Head of Gender & Inclusiveness, AGRA
Sabdiyo Dido is the Head of Gender and Inclusiveness at AGRA. Sabdiyo is a Senior agriculture strategist, Programs director and Global team leader, with demonstrated track record working with inclusive sustainable agriculture, market-based solutions, value chains, gender and women’s economic empowerment; youth employment, agri-entrepreneurship SME development amongst many other strategic expertise. Her 20+ years experiences in global agriculture sector, spans across multiple geographies in Africa, Asia and Europe and leading international organisations such as AGRA, CTA, SNV and GTZ.
Until her appointment as AGRA’s Head of Gender and Inclusiveness, Sabdiyo served as a Senior Technical Adviser, Agribusiness and Value chains, at the EU funded-CTA- The Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural cooperation, based in the Netherlands. Notable achievements while at CTA include the revamping of the Centre’s agribusiness strategy and shaping the agribusiness practice; designing and leading innovative programs such as CLIMARK- a market-led climatic resilience in livestock sector in the Horn of Africa which developed innovative climate resilience models such as Agri weather information services, and VALUE4HER- CTAs premier initiative aimed at strengthening women’s agribusinesses in Africa. Her work, particularly with women agribusiness, earned her excellence awards from women networks across the continent.
Chief Business Oficer, APO
Katya Blouin is the Chief Business Officer at APO Group where she leads a sales and business development team and is responsible for curating strategic partnerships across Africa and the Middle East.
Throughout her career, Katya held various positions across the world in communications and business development. Previously, led an investment-research forum based out of Istanbul, where gained extensive experience in business development in mining, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and aerospace sectors. She conducted oversaw research and investment projects in over 20 countries across the world. Today, Katya focuses on helping various organisations build and grow their visibility across Africa through a variety of channels. She is a part of numerous mentorship initiatives supporting entrepreneurs across the continent.
Katya holds a BA in European Studies from Maastricht University and a MSc in Global Management from Neoma Business School in France. She speaks English, French, Dutch, Russian, German, as has basic notions in Turkish and Spanish.
Senior Manager/Head, Marketing & Communication, PwC Nigeria
Delia leads PwC’s marketing efforts in the West Market Area and is responsible for providing guidance to client teams on evaluating and developing marketing strategies, planning and coordinating marketing efforts, communicating marketing plans and building awareness and positioning for the PwC brand.
She is a passionate marketing and communications professional, experienced in brand, marketing and communications strategy development and execution, content development and account management. She has many years experience working with PwC including a stint in PwC Paris with the global marketing and communications team.
Delia is a member of International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and an associate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Co-Founder, NGWANA.AFRICA
Mooketsi is Co-founder of NGWANA.AFRICA and Managing Partner of the Digital Future Fund. He believes in the African continent and invests in early-stage startups in Africa. Investments currently in Botswana (Southern Africa) & Rwanda (East Africa). Focused currently as Pre-Seed and Seed investor in early-stage startups.
Senior Investment Officer, IFC/World Bank Group
Kadidia Konare has more than 15 years of experience working in international development. Her work focuses on infrastructure investments (debt, equity, mezzanine) and advisory transactions in the emerging markets. Prior to that she was an Agile Fellow at the World Bank CEO Strategic Initiatives Unit. Kadidia also served as special advisor to the president of the Republic of Mali, overseeing investment and major projects at the national and regional levels.
Kadidia is a passionate social entrepreneur who aspires to bring prosperity to the African continent through entrepreneurship. She is the co-founder of the Impact Hub Bamako in Mali, an innovation lab and incubator that brings together young and talented people with diverse background to drive long-term positive impact. She is also a member of the African Leadership Network, a community of the most dynamic and influential young African leaders working to create change in Africa and to develop three million leaders for Africa.
Kadidia holds a master’s degree of public administration in international development (MPA/ID) from Harvard University’s Kennedy School; a master’s degree in agricultural economics and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Michigan State University.
Founding Partner, Cubit Ventures
Rafeh is the Founding Partner of Cubit Ventures and Founder Institute Egypt. He sits on Falak Startups board and is an advisor to Egypt Ventures and Loyal VC. He also led one of the largest consulting firms in Egypt. He is an experienced triple-digit track record executive, entrepreneur, and management consultant where he advised numerous companies of all sizes on growth, turnaround, and business restructuring strategies.