Kitawa Wemo is the executive director of MAMA Ventures, am impact venture builder that works with early stage startups from idea to market.

She has actively worked with many incubators and accelerators and pioneered and supported the growth of communities for entrepreneurs in Kenya.

As a startup catalyst in the ecosystem for the over the  past three years, Kitawa has worked with over 150 businesses, raising $100,000 in crowdfunding, grant, equity and debt financing.

As a venture builder, MAMA Ventures works with business founders to connect their vision to a competent team to generate revenue and attract investment for growth and profitability. Kitawa is a two time awardee for Women Economic Forum, a mentor at Pangea & Nailab accelerators, sits on the board of PACEMAKER International and a strategic advisor for various companies in agriculture and technology across the globe.

Dr. Mo Abuali is the CEO and Managing Partner at IoTco, the internet of things company. He is a strategic and transformative technology and business management leader with 20-year record of achievement driving and sustaining change in Manufacturing. Mo serves Industrial and Manufacturing Clients in Automotive, Aerospace & Defense, and others, providing Digital Transformation, Industrial IoT (IIoT), and Predictive Analytics technology and services, as well as the IoT Academy for Industry 4.0 Training. Mo has a doctorate degree in Industrial Engineering and has worked at companies like IBM, P&G, Omron, and Toyota.

Maudo currently works for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) as an analyst, providing embedded strategic support to the Minister of Trade and Industry, as well as other key economic institutions of the government, including the Presidency. 

He is working in support of the government’s drive to drive the of flagship programs and attract FDI in the manufacturing and agro-processing sectors, which will contribute to the government’s efforts to industrialize the economy, generate exports and create jobs. 

More specifically, this has meant being embedded within the Strategic Anchor Industries team at the Ministry of Trade & Industry, providing strategic support and analytical skills and working with the Ghana Automotive Policy Technical Committee to catalyse the establishment of an automotive assembly and manufacturing sector in Ghana, with the likes of Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan and Renault. However, since the outbreak of COVID-19, Maudo has been working within the Presidential COVID-19 Response Coordinator’s Strategy & Policy team in Ghana – providing relevant daily briefings, analyses and reports for the consumption of the President of Ghana on policy options, strategy and best practice from around the world.

Before joining TBI, Maudo worked for the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) as an International Development Expert. In this role, he was tasked with strategy, policy and analytical work that informed the priorities and strategic direction of the organisation and project offices around the world. The role also involved a significant amount of research and analysis on regional global value chains, manufacturing in developing countries and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Maudo has been featured on a number of podcasts, TV programs and authored several online publications as a contributor for Future Africa Forum – which is an organisation that exists to increase the voice and participation of young African people in policymaking, dialogue and implementation. He was recently promoted to industrialisation lead due to his interest, passion and track record in this area. Maudo has also been involved in several conferences and events as a panellist or moderator, including at the LSE Africa Summit, Cambridge University’s Africa Business Network, University of Manchester’s Aspiring Young African Leaders, TAFCON Gambia, GCIMUN Conference New York, United Nations Youth Forum, Global Shapers Accra, UNCTAD Youth Hub and the Warwick Africa Summit.

He also currently serves as an advisor to the Ghana Startup Network and is on the Advisory Board of the African Youth Leaders Platform – a project that is being funded by the Ford Foundation and managed by the African Leadership Academy

Esso-Dong is part of the new breed of African techies. The Africa 35.35 Award winner is a trained computer engineer passionate about finance and govtech.

He is a blockchain consultant and instructor with close to a decade worth of experience in diverse industries: telecommunications, banking, insurance and fintech.