Meet our speakers

UN Resident coordinator and representative of the UN Secretary-General for Rwanda.  

 Samallie is a passionate supporter of artists and art organisations. She is an entrepreneur, investor, art collector, and founding member of the Tate Modern’s African Art Acquisition Committee, the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art’s Global Council and a patron of the National Gallery of Singapore and STPI Singapore.  Samallie is the General Counsel at Afreximbank, co-convenor of the Bank’s Art Programme. Ms Kiyingi is a highly regarded senior international lawyer and banker.  

Abdoulaye KONATÉ est une figure emblématique de l’art contemporain africain.     

Plasticien polyvalent, il privilégie le tissu comme principal médium pour traiter de thématiques majeures telles que les inégalités, les conflits, l’histoire coloniale ou les tensions identitaires. 

Janet Karemera serves as the CEO of the Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB), spearheading the organization's efforts to position Rwanda as the premiere destination in Africa for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events.

Uyoyo is the Chief ICT and Innovation Expert at the African Development Bank.   

She currently leads a digital portfolio of over $850 million. This includes the $618 million Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) in Nigeria, the $60.8 million Rwanda Innovation Fund, and the $51 million Cabo Verde Technology Park. She also leads the Regional Fintech Sandbox for the WAMI region, and the Bank’s partnership with Smart Africa to harmonize digital trade policy across ten countries.

Derrick is the founder & CEO, Take Back the Media (TBTM), and an Emmy-nominated media maverick. Derrick leads TBTM – an award-winning 21st-Century tech-driven studio, turning culture into currency for creators and audiences with Fortune 100 giants like Mastercard. Derrick has earned three Emmy nods, a Royal Television Society Award, as well as 7 international honors for his groundbreaking interactive TV format Take Back the Mic (1.1 billion impressions worldwide). 

Regional programme manager at British Council. Rasheeda is based out of Uganda. 

Founder of 360 Creative Innovation Hub. Blessing is based out of Nigeria.  

Internationally respected leader in culture, creative industries, with proven track record of shaping policies. Based out of Saudi Arabia

Roberta Annan is the founder of Annan Capital, African Fashion Foundation, and the Impact fund for African Creatives. Annan is based out of Ghana. 

Bayo is the founder of Tikera Africa, and the Madhouse by Tikera. Bayo is based out of Nigeria

Allen is an entrepreneur, and investor. He is the founder of VentureLift Africa, and the International Writer’s Lab (IWL). Allen is based out of Washington and Kenya. 

 Nigerian-American fashion stylist, creative director, and entrepreneur known for his culturally rich aesthetic, sustainable values, and global influence. He is the founder of Eleven Sixteen. Ugo is based out of California. 

Kami Gahiga is a contemporary art specialist and curator based between Kigali and

London. She currently serves as the VIP Representative for Africa at Art Basel. Kami is based out of the United Kingdom.

David I. Adeleke is a writer and media entrepreneur whose work covers African business, tech, and the creative economy. He is the founder of Communiqué, a media and intelligence company focused on Africa’s creative economy. David is based out of Nigeria.

Millicent is a dynamic communications strategist, and is currently the Strategic Communications & PR Manager at AfriLabs. Abila is based out of Nigeria. 

Tina is an impact-driven leader, founder, and advisor advancing innovation at the intersection of technology, economy, and society. Tina is currently the CEO of the Innovation Africa Foundation. Tina is based out of Canada and Nigeria. 

Fiyin is an accomplished investment professional, offering investment advisory, corporate finance, and formally leading various investment initiatives as the managing principal at Tag by Oui Capital. Fiyin is also the founder of RegalStone Capital. Fiyin is based out of Nigeria. 

Olivier Pascal is an entrepreneur, investor and the founder of SPOC. Olivier has extensive knowledge and experience in working with multilateral, financial institutions, and governments, for research, and establishing financial mechanism and models that can work for African countries, and African creatives. Olivier is based out of France 

Tom Flemming is a global expert on culture and the creative economy. He has led research, strategy and policy in over 60 countries. He is director of TFCC – a leading cultural and creative industries consultancy. Tom has over 2 decades of experience in policies, and investment shaped by strong policies. Tom is based out of the United Kingdom. 

Dr. Kay as they call him, is an entrepreneur and investor, co-founder of ZukMe. Kwado, for the past decades has worked across China and Asia. ZukeMe is a fashion-tech platform, Dr. Bonsu leads the development of innovative solutions that personalize fashion and lifestyle experiences while helping creatives access e-commerce, social engagement and supply solutions. Dr. Kay is based out of China. 

Farai Ncube is the regional arts director for the British Council overseeing 16 countries across Africa. Farai is a dynamic and visionary leader in the Arts and Culture and Creative Economy in Africa for over a decade, With a passion for promoting Africa’s rich and diverse arts and culture and contributing to the growth of sustainable creative industries ecosystem through creating opportunities and connections for young and women practitioners. Fari is based out of Zimbabwe.

Christophe is the founder of a production office M.I.C.A Berlin - Movements in Contemporary Art | In 2016, he curated the Micamoca series In Between. Christophe is an experienced creative operator, entrepreneur, working with cities and government to reimagine spaces, and infrastructures needed for a more sustainable culture and creative industry ecosystem. Christophe is based out of Germany. Festivals as part of Berlin-Wroclaw

Ms. Kamwambia has over five years experience in financial management and has been responsible for managing our business investment portfolio to ensure recovery of disbursed funds for re-capitalization in subsequent investment cycles. She also identifies investees capacity-building needs and assists in the sourcing of consultants to address these gaps. 

 A cultural engineer, Mohamed Doumbia is an expert and accredited trainer in financial management and fundraising for the cultural and creative industries. Mohamed is the current executive director for the African Culture Fund and  Coordinator of the AWA Project / ACP-UE Culture Program since 2011. Mohamed is based out of Mali. 

Dennis Abwakat is a UK-based film producer with a vision to harness the untapped power of African filmmakers in the diaspora and reconnect their talent, stories, and skills with the continent, to develop a footprint in global cinema, one where film becomes a bridge between African heritage and international markets.

Roy Gitahi is a highly accomplished visionary, entrepreneurial leader with over two decades of experience driving systemic change within Africa's creative sector.   Specializing in ecosystem development, strategic policy formulation, and scalable business model innovation.  Roy is spearheading a groundbreaking initiative with significant Pan-African potential: facilitating financial inclusion for youth through the innovative use of Intellectual Property (IP) as collateral. Roy is based out Kenya

Leonard is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer with a passion for driving economic

development through facilitating private capital investments. As the country lead of the Uganda Chapter of the East Africa Venture Capital Association, Leonard

oversees a vibrant membership of fund managers, DFIs, intermediaries and professionals across the

private capital space.

She is a fashion director, award- winning stylist, designer, and speaker. Papama has been recognised by Reputation Poll International as one of the “100 Most Reputable Africans’ for 2025. She is the founder of Africa your time is now, and as she describes it. 'Africa Your Time Is Now’, is not a fashion statement but a rallying call to inspire unrealized greatness across the continent. There’s never been a more pressing time to re-define and re-tell the African narrative to the world”. 

Kwame is the investment manager at Sony Innovation Fund Africa, where he backs early-stage ventures across the continent's media, entertainment, and technology sectors. His focus is on startups building new ways for creators to produce, distribute, and monetise content - particularly in markets where infrastructure is still catching up to demand.