Class 47

Baba is an experienced Project management practitioner with specialty in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) systems development. He has over 7 years of experience in leading and supporting project implementation and measurement of results in Social Cohesion, Nutrition and Food Security, Livelihoods and Women Empowerment, Migration, Youth Development, Gender Equality, Agricultural Market Systems, WASH, Education, Sustainable Agriculture, Advocacy with Local and International Nonprofit Organizations. Baba Kankani is experienced in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, using modern ICT4D tools for research and project management; Proposal development, Data visualization with Power BI, LogAlto, and donor reporting. He also has experience in leading and supervising teams to successfully conduct qualitative and quantitative action research in an emergency context. He has worked with international and local humanitarian organizations, including SNV Netherlands Development Organization, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Vibrant Village Foundation (Ghana), Management Systems International (MSI), and Action Aid Ghana where he developed technology-enabled Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) systems using platforms like CommCare, Survey Monkey, LogAlto, ODK, Kobo Toolbox, IFormBuilder, Magpi, PowerBi, GIS, and ArcGIS Pro. Baba Kankani holds a Masters degree(Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation) and Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from the renowned Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.

Host Organization: Transparency & Accountability Initiative

Role at Host Organization: As a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Fellow, Baba will help implement TAI’s internal MEL system and practices, including data collection and analysis. TAI has an existing MEL system and recurring reflection and learning practices. The Fellow might be requested to consider ways to improve the current MEL approach and assist with the development of any new MEL tools. The Fellow will also support TAI’s learning initiatives, including staff internal reflection sessions, funder member-facing events and/or written products, support to our series of funder dialogues on different aspects of grantmaking practice and light research around TPA-related topics.

Solafa is an Egyptian Journalist and Woman Human Rights Defender. She was imprisoned almost two years in the jail in Egypt for her Journalistic work and Defending Human Rights. Currently she based in Paris, France. In 2020, She won the Prestigious Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF). On April 27, 2020, the Washington Post Press Freedom Partnership spotlighted Sallam, She facing murder threats, detention and lifetime prison sentences simply for doing her jobs-reporting the truth and holding the powerful to account. On December 2020, The Mayor of Paris granted her the French honorary citizenship, honoring her for her work. She earned a degree in law, from Ain Shams University in 2009 in Cairo, Egypt. Since then she has been working for many national and international outlets. Her area of expertise is TV and online TV, as she focuses on shooting/producing her own mobile based reports for the web. Her work has appeared in Al-Araby TV, Deutsche Welle, TRT World, MadaMasr, and BBC, DAWN, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed Newspaper, Host and Researcher for Podcast 11. Her news reports and features have covered the political transition and social unrest in Egypt, sexual harassment in Egyptian society, minority rights, women’s rights, education, human rights, and refugees. Solafa has been to The United Nations, and other esteemed entities both in Egypt & the U.S. Belgium, London and Lebanon, to address local, regional and global challenges and discuss potential proposals and initiatives, building strong relations and cooperation between youth and community initiatives between these countries. At the United Nations, Solafa is keen to follow discussions of human rights – particularly, freedom of speech and protections for journalists – as well as initiatives to eradicate poverty and reduce plastic waste. She managed and supervised her own newsroom with other journalists and cameramen. Preparing pitches, digging up for stories and shooting/producing. She can leading TV crew for international media, and supervise production teams on the ground as well as do her own production. In addition to the qualifications of writing short stories and producing TV documentaries. She has launched a press initiative focusing on the use of social media tools in creating small press platforms to be alternative verification media channel, and covering through direct broadcast technology on Facebook. She has founded of Everyday Footage ”Non-Profit’’, a school that trains young women journalists and researchers in mobile reporting, in order to be able to work as one woman/man crew. On September 2019 she was selected among 15 journalists around the world to participate in a UN fellowship and to cover the UN General Assembly, she was the only fellow from the Arab World. Additionally she has got a grant from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Germany.

Host Organization: Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy

Role at Host Organization: As a Bassem Sabry Democracy Fellow, Solafa will have the opportunity to develop key research and analysis skills; gain exposure to the policy world; and develop a network that will help further their career and empower them to be an effective advocate for change. The Fellow will also select a topic of focus for the entire fellowship period and produce programming and analysis around this topic. Through the Bassem Sabry Democracy Fellowship, the Fellow will produce and publish research, receive training on public speaking at events and meetings, and develop a network of stakeholders.

Abdulsamod is a communications and marketing professional with over six years of experience leading end-to-end content storytelling and digital marketing (search, social and email) campaigns in the nonprofit, financial services, venture capital and technology sectors in Africa. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, and is trained in product marketing and growth marketing by Product Marketing Alliance UK and CXL Institute US respectively. He is the director of partnerships at Vibrant Girls Development Initiative, a social enterprise that has empowered over 300 girls in semiurban areas of Lagos with soft and digital skills, and provided career mentorship to 90 girls. Previously, he was a communications and marketing fellow at VestedWorld, an impact-focused African VC, where he raised newsletter open rate to over 40% and executed content marketing strategies that grew Linkedin followership by 115%, engagement by 1100% and unique visitors by over 70%. He also led communications for Leonine, a financial services firm, where he helped over 20+ social entrepreneurs get investor-ready and raise external capital. He also executed tailored B2B and B2C content marketing strategies that helped increase the firm’s web traffic by 300%, Linkedin page followers by 70%, enterprise client pool by over 60%, training pool by over 150% and originated deals worth over $1million. He is one of 5 Agora Fellows trained in communications by Young Voices UK in 2019 and has coordinated marketing for LEAP Africa SIPA and SocialGood Summit Lagos. Through these experiences, he has developed strong skills in content, digital and event marketing. Abdulsamod enjoys launching initiatives and dissecting issues in youth development, entrepreneurship, gender, and education.

Host Organization: Generation

Role at Host Organization: As a Marketing Operations Fellow, Abdulsamod will support Generation’s global marketing function and initiatives by supporting the rollout of existing and new marketing tools, preparing and analysing data, interacting with the countries in gathering information, monitoring performance, training the teams, and supporting overall marketing activities. The Fellow will also interact with the Generation Digital team in monitoring changes and engagement.

Benedicta is a monitoring and evaluation professional with five years of experience in youth advocacy, gender, and rural development in the nonprofit sector. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Statistics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. While working as the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Coordinator at Plan International Ghana, she led in tracking project outcomes and conducting surveys for evidence-based advocacy on the She Leads Project. Over the past three years, Benedicta has advocated for the meaningful engagement of young people in leadership and decision-making by supporting Restless Development Uganda and the Mastercard Foundation to deliver compelling research on Young People’s priorities under the Youth Think Tank project. Benedicta has contributed to the academic research paper \"Making a Living: A Young Employment Agenda\" by Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge, and she continues to volunteer as a youth researcher for civil society organizations, including Restless Development USA, Mastercard Foundation, and the ILO. Through these experiences, Benedicta has developed strong skills in youth leadership, data analysis, and communication skills for project management. Benedicta envisions a world where data can be used to make better decisions, improve lives, and make lasting impact for development

Host Organization: Generation

Role at Host Organization: As a Data and Impact Fellow, Benedicta will become comfortable “in the weeds” working with multiple sources of data, thinking through processes to improve data quality, and plugging in on advanced analyses with a Generation country or Generation Center of Excellence. Data is a key step of Generation’s methodology, informing, and validating our approach across the learner lifecycle. The Data and Impact team, with the support of the Fellow, is responsible for end-to-end data management, metrics, impact quantification, and supporting the organization to be data-driven across the board.

Jerome is a consultant with eight years of experience in business development, market research, and consulting in the private sector. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Ghana. For the past five years, Jerome has impacted entrepreneurs and businesses by creating market research reports, identifying business opportunities, and facilitating match-making programs between businesses and investors. Previously, as a senior operations analyst at Asoko Insight, he built and managed a portfolio of about 5000 companies and exposed them to investment and growth opportunities through his market research and business development activities. He also led high-level meetings with executive management of targeted local companies and multinationals, to form partnerships, and assess their need for investment and the possibilities for partnership. Previously, Jerome worked as an agro-business client advisor with Procredit Savings and Loans, where he provided financial services to a portfolio of agricultural enterprises, and disbursed a total of about $100000 in loans over 15 months. As a result of his experiences, he has developed strong business development, market research, and consulting skills. This has led to a strong interest in entrepreneurship and Agriculture, and a focus on achieving tangible social impact by improving access to finance and opportunities for affiliated enterprises.

Host Organization: Generation

Role at Host Organization: As a Global Business Development Fellow, Jerome will help identify potential employer partners and the key stakeholders at those companies, initiate outreach, and pitch to interested organizations. The Fellow will use Salesforce to record and track interactions and analyze their pipeline. The Fellow will also provide account support to current partners to increase retention and grow the relationships.Generation seeks to build and maintain global and regional partnerships with employers to hire our graduates in multiple countries as these types of partnerships will be critical to unlocking the ability of Generation to continue to grow the number of learners we can effectively serve, particularly for our tech programs.

Boubacar is a Senegalese young leader who has been working since his early age to uplift communities and promote youth leadership. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Master’s degree in Project Management, Boubacar pursued a career in sustainable development, international cooperation, and humanitarian affairs, working with several organizations, including CorpsAfrica, the World Food Program, and the International Organization of La Francophonie. In Madagascar with the International Organization of La Francophonie, he trained over 100 youth across the Indian Ocean on youth leadership, entrepreneurship and sustainable development goals and lobbied governments to promote youth participation. Boubacar has working as an independent consultant in the field of youth development and project management, and was collaborating as a consultant with the National Endowment for the Humanities Ajami Research Project led by the Center for African Studies at Boston University.

Host Organization: CorpsAfrica

Role at Host Organization: As the Alumni Association Fellow, Boubacar will work to build a system that supports former CorpsAfrica Volunteers in their personal lives and professional careers. As CorpsAfrica works to expand new programs in Africa, it is critical that they keep former Volunteers in all countries engaged with CorpsAfrica and with each other and help them succeed in their chosen careers. The Fellow will develop a solid framework of communication for CorpsAfrica Volunteer alumni, create opportunities for alumni to stay involved with CorpsAfrica, and provide professional support services to alumni, including hiring events and professional development opportunities.

Amina is a Procurement Professional with four years of experience working with international and humanitarian organizations. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Language, Literature, and Civilization from a Tunisian University in Tunisia. Over the past years, Amina has been working on development projects to improve private sectors and youth participation in civil society. Currently a Procurement Officer at FHI360, a $48,552,142 USAID project to increase youth participation in civic and political life. Starting in December 2021, her role has been of great help to the improvement of youth participation in civic life by procuring goods and services that impact directly and indirectly on youth participation in civic life. Previously, Amina worked as a Procurement Officer and was then promoted to Procurement Specialist with the USAID Tunisia Accountability, Decentralization, and Effective Municipalities project, a 4-year, $54 million U.S. government program to support the needs of Tunisia’s municipalities, implemented by Deloitte. She served as the lead procurement liaison between the USAID team, Tunisian municipalities, and local suppliers. Some of the procurements she led supported essential services, including road rehabilitation, energy, street lighting, waste management, municipal parks, healthcare, and government-wide IT procurements. In less than two years, Amina supported over USD 5,000,000 of local procurements for the Tunisian government on behalf of USAID. One of Amina’s most notable impacts in 2020 was leading the US government’s emergency response operations to supply the Tunisian government with USD 1,500,000 of COVID-19 equipment to over half of the country’s municipalities. She led the end-to-end process and coordinated with several awarded vendors to quickly manufacture and deliver the required items. Her efforts led to the delivery of 75,837 items and 1.5 million liters of cleaning solutions to 151 municipalities, and the Ministry of Local Affairs. Deloitte U.S awarded Amina an “Outstanding Performance Award” in 2020.

Host Organization: CARE

Role at Host Organization: As a Supply Chain Fellow, Amina will support CARE’s supply chain transformation project and help drive key milestones. As one of the core team members, the Fellow will work with corporate partners and the senior team to review the organization’s supply chain to assess gaps, plan development, and prioritize needs. The Fellow will also support the implementation of supply chain policies and training across the organization’s different country offices.