Among the speakers of this 2016 edition, the Land of African Business will welcome amongst others :
François ADAO
François Adao is the General Secretary of L’Afrique des Idées, an african think-tank that promotes a novel approach embedded in a new concept named Afro-responsibility, which calls for better insights on the challenges facing the continent prior to formulating innovative and evidence-based policies. François is also a Sorbonne Law School graduate specialized in international arbitration, with a focus on energy and construction disputes. As a French citizen of Congolese, Angolan and Cameroonian origin, he is particularly interested in the relationship between african tradition and modernity.
Emma ADIEI
Franco-ivorian journalist. Born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Emma arrived in France at the age of 20. In 2005, the development of DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) and the start of a new channel « Direct 8 » paved the way to television for her : in three years, she will have presented no less than four TV shows. In 2010, her talent was spotted by a producer working for « Canal+ Afrique »: she collaborates with a 100% African talk show, « +d’Afrique », bringing a different look on a fashionable continent that never stops moving. Two years later, she joined the team of « Télématin » on the channel « France2 », the classic morning show leader in French television. In the show, she presented a first chronicle on the lives of European expats in France and a second one looking at the news through the eyes of the past, using images from the broadcasting archives. Today she is looking to broaden her scope by exploring new opportunities in the media production in Africa.
Grace Kelly AZIZET
After working 7 years in fashion and luxury industries , Grace Kelly Azizet created Wild Flowers a consulting agency to accompany the luxury brands in their sustainable transformation working with groups such as LVMH or L’Oréal. Now, she helps african upscale designers to develop strong brand identity to export the Made in Africa in France. To highlight the economic issues of the textile and creative industries on the continent, its agency co-hosted Brazza Fashion Night with the Ministry for SMEs of Congo and Sorom Color group in Brazzaville in August 2015.
Thierry BARBAUT
Thierry Barbaut has been a digital expert for 25 years. He is the director of the Africa Strategical Agency, the founder of the pan-African media Info Afrique, the officer of the digital strategies at the Micro-projects French Agency and the founder of the Digital Solidarity association and he has been making his skills available in favour of Africa. Thierry Barbaut is convinced of the continent potential and of its human wealth and spend most of his time in Africa believing in the necessity « to be imbibed and passionate by the African culture to develop business between Africa and Europe. »
Cécile BARRY
Cécile Barry has a strong experience in entrepreneurship. After creating a first structure dedicated to the development of companies, Woldmas Intenational, she confounded with Anne-José Beuzelin in 2014 the Ajice Group, an agency that gathers all the jobs related to the field of communication. As a person committed to the African and women’s entrepreneurship, she often runs forums and she created with some experts in 2016 an association dedicated to the structuring of entrepreneurship on the African continent, DYN’AFRIC. She has also been President of the women’s entrepreneurship network Action’elles and in charge of the entrepreneurship commission of the French Coordination for the European Women’s Lobby. She is an active member of the Equality Laboratory. As a co-writer of the “Succeed your company project” guide, she taught to Master students business development. She also holds business coach certificate.
Roselyne BELINGA
Roselyne Belinga is a cameroonian multidisciplinary artist. Singer and song-writer, she is also a jewelry designer graduated from Esmod Paris. As a backup vocalist she had the opportunity to sing with Manu Dibango, Papa Wemba, Christophe Maé, Chimène Badi, Corneille, Blick Bassy, as well as Lokua Kanza with whom she is currently touring. Her music portrays the dreamer in her, added to her sensibility. It is a delicate blend of african sonorities and soul-music influences, with a touch of melancholia, but always hope in her message. Her album is underway.
Bruno BENSASSON
Bruno Bensasson is the Engie Africa Director, in charge of the renewable energies and President of the Africa Business Unit of Engie. As a Polytechnique graduate and a Corps des Mines engineer he worked for the Industry minister and as a technical chief in charge of environment, industry and transports for the President of the French Republic. He joined the Suez group as the economy, prices and markets Director at the Strategy and Sustainable Development GDF SUEZ division in July 2008. He was appointed Strategy and Sustainable Development Director and member of the executive Committee in may 2011.
Moussa CAMARA
Moussa Camara is the President and co-founder of the Agir Pour Réussir associations (“Acting to Succeed”) – AGPR – and les Déterminés.
Thanks to his entrepreneurship experience with the creation of a technical outsourcing company, he created in 2007 a local association, AGPR, aiming to supporting the inhabitants of the disadvantaged neighborhood in the social, educational and professional fields.
In order to extend and increase the impact of AGPR, he founded in 2014 the association Les Déterminés designed to foster a new generation of entrepreneurs, to provide courses and to accompany the young businessmen throughout a national network. The project is now of national importance thanks to a partnership signed with the Medef.
Omar CISSE
Omar Cissé is InTouch founder and CEO. InTouch is a fin-tech start-up, which is currently in Senegal, Ivory Coast and Cameroon. InTouch is specialized in payment means and digital services aggregations around mobile platforms. M. Omar CISSE is also co-promoter of Teranga Capital (www.terangacapital.com), an SME investment fund that was officially launched in March 2016 in Senegal. From September 2010 to January 2013, he created and ran CTIC Dakar (www.cticdakar.com), the first and leading incubator in francophone West Africa dedicated to IT and mobile entrepreneurs. Within few years, CTIC accompanied hundreds of entrepreneurs and is today a reference for firms support in Africa. With partners that helped to build it, the CTIC experience is currently being duplicated in several African countries (Niger, Mali, Mauritania). Omar Cissé is co- founder of 2SI (www.ssi.sn), one of the biggest software engineering and mobile solutions structure in West Africa. 2SI was created in 2001 and has about 40 employees today. Omar Cissé ran 2SI from January 2005 to august 2010. Omar Cissé is a computer science engineer. He graduated from the Dakar École Supérieure Polytechnique and has done an MBA in 2007.
Anto COCANE
Native of Gabon, a little country in central Africa, Anto is a young Chef living in Paris where she proposes a minimalist African gastronomy influenced by a » culinary french touch » She is one of this new generation of African Chefs which wishes to make people discovered, an elegant, fine, so rich and various but often underestimated African gastronomy.
Sonia DAHMANI
Sonia Dahmani is the winner of the Talent des cités 2015 prize. She has been rewarded for her company « Les délices de Sonia » (The delicacies of Sonia) a Chef on Demand and a catering service which proposes a creative cuisine inspired by the French and Berber culinary traditions. Before going into business, Sonia Dahmani has worked as a secretary and as a salesperson.
Hervé DE COLNET
Hervé de Colnet is in charge of Public Administration in Worldline including central government, local government, Health, Social security, Defense, La Poste. He is has been in charge of the special project “e-education” for 4 years. He create in partnership with a start-up call Unowhy, a complete offer including tablet, software, networks, cloud and store for education in primary levels and secondary levels. This offer is now recognized by the Ministry of education in France. A top level agreement was signed between the Ministry and Th. Breton in September. Hervé de Colnet has been in charge of public sector, Transport and energy in several companies as Sema, Sclumberger and Bull.
Chams DIAGNE
Chams Diagne currently runs Talent2africain which is a platform that he founded in 2016 and which aims to make the recruitment easier for the African companies and the multinationals established in Africa. Given that « there is a massive lack of talents in Africa » he gives priority to the diaspora defending a more inclusive approach of recruitment. Chams Diagne has also been the social network professional CEO of Viadeo Africa that he has co-founded.
Koffi Fabrice DJOSSOU
Koffi Fabrice DJOSSOU is Senior Director at ABS (www.absatellite.com). Young, fast growing global satellite operator, with an entrepreneurial and creative business approach, ABS is majority owned by the Permira funds which are advised by European Private Equity firm Permira. Koffi has over 10 years experience in ICT and telecommunication industry. He is the former Africa Liaison Manager for ZACR, a South African based entity which performs the technical and administrative functions of the ZA Central Registry (Internet registry and infrastructure), which includes the administration of the CO.ZA domain name space and also the dotAfrica geographic Top Level Domain. IEEE member, and member of the Steering Committee of the Global Forum, Koffi Fabrice DJOSSOU is a telecommunication engineer with a significant knowledge in project management, cyber security strategy and policy development. Koffi Fabrice DJOSSOU published paper on digital economy in African Geopolitics and he is also the resource person on Cyber security of the 2015 Institute of Democratic Governance at the CODESRIA – COUNCIL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN AFRICA.
Philippe DULUC
Philippe Duluc, graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, begun his career as a military engineer, working for French ministry of defense then for Prime minister office, focused on various security and technology matters, mixing expertise and management positions. After 20 years of service, he joined the private sector, first as corporate CSO for Orange group, then as manager of Bull Cybersecurity Business Unit. After having put in place Mission-Critical Systems Global Business Line within the newly created Big Data & Security Service Line, he is now CTO of ATOS Big Data & Security SL, reporting to ATOS CTO Philippe Vannier. He has been adviser of the European Network and Information European Agency, and keeps a constant interest in scientific and technical domains involved in information society development: cryptography, security, computing, communications, big data, included future directions like quantum revolution.
Sonia EYAAN
Sonia Eyaan is Bubblin co-founder, a communitive platform for volunteers, non-profit organizations, and businesses wishing to participate in volunteering with a new model fun and rewarding. Sonia Eyaan was Director of Green&vert.fr, a web media outlet dedicated to the issues of sustainable development. Consultante in Digital Strategy, over the past decade, she contributed to the development of projects in France, Africa, Brazil and Canada. Interests in analysis of societal changes, Sonia has a depth knowledge of sustainable development, digital tools and sharing economy.
Georges Vivien HOUNGBONON
Georges Vivien HOUNGBONON is Publishing Director of L’Afrique des Idées and postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Toulouse School of Economics. He is a Statistician, holder of a Master in Public Policy and Development and a PhD in Economics from the Paris School of Economics. His research uses statistical methods to investigate questions related to the digital economy, education, inequality and taxation.
Régis HOUNKPE
Régis Hounkpe is a former geopolitical analyst and an international consultant for some consulting firms in West and central Africa who has founded in 2010 the consulting firm Interglobe. Drawing on his strong experience in Benin, Senegal, Gabon, Morocco and Congo, he focus his work on Africa which is « not only the continent of all possible but also the one where the expertises are the more innovative. » Régis Hounkpe is also the author of several publications dealing with the African geopolitics and the international relations.
Khaled IGUE
Khaled Igue is Beninese. He is the President of the Africa Think Thank Club 2030 that innovates in the realm of ideas for the sustainable economic and social development of African countries.
He is an expert in energetic, industrial and economic issues; he intervines with African institutions and gouvernements to build a structuring model for the economic and social emergence of the continent.
Johanna NIEDZIALKOWSKI
Specialized in communication of international organizations and institutions, Johanna Niedzialkowski started hes career in the French diplomatic network (Dakar, Paris). She worked three years at the French Ministry of Education before joining the 2iE Institute in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. After passing the executive master Potentiel Afrique of Sciences Po, she joined Simplon, which delivers innovative training sessions to digital skills, to develop the network and partnerships of the company at an international level. She is also a member of Afrikamaono, whose mission is to act to encourage positive transformations that drive the African continent.
GUILLAUME JOSSE
Guillaume Josse is a geographer and urban planner, Managing Director of Groupe Huit since 2012, a consulting firm specialized in urban projects in the developing countries. Previously he worked at the French Development Agency as a Project Manager and at the General Council of Essonne. He worked for nearly 20 years on the issue of developing cities, both in Africa (Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Burundi, Madagascar, Cape Verde, Mozambica, Djibouti, Chad, Niger , Ivory Coast …) and Asia (Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia) and Latin America (Haiti, Dominican Republic, Suriname)
He is now specialized in urban projects design and urban management improvement programs in developing cities.
Sénamé KOFFI AGBODJINOU
Sénamé Koffi Agbodjinou is an architect and an anthropologist. After a long experience in the humanitarian construction, he created the collaborative research platform: L’Africaine d’architecture, which ambition is to propose an alternative architecture which will valorize the local canons, dynamics and resources. IHe became the defender of a ‘numerical vernacular’ in 2012 when he discovered a link between the “Hacker Ethic” and the values of the traditional african societies. He has elaborated the #LowHighTech concept to underline it and to imagine a new kind of innovation which will include humble people. The project of “smart” and vernacular city « HubCity », the grassroot incubator WoeLab, the WAfate 3D printer and the dozen shared startup of the #silliconvilla program. are the best ambassador of this vision of the society.
Jean-Luc KOFFI VOVOR
He has a strong experience in the consultancy field: he has worked for Ernst & Young, INVESCO and JP Morgan. Jean-Luc Koffi Vovor is a graduate from the Paris-Dauphine Universy in applied economics and business strategy.
Françoise LE GUENNOU-REMARCK
Françoise Le Guennou-Remarck is a graduate of the École Supérieure de Commerce d’Abidjan (ESCA) and also holds an Executive MBA from HEC business school, Paris. She began her career in 1986 with Ernst & Young Paris before joining and helping to set up Canal+ Côte d’Ivoire in 1992. She was subsequently appointed Chair and CEO of the company in 2003. Since 2010 she has held the post of Institutional Relationship and Communications Director at Canal+ Afrique in France. In April 2015, Françoise Le Guennou-Remarck is appointed as Vice President Institutional Relationship and Communications of CFAO Group.
Déborah MANENE
Déborah Manene is a fashion designer of Ivorian origin. As a former student of the Formamod school, she has written for different fashion medias and has worked for the Première vision show. Dresser for fashion shows and showrooms, she has worked for great brands such as Chanel, Balmain, Lanvin, Givenchy or Lefranc Ferrant in Paris and New-York. She is today a confirmed creator and her collections are based on asymmetry, originality and joy of life. In her view, fashion allows cultures, styles and ideas to come together, and the garment has to sublimate women’s beauty.
Verone MANKOU
The 27 years old « Congolese Steve Jobs » – as the French economic daily Les Échos nicknamed him – has been remarkable for the conception and the marketing of the first African tablet and smartphone designed and manufactured in Africa. Vérone Mankou is heading the VMK company that he founded in 2009. He aims to reduce the digital divide on the continent by producing devices at lower costs (the VMK smartphones cost between 38 and 200 euros). Vérone Manko relocated his production workshops from China to Brazzaville last year (in the first place, the devices were produced in China).
Francis MESTON
Francis oversees MEA operations since July 1st 2015 and has been nominated Group Digital Transformation Officer. Within MEA, Francis runs Atos operations in Middle East and Africa with presence in 15 countries. MEA is today the fastest growing geographic business unit in Atos. Before and during six years, Francis run Atos Consulting & Systems Integration activities worldwide, covering all consulting, application development and application maintenance activities, which account for €3.4bn of revenue delivered by 33,000 business technologists. During his career, Francis created IT service and BPO delivery centers which today employs 3000 professionals in Africa and 15000 in India. He began his career at Gemini Consulting and was rapidly promoted VP in charge of EMEA Telco activities. Between 1996 and 2001, he was appointed Vice President of AT Kearney in charge of the Strategy and Business Transformation Practice in Europe. In 2002, he joined EDS as President of EDS France and VP of EDS. He led all business lines and created in particular the EDS Morocco offshore center. He was also accountable for several global accounts. He joined Atos in February 2009 as Executive Vice President of Global Systems Integration. Francis Meston is a graduate in Computer Science Engineering from the Ecole Centrale Marseille and holds an MBA from Purdue University. He is the author of two management books on business transformation and IT management translated in several languages. He is a lecturer in several French business schools and professional associations. He has been Associate Professor at HEC for over 10 years.
Angel MWANA
After a Master degree in Marketing and Commercial Management, Angel Mwana had a 5 years experience in both Marketing and E-commerce, before she launched her first company : INYU. Her goal : to highlight creative african designers’ work. Today, through her brand, her social platform for independent designers and her concept of private sales Happy50, she’s willing to showcase the beauty of african fashion to a city-dweller and « afropolitan » audience
Benjamin NGONGANG
Engineer by training, Benjamin Ngongang is the President of the international organization O.S.E.R l’Afrique (which acronym means « dare ») since 2015. Faithful in the economic potential of the African continent and in its youth, Benjamin Ngongang promotes and oversees the African leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship. He is also in charge of the 15 branches established in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America and he coordinates the great pojects and develop the O.S.E.R l’Afrique partners’ network. The organization also promotes entrepreneurship to the youngs throughout training sessions.
Amine SULLEY
Sulley Amin Abubakar is the founder of Zaacoal, a company that derives a green energy from waste; He is a final year LLB student of the University of London International Programs, and an MBA (Entrepreneurship) student with the Catholic university of Milan. He graduated from the University of Development Studies with a BA in Integrated Community Development Studies. He has had experience in multiple industries, including the Showbiz industry, renewable energy industry and in research and communication. Amin is a very curious social entrepreneur with extensive community based research and development skills. The curiosity in him fuels his determination to creative solutions to problems he is passionate about causing him to delve in to find the genesis of several inventions. To achieve this, he has committed himself to extensive readings on how things are made, how things can be made better and how problems can be solved. So it’s not by accident that he sought to find a use for Ghana’s waste. Certainly an unconventional self-starter, Sulley Amin is the man on a mission; a rising Ghanaian entrepreneur, creating affordable green energy for impact. With an eye for detail, he’s keen to make something out of nothing.
François TOROS
François TOROS graduated from New York University, the John ’s Hopkins University and « Sciences Pô » – Paris. François started his carrer as a public TV journalist (Antenne 2 and FR-3) After that he was appointed as the communications director (Europe) of a major chemical and pharmaceutical US (healthcare) Firm, and joined Orgamédia group (Healtcare news media group), where he was in charge of management and business development. In 1997 François became the communications cabinet office adviser at the Ministry for Education, Research and Technology and the personal communications adviser of President’s the National Assembly.(The French Parliament), till 2002 In 2002 François became a Deputy Chief Executive Officer at TBWA / CORPORATE (Omnicom Group ), where he managed the media department prior to creating the public affairs and the crisis department (for national and multinational corporations as well as for national public institutions). In 2011 François co-founded Cervantes Consulting (a corporate communications firm) , and finally founded tlenter.com in 2014, as President.
Hassini TSAKI
Hassini TSAKI has a doctorate in Organic Agricultural Science & Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of Gembloux (Belgium) with highest distinction. Professor TSAKI is involved in the training of Doctoral students, researchers and academic research direction related to the study of soils and their relations with the biosphere, the atmosphere and the lithosphere. His work has been concluded this academic year 2014/2015 by the publication of 6 original articles in scientific journals of notoriety. Recently, Hassini TSAKI has initiated and chaired the international seminar Organic Farming and Sustainable Development held on 13 and 14 February 2011 in Algeria (www.agribio-unesco.com ) with the collaboration of UNESCO and the Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Environment and Renewable Energies is an active member. In April 2004, Mr. TSAKI received personally by the President of Algerian Republic, Mr. Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA, written congratulations for his scientific contributions to the development of arid Algerian’s areas.
Lionel ZINSOU
Lionel Zinsou is heading the AfricaFrance foundation which aims to support the economic exchanges between France and the African continent. He is also member of the supervisory board of PAI partners which is the greatest French investment fund. He was the Prime Minister of Benin in 2015-2016. Lionel Zinsou dedicates his working life to strengthen ties and bridges between Africa and France.