programs focused on relationships with Congress, NGOs, businesses, government officials, and the U.S. public. He previously was Division Chief for Private Sector Engagement Institutional Capacity programs at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Director of University Programs and Director of Placement for the Peace Corps, and Director of the Institute for International Public Policy, a fellowship program to increase diversity in international affairs and support Minority Serving Institutions. His early career was in the nonprofit sector, where he focused on education programs at the UNCF Special Programs Corporation, Council for Opportunity in Education, Children’s Defense Fund, and Morehouse College. Mr. Bassey earned degrees from Morehouse College and the George Washington University.
Omolayo Nkem Ojo

Omolayo Nkem Oyudo

Director of Programs and Operations

Omolayo is a multi-lingual strategist and researcher with over ten years experience in international development and has worked with or for African diaspora communities across the US, Europe and Africa to mobilise, impact and advocate for their needs and interests. Omolayo holds an MSc with Distinction in Migration, Mobility and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Prior to joining ADN, Omolayo was a research manager and gender specialist at DMA Global where she oversaw key projects for organisations such as the World Bank, IOM and others.
Fredros Okumu

Fredros Okumu

Professor at the University of Glasgow and Science Advisor for ADN's ASCE Program

Fredros Okumu is a Professor of Vector Biology (Infectious Disease Ecology) at the University of Glasgow, School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine; and was formerly the Director of Science at Ifakara Health Institute, Tanzania (2016-2023). He is a public health researcher and a mosquito biologist working on improved approaches for control of vector-borne diseases. Fredros is also passionate about improving ecosystems for young researchers in Africa. He serves in various advisory groups including WHO Malaria Policy Advisory Group (MPAG) and the Gates Foundation’s Malaria Strategic Advisory Panel (MSAP)
Dan Hartz

DANIEL HARTZ

Finance & Operations Advisor and Founding Board Member

Dan is on Envoy, Inc.’s Finance team. He is a founding board member of African Diaspora Network and now helps to develop and implement strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Envoy, Dan was senior manager of Golden Mean Capital Partners, a group focused on economic development in African agriculture.

Faduma Mohamed

Associate Director, Partnerships and Diaspora Engagement

Faduma is a cross-continental economic development expert with over a decade-long background in project/program management, global affairs and community engagement.
She holds a Masters in Global Affairs and Management from the Thunderbird School of Management at Arizona State University. Before joining ADN, Faduma was the Lead, Partner Programmes at the African Management Institute, driving world-class programme delivery by establishing project management best practices and supervising the implementation of 30+ pan-african multi-sectoral programmes.

Rose Essiem

Rose Essiem

Entrepreneurship Programs Manager

Rose is a dynamic educator, convener, and community organizer with over 15 years of progressive experience in higher education and nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining ADN, Rose served as an associate director for constituent engagement and development at GW’s Health & Medicine Enterprise where she developed and executed high-profile donor engagement strategies. She is the owner of Welle Made, a Ghanaian-American micro bakery in honor of her grandparents, Fatima and Abudu Beacher Welle. She earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at GW’s School of Business and a Master of Science (MSEd) in Higher Education Administration at Old Dominion University. Based in the Northern VA/DC area, Rose enjoys spending quality time with her husband and daughter.
Fatima Diallo

Fatima Diallo

Community & Diaspora Engagement Associate

Fatima is a specialist in International Development, Research, Education, Digital Media Management, Community Outreach & Engagement, and Program/Project Coordination. She holds a Bachelor Degree double major in International Development & Social Change as well as in French and Francophone Studies. She is passionate about building tangible sustainable development and impact for Africa and its Diaspora.

YINKA DJIN

Data, Media & Technology Associate

Yinka has a diverse background in film, television, and multimedia development, with a career that spans three continents. She served as the Creative Director of Blue Wave Media, a multimedia production company based in Accra, Ghana, where she led the creation of impactful digital content for small businesses, nonprofits, and creative ventures. Her experience also includes working in the video production industry in Poland, and over fifteen years in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, where she worked as a freelance multimedia developer on website, video production and interactive sports kiosk solutions projects.

OUR EXECUTIVE ADVISORY COUNCIL

Natnael Asmerom

NATNAEL ASMEROM

Investment Manager, Launch Africa Ventures

Natnael Asmerom is an Investment Manager at Launch Africa Ventures, where he leads Investor Relations and spearheads the firm’s strategic expansion across the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Based in Dubai, Natnael is the firm’s first dedicated professional in the region, focused on building and strengthening collaborations with global capital networks and strategic partners to support Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

 

Prior to joining Launch Africa, Natnael spent seven years at Goldman Sachs, where he was responsible for managing client portfolios and driving strategic growth across Institutional and Private Wealth divisions. His expertise lies in cultivating institutional relationships, portfolio construction, and leading strategic initiatives for bespoke investment products. Natnael is also an Included VC Fellow, a distinction reflecting his commitment to accelerating diversity and innovation within the venture capital industry.

Yohannes Assefa

YOHANNES ASSEFA

Director of Market Systems, DT Global, Inc.

Yohannes Assefa is an experienced international development professional with senior management experience spanning over 25 years of experience in the United States and Africa. Mr. Assefa served as Chief of Party, Director, Senior Technical Adviser and consultant on various donor funded projects in 16 African countries. Mr. Assefa served as Chief of Part of the USAID-funded Ethiopia WTO Accession Plus Project, Country Director/CoP for USAID Market Systems for Growth and was Senior Technical Advisor during the establishment of the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange (ECX). He is currently the Director of Market Systems for DT-Global, an international development consulting firm.
Latanya Mapp

LATANYA MAPP

Board Member, Fondation CHANEL

Latanya Mapp is a globally recognized leader in philanthropy and human rights. She is the former President and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and previously led the Global Fund for Women and Planned Parenthood Global. Latanya has held senior roles at UNICEF, USAID, and the U.S. State Department, receiving top honors for her service. A committed advocate for women’s rights, she served as a delegate to the 1995 UN Women’s Conference in Beijing. She currently serves on several global boards and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University. Latanya is also the author of The Everyday Feminist.
Jason Gagnon

Jason Gagnon

Senior Development Economist and International Policy Adviser

Jason Gagnon is a Senior Development Economist and International Policy Adviser specialising in migration, skills, development, and diaspora engagement, with more than 20 years of experience working at the interface of research, policy, and international cooperation. Until 2025, he was Head of the Migration and Skills Unit at the OECD Development Centre, where he led major global initiatives on migration and development, forced displacement, skills mobility, remittances, and diaspora engagement, working closely with governments, the UN system, and regional organisations across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
In 2024–2025, he was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s King Center on Global Development. His work focuses on evidence-based policy, development planning, and the role of data in migration governance, including strategies to better leverage diaspora contributions for investment, skills circulation, and development finance. He has authored and led numerous flagship reports and international policy dialogues, holds a PhD in Economics from the Paris School of Economics, and is currently based in Paris, working with international organisations, research institutes, and governments.
Emy Makakalala Profile Photo

Emy Makakalala

Global Selling at Stripe

Emy is a product leader with deep experience across Africa and Latin America. She currently leads Product Strategy, Operations, and Go-to-Market for Global Selling at Stripe, helping businesses expand internationally from day one. Before Stripe, she was Chief of Staff to the CEO at Paystack, based in Nairobi. Emy began her career in venture capital in Mexico City, investing in early-stage startups across LATAM. Originally from France and the Republic of Congo, she holds a degree from ESSEC Business School and an MBA from Stanford. In her free time, Emy enjoys getting lost in a good book, hosting friends over dinner, and supporting mission-driven nonprofits. She is currently based in New York.
Dr. Michael Moscherosch

DR. MICHAEL MOSCHEROSCH

Founder – Periodic Element LLC

Michael is the founder of Periodic Element LLC, a consultancy focused on creating social impact and improving employee job satisfaction through purposeful support of social startups. In 2023, Michael retired from Johnson & Johnsen, after 28+ years in Research, Development & Engineering, both in North America and Germany. He is a business strategist with expertise in product development and implementation, technology transfer and adaptation as well as environmental sustainability and footprinting for the consumer healthcare sector. His last position was focused on social innovation, finding and incubating healthcare related startups in Africa. Michael is continuing to support startups in sub-Saharan Africa, and he is currently a member of the Executive Advisory Council of the African Diaspora Network. Michael holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Stuttgart, Germany.
Roland Pearson

Roland Pearson

Vice President and Executive Director, Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter (TCIS)

Roland Pearson is an internationally recognized senior executive, who over 30 years has built national and international, private, and public institutions that deliver sustained social and economic impact and commercial value. He is the Vice President and Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity International’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter (TCIS) – leading a global team of highly motivated and diverse professionals to conceptualize and prototype, and eventually scale and catalyze transformative market-oriented solutions that will accelerate the provision of safe, secure, sustainable habitats for the nearly 3 billion people who are or are projected to be subsisting in no or substandard shelter. Most recently, Roland was the Director and Portfolio Lead driving strategy, business development and business execution of the finance and investment portfolio at Palladium, a global impact firm.

Romi Bhatia

Managing Director, RB2 Investments LLC

Romi Bhatia is a development finance practitioner recognized for his expertise in entrepreneurship, investment analysis, microfinance, and impact investing. Romi has a proven track record over the past 20 years in structuring innovative financial solutions, securing startup funding, and managing programs that drive economic growth. Romi managed a $10 million catalytic capital facility in partnership with VC/PE firms, to invest in high-growth, high-impact African startups. Romi is currently a Venture Partner at Jedar Capital (an emerging Pan-African VC Fund), an Advisor with Sprintly Partners and an active angel investor with The Syndicate and Strawberry Creek Ventures (UC Berkeley’s alumni venture fund).

OUR EMERITUS BOARD

TWUM DJIN

Head of Engineering, Payments Conversion at Stripe.

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.

DR. MUSIMBI KANYORO

ADN Founding Board & Co-Chair

Dr Kanyaro is a strategist for non-profit management and board leadership. Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro was President and CEO of Global Fund for Women from 2011 to 2019. During her time at Global Fund for Women, Dr. Kanyoro saw the organization surpass $140 million in grantmaking. She is globally recognized for her leadership of organizations and initiatives that advance women’s and girls’ human rights, and philanthropy for communities.

DR. LIESL RIDDLE

Associate Professor of Int’l Business and Int’l Affairs, George Washington University

Leisl is also the co-director of GWSB’s OntheBoard program, a fellowship program designed to promote women on corporate boards. Dr. Riddle has written extensively about diasporas and development, international entrepreneurship, and trade and investment promotion.

PROF. MAMMO MUCHIE

Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria

Professor Muchie holds a DPhil in Science, Technology, and Innovation for Development (STI4D) from the University of Sussex. He is currently a DST/NRF Research Professor of Innovation Studies at Tshwane University of Technology.

CHRIS FOLAYAN

Head of International Growth, Interswitch

Chris Folayan is the Head of International Growth at Interswitch (North America) an African born multi-billion dollar fintech business. Chris is an award-winning serial-entrepreneur who has started, built and exited multiple multi-million dollar businesses globally. He was recently named one of Africa’s most influential people in 2022. Born and raised in Nigeria, Chris started his first company before he turned 8 years old and has been passionate about building businesses, fund raising, mentoring and expanding companies globally ever since. Chris is an author, mentor, inventor, public speaker, and sits on several global boards. A graduate of San Jose State University Chris is an out of the box thinker always looking to help everyone succeed.

LAURA HUBBARD

PhD, Center for African Studies, Stanford University

Laura is an anthropologist of youth, media and popular culture. She has lived and worked in Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa focusing on questions of aesthetics and politics, temporality and youth culture, the links of longing and belonging among southern African cities, and the nexus of media and development.

HUGH MOLOTSI

Investor, Founder and CEO, Ujama

Hugh Molotsiis the founder and CEO ofUjama, a mobile platform to help parents form communities to help each other. Hugh also advises and invests in startups and is an active practitioner and teacher of Lean Startup Methodologies. In 2015, Hugh concluded a 22-year career at Intuit as Engineering Fellow and Vice President of Innovation.

DUNCAN GOLDIE-SCOT

Musoni Kenya, Ltd

Duncan is the Chairman of Musoni Kenya, Ltd. As an entrepreneur and investo, he has been investing in startup companies in Africa for more than ten years and pioneered the use of mobile payments in micro-finance institutions (MFIs). He co-founded the first 100% cashless MFI and created a company to create credit profiles using mobile data.