Experts Club

International Womens Center for Empowerment (IWCE)

Barbara Nimusiima

Mrs. Nimusiima is a TIC / Finance and Gender Equality specialist. She previously worked for the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) promoting programs of Right to Food and food security in Uganda on cross border programs (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC). These programs looked at improving the capacity of different value chains and their actors. Currently working for IWCE, to develop social strategies programs that support and ease sustainable development. Especially for women’s access to market programs, Internet governance, digital empowerment, business development, business linkages, and the establishment of investments in new and innovative businesses and social services.

Africa WorldWide Group (AWG)

Mohamadou Sy

Economist and Public Relations Specialist, Mohamadou Sy has been the President of the Think Tank Africa WorldWide Group since 2014, an African think tank focused on questions of Geostrategy, Geoeconomics and Public Relations for Africa. Former Editor-in-Chief of “African Business Journal” and former Editor-in-Chief of “Panafrican Strategy” Journal of the Pan-African Strategy Institute (IPS). Mohamadou SY worked in the banking sector (BICIS) and the Senegalese civil service as Communication Officer for the DPEE (Directorate of Forecasting and Economic Studies) of the Senegalese Ministry of Economy and Finance. Since 2014 and through his Think Tank Africa WorldWide Group focused on Business & Public Relations, he has supported investors interested in West and Central Africa.

Benin of the Future

Dallys Tom Medali Founding member of Casablanca Club and the President of “Benin du Futur” think tank. He is also a Chartered Accountant (CPA) accredited by the State of New York in the United States, an Expert in the fight against financial fraud (CFE) and money laundering (CAMS). His main areas of interest are finance, public governance, education, and entrepreneurship. He has published several books in the United States and is currently pursuing his doctoral studies. Previously, Dallys worked for the international Auditing and Consulting firms PWC and BDO in New York City, where he advised and assisted large banking groups, various multinationals, and various investment funds. Dallys has also participated in cross-border investigations and the enforcement of laws and directives made by US government institutions to regulate the activities of the private sector and financial market players. At the start of his career, Dallys worked in Maritime Transport with the Danish multinational MAERSK in Benin. He holds a Masters in Accounting from Wake Forest University in the US, a Diploma in Accounting and Financial Studies from the Academy of Nantes, and a Diploma of Superior Technician in Business Management from the ENEAM in Cotonou.

Cameroon Policy Analysis and Research Center (CAMERCAP-PARC)

Barnabe Okouda

Barnabe is a graduate in economic policy management from the University of Yaoundé II (2000) and CDG-Munchen in Germany.  He holds a master’s degree in Statistics. Currently, he is the executive director of the Cameroon Policy Analysis and Research Center (CAMERCAP-PARC) think tank, which supported by ACBF, AfDB, and the Government of Cameroon. He also serves as a director in charge of the Department of Coordination, International Cooperation and Research at the National Institute of Statistics in Cameroon. He is a permanent member of the United Nations Expert Group on Sustainable Development Indicators (IAEG-SDG) and associate professor in statistical theory, management, and economic policy planning in several training institutions in Cameroon and abroad.

College of Advanced Studies in Strategy and DefenseCollege of Advanced Studies in Strategy and Defense

Cyril Musila

Cyril holds a Doctorate in social sciences from the School of Higher Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS, Paris).  Cyril is Head of the Department of Doctrinal Studies and Strategic Research (CHESD), professor of the geopolitics of African conflicts – Peace studies at the Institut Catholique de Paris and the University of Paris I – Sorbonne.  Cyril has also been teaching for a few years at the National Pedagogical University (UPN, Kinshasa). He is an associate researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies and International Security (CESSI).

The Regional Center for the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel

Souleymane Ouédraogo 

Ouédraogo was appointed on March 1 to head the Agrhymet Regional Center of CILSS. He previously headed the CILSS Executive Secretariat as an interim administrator between November 2016 and April 2017. Ouédraogo is very familiar with the internal workings of the organization. Between 1997 and 2000, he contributed to the regional coordination committee for the management of national resources and production systems of the Sahel Institute of CILSS. He then became head of the Natural Resources Management System of Production System, a position he held until 2008. From 2009 to 2013, Ouédraogo was President of SONAGESS, the national food security stock management company in Burkina Faso. Before his last appointment, he worked as an adviser to the Burkinabé ministry of agriculture. Ouédraogo has a long career as a researcher and professor at the University of Ouagadougou and has published numerous articles and scientific contributions. An agricultural engineer by training, Ouédraogo holds the 3rd cycle in rural economics from the National University of Côte d’Ivoire and a thesis in economic and business sciences with a specialization in agricultural economics from the University of Groningen des Netherlands.

National Center for Strategic and Security Studies (CNESS)

Garba Abdoul Azizou

Garba Abdoul Azizou has been Deputy Director of the National Center for Strategic and Security Studies (CNESS) since December 2016. Since January 03, 2020, he was appointed Deputy Political Coordinator of the Central Support Unit for the Permanent Mission of Niger in New York under the Mandate at the seat of Non-Permanent Member of the Security Council for the year 2020-2021. Mr. Azizou holds a BA in political science from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in (Nigeria), a Master II in political science, advanced focus and a Master II in political science, professional focus in political advice, communication, marketing, lobbying, and public opinion, all obtained at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. He is Member of the Center for Research on Crises and International Conflicts (CECRI) of the Catholic University of Louvain, and is also preparing a doctoral thesis on the impact of terrorism on state-building in Niger.

Job Imharobere Eronmhonsele

Job Imharobere Eronmhonsele joined the Center for Population and Environmental Development (CPED) in Nigeria in 2008. He is an expert in communications with policymakers, and currently heads the Policy Engagement and Communications Division of CPED. He participated in the implementation of a large number of interventions and research projects in Nigeria, and in particular, worked to strengthen the capacity of local civil society organizations to participate in CPED projects.

Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network’s (FANRPAN)

Tshilidzi Madzivhandila

Dr. Tshilidzi Madzivhandila is an experienced specialist in applied research, policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation, and a specialist in advocating for policies in the area of ​​food systems, agriculture, and natural remedies ( FANR). He holds a doctorate in economics – specializing in the evaluation of public policies and programs. 

Tshilidzi is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Head of Mission of the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN). He is also a researcher whose orientation and development work is through multidisciplinary and multi-country teams across Africa. Regarding capacity building, Tshilidzi is responsible for supervising students and examining postgraduate theses at the following higher education institutions; free state universities (Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension); University of Fort Hare (Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Faculty of Science and Agriculture), and University of Venda (Institute for Rural Development). Gender and social inclusion underpin his work.

Institute of Tomorrow

Wadah Fadul

Institute of Tomorrow “IOT” is an East African think tank that works in top-ranked challenges in the region in education, energy, technology, logistics and supply chain, industry 4.0, and peace building. The Institute was selected by the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania as one of the top new think tanks in the world for the year 2016. IOT developed “PRAAS” which uses the IOT and data analytics to predict and stop the conflicts between farmers and herders in Africa.  In 2018, the OpenIdeo platform and GHR Foundation selected PRAAS as one of the top 55 projects in the world. In 2018, IOT introduced “Karrib”; the leading fact-checking online tool that uses news weight-assigning and crowd fact-checking to filter a large amount of fake news during the ongoing Sudanese uprising 2018-2019. “Karrib” became an essential tool for many activists and protestors to verify news and helped partially in controlling the ever-increasing political tension in the country.

Highlands Centre of Leadership for Development, 

Prof. Alfred R. Bizoza

Alfred R. Bizoza holds a Ph.D. and is an Associate Professor in Agricultural Economics at the  the University of Rwanda (UR) with extensive academic and policy research experience in areas of Agricultural Economics, Institutional Economics of Soil and Water Conservation, Economics of Land, and Economics of Climate Change Adaptation. He has also served as the Director of Research at the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research during 2014-2017. He served as a Senior Research Adviser for the LAND Project funded by USAID after being the Director of the Consultancy Bureau of UR. He joined Wageningen University in the Netherlands as a Ph.D. candidate in January 2007 and completed his Ph.D. in June 2011. He served as a Visiting Scholar at the International Institute of Agriculture (IIA), Michigan State University, in the US in 2009, and at Cambridge University in 2017 for his post-doctoral research. He has combined his academic and policy research, which allowed him to publish and present about 60 research papers and to contribute to the drafting of various policies and national reports in Rwanda and other parts of Africa. In addition to the above, Bizoza served as an Economist Board Member at the National Bank of Rwanda, upon appointment by the Government’s Cabinet during 2013-2018. Currently, Bizoza is also a Chair of the Board of the Zion Temple Authentic Word Ministries in Rwanda. Alfred Bizoza is the founder and president of the Highlands Centre of Leadership for Development (HLC-L4D).

Simeon Sibomana

Simeon Sibomana is an exemplar of the potential of the rising generation, born in the Republic of Rwanda. Currently, he is a Research Assistant at the Highland Centre of Leadership for Development (HCL-L4D) ltd. He joined HCL-L4D after completing his university studies at the University of Rwanda in Agriculture Economics in the academic year 2018/2019. He has been awarded a Certificate of Excellent Performance for being the overall best performer in the School of Agriculture and Food Science, class of 2019 by the University of Rwanda, College of Agriculture Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine (CAVM). In 2020, he significantly contributed to two scientific papers, one a working paper, and the other an article in a journal which has been published. Sibomana is creative, with a positive attitude and motivated young researcher, and always eager to learn new things from the teamwork environment.

The Adaptive Leadership Africa Institute (TALAI)

Katra Sambili is an international Public Administration expert with twelve years of multi-sectoral experience in public policy, leadership development, institution building, change management, and strategic communications. Mrs. Sambili presently serves in His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Delivery Unit as Senior Director for Delivery. Her immediate assignment was as an Adaptive Leadership Coach for Harvard’s Kennedy School Executive Education on its Transforming Leadership for 21st Century Africa, a novel suite of courses designed to equip participants with leadership skills, transformative mindset, and communication expertise to better lead Africa. Over the past decade, she has worked with various funds and programs of the United Nations: including UN Women, UNDP, and UNICEF. In 2008, she worked with the Kofi Annan-led African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities (AU-PEAP), which mediated the 2007-2008 Post-Election Crisis and restored peace in Kenya. In 2009, Mrs. Sambili was one of two Africans selected to join the inaugural International Youth Corps of the prestigious “Realizing The Dream” Foundation established by Martin Luther King III in honor of his father’s vision, I Have A Dream. The following year, while serving at the UN Millennium Campaign, Mrs. Sambili effectively designed and implemented communication strategies for 17 Sub-Saharan African Countries leveraging the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in Africa for the first time. In 2016, Mrs. Sambili served as a Legacy and Communications Consultant in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, at United Nations headquarters in New York. Mrs. Sambili has extensive public sector experience served as the founding Head of the Secretariat of Kenya’s National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) and worked to transform Kenya’s justice sector in other capacities between 2011 and 2015. Mrs. Sambili is an Edward S. Mason Fellow and Master of Public Administration graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and also holds a Master of Science in International Development from the School of Public Policy in the University of Birmingham, UK and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations from United States International University-Africa. She is very passionate about promoting the welfare of Africa’s women and youth.

Ivan Lule

Dr. Ivan Lule is employed with Uganda’s National Planning Authority (NPA). It was established by the NPA Act (15 of 2002) following Article 125 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda. The Authority was established on the backdrop of the need for building the national capacity for visionary and long-term planning. The Authority would establish a framework that enables the short and medium-term national priorities to be derived from and guided by agreed strategic objectives, long term development goals, and perspective vision aspirations.

Edgar Cossa

Edgar Luís Cossa is a political advisor to the National Council for Food Security and Nutrition (CONSAN) in the Office of the Prime Minister of Mozambique. Mr. Cossa is also an advisor on food security and nutrition for Graça Machel DBE HonFBA. He has experience with international entities such as GTZ / PRODER, where he participated in the creation and implementation of community actions of advisory institutions (IPCC) and drew up strategic development plans for the districts of Manica and Muchaze in Mozambique. With the United Nations Development Agency, he worked with UNDP / FAO as the national coordinator of the Joint Program on Decentralization and Integrated Local Development.

Brigadier General Saleh Bala

General Saleh Bala (Rtd) is the Chief Executive Officer of White Ink Consult, a private defense and security research, strategic communications and training consultancy firm based in Abuja, Nigeria and founder of the White Ink Institute for Strategy Education and Research (WISER), Abuja, Nigeria, an institute focusing on capacity building at executive and middle cadre levels on security governance strategy and national security policy. General Bala holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature, from the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria (1982) and a Masters Degree in International Peace Studies, from the University for Peace, San Jose, Costa Rica (2006) and a Masters in National Security Strategy, from the National Defense University, National War College, Washington DC (2009). He is a Distinguished Honor Graduate of the US Special Forces Detachment Officers Qualification Course (1991), John F Kennedy, United States Special Warfare Centre, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, an alumnus of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Sanremo, Italy, International Refugee Law Course (2010) and a member of the institute’s Training Advisory Group. General Bala is a resource associate of the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (ACSS), National Defense University, Washington DC, and the Africa Institute for Strategic and Security Studies, Alexandria, Virginia, USA. He has been working extensively with the ACSS in the areas of sensitization and capacity development for the formulation of National Security Strategies for African nations, as well as for the development of National Preventing/Counter Violent Strategies across Africa.

Driss Benomar

Founding President of the Atlantis Center for Geostrategic Research and Studies, based in Casablanca, and co-founder of the Club of Casablanca, an association of African think tanks to develop African perspectives on global solutions for Africa. Driss headed the international unit at the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior, which he represented at the United Nations, the European Union and affiliate international organizations at summits, conferences and forums on global security issues. He was also a permanent representative to the European Union within the framework of the Third Pillar. Driss is a recognized expert in international relations and security risk management for economic interests in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He is a member of several international expert groups involved in security issues at the state level. Driss is a father of three, and a proud grandfather, and holds a graduate degree in international affairs from California State University.