15 & 16 September 2021

Kathleen Holland, Founding Partner, KMH Associates & Co-founder, Chair of Board Trade+Impact

Kathleen is a global strategic management consultant and trainer providing organizations with the tools and counsel to sustainably build their capacity and effectiveness based on a triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) platform. Kathleen is also the visionary and co-founder of Trade + Impact Association; a non-profit trade association with a mission to break the barriers to trade and investment for women-led social enterprises in the craft and natural cosmetics sectors across Africa and the Middle East.

Kathleen’s career has spanned leadership roles with major Canadian corporations to consulting roles with the US State Department, Vital Voices, and small craft companies in Africa. Kathleen has seen first-hand the impact that social enterprises have on their employees and communities; working in Afghanistan, Latin America, and fourteen countries across Africa. Kathleen is committed to supporting the growth of women-led social enterprises globally.

Kathleen has received the Johanna Townsend Export Champion Award from OWIT (Organization for Women in International Trade) and the CME (Canadian and Manufacturers and Exporters) Award for Excellence in Promoting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Developing Countries (with CARE Enterprise Partners).

Jennifer Gootman, Vice President of Sustainability for Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

Jennifer Gootman is the Vice President of Sustainability for Williams-Sonoma, Inc., leading social and environmental strategy and programming across the company’s eight brands. Jennifer started with the West Elm brand in 2013 where she launched the first Fair Trade-Certified factory program in home retail, was a founding partner of the Nest Standard for Ethical Handcraft, and piloted a partnership with nonprofit VisionSpring to provide vision screenings to factory workers that is now reaching half-a-million people. Today, she is building on Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s leadership in responsible materials and ethical production to launch a comprehensive climate and environmental strategy. Prior to this role, Jennifer spent more than a decade with nonprofits and social enterprises in New York, Nicaragua, and India, working within design-driven industries to create impact through supply chain innovation. Jennifer holds a BA from Harvard College and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business, is a fellow in the Aspen Institute’s First Movers program, and serves on the board of Chicago-based ethical fashion company Mata Traders and as an advisor to NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business.

Teni Majekodunmi, CEO & Founder of Eclectic Chique

Teni is the founder of Eclectic Chique an African Inspired Accessories brand that trains and supports female and male artisans in Nigeria to produce high quality exportable products to 8 different countries. Eclectic Chique has a flagship store in Lagos Nigeria, a production hub and an e commerce online store with warehouse distribution in the UK. In addition to that she is an International Trade lawyer and National Expert to the International Trade Centre (ITC) of the United Nations on the SheTrades in Commonwealth Programme. 

She attained her Bachelors Degree (LLB)hons. and Masters Degree from the University of Warwick, UK. As a lawyer, she trained and practiced for several years and has written several articles on legal issues relating to International Trade negotiations, Climate Change, Carbon Credits and Climate Finance. Ms Majekodunmi is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, a US State Department Alumnus via her participation under the President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative 2012, Cherie Blair Institute for Women & a World Bank Scholar. She mentors’ youths & potential leaders and is a motivational speaker at a lot of social and business entrepreneurial events. She has delivered several papers at various conferences and has a weekly column in 2 national newspapers in Nigeria.

In addition to serving on the Trade & Impact Advisory board, Teni also serves as a trustee of 2 non – profit organizations and serves as a director on 3 other Companies. She is happily married with 3 children.

Ella Peinovich, Chief Executive Officer, Powered by People

Ella is a MIT graduate who has led projects in design, tech and entrepreneurship. She was founder and CEO of Soko, a jewelry brand with “virtual factory” application that can produce 50,000 units/month, across a network of 2,500 mobile-enabled Kenyan artisans. Ella is an Ashoka fellow.

Susan Hull Walker, Founder of Ibu Movement

Susan Hull Walker founded the Ibu Movement in 2014, a movement offering women’s apparel and home decor hand-crafted by global women artisans. Ibu is found online (IBUMOVEMENT.COM); in travelling salons and shows, and in the flagship showroom located at 183 King Street in Charleston, South Carolina. Working with over 130 women’s cooperatives in 40 countries, Ibu offers its own unique designs developed by Susan and the in-house design team, as well as those of Ibu Ambassadors, Charlotte Moss and Ali MacGraw.  In addition, Susan founded WeAreIbu.org, a non-profit arm of the movement, providing support for women artisans in need of business and design training, workspace, or more recently, relief from the shutdown of the pandemic.

Susan studied at Harvard Divinity School (M.Div,1982) where her cross-cultural studies in world religion formed the foundation for her work today. She served as a minister in the UCC (Congregational Church) for 18 years in Portland, Maine, San Francisco, California, and Charleston, South Carolina. In 2000, Susan returned to school at the Savannah College of Art and Design to study Fiber Art, becoming a studio weaver and dyer of cloth. She exhibited her art pieces and sold to both private and institutional collectors.

She began Illoominata in 2000, a business dealing in vintage and antique textiles. As she travelled to traditional cultures to find unique, storied textiles, Susan discovered women who still carried complex and culturally rich textile traditions but lived in poverty because they had no market for their skills. Susan decided to create a market that celebrates the unique, complex skills of women artisans all over the world and allows them to preserve their cultural language as well as support themselves financially. Ibu movement was born out of this tapestry of Susan’s background: weaver, student of cross-cultural traditions, advocate for women.

As a result, women artisans working with Ibu are now growing toward financial self- sufficiency, sending their children to school and even college, and finding new respect in their homes which then gives them a voice in the affairs of their communities.

Susan now lives in Charleston, South Carolina and Santa Fe, New Mexico, working full- time with the Ibu Team and the WeAreIbu Foundation, overseeing the growth of this international movement. She travels widely to visit the artisans and manages the creative direction of the company.

Lucrecia de Gonzalez, Chief Executive Officer at La Casa Cotzal

Partner and CEO at La Casa Cotzal en Guatemala, one of the largest exporters of handmade home décor and personal accessories in the country, have been exporting for almost 30 years and participating for more than 20 in tradeshows around the world, like Maison et Objet in Paris and NYNOw en NYC. We work with a network of a little more than 2600 artisans around the country in various techniques, from textiles, ceramics, woodwork and upcycled material to Glass bead jewelry and leatherwork, just to mention some.

Have been for the last 10 years president of the handmade tradeshow in Guatemala, called New World Craft that gathers artisans from the Central American Region.  Before becoming fully involved at La Casa Cotzal, I worked in advertising for 25 years as an Account Director with both Y&R and FCB handling international accounts.

Vanita Chhabra, SVP Global Operations, Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

Vanita Chhabra is an SVP Global Operations with Williams-Sonoma, Inc., overseeing India, Europe, Bangladesh and Nepal operations. She has over 40 years of experience and multi-dimensional expertise in sourcing, merchandising, and product development. Throughout her career, Vanita has led high-growth retail brands to implement strategies and processes to maximize performance and efficiency. Vanita is an invested and decisive leader. She is committed to excellence in the workplace and is a passionate advocate for women navigating competitive and challenging work environments. She strongly believes in the preservation and protection of artisans, traditional craft and Cultural Heritage. She has been instrumental in developing the company’s Beyond Compliance programs in India, which have positively impacted workers’ health, financial literacy and livelihoods. The first Fair Trade Certified™ home goods factories were certified and implemented in India for in Rugs, Textiles, and furniture with her support as a leader. Today over 8,500 workers have gained from this initiative. During her leadership the Nest Seal of Ethical handcraft was also developed and successfully implemented in Rugs and Textiles, leading Williams-Sonoma, Inc. to offer the first ever product with the Nest Seal.

Alimah Rehan, Board Member, Trade+Impact

Alimah is a business enthusiast and works as a Financial Analyst with Deloitte Canada’s Infrastructure and Capital Projects practice. She also serves as a Board Member at the Trade+Impact Association. Previously, Alimah completed her education in Business Management and Global Affairs from the Universities of Manchester and Toronto, with specializations in global capital markets and innovation policy. Alimah ardently believes that the collective power of communities, and specifically women, can bring the difference the world needs.

Jagadha Sivan, COO of Impact Mapper

Jagadha Sivan firmly believes that societal change happens when the right changemakers are enabled to solve the most critical problems with the right solutions and the right funding.

Jagadha is currently the COO at ImpactMapper where she is leading efforts to enable philanthropies and corporations to track the impact of their programs. Alongside, she advises mission-driven organizations on a wide spectrum of matters including revenue and growth strategies and maximizing impact.

For over 15 years, Jagadha has worked on innovative approaches to solving challenges incorporating cross-sector business models. She started her journey at World of Good, a venture-funded, socially conscious retail platform. As part of the leadership team, she helped generate sustainable livelihoods for women artisans in 34 countries. More recently, as a board member at La Cocina, Jagadha developed strategic plans that focused on addressing inequities in business ownership for women of color in San Francisco.

Jeff Hannoosh, Senior Vice President of Design for West Elm

Jeff Hannoosh is the Senior Vice President of Product Design and Development at West Elm, where he oversees design and concept, product development and engineering for all areas of the West Elm brand including retail, online, B2B and West Elm Work with Steelcase.

An industrial designer by training and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Jeff and his team define West Elm’s well-known aesthetic and bring thousands of products to life annually. Under Jeff’s leadership the brand has accelerated and diversified its aesthetic evolution, realized high standards for product quality, and maintained an industry-leading commitment to sustainable and artisan designs.

Jeff has worked in design in New York for more than 20 years, and in varying capacities at West Elm for more than 10 years. Prior to joining West Elm he worked as an Associate in Interiors at architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. There, he designed a broad range of hospitality and commercial furnishings and interiors and built numerous projects in New York City and abroad. Jeff began his career as an Industrial Designer at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 2000.

Today Jeff and his wife have two young children and live in Brooklyn, New York.

Lauren Barkume, Training Director, Aid to Artisans

Lauren Barkume is the Training Director at Creative Learning’s Aid to Artisans division. With over 13 years of experience in international development and artisan programs, Barkume spent nearly 9 years based in South Africa working directly with entrepreneurs, artisans and small businesses in the region, developing community co-created programs, designing and running practical business skills workshops for small business owners, and working in collaboration with artisan communities across Southern Africa. Lauren cares deeply about facilitating responsive, community driven development.

Hana Getachew, Designer, Bole Road Textiles

New York based designer Hana Getachew started Bolé Road Textiles out of a desire to merge her love of Ethiopian handwoven fabrics with her career in interior design. 

During her eleven years at a major New York City architecture firm Hana realized her affinity for vibrant colors and graphic patterns was a direct result of her upbringing in a home filled with amazing traditional Ethiopian textiles. Her designs for Bolé Road are an homage to that cultural inheritance and a reflection of her own personal global modern aesthetic.

Hana was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. After a few years in Montreal, her family settled in New York. A graduate of Cornell University with a degree in interior design, Hana was formerly Associate Principal at Studios Architecture in New York City. During her time there she helped design the flagships and headquarters of some of the city’s most prominent companies.

Margaret Derby, Manager, Sustainability + Social Impact, Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

Margaret Derby is the Manager of Sustainability and Social Impact at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSI), a multi-channel home retailer, where she oversees supply chain social impact initiatives across the company's eight brands, including WSI's public commitments to Fair Trade, Worker Wellbeing and Handcraft. She believes strongly in using the power of business to create a more just and equitable world. Under her leadership, WSI exceeded its goal of paying $3M in Fair Trade Premiums a year early and became the first retailer to market the Nest Seal of Ethical Handcraft. Prior to WSI, Margaret spent her career in international development, supporting local and global nonprofits throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S. Margaret has a B.A. in International Affairs from the University of Georgia and is based in Brooklyn, NY.

Heidi Christ, Global Lead for MADE51 - UNHCR

Heidi has been the Global Lead for MADE51 – UNHCR’s flagship initiative to offer market access to refugees with artisanal skills – since developing the concept in 2017. She is currently based in UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva. Prior to this position, Heidi held various consultancies with UNHCR and other UN and international agencies since 2002, living in Lebanon, Thailand, Tanzania and Ethiopia. In 2007, she founded WomenCraft – a social enterprise in Tanzania that utilizes artisanal skills to build social and economic cohesion between refugees and host communities. Prior to field assignments, she worked with the International Rescue Committee in New York on economic inclusion models for refugee women and youth.

Roula Bohsali, Creative Director and Manager at Rim N Roll

Rim N Roll is a creation with a cause. We offer handmade handbags and accessories to modern women, with unique designs and high-end materials born from the passion for embroidery.

Initiated in the heart of Beirut city in 2014, the design, durability and practicality of our products are what we embark on. For this reason, the brand is growing rapidly worldwide, embracing new creative ideas and concepts. All our designs are curated by Roula Bohsali, the founder and CEO of Rim N Roll. Roula is a Lebanese designer with over 17 years of expertise in the fashion industry.

Our products are handcrafted by skilled women artisans with the aim to empower them and preserve the tradition and heritage of embroidery. Rim N Roll has partnered with MADE51, a UNHCR initiative, with the aim of creating job opportunities for refugees all over the world. Made51 project helps refugees to step up from poverty and create a better future for themselves and their families.

Our products are uniquely tailored giving each clutch its individual 'charisma' and portraying a mix of traditional and modern looks.

Rim n Roll is hence reviving the embroidery concept with a modern twist and creating job opportunities for women who share 'love of embroidery' belief.

Made by Women for Women, Rim N Roll can make women happier.

Magalie, Chief Executive Officer & Founder at Caribbean Crafts

Magalie is the CEO and Founder of Caribbean Craft, she works at the intersection of Design, Business, Sustainability, Capital, Impact, aligning with her company’s philosophy and objectives. An industrial engineer by training, she has spent the past twenty years working in the craft export sector.

A real advocate for change in the current business structures in Haiti, she believes creation of social enterprise is the only way to reduce social gaps and create opportunities for the unemployed citizens of her country. Her infectious enthusiasm, sharp sense of opportunity, ability to build relationships across the sector and geographies makes her the well- known face of the Caribbean Craft brand.

Magalie has spent the past two decades working closely with the artisan sector and has continued tirelessly to intervene with both State and NGO entities in order to create a pathway to enhance the Haiti Brand. She has successfully completed multiple sustainable development projects that have helped local communities grow and prosper and have been an integral part of establishing several initiatives aimed at reducing poverty and elevating the living standards of the artisans who work for her and other similar organizations in the country.

Her charitable spirit and philanthropic work would come to define her career just as much as her professional successes. Through her various partnerships with several non-profit foundations, she has impacted directly and indirectly thousands of people in underserved communities around the country. Magalie believes that it is only through community growth that a leader truly achieves personal growth.

Kathleen Holland, Chairperson, Trade+Impact

Kathleen is a global strategic management consultant and trainer providing organizations with the tools and counsel to sustainably build their capacity and effectiveness based on a triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) platform. Kathleen is also the visionary and co-founder of Trade + Impact Association; a non-profit trade association with a mission to break the barriers to trade and investment for women-led social enterprises in the craft and natural cosmetics sectors across Africa and the Middle East.

Kathleen’s career has spanned leadership roles with major Canadian corporations to consulting roles with the US State Department, Vital Voices, and small craft companies in Africa. Kathleen has seen first-hand the impact that social enterprises have on their employees and communities; working in Afghanistan, Latin America, and fourteen countries across Africa. Kathleen is committed to supporting the growth of women-led social enterprises globally.

Kathleen has received the Johanna Townsend Export Champion Award from OWIT (Organization for Women in International Trade) and the CME (Canadian and Manufacturers and Exporters) Award for Excellence in Promoting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Developing Countries (with CARE Enterprise Partners).

Simone Jordan, Global Head of Purpose & Brand Partnerships, Sundial Brands

Simone is the Global Head of Purpose & Brand Partnerships at Sundial Brands—a Unilever company and maker of SheaMoisture. She oversees the company’s social impact strategy and investments, advising executive leadership on sustainable models that serve Black and underserved communities. Simone leads her team in designing community-driven programs that aim to close the racial wealth gap through a solvent entrepreneurial ecosystem.  Annually she governs SheaMoisture’s $1 Million Fund, which has demonstrated the power of small businesses to help their communities stay healthy, safe, and protected. The Fund has provided relief to more than 100 businesses and created opportunities for thousands of others during the 2020 pandemic. Now, in partnership with the White House, the Fund has scaled its impact, enabling 1000 Black salons and barbershops to receive funding, training and resources to keep their communities safe from COVID. Simone has managed $9MM in investments throughout the U.S. and Africa in her current role.

Sofia Durrani, Head of Sustainability, Community Projects & Corporate Social Responsibility at The Savannah Fruits Company

Sofia Durrani is the Head of Sustainability, Community Projects & Corporate Social Responsibility at The Savannah Fruits Company. As a Pakistani-American professional working and living in Ghana for over four years, Sofia brings unique perspectives gained from working in clinical research, international non-profits and the private sector for over ten years. Her background is in global environmental health and her role at SFC focuses on connecting SFC clients with how they can positively impact the women's groups that handcraft SFC's natural products. She leads efforts to create meaningful sustainable collaborations to improve local West African livelihoods, the environment and business in an effort to produce positive outcomes for all three. She can be reached at sofia@savannahfruits.com or on Twitter at @sofiadurrani

Raphael Gonzalez, Managing Director & Founding Partner of Savannah Fruits

Raphael Gonzalez is a 42 years old French man with an agronomic background. He arrived in West Africa 19 years ago. He worked for several companies there but he founded The Savannah Fruits Company in 2006 with his friend Bart Boterman. Since then SFC’s mission is to produce handcrafted natural products in West Africa empowering women by processing products in their communities and maximizing added value at the source. Raphael is now managing the company, adding more women in the network as the company grows and increasing their income as demands raises. His focus is to grow the business together with all these women in a fair and sustainable manner, socially as well as environmentally.

Stacey Edgar, Stacey Edgar Consulting

Stacey Edgar is a lecturer in the Social Responsibility and Sustainability division at the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business. A passionate advocate for women and girls, Stacey spent 17 years leading Global Girlfriend, a fair trade company she founded in 2003 as a way to provide economic security for women artisans in developing countries by creating a sustainable market for their handcrafted products.  Global Girlfriend grew from a $2,000 personal investment into a multi-million dollar brand partnering with over 200 women-led artisan enterprises in over 30 countries with products selling through premier retailers including Whole Foods, Target, The Smithsonian, and over 1,500 independent retailers across the US and Canada as well as direct to consumer online.

Stacey is the author of the book Global Girlfriends: How One Mom Made it Her Mission to Help Women in Poverty Worldwide and a social impact business consultant working with social entrepreneurs, artisan businesses, corporations, non-profits, and government export agencies.  She is a founding board member of the Trade+Impact Association, a global trade association advancing women-led social enterprises in Africa and the Middle East.

She has been honored by the Microsoft Corporation as a recipient of the company’s Start Something Amazing Awards, by Organic Style as one of their Women with Organic Style, by Multichannel Merchant magazine as a “Maven of Merchandise,” and she and her former brand have been featured in several national publications including O, The Oprah Magazine, In Style, Forbes, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, Redbook, and Seventeen. Stacey is also currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Colorado State University to contribute to research and policy in our sector.

Zachary Swanson, Production Manager at The Citizenry

Zach Swanson is the Production Manager at The CItizenry, a home decor company that strives to deliver modern goods rich in quality and meaning while supporting artisans around the world. He works directly with 31 artisan partners across 10 different countries as the primary company liaison, handling production schedules, import logistics, and product feedback. Prior to The Citizenry, he was a merchant and planner in the Neiman Marcus buying offices.

Ashley Viola, Founder & CEO of Meridian

Ashley Viola is the Founder and CEO of Meridian, a social enterprise lifestyle brand based in New York City. Meridian partners with artisans around the world to create and sell handmade home decor that preserves heritage craft traditions, provides fair wages and makes an impact on communities.

Kathleen Holland, Chairperson, Trade+Impact

Kathleen is a global strategic management consultant and trainer providing organizations with the tools and counsel to sustainably build their capacity and effectiveness based on a triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) platform. Kathleen is also the visionary and co-founder of Trade + Impact Association; a non-profit trade association with a mission to break the barriers to trade and investment for women-led social enterprises in the craft and natural cosmetics sectors across Africa and the Middle East.

Kathleen’s career has spanned leadership roles with major Canadian corporations to consulting roles with the US State Department, Vital Voices, and small craft companies in Africa. Kathleen has seen first-hand the impact that social enterprises have on their employees and communities; working in Afghanistan, Latin America, and fourteen countries across Africa. Kathleen is committed to supporting the growth of women-led social enterprises globally.

Kathleen has received the Johanna Townsend Export Champion Award from OWIT (Organization for Women in International Trade) and the CME (Canadian and Manufacturers and Exporters) Award for Excellence in Promoting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Developing Countries (with CARE Enterprise Partners).

ASHIA SHEIKH DEARWESTER, Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer, NEST

Ashia is the Chief Strategy & Partnerships Officer, leading Nest’s development programs by channeling the power of partnership to mobilize funding, resources, and industry efforts to advance handworkers worldwide. Joining Nest in early 2015, Ashia leads Nest's global and domestic partnerships and revenue generation strategies. She serves as a trusted advisor to major brands and philanthropic foundations seeking guidance on improving artisan supply chains and supporting the hidden workers behind them. She served an integral role in the launch of Nest’s Seal of Ethical Handcraft, part of an industry-wide initiative to bring ethical compliance training, assessment, and remediation to the artisan and handworker economy. 

Ashia is deeply committed to equity, inclusion, and cultural/environmental preservation. Prior to Nest, Ashia spent 4 years at the National Audubon Society overseeing all major fundraising and partnerships initiatives across NY State. There she launched the first young patron’s program to engage millennials in conservation, created the WIC Field Internship Program to support women in science based careers and served on Audubon’s diversity committee, ensuring programs were reaching diverse communities and constituents. Before Audubon, Ashia worked for the Rockefeller family overseeing high profile initiatives and collaborations including the National Rachel Carson Award, the Human Rights Symbols Campaign, and a grassroots Brownfield Remediation program. 

Ashia holds a dual degree in Anthropology and International Development from Dartmouth College where she studied the intersection between community structures, organizational systems and intangible heritage. Ashia has led trips to Poland, Belarus and Ukraine to restore cemeteries destroyed after WWII. She previously lived and worked in Brazil and spent time studying indigenous culture and craft in New Zealand. 

Lauren Barkume, Training Director, Aid to Artisans

Lauren Barkume is the Training Director at Creative Learning’s Aid to Artisans division. With over 13 years of experience in international development and artisan programs, Barkume spent nearly 9 years based in South Africa working directly with entrepreneurs, artisans and small businesses in the region, developing community co-created programs, designing and running practical business skills workshops for small business owners, and working in collaboration with artisan communities across Southern Africa. Lauren cares deeply about facilitating responsive, community driven development.

Yash Ranga, Pyxera Global

Yash Ranga provides strategic vision as Director of Strategy & Innovation at PYXERA Global. He is responsible for expanding the portfolio and Impact by creating a global ecosystem through engaging multiple diverse stakeholders and by curating an effective partnerships platform that maximizes impact at scale.

Prior to joining PYXERA Global he headed Jaipur Rugs Foundation known the world over for its inclusive carpet value chain that links 40,000 grassroots artisans with global markets. It has got featured in ‘The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid’. Its unique socio-economic development model is a topic of constant reference among government, industry, media and academia.

He was also associated with a Silicon Valley Based Boutique IT company inspired by the disruption in technology that is taking place with Big Data, Predictive Analytics, Mobility and Cloud Computing. His niche areas include Conscious Capitalism, Founders’ Mentality, Social Entrepreneurship, Multi-Stakeholder partnerships, Sustainable Development Goals and Base of the Pyramid Innovations.

Advisor of conscious fashion initiative OneXOne & Creatives for Our Future by Swarovski Foundation and United Nations office For Partnerships. Co-founder of the Global Conscious Luxury Movement. Has created high impact strategic partnerships with diverse stakeholders from 30 countries around the world. He has been a constant speaker at the UN, Social Enterprise World Forum, Fair Trade Forum, Global Engagement Forum, and Nest Global Artisan Summit. He received scholarship form HBS for an executive course on Negotiations and Dealmaking and represented India at Opportunity Collaboration in Mexico as Cordes Fellow, also been selected as Dasra Social Impact leaders in India. He sits on the board of Social Impact Enterprise in the UK. 

With a background in software engineering, entrepreneurship and business strategy, he is a national boxer and a theatre artist by passion.

Nelly Nkwosseu, Chief Executive Officer & Designer, KOTIAM

French-Cameroonian, mother of 4 small kids. A former Tax Inspector in Paris who followed her passion and turned Designer when relocating to Kenya in 2016. She created KOTIAM in 2018, employ 8 full-time artisans in Nairobi and collaborated with 60 women artisans in the villages.