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Patrick Awuah is the Founder and President of Ashesi University, a private, not-for-profit institution that has quickly gained a reputation for innovation and quality education in Ghana. In 2012, Ashesi University was ranked as one of the top ten Most Respected Companies in Ghana and was the first educational institution to win the award. In the same survey, Patrick Awuah was named the 4th Most Respected CEO in Ghana.

Before founding Ashesi University, Patrick worked as a Program Manager for Microsoft where, among other things, he spearheaded the development of dial-up internet working technologies and gained a reputation for bringing difficult projects to completion. He holds a Bachelor’s degrees in Engineering and Economics from Swarthmore College, an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

He has won many prestigious international awards including the MacArthur Fellowship; the McNulty Prize; Membership of the Order of the Volta — one of Ghana’s highest awards, given to individuals who exemplify the ideal of service to the country; Chevalier dan’s l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques du Niger; and the World Innovation Summit for Education Prize.

In 2015, Patrick was named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune, and received the Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award, given to UC Berkeley alumni with distinguished records of service to their countries.

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Zulaiha Dobia Abdullah is a multifaceted individual excelling as an award-winning Founder, Speaker, Software developer, Digital transformation consultant, and experienced Media Host (TV & Radio). With a strong foundation in Computing and accounting from the University for Development (UDS), Zulaiha is a master’s degree holder in Computer Science from the University of Ghana and is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Gimpa.

Zulaiha’s professional journey has been marked by a commitment to leveraging technology for social good and empowerment, particularly among youth and women. Through initiatives like Startup Grind Tamale and the Grow with Google program, Zulaiha has championed entrepreneurship and tech literacy. Zulaiha founded Divaloper (NGO) in 2019 aimed to inspire, train and mentor more women to pursue careers in STEM particularly in Technology, leadership and fostering the personal growth of adolescent girls and young women in Ghana. Over the years, Divaloper has actively empowered over 6000 Africans, through Training, media campaigns, mentorship, events and online campaigns.

Zulaiha’s dedication extends to her role as an experienced sought-after speaker on topics such as women empowerment, Technology, Leadership and the future of work at over 50 events and numerous Schools. Zulaiha has been invited to speak and deliberate on Technology and national Development at events such African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM ), UN development programme (UNDP), Southern Africa Embrace Foundation, EU Ghana amongst others.

Zulaiha is also an experienced media personnel who has worked as producer and host for shows on Ghanaian TV, Radio and YouTube (eg TechTV (Joy news), Tech Monday (Asaase radio), where she highlights impactful Tech personalities and entrepreneurs in the country (Ghana) and deliberates on the need for more technology advancements in Ghana and Africa.

Zulaiha has a vision of using technology to foster positive change and to empower 1 million girls in Technology in Ghana by 20230 through her NGO Divaloper in partnership with key stakeholders. Zulaiha is determined to make Ghana a better place, one community at a time.

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Founder Africans Living Fully & Fainajs Express Ltd.

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Templar Kalundu Iga is the Managing Partner at Preponderant, Canada’s leading Africa-focused market entry advisory firm. He specializes in strategic lobbying, government relations, and advisory services, guiding organizations in developing business opportunities and navigating strategy, policy, and risk mitigation for operations and investments in emerging markets. Headquartered in Toronto, Preponderant serves a diverse clientele across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.

In addition to his role at Preponderant, Kalundu Iga co-chairs the Advisor

y Council for the Canada-Africa Investment Annual Symposium. Under his leadership, the Symposium has become a premier platform for fostering dialogue and strengthening ties between Canadian and African markets. Renowned for its high-level approach, the Symposium attracts influential decision-makers from government and private sectors, as well as thought leaders from both regions. Kalundu Iga has positioned the Symposium as the foremost nonpartisan forum dedicated to forging cross-sector partnerships that address the challenges and opportunities between Canada and Africa.

Kalundu Iga also serves as the Executive Director at the Canadian Centre for African Affairs and Policy Research, a Toronto-based think tank. In this role, he leads the organization in building extensive networks with key players in the private and public sectors, elevating its profile as a leading think tank dedicated to advancing strategic integration between Canadian and African markets. He shapes the Centre’s strategic direction by cultivating partnerships, particularly with senior government officials and executives from prominent organizations in both regions. Under his leadership, the Centre supports high-level public and private gatherings, conducts in-depth policy analysis, and explores innovative options to strengthen long-term relations between Canada and Africa.

Born in Kampala and raised in Nairobi and Toronto, Kalundu Iga considers Toronto his hometown. After a decade of consulting in Africa’s economic centers, he returned to Toronto in 2019, making it his base while working globally, with a particular focus on Africa.

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Mubarak Sumaila is a 3x fintech founder and CEO with 8 years of experience building tech and tech ecosystems in Africa. He founded Ghana’s first digital bank startup, which raised $1.3 million in funding, was selected for Techstars Silicon Valley and Google for Startups, and partnered with Visa, Vodafone, and major financial institutions in Ghana.

In 2023, he founded NylaBank, the first digital Islamic bank in Africa, which completed an oversubscribed pre-seed round. He currently serves as Director and President of ExoPay, a technology company based in Washington D.C., revolutionizing the way young people experience payments.

Mubarak has served on various committees, including Halcyon Incubator’s Equitytech Selections Committee and the Alumni Steering Committee of the Summit Impact program. He has been featured by TechCrunch, the BBC, by Brex in New York Timesquare and other publications.

Mubarak is skilled in strategy, user experience design, marketing, sales, growth hacking, partnerships, team building, and fostering culture. His superpowers include hyper-optimism, sustained focus, resilience, persistence, creating teams, vision execution, creative thinking, and intuition.

He is passionate about venture building, coaching, advising, philosophy, and history.

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Foster Awintiti Akugri is a visionary leader with over a decade of experience driving innovation, product development, and market expansion across financial services, technology, and emerging markets. With a proven track record of delivering scalable solutions, fostering strategic partnerships, and championing customer-centric growth, Foster has made a significant impact on organizations and communities across 12+ countries.In his leadership roles at Old Mutual West Africa and Stanbic Bank Ghana, Foster was instrumental in establishing new product lines, driving compliance and regulatory navigation, and enhancing customer acquisitions. He developed and executed operational frameworks, go-to-market strategies, and innovative financial inclusion initiatives that positively impacted over 35,000 youth and supported 7,000 SMEs.

Currently, as Lead for Africa Business at Innovation Village, Foster oversees multi-market expansion strategies, operational efficiency programs, and high-impact partnerships that drive sustainable growth and organizational transformation.As an entrepreneur, Foster founded the Hacklab Foundation, a nonprofit that has directly impacted over 17,000 individuals through digital skills development and innovation programs across Africa. His work has been recognized globally, earning him accolades such as the President’s Outstanding Youth Prize in Science and Technology, Top 50 Young CEOs in Ghana, and recognition as one of the Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders by the Policy Center for the New South. Foster is also a two-time TEDx speaker and has represented his organizations on high-level panels at esteemed platforms, including the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Cornell Tech, Johns Hopkins University, and Columbia University.

Foster holds two MBA degrees—one in Business Process Management and another in Decision Making & Innovation—alongside certifications in Six Sigma (Black Belt) and SAFe4 Agile Practitioner. He is also a contributor to the Canadian Center for Africa Affairs and Policy Research Newsletter, providing thought leadership on trade, technology, and innovation.Foster’s expertise spans product management, strategy development, governance, and cross-border partnerships. He is passionate about leveraging technology and innovation to empower businesses and communities, fostering inclusion and growth in global markets.

Dominic Mensah is pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and is the founder of Dombelfarms, a venture focused on empowering over 60 million smallholder farmers in Africa trapped in systemic poverty.

Dombelfarms provides agro-inputs and tech-enhanced advisory services to sustain smallholder farmer businesses, create decent jobs, enhance food security, promote environmental sustainability, and alleviate poverty in rural villages. Raised in a village by farming parents, Dominic draws on his experiences and believes rural villages are mired in poverty because they have historically been deprived of capital, education, and quality products and advisory services. Dominic is solving these problems by leveraging partnerships and a vertical integration model to create lasting social impact.
Working directly with rural communities, Dombelfarms mitigates risks and enhances villages’ attractiveness to investors. These investors fund projects in primary production and manufacturing, providing jobs and contributing to local economic growth. Additionally, Dombelfarms’ technology platform aims to help farmers save money on logistics and input materials, and provides on-demand training and technical support on sustainable farming practices. Dombelfarms has more than doubled the income of its partnered farmers and villages, created over 1000 new jobs, and directed approximately USD 1 million in investment to rural villages in Ghana. The company has served over 250 fish and egg producers and has strong partnerships with the MasterCard Foundation, Olam Agri, Koudijs, Maridav, and Takoradi Flour Mills of Ghana.

Before attending Harvard Business School, Dominic spent three years at EY-Parthenon in technology strategy consulting and worked with the food and agriculture practice on a regular basis. He helped publish EY’s 2022 Food Reimagined Report, focusing on smallholder farmers’ challenges and solutions. At Pomona College, Dominic explored the power of cooperatives in developing markets and studied the formalization of informal markets. Outside Dombelfarms, Dominic co-founded UpRaise, a youth empowerment program that has mentored over 1,000 Ghanaian high school graduates. Driven by a goal to create opportunities he lacked growing up, Dominic is dedicated to impacting millions of Africans who live in rural villages. As a Cheng Fellow, Dominic is excited to continue his economic and agricultural interventions in Ghana with the goal of creating positive social change on a systems level.

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Ryan Jordan is a graduate of Harvard University with major in History and minor in Middle Eastern Studies, in addition to pursuing both African Studies and Foreign Languages. Ryan’s academic studies focuses on international history and developing markets, and he’s passionate about all things business, entrepreneurship, and international affairs.

Ryan is currently heading the construction of non-profits facilitating professional opportunities for US and UK undergraduates in the African, MENA, and Asian public and private sectors. Thrilled to be continuing his work running GradPal, a tutoring and college consulting company spanning the top schools around the world, and to be launching new endeavors in the advisory space for companies looking to enter African markets (mining, telecom, entrepreneurship, public sector engagement).