High-Level Board of Advisors and Jury 2023/24

The High-Level Board of Advisors and Jury consists of nine high-ranking members who have a strong track record of promoting social entrepreneurs in line with the UN 2030 Agenda. They play an integral role in selecting the winners of KAAIA 2.0 and provide continuous guidance to this edition’s finalists and winners throughout the different stages of the KAAIA 2.0-program.

  • Kojo ANNAN is a Ghanaian-Nigerian businessman, serial entrepreneur, investor, public speaker, co-founder of Made in Africa and son of the late UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The technology driven trading company Made in Africa is focused on sustainable manufacturing and developing high-growth early stage brands. He is also Director at Vector Global, an investment holding company.
  • Yacine DJIBO is a Senegalese communications and advocacy expert as well as former head of the Senegal office of Malaria No More, an American NGO. Drawing from this experience, she co-founded Speak Up Africa, a non-profit organization aligned with designing and implementing effective and sustainable solutions to public health challenges in Africa.
  • Bogolo Joy KENEWENDO is an economic diplomacy expert with a diverse background in trade, investment, finance, development and public policy. She was a former minister in Botswana, driving investment, trade, and key agreements. She serves on various corporate and philanthropic boards, including Bank Gaborone and the Africa Free Trade Area Adjustment Fund Corporation.
  • Cindy McCAIN was appointed Executive Director of the World Food Programme in 2023. She is deemed a champion for human rights for her and philanthropic work and was US Ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome. She was former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the McCain Institute for International Leadership.
  • Antonella MEI-POCHTLER (Co-Chair of the High-Level Board of Advisors and Jury) is an international management consultant, businesswoman, advisor with deep experience in the global consumer, media, and technology sectors. She was named amongst the top 25 consultants worldwide by the Consulting magazine. From 2018 to 2022, she served as Special Advisor to the Austrian Federal Chancellor.
  • Elizabeth NSIMADALA is a Ugandan agripreneur, smallholder farmer, and president of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), Africa representative on the Board of the World Farmers Organization (WFO), board member and former director in charge of women affairs, and past president of the Pan Africa Farmers Organization (PAFO).
  • Ludwig PRINZ VON BAYERN is a German IT entrepreneur and development worker who has guided many projects in Africa, such as the Learning Lions, a campus in rural Kenya providing IT education. This start-up aims to teach talented young locals software skills, so that they are able to program websites for western companies subsequently providing real perspectives.
  • Elhadj As SY (Co-Chair of the High-Level Board of Advisors and Jury) is a Senegalese mentor, coach, leadership trainer, advisor and executive who has led various development and humanitarian, health, and environmental programs over the past three decades (e.g. former Secretary General of the IFRC). Currently, he is the Kofi Annan Foundation’s Chair of the Board.
  • Muhamad YUNUS is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, aiming to help people escape poverty by providing micro-loans on terms suitable to them and by teaching financial principles. He became the recipient of numerous international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, for his engagement in economic and social development.

KAAIA Network

The Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa's Network is composed of more than 70 Austrian and international experts from the fields of business, academia, finance, experienced business people, financial institutions, networks and investors.

The members of this unique community have long supported African-European cooperation and are supporting the nine finalists scale up their digital solutions across the continent. The focus lies on sharing expertise, active networking and exploring further investments.