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RSVP for ADN Virtual Skoll World Forum Ecosystem Event on April 1

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

In this period of change, African Diaspora Network remains committed to building bridges between Africans, Diasporans, and friends of Africa. The strength of ADN is our network. Our goal is to tap into the social capital we have built over the last nine years to provide helpful resources for you all as we adjust our model of work.

In the past, we have hosted in-person convenings from D.C. to Silicon Valley to New York City. We thank all of you who have traveled near and far to attend our signature conference, African Diaspora Investment Symposium, and the ADN Impact and Innovation Forums. Now, it is our turn to come to you.

In compliance with the mandate of COVID-19, ADN will host virtual forums as part of the 2020 Impact and Innovation Forums. Experts in our network will share their knowledge and resources through webinar and conference call technologies that will engage audiences from across the globe. We invite you to RSVP for our first virtual event held on April 1, in partnership with the Skoll Foundation: "The Role of the African Diaspora to Help Develop the African Economy." Details can be found below.

We are pivoting to prioritize the well-being and health of our network members, and are grateful for your patience as we adjust to changing times. Be on the lookout for upcoming webinars and virtual meetings, and join us as we continue to amplify the work of our network online. We are in this together and look forward to engaging you in any way that we can.

Thank you,

Almaz Negash
Founder & Executive Director, African Diaspora Network
Executive in Residence, School of Global Innovation & Leadership, SJSU
Member of the United Nations Economic Council for Africa – HLPM

RSVP to ADN Virtual Skoll World Forum Ecosystem Event on April 1

Register for the ADN Virtual Skoll World Forum Ecosystem Event on April 1

The Role of the African Diaspora to Help Develop the African Economy

This conversation aims to highlight the role that members of the African diaspora can play in ensuring the revitalization of the African continent. Specific emphasis is placed on members of the diaspora who migrated to the United States from the sixties to today and their role in fostering economic development in Africa. Dialogue on what are the means to harness the intellectual capacity of members of the African diaspora in order to promote economic development?

The underlying assumptions in this question, which will be further discussed, is that Africa is an emerging economy and the diaspora which remits more than $46 billion per year to the continent can play an important role in its emergence. Through participation in the continent’s economic development, the African diaspora can become an influential force both in growing regional economies and in supporting positive social change throughout the continent.

This virtual event is facilitated by Almaz Negash, Founder of African Diaspora Network, and hosted by the Skoll Foundation.

Event Information:
April 1, 2020
8:00 - 9::00 am PST
3:00 - 4:00 pm GMT

RSVP: info@africandiasporanetwork.org

Call to Action: 2020 Builders of Africa's Future

Over the next few weeks, we will be spotlighting the work of the 2020 Builders of Africa's Future. This week, we showcase three changemakers on the continent. If you are compelled by what they do and want to invest in them, please let us know. They need all the support they can get to grow and scale their businesses, especially in this difficult time.

Genesis Ehimegbe, Co-Founder and CFO, Coliba

Previously, Genesis worked as a business developer in a software company, and then as management consultant. Genesis has a strong will to help make Africa an eco-responsible and sustainable continent that could serve as an example in terms of innovation, social inclusion and perfect mastery of its waste.

Mosoka P. Fallah, PhD, Acting Director General, National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL)
Dr. Mosoka P. Fallah completed his PhD in Immunology at the University of Kentucky. He subsequently studied Global Health, with a concentration in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. Upon graduation in 2013, he returned to Liberia to focus on maternal and child health in a country that was ravaged by civil war and that was trying to rebuild its health system. When the Ebola outbreak occurred, he leveraged his skills in epidemiology and program management to lead the Ebola response, launching an active case finding system that became a recognized model for epidemic control. For his work building community-level trust in the Ebola response, Dr. Fallah was named a Time Magazine Persons of the Year in 2014.

Tendekayi Katsiga, Founder, Deaftronics
Tendekayi is an award winning leader who founded Deaftronics (Pty) Ltd, is a Biotechnology company established in 2009, that manufactures affordable solar powered hearing aids, made by hearing impaired people for people with a hearing loss; its first solar-powered hearing aid unit was called Solar Ear. Further improvements to the Solar Charger Kit have led to the team developing the first rechargeable hearing aid battery, which lasts for 2-3 years and can be used in 80% of hearing aids on the market today. He trains hearing impaired people in Electronics Assembly.

ADN Featured on Forbes: Giving Africans Abroad a Pathway to Invest at Home

"The dialogue is changing from being about how to help Africa to how to invest in Africa."

How is African Diaspora Network shifting the lens on change in Africa? Read the latest publication by Forbes featuring an exclusive interview with Almaz Negash, Founder and Executive Director of ADN.

Read the Forbes Feature on African Diaspora Network

Online Resources During COVID-19

World Health Organization COVID-19 FAQs

WHO is continuously monitoring and responding to this outbreak. This Q&A will be updated as more is known about COVID-19, how it spreads and how it is affecting people worldwide. For more information, check back regularly on WHO’s coronavirus pages.

Harvard Business Review Insights

T he Era of Job Crafting: Design the Work You Want This series of articles takes a look at topics ranging from career planning to employee retention.
Commit to Video Conferencing Take a look at this thorough review of the benefits of video conferencing versus conference calls.

Skoll Goes Live

Browse the schedule to sign up for a range of activities—anyone from your network can join too. From a regional meet up for Latin Americans to a Skoll-hosted session on strengthening global health systems, there’s something for everyone looking to learn and connect.

Take the Online Amplifying Abundance in Africa MasterClass Series

Interested in learning more about African Diaspora Investment Symposium? Seeking professional development and learning opportunities remotely? ADN welcomes you to our online repository of workshop sessions from ADIS2019.

Are you an entrepreneur, business leader, investor, or public sector leader interested in the hottest trends on the Continent and in the Diaspora? Want to learn more about starting or scaling your business and/or investments?

Here’s your chance to dive deep into some of the hottest investment and development trends on the continent from thought leaders, business leaders, innovators, investors, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, academia, government, and NGO leaders from around the world.

Access the Amplifying Abundance in Africa Online MasterClass

African Diaspora Investment Symposium (ADIS) is an annual convening in Silicon Valley that celebrates and champions the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of Africans in the Diaspora and friends of Africa.

Follow the footsteps of entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders who have walked the path of pursuing investments and opportunities in Africa through Investment Ecosystem and Entrepreneurship & Innovation Ecosystems.

Join African Diaspora Network Today

Be a part of our growing organization and become a member or support African Diaspora Network in one of the following ways:

Be an organizational sponsor and support the African Diaspora Network to bring together diverse people from around the world to collaborate and work together.
Sponsor the 2021 African Diaspora Investment Symposium
Support our efforts to scale the Builders of Africa’s Future program
Be a member of the African Diaspora Network, a growing community of Africans and friends of Africa
Be a mentor for the upcoming Builders of Africa’s Future cohort
Be a volunteer and support African Diaspora Network initiatives

Support African Diaspora Network

African Diaspora Investment Symposium Summary and Next Steps

African Diaspora Investment Symposium 2020 Highlights

African Diaspora Network is pleased to share a full summary and action report that highlights key takeaways and lessons learned during African Diaspora Investment Symposium 2020. Learn more about our fifth annual symposium theme, read our day-by-day summary, check out our photo gallery, and view our video recap.