ENG Yarisow Abdirahman Omar Osman Engineering

Abdirahman Omar Osman “Eng Yasirow” is the mayor of Mogadishu and the Governor of Banadir region. He was appointed in a presidential decree on January 21, 2018.

Mr Osman holds a Masters in Housing Management from Westminister University, UK as well as BSc in Civil Engineering from Somali National University

Mr Osman has been involved in Somali politics for more than a decade. He has been serving as the Minister of Information until his appointment to the Mayor of Mogadishu and Governor of Banadir region. Previously he served as a Minister of Information, Minister of Treasury, government spokesperson and a senior advisor.

Mr Osman is the co-author of the National Strategy for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) for Somalia.

Mohamud Ahmed Jimale President and a Co-founder

Mohamud Ahmed Jimale is currently the president and a co-founder of Jamhuriya university of Science & Technology (JUST) in Mogadishu – Somalia. He holds Masters of computer science from University of Malaya (UM) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Open University Malaysia (OUM). Areas of research and interest include Information security, network communications, and Internet of things (IoT).

He held different technical and managerial positions in different business and academic institutions. He served as the head of IT department of Dahabshiil, Banadir regional office, and The deputy IT manager of the company headquarters in Hargeisa. He worked as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Telecom Somalia and the co-founder of Halabuur Software Company. On the academic front, he worked as the dean of the faculty of Business and Information technology at University of Somalia (UNISO) and as a lecturer in different Somali Universities.

Matt Suiche Cyber Security

Matt Suiche is the founder of the cybersecurity start-up Comae Technologies and top cybersecurity community conference OPCDE which takes place both in UAE and Kenya. Prior to founding Comae, he was the Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of the California-based application virtualization start-up Cloud Volumes which was acquired by VMware in 2014. In March 2014, Suiche was highlighted as one of the 100 key French developers in a report for French minister Fleur Pellerin.

Boniface Mwangi Photographer, Youth Activist, and Digital Advocate.

Recognized globally for his passion and excellence in photography, this photographer-cum-activist could not resist the call to activism after witnessing, first-hand, the brutality that disadvantaged Kenyans experienced in the wake of the Post- Election Violence of 2008. He then established Picha Mtaani , a traveling photography exhibition showcasing images of the violence. The travelling photo exhibition toured across Kenya and drew more than 2 million visitors. The exhibition tour offered a platform for individual reflection, honest dialogue, interpersonal healing and community reconciliation.

Dr. Amina Jama Mahmud Applied Health Technology

Dr. Amina Jama Mahmud is passionate about women’s health and education. As a returning diaspora from Sweden, she has chosen to utilize her experiences, skills, and education to contribute towards rebuilding the health and education systems in Somalia. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Health Technology, specializing in E-Health, from Blekinge Institute of Technology, an MPH and a B.Sc. in Nursing from Lund University, in Sweden. She has also studied Management and Communication for Development at postgraduate level.

One of her research interest is the design and use of technology to attain universal health care, improve quality and access; focusing mainly on Primary Health Care.  Her goal is to advance evidence-based approach to capacity building and policy-making in the healthcare sector.

She is currently working as a policy consultant with ICRC, Somali office in Nairobi and is the Director of Research and Senior Gender Advisor for SIDRA Institute in Garowe, Somalia. Prior to that, she has worked as a Senior Policy Advisor for the Federal Ministry of Health in Mogadishu. Before moving to Somalia, she has worked in various research and leadership capacities to strengthen health and social policies, contribute to capacity- and opinion building geared towards creating enabling, inclusive and sustainable health, and wellbeing for refugee/migrants and other vulnerable communities in Europe.

Jibril Hassan Mohamed

Jibril Hassan Mohammed is an astute businessman and the chairman of Premeir Bank Somalia, As Chair, he guides the Board in overseeing strategy, policy, investor relations and key partnerships within the bank. Jibril holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the Globe University/Minnesota School of Business majoring in Finance. He is also a holder of a Bachelor of Mathematics Degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology.

Deborah Priya Henry Humanitarian, Entrepreneur

Started modeling at the age of 15, won, Miss Malaysia World 2007. In 2011, she was crowned Miss Universe Malaysia. Beyond beauty pageants and TV hosting, Henry is also known for her humanitarian work and entrepreneurial work.

Yasmin Ahmed Civil Servant, Human rights advocate and writer

Samira Sawlani Writer, Journalist and analyst focusing on East Africa

Samira Sawlani is a writer, journalist and analyst focusing on East Africa. She is also the former Social Media Director for online platform Media Diversified.