Africa holds the world’s largest reservoir of emerging talent, while Silicon Valley remains a global hub for innovation, technology, and future-of-work leadership. This session explores what it takes to design an integrated Africa–Silicon Valley talent bridge that unlocks opportunity, accelerates inclusive growth, and strengthens the future of work across continents – for Africans and diasporans.
From digital skills and AI readiness to workflow automation and entrepreneurial capacity, we will examine models that connect Africa’s youth, universities, and innovators to opportunities across Silicon Valley and global tech ecosystems. The session highlights the role of public-private partnerships, diaspora networks, and tech companies in shaping scalable talent pipelines, creating real pathways to careers, innovation, and cross-border economic mobility. The discussion will include what it takes to design an integrated Africa–Silicon Valley talent bridge that unlocks opportunity, accelerates inclusive growth, and strengthens the future of work across continents.
Kofi Ampadu is an investor, operator, and advisor with over 15 years of experience helping organizations navigate strategy and innovation. He has invested in more than 70 startups and worked closely with teams through critical inflection points, follow-on fundraising, and scaling.
Kofi is the founder and General Partner of SKU’d Ventures and most recently a fund lead at Andreessen Horowitz focused on backing under-resourced founders. Earlier, he was a founder and operator, a strategy consultant and engineer, and has been recognized as a Power100 Investor by Blueprint Capital Advisors. Born in Ghana, he maintains a strong interest in Africa’s future.
Anupam Awasthi is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst Business Partners, the largest system integrator in Africa focusing on Digital Transformation.
Having worked in Africa since 2002, Anupam has built deep relationships and network across the region. He has expanded the footprint of Catalyst with subsidiaries in nine countries in Africa and Middle East, creating a niche Digital Transformation Consulting Company with 500+ enterprise customers in over 40 countries.
Anupam continues to invest in Africa as it’s the last emerging continent going through rapid technological, social, and economic changes. Technology is a key driver for digital transformation and Anupam is harnessing this growth by creating a bridge between Silicon Valley and Africa.
Anupam is also the founding partner and inventor in Senslytics, a causation based AI platform to Forewarn Uncertain State Changes in Chemical, Biological & Geological Industries.
Recently, Anupam founded Edhas Technologies which is creating natural animal feed supplements using herbal and natural ingredients with modern technology for healthier animal nutrition, enhancing animal health and relieving animal stress. He has earned an MBA and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Anupam holds patents in IoT based analytics.
Strategy Director, Academic City University, Ghana & US Foundation
Pawan Varyani
Strategy Director, Academic City University, Ghana & US Foundation
Pawan Varyani leads strategy and partnerships for Academic City University in Ghana and the Academic City University US Foundation. His work focuses on aligning university education with real labor-market needs, employer demand, and global mobility pathways. He is directly involved in building new engineering and technology programs, industry partnerships, and sustainable scholarship models that help African graduates transition into high-impact careers.
