Nii Simmonds serves as the Founder and Executive Director of the Diaspora Country Index (DCI), a Think-and-Do Tank that evaluates and benchmarks emerging economies based on their capacity to engage and activate diaspora professionals in development and nation-building efforts. This initiative also functions similarly to a Peace Corps program, aiming to collaborate with these countries to involve diaspora experts in providing technical assistance and mentorship, and potential impact capital.
With a strong background in private sector development, industrial strategy, emerging technologies, and diaspora engagement, Nii has been recognized as a leader in these fields. He has received prestigious fellowships and appointments from internationally renowned organizations, including, TED Conferences, World Economic Forum, New America, Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), and the UK’s Royal Society of Arts (RSA). These honors acknowledge his expertise in policy, thought leadership, research skills, and leadership across multiple sectors.
Nii’s extensive private sector experience includes managerial and profit-and-loss responsibilities at Fortune 500 companies in pharmaceutical, biotech, consumer goods, and strategic consulting industries. He has offered guidance to executives and policymakers concerning the societal effects and ethical governance of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, and additive manufacturing, assisting governments and organizations in managing digital transformation within emerging and frontier markets.
Nii has previously worked and consulted with the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the African Development Bank (AfDB). His work has covered areas such as private sector growth, diaspora involvement, financial inclusion, and agribusiness. While at the World Bank, he spearheaded the development of an innovative diaspora engagement program aimed at mobilizing African professionals abroad, thereby unlocking both human capital and diaspora finance to support early-stage businesses throughout the continent.
Senior Advisor
Dr. Wilmot Allen is an entrepreneur, investor and political economist focused on market-driven development in Africa. He is the Founder of VentureLift Africa (VLA), a holding company facilitating investment and trade that catalyzes African diaspora engagement through the Diaspora Angel Investor Network and Commerce Hubs for legacy AGOA and AfCFTA trade. Wilmot has extensive experience in financial services, having worked with private equity funds and financial institutions at the International Finance Corporation, served as Global Project Manager to the CEO on youth and women-led entrepreneurship, and worked as a technology venture capital investor and M&A investment banker at JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch. In life sciences, he serves as Chief Strategy Officer for Functional Fluidics and has been Managing Partner with the RH Managers Africa Fund for healthcare infrastructure investments. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School, where his research focuses on African sovereign wealth funds.
Senior Advisor, Community Partnerships
Ato Ulzen-Appiah is a (social) entrepreneur, consultant, social media influencer and blogger. He works and consults in the youth and technology spaces primarily. He studied at MIT and Stanford in civil engineering and management disciplines. He’s the director at the GhanaThink Foundation which mobilizes and organizes talent for the primary benefit of Ghana. He’s a member of the Global Shapers Alumni, part of the World Economic Forum community. He has consulted for various organizations, including the World Bank and the International Trade Centre. He worked at Rancard as product manager building new revenue services off its platform. He worked at Google as a program manager building sustainable tech communities in Africa. He speaks and has spoken at various international forums, including the World Bank Diaspora Trade Forum, African Business Conference at Harvard, and the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town. He co-founded Museke.com -an African music website and blogs at mightyafrican.blogspot.com.
Senior Advisor, Research and Innovation
Tanko Mohammed is a senior executive with broad range of experiences with managing complex business and IT systems in Emerging Markets. Tanko is MIT Sloan MBA alum. He has proven experience with deploying high-volume enterprise applications, optimizing database/networks infrastructures, and implementing web-based banking platforms. Great track record of advancing system and processes, while executing strategic IT initiatives to drive profitable gains and corporate growth. Proven success guiding business strategy with established and emerging technologies to achieve maximum operational impacts with minimum resource expenditures. Great interpersonal skills able to forge solid relationships with strategic partners and build consensus across multiple organizational levels.