Francis Elikem Akondor is an Alum of the Pre-Mest Program. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Land Economy and a Master of Science degree in Procurement Management from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. With a profound ardour for entrepreneurship and a vision to contribute to the development of a prosperous Africa, Francis currently serves as the marketing and recruitment associate at MEST Africa. In this role, he undertakes the crucial task of identifying and engaging with talented individuals, startups, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate inMEST Africa’s training programs. Furthermore, he volunteers his time with various organizations, dedicating efforts to fostering the growth and advancement of SMEs across Africa.

Francis firmly upholds the belief that with determination and a focused mindset, anything is achievable. His unwavering conviction drives him to strive for excellence and make a positive impact in all his endeavors.

Emily Otoo-Quayson is a skilled communications and digital marketing professional, as well as a creative content creator and designer. She is a proud Alum of the Scholars program at KNUST, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), and a Resolution fellow. As a STEM researcher, Emily has worked on several impactful projects that utilize local resources. Notably, she engineered a zero-cooling chamber storage system to combat post-harvest losses for market women, which was recognized as the best research work at the African Research Academy for Women.

Additionally, she designed an organic sanitary pad that won the Presidential Pitch. Beyond her professional work, Emily is a passionate menstrual hygiene advocate and founder of the startup ERI, which provides menstrual hygiene education to thousands of girls every year. She also enjoys public speaking and has moderated and facilitated over 15 programs and conferences in the past year. Notably, she was honored to participate in a dialogue by ACET, hosting Professors from African universities, representatives from the World Bank, and inspiring youth activists. In her leisure time, Emily is a creative soul who loves engaging with people.

Ihlass Issah is an Alumnus of CAMFED and serves as the National Vice Chairperson of the CAMFED Association Ghana. She trained as a nurse at the Tamale Nurses and Midwifery Training College (NMTC). She has served as the CAMFED Association Chairperson of the Tamale NMTC campus chapter in 2019. Inthis role, she supervised the planning, implementation, and delivery of all CAMFED Association activities. In 2020, she received Business Management training and grant for her event planning and decorations venture under Young Africa Works, the Business Start-Up Program.

She loves to spend time visiting schools and communities to educate them on financial literacy, the need to stay and complete school among many others. In the wake of COVID-19, Ihlass together with other members of her community-produced soap and face masks and donated to vulnerable groups in their communities to help fight the spread of the virus.

Nancy Addison-Danquah is a Marketing and Sales Executive currently pursuing a master’s degree in international Affairs and Diplomacy at the University of Ghana. She is a Youth Think Tank Alum. Nancy is passionate about Adolescent Reproductive Health and Rights and access to quality education and as such she volunteers with Vim Foundation, an NGO that strives to move young people from schooling under trees by building classrooms and sharing desks to various schools.

She served as the Women’s Commissioner for the Elizabeth Frances Sey Hall in the University of Ghana between 2017-2018. Here, she organized seminars and aerobic sessions for the young women in the hall to create a safe space for the residents particularly the young women

Emmanuel Fiifi Musah is a Mastercard Foundation Scholar Alum from the Kwame Nkrumah Universityof Science and Technology (KNUST), an Alum of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), and an MSc student at the University of Edinburgh. He is passionate about mentorship, career coaching, youth development, and community transformation.

He co-founded ‘The Pioneers’, a youth-led group that has the aim to provide academic mentorship, and career coaching and bring societal change to rural communities in and around the Oti Region. As a passionate individual for change and impact-making, he served as the President of the AlumniCommunity of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at KNUST, where he led initiatives, programs, and projects that were geared towards helping the Alumni transition into a meaningful after-school life.

Currently, Emmanuel works as a Sustainability Technical Officer at the Sustainability Department of Barry Callebaut Group-Ghana. His experience in agribusiness and sustainability has made him provide consultancy and business development services to 5+ Alumni-led agribusinesses towards developing their minimum-viable products. He is passionate about research, data analysis, monitoring, and evaluation and he is therefore keen to use his skills to advance the work of the Alumni Network.

Sadock Ofori is a Mastercard Foundation Alum from the National Digital Skills Training program with a bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation and Disability Studies from the University of Education, Winneba. He is a Researcher, with two publications to his name and contributed to the development of a trainingmanual on a World Bank project for the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Special EducationDivision (SpEd) and currently pursuing a post-graduate study in special education at the University ofEducation, Winneba.

Besides his academic adventure and experience, Sadock is a skilled Data Analyst and has trained about 40 females in the field of Data Science and Analytics. He serves as the Incubation Business Development Lead at Women’s Haven Africa, where he has trained and provided business support for startups in the Ghana startup ecosystem. He has also contributed to the growth and development of female-led SMEs and startups in agribusiness on the SNV GrEEn Incubation program by the European Union.

Sadock firmly believes in skills development for youth for better livelihoods to minimize migration from rural areas and to reduce youth unemployment in Ghana. As a disability advocate, He continues to advocate for digital inclusion and the right of persons with disabilities

Jennifer De-Graft Ninson is the Founder and Executive Director of Organization for Inclusion and Empowerment – OFIE, a youth-led organization that focuses on promoting the well-being of persons with disabilities through education, technology, and mentorship.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science Education from the University of Education,Winneba and is currently pursuing an MPHil in Political Science specializing in Public Administration and public Policy.

She is an Alumnus of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at CAMFED-Ghana and has benefited from the Scholars Entrepreneurship Fund and the Young Africa Works program to grow an agro-business she co-founded with her friends. She is also an alumnus of the Digital Opportunity Trust Youth Street Team and the Empowered to Educate Fellowship programs.

Jennifer has a keen interest in education, disability inclusion and empowerment, policy analysis, girlchild empowerment and youth and community development. She believes that everyone has a role toplay in transforming the world.