Haas Africa Business Forum 2023

Don A. Moore

Acting Dean

Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley

Don Moore is Acting Dean of the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. When he’s not serving in the Dean’s Office, he is the Lorraine Tyson Mitchell Professor of Leadership. His research interests include overconfidence, including when people think they are better than they actually are, when people think they are better than others, and when they are too sure they know the truth. He is the author, most recently, of Decision Leadership with Max Bazerman.

Martha Saavedra

Associate Director

Center for African Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Martha Saavedra, Ph.D. is the Associate Director of the Center for African Studies, a research unit at the University of California, Berkeley, where she manages the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, a Title VI National Research Center, and other research, fellowship and public programs. Trained in International Studies and Political Science, she has taught at St. Mary’s College of California, Ohio University, the Escuela de Estudios Universitarios Real Madrid, and UC Berkeley and published on agrarian politics in Sudan, ethnic conflict in the Nuba Mountains, representations of Africa in Chinese popular culture, and gender, development and sport in Africa. She is a board member of Sport Africa and Soccer Without Borders. A veteran of Title IX battles, she has been involved with soccer/football most of her life as a player, coach, scholar, and fan.

Mayowa Kuyoro

Partner and Head of Fintech and Payments for East Europe, Middle East, and Africa

McKinsey & Company

Mayowa leads McKinsey’s fintech and payments work across East Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EEMA). She works closely with government leaders, social sector organizations, and the private sector on issues related to growth and large-scale transformations. She has also led projects focused business building and organisation design as well as strategies for foreign direct investors to accelerate growth and development in Africa. She is passionate about the role that access to finance can play in Africa’s growth and development helping to shape and drive McKinsey’s financial institution’s practice across the continent.



She leads research in Africa for McKinsey’s Global Institute focused on economic development and gender parity and is the author of several reports on these topics including the critically acclaimed Reimagining economic growth in Africa: Turning diversity into opportunity.



Mayowa has an MEng (First Class Hons) in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Warwick and a Masters in Business Administration with Distinction from Harvard Business School.

Georges Vivien Houngbonon

Global Digital Economist

The World Bank

Georges Vivien Houngbonon is the Global Digital Economist at the World Bank. He has extensive experience in impact investment, corporate finance, and digital technologies; acquired in the public and private sectors, academia, and multilateral development banks across all continents, especially in Africa. He has authored numerous works on Artificial Intelligence and supported multiple businesses and startups leveraging AI to expand in Africa. He is also a social entrepreneur, philanthropist and angel investor in ventures created by young Africans.



Georges has a Ph.D. in Industrial Organization and a Master in Public Policies and Development from the Paris School of Economics, and a graduate degree in Statistics from ENSAE-Senegal.

Fatima Tambajang

Head of Developer Relations, Startups & VC Ecosystem for Africa & Middle East

NVIDIA

Fatima Tambajang is NVIDIA’s head of developer relations in Africa for startups and the venture capital ecosystem. Before joining Nvidia, she managed a global accelerator program working with startups in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. She earned a masters in economics and global development from the University of Copenhagen.

Elo Umeh

Founder and CEO

Terragon Group

Elo is the Founder and CEO at Terragon Group, the leading DATA and Marketing Cloud company in Africa, which helps Brands intelligently deliver more meaningful experiences to African consumers on mobile.



For over 13 years he has steered the company through its evolution from a digital agency to Africa’s foremost SaaS (Software as a Service) company; with development of proprietary, patented technology solutions, successful acquisition of a software company in Bangalore in 2018 and strategic partnerships with global technology and indigenous companies including Meta, Microsoft, MTN, Nigerian Breweries etc.

In a career spanning over 20 years, he has worked in mobile and digital technology companies across East and West Africa in Executive capacities. He was part of the founding team that grew MTech Communications, a premiere mobile technology start-up, and took it public in Nigeria. He has also consulted for various organizations in the telecommunications and banking sectors, including the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on the development of rural telephony initiatives and mobile payments in Africa.



He has contributed and offered his contributions to thought leadership articles and features on marketing technology in Africa on platforms such as Nextbillion.com, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, CNBC to mention a few.



He currently serves as the Chapter Chairperson on YPO - the world’s largest leadership community of CEOs with more than 30,000 members from 142 countries.

Elo holds a global executive MBA from IESE business school and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Lagos State University. In 2017, he was recognised by IESE in their list of topentrepreneurs under 40 (IESE 40under40). In 2019, he was named the Business-to-business (B2B) SME CEO of the year by Business Day. He holds founding and leadership.

Kim Dancey

Founder | Recently Head of Payment Markets at Adhara

LINKD ADVISORY

Kim Dancey, the founder of a South African-based consulting firm, brings expertise as an advisor specialising in emerging trends and technologies within the digital finance space. And with other collaborators, the firm advises the broader financial services community with subject matter expertise on topics, including: credit, savings, risk and governance as well as payments.

Kim's background includes extensive experience in the regulatory aspects relating to financial services, with a focus on digital financial services and inclusive finance. Her expertise extends to payment ecosystems, cross-border transactions, and the evolving landscape of payment products and services.

Kim recently served as the Head of Payment Markets at Adhara, a fintech start-up. In this role, she concentrated on digital currencies, digital assets, and the transformative potential of blockchain technology within the financial services sector. Prior to joining Adhara, Kim held the position of overseeing the payments regulatory portfolio for the African subsidiaries, at FirstRand Bank, Africa's biggest bank by market capitalisation.

She was also a key contributor to the development of one of the pioneering bank-led mobile money products, known as 'FNB's eWallet.' Between these roles, Kim worked at Finmark Trust where she developed a profound interest in how digital transformation within financial services contributes to human prosperity, a passion that continues to drive her work today.

Jennie Nwokoye

Founder & CEO

Clafiya

Jennie Nwokoye is a seasoned systems engineer and a visionary entrepreneur. With over 8 years of experience working at major tech companies, management consulting firms, and the US Federal Government, Jennie brings a wealth of technical knowledge and business acumen to the table. Holding a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science and a Minor in Anthropology from the University of South Florida, a Master of Forensic Science from Stevenson University, and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from Georgetown University, Jennie has a diverse educational background.

In 2000, Jennie relocated to Nigeria with her family, where she encountered the disparities in access to primary healthcare services. Driven by her passion for social impact, Jennie founded Clafiya, a digital primary healthcare service that connects individuals and businesses to health practitioners to provide convenient, quality, and affordable, on-demand, in-person primary care from their mobile phones. Her dedication to improving healthcare access led her to enroll in Georgetown University's Systems Engineering Management Masters Program, where she incubated Clafiya and turned her vision into a reality.

As an entrepreneur and mentor, Jennie is committed to supporting young entrepreneurs in developing solutions to address some of society's toughest issues. In Washington DC, where she resides, Jennie has established herself as a leader in capacity building and youth development, helping young and minority entrepreneurs with business case and plan development, pitch competition preparation, and fundraising advisory. As a result, Jennie has helped over a dozen young entrepreneurs in the National Capital area raise over $200,000 in the past two years.

Rachel Kazungu

Moderator ÔÇô Fintech

Sean Mandell

Moderator - TeleHealth

Sean Mandell received his MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business in 2022. After graduating from Haas, Sean co-founded Umodzi, a social enterprise in Malawi working with rural farmers to help them raise poultry at scale. Prior to Haas, Sean was a data scientist in healthcare and did pro bono data science work with Living Goods, a nonprofit reducing child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Sean received his BA in Economics from Stanford University.

Delphine Anglo

Moderator ÔÇô Fintech

Delphine is a Full-time MBA '24 at Berkeley Haas School of Business who interned in the summer of 2023 at McKinsey & Company in San Francisco. 

Prior to Haas, she worked in consulting and financial services at KPMG, Siemens Financial Services, and Orange Bank. Impact-driven and inclusive growth enthusiast, she started and led an organization supporting social entrepreneurs in Africa, operating in close collaboration with the World Bank Group and the Wharton School.

Co-President of the Haas Africa Business Club, Delphine is dedicated to securing a supportive environment for the club members, enhancing the club’s contribution to the UC Berkeley community, and strengthening the connection between the Bay Area and key players in the African continent.

Uche Omegara

Moderator - AI

Uche is a senior product designer at Apple Inc. He has designed and developed several Apple products including the iPhone 11, iPad Pro, Watch, and the MacBook. Prior to beginning his career at Apple, he led research and development of innovative technologies at a virtual reality startup, Whirlwind VR. His experience spans across the development of tools and technologies to bring innovative ideas to life.

Uche is also currently a student at the Haas School of Business, Berkeley. His passion for understanding how technology can be used as a tool for development in Africa and connecting people for a greater cause led him to pursue his MBA.

He is also a social entrepreneur and founder in the agricultural space in Nigeria and an angel investor in several young startups both in the US and in Africa. 

He holds a BSc and MSc in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

In his free time, he pursues active hobbies such as running, hiking, and snowboarding.