Ms. British A. Robinson served as the Coordinator for Prosper Africa, a Presidential-level, national security initiative to strengthen the strategic and economic partnership between the United States and African countries. In this role, she worked with businesses, investors, and government leaders to forge a true 21st Century partnership that created jobs, diversified global supply chains, and tackled challenges like climate change and energy transition. 

At the helm of Prosper Africa, Robinson collaborated closely with the White House National Security Council and the initiative’s 17 participating U.S. federal agencies to advance the U.S. Government’s strategy for Africa. Through a whole-of-government approach, she mobilized and amplified the full suite of U.S. Government resources that support African and American businesses and investors to enter and expand in new markets. 

Robinson is a visionary leader and social impact champion with decades of experience leveraging corporate engagement to spearhead initiatives in international and domestic health, education, corporate social responsibility, government relations, advocacy, and policy. In 2022, she was named one of Forbes’ 50 Over 50 for Impact – a list of entrepreneurs and changemakers who are helping to make the world a better, more equitable place.  

Prior to joining Prosper Africa, Robinson served as President and CEO of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy where she oversaw the strategic direction and all operations of the organization, which was established by former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1989. A true innovator, Robinson also served as the founding CEO of the Women’s Heart Alliance, a collaboration between two of America’s leading medical institutions: the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Her extensive leadership experience includes service as Senior Vice President of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives at Women for Women International and Vice President of Global Strategy and Programs at Susan G. Komen. 

As Associate Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, Amy Gadsden works with Penn’s schools and centers to develop and implement strategies to increase Penn’s global engagement both on campus and overseas. She oversees Penn Global’s reporting offices, including International Student and Scholar Services, Penn Abroad, Global Support Services, Global Initiatives, and Perry World House. She oversees Penn Global’s four funds, including the China Research and Engagement Fund, India Research and Engagement Fund, Holman Africa Research and Engagement Fund, and the Global Research and Engagement Fund. In 2016, Dr. Gadsden was named executive director of Penn China Initiatives to coordinate and develop University strategy and activity in China. In this role, she works closely with the Penn Wharton China Center. Prior to joining the Provost’s Office, Dr. Gadsden spent five years (2009-2014) as Associate Dean for International and Strategic Initiatives at Penn Law, where she built a comprehensive program aimed at expanding the Law School’s global curriculum, professional development opportunities, and reputation and managed cross-disciplinary programs. She established or expanded all of Penn Law’s signature international programs, including the Global Research Seminar, the Bok Visiting Professors Program, and the Penn Law International Internship and Summer Human Rights Fellows Programs. She also played a key role in building Penn Law’s cross disciplinary programs, pioneering new initiatives in law and technology and law and health. As an adjunct faculty member, Dr. Gadsden taught seminars in international human rights and rule of law.

Before coming to Penn, Dr. Gadsden spent more than a decade working in the foreign policy field with a focus on China. She served as a Country Director for the International Republican Institute and as a Special Advisor for China at the United States Department of State. She has published several articles on democracy and human rights in China, documenting changes in legal and civil society reform. Dr. Gadsden was one of the first American scholars to observe and write about grassroots elections in the PRC in the mid-1990s. Dr. Gadsden has also consulted for the Pew Charitable Trusts, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. She holds a B.A. from Yale College and a Ph.D. in Chinese legal history from the University of Pennsylvania and serves on the boards of the William Penn Charter School and International House Philadelphia.

Akunna Cook is an accomplished diplomat, strategist, and visionary creator and executive producer. In 2022, Akunna founded Next Narrative Africa, a media production company telling African stories for global impact. In 2024, she launched the Next Narrative Africa Fund to finance the production of narrative shifting audio-visual content in Africa. Akunna served in the Biden-Harris Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.  In that role, she oversaw the U.S. bilateral relationships with the countries of Southern Africa. Additionally, she led a global State Department team responsible for economic, multilateral engagement, and democracy and governance policy for sub-Saharan Africa. Earlier in her career, Akunna was the founding executive director of the Black Economic Alliance, a non-partisan organization focused on driving economic progress in the black community through policy development, advocacy, and supporting candidates for office. Akunna also practiced law at Covington & Burling LLP, where she advised a variety of clients on public policy and corporate governance. 

Before practicing law, Ms. Cook served for almost ten years as a career diplomat with the State Department. Akunna is a graduate of the Yale Law School, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and is a summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Howard University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration. Akunna is first and foremost a mom of two adult children. She is proud of her Abia State, Nigerian heritage and her Somerset, New Jersey roots.   

Cameron Hudson is a senior fellow in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He was previously a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, where his research focused on the democratic transitions and conflict in the Horn of Africa. Previously, Cameron served as the executive director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for the Prevention of Genocide. Prior to that, Cameron served in a number of roles across the U.S. government. At the State Department, he served as the chief of staff to successive presidential special envoys for Sudan during the period of South Sudan’s separation from Sudan and the Darfur genocide. He also served during the Bush administration as the director for African affairs on the staff of the National Security Council at the White House. He started his government career as an intelligence analyst in the Africa Directorate at the Central Intelligence Agency. He has also worked in democracy and governance with the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the International Organization on Migration. His commentary on Africa issues has been featured by, among other outlets, the BBC, Al Jazeera, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Voice of America, and National Public Radio. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Witney Schneidman is a nonresident senior fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative in the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings. He has over four decades of experience working on African economic and political issues. He has served in the U.S. Department of State twice, as deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs and as the South Africa analyst in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the time of South Africa’s democratic transition. While deputy assistant secretary, Schneidman was actively involved in the passage and implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

In addition to his government service, Schneidman spent a decade as a senior adviser at Covington & Burling LLP, where he developed and chaired the firm’s Africa Practice Group that included the opening of an office in Johannesburg. He has also led his own consulting firm and currently is CEO of Schneidman & Associates.

During his career, he has worked with a range of U.S., African, and international companies in more than 35 African countries to mitigate risk, resolve disputes, and assist companies in aligning their commercial objectives with the economic growth objectives of African nations. He has also worked with a number of NGOs on a pro-bono basis who are seeking to enhance their activities on the continent.

Schneidman is the author of “Engaging Africa: Washington and the Fall of Portugal’s Colonial Empire,” which Foreign Affairs described as “a must-read for anyone interested in decolonization or Cold War diplomacy.” He has written extensively on African economic, commercial, and political issues, and has served as a commentator for CNN, the BBC, and NPR, among other media outlets.

He received a doctoral degree in international relations from the University of Southern California, a master’s in international relations from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and his bachelor’s from Temple University.

Sepo Haihambo is a pioneering force in African financial services, she currently serves as CEO Commercial at FNB Namibia, where she’s developed strategic growth initiatives that deliver exceptional value in the banking sector. 

Her distinguished background in investment banking complements her expertise in commercial banking and general management. At the Wharton Africa Futures Symposium on Financing Africa’s Transformation, she will share insights on effective capital mobilization strategies and navigating complex financial landscapes across the continent. 

Recognized as a Trailblazer on the continent, she has implemented successful turnaround strategies that demonstrate how financial institutions can achieve competitiveness while addressing market needs. Her approach emphasizes sustainable banking models that balance commercial objectives with positive economic impact. 

Join us to hear her perspective on emerging opportunities in African banking and practical frameworks for financing transformative growth in diverse African economies.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Toukam is a Partner at Persistent, where he drives investing and venture building efforts across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as well as the firm’s work on the emerging e-mobility sector. Persistent is an early-stage, Africa-focused VC investor 

Previously, Toukam held various roles at Mastercard in both New York and SSA with functional experiences spanning general management, finance, strategy, consulting, sales, and corporate innovation. Prior to Mastercard, Toukam worked at KPMG in Chicago. 

Toukam holds MBA and MA degrees from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Lauder Institute, respectively; an MSc engineering degree from Northwestern University; and combined-plan bachelor degrees from Columbia University and DePauw University. 

Sheng Zhang is a leading Research Analyst at the Chinese Development Finance Program (CDFP) at AidData, where he focuses on development finance, infrastructure projects, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) research. His expertise in these domains is critical to guiding the program’s research analysis, contributing significantly to the understanding and improvement of sustainable development and investment practices worldwide. Zhang played a key role in the formation and management of the geospatial data collection team, greatly improving the program’s capabilities in providing detailed insights into development finance activities through refined geocoding techniques. 

He effectively manages a diverse range of responsibilities, including conducting thorough research analyses, leading impact evaluations, and writing policy reports and academic papers that explore the intricate relationships between development finance, debt sustainability, and infrastructure development. Zhang is also presenting AidData’s research at various esteemed forums, including international conferences, policy briefings, research seminars, and congressional hearings. 

Okendo Lewis-Gayle is the Founding Partner of the Harambeans Prosperity Fund and Chairman of Harambeans, a pioneering alliance of African entrepreneurs who have built multiple tech-enabled unicorns and raised over $2 billion to transform industries across the continent. A champion of inclusive capitalism, he is a member of Lynn Forester de Rothschild’s Council on Inclusive Capitalism and has served as an Africa Advisor to the Vatican, the Rhodes Trust, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. A Harvard graduate, Okendo is passionate about mobilizing capital to unlock Africa’s entrepreneurial potential, driving innovation and impact across the continent’s technology and business sectors.

Dr. Regina Abrami is Chang Sun Term Professor and Faculty Director of the Global Program at the Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies. In addition, she is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Senior Fellow of Management at the Wharton School, and Director of the Perry World House’s Graduate Associates Program. Prior to joining the Lauder Institute, she was on the faculty of Harvard Business School where she taught in the MBA, Doctoral, and Executive Education Programs, with a focus on the context of global business, including government-business relations, international and comparative political economy, the origins and global impact of Chinese business, and China’s economic relations with the world.  Her expertise in these areas is combined with a continued passion for curricular design, experiential education, and the practice of strategic foresight and leadership development.

Dr. Abrami is an award-winning teacher and author of Can China Lead? Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth. Her research has appeared in Comparative Politics, Journal of East Asian Studies, Harvard Business Review, and the Oxford Handbook of Asian Business Systems, in addition to media outlets. She serves as an editorial review board member of the Asian Business and Management Journal and advisor to the Management & Business Review. Her research has been supported through various grants and fellowships, including the American Council of Learned Societies, Ford Foundation, Fulbright, Hellman Faculty Fellows Program, the Institute of World Politics, and the Social Science Research Council.  Other honors include the Aspen Institute’s “Ideas Worth Teaching Award” for her course on strategic foresight for future worlds and the HBS Greenhill Award for distinguished service.

Habiba Ben Barka is an expert in economic analysis, public policies, finance, trade and development of African countries. She is currently Chief of the Africa Section at the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), leading research and policy analysis on trade and inclusive and sustainable development in Africa. Previously, Habiba Ben Barka worked for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) from 2017 to 2021, where she led the ECA’s initiatives on innovative finance in Africa while providing economic intelligence and advisory support on broader issues of finance, economic governance and public management in Africa. She also led ECA initiatives supporting African countries to better design and implement policies and regulations aimed at promoting private sector development and improving the business and investment environment. From 2007 to 2017, Habiba Ben Barka held several positions within the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Tunisia then in Ivory Coast. As an economist at the AfDB, her work focused on providing economic intelligence on a wide variety of economic, political, financial, trade and other emerging issues in African countries. She also provided country analysis of the political economy in fragile situations. Habiba Ben Barka also worked for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in New York from 2004 to 2007, during which time she was responsible for managing the trade capacity development project for sub-Saharan African countries. She holds a Master’s degree in International Commerce and Public Policy as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Government and International Politics from George Mason University in Virginia, United States. 

Andrew Hunter is an experienced advisor to government and commercial entities on international relations, strategic development, and public policy. In 2022, Andrew established Hunter & Co. Consultancy, which offers services relating to strategic development and international engagement. 

Andrew was previously Director (Minderoo International) at Minderoo Foundation, Asia’s largest philanthropy with a corpus of over AUD$2 billion. 

Andrew has acted as senior advisor for international engagement to the Premier of South Australia. In this position, he was responsible for the development of the South Australia – Southeast Asia Engagement Strategy, and the South Australia International Sports Diplomacy Strategy, both released in 2015.  

As General Manager at Port Adelaide Football Club, Andrew was responsible for its international engagement which produced major sponsorship agreements and the execution of three AFL matches in China from 2017-2019. 

Formerly a professional indoor volleyball player, Andrew represented Australia, and played eight seasons in professional leagues in Europe, including Pro A in France and Serie A in Italy. He was awarded a Palm d’Argent for services to the City of Cannes in 2004. 

Andrew holds a Masters of Philosophy (Asian Studies) from The University of Adelaide and Diploma in Languages (Japanese) from University of Canberra. Andrew also studied on a Japanese Government scholarship at the International University of Japan (International Relations School) in 2002. He is currently finishing a Doctorate of Education at The University of Melbourne. 

Globally focused and progressive, executive-level leader, bringing a strategic mindset to sports  diplomacy and the opportunities it presents to progress international relations. 

Henriette Gomis-Billon has held several key positions throughout her career. She served as Secretary General of the Orange Côte d’Ivoire Foundation, where she designed and launched the “Projet Village,” an integrated model that was later replicated across all Orange foundations worldwide. She also held the position of Quality and CSR Director at Orange Côte d’Ivoire before becoming Director of Communication and Sustainable Development at the SIFCA Group. Additionally, she is the Secretary General and co-founder of the SIFCA Foundation.

Deeply committed to social causes, she has initiated several major projects aimed at improving living conditions in rural areas, such as the ” Cantines scolaires en milieu rural ” project, which is based on a sustainable model combining a canteen, a women’s cooperative, and a vegetable garden. She is also the driving force of the INFPA project, recognized by the International Labour Organization, which has trained hundreds of young people in agropastoral professions.

Her initiative “Femmes autonomes – Femmes épanouies” has provided technical and material support to over 15 women’s cooperatives, fostering their economic independence.

Her work has been widely recognized and awarded. She has received numerous honorary distinctions, including the titles of Chevalier dans l’Ordre National in 2016, Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite de l’Éducation Nationale et Officier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole in 2017, and Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite de la Femme et de la Famille in 2024. Under her leadership, SIFCA Group was awarded the “2023 Model Private Company in CSR” prize. The SIFCA Foundation was also recognized with the “Best Foundation” award at the CSR Awards in 2017 and was integrated into the ERFIP platform of the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations.

Henriette Gomis-Billon shares her expertise at numerous prestigious international forums, including the Choiseul Forums, the International Humanitarian Forum, and the African Food Day in 2019. In December 2024, the Ministry of National Education recognized her commitment to the Ivorian School Feeding Program, and she was elected a Corresponding Member of the French Academy of Agriculture.

Julian Pecquet is the US correspondent for Jeune Afrique / The Africa Report, the leading news source for African business and politics. Based in Washington, he covers a host of US-based institutions including the Joe Biden administration and Congress as well as the United Nations and the World Bank / International Monetary Fund. 

Julian previously wrote about US policy in the Middle East and North Africa for Al-Monitor, a US-based online publication. He is also the founder of Foreign Lobby Report, a news site dedicated to coverage of the influence industry in Washington. 

Joseph Asunka is the CEO at Afrobarometer, a pan-African survey research organization that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, the economy, and social issues across the continent. He was previously Program Officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation where he managed the foundation’s fiscal governance program. Before joining Hewlett, Joseph was a lecturer in political science at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to this, Joseph served as program officer at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development.

Joseph’s research interests include distributive politics, elections, electoral processes, and migration. Joseph holds first and second degrees in Statistics & Computer Science and Economics from the University of Ghana and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh is currently senior associate and regional director for Central and West Africa at NDI. He has organized and advised international election observation missions to Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. He has also designed and supervised country specific democracy support programs with civic organizations, political parties and legislative bodies in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Mali, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo. In the course of his work, Dr. Fomunyoh interacts regularly with heads of state and government, cabinet ministers, elected officials and political and civic leaders. He recently designed and helped launch the African Statesmen Initiative (ASI), a program aimed at facilitating political transitions in Africa by encouraging former democratic heads of state to stay engaged in humanitarian issues, conflict mediation, public health and other key sectors of political, economic and human development on the continent.  

As an expert on democratization in Africa, Dr. Fomunyoh makes frequent guest appearances on major radio and television networks including CNN, BBC, NewsHour, National Public Radio, Voice of America, and Radio France Internationale, and provides interviews for major national and international newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, Le Monde and The International Herald Tribune. He has published a number of articles in academic journals on African politics and democratization.  

Dr. Fomunyoh has traveled extensively in Africa, Europe and North America, and is bilingual in English and French. He holds a Licence en Droit from Yaoundé University in Cameroon, a master’s degree (LL.M.) in international law from Harvard Law School; and a Ph.D. in political science from Boston University. Dr. Fomunyoh is an adjunct faculty at the African Center for Strategic Studies and a former adjunct professor of African politics and government at Georgetown University. He also is the founder of a nonprofit organization interested in supporting democracy and humanitarian causes in Cameroon.

Lauren Honig is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Boston College. She researches the comparative political economy of development with a focus on the politics of property rights, the roles of informal and customary institutions, and state-citizen linkages in African countries. Several of her projects examine land rights and plural systems of authority. This includes her book, Land Politics: How Customary Institutions Shape State Building in Zambia and Senegal (2022, Cambridge University Press).  Her research has been published in a variety of outlets, including the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Modern African Studies, African Affairs, the Journal of Politics, and World Development. She teaches courses on Natural Resource Politics and the Political Economy of Development. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Fulbright Council, and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), among others. She has a B.A. from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. from Cornell University.  

Julian Pecquet is the US correspondent for Jeune Afrique / The Africa Report, the leading news source for African business and politics. Based in Washington, he covers a host of US-based institutions including the Joe Biden administration and Congress as well as the United Nations and the World Bank / International Monetary Fund. 

Julian previously wrote about US policy in the Middle East and North Africa for Al-Monitor, a US-based online publication. He is also the founder of Foreign Lobby Report, a news site dedicated to coverage of the influence industry in Washington. 

Spencer Horne is the founder and CEO of Cloudline, a pioneering venture in aerial autonomy through its development of the world’s first autonomous solar-powered airships. Spencer hails from South Africa where he founded Cloudline to address structural barriers to access, across the continent and the developing world. He drew on educational experiences at Harvard and African Leadership Academy, along with work experience at McKinsey & Company. Today Cloudline offers a fully emissions-free solution to data gathering at unprecedented reach and resolution, with applications in forestry, minerals, infrastructure inspections, and nature-based carbon projects. Its substitution of light planes and helicopters, which rely on hydrocarbon and leaded fuels to reach remote areas, promises an uncompromised economic unlock in the hardest-to-reach communities. Spencer has been recognised by Forbes and Fast Company for his role in the South African startup ecosystem. He served as a Schmidt Futures Entrepreneur-in-Residence and is a proud member of the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance.

Temidayo is the Founder and Managing Director of Space in Africa, a leading market intelligence firm shaping the future of the African space and satellite industry. With about a decade of experience, Temidayo is a trusted advisor to governments and commercial space entities across the industry value chain. He has spearheaded numerous strategic and policy consulting projects, including baseline studies for the African Union Commission on the four space segments, assessing the socio-economic impact of establishing the African Space Agency and developing a commercialisation strategy for AngoSat-2 for the Angolan National Space Management Office (GGPEN).  

 Temidayo’s contributions to the space sector have earned him recognition as a 2020 Karman Fellow and a 2021 Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 honoree. His expertise is frequently sought by major media outlets such as BBC, CNN, CNBC, CGTN, AlJazeera, Forbes Africa, and Voice of America, where he provides insights on African space and satellite programs. Temidayo holds a B.Tech in Meteorology from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, a Master’s degree in Satellite Applications from the University of Strathclyde, UK, and a PhD from the University of Delaware, USA.   

Temidayo is a Research Affiliate at MIT Media Lab, a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at Atlantic Council, a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Space Technologies (2025-2026) and before founding Space in Africa, he served as the African Regional Coordinator for the Space Generation Advisory Council. 

Dr. Regina Abrami is Chang Sun Term Professor and Faculty Director of the Global Program at the Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies. In addition, she is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Senior Fellow of Management at the Wharton School, and Director of the Perry World House’s Graduate Associates Program. Prior to joining the Lauder Institute, she was on the faculty of Harvard Business School where she taught in the MBA, Doctoral, and Executive Education Programs, with a focus on the context of global business, including government-business relations, international and comparative political economy, the origins and global impact of Chinese business, and China’s economic relations with the world.  Her expertise in these areas is combined with a continued passion for curricular design, experiential education, and the practice of strategic foresight and leadership development.

Dr. Abrami is an award-winning teacher and author of Can China Lead? Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth. Her research has appeared in Comparative Politics, Journal of East Asian Studies, Harvard Business Review, and the Oxford Handbook of Asian Business Systems, in addition to media outlets. She serves as an editorial review board member of the Asian Business and Management Journal and advisor to the Management & Business Review. Her research has been supported through various grants and fellowships, including the American Council of Learned Societies, Ford Foundation, Fulbright, Hellman Faculty Fellows Program, the Institute of World Politics, and the Social Science Research Council.  Other honors include the Aspen Institute’s “Ideas Worth Teaching Award” for her course on strategic foresight for future worlds and the HBS Greenhill Award for distinguished service.