Focus: Economic Development
Emmanuelle Ganne
Emmanuelle Ganne is an international trade expert with extensive experience in international trade, trade policy, global governance, and diplomacy. She currently works as Senior Analyst in the Economic Research Department at the World Trade Organization (WTO) where she leads work on blockchain and SMEs. In 2018, she authored the book Can Blockchain Revolutionize International Trade? and is a regular speaker at blockchain events. She previously held the position of Vice President for Europe with the global strategy consulting firm Allam Advisory Group (AAG), a team of former C-level executives and high-ranking diplomats that specializes in helping businesses expand their operations globally. Prior to joining AAG, Emmanuelle held various positions at…
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Bakhodir Ganiev
Bakhodir Ganiev is a consultant to the Asian Development Bank where he consults on issues of education, finance, and small business development. A native of Uzbekistan, he also works to advance its economic growth, social transformation, and political modernization, and supports active participation of youth in development processes. He previously chaired the Central Council of the Civic Movement of Youth of Uzbekistan "Kamolot", the largest NGO in the country, which has over 4 million members. He is also a member of boards of numerous organizations and many minister-level state commissions, including commissions on prevention of human trafficking, AIDS, and juvenile crime. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he was elected to…
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Emelia Arthur
Emelia Arthur is a consultant and former Advisor to the President of Ghana from 2013 to 2017 where she assisted presidential appointees in aligning manifesto objectives with presidential objectives and specific sector policy goals. She took up this appointment after working as the Deputy Regional Minister for Ghana's Western Region responsible for coordinating development. A member of the Balaton Group, Emelia now focuses on working collaboratively to strengthen communities’ autonomous and sustainable capacities for development and influence. Emelia previously worked as the District Chief Executive of the Shama District in the Western Region of Ghana. In the past, she has engaged in consulting and advocacy work in natural resource governance…
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Abdouramane Diallo
Abdouramane Diallo is Head of Targeted Interventions at the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), an affiliate of the Islamic Development Bank Group. He oversees ITFC’s efforts to strengthen intra-African exchanges, allowing 27 countries to expand trade with one another while affording vulnerable communities access to basic goods. In his role, he leads program delivery, manages cross-institutional expert teams, and forges alliances with key development partners. Devoted to reducing economic inequalities, he believes that entrepreneurial freedom allows for the greatest social impact. To this end, he co-founded Agrobiotech in 2016 and Paygas in 2017. Agrobiotech specializes in plant cloning in Mali and exports low-cost plantlets in Africa. Paygas utilizes proprietary technology…
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Ricardo Terán
Ricardo Terán is a serial entrepreneur who believes in the power of business to change the world. He helps accelerate the growth of small- and medium-sized companies, advising them on business-model strategy, partnership and business development, team building, and venture funding. He is currently Director of Business Development for Avanti Way, one of the fastest growing and most disruptive real estate ecosystems in Florida. Ricardo is also Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Agora Partnerships, a non-profit social enterprise that provides access to investment capital, strategic consulting, and a global community of support to entrepreneurs looking to solve the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges. He also co-founded…
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Ashraf Swelam
Ashraf Swelam is an Egyptian senior diplomat with more than 25 years of experience. He currently serves as an Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for African Organizations and Communities. He concurrently serves as the Personal Representative of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Chairman of AUDA-NEPAD Steering Committee, and Egypt's Focal Point to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).  Before assuming his current roles, Swelam served as the Ambassador of Egypt to the Republic of Uganda (2020-22), and as the Director General of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) (2013-2020). He is the Founder of…
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Robert Piper
Robert Piper is Assistant Secretary-General for Development Coordination for the United Nations. He was previously the Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the UN Coordinator for development and humanitarian activities in the occupied Palestinian territory. Robert has dedicated most of his working life to understanding and addressing the development dimensions of conflict-prevention and peace-building. He started his development career in 1989 with the Australian aid agency, AusAid, administering projects in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. He joined the United Nations in 1990, and has served with the United Nations in various field and Headquarters roles since, including in Thailand, Cambodia, Fiji, Kosovo, and Nepal. Following…
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Alejandro Pacheco
Alejandro Pacheco is currently the Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Colombia. Previously, he served as Strategic Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean, after having led the poverty and inequality area of UNDP Haiti and managed the Government's flagship early recovery and reconstruction program. Alejandro served as Private Sector Specialist for UNDP El Salvador and Belize, as well as Country Adviser for Argentina, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Venezuela for the same organization. He has supported the creation and implementation of public policies in developing countries with impact on thousands of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises. Previously, Alejandro worked as a consultant for the Spanish…
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Gernot Laganda
Gernot Laganda is leading the Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Programs at the United Nations' World Food Program (WFP). He supports WFP Country Offices and the governments they serve to understand the effects of climate change on food security, develop strategic measures to reduce climate risks in country programs, and make innovative climate finance instruments work for vulnerable communities. Gernot joined WFP from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), where he managed the world’s largest climate change adaptation program for smallholder farmers. A geoscientist by training, he spent the past 20 years working at the nexus between disasters and development – holding posts with NGOs supporting disaster relief and…
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Brian Kagoro
Brian Kagoro is the Programme Support Division Director of the Africa Regional Office (AfRO) of the Open Society Foundations (OSF). Prior to that he was Founder and Executive Director of UHAI Africa Group, a governance and development consulting firm with operations in Johannesburg, Harare, and Nairobi. Brian is a Pan Africanist and a constitutional and economic relations lawyer. Prior to establishing UHAI Africa Group, Brian was the Regional Programme Advisor for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Africa Governance and Public Administration Program, where he also led the UNDP Africa Governance Team within the Regional Service Centre for Africa. Prior to joining the UNDP, Brian served as Pan African Head…
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