Rokiatou Traore
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Rokiatou Traore has several years of professional experience promoting private sector development in Turkey. She has worked for the United Nations in Switzerland and gained valuable practical knowledge in Business and project management, Leadership, Sales and Marketing, Negotiation, and strategic partnership. Thanks to her diverse communication skills in 5 different international languages, Rokiatou has established herself in the business environment to better collaborate with economic operators around the world. A Laureate of the African Innovation Fellowship and the One Planet Fellowship, Rokiatou is very committed to development issues related to poverty, food insecurity and environmental practices. She strongly advocates for the empowerment of women and young people in rural areas; and embarks herself in developing projects with a view to contribute to the creation of social, economic and environment benefits for the community and beyond. Rokiatou has an MBA in Management of Organizations from Istanbul University (Turkey) and M.Sc.Eng in Planning and Management of Organizations (Senegal).
Kossivi Balema
Co-founder and Chief Strategy officer
Kossivi Balema is an international development professional with extensive global experience in over 8 countries in North and West Africa, East Africa, South Asia and Europe. Kossivi currently serves as the Group Evaluation Officer of the African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (AGF). Previously, he was a Trade Advisor young professional at the World Trade Organization (Switzerland) dealing with Agriculture Trade and Commodities related aspects. Prior to that, he worked in various international Organizations and Multilateral Financial Institutions including the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (Italy), Premiere Urgence Internationale, DND Industries (Mali) and the African Export-Import Bank (Egypt). A passionate about agricultural and rural development, Kossivi has been involved in many development projects with a view to improve rural people lives and livelihoods. He has built a strong relationship with a wide range of development partners, including bilaterals, multilaterals and private foundations. Beyond his professional role, Kossivi has a strong passion and commitment to Africa’s development to contribute effectively towards the attainment of 2030 Agenda. A Togolese national, Kossivi holds a Master’s Degree in Mathematics, Economics and Statistics from African School of Economics (Centre of Excellence in Africa) (Benin), a Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics from ENSAE (Senegal) and a Certified Expert in Agricultural Finance from Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (Germany).
Djeneba Toure
Djeneba Toure is a very dynamic woman with over 18 years in international sales. She has worked in a variety of roles across Africa in Tea sector, Transports & Logistics and public sector. She has valuable experiences in international Sales & Marketing, Negotiation, Procurement and Strategic partnership. Previously, she was the Managing Director of Mandjou Commerce Général (Mali) and Sales Director for various Companies including ABC Bureautique, Bella Industrie and Mega Monde. Djeneba holds a BA in Accounting and Finance from ECO. SUP Mali.
Félix Tékpon Gblotchaou
Félix Tékpon Gblotchaou has over 22 years of experience in coordinating diverse missions as the President of IPAD/ACFM, an alliance against hunger and malnutrition in rural areas within Africa regions. Félix has extensively collaborated with International Organizations including the United Nations IFAD, Bioversity, WFP and FAO in alleviating poverty and promoting food security for the great benefit of rural people. An Expert of territorial administration, Félix is a PhD candidate in Food Democracy at the University of Montpellier, a Graduate in Local Development Engineering from Université du Bénin, and holds an Msc in International Law and International Organizations from Université d’Abomey Calavi (Benin).
Edem Madjri
Edem has over five years of international experiences in Audit and Finance Management. He has worked in several countries in Africa and Europe and held various positions in Finance. He started his career at Deloitte-Togo where performed Auditing activities. He then joined the International Non-Governmental Organization “Aide et Action International” in Niger as Project Accountant before joining the United Nations-International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD in Rome. He took part in supervising, auditing, analyzing risks and providing advisory services under IFAD’s two major developmental programs in Guinea Conakry with a view to combat poverty and improve food security in the region. Edem is currently supporting the administration and financial management aspects on IFAD’s projects in Mali, Benin and Togo. He holds a Master in Finance and Accounting at Institut Supérieur de Management in Senegal and is a. member of the French institute of auditors and internal controller (IFACI).
Emmanuel Akounda
Emmanuel Akounda has over 8 years’ experience across Africa at The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). He performed as a Remote Sensing and Data Management Specialist based at FAO’s Sub-Regional Office for Central Africa in Gabon, then at FAO’s Regional Office for Africa in Ghana. He then moved to FAO’s headquarters in Italy to pursue his career as an Emergency GIS and Data management specialist. He is currently acting as Chief Executive Officer of his own company “ISPACE CORPORATION”, an International Geospatial ICT Company, promoting Information Technology to support development in Africa. A Togolese National, He holds a Master degree in computer science at “Institut Africain d’Informatique” in Gabon. Emmanuel valued experiences in Information System, Database design, GIS, Remote sensing and geospatial web application development.