How can diaspora finance evolve from traditional remittances into structured investment mechanisms that drive economic development across Africa? With increasing interest among diaspora communities to engage beyond personal remittances, there is a growing opportunity to build scalable, sustainable frameworks for investment. This session will convene leading voices in diaspora investing, artificial intelligence and fintech, and development to examine existing models, discuss policy and regulatory frameworks, and highlight successful initiatives that are mobilizing diaspora capital.
Speakers
Muhsin Hassan
Managing Director, Awards, Data, & Learning, Lever for Change (Moderator)
Muhsin Hassan
Managing Director, Awards, Data, & Learning, Lever for Change (Moderator)
Muhsin Hassan is Managing Director, Awards, Data, and Learning at Lever for Change. He leads the awards team which supports donor partners who sponsor challenges. He also leads development and implementation of the data strategy, oversees learning and evaluation efforts, and directs the generation of actionable insights to inform program development, as well as for dissemination across the philanthropic sector.
Muhsin has spent his career at the intersection of philanthropy, international development, and strategy consulting focusing on advancing socio-economic and political development in the global South. He began his career at USAID, where he worked on several issue areas including economic growth, democracy & governance, conflict mitigation, and peacebuilding. Muhsin received both his MPA in International Development and A.B. in Public Policy from Princeton University.
Kady Sylla
Director – Africa & Middle East, Myriad USA
Kady Sylla
Director – Africa & Middle East, Myriad USA
Kady serves as Director for Africa and the Middle East at Myriad USA, a global philanthropic institution that facilitates cross-border giving and provides donors with a simple and efficient platform to support nonprofit initiatives anywhere across the globe.
She collaborates closely with donors, contributing to impact in Africa and the Middle East. She also oversees Myriad USA’s fiscal sponsorship services for and partnerships with locally led nonprofits, philanthropic organizations, and diaspora networks.
She has extensive experience in global philanthropy and international development, having held roles at the Open Society Foundations, USAID, the UK’s Department for International Development, private and public foundations.
Megan Hastings
Head of Partnerships, Adeso
Megan Hastings
Head of Partnerships, Adeso
Megan leads the global partnerships team at Adeso, a pioneering African social enterprise with global influence. Prior to this, Megan served as Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships at Ashesi University Foundation, where she played a pivotal role in mobilizing resources to support one of Africa’s most innovative institutions of higher learning. Megan’s career has spanned local government, education, entrepreneurship, and leadership development. She holds a M.A. in Development Studies from the University of Nairobi and completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business IGNITE program in 2015. A citizen of the world, Megan lives in Seattle with her husband and children.
Moussa Koulbou
Founder and CEO, Merwel Inc
Moussa Koulbou
Founder and CEO, Merwel Inc
Moussa Koulbou is a pioneering tech leader and CEO of Merwel Inc., acclaimed for architecting AI-powered solutions that close global gaps. With 20+ years leading cross-sector innovation from designing aerospace systems for NASA to scaling AWS’s cloud infrastructure, he now enables governments and enterprises to harness AI for transformative societal impact. At Merwel, Moussa has driven advances in healthcare access and education equity, promoting inclusive, human-centered AI frameworks across North America and Africa. A trailblazer of the African diaspora, he blends Silicon Valley expertise with grassroots vision, making sure technology serves as a force for equitable global progress.
Dr Derrick Edem Akpalu
Founder, Revna Biosciences
Dr Derrick Edem Akpalu
Founder, Revna Biosciences
Dr. Derrick Akpalu is Co-Founder and CEO of Revna Biosciences. He has extensive experience in biomedical sciences and clinical research, including roles at Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen R&D Ltd. and Ethicon. He holds a dual degree in Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences and MSCR from Morehouse School of Medicine, a master’s in Biomedicine from University College London, and a bachelor’s in Biochemistry with Microbiology from Queen Mary, University of London.
Derrick is committed to advancing precision medicine in Sub-Saharan Africa through Revna Biosciences, achieving significant milestones and forging alliances globally. He also serves as a Reviewer for Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry and a Fellow at CDD-Ghana.
