Focus: Economic Development
Kamal Amakrane
Kamal currently leads the Global Centre for Climate Mobility, advancing various regional initiatives, including the Africa Climate Mobility Initiative, a joint undertaking by the AU, UN and the World Bank to address climate-forced migration & displacement in the continent. He also spearheads the Rising Nations Initiative, a UN Member States-led initiative focused on protecting the statehood & sovereignty of Pacific atoll island countries facing existential threat from rising sea level. Kamal has been a faculty member of Columbia University since 2018, where he co-chairs the University’s Climate Mobility Network and works on advancing efforts to address climate forced migration. In 2018, he directed the Migration Consensus Initiative at the Columbia University Global Policy Initiative. During the intergovernmental negotiations for the Global Compact for Migration (GCM),…
More Information
Rahimah “Ima” Abdulrahim
Rahimah "Ima" Abdulrahim is the Director of Public Policy for Southeast Asia (Established Countries) for Facebook Asia Pacific. Prior to this, she served at The Habibie Center, one of Indonesia’s leading think tanks focusing on democracy and human rights, for 19 years, serving as their executive director for 9 years (2010-2019). She has 20 years advocating for peace and democracy in Indonesia and travels extensively to speak about good governance, democratization, and the role of civil society in Southeast Asia. In 2017, Ima co-created, with World Fellows Stephen Shashoua (2015) and Abdul-Rehman Malik (2017), CERITA (Community Empowerment for Raising Inclusivity and Trust through Technology Application), a project using the art…
More Information
Solangel Fernández
Solangel Fernández is an architect, urban designer, and urban economist with 15 years of experience. Throughout her career, she has been in charge of directing urban development and sustainable mobility initiatives as well as large infrastructure projects, especially during trying political times. In Peru, Solangel directed the urban planning offices at the municipalities of San Isidro and San Borja where she and her team developed innovative strategies to transform public spaces for the wellness of communities. Additionally, she has participated and coordinated metropolitan urban plans, key for the development of the country, and directed urban regeneration projects in vulnerable human settlements over the hills of Lima. Previously, she worked on…
More Information
Carl Mossfeldt
Carl Mossfeldt works independently to support companies and public bodies in their efforts to drive systemic change. In the last few years, much of his work has focused on developing new strategies and partnership for social and physical rejuvenation of low-income urban areas. He has also worked extensively to develop models that harness in a positive way the power of private capital to drive development and climate mitigation. A basic insight guiding his work is that neither current market-based models, nor government at different levels, have the necessary capacity to meet the multifaceted challenges ahead: new management models, new legal and financial tools and, by extension, a new understanding of…
More Information
Peter Gulliver
Peter Gulliver works at Bank Leumi USA as Chief Strategy Officer, where his team leads the bank's corporate strategy development, financial planning and analysis, and enterprise data and analytics. Peter has built his career at the intersection of management advisory and entrepreneurship, with industry expertise in energy, healthcare, finance, and early-stage ventures. He specializes in helping organizations drive growth during periods of rapid change, which has led him to work in sectors like emerging markets and inner cities. He graduated from the Yale School of Management in May 2009. Prior to receiving his MBA Peter worked in international development, focusing on power and water systems. His long-term goal is to…
More Information
Susana Edjang
Susana Edjang has over 20 years of experience in global development across the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Susana joined CAF in 2022 as country representative in Ecuador before taking on her current role in Argentina. She previously held various roles in the United Nations system, including at the World Food Programme, the UN Security Council, the UN Population Fund, and the Executive Office of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, where she managed the Every Woman, Every Child movement and advised on economic, social and development affairs. She also served as a global health and climate change advisor at the British Parliament and as a manager at Global Health Partnerships (formerly…
More Information
Taz Chaponda
Taz Chaponda is the CEO of Malawi Agricultural and Industrial Investment Corporation, a government initiative but private sector-led development finance institution, launched by Malawi President Peter Mutharika. Taz is a development economist with extensive experience across Sub-Saharan Africa, having worked in the major economic centers of Lagos, Nairobi and Johannesburg. Previously, he was a public financial management specialist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. and a partner at Genesis-Analytics – a South African economic advisory firm working in emerging markets. Prior to Genesis, Taz was the head of the South African Budget Office, responsible for the national and provincial budget framework. He was also head of infrastructure finance…
More Information
Simidele Adeagbo
Simidele Adeagbo is a trailblazing Olympian, passionate advocate, and inspirational speaker focused on building a better world through sport. Simidele made Olympic history at the 2018 Winter Games, becoming the first Nigerian Winter Olympian and the first African and Black woman to compete in Skeleton at the Olympics. For more than fifteen years, Simidele led innovative marketing campaigns at Nike and now helps audiences unlock the power they have as change makers. Through her signature master classes, Simidele also helps girls across Africa build their leadership skills through the uplifting power of sport. An Obama Foundation Leader and Malala Fund supporter, Simidele has appeared in prominent media outlets such as…
More Information
Pablo Bereciartua
Pablo Bereciartua is Argentina's Secretary of State for Infrastructure and Water and is Founder and CEO of Bereco SA & Bereco Labs, Inc., a company focused on innovation, technology, and management. He is also the founder of other technology based companies such as B3 and Agro Appgrade SA. In the public sector, he has served as the director of infrastructure for the city of Buenos Aires, where he faced both enormous challenges and opportunities to apply new technologies to city and regional infrastructure. Pablo is a professor at the University of Buenos Aires and former dean at the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology, where he focused on teaching and researching…
More Information
Ala Qasem
Ala Qasem is a public policy maker and member of the Economic Team advising the Presidential Leadership Council and senior cabinet members in the Republic of Yemen. Ala is also CEO of DeepRoot Consulting, a prominent social enterprise that is focused on Yemen’s development. He previously served as Managing Director of Yemen’s delivery bureau where he led government negotiation efforts to develop a rapid stabilization program for the interim capital Aden, secure debt relief from the IMF, and participate in the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative. In 2013, Yemen went through its largest ever political dialogue exercise which included 556 delegates from all political parties and factions. Ala served as…
More Information